10 April 2023 , 20:43
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Evil Louisville gunman Connor Sturgeon livestreamed a horrific attack where he opened fire at the bank where he had worked killing four people.
Sturgeon, 23, armed with an AR15 rifle went on a rampage at a Louisville bank today before he also died in the carnage.
The shooter was livestreaming the massacre on Instagram, police have confirmed.
Five people were killed, including the shooter, with nine being taken to hospital for treatment.
The four deceased victims were identified as Joshua Barrick, 40, Thomas Elliot, 63, Juliana Farmer, 45, and James Tutt, 64.
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"Let's be clear about what this was," Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said. "This was an evil act of targeted violence."
Sturgeon is believed to have live streamed the attack (Facebook)It is understood Sturgeon had been sacked by the bank recently.
The shooting, the 15th mass killing in the country this year, comes just two weeks after a former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, about 160 miles to the south.
Police arrived as shots were still being fired inside Old National Bank and killed the shooter in an exchange of gunfire, Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said at a news conference.
Louisville Metro Police technician photographs bullet holes in the front glass of the Old National Bank (Timothy D Easley/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"The suspect shot at officers," the police chief said. "We then returned fire and stopped that threat."
The chief identified the shooter as Sturgeon, who she said was livestreaming during the attack.
"That's tragic to know that that incident was out there and captured," she said. "We're hopeful that we can have that incident removed, that footage removed."
Sturgeon killed four people in the rampage (Linkedin)Nine people, including two police officers, were treated for injuries from the shooting, University of Louisville Hospital spokeswoman Heather Fountaine said in an email.
One of the officers, a 26-year-old who had graduated from the police academy on March 31, was in critical condition after being shot in the head and having surgery, the police chief said.
At least three patients had been discharged.
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The scene at the bank (AFP via Getty Images)There are multiple claims online that Sturgeon told a friend he was feeling suicidal and would "shoot up the bank".
Images have also circulated on the internet showing what appears to be Sturgeon's Instagram account and some of the dark messages posted on there.
In one image a message is shared reading: "THEY WON'T LISTEN TO WORDS OR PROTESTS. LET'S SEE IF THEY HEAR THIS."
An emotional Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear said he lost one of his closest friends in the shooting in the building on East Main Street not far from the minor league ballpark Louisville Slugger Field and Waterfront Park.
"These are irreplaceable, amazing individuals that a terrible act of violence tore from all of us," the governor said of the victims.
It was the second time that Beshear was personally touched by a mass tragedy since becoming governor with a friend being among those killed.
Bullet holes and shattered glass have been spotted outside the building (Twitter)In late 2021, one of the towns devastated by tornadoes that tore through Kentucky was Dawson Springs, the hometown of Beshear's father, former two-term Kentucky Gov Steve Beshear. Andy Beshear frequently visited Dawson Springs as a boy and has talked emotionally about his father's hometown.
Beshear spoke as the investigation in Louisville continued and police searched for a motive. Crime scene investigators could be seen marking and photographing numerous bullet holes in the windows near the bank's front door.
Law enforcement officers respond to an active shooter at the Old National Bank building (Getty Images)As part of the investigation, police descended on a neighborhood about 5 miles south of the downtown shooting. The street was blocked as federal and local officers talked to residents. One home was cordoned off with caution tape.
"I'm almost speechless. You see it on the news but not at home," said Kami Cooper, 38, who lives in the neighbourhood.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called the attack "evil" (AP)A man who fled the building during the shooting told WHAS-TV that the shooter opened fire with a long rifle in a conference room in the back of the building's first floor.
"Whoever was next to me got shot - blood is on me from it," he told the news station, pointing to his shirt. He said he fled to a break room and shut the door.
Humphrey, the deputy chief, said the actions of responding police officers undoubtedly saved lives.
Police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said that Sturgeon began shooting at officers (Timothy D Easley/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"This is a tragic event," he said. "But it was it was the heroic response of officers that made sure that no more people were more seriously injured than what happened."
The 15 mass shootings this year are the most during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009, when 16 had occurred by April 10.