An evil gunman armed with an AR15 rifle who opened fire in a Louisville bank earlier this weekhas been identified as angry former employee Connor Sturgeon, who shot and killed his colleagues.
The shooter was live streaming the massacre on Instagram, police have confirmed. "That's tragic to know that that incident was out there and captured," Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said.
Six people were killed, including the shooter, with nine being taken to hospital for treatment. The five deceased victims were identified as Joshua Barrick, 40, Thomas Elliot, 63, Juliana Farmer, 45, James Tutt, 64, and Deana Eckert, 57.
One of the dead includes a close friend of Kentucky's governor.
Louisville Metropolitan Police Department identified the suspect as Sturgeon, a 23-year-old bank employee at Old National Bank.
The LMPD police chief, Gwinn-Villaroel, said the 23-year-old fired at responding officers, who returned fire to “stop that threat”.
Sturgeon joined the bank full-time in 2021 after three consecutive summer internships, and it is reported that he was recently fired from his job.
Police also clarified that the suspect was killed by police and not from a self-inflicted wound and released the name of the officer who stopped him.
Officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, was a new officer to the LMPD and had just graduated and was recently sworn in.
He suffered a gunshot in the head and was rushed to the hospital where he underwent brain surgery and remains in critical condition.
LMPD said the suspect shot 13 people including two officers. Six people are still in the hospital. Of those, three are in critical condition, and three are not. Three more people have been treated and were released.
“Let’s be clear about what this was,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said. “This was an evil act of targeted violence.”
Two of the injured were rushed to the hospital in critical condition, including one police officer. The shooter has been provisionally identified as 23-year-old Sturgeon - a former employee at the Old National Bank who it is reported had just been let go by the bank.
During a press briefing, police confirmed that the shooter was live-streaming the attack on his Instagram account.
His account, with the handle @csturg41, has been taken down and police are in possession of the video, it was reported.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said in a statement that it had “quickly removed the livestream of this tragic incident this morning.”
There are multiple reports online of the young banker reportedly telling a friend he was feeling suicidal and would "shoot up the bank".
Images have also circulated online 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."
The police chief noted that the shooter hadn’t previously engaged LMPD.
Following the massacre, police forces including a SWAT team entered Sturgeon’s home in Louisville to investigate.
KWQC-TV reported that police were worried that boobytraps may have been set up at the location.
They were seen leaving with three or four big brown paper bags of evidence as well as a computer, it was reported.
WLKY News reported that police searched the property for other firearms, explosives and boobytraps that could have been left behind by the shooter.
Sturgeon was notified that he was going to be fired from his position at the Old National Bank in Louisville.
He left a note for his parents and a friend saying that he was going to shoot at the bank, a source told CNN.
Whether that note was on paper or emailed, or whether it was seen before the incident or after, was not clarified.
The shooter had been working at the bank full-time since June 2021, according to his LinkedIn account.
Although it is unclear when the account was last updated, it still listed him as working there.
He worked as a syndications associate and portfolio banker at the bank and also worked there as an intern for three summers.
Sturgeon was originally from Greenville, Indiana, but lived in Louisville on Taylor Boulevard.
He graduated from Floyd Central High School, where he played basketball.
His father, Todd Sturgeon, was the head basketball coach at the high school and was hired in 2014 when Connor was a 6-foot-4 sophom*ore, according to Courier-Journal.
However, the elder Sturgeon resigned from his position in 2022, stating that he wanted to spend more time with Connor and his younger son.
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Connor Sturgeon had earned both a bachelor's and master's degree, with his master's degree in finance from the University of Alabama.
A former friend of Sturgeon, who asked to remain anonymous, described him as the popular kid in high school.
He told the Daily Beast: “I know everyone always says this about shooters but I truly would have never expected it to be him."
He added that Sturgeon always wore a helmet during basketball games because he had suffered so many concussions.
Sturgeon's classmate noted: "The big thing I keep going back to is that in the first year of high school, we played football together in eighth grade, he was out most of the year because he had multiple concussions.
"Then he had a couple more in high school. I’m not saying it’s the cause but I always think back to that…
"There were times I’d wonder, will this catch up with him? But never in this way. He’s the last person I'd expect would do this."
Chilling images reportedly shared by Sturgeon in a group chat also include memes, one titled 'Monday vibes' has the caption: "I could burn this whole place down" alongside the image.
Another is a GIF of Star Wars character Kylo Ren saying: "I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it."
It's believed he used an AR-15 style rifle to carry out the attack inside the bank, which saw armed police forcing their way into the building as workers reportedly sought refuge inside a vault.
The shooter was found dead at the scene when police arrived. Police have confirmed fire was exchanged between police and the shooter, though it is unclear as of yet whether the fatal bullet came from the shooter's gun or police.
Screenshots of Sturgeon's apparent LinkedIn account have been circulating social media, on Reddit as well as Twitter, as people worked to identify the gunman. It shows he was a Syndications Associate and Portfolio Banker with the bank, saying it comes after he completed an ONB Commercial Banking Development Training Programme.
Deputy Chief Col. Paul Humphrey, of Louisville Metropolitan Police Department (LMPD) said police were called to the Old National Bank in Louisville where the "lone gunman" was shooting inside the building.
He confirmed that police believed the gunman to have a previous connection to the bank. "We're trying to establish what the connection was to the business but it appears he was a previous employee," he explained.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to Twitter to share her views. She said: "The tragedy in Louisville, Kentucky, is the 15th mass shooting in the first 10 days of April. Our hearts break for all affected.
"Too many families are grieving loss - but we are not helpless. We can act; we must act to End Gun Violence."
In an emotional press conference following the shooting, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear revealed he has lost two "close friends" in the shooting, with another in hospital.
Fighting back tears, he said: "This is awful.
"I have a very close friend that didn't make it today. And I have another close friend who didn't either. And one who's at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through."
He continued: "And so I hope that all the brave officers that stepped into the line of fire that are worried about one of their fellow officers will reach out for help when they need it.
"I hope that every one of those bank employees and folks in that building - one that I know well, my AG campaign was out of that building, and [I know] virtually everyone in it. That's my bank.
"I hope that they will all reach out and get the help they need. There are a lot of people who are hurting today, and if we have a place to focus our energy, I hope that it is to surround them with the love and the compassion that we have been so good at showing one another.
"I want people to know that while today is a horrific act, I do believe that this is a safe community with officers doing their very best each and every day, and that's what we saw here."
An eyewitness who was walking home from the gym at around 8.30am said he saw police cars speeding the wrong way down Main Street toward the bank.
He said he saw around 20 officers get out, rifles raised, before they rushed into the building. He then said he heard 10-15 shots being fired, and the sound of people screaming from within the building.
“I’m almost speechless. You see it on the news but not at home,” said Kami Cooper, 38, who lives in the neighborhood.
Roads around the bank, near Louisville Slugger Field, have been closed while police deal with the incident and aftermath, with a warning they will remain closed for much of the day.
Deputy Humphrey said in an earlier press conference: "We ask that the public remain away from the scene, it will be an ongoing scene that will take a long time to investigate."
