Louisville shooting : Gunman to be tested for CTE as victims’ funerals begin today
Connor Sturgeon will be tested posthumously for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), his father says
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The gunman behind the Louisville bank shooting will be tested posthumously for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), his father has said.
Connor Sturgeon’s family have said he suffered from “mental health challenges” but showed no warning signs of what he planned to do before he carried out the shooting at the Old National Bank on Monday.
Funeral arrangements were released on Thursday for most of the five bank employees killed in the massacre, with the first taking place for Tommy Elliott on Friday.
Chilling 911 calls have also been released of terrified bank employees reporting the shooting.
In one of the calls, a woman speaks in hushed tones as she says she is hiding in a closet from the gunman. Multiple gunshots ring out in the background as the dispatcher urges her to “stay quiet”.
Sturgeon’s mother also called 911 saying that her son “currently has a gun and is heading toward” the bank.
LISTEN: Gunman’s mother and co-workers call 911 during Louisville mass shooting
911 calls: Mother told of son’s plans by his roommate
The mother of the shooter called 911, saying that she was made aware by her son’s roommate that he was planning to shoot up the bank.
She called to warn the police of Monday’s shooting, saying that Sturgeon was armed and on his way to the bank, but the dispatcher said the shooting had already started by the time the mother’s call came in.
“We don’t even own guns. I don’t know where he would’ve gotten a gun,” the mother told the dispatcher. “I don’t know what to do. I need your help.”
“He has a gun, and he’s heading toward the Old National,” she said, adding that she wasn’t sure what Sturgeon was planning and that she had been made aware of what he was doing by his roommate.
“I’m so sorry. I’m getting details secondhand. I’m learning it now. Oh, lord,” she said.
As the call went on, the mother grew increasingly distraught.
“He’s never hurt anyone. He’s a really good kid,” she told the dispatcher. “He’s nonviolent. He’s never done anything.”
During the call, which lasts three minutes and 23 seconds, the mother asked if she should go to the bank.
“I don’t want you to go to the location,” the dispatcher responded. “We have a situation that’s going on down there right now. We have already had calls from other people.”
911 calls: ‘How long will it be before they get here?’
One of the 12 calls made to 911 reporting the shooting came from a member of staff hiding in a closet near a conference room on the bank’s first floor. The call lasted almost 11 minutes, during which the caller whispered “I can hear gunshots” as gunfire can be heard in the background.
“I’m in a closet hiding,” she says in the call, adding that people have been shot and that she knows who the shooter is, saying “He works with us”.
The woman shouted “help!” on a number of occasions.
“Stay quiet,” the operator told the caller amid the sounds of gunfire. “We’ve got everybody coming, OK?”
The dispatcher said police were en route.
“I know, but how long?” the caller said quietly. “How long will it be before they get here?”
The call stayed on the line with the dispatcher until Sturgeon was killed by police.
Connor Sturgeon to be tested for CTE
The gunman behind the Louisville bank shooting will be tested posthumously for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), his father has said.
Connor Sturgeon’s family have said he suffered from “mental health challenges” but showed no warning signs of what he planned to do before he carried out the shooting at the Old National Bank on Monday.
The 25-year-old opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle in a first-floor conference room as executives gathered for their morning meeting – all the while livestreaming the massacre on his Instagram account.
Officers responded to the scene within minutes and exchanged gunfire with the gunman, shooting him dead.
Five victims, all executives at the bank, died in the horror attack while others – including a responding police officer – are fighting for their lives in hospital.
A list of recent high-profile shootings in the US
The latest high-profile shooting in the United States happened Monday in Louisville, Kentucky, when at least four people were killed at a downtown bank.
The shooting in downtown Louisville is the 15th mass killing of the year in the U.S. in which four or more people were killed other than the perpetrator, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. That is the most during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009, when 16 incidents had occurred by April 10.
Other notable episodes of gun violence in the past year:
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Three students and three adults were killed inside The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27. The suspect, a former student, was killed by police.
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA
A farmworker killed seven people in back-to-back shootings in a case of workplace violence at two Northern California mushroom farms on Jan. 23. A suspect is facing charges.
MONTEREY PARK, CALIFORNIA
A 72-year-old man killed 11 and wounded nine in a shooting at a Lunar New Year dance in Monterey Park on Jan. 21. The suspect later died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA
The manager at a Walmart in Chesapeake killed six and wounded six during an employee meeting on Nov. 22, 2022. Police say the suspect shot himself.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO
Five people were killed and 17 wounded when a 22-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle inside a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19. The suspect, who was subdued by patrons, is awaiting trial.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
A 15-year-old boy allegedly killed five people and injured two more in a shooting in Raleigh on Oct. 13. The suspect eluded officers for hours before he was cornered in a home and arrested.
HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS
Six people were killed and at least 30 wounded when a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day parade on July 4 in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. A suspect is awaiting trial.
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
Three people died and 14 people were injured in a shooting June 5 in front of a restaurant. Three people have been arrested.
PHILADELPHIA
Three people died and 11 others were injured June 4 on a Philadelphia busy block during a melee that began with a fistfight and was followed by random gunfire. Two men are in custody in two of the deaths; other people have also been arrested in connection with the melee.
TULSA, OKLAHOMA
A gunman killed his surgeon and three other people at a medical office June 1. The gunman killed himself as police arrived.
UVALDE, TEXAS
An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on May 24 in the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. More than 15 other people were wounded. Law enforcement killed the attacker.
CHICAGO
A shooting killed two people and injured seven others on May 19 just blocks from the Magnificent Mile shopping district. Two men have been charged.
LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA
One person was killed and five others injured May 15 after a man opened fire on Taiwanese parishioners in Southern California. Authorities have said the gunman was motivated by hatred for Taiwan. He has been charged with murder and other counts.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK
A white gunman opened fire May 14 at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, killing 10 people and injuring others. He has been charged with federal hate crimes that could carry the death penalty if he is convicted.
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
Among high-income countries around the world, the United States has for years stood out for one reason: its rate of gun violence.
Over the last decade, among relatively wealthy countries with populations of 10m or more, the rate of gun violence in the US has far surpassed that of any other nation. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the adjusted firearm homicide rate in the US is 22 times that of the European Union and more than that of Asian countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea.
This year is on track to be no different. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have as of mid-April already been 149 mass shootings in the US — with gun violence claiming lives in every state in the country.
Read more:
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
There have already been more than 140 mass shootings in the United States in 2023
LISTEN: Chilling 911 calls from bank shooting
Victims’ funeral arrangements planned
Funeral arrangements were released Thursday for most of the five bank employees killed in the mass shooting at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky.
As obituaries were posted online, more details surfaced about the lives of the employees killed Monday at Old National Bank.
They have been identified as senior vice presidents Tommy Elliott, 63, and Joshua Barrick, 40; executive administrative officer Deana Eckert, 57; loan analyst Juliana Farmer, 45; and commercial real estate market executive Jim Tutt Jr., 64.
According to Elliott’s obituary, a funeral service is set for 3 p.m. Friday at Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville, followed by a private burial.
The same day, Eckert’s visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. followed by a funeral service at Northside Christian Church in New Albany, Indiana, just over the Kentucky border from Louisville, according to her obituary.
Barrett’s visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Ratterman Funeral Home, and a funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, both in Louisville, according to his obituary.
Tutt’s obituary says a visitation will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday followed by a funeral service at Southeast Christian Church Chapel in the Woods in Louisville.
Funeral arrangements for Farmer were pending.
Associated Press
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Last year it was Uvalde. Now it’s Nashville and Louisville. For the second year in a row, the National Rifle Association is holding its annual convention within days of mass shootings that shook the nation.
The three-day gathering, beginning Friday, will include thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center and is attracting a bevy of top Republican presidential candidates — enough that it could help shape the early part of next year’s GOP primary race.
It illustrates the stark reality that such shootings have become enough of the fabric of American life that the NRA can no longer schedule around them. Nor do they really want to: The convention falls on the second anniversary of the mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis that killed nine people.
Read more here:
Survivor speaks out after shooting
One of the wounded employees in the Louisville bank shooting has spoken out, saying that she served as a mentor for gunman Connor Sturgeon and that she didn’t foresee that he may become violent.
Sturgeon shot 13 people during the massacre on Monday at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, leaving five people dead and eight injured, one of which was bank employee Dana Mitchell.
The gunman was shot and killed by police.
Ms Mitchell told CBS News that she’s on the mend after being shot in the back.
“The bullet went in and out just below the surface,” she told the network. “It was high enough up that it ripped the skin open. It was a wound about 10 inches long. But didn’t hit anything important.”
Read the full story:
Louisville bank employee shot by gunman speaks out for first time
‘I was his mentor his first year at the bank. He never made me feel like he would have done this. Not in a million years,’ Dana Mitchell says
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.