Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Liam Buckler

Louisville shooter Connor Sturgeon sent chilling final text to family seconds before massacre

Louisville bank shooter Connor Sturgeon sent a chilling final text message to his family just seconds before he massacred five of his colleagues.

The 25-year-old killer legally purchased an AR15 rifle a week before the targeted attack at Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky on Monday, which left five dead and eight wounded including two police officers.

However, the gunman's roommate Dallas Whalen, 24, has revealed the bank worker text his family "I love you" just moments before committing the horrific massacre.

Mr Whalen, who is a lawyer, admitted he had no idea the gunman was planning the shooting after he was reportedly set to lose his job from the bank.

The pair had been living in a two-bedroom house for around a year and described the bank worker as quiet but friendly roommate.

Connor Sturgeon with roommate Dallas Whalen (Dallas Whelan/Facebook)

He revealed the Sturgeon family has been left stunned by the massacre and are working with cops.

Mr Whelan told Mail Online: “It was as unknown and surprising to Dallas as everybody. The (Sturgeon) family is still working with law enforcement. They don’t know much.

“We were told by police that there are letters and things. We do not have them. We have not seen them, so we’re still trying to put that together too.”

Sturgeon's family revealed in a statement on Tuesday the gunman had been struggling with his mental health.

Sturgeon killed five of his colleagues (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

The family said: “While Connor, like many of his contemporaries, had mental health challenges which we, as a family, were actively addressing, there were never any warning signs or indications he was capable of this shocking act.

“While we have many unanswered questions, we will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials and do all we can to aid everyone in understanding why and how this happened."

According to reports, he Sturgeon had left a voicemail to a friend saying he felt “suicidal” and planned to “kill everyone at the bank” when he found out he was set to be axed from his job.

Sturgeon had worked at the bank for a number of years and reportedly knew he was about to be fired (Linkedin)

Armed with the rifle, the gunman shot dead a close friend of Kentucky's governor - while live-streaming the attack Monday on Instagram.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear revealed he lost one of his closest friends in the shooting.

"Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad," said Beshear, his voice shaking with emotion.

"He's one of the people I talked to most in the world, and very rarely were we talking about my job. He was an incredible friend."

Old National Bank CEO Jim Ryan said his company would be doing all they can to help staff impacted from the horrific shooting.

He said: "There are no words to adequately describe the sadness and devastation that our Old National family is experiencing as we grieve the tragic loss of our team members and pray for the recovery of all those who were injured."

Police officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, who had graduated from training just 10 days earlier, was shot in the head and remains in a critical but stable condition after shooting dead the gunman.

The second cop Cory Galloway was left with injuries from the shooting and remains in hospital.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.