Police in Louisville have released bodycamera footage of their response to a mass shooting at a bank that left five people dead and eight others injured on Monday.
Louisville Metro Police Department officials shared the footage on Tuesday and held a press conference at which they shared new details about the shooting and at which Rep Morgan McGarvey criticised Republicans for “banning books and pronouns” instead of legislating to prevent gun violence.
Connor Sturgeon, 25, purchased the automatic rifle he used in the shooting just six days before the attack.
Sturgeon worked at Old National Bank in Louisville, but had recently got himself into trouble for bringing a rifle into the building. On Monday morning, Sturgeon reportedly left a note for his parents and a friend telling them that was going to attack the bank.
Police were called to respond to the shooting shortly after 8:30am, arriving at the bank at 8:41am. According to a video released by the police department, the responding officers heard shots as they pull up the building. Seconds later, they say, Sturgeon fired on the officers multiple times. At 8:44am, the officers returned fire — killing Sturgeon.
Louisville Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said at the press conference Tuesday that Sturgeon was lying in wait for the responding officers by positioning himself in the shadows behind several sets of glass doors.
“He could see out where no one could see in,” Mr Humphrey said.
One of the officers who responded to the shooting, new police academy graduate Nickolas Wilt, was shot in the head and underwent brain surgery in its aftermath. He remains in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon, with the fire chief in nearby LaGrange telling CNN that Mr Wilt is currently sedated.
In addition to Mr Wilt, the police department has identified Cory “CJ” Galloway as another officer who responded to the shooting. Sturgeon livestreamed the shooting on Instagram, which has since taken down footage of the attack. The shooting of Sturgeon is currently under investigation.
The shooting in Louisville took place less than two weeks after a mass shooting at a school in neighbouring Tennessee that left six people dead and led to major gun control protests at the state capitol in Nashville. In the aftermath of this shooting, Democratic leaders are urging gun safety action action as well.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg on Tuesday decried the level of gun violence in Louisville and across the nation, begging politicians to act to curb the epidemic.
“We have to take action now,” Mr Greenberg said. “We need short-term action to end this gun violence epidemic now so fewer people die on our streets, and in our banks, and in our schools and in our churches. And for that, we need help. We need help from our friends in [the Kentucky Capital of] Frankfort and help from our friends in Washington, DC.”
