The details of the perpetrator of the Old Nation Bank massacre were released by the authorities. This is the 23-year-old bank employee, Connor Sturgeon, who was fatally wounded by a gunshot, without specifying whether he took his own life or was killed by police fire.
Jacqueline Gwynn-Villaroel told a news conference that Sturgeon, armed with an assault rifle, was broadcasting live images online when he opened fire inside the bank where he worked, spreading death.
Four people were killed and nine others were injured by the 23-year-old’s gunfire. The attacker’s motive remains unclear, but – according to CNN – Conor Sturgeon had just been told he would be fired and had left a letter in which he said he intended to commit an armed attack.
Police rushed to the bank minutes following the call center received the first calls regarding shots fired, around 08:30 (local time, 15:30 Greek time). The police fired at the attacker to neutralize him.
A sobbing Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, told a news conference that he knew some of the victims, explaining that two of his friends had been killed and another was hospitalized with injuries.
Of the nine injured, three are hospitalized in critical condition. Among them is a 26-year-old police officer who was shot in the head and underwent surgery. Another policeman is hospitalized with minor injuries.
According to the Facebook account maintained by the attacker’s mother, Connor Sturgeon grew up in Southern Indiana, north of Louisville. The oldest of her three sons, he attended Floyd Central High School, where he was a track and field athlete and played on the basketball team coached by his father, Todd. In 2016 he began his studies at the University of Alabama.
After three summers interning at Old National Bank between 2018 and 2020, Connor Sturgeon was hired by the bank on a full-time contract, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Another shooting incident in Louisville
A man was killed and a woman injured just hours following the bank massacre in a second college shooting.
Police are searching for the attackers at Jefferson Community and Technical College, which is 2 miles (3.2 km) from the bank where Conor Sturgeon was killed.
Gun violence is a scourge in the US, where since the beginning of the year there have been 146 “mass shootings” (a term used by US authorities for attacks with firearms that result in four or more victims), according to the specialized website Gun Violence Archive.
In the wake of the massacre in Louisville, Kentucky, US President Joe Biden reiterated his call for Congress to pass a bill with strict measures to limit gun ownership. “How many more Americans must be killed before Republicans in Congress take action to protect our communities?” he said in a statement.
Sources: AMPE, Archyde.com, AFP
