Authorities in Louisville release bodycam video of police response to shooting at bank that left 5 people dead
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(CNN) -- [Breaking news update, published at 5:25 p.m. ET]
The Louisville Metro Police Department just released bodycam video of officers responding to the Monday bank shooting where five people were killed.
The bodycam video shows the tense moments between police officers and shooter, Connor Sturgeon.
Bodycam footage from Officer C. Galloway shows officers talking about how they can't see the shooter and that he is shooting through windows in the bank.
"Shooter has an angle on that officer!" one officer can be heard saying. "We got to get up there!" he adds.
"Suspect down, get the officer!!" one officer yells as he moves up the stairs and into the bank to investigate further.
[Original story, published at 4:54 p.m. ET]
The Louisville mass shooter legally bought an AR-15-style rifle at a local gun dealership six days before he used it to kill five of his colleagues at a downtown bank, the interim Louisville Metro Police chief said Tuesday.
Currently, "Kentucky imposes no waiting period between the time of purchase and the physical transfer of a firearm," according to the Giffords Law Center. By comparison, some states have waiting periods of 7 to 10 days.
It's still not clear what provoked 25-year-old employee Connor Sturgeon to go on a deadly rampage at Old National Bank and livestream the gruesome attack on Instagram.
Sturgeon had interned at the bank for three summers and been employed there full-time for about two years, his LinkedIn profile showed. The assailant had been notified that he was going to be fired from the bank, a law enforcement source said Monday.
But Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he doesn't believe the shooter was given a notice of termination. "From what I have been told from an official at the bank, that is not accurate," Greenberg told reporters Tuesday.
Now, investigators are combing through the footage and other evidence to try to understand what led to the massacre that also left several wounded -- including a police officer who was shot in the head.
Officials executed a search warrant at Sturgeon's home, but interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel declined to say what was found.
Police body camera footage from the rampage will be released around 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, the mayor said. The footage will first be released to the victims' families so they can see it before the public, a law enforcement source said.
The carnage marked the 146th mass shooting this year with four or more victims, not including a gunman, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
And the AR-15 and its offshoots have been the weapon of choice in many of the most horrific mass shootings in recent memory, including the Covenant school shooting in Nashville just two weeks ago that's reignited a fierce political fight over gun control.
What the livestream video shows
It took just one minute for a gunman to complete his deadly rampage before he stopped and waited for police to arrive, according to footage of the massacre described by a city official to CNN.
The video begins by showing an AR-15-style weapon, followed by a worker in the bank saying good morning to the gunman, the official said.
"You need to get out of here," the shooter is heard saying to the woman on the livestream, which has been taken down by Instagram's parent company Meta.
The gunman then tries to shoot her in the back but can't because the safety is on and the weapon still needs to be loaded, the official said. Once the shooter loads the weapon properly and takes the safety off, he shoots the worker in the back, the official said. Her condition is not known.
The assailant then continues his rampage, firing at workers while they tried to outrun him, the official said. The shooter does not go to other populated floors of the bank, the official said.
Once the shooter is done firing, he sits down in the lobby area that looks out onto East Main Street, apparently waiting for police, the official said.
The killer waits about a minute and a half before police arrive -- a swift response praised by local leaders -- and a gunfight ensues, the official said. The gunman was struck and killed.
The entire incident -- from when the gunman started shooting to when he was killed -- lasted about nine minutes, Louisville Police Lt. Col. Aaron Cromwell said.
After the first bullets flew, "There's a few minutes after that before we get the first call on it. Three minutes after that when we respond to the scene," Cromwell said Tuesday. "And then about three minutes after we respond, the subject is neutralized."
At one point, a Louisville police dispatcher alerted officers: "25-year-old White male, Connor Sturgeon 6 4'. He's texted a friend, called a friend, left a voicemail saying he's gonna kill everyone at the bank. Feeling suicidal," according to Broadcastify audio. The timing of the dispatch wasn't immediately clear.
A heroic rookie officer is fighting for his life
At least two responding officers were injured, including a rookie who is now in critical condition.
Nickolas Wilt, 26, ran toward the gunfire and was shot in the head, Gwinn-Villaroel said. He had graduated from the police academy just 10 days before the shooting.
Wilt underwent brain surgery and was in critical but stable condition, the interim chief said.
Wilt is also a volunteer firefighter with the LaGrange Fire and Rescue Department, Fire Chief Jim Sitzler said. The young officer became a volunteer firefighter in 2016.
Public service is in Wilt's DNA, the fire chief told CNN's Adrienne Broaddus.
"He also worked for Oldham County dispatch as a dispatch and EMS. He had several jobs and volunteered for us," Sitzler said. "He is an asset to the department. He is young and ambitious."
Doctor pleads for more blood donations
Many of the wounded, including Officer Wilt, were taken to the University of Louisville Hospital. The American Red Cross provided enough blood to save some victims' lives -- but much more is needed, the hospital's chief medical officer said.
"We used 170 units of blood yesterday to treat these victims, which far outstripped our hospital capacity," Dr. Jason Smith said Tuesday.
"Donating blood now helps us in the future. The lives that were saved yesterday were because of the American Red Cross, and the blood they had on their shelves."
But the frequency of shootings in Louisville and across the country means more blood is needed.
In Louisville alone, "We have already lost 40 people to gun violence ... this year," the mayor said Tuesday.
Smith urged donors to give blood not once, but consistently.
"It's not just enough to go once," the doctor said. "Going now to donate and continuing to donate is what's going to make a difference."
A manager 'witnessed people being murdered' during a meeting
The massacre started around 8:30 a.m., about 30 minutes before the bank opens to the public.
Staff members were holding their morning meeting in a conference room when the gunman opened fire, bank manager Rebecca Buchheit-Sims told CNN.
She said the massacre "happened very quickly." Buchheit-Sims attended the staff meeting virtually and watched in horror as gunfire exploded on her computer screen.
"I witnessed people being murdered," she told CNN. "I don't know how else to say that."
Four victims died shortly after the shooting: Joshua Barrick, 40; Juliana Farmer, 45; Tommy Elliott, 63; and James Tutt, 64, police said. A fifth victim, Deana Eckert, 57, died later Monday.
Of the nine patients hospitalized shortly after the shooting, four have been discharged and one has died. One still in the hospital is in critical condition, and the other three are in stable and fair condition, a University of Louisville Hospital spokesperson said Tuesday.
'I can't even say how much this doesn't make sense'
Before Monday's massacre, the gunman had not had "any prior engagement" with police, the interim chief said.
Sturgeon graduated in December 2020 from the University of Alabama, where he earned his bachelor's degree and a master's degree in finance, according to a university spokesperson.
After three consecutive summers interning at Old National Bank, he was hired as a Commercial Development Professional in June 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile.
One of Sturgeon's former high school classmates who knew the shooter and his family well said the horrific news Monday came as a "total shock."
"I can't believe it," said the former classmate, who asked not to be identified and has not spoken with Sturgeon in recent years. "I can't even say how much this doesn't make sense."
Victim was an 'incredible friend' and mentor
One of the slain victims, bank senior vice president Tommy Elliott, was remembered by local and state leaders as a close mentor and beloved community leader.
"Tommy was a great man. He cared about finding good people and putting them in positions to do great things. He embraced me when I was very young and interested in politics," said Yates, the state senator. "He was about lifting people up, building them up."
Elliott was also close friends with the governor and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who said he spent Monday morning at the hospital with Elliott's wife.
"It is painful, painful for all of the families I know," Greenberg said. "It just hits home in a unique way when you know one of the victims so well."
Beshear remembered Elliott as an "incredible friend" and called the other slain victims "amazing people" who will be mourned by their loved ones.
The city is setting up a family assistance center in collaboration with the American Red Cross to provide support for those impacted, the mayor said.
"To the survivors and the families, our entire city is here to wrap our arms around you," Greenberg said.
'I hope that they all don't have to die in vain'
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ordered flags across the state to fly at half-staff until Friday evening to honor the Louisville victims. But some Democratic lawmakers worried the expressions of grief won't lead to any meaningful solutions.
"My worry is that everybody will raise their fists in anger and mourn and then in six weeks, eight weeks we go back to doing the same -- nothing," state Sen. David Yates told CNN on Monday. "I hope that they all don't have to die in vain like so many of the other victims of these mass shootings. Maybe something positive can come from it."
President Joe Biden echoed his repeated push for gun reform legislation and called on Republican lawmakers to join Democrats to take action.
"Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?" the president tweeted.
The bank sits on the fringe of Louisville's developing downtown business district, said state Sen. Gerald Neal, who represents the district where the shooting happened.
"You wouldn't really expect anything to happen at this location," he said.
Despite the shock of a massacre in Kentucky's most populated city, Neal thinks discussions about gun control in the state will still be an "uphill battle," he said.
"This is not a state that's friendly to those who would think about gun reform ... or gun control in some way or even reasonable, as you might consider, gun steps that we could take in terms of restricting them. This is not that state. However, the effort continues."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled Tommy Elliott's last name.
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