Louisville shooting: Fifth person dies after shooting at downtown bank

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Former employees at Old National Bank were grieving friends and former colleagues Monday.

Tommy Elliott was remembered as outgoing and friendly and "one of the nicest people you will ever meet," said Kevin Luoma, 42, who worked at the bank for a year and a half and left in May.

"Tommy knew a lot of people. He was just a very important person to know. … You are proud to know Tommy, I’ll just say that.”

He was respected and well-regarded, said Debbie Moore, 64, who was hired by Elliott and retired from the bank in 2021 after 16 years.

"I can’t say enough good about him, very caring person. … I’m just lost for words. I can’t believe he’s gone," Moore said.

Jim Tutt was also well-known and respected in Louisville, his former colleagues said.

Tutt, whom Moore said she called "King Tutt," was a “family man” with a nice smile and a pleasant personality. "And I can’t believe he’s gone,” she said.

A fifth person has died after a gunman opened fire in a Louisville bank Monday, authorities said Monday night.

Louisville police identified the victim as Deana Eckert, 57.

The police department had identified the four others who were killed as Joshua Barrick, 40; Thomas Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; and James Tutt, 64.

Before the latest death, hospital officials said nine people were injured, including three in critical condition.

President Joe Biden spoke to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear by phone Monday evening about the deadly shooting at a downtown Louisville bank, the White House said.

Beshear said one of his closest friends was killed at Old National Bank, which is not far from the minor league ballpark Louisville Slugger Field and Waterfront Park.

“Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad,” Beshear said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “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.”

Police descended on the neighborhood where the gunman lived, about 5 miles south of the downtown shooting.

The street was blocked as federal and local officers talked to residents.

One home was cordoned off with caution tape. Kami Cooper, who lives in the neighborhood, said she didn’t recall ever having met the suspect, but she said it’s unnerving to have lived on the same street as someone who could do such a thing.

“I’m almost speechless. You see it on the news but not at home,” Cooper said. “It’s unbelievable it could happen here, somebody on my street.”

Thomas Elliott was an incredible friend, Gov. Beshear said Monday, and was one of the irreplaceable victims of the Old National Bank shooting.

"Acts of violence like this hurt," the governor said. "They tear at the fabric of who we are and our society and our state and our country and the city. ... I'm hurting, and I know so many people out there are as well."

Beshear had two other friends in the shooting, one of whom he visited in the emergency room with his family.

Elliott was one of his "closest" friends, who helped Beshear build his career and offered advice as he navigated fatherhood.

Beshear offered prayers for everyone involved, including a police officer critically injured in the response. He noted that the shooting survivors and families of those who died are going to "bear the scars inside and outside."

He asked that the community and country offer them love.

"They are going to need that love, and we need love for each other," Beshear said. "And it seems like we argue so much in this country ... I still believe that love and compassion and humanity can lead us to a better place."

The University of Louisville Hospital received nine patients from the shooting, and three remained in critical condition Monday afternoon, officials said.

Those three patients required operative care from the hospital’s trauma team and emergency services department, Dr. Jason Smith, the chief medical officer at UofL Health, said at the news conference Monday afternoon.

Three patients remain in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and three others have been released, Smith said.

The 25-year-old shooter who killed four and injured nine others at a downtown bank livestreamed the deadly attack, police said.

“Unfortunately, that’s tragic to know that that incident was out there and captured,” said Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, the Louisville Metro Police Department interim chief.

Police have not provided additional details about the livestream or the platform used.

An officer who was critically injured during the shooting and needed surgery had recently been sworn in, the Louisville Metro Police Department said.

Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, interim chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, said Monday that 26-year-old Nickolas Wilt had graduated from the police academy on March 31.

The officer was struck in the head during the shooting and has come out of brain surgery, she said, adding that Wilt was in critical, but stable, condition.

The Louisville Metro Police Department identified the victims of the shooting Monday morning as: Joshua Barrick, 40; Thomas Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; James Tutt, 64.

Louisville police identified the gunman in Monday’s mass shooting at a downtown bank as 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon.

Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, the Louisville Metro Police Department interim chief, said Sturgeon was an employee at Old National Bank and used a rifle to kill four people and injure nine others.

Police said the shooting occurred shortly before 8:40 a.m. and officers were on the scene within three minutes. Once there, officers were met by gunfire and returned fire, Gwinn-Villaroel said.

The gunman was killed, she said.

JD Worley was sitting at his desk across the street from Old National Bank when he saw police cars fly up the street toward a man approaching the bank, he told "NBC Nightly News."

Worley, CEO of CureTech Innovative Therapies, began recording as he watched the first officer approach the bank's lobby and heard shots fired moments later. He's not sure who shot first, but Worley said that glass was "just exploding" in the bank's lobby and the officer was hit.

"I see him fall to the ground and get hit, and he quickly runs back down the stairs and takes a covered position behind a concrete pillar there," Worley said. "And he's returning fire and the shooter's shooting out and things quiet down for a moment."

Worley gave his recording to law enforcement and said he was asked not to share it with others as officials investigate.

Although it took only minutes until the shooter was taken down, Worley said the violence keeps playing “over and over again” in his head. To him, it felt like “watching an action movie in real life.”

"It still hasn't even registered yet what's actually happened," Worley said. "So, you know, I'm in much better shape than everybody that was inside that bank, so I feel terrible for them and pray for them."

For more, tune in to "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt" at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT or check your local listings.

President Joe Biden called for legislators to take action after the deadly shooting Monday at a downtown Louisville bank killed four people and injured eight others.

“Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence — Jill and I pray for the lives lost and impacted by today’s shooting," the president tweeted. "Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?”

In a longer statement, Biden credited Louisville police officers who "quickly and courageously stepped into the line of fire to save others."

He then laid out proposals for what he said can be done to curb gun violence.

"It’s long past time that we require safe storage of firearms. Require background checks for all gun sales. Eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability," Biden said. "We can and must do these things now. A strong majority of Americans want lawmakers to act on commonsense gun safety reforms. Instead, from Florida to North Carolina to the U.S. House of Representatives, we’ve watched Republican officials double down on dangerous bills that make our schools, places of worship, and communities less safe. It’s unconscionable, it’s reckless, and too many Americans are paying with their lives."

The University of Louisville Hospital said Monday afternoon that it received a total of nine patients, seven civilians and two officers, for treatment in connection with the shooting. One of the officers is in critical condition, according to the hospital.

At least three of the patients have already been discharged, the hospital said.

Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., who represents Louisville, said in a statement that the shooting “serves as a stark reminder that we need to address gun violence at the national level so no other family loses a son, a daughter, and a loved one.”

“Today is a dark day in our community,” McGarvey tweeted. “I’m heartbroken by the loss of at least four innocent Louisvillians in yet another act of senseless gun violence, this time in the heart of our city, and I’m grateful for the heroic acts of first responders who no doubt saved lives today.”

There were 61 active-shooter incidents in 2021, according to the FBI’s count. This is the most recent year for which data is available. The FBI’s criteria for an active shooter is “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he knew some victims of the Louisville shooting, including two friends who died and another who is in the hospital.

“I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today, and I have another close friend who didn’t either, and one who is at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through,” he said, becoming emotional.

The governor said that he goes to the bank where the shooting occurred and that his attorney general campaign was run out of the same building.

Officials said at a news conference Monday that eight people were injured, including two officers, during the shooting in Louisville. 

Humphrey said the shooter died at the scene and at least four other victims were found dead at the scene. 

Eight people were being treated at a hospital, with two in critical condition, including one officer, he said.

The CEO of the downtown bank in Louisville where a shooter killed five and injured six Monday morning said in a statement the safety of his employees is “paramount.”

In a Facebook statement from Old National Bank, the company said members of its executive team, including CEO Jim Ryan, are on their way to Louisville.

“The safety of Old National Bank employees and everyone we serve in our banking center locations is paramount,” Ryan said in the statement. “As we await more details, we are deploying employee assistance support and keeping everyone affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers.”

Authorities are investigating the Louisville shooting as a workplace violence situation, according to two senior officials briefed on the incident.

The shooter is believed to be an employee who may have suffered from mental health issues.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday morning that at least one officer was in surgery “because he took those actions to try to protect the people of Louisville.”

Officials said during a news conference Monday morning that officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, who died at the scene, and at least two officers were shot during the exchange. 

The two U.S. senators from Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, both Republicans, reacted to the shooting on Twitter.

McConnell said he and his wife are "devastated" by the massacre and are sending prayers.

Paul said he and his wife are praying for those involved.

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the Louisville shooting, a White House official told NBC News.

Louisville police said they did not know how the shooter who opened fire Monday morning in a downtown bank, killing five and injuring six, died.

“The shooter was confirmed to be dead on the scene. We do not know exactly the circumstances of his death,” Humphrey said.

At least five people have been killed and six others were taken to the hospital in a mass shooting Monday in downtown Louisville, police said.

Humphrey said an officer was one of the six people injured. The injured people were taken to the University of Louisville Hospital, Humphrey said.

Police had said the suspected shooter was confirmed dead on the scene.

Police confirm multiple casualties in Louisville shooting

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Authorities are investigating the Louisville shooting as a workplace violence situation, according to two senior officials briefed on the incident.

The suspect is believed to be a current or former employee who may have suffered from mental health issues, the officials said. 

Louisville police tweeted that “there is no longer an active aggressor threat” and that the “suspected shooter has been neutralized.”

Multiple casualties were confirmed after a shooting in downtown Louisville on Monday morning, according to police and state officials.

Louisville police warned that an “active aggressor” was on the loose and urged the public to stay away from the area.

Police cars, ambulances and firetrucks flooded Main Street between North Floyd and North Preston streets, in the middle of Kentucky's largest city.

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