Officer Nickolas Wilt scheduled to be released from Louisville hospital on Friday, July 28

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department who was shot in the head while responding to a mass shooting in downtown Louisville in April is expected to be released from the hospital on Friday.

According to a news release from UofL Health, Officer Nickolas Wilt is scheduled to be discharged from Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, after spending more than three-and-a-half months in UofL Health facilities.

Wilt was one of the first Louisville Metro Police officers to respond to the Old National Bank shooting on April 10, his fourth-ever shift with LMPD. He was shot in the head and rushed to University Hospital for brain surgery. Wilt was in critical condition for weeks, battled pneumonia and since May 10, has been doing rehab at Frazier Rehab, where he has shown "remarkable improvement."

According to UofL Health, Wilt is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury, and will continue his therapy at Frazier Rehabilitation Institute through outpatient care.

A news conference will be held on Friday, but Wilt will not be available for interviews. A family spokesperson will offer remarks.

"It's a blessing. I think it's God's hand reaching out to each and every one of us to realize how precious life is," Jeffersontown Mayor Carol Pike said.

Pike is also a friend of the Wilt family, growing up with their grandmother.

"I said to Nick, I said 'Why don't you come to work for J'town?' You know, I said it's a lot safer, you know, like that. And then he said 'No, I've applied here, and this is where I'm gonna go,' and he was excited," she said.

LMPD said there will be a drive-by celebration held in the parking lot at Southeast Christian Church on Blankenbaker Parkway at 12:30 p.m. They ask for the public to only come to the church celebration to give the family space at the hospital, and to be there by 12 p.m.

"He deserves anything and everything that we can give him today, or tomorrow, and for the future, because he's going to need it," said Pike. "You know, we can't forget him now. We have to continue praying for him because tomorrow is not the end. It's the beginning of his rehabilitation at home."

The family will make a brief appearance at the church between 12:30-1 p.m. as Nick and his family will remain in the vehicle.

They will then make their way to La Grange exiting at exit 22 from Interstate 71 North onto Highway 53 going North. The public is welcomed to line on the sidewalk on the side of Highway 53.

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