LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The shooter who police said opened fire in a downtown Louisville bank branch Monday morning was recently a low-level employee of the bank, according to his LinkedIn profile and Metro police.
Connor Sturgeon, 25, identified himself as "Syndications Associate and Portfolio Banker" at Old National Bank, which he joined fulltime in 2021 after three consecutive summer internships from 2018-20 while Sturgeon completed a master's degree in finance at the University of Alabama.
Monday's shooting at the bank's branch on the first floor of the Preston Pointe building at 333 E. Main St. left five people dead, including Sturgeon. Nine patients were treated at University of Louisville Hospital, including two police officers, according to U of L Health. One of the officers is in critical condition.
He posted several Instagram stories just before the attack
Of the nine admitted to the hospital, three required surgery by the trauma unit, three were kept for non-life threatening injuries and three were discharged, according to Dr. Jason Smith of U of L Health.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in Louisville since 1989, when Joseph Wesbecker killed seven people and himself at Standard Gravure, his former workplace.
Sturgeon used a rifle during the shooting, which was called in about 8:38 a.m. He died after gunfire exchanged with officers who responded, according to police.
"We stopped the threat so that no additional loss of life could be taken," said Louisville Metro Interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel.
Gwinn-Villaroel declined to specify the type of rifle that Sturgeon used, nor how it was obtained. She said the investigation is ongoing.
An Instagram account that apparently belonged to Sturgeon, which was taken offline in the hours following the shooting, shared memes Monday morning that are harrowing in retrospect. Gwinn-Villaroel added that Sturgeon live-streamed the incident over the internet.
"That's tragic to know that that incident was out there and captured. And so we're hopeful that we can have that incident removed, that footage removed," she said.
Screenshots taken Monday morning of the now inactive Instagram account apparently belonging to Connor Sturgeon.
Sturgeon's account posted two movie quotes: "I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it," and "I could burn the whole place down" — the latter he described as "Monday vibes."
His account also posted the words, "They won't listen to words or protests. Lets see if they hear this".
WDRB News observed Louisville Metro Police SWAT team activity Monday afternoon at a home in the Camp Taylor neighborhood where Sturgeon was believed to live.
"Scary, sad, confused, makes me not want to come out of the house," said neighbor Courtney Kerger. "Makes me sacred to leave, makes me cautious of what could happen to me at any given time, who my neighbors are."
Gwinn-Villaroel declined to comment on the police activity at the home.
Sturgeon played basketball at Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, according to high school sports media.
In March 2022, Sturgeon participated in Focus Louisville, a two-and-a-half-day community development program for working professionals run by the Leadership Louisville Center, according to his LinkedIn account.
He posted about the experience, calling it, "an eye-opening experience about many of the issues around Louisville and the people who are working to solve them."
On Monday afternoon, police and ATF officers were spotted outside a home at the intersection of Taylor Avenue and Warren Street where Sturgeon was believed to reside.
A Louisville Metro Police officer walks outside of the home of the suspected shooter in the Camp Taylor neighborhood in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023. Police say a 23-year-old armed with a rifle opened fire at his Louisville workplace, the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, killing and wounding several, and was killed by police responding to the shooting. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Officers with long rifles and tactical gear arrived in an armored vehicle and entered the home. After about 10 minutes inside, evidence technicians left with several bags of evidence.
"It looks like they’re going around looking to find camera footage," said a man who lives nearby. "They told me that the guy who did the shooting lives just right over there, just a couple of houses down, which is a little frightening."
Neighbors were in disbelief Monday afternoon. Most said they didn't know Sturgeon and hadn't spoken to him.
"It's getting sad, you know, all the mass shootings and stuff," said Trevor Salzman, who moved to Camp Taylor a few weeks ago. "When I was growing up we used to fist fight, and now you can't say, 'Hi.' If I say hi to you, you might shoot me."
Police cleared the scene around the home around 4:30 p.m. Monday.
NOTE: This story has been updated after police corrected their initial description of Sturgeon's age. He was 25, not 23.
CORRECTION: Because of an editor's error, this story previously stated incorrectly that Sturgeon owned the house in Camp Taylor.
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