Disposal delayed for gun used in Louisville Old National Bank shooting

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The gun used in the mass shooting in downtown Louisville nearly one year ago has yet to be destroyed.

Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms seized the AR-15 used by the shooter to kill five people at Old National Bank on April 10, 2023.

Earlier this month, the ATF said the weapon would be destroyed by March 15, which was last Friday. But it hasn't happened yet.

When asked if it had been destroyed, the ATF said Tuesday that it's "still in progress," but no reason was given for the delay.

Agents said the ATF destroys firearms by shredding them with an industrial machine, which will grind the metal into small bits. Once that process is done, it's destroyed a third time. Once destroyed, the metal is sold off to scrap yards.

The ATF said all guns turned over in its investigations are destroyed. Their investigation into the Old National Bank shooting has been finished, but officials said the case is "pending closure upon completion of final administrative requirements."

Investigators said the shooter, who was shot and killed by police at the scene, legally bought the rifle six days before the shooting at a local gun dealer.

The five bank employees killed in the shooting were Joshua Barrick, 40, a senior vice president; Deana Eckert, 57, an executive administrative officer; Tommy Elliott, 63, also a senior vice president; Juliana Farmer, 45, a loan analyst; and Jim Tutt, 64, a commercial real estate market executive. Police officer Nick Wilt, who rushed toward the building on Main Street with his partner, Officer Cory Galloway, was shot and critically wounded. Wilt is now recovering at home, where his family said he has continued to show "encouraging progress" in his recovery.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in Louisville since 1989, when Joseph Wesbecker killed seven people and himself at Standard Gravure, his former workplace.

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