LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Survivors can continue their lawsuit against the store that sold the gun used in the mass shooting at Old National Bank two years ago.
On April 10, 2023, a gunman opened fire inside the bank in downtown Louisville, killing five people: 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. Several others were also hurt.
A civil lawsuit was filed in January 2024 against River City Firearms on behalf of the families of the victims and survivors, alleging the shooter should not have been sold the gun in the first place. The suit also named Magpul Industries and RSR Group, which it claims "were negligent in marketing and distributing those accessories" purchased by the shooter.
The store on Preston Highway sold the gun to the shooter, 25-year-old bank employee Connor Sturgeon, six days before the mass shooting.
The lawsuit alleges the store not only failed to stop the purchase, but "ignored obvious red flags." It claims the shop's owners "decided the profit from one gun sale was more important than protecting the community" when Sturgeon was also allowed to leave with "three additional 30-round large-capacity magazines, a red-dot sight to increase the accuracy of his aim, and a vertical grip for greater control over the weapon."
Those things, the lawsuit claims, made Sturgeon — "a novice shooter" — more deadly. A witness in the store, the lawsuit said, saw an employee teaching Sturgeon how to hold and load the gun and behaving "oddly."
The lawsuit cites witnesses claiming Sturgeon appeared uneasy, avoided eye contact and demonstrated a lack of knowledge about guns.
River City Firearms later filed to have the lawsuit dismissed. But the request was denied Monday, allowing the lawsuit to continue.
In denying the motion to dismiss, the court said "Instead of recognizing the outward manifestations of mental turmoil, the Plaintiffs allege that not only did River City sell the shooter a weapon not suited for his stated purpose of self-defense, but also upsold him enhancements to make the firearm even deadlier."
"Our clients have shown extraordinary courage in demanding answers for the devastation inflicted that April morning," Antonio M. Romanucci, founding partner of Romanucci & Blandin, said in a news release. "Today's ruling affirms that gun dealers, manufacturers, and distributors cannot turn a blind eye to obvious warning signs or profit from dangerous upgrades without consequence. We will continue pressing forward so the victims, survivors and their families receive the accountability they deserve."
In its investigative file of the Old National Bank shooting, the Louisville Metro Police Department released Sturgeon's receipt from the gun purchase. The day he purchased the gun, ammunition and accessories for $762.90, Sturgeon wrote of his plans to carry out the shooting, saying he "would not have been able to do this" were it more difficult to buy a gun.
In a news release announcing Monday's ruling, officials said the case will now proceed to discovery, which moves it "one step closer to accountability for the victims."
"That Monday morning, many families lost loved ones, and other members of our Louisville community suffered lifelong injuries," Tad Thomas, a managing partner at Thomas Law Offices, said in a news release. "The court's decision today puts us one step closer to holding the wrongdoers responsible for the tragedy they cased and making Louisville a safer place to live."
River City Firearms closed its location on Preston Highway in 2024 to move. According to the store's Facebook page and website, it is now located in Mt. Washington.
Several other people were also injured in the shooting, including two Louisville police officers.
Just 10 days out of the police academy and his fourth day on the job, LMPD officer Nick Wilt and his training partner, Corey Galloway, rushed to the scene of the mass shooting and were the first officers to arrive. Footage from Wilt's body-worn camera released the day after the shooting shows the officers fired upon while still in their cruiser.
As the officers approached the steps of the Preston Pointe building, where Old National Bank was located at the time, Wilt was shot in the head. Police said the shooter was firing from an elevated lobby area at 8:41 a.m. that day. Galloway, who had been shot in the leg, fired the shot that killed the gunman minutes later.
Wilt was critically injured and rushed to University of Louisville Hospital where he underwent brain surgery. He spent weeks and months in the hospital and in rehab, but has made a remarkable recovery from the traumatic brain injury he suffered and has been "loving life."
The Old National Bank shooting was the deadliest mass shooting in Louisville since 1989, when Joseph Wesbecker killed seven people and himself at Standard Gravure, his former workplace.
Previous Coverage:
Widow of Louisville's Old National Bank mass shooting victim turns grief into purpose
2 years later | Louisville remembers victims of Old National Bank mass shooting
Old National Bank Mass Shooting — Remembering the lives lost and those forever changed
Nick Wilt now walking without a cane, 'loving life' 1 year after release from rehab
Old National Bank Foundation donates more than $1M, looking for 'right response' to mass shooting
New long rifle program helps make sure Louisville police officers aren’t outgunned, LMPD says
Louisville officers running toward Old National Bank shooter 'didn't flinch,' police chief says
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