LMPD Officer Nick Wilt visits WDRB newsroom, does weather with Marc Weinberg as he continues recovery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Police Officer Nick Wilt made a special visit with his family to the WDRB newsroom last month as he continues to recover from injuries suffered when responding to the Old National Bank mass shooting.

There were a lot of smiles when Wilt and his family spent several hours at WDRB, sharing updates on everything from Wilt's health to plans for the future.

Wilt and his brothers, Zach and Alex, their mother, Jennifer, and aunt, Beth, were met at the back door by Marc Weinberg and Stephan Johnson to start the tour. After a meet-and-greet in the newsroom, it was on to Studio A and the real fun.

Wilt was all smiles as he tried his hand at doing weather with Weinberg.

"It was definitely neat to see behind-the-scenes of what goes down and how it all works and getting used to ... pointing at the screen," Alex Wilt said.

Although Weinberg was the instructor, he didn't make it easy.

"It's harder than it looks," Alex Wilt said. "And then when you got Marc tricking you, it makes it even harder."

Both Nick and Alex Wilt tried their hand at 3D weather forecasting and then watched a live broadcast of WDRB News at 4.

Nick Wilt fellow Louisville Metro Police Officer Corey Galloway were the first officers on scene of the mass shooting April 10, 2023, at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville. Footage from Wilt's body-worn camera released the day after the shooting shows him driving, with Galloway in the passenger seat, as they pull up and are fired upon while still in their cruiser. The video then shows the officers approaching the steps of the Preston Pointe building, where police said 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon was firing from an elevated lobby area at 8:41 a.m.

Wilt, in his fourth day on the job, was shot in the head on his way up the steps of the building. Several minutes later, Galloway shot and killed Sturgeon.

Wilt was rushed to UofL Hospital for brain surgery, leaving him in critical condition for weeks. He even battled pneumonia.

On their visit to WDRB, the Wilts spent time talking about their journey over the past year, the obstacles they have overcome and how they did it together as a family.

"Is he up to what he was before the injured? No," Jennifer Wilt said. "But ... he's making jokes, he's starting to laugh, he's having the responses."

Not only does Nick Wilt joke with his brothers. Since the incident, he has actually developed his own dance.

"It's he only dance I can really do," he said. "So I just taught myself."

The family wanted to visit WDRB because Weinberg has developed a special friendship with the Wilts, visited them when Nick was still in the hospital and sat in on the interview.

"Obviously, there's been so many people that have had your thoughts and their prayers for a long time," Weinberg told the Wilts. "There's a lot of this community that's invested in your entire family."

Before leaving, the Wilts shared a message with the public.

"There is no word, unfortunately, for what everyone has done for us," Zach Wilt said. "It's just absolutely thank you. and we hear you. We see a lot of the comments. ... Every single time somebody walks up to me, I immediately run home and tell him, like, I got approached today. They love you. They support you."

Nick Wilt still has some limitations, but the family said he's improving every day. And, from time to time, they have to make sure our local hero stays humble.

"Zach will tell him that," Jennifer Wilt said. "'Don't get your head so big we can't get it through the door of the room.' And he'll just laugh."

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