LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel was leaving a speaking engagement early on the morning of April 10, 2023, when she looked at her phone.

"Active aggressor, Old National Bank," the text message said.

Within moments, Gwinn-Villaroel — then the interim chief of LMPD — had the devastating confirmation.

"Phone calls are coming in that we truly have an active aggressor, and one of our officers was down," she said in an interview last month. "My heart sank, as you can imagine — so speechless at that moment. But (we) truly went toward the scene."

She arrived at Old National Bank on East Main Street in downtown Louisville as her officers were in the middle of a shootout with 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, who'd spent the previous 30 minutes shooting 13 of his colleagues that morning in their office, killing five of them.

Now, he was in the glass-enclosed lobby overlooking Main Street, exchanging gunfire with officers outside.

"Officer Galloway and Officer Wilt rose to the occasion," Gwinn-Villaroel said. "Their bravery really spoke volumes."

'(They) didn't flinch'

Cory Galloway and Nick Wilt were the first officers on scene. 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 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.

Preston Pointe Shooting

Five people were killed and eight others were injured, including three police officers, when a gunman opened fire inside Old National Bank in downtown Louisville. April 10, 2023. (WDRB Photo)

"I am so pleased to know that Officer Galloway and Officer Wilt didn't flinch," Gwinn-Villaroel said. "They went to that scene — arrived there in three minutes — and they engaged that shooter and stopped that threat."

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 Jr., 64, a commercial real estate market executive.

Wilt endured months of grueling rehab before his was released from outpatient care at Frazier Rehabilitation Institute in July, still battling through a long list of issues stemming from a traumatic brain injury. 

"It was just heart-wrenching, to know that he was critically injured," Gwinn-Villaroel said. "But I was praying the whole time that he will recover."

The road to recovery has been a long, arduous and painful for Wilt, but, in the last 12 months, those prayers have been answered. In March, Wilt received a Law Enforcement Purple Heart, Bluecoats Officer of the Year award and Medal of Honor at the Louisville Metro Police Foundation's annual awards celebration.

"It was so good to see him and he is doing well and he is pushing forward,"  Gwinn-Villaroel said. "He's gaining some weight and he's was able to talk a little bit better. And the blessed thing about seeing him that day, at the end of the ceremony leaving, he stood up out of his wheelchair."

Wilt was one of several officers honored that day, remembering a devastating day for all Louisvillians that could have been even worse.

"I appreciate what they do every day," Gwinn-Villaroel said. "I appreciate them coming to work and doing the great work and serving the community.

"I just really want Louisvillians to truly recognize how resilient we are as a city, how your officers showed up that day."

'Prayer guides me'

In the aftermath of the shooting, the Old National Bank building at East Main and North Preston streets closed. Bank employees relocated the following month to an office in the 400 West Market Street building. And the weapon Sturgeon used to carry out the mass shooting was destroyed. 

"It's important (and) it is also symbolic that that particular weapon is not in existence, that that weapon is no longer visible to anyone," Gwinn-Villaroel said.

Wilt's scars are a reminder and evidence of bravery in the face of adversity, but that day also left both officers and civilians with some scars you can't see.

"It is safe to say that Officer Galloway and the other officers that responded that day will have that for them for the rest of their lives," Gwinn-Villaroel said. "And all of us that are involved in that situation will have that."

Gwinn-Villaroel said her faith helps her navigate truly tough times like April 10, 2023, and, as an ordained minister herself, she turns to a higher power.

"My faith is is my platform that I stand on," she said. "It helps me to stay grounded. Prayer guides me."

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