LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Craig Greenberg was driving his normal commute to work on April 10, 2023. It was warm and sunny. The typical April day in Kentucky. 

Before Louisville's mayor arrived to Metro Hall, everything shifted.

"We heard a lot of sirens," Greenberg said.

Police scanner traffic confirmed the sirens and noise were not typical, and, within minutes, Greenberg's worst fear would also be confirmed.

A mass shooting.

"Hearing the activity after the shooting unfold in real time — as the brave and heroic Louisville Metro Police officers and EMS first responders were getting to the scene — I will never forget those conversations and I will certainly never forget arriving at the scene," Greenberg said.

The passing minutes and hours would reveal details of one of the most tragic days in Louisville's history. A 25-year-old former employee of Old National Bank, Connor Sturgeon, was identified as the suspect responsible for the mass shooting. Five employees were gunned down and killed. Eight others, including two LMPD officers, were shot and hurt.

Greenberg spent that day — and the coming days — in front of television cameras, reporters and Louisville residents, encouraging healing and change. One year removed from the mass shooting, Greenberg's approach hasn't changed.

"People forget, far too soon, the long lasting trauma and impact of gun violence," he said in an interview in February. "It's why I remain so committed to doing everything I can, as an advocate, as a mayor, as a father, as a husband, as a citizen, to work to change laws in our country that will reduce gun violence."

Greenberg has assumed weight of responsibility as Louisville's mayor: to eliminate gun violence in the city. His passion for gun reform — which sometimes evolves to frustration — can be traced back to February 2022 when he dodged an assassination attempt in the heat of his mayoral campaign.

"Every day, I still think about it," he said.

Just months before he was elected mayor, Greenberg was met by an intruder inside a campaign office at the Butchertown Market. Quintez Brown fired multiple shots with a 9-millimeter Glock handgun toward Greenberg. Erika Shields, chief of LMPD at the time, said a round hit Greenberg's clothes but did not strike his body. Brown was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

Since that day, Greenberg feels he was blessed with a second chance at life but also a responsibility to advocate for victims of gun violence. His ran his campaign for mayor on a platform that prioritized public safety and gun reform.

"I find myself with the great honor and privilege of being mayor of Louisville, and that's why I'm not letting a day a minute go to waste where we are not actively working on something big to make our city safer," he said.

What Louisville's soon-to-be mayor could not know then is that a 25-year-old man would commit mass murder four months into his rookie term. For Greenberg, the responsibility to be a catalyst for change would grow tenfold.

"I feel like that is my obligation," he said. "And I am fortunate to have the opportunity."

Even before the mass shooting, and certainly after, Greenberg has presented a slew of potential solutions for Louisville's gun violence crisis. In October, Greenberg announced his own agenda for the ongoing 2024 legislative session. His priorities included allowing LMPD to destroy weapons used in murders or other violent crimes, requiring background checks for all firearm sales, Emergency Risk Protection Orders, a waiting period for all first-time gun buyers and limiting concealed carry for those under 25 years of age.

The plan would also provide additional state funding to provide new resources for local police departments in an effort to combat violent crime. That includes license plate readers, flock cameras and gunshot detection systems.

"It is very unfortunate that, right now in Kentucky, the state laws limit my ability as mayor, our Metro Council's ability as the legislative branch for our city, for doing anything," Greenberg said. "In fact, it is a crime if I were to take action to reduce the amount of gun violence. That would be a crime under current state law. That is dangerous. That is ludicrous. That is crazy. And that must change."

Greenberg's frustration is as clear now as it was the morning of the shooting. He puts it bluntly: Even after a year, the changes which are needed remain changes which are needed.

"I don't think we've changed anything legislatively," he said with disappointment.

There are hurdles in the way of change, hurdles that Louisville's mayor wants the state to remove.

"Please give us, in Louisville, the local autonomy to deal with our unique urban gun violence challenges the way that we know we can and should and must deal with it," Greenberg said. "I understand that there might be a different approach in London, Kentucky, versus Louisville, Kentucky, a different approach in Paducah versus Pikeville. But here in Louisville, we know that there are steps that we can take to make our city safer."

Sens. Whitney Westerfield, R-Fruit Hill, and David Yates, D-Louisville, filed a bill in Frankfort in January that would allow police to seek court orders to temporarily remove firearms from people thought to pose an "immediate and present danger" of hurting themselves or others. They acknowledged in a news conference from Frankfort that their "crisis aversion and rights retention" effort faces a challenging path in the Republican-dominated General Assembly, where some lawmakers have shown resistance to any actual or perceived gun control actions.

It was introduced in a Senate committee March 1 but hasn't had a hearing since it was introduced Jan. 25.

"I am hopeful that we take a very small step forward during this legislative session, where, at least when weapons are used to commit a murder — as they were at Old National Bank — that those weapons can be destroyed," Greenberg said. "This is not rocket science. This is common sense."

April 10, 2023, began as an ordinary day and ended with a city forever scarred. One year later, people are still grieving and leaders are still pushing for change.

Hope, however, also remains. The hope of a city was on display one year ago at a prayer vigil outside the Muhammad Ali Center. That hope is evident then and now in Louisville's mayor's words.

"We all were there together to support one another, to show our love and to really show the world who Louisville really is," Greenberg said. "People that showed up there that expressed their support, however they did, that's what Louisville is all about. That's what we need to build on. That's what we show the world every day."

The memories, pain and frustration remain embedded in the hearts of those connected. And Louisville's mayor will be the first to tell you that remembering those we lost and reflecting on that pain is not just important, but necessary.

"We have to remember," he said. "We have to think about the families that lost people in the Old National Bank mass shooting. We have to think about those families so that we can finally come together to prevent future tragedies like this. If we forget, there's no hope."

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