OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- The families of the five people who lost their lives in a mass shooting at a downtown Louisville bank will never be the same.

While the pain of the shooting at Old National Bank Monday morning weighs heavily across the city. But it's also impacting places surrounding Louisville, including Oldham County, where a text message to one of the victims would never be returned.

Flowers lining the steps of the bank's branch on the first floor of the Preston Pointe building at 333 East Main Street and crosses put out in front honor the five victims: Tommy Elliott, 63; Joshua Barrick, 40; Jim Tutt, 64; Juliana Farmer, 45; and Deana Eckert 57. Five people who went to work on Monday morning and didn't get to go home.

"We thought, 'Oh my gosh,' and thought surely, Jim's not downtown today. And so I just shot him a text message, which there was no response. And, after a few hours, I checked in with his son, who was still trying to locate him, and so kind of became pretty, pretty bleak," said David Bizianes. 

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David Bizianes, a friend of Jim Tutt, one of the Old National Bank shooting victims, described Tutt as "a master of bringing people together." (WDRB photo)

Bizianes, president of the Oldham County Chamber & Economic Development, used to work with Jim Tutt, one of the victims of Monday's shooting. 

Tutt served in several community positions throughout the years, including as the chairman of the Oldham-La Grange Development Authority.

"But he was really a master of bringing people together," Bizianes said.

Tutt was also a husband, father and grandfather, committed to his family.

"He'd like to travel and include his family in those travels. He had a sailboat that he and his son would take out. Both of them, as I would talk to them individually, would always mention that they got to go sailing and hang out together," Bizianes said. "A lot of people didn't know this. I don't even know if he would want me to say it, but you know, he was a musician. He played drums. He had a creative mind. And I think that he applied that to his profession. And I think that that was a big part of his success. I just can't imagine, you know, how they're feeling now." 

Louisville Metro Police Officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, was among those injured in the shooting. One of the first to arrive on scene Monday morning, Wilt is in critical condition at University of Louisville Hospital, fighting for his life after being shot in the head and rushed into brain surgery.

"We found out and then the wheel started turning," said Maj. Keith Smith, at La Grange Fire and Rescue. 

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Maj. Keith Smith, with La Grange Fire & Rescue, works with Louisville Metro Police Officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, who is in critical condition at University of Louisville Hospital after a mass shooting in downtown Louisville on Monday, April 10, 2023. (WDRB photo)

Wilt started working with Smith in 2016 as a volunteer recruit firefighter. He eventually became a firefighter, and a dispatcher at Oldham County EMS. His gear locker at the department remains untouched, with his helmet and other equipment still in place.

"He's very much self-driven," Smith said. "You didn't have to beg him a lot or stay on him to move on. He initiated a good portion of it himself."

Wilt graduated from the police academy just 10 days before the shooting. Graduation is the last place Smith saw Wilt, before he put his own safety aside to save others.

A fund has been set up to help Wilt and his family, who lost Wilt's father in February, by the Louisville Metro Police Foundation. Wilt also has a twin brother who is going through the academy to become a police officer.

The public is invited to donate to the fund on the foundation's website.

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