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(Trends Wide) — The gunman who carried out a shooting at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank that killed five of his co-workers this month left two lengthy notes: one at his home and another found after he was gunned down by police in the attack, according to two police sources.
The notes reveal that part of the shooter’s goal was to demonstrate how easy it is for someone with severe mental illness to purchase a firearm in the United States, the sources said.
The man purchased the AR-15-style rifle seven days before the April 10 shooting and, under Kentucky law, was only required to fill out a form for the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. .and submit to an FBI records check to ensure you were not a criminal or subject to a court-imposed restraining order.
Pete Palmer, who represents the family of shooter Connor Sturgeon, did not respond to Trends Wide’s request for comment.
The nature of the notes was first reported by the Daily Mail.
Sturgeon was shot dead by police shortly after he fatally shot five bank employees and then opened fire on police, wounding officer Nickolas Wilt. The 26-year-old rookie officer was shot in the head just 10 days after graduating from a police academy, leaving him in critical condition. Seven others were injured.
After the shooting, Sturgeon’s family told Trends Wide affiliate WDRB that they knew the 25-year-old struggled with depression, but saw no sign that he was planning or capable of such a violent act.
“While Connor, like many of his contemporaries, had mental health issues that we as a family actively addressed, there were never any warning signs or signs that he was capable of this shocking act,” the family said in a statement to WDRB. .
Authorities have not released the motive for the shooting.
Wilt, the injured officer, was taken to another hospital, where a specialist is treating him for pneumonia, according to the Louisville Metropolitan Police Foundation. He was still listed in critical condition.
All other injured victims have been released from the University of Louisville Hospital.
On the morning of the shooting, the shooter’s mother called 911 and told the operator that he was going to the Old National Bank branch on East Main Street. He had a gun and apparently left a note that a roommate found, she said.
“I’m so sorry. I’m getting secondhand details. I’m finding out about it now. Oh my gosh,” Sturgeon’s mother said in a 911 call released by police.
“I need your help. He has never hurt anyone. He is a very good boy,” the mother insisted.
“We don’t even have weapons. I don’t know where he would have gotten a gun from,” he added.
The call was made at 8:41 am on April 10, but the attacker was already inside the bank and the police officers were arriving at the scene.
“He has never hurt anyone,” the mother said. “Please don’t punish him.”
The shooting occurred as employees of the Old National Bank branch near the Ohio River in downtown Louisville met for a morning meeting.
Within a minute, five of them would become victims of a distinctly American phenomenon: the mass shooting.
The shooting was broadcast live on Instagram, adding to the horror. The video was removed by Meta, which owns the social networking site.
At least 165 mass shootings have been reported in the US this year, according to data from the Archive of Gun Violence, which, like Trends Wide, defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter. .
Trends Wide’s Ray Sanchez contributed to this report