(Trends Wide) — Bank employees, an “amazing friend,” a beloved parishioner and a “great advocate” for the community are among five people killed and several others hospitalized after a gunman opened fire inside a bank in the downtown Louisville.
Monday’s tragedy marks the 146th mass shooting so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and comes exactly two weeks after three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Christian school in neighboring Tennessee. , stoking a bitter fight between Democratic and Republican state lawmakers over gun control.
Louisville Metropolitan Police Department officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, was taken to the hospital and underwent brain surgery after being shot in the head during a mass shooting at a bank that left four dead and nine injured. (Credit: Louisville Metropolitan Police Department)
Nickolas Wilt, a 26-year-old rookie officer, ran into the gunfight and was shot in the head, Louisville Metropolitan Police Acting Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said. He had graduated from the police academy just 10 days before the shooting.
Wilt underwent brain surgery and has been in critical but stable condition since Monday afternoon, his boss said.
As of Tuesday, five patients were still receiving treatment at the University Hospital of Louisville. One of them went from critical to fair, a hospital spokesperson told Trends Wide. One remains in critical condition and the other four are in fair and stable condition.
Nine patients in all, including three Los Angeles police officers, were treated at the University of Louisville Hospital after Monday’s shooting, according to the spokesperson. Three of them have already been discharged.
Five of the nine patients suffered gunshot wounds and one of them died last night.
Here’s what we know so far about the lives lost:
Joshua Barrick
Joshua Barrick, 40, and his family were members of Louisville’s Holy Trinity Parish, the church wrote on Facebook.
“Our hearts are sad, they are broken and we are looking for answers,” they wrote. “Please keep the entire Barrick family in your prayers, including her wife, Jessica, and her two sweet children, who are students at our school.”
The church held a vigil for Barrick this Monday night.
Deana Eckert
Deana Eckert, 57, was one of the hospitalized victims who died later Monday, police announced.
It is unclear if he was among the three people in critical condition earlier in the day.
Eckert was an employee of Old National Bank, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said during a news conference Tuesday.
Greenberg described Eckert as “very kind and very considerate”.
Tommy Elliott
Thomas Elliott Credit: Courtesy of Baptist Health Louisville
Old National Bank Senior Vice President Thomas Elliott is remembered by state and local leaders as a close mentor and beloved community leader.
“Tommy was a great man. He cared about finding good people and putting them in jobs that would allow them to do great things. He took me in when I was very young and interested in politics,” state Sen. David Yates told Trends Wide. “He cared about lifting people up, building them up.”
Elliott, 63, was also a close friend of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and of Greenberg, who said he spent Monday morning at the hospital with Elliott’s wife.
“It’s painful, very painful for all the families I know,” Greenberg said. “It just affects you in a unique way when you get to know one of the victims so closely.”
Beshear remembered Elliott as an “incredible friend” and also called the other deceased “incredible people” who will be missed and mourned by their communities.
The city is creating a family assistance center in collaboration with the American Red Cross to provide support, Greenberg said.
“To the survivors and families, our entire city is here to welcome you,” Greenberg added.
Members of Old National Bank’s executive team, including CEO Jim Ryan, were in Louisville Monday after the shooting, the company said on Facebook.
“While we await further details, we are rolling out assistance to employees and keeping everyone affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers,” Ryan said in a statement Monday morning.
Juliana Farmer
Juliana Farmer, 45, was also a bank employee who had just started a new chapter in her life by moving to Louisville from Henderson, her aunt, Vicki Brooks-Scott, told Trends Wide affiliate WFIE.
He had only been working at the location for three weeks, according to Brooks-Scott. The last time he spoke to his niece was at Easter.
“He loved life,” Brooks-Scott said. “She was a beautiful young woman. All I can say is that heaven has gained a beautiful angel.”
Farmer leaves behind three children, four grandchildren and a fifth on the way, due in September, according to her aunt.
James Tutt
James “Jim” Tutt Credit: Jim Tutt/Linkedin
James “Jim” Tutt, 64, was a “huge fan and supporter” of downtown Louisville and actively helped promote it, Rebecca Fleischaker, CEO of the Downtown Development Corporation, told Trends Wide.
Tutt, originally from Frankfort, Kentucky, had worked as an office real estate executive at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville since 2015, according to his LinkedIn.
He has served on the board of the non-profit Downtown Development Corporation since 2018 and was most recently its treasurer.
“Jim was very helpful to me when I started my role at the Louisville Downtown Partnership last year and had an ‘open door policy,’ accepting any calls or questions,” Fleischaker said. “Jim will be greatly missed.”
— Caroll Alvarado, Celina Tebor, Elizabeth Wolfe and Laura Ly, John Miller and Holly Yan contributed reporting.
