April 13, 2023 Dramatic 9-1-1 calls—including one from the accused shooter’s mother—detail the chaotic moments as a mass shooting erupted at Old National Bank in Louisville.
By Libby Cunningham Source The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
READER WARNING: This story includes details that may be disturbing to some readers.
LOUISVILLE, KY—The nightmare of Monday’s mass shooting in downtown Louisville unfolds over the six 9-1-1 calls Louisville Metro Police made public Wednesday afternoon.
One of the calls is from shooter Connor Sturgeon’s mother.
She’s heard telling an emergency dispatcher that her son has a gun and is heading toward Old National Bank, 333 East Main St., in Louisville.
She said her son’s roommate contacted her and said Sturgeon left some kind of alarming note.
“He’s never hurt anyone, he’s a really good kid,” she said.
Monday’s mass shooting in Louisville resulted in the deaths of five people and injured eight others.
“We don’t even own guns, I don’t know where he would’ve gotten a gun,” she said to the emergency dispatcher.
After Sturgeon’s mother gives the details to the emergency dispatcher, she asks if she should go to the Old National Bank Building.
The dispatcher tells her not to go to the location.
“I don’t want you to go to the location,” the dispatcher said. “We have a situation that’s going on down there right now, we’ve already had calls from other people. I do not need you to go to the location at this time, OK. It’s dangerous there.”
The shooter’s mother asks if emergency dispatch has had calls from other people and if Sturgeon is already there.
“Yes, at Old National Bank on East Main Street, we have and I’m advising you not to go to the location because it is an unsafe situation and officers are already at the location, Ma’am.”
Other 9-1-1 calls are from witnesses outside the bank, inside the bank and someone who watched the shooting over a video call.
The five people who died in the shooting are:
Eckert is one of five people killed in the rampage. Others were identified by LMPD as:
- Joshua Barrick, 40
- Thomas Elliot, 63
- Juliana Farmer, 45
- James Tutt, 64
- Deana Eckert, 57, of New Albany
LMPD officer Nickolas Wilt was shot in the head during the attack and underwent brain surgery Monday. He’s listed in critical, but stable condition at the hospital.
A vigil for the shooting victims is being held at 5 p.m. Wednesday as the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.