Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear issued an emotional statement following the mass shooting that killed four and injured nine others on April 10 at a Louisville bank that he once used as a campaign headquarters.
“This is awful. I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t either, and one who’s at the hospital,” Beshear said.
“So when we talk about praying, I hope people will.”
Beshear urged members of the community to support one another and reach out for help if needed.
“And if we have a place to focus our energy, I hope it is to surround them with the love and the compassion that we have been so good at showing one another,” he said.
Despite the tragedy of the day’s events and recent problems uncovered in the police department, Beshear insisted that Louisville is a safe community and that the police had performed well in response to the shooting.
“I want people to know that while today is a horrific act, I do believe that this is a safe community, with officers doing their very best each and every day. And that’s what we saw here today,” Beshear said.
“Yes, I know that there are steps that the police department is taking to do things better after a recent report, the governor said, referring to a March finding by the U.S. Department of Justice that the city’s police department had engaged in civil rights violations and had entered into an agreement to resolve the problem.
“But we certainly saw I think the very best from them,” Beshear said.
“I want to thank them and all our other law enforcement officers for responding and doing their best to try to save some of my friends and many others,” he said, wiping away tears.
Beshear did not name the friends who had been killed or wounded in the attack. He did note that he was familiar with the bank where the shooting occurred.
“My AG [attorney general] campaign was out of that building,” he said. “I know virtually everyone in it. That’s my bank.”
A spokesperson for the police department said it appeared that the shooter had some connection to the bank and said that there was no current danger to the public.
