Louisville Shooter Connor Sturgeon Bought Gun Legally, Police Say

Police tape surrounds the Old National Bank after a gunman opened fire in Louisville, Ky., on April 10, 2023. Lawrence Wilson/The Epoch Times

The man who carried out a mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, identified by law enforcement officials as Connor Sturgeon, obtained the weapon he used legally.

The rifle Sturgeon used when he opened fire on April 10 at Old National Bank was purchased at a local gun store on April 4, Louisville Metro Interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel told reporters on Tuesday.

The rifle was an AR-15, according to Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.).

Officers executed a search warrant on Sturgeon’s home on Monday and recovered multiple items, police officials said. They recovered a note, McGarvey said.

There’s also evidence that Sturgeon “texted or called at least one person to let them know he was suicidal and contemplating harm,” the congressman said.

Gwinn-Villaroel declined to share more details, because, she said, “the investigation is ongoing and we want to make sure we’re providing accurate information.”

The shooting unfolded just after 8:30 a.m., before the bank’s public hours started, according to police.

Officers were on the scene within three minutes of shots being fired, officials have said.

The suspect was still firing at the time. Officers became engaged in a shootout, and ultimately killed Sturgeon, Gwinn-Villaroel has said.

Here’s what else we know about Sturgeon.

Worked for Bank, Live Streamed Shooting

Sturgeon, 25, was employed by the bank, officials said. Sturgeon listed himself as a syndications association and portfolio banker on his LinkedIn profile.

“We do know this was targeted. He knew those individuals, of course, because he worked there,” Gwinn-Villaroel said.

Old National Bank declined to answer questions about Sturgeon, saying it would not release employee information at this time.

The shooting happened while employees were in a morning meeting, Rebecca Buchheit-Sims, a manager at the bank, told CNN.

Buchheit-Sims, who was attending virtually, said she “witnessed people being murdered.”

Sturgeon livestreamed the shooting via Instagram, a Meta-owned platform, according to police officials.

“The suspect was livestreaming. And unfortunately, that’s tragic, to know that that incident was out there and captured,” Gwinn-Villaroel said.

The video was already down by the time officials announced they'd identified Sturgeon as the shooter.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the company removed the livestream, but would not say whether it was done at the request of law enforcement.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment.

The deceased victims have been identified as Joshua Barrick, 40; Thomas Elliot, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; James Tutt, 64; and Deana Eckert, 57.

Elliott was a close friend of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, both Democrats.

Officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, a recent police academy graduate, was among those wounded who survived. Wilt and several others were still being treated at the hospital, while the remaining wounded have been released, hospital officials said.

Promoted Memes

Copies of the livestream did not appear to be circulating.

The same Instagram account allegedly promoted memes, including one that stated “I could burn this whole place down,” according to screenshots captured by WDRB.

“I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it,” another said, featuring actor Adam Driver as the character Kylo Ren from Star Wars.

A third post stated, “They won’t listen to words or protests. Let’s see if they hear this.”

A screenshot of Connor Sturgeon's LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn via The Epoch Times

Left a Voicemail

A dispatcher said on police scanner audio that the suspect in the bank shooting had called a friend and left a voicemail.

In the voicemail, the suspect said he planned to “kill everyone at the bank,” according to the audio.

Police have not released any footage or audio from the incident. Body camera footage from officers will be released later Tuesday, officials said.

A police officer communicating with dispatch said that the suspect’s mother and brother were outside.

Was a High School Basketball Player

Sturgeon attended Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, about 10 miles from Louisville.

The 6'4” Sturgeon played for his father, Todd Sturgeon, who left a position at the University of Indianapolis to coach his son.

“My wife said you were always looking for a sign, whether it was the right time to do something, and this time it was a sledgehammer to the head. It’s the opportunities to coach my own sons. I have a special interest in getting the program turned around,” Todd Sturgeon told the Louisville Courier-Journal in 2014.

A former friend told The Daily Beast that Sturgeon was a star player who also participated in track and football.

Louisville police officer Nickolas Wilt (Center) was wounded in the Old National Bank shooting. Louisville Metro Police Department via The Epoch Times

Didn’t Have Prior Encounters With Police

Sturgeon didn’t appear to have any law enforcement encounters.

Louisville police officers did not have “any prior engagement” with the man, Gwinn-Villaroel said.

Buchheit-Sims told CNN that Sturgeon had a “monotone personality.” She also said she'd never seen him get angry.

Kera Allgeier, a neighbor, told The Daily Beast that she never noticed anything aberrant about Sturgeon. “I can’t really say anything bad about him,” she said. “I didn’t see this all coming.”

Attended the University of Alabama

Sturgeon attended the University of Alabama, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics and a Master’s of science in finance, according to his LinkedIn profile, which has since been taken down.

His profile said he picked up the skills of teamwork and financial statement analysis and learned how to use Microsoft Office.

A student by the name of Sturgeon attended the university from the fall of 2016 to December 2020, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

Sturgeon received a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration and a Master’s in finance, the spokesperson said. Sturgeon was part of an accelerated program, enabling him to earn his Master’s at the same time as his bachelor’s.

Wrote an Essay

A user with Sturgeon’s name and listed as attending the University of Alabama penned an essay for CourseHero, a college-oriented website, in 2018, writing that he had been seeking to become a better person by improving his discipline, responsibility, and self-esteem.

“My self-esteem has long been a problem for me. As a late bloomer in middle and high school, I struggled to a certain extent to fit in, and this has given me a somewhat negative self-image that persists today,” Sturgeon wrote in the essay, which is no longer available on the site.

“Making friends has never been especially easy, so I have more experience than most in operating alone. Furthermore, college has introduced a whole new atmosphere and new challenges, so it is easy to feel like I am not doing as well as I should be. This semester, however, I think I have begun to mature socially and am beginning to see improvement in this area. I have found that taking time out to take stock of how I feel and what I can do to feel better has helped me be more social and in turn feel better about myself,” he added.

The essay also stated that the student had not needed to study for long to get good grades but that he knew as classes became harder, “it becomes much harder to take shortcuts.”