4 killed in bank shooting at downtown Louisville building U.S.
On Monday, April 10, police reported that a shooter attacked a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least four people, and wounding at least eight more.
Police arrived at the Old National Bank as shots were still being fired and exchanged fire with the shooter, Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Paul Humphrey stated at a press conference. It was not clear if the shooter died by himself or was killed by officers.
This shooting is the 15th mass murder in the US this calendar year. It comes only two weeks after a former student shot and killed three children, three adults, and two others at a Christian elementary school near Nashville, approximately 160 miles (260 km) to the south.
“We believe that this is a lone gunman who was involved in the crime, but he did have a connection with the bank. Humphrey stated that we are trying to establish the connection to the bank, but it seems he was an employee in the past.
Humphrey stated that at least eight people were being taken to a hospital for injuries, including two police officers. One of them was in critical condition.
An emotional Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he lost friends in the shooting in the building on East Main Street not far from the Louisville Slugger Field and Waterfront Park.
“This is awful,” he said. “I have a very close friend who didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either. And one who’s at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through.”
It was the second time that Beshear was personally affected by a mass tragedy since becoming governor.
Humphrey, the deputy police chief, said the actions of responding police officers in Louisville on Monday morning had undoubtedly saved lives.
“This is a tragic event,” he said. “But it was it was the heroic response of officers that made sure that no more people were more seriously injured than what happened.”
This year’s 15 mass shootings is the most during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009, when 16 incidents had occurred by April 10, according to a mass killings database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
