Gunman killed five in Louisville bank shooting

04/11/2023 By Meghan O’Brien
An employee of the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, walked into his workplace with a rifle Monday morning, opening fire and killing at least five people. The 25-year-old shooter had legally acquired an AR-15 on April 4 and was targeting bank employees during the shooting while livestreaming simultaneously, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Nine others were injured during the attack. As of Tuesday, five patients have been discharged from the hospital, while three patients remain in treatment, two of whom are in stable condition. The 26-year-old police officer Nickolas Wilt remains in critical condition, according to the University of Louisville Health. Police released the names of the victims Monday afternoon, and the Louisville community has taken to social media to express their love for lost friends and family members. One victim of the attack, 63-year-old Tommy Elliott, was good friends with former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
“He got great joy out of helping people and seeing people succeed,” Fischer says, reflecting on his 40-year friendship with Elliott.
Meta, the company that owns Instagram, has since released a statement regarding the livestream. Over the past few years, the company has worked towards implementing strict guidelines that block extremist social media users that post violent content. Regardless, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been called out by the public and politicians for not reacting to these videos fast enough.
The shooting is the nation’s 15th mass killing in 2023 and follows the recent school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, which occurred only two weeks prior. Police released body-cam footage Tuesday afternoon.