9 minutes of chaos: Swift LMPD response saved lives at Louisville bank shooting, officials say

About nine minutes after the first 911 call about Monday's devastating mass shooting inside downtown Louisville's Old National Bank, Louisville Metro Police killed the shooter.

Officer Cory Galloway, who was grazed in his left side, fired the round that took down the assailant, LMPD officials said at a press conference a day after the chaos unfolded.

His partner, Nickolas Wilt, wasn't as fortunate. Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey said Wilt was "fighting right now after being struck in the head by an AR-15 round on his fourth ever shift as a police officer."

Wilt is a member of Metro Academy Class #54 sworn in at the end of March. Galloway is his field training officer, deployed with new LMPD members to show them the ropes and evaluate them. The two responded to the worst mass shooting Louisville's seen since 1989 in Wilt's first week on the job.

Wilt was in critical condition Tuesday morning, University of Louisville Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Smith said, the last of eight injured victims who had not been released from the hospital or whose condition had not improved to stable.

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The two officers' quick response Monday saved lives, LMPD Interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said − they "did not hesitate" while on patrol when the call came in at 8:38 a.m.

"I'm just truly proud of the heroic actions of those two officers and everybody else that responded," Villaroel said. "They went toward danger in order to save and preserve life, and that's what you saw yesterday. They stopped the threat so other lives could be saved. They showed no hesitation and they did what they were taught to do."

The shooting left six people dead including the shooter. Four others, who'd been injured, were being treated at University of Louisville Hospital as of Tuesday morning, Smith said, while four others who were hospitalized had been released.

The five fatalities are 40-year-old Josh Barrick, 63-year-old Tommy Elliott, 57-year-old Deana Eckert, 45-year-old Juliana Farmer and 64-year-old Jim Tutt Jr.

Their deaths in what Villaroel described as a "targeted" shooting rocked Louisville.

City officials said the quick response by LMPD was critical. The shooting was confined to the first floor of the seven-story Preston Pointe complex, on a busy downtown Louisville corner, and city officials said officers were on the scene by 8:41 a.m., three minutes after the first 911 call was reported.

It's unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the shooting, Greenberg said, but police cleared the complex "in a very safe and rapid manner."

It's also unclear exactly how many LMPD officers responded to the shooting, Lt. Col. Aaron Crowell said, or how many rounds were fired.

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The police investigation has been split up into separate probes − a homicide investigation into the shooting that took place before officers arrived, and a separate Public Integrity Unit probe into the shootout between the assailant and officers. LMPD will handle both investigations, Crowell said, after consultation with Kentucky State Police, which normally looks into shootings involving Louisville police.

The AR-15 used in the fatal shooting, Villaroel said, was bought legally less than a week before the shooting. The shooter, identified as Connor Sturgeon, was an employee of the bank, Greenberg added, who "had access to the building as a result of being an employee."

No additional details were given as to when or where Sturgeon entered the building.

The chaos caused by the shooter and the gun cast a dark shadow over Louisville, with Smith noting more than 170 units of blood had been used to treat victims in its aftermath.

Greenberg had a harrowing reminder about the AR-15's future as he called for action by legislators.

"Under current Kentucky law, the assault rifle that was used to murder five of our neighbors and shoot at rescuing police officers will one day be auctioned off," he said. "Think about that – that murder weapon will be back on the streets one day."

Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com. Reach Madeline Mitchell at memitchell@enquirer.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville shooting: LMPD took 9 minutes from 911 call to fatal shot