'This is about life and death': Mayor, McGarvey urge gun laws after Louisville shooting

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Congressman Morgan McGarvey both made emotional pleas Tuesday to the Kentucky legislature, begging for action to prevent gun violence in the wake of a mass shooting that left six people dead.

"This isn't about partisan politics," Greenberg said. "This is about life and death. This is about preventing tragedies.

"I'm only interested in working together with our state legislators to take meaningful action to save lives, to prevent more tragic injuries and more death," Greenberg added. "Arguing is not a strategy. Doing nothing is not a strategy, it's not a solution."

According to Louisville Metro Police, Connor Sturgeon, an employee of Old National Bank, opened fire on coworkers with an AR-15 rifle at its downtown office Monday at 8:38 a.m., killing five and injuring eight others.

More: Who were the victims in the Louisville shooting? What we know

Rookie LMPD Officer Nickolas Wilt — on just his fourth shift in his new job — was shot in the head as he rushed into the building and was still in critical condition Tuesday morning. Officer Cory Galloway was also shot, but still managed to kill Sturgeon, who LMPD officials say livestreamed his rampage on social media.

LMPD Interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said Sturgeon purchased the AR-15 legally at a local gun dealership on April 4.

In addition to praising officers who rushed into the bank to prevent more from being killed, Greenberg and McGarvey, both Democrats, urged the Republican-dominated state legislature to change laws to give the city more authority to set its own gun policies.

Greenberg said 40 people have already been shot to death this year in Louisville and outlined some long-term plans his new administration has in place to address gun violence, but he said quick and specific action is needed in Frankfort to help.

"We need short term action to end this gun violence epidemic now, so fewer people die on our streets and in our banks, and in our schools and in our churches," Greenberg said. "And for that we need help. We need help from our friends in Frankfort and help from our friends in Washington, D.C."

More: Louisville Old National Bank shooting: How to help

Greenberg called for the legislature to change state laws to give Louisville Metro Government more authority to make its own policies to address guns, in addition to changing a state law mandating seized guns used in violent crimes be auctioned off back to the public — including, potentially, the AR-15 used in the shooting Monday.

"If you support police officers like Officer Wilt and Officer Galloway who heroically ran into a barrage of fire from a waiting assailant with an assault rifle, if you support local decision making to address local issues, if you want to help our state's largest city thrive, please give Louisville the autonomy to deal with our unique gun violence epidemic," Greenberg said.

Noting that state law mandates the murder weapon be auctioned off, Greenberg said, "It's time to change this law and let us destroy illegal guns and destroy the guns that have been used to kill our friends and kill our neighbors."

Legislation has been filed in recent years to allow Louisville to have more authority to make its own laws related to gun background checks and the destruction of seized weapons used in crimes — as well as bills to strengthen "red flag" laws, to take guns out of the hands of those deemed a threat to themselves or others — but none has gained any traction in the General Assembly, where Republicans who are resistant to any new gun restrictions hold a dominant supermajority in both chambers.

McGarvey — newly elected to Congress after representing Louisville in the Kentucky Senate for the past decade — said the offers of thoughts and prayers for the city are welcome and needed, but he added that "we need policies in place that will keep this from happening again, so that thoughts and prayers do not have to be offered to yet another community ripped apart by savage violence coming from guns."

More: What we know about the mass shooting at Old National Bank in Louisville

Alluding to red flag laws, McGarvey also claimed the shooter "left a note" and "texted or called at least one person to let them know he was suicidal and contemplating harm, but we don't have the tools on the books to deal with someone who is in imminent danger to themselves or to others."

The congressman also called for legislation on universal background checks at the federal level, but then took a specific dig at his former GOP colleagues in the statehouse, who in the recently ended session passed legislation targeted at transgender children and school materials deemed obscene, as well as making Kentucky a Second Amendment "sanctuary state" where officers could be prosecuted for enforcing federal gun rules.

"In Kentucky, Republicans would rather ban books and pronouns, and then make Kentucky a sanctuary state for weapons," McGarvey said.

Spokespersons for Republican House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday on Greenberg's and McGarvey's remarks.

In their statements reacting to the shooting Monday, Stivers and Osborne both mourned the loss of life and praised the heroic actions of LMPD officers.

“After another senseless act of violence, the Senate stands firmly with the City of Louisville,” Stivers stated. “During this tragic time, we will hold the victims’ loved ones and friends in our prayers.”

“This morning’s attacks in Louisville are heartbreaking as lives are shattered by a senseless act of violence,” Osborne said. “We mourn the loss of innocent life and hold those wounded in prayer as we do the families of both.”

Greenberg said he is not calling for a special session of the legislature to address guns laws "at this time," saying "I want to have conversations, I want to work on a plan and I'm going to work on getting that implemented as fast as possible."

Special sessions can only be called by the governor in Kentucky. Spokespersons for Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, did not immediately respond to a question about Greenberg's and McGarvey's remarks on gun legislation.

University of Louisville Health Chief Medical Officer Jason Smith also spoke at the press conference on the condition of the four patients from the shooting who remain at U of L Hospital.

Editorial: Louisville mourns mass shooting and legislative stubbornness.

Smith, who's been at the hospital for 15 years, said it’s not unusual for his team to care for a high volume of shooting victims, but it takes a large emotional toll on staff.

“There’s only so many times you can walk into a room and tell someone ‘They’re not coming home,’” he said. “It just breaks your heart when you hear someone screaming ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy.’ It just becomes too hard, day in and day out, to be able to do that.”

Smith said he wasn’t sure what the answer to Louisville’s gun violence epidemic is but something needs to change.

“I would simply ask you to do something, because doing nothing, which is what we’ve been doing, is not working," Smith said. "We have to do something because this is just getting out of hand across our city and across this great nation."

In a brief statement tweeted Monday afternoon following the shooting, President Joe Biden said the victims were on his mind — and called on Republicans in Congress to act.

"Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence – Jill and I pray for the lives lost and impacted by today's shooting," Biden wrote in a tweet. "Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?"

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement that he and his wife Elaine Chao were "devastated" by the news and thanked police and first responders, while fellow GOP Sen. Rand Paul said he and his wife Kelley were "praying for everyone involved" and their "hearts break for the families of those lost."

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at@joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Mayor Greenberg, McGarvey call for state action on gun laws