Bodycam footage from deadly Louisville bank shooting shows cops rushing to the scene as shooter fired
Gunshots rang out moments after Louisville officers arrived at the scene of Monday morning’s mass shooting, where police engaged in a tense confrontation with the gunman, body camera footage released Tuesday shows.
One video shows Louisville Metro Police Department officer Cory Galloway approaching the Old National Bank from his patrol car, falling down amid the gunfire, then getting up and taking cover behind the bank steps.
The suspect, identified as 25-year-old bank employee Connor Sturgeon, shot multiple times at the officers before they returned fire, according to authorities. Galloway and rookie cop Nickolas Wilt were the first officers to arrive. Wilt was shot in the head and Galloway was grazed in the shoulder, police said.
“He’s shooting straight through these windows right at the officers!” Galloway can be heard yelling in the video.
“I don’t have an angle,” he continues as more officers arrive.
After Galloway determined the gunman had been taken down, he rushed into the bank to assess the damage, the video shows. Broken glass can be seen scattered across the floor and victims were blurred out for graphic content.
The quick medical treatment that officers administered “absolutely saved lives that day,” Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said during a press conference Tuesday. “Those men are amazing,” Humphrey added, referring to all of the first responders as “heroes.”
Five people died after the lone gunman opened fire at the bank in the downtown area of Louisville. The suspect was an employee of the bank who legally purchased the weapon used in the attack from a Louisville dealership on April 4, Interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said.
During an appearance earlier Tuesday on “CBS Mornings,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg referred to the suspect as “somebody who was holding an AR-15.”
“We have executed a search warrant on his residence and we have recovered items,” Gwinn-Villaroel said at the press conference. “We cannot get into specific details on what we recovered at this time because ... the investigation is ongoing.”
Nine people were hospitalized following Monday’s rampage, according to officials. One of them, 57-year-old bank employee Deanna Eckert, died Monday night.
“We do know this was targeted. He knew those individuals, of course, because he worked there,” Gwinn-Villaroel said of Sturgeon. Greenberg said it’s unclear if the shooter targeted individual victims or the bank itself.
Four people remained hospitalized Tuesday, including two patients in intensive care, said Dr. Jason Smith, the chief medical officer of UofL Health.
Wilt is one of the patients in the ICU and is in critical condition, according to Smith. Police say Wilt, 26, graduated from the police academy on March 31.
The other ICU patient is in stable condition, while two victims are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Smith said.
