Police seek info from Louisville shooter’s phone, social media accounts to determine motive
A Louisville police officer filed search warrants with Apple, Snapchat, AT&T and Google in hopes that investigators would find more information about why and how a 25-year-old man opened fire at his workplace and killed five people.
The warrants sought to obtain information and data from Connor Sturgeon’s various online accounts that wouldn’t have been stored on his phone, which investigators had already seized and searched, according to affidavits filed in support of the warrants. Sturgeon was an employee at Old National Bank when he walked into the downtown location April 10 and opened fire with an AR-15, according to previous police statements.
Police said Sturgeon killed five bank employees and injured several other people, including Louisville officer Nick Wilt, who remains hospitalized.
The affidavits were filed April 13. The warrants were signed by a Jefferson County judge and ordered to remain sealed for 30 days, indicating they became publicly available within the last week. The documents were provided to the Herald-Leader Thursday by the Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk’s office.
The Louisville Metro Police Department declined to answer questions Friday morning on the information in the warrants, citing an open investigation.
“To protect and ensure the integrity of the investigation, we are unable to disclose specifics or provide any further comment at this time,” LMPD said in a statement. “We anticipate releasing more information to the public upon the completion of the investigation.”
Warrants to Apple, Snap others sought numerous records
The documents show one officer asked to search Apple accounts that were associated with Sturgeon’s email accounts. The search warrant authorized the officer access to phone records, messages, emails, iCloud files, call logs, location service information, videos and other data or information from the accounts.
Additionally, the warrant authorized investigators to access “evidence indicating the subscriber’s state of mind as it relates to the crime under investigation,” according to the warrant.
Shooting was live-streamed, affidavit confirms
In an affidavit for the warrant, an officer confirmed that Sturgeon live-streamed the deadly shooting on Instagram, placing his phone into his shirt pocket.
Police took Sturgeon’s phone after they shot and killed him, according to the affidavit. After getting a search warrant for the device, officers found messages and notes on the phone that were related to Sturgeon’s plans to commit the shooting.
Sturgeon’s family told an investigator that he had mental health issues and those issues could have played a part in his decision to commit the shooting, according to the affidavit.
An officer wrote in the affidavit that mental health concerns were backed up by “mental health texts” found in his phone and “other comments found in Connor’s note or manifesto,” which investigators found at his home.
The search warrant sent to Google sought similar information. Investigators wanted access to Sturgeon’s account information, devices linked to the accounts he had, messages, calendars, documents, stored photos, location history, search history and more.
In a warrant sent to Snapchat, investigators asked for data from Sturgeon’s account, all account activity, profile information, any photos or videos on the account, location information, messages, any privacy settings used and more. Investigators also asked for any accounts that may have been linked to the account they were aware of.
Investigators also asked AT&T for records tied to Sturgeon’s cell phone account, including his account information, call information, text information, location records, files, voicemails, emails, photos, contact lists, web activity and additional data tied to his phone number.
The information and data collected by police through the warrants hasn’t been released.
Sturgeon’s family has spoken publicly about the mental health issues he experienced prior to the shooting. They told NBC in a nationally-televised interview that he reported a panic attack just days before the shooting.
Sturgeon’s brain was going to be tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy after his death, according to a report from the Louisville Courier-Journal.
