'Wish we could undo it': Parents of Old National Bank shooter apologize for son on Today Show

The parents of the shooter who killed five people and injured eight others April 10 at Old National Bank in Louisville spoke out Thursday on the Today Show to apologize to those affected by the mass shooting.

"We're so sorry. We're heartbroken. We wish we could undo it, but we know we can't," Lisa Sturgeon, alongside her husband Todd Sturgeon, told Savannah Guthrie in an interview.

"If we could take it back, we would," Lisa said later.

The five people killed at the bank were Josh Barrick, Deana Eckert, Tommy Elliott, Juliana Farmer and Jim Tutt Jr. Louisville Metro Police Officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, was one of the eight injured and remains in critical condition but making an "encouraging" recovery.

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"We have a concern about inadvertently being disrespectful to the families," Todd said when asked about doing the interview. "Our heart is just shattered for them and what they are going through."

Connor Sturgeon, an employee of the bank, was shot and killed by LMPD Officer Cory Galloway. The two officers responded to the shooting within three minutes, and it took nine minutes to stabilize the situation.

His mother Lisa told NBC that six days before the shootings, Connor called her and told her he had a panic attack at the bank the day before and had to leave work.

She said moved up his next psychiatrist’s appointment and met with him and his doctor on April 6, four days before the shooting at the downtown bank where he worked.

“Well-meaning people keep telling us we did what any reasonable parents would have done,” Todd Sturgeon told Guthrie “But in Connor’s darkest hour, we needed to be exceptional, not just reasonable. And we failed him.”

Parents of Louisville bank shooter apologize to victims: 'We wish we could undo it'

The parents have declined to talk to local news outlets, including The Courier Journal. A family friend, Pete Palmer, said Thursday that they are “not ready.”

Both parents said they have been wracked by guilt.

“He did this,” Lisa Sturgeon said. “And he did it to totally innocent individuals. There was no provocation, no justification, no rationalization – at all. They were just trying to do their jobs, to provide for their families. And they will never be the same, due to his actions.”

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Todd Sturgeon said they have no idea what prompted their son’s murderous assault with an assault rifle he had just bought, and they fear t/hat whatever they come up as a cause still isn’t going to make sense.

They said their son’s problems began about a year ago, with a suicide attempt and panic attacks.

They said they had no clue Connor had legally purchased an assault rifle and ammunition from a federally licensed firearms dealer on April 4.

And Lisa said there was no “clear tell” that he would erupt in violence. She said she and her husband decided to speak out to put other parents on alert.

They said their son should not have been allowed to buy a firearm, given his mental condition, though Todd acknowledged it is hard to “thread the needle” to protect the public while safeguarding individual rights.

They told Guthrie that the last time they saw their son, 25, was Easter Sunday, the day before the shootings, at a family gathering attended by some 60 people.

Lisa Sturgeon said Connor seemed fine; Todd said his son helped children find their last eggs, then left with his roommate to go to their house in Camp Taylor to watch the final rounds of the Masters golf tournament.

In the days following the shooting, city officials called for action from the state legislature regarding gun control. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said warned that the gun used in the shooting could wind up back on the streets due to Kentucky law, but a policy used by the U.S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives − who took possession of the weapon − makes it unlikely the gun will be auctioned off.

"Firearms seized by ATF in federal investigations are disposed of in accordance with federal law and are not transferred to KSP for auction," said Louisville ATF spokesperson Cassandra Mullins.

Parents of Louisville bank shooter say they joined son for psychiatrist appointment 4 days prior

Guthrie said the Today Show reached out to the victims' families, and four did not have a comment, but Barrick's family wrote a statement.

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"Enough is enough. Inaction is not an option. We deserve to be safe in our communities ... We are simply heartbroken, this didn't have to happen," wrote brother Jeffery Barrick.

Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Old National Bank Shooting: Connor Sturgeon's Today Show interview