Bank worker kills five co-workers in Louisville, Kentucky shooting

Washington: A 23-year-old bank employee armed with a rifle shot dead five colleagues and wounded nine other people at his workplace in Louisville on Monday while live streaming the attack on social media, police said.

The gunman was fatally shot at the scene, Louisville police said. It was unclear whether he was slain by police or took his own life. The incident marked the latest in a long series of mass shootings in the U.S.

Louisville police identified the shooter as Connor Sturgeon, who joined the downtown branch of the Old National Bank as a full-time employee last year.

Police said they responded within minutes to reports of an attacker at about 8:30 a.m. at the bank office near Slugger Field baseball stadium.

Officers fired at the gunman, who was armed with a rifle, police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel told reporters. The attacker broadcast live video of his attack on social media, she said.

The dead were identified as Joshua Barrick, 40; Deana Eckert, 57, Thomas Elliot, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; and James Tutt, 64.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear fought back tears at an afternoon news briefing, saying that he knew some of the victims, including Elliot, a senior vice president at the bank.

"He taught me how to help build my law career, he helped me become governor, he gave me advice on being a good dad," Beshear said. "One of the people I talked to most in the world."

Two police officers were among the nine wounded. A 26-year-old recent police academy graduate was struck in the head and remained in critical condition after brain surgery on Monday, police said.

All nine victims were treated at the University of Louisville hospital, a hospital spokesperson said. Two other victims were also in critical condition.

The status of the shooter's job at the bank was not immediately clear on Monday. Gwinn-Villaroel said at a news conference that he was employed there. CNN, citing confidential law enforcement sources, said he had been notified that he would be fired.

SOURCE: REUTERS