April 10 (UPI) — Louisville Metro Police said four people died along with the suspected shooter and eight were injured — including two officers responding to the scene — during a mass shooting in a bank lobby in downtown Louisville Monday morning.
In Monday’s shooting at Old National Bank on Main Street, Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said emergency personnel transported eight people to the University of Louisville Hospital.
One of the injured officers remained in surgery early Monday afternoon from his injuries, the other officer’s injuries were not critical, Humphrey said.
The suspect is believed to be a current or former employee at the bank but Humphrey said he is waiting for confirmation.
Humphrey said the suspect, who has not been identified, “was still firing gunshots” when officers arrived on the scene when they allegedly started taking gunfire from the suspect.
“Ultimately that suspect did die at the scene,” Humphrey said. “We’re trying to confirm if that suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or was killed by an officer.”
Authorities confirmed that all four who died at the scene were shot inside the bank.
“We are currently working to identify all of the victims,” Humphrey said. “The investigation is ongoing. This will pretty much take into the night. There is no active threat. We believe this was a lone gunman that did have a connection with the bank.”
Humphrey said officers arrived at about 8:30 a.m., EDT, within three minutes of the initial call, and he believes that response saved more people from being injured or killed.
“It is clear from the officers’ response that they absolutely saved people’s lives,” he said. “It was a heroic response of officers that made sure that no more people were more seriously injured than what happened.”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city will rally around each other in this time of grieving.
“We will come together as a community to work to prevent these horrific acts of gun violence from continuing here and around the state,” Greenberg said.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have both responded to the scene.
Gov. Andy Beshear issued a statement shortly after the message by Louisville Police, saying he was traveling to the city.
“Please pray for all of the families impacted and for the city of Louisville,” Beshear said on Twitter.
Old National Bank said in a statement Monday that members of its executive team, including CEO Jim Ryan had arrived at the site in response to the shooting.
“The safety of Old National Bank employees and everyone we serve in our banking center locations is paramount,” said Ryan. “As we await more details, we are deploying employee assistance support and keeping everyone affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers.”
The shooting happened exactly two weeks after another shooter stepped into a private school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults, sparking returned calls for gun safety.