The United States has once again been hit by yet another tragedy caused by gun violence. On Monday, April 11, 2023, a 25-year-old bank employee identified as Connor Sturgeon opened fire at his workplace in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The attack left five dead and eight injured, including a police officer who graduated from the police academy just ten days ago.
The shooting began at the Old National Bank on East Main Street just after 8:30 a.m. during a morning employee meeting, with some employees appearing in person and others virtually. According to Rebecca Buchheit-Sims, a manager at the bank who watched from her computer as her coworkers were gunned down, the shooter live streamed the attack. Officers got to the bank within three minutes of being dispatched and found the shooter was still firing. They engaged in a shootout with the gunman, killing him.
Four of the victims, who died on the morning of the shooting, were identified as Joshua Barrick, 40; Juliana Farmer, 45; Tommy Elliott, 63; and James Tutt, 64. Later that evening, police said a fifth victim – 57-year-old Deana Eckert – also died. The gun used in the shooting was an AR-15-style rifle, a semi-automatic rifle that is the most popular sporting rifle in the US. The AR-15 and its offshoots have been the weapon of choice in many of the most heinous mass shootings in recent memory.
Sadly, this shooting is just the latest in a long string of mass shootings that have occurred in the United States. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 145 mass shootings in the US this year alone. This statistic is truly staggering and highlights the desperate need for stricter gun control laws.
The victims and their families will undoubtedly be dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy for a long time to come. It is important that we come together as a nation to support them in any way we can. Additionally, it is crucial that we take action to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
It is time for lawmakers to take action and implement common-sense gun control measures that will help keep our communities safe. There is no one solution that will completely eliminate gun violence, but we must take steps in the right direction. It is time to put the safety of our citizens above the interests of the gun lobby.
