Louisville bank shooter who killed five wanted to make 'impact' to highlight gun laws: Police report
A man who killed five people at a bank in Louisville earlier this year wrote in his journal that he wanted to demonstrate the consequences of gun laws that he viewed as too lenient, according to police.
The Louisville Police Department released a report Tuesday with quotes they said were taken from Connor Sturgeon’s journal entries in the days leading up to the shooting on April 10, 2023.
“I have decided to make an impact. These people did not deserve to die, but because I was depressed and able to buy ___ (guns?), they are gone,” Sturgeon reportedly wrote on April 4, the day he bought a rifle he'd use in the shooting six days later.
The entry continued: “Perhaps this is the impact for change – upper class white people dying. I certainly would not have been able to do this were it more difficult to get a gun."
“I know our politicians are solely focused on lining their own pockets, but maybe this will knock some sense into them. If not, good luck.”
Police said they also found a “plan” written in the gunman's Notes app that allegedly stated in part, "They won’t listen to words or protests, so let’s see if they hear this."
The 25-year-old was an employee at Old National Bank. Sturgeon killed five people at the bank: Joshua Barrick, 40, a senior vice president; Deana Eckert, 57, an executive administrative officer; Tommy Elliott, 63, also a senior vice president; Juliana Farmer, 45, a loan analyst; and Jim Tutt Jr., 64, a commercial real estate market executive.
Sturgeon was shot and killed by police.
The gunman's parents were “aware of his distaste for current gun laws,” according to the police report, but the parents “could not provide any information as to why or how the incident at the bank occurred.”
The police report also included several pages in his journal from the day before Sturgeon opened fire at the bank. In a section titled "other thoughts," he stated, "I am definitely very sick" and described struggles with mental health. He also wrote that "those in power care only about money and more power."
In the final section of his journal entry, Sturgeon remarked on the ease with which he was able to purchase a firearm, given his background of mental illness.
“OH MY GOD THIS IS SO EASY. Seriously, I knew it would be doable but this is ridiculous," he wrote.
"Walked in and bought a gun, 4 mags, and 120 rounds for $700. Got some glasses and earplugs/ Got my letters and social posts tee'd up. Outfit ready,” he wrote. “It is legitimately unfathomable how easy this all was.”
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 612 mass shootings so far in 2023.