Louisville bank shooter wanted to massacre 'upper-class white people' to highlight lax gun laws: journal
The man who killed five people at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank in April was motivated by his outrage over the nation’s gun laws, which he considered lax and hoped a bloody rampage of white victims would spur politicians into action, according to a police report released Tuesday that contained excerpts from the killer’s journal.
Connor Sturgeon, 25, gunned down co-workers inside a conference room at Old National Bank on East Main Street on April 10 after he admitted in his journal that he was suffering from mental health issues, was dissatisfied with his job and the direction his life was taking.
Eight others were injured during the shooting, including a responding officer who was struck in the head and critically wounded. Sturgeon fired more than 40 rounds in about eight minutes, according to the report.
"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 wrote in his journal on April 4, according to the report released by the Louisville Police Department.
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"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."
The April 4 journal entry was the same day he purchased an AR-15 rifle for $500 used in the deadly shooting six days later, according to a receipt in the police report. He also bought 120 rounds and four magazine cartridges in a process that took about 45 minutes, he said.
Sturgeon noted his surprise at how straightforward it was for him to purchase the weapon, given his mental health struggles.
"OH MY GO THIS IS SO EASY," he wrote in bold. "I knew it would be doable but this is ridiculous."
He went on to ridicule lawmakers, writing how he wanted his actions to galvanize them.
"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."
Sturgeon wrote that "Democrats get rich [by] doing nothing in the name of civility" while they allow Republicans to "do whatever they want to whoever they want."
"A level of corruption that stands directly between us and progress," he wrote.
The report also reveals that investigators found a plan stored in a Notes app in which he wrote, "They won’t listen to words or protests, so let’s see if they hear this."
Sturgeon appeared to reserve his harshest criticism for the National Rifle Association.
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"But let us not forget the most important player here," he wrote on April 9. "The one who made all this possible. [Let's] give it up for the NRA!!"
"I couldn’t have done this without all of your lobbying dollars! You really brought this whole thing together. This is the world you are building. One without any regard for the value of human life."
In Kentucky, Sturgeon faced no barriers to entry as a gun owner since he had no prior criminal record, which means he would have passed the federally required background check, according to the Washington Post.
The state does not have a "red flag" law, a measure to prevent people who are reported to be potentially dangerous from buying and possessing guns.
Nevertheless, such a law may not have prevented Sturgeon from buying the weapon because his mental health struggles had not been reported to authorities.
Sturgeon’s family has said they intend to sue the maker of the rifle used in the attack.
The report also contained a picture of Sturgeon taking a selfie on April 5 that showed him making a "joker face," which authorities say is a trend popular on social media.
Authorities say they have closed the investigation into Sturgeon’s actions.
He was shot dead by police later that day, and investigators determined that the actions of the officer who shot Sturgeon were not criminal.
The five employees killed were Joshua Barrick, 40, a senior vice president; Deana Eckert, 57, an executive administrative officer; Thomas Elliott, 63, also a senior vice president; Juliana Farmer, 45, a loan analyst; and Jim Tutt Jr., 64, a commercial real estate market executive. Elliott was a close personal friend of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. Of the five victims, only Farmer was black.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.