The parents of Connor Sturgeon, who killed five people and injured at least eight others at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this month, are speaking out.
In an exclusive interview with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie, airing in full on Thursday, April 27, Todd and Lisa Sturgeon expressed their sorrow to the families of those their 25-year-old son shot before he was killed by police.
"We are so sorry. We are heartbroken," Lisa Sturgeon emotionally told Savannah when asked what they would want to say to the families. "We wish we could undo it, but we know we can't."
Police said Sturgeon was an employee at Old National Bank on East Main Street in Louisville, where he opened gunfire at 8:38 a.m. on April 10 while live-streaming. Officers responded within three minutes, where they returned gunfire and ultimately killed the shooter.
The five killed were identified as Tommy Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; Jim Tutt, 64; Josh Barrick, 40, and Deana Eckert, 57.
Police released 911 calls from that morning, including one from Lisa Sturgeon who called concerned that her son could be heading to the bank after his roommate told her something wasn't right.
"I don't know what to do, I need your help," Lisa Sturgeon told the operator. "He'd never hurt anyone, he's a really good kid." She also told the operator that he didn't have any guns, but police later said that he purchased an AR-15 six days earlier.
U.S. & World
In a press conference on the day of the shooting, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that he ran his campaign for state attorney general out of the same building where the bank was located and was close friends with Elliott.
“This is awful,” Beshear said at the time. “I know virtually everyone in it. That’s my bank.”
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
One of the injured was 26-year-old Officer Nickolas Wilt, who was shot in the head. LMPD Interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said in a press conference that she had sworn Wilt in as an officer on March 31, only 10 days before the shooting.
“I just swore him in, and his family was there to witness his journey to become a police officer,” Gwinn-Villaroel said.
President Joe Biden shared a statement on Twitter hours after the shooting, saying that he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for those killed and affected.
“Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence. ... Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives,” he said. “When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
