The parents of the mass shooter who killed five colleagues in a Louisville bank on Monday have broken their silence to condemn their son’s “senseless acts of violence”.
Connor Sturgeon’s family released a statement expressing their “sorrow, anguish, and horror” at the “unthinkable harm” caused by the 25-year-old Old National Bank employee.
While Sturgeon did struggle with his mental health, his family said there were no warning signs to suggest what he would go on to do.
“No words can express our sorrow, anguish, and horror at the unthinkable harm our son Connor inflicted on innocent people, their families, and the entire Louisville community,” the statement, shared by the family’s attorney, read.
“We mourn their loss and that of our son, Connor. We pray for everyone traumatized by his senseless acts of violence and are deeply grateful for the bravery and heroism of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department.
“While Connor, like many of his contemporaries, had mental health challenges which we, as a family, were actively addressing, there were never any warning signs or indications he was capable of this shocking act.”
The family said that they are cooperating fully with investigators in the case as they try to piece together what led up to the horror attack.
“While we have many unanswered questions, we will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials and do all we can to aid everyone in understanding why and how this happened,” they said.
The family’s attorney also revealed that Sturgeon sent a final text message to his family before he opened fire in the bank.
“I love you,” it read.
The nature of his mental health struggles were not revealed but it comes after a former classmate revealed that Sturgeon experienced “multiple concussions” as a high school athlete – raising questions about whether he could have suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
Sturgeon grew up in Indiana and attended Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knobs, where he was a star athlete playing basketball, football and running track.
The classmate told The Daily Beast that Sturgeon suffered so many concussions while playing football that he wore a helmet on the basketball court.
“The big thing I keep going back to is that in the first year of high school, we played football together in eighth grade, he was out most of the year because he had multiple concussions,” said the former classmate, who did not want to be named.
“Then he had a couple more in high school.”
The classmate said he wondered if his injuries were linked to Monday’s shooting.
“I’m not saying it’s the cause but I always think back to that… There were times I’d wonder, will this catch up with him? But never in this way,” he said.
“He’s the last person I’d expect would do this.”
In recent years, there has been a greater awareness of a link between athletes who suffer concussions – in particular football players – and CTE.
CTE is a brain disease caused in part by repeated traumatic brain injuries, including concussions and non-concussive impacts, according to the Boston University CTE Center.
Symptoms of CTE can appear years after the sufferer is dealt repeated blows to the head and can include mood and behaviour problems including aggression and depression.
One especially notable example is that of Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end who was convicted of murder. After his death by suicide, researchers found he had severe CTE.
While it remains unclear if Sturgeon suffered from the condition, his former classmate spoke of his shock at what the 25-year-old went on to do.
“I know everyone always says this about shooters but I truly would have never expected it to be him,” he said.
In high school, he said that Sturgeon was popular and smart and earned the nickname “Mr Floyd Central” as his father was a coach on the basketball team.
After high school, Sturgeon went on to attend the University of Alabama to study finance.
While a student in Alabama, he detailed his struggles with self-esteem and making friends.
In a 2018 university essay for the university, Sturgeon wrote about his plan to “improve myself as a whole”.
“My self-esteem has long been a problem for me,” he wrote.
In the lead-up to the attack, Sturgeon then began posting concerning posts on Instagram, according to local reports.
His account, which has since been taken down, included a meme photo captioned: “I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it”.
“I could burn this whole place down,” read another.
The shooter’s last post before the attack then read: “They won’t listen to words or protests. Let’s see if they hear this.”
Rep Morgan McGarvey revealed in a press conference on Tuesday that Sturgeon left behind a note for his family and friends.
The contents of the note are unclear but police dispatch audio revealed a chilling final voicemail to a friend.
In the audio, a dispatcher is heard relaying to law enforcement officials on the scene that Sturgeon had called a friend before the attack and left a chilling voicemail saying he felt “suicidal” and planned to “kill everyone at the bank”.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Louisville Metro Police Department Interim Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel said that Sturgeon bought the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack just six days before carrying out the massacre.
It was purhcased from a local dealership in the city on 4 April.
Just six days later, Sturgeon – a current employee at the bank – entered the Old National Bank on Monday morning armed with the rifle.
He opened fire in a first-floor conference room as executives gathered for their morning meeting – all the while livestreaming the massacre on his Instagram account.
Police bodycam footage, released on Tuesday afternoon, captured officers responding to the mass shooting and confronting the gunman. Sturgeon was then shot dead by officer fire.
Four victims died on the scene, before a fifth died in hospital later on Monday.
The victims, all executives at the bank, have been identified as: Tommy Elliott, 63, Jim Tutt, 64, Josh Barrick, 40, Juliana Farmer, 57, and Deana Eckert, 57.
Another eight victims were hospitalised including two police officers who were shot by the gunman after responding to the scene.
One of those officers – Louisville Metro Police Department Officer Nickolas Wilt – was shot in the head and is now fighting for his life in hospital.
Four of the wounded have since been discharged from hospital while four are still being treated.
Officer Wilt remains in critical condition, another victim is in ICU but in stable condition while the other two now have non life-threatening injuries.
A vigil will be helf on Wednesday for the victims.
