Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has spoken out after the release of the police body cam footage of the Kentucky bank shooting that left five dead.
Appearing on NBC News NOW, Mr Greenberg spoke to host Tom Llamas, who said, “When you look at that bodycam video, one of the things that stood out to me is that Officer Wilt, the officer who unfortunately took a bullet to the head, comes out with a handgun and he’s facing off against a shooter who has an AR-15. What did that make you think when you saw that?”
“Oh, it’s infuriating. If you care about our police officers, it’s time for action. Here we have officers that are outgunned by assailants,” Mr Greenberg said. “It’s time for action, so we’ve got to do a lot here in Kentucky. I’m going to be fighting in the halls of Washington, anywhere at the federal or [the] state level to give us the local autonomy.”
He added: “We in Louisville want to deal with our gun violence epidemic in the way that the people of Louisville want. Right now, we can’t do that. Our Kentucky laws would make me a criminal if I sought to implement, as mayor, more initiatives to reduce the amount of gun violence, to crack down on illegal guns. I would be the criminal. That’s insane.”
Louisville police released body cam footage from the shooting on Tuesday. The footage starts with a video from 26-year-old officer Nicholas Wilt, who had graduated from the police academy only ten days before the shooting.
He arrived at the scene in a vehicle with his training officer Cory “CJ” Galloway.
Police said Officer Wilt was shot in the head as he ran towards the gunshots coming from Sturgeon. The footage from Officer Wilt that was made public ends before he was struck.
The body cam footage from Officer Galloway shows him also coming under fire before he retreats behind a planter as police discuss that they’re unable to spot the shooter and that he’s firing through windows at the front of the bank.
Officer Galloway was also shot at one point.
Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said that the gunman broke the lobby windows, allowing police to get a view of where he was. He added that Officer Galloway shot and killed the shooter.
“You were saying that by Kentucky law the AR-15 used by the shooter to slaughter all those innocent people at the bank and to hurt and injure police officers is going to be auctioned off?” Mr Llamas asked.
“You are correct, it is that crazy, our current state law. Under Kentucky State law, guns that are confiscated are ultimately required to be turned over to the state, who in turn auction those guns off, and far too often they end up back on the streets,” the mayor said. “We have evidence that guns used to commit crimes end up back on the streets to commit more crimes. So yes, this AR rifle that was used to murder five people yesterday and shoot at officers will indeed one day be back on the streets of Kentucky or some other state if we don’t take action.”
Mr Llamas went on to note that Mr Greenberg has also been the target of a workplace shooting when “in February of 2022, a man stormed your campaign headquarters and fired a weapon point blank at you. I have to ask you since you are now on the frontlines of this debate, what are your thoughts?”
“People want to keep their guns, they want to protect themselves. But at the same time police departments, mayor offices, politicians, everyday people are coming under assault. What is the solution here?” Mr Llamas added.
Mr Greenberg said he thinks “most people want common-sense reforms.”
“They want us to be able to crack down on illegal guns. They don’t want guns that have been used to commit crimes to end up back on the streets again to commit more crimes,” he continued. “So that might just be a starting place. That might just be one small step forward. But we have to start somewhere, we have to start doing something. As you mentioned, I was the victim of a workplace shooting. I’m fortunate. I survived physically unharmed. I lost a very close friend yesterday in yesterday’s shooting. Four other individuals also lost their lives. Whether it’s a mass shooting or an individual shooting, there is simply far too much gun violence and we’ve got to do something.”
The ordeal, from the shooter’s first shot to when he was killed, went on for about nine minutes, Lt Col Aaron Cromwell said.
Those killed in the shooting include Joshua Barrick, 40; Juliana Farmer, 45; Deana Eckert, 57; Tommy Elliott, 63; and James Tutt, 64.
Ms Eckert was among the nine people taken to hospital on Monday before she passed away. Of the eight people who were shot but are still alive, five had been able to leave the hospital as of Tuesday.
A hospital spokesperson added that Officer Nicholas Wilt has undergone brain surgery and remains in critical condition. He graduated from the police academy ten days before the shooting. Of the three still in hospital, the other two are listed as being in fair condition.
There have been 147 mass shootings – defined as an instance in which four or more people are shot – so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Almost 12,000 people have died because of gun violence this year in the US.
