Louisville Mayor Gives Impassioned Plea for Gun Control After Mass Shooting

Mayor of Louisville Craig Greenberg made a passionate call for gun-control legislation as officials provided updates on Tuesday, April 11, after a mass shooting at a bank in the city on Monday.

Six people died in the attack, and the shooter was killed at the scene, authorities said.

“This isn’t about partisan politics. This is about life and death. This is about preventing tragedies,” said Greenberg. “You may think this will never happen to you, you may think this will never happen to your friends, or loved ones. I used to think that. The sad truth is that now, no one in our city, no one in our country, no one in our state has that luxury anymore,” he continued. “Last year, I survived a workplace shooting. And now yesterday, I’ve lost a very close friend in another workplace shooting. Five more families have lost a loved one.”

Greenberg confirmed a sixth victim, Deanna Eckert, whom the mayor knew personally, died as a result of her injuries in a hospital on Monday night.

Jim Ryan, CEO of Old National Bank, where the shooting occurred, provided a statement to the mayor in which he asked for prayers for “all those affected.”

Dr Jason Smith, Chief Medical Officer at University of Louisville Health, confirmed four injured victims remained in the hospital, two of which were in intensive care as of Tuesday morning. Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Officer Nickolas Wilt, who graduated just 11 days before responding to the shooting, remained in critical condition after being shot in the head, Smith said.

LMPD Interim Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel said the suspect was a bank employee and had legally purchased the weapon on April 4 from a dealership in Louisville.

The LMPD executed a search warrant on the suspect’s home and recovered items, but did not clarify their nature as “the investigation is ongoing.”

Body-worn camera footage from police officers would be released on Tuesday afternoon, Gwinn-Villaroel said.

Returning to the mic, Mayor Greenberg said, “We have already lost 40 people to gun violence in Louisville this year. Needless tragedy. Needless loss of life.”

The mayor said a vigil would be hosted Wednesday, April 12, at 5 pm at the Muhammad Ali Center Plaza “to acknowledge the wounds, physical and emotional, that gun violence leaves behind.” It would be “an interfaith opportunity for the entire community,” Greenberg said. The mayor also encouraged blood donations. Credit: Louisville MetroTV via Storyful

Video Transcript

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CRAIG GREENBERG: Thank you all for joining us. Yesterday was an incredibly difficult day for all of us in Louisville. I want to start by saying thanks again to everyone who pulled together to get through yesterday and to continue on today and the days ahead. First, that starts with our police officers. Chief, to you and your entire team, thank you all very much.

In particular, thank you to Officer Wilt, Officer Galloway, who were two of the first officers to arrive on the street-- on the scene to confront the assailant and to save lives. You and all of the colleagues at LMPD were true heroes yesterday and every day. And to our other first responders-- EMS, Louisville Fire Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the 911 operator at MetroSafe who handled calls and dispatched so efficiently and well, and to our fit state and federal partners, thank you.

And also a special thanks to Dr. Smith, to you and all of your colleagues at the University of Louisville Hospital, thank you for saving lives yesterday and for saving lives every day. I also want to acknowledge the rest of our Metro government team who dealt with the challenges, adapted to the circumstances, and did what was asked of them yesterday to help others in our community. Thank you for embodying the best of public service.

As we talk about what's happened since yesterday, I have to acknowledge the painful fact that this awful act of violence at Old National yesterday has taken another life. Late yesterday, we learned that Deana Eckert passed. She was 57 years old. She was an employee of Old National Bank.

I knew Deana also. Deana was a very kind and a very thoughtful person. She was a wonderful woman who will be missed. Her death means another family in mourning and adds yet another layer of tragedy to this moment.

I want to briefly read a statement from Old National Bank's CEO Jim Ryan who has asked me to read this on behalf of him and his colleagues at Old National. Quote, "there are no words to adequately describe the sadness and devastation that our Old National family is experiencing as we grieve the tragic loss of our team members and pray for the recovery of all those who were injured. Obviously, this is an incredible, difficult situation, and our entire focus is on making sure that everyone affected has the support and assistance they need. On behalf of everyone at Old National, I also want to acknowledge and thank Louisville law enforcement, the medical community, and state and local officials for their incredible response to this tragedy. And finally, we ask you to please continue to pray for all those affected."

Again, that was Old National CEO Jim Ryan. Our thoughts are with the families who've lost loved ones. And we're also thinking and praying for the people who were injured in this attack, including our police officers. So for an update on their condition, I first would like to welcome Dr. Jason Smith, Chief Medical Officer at UofL Health. Dr. Smith?

JASON SMITH: Thank you, Mayor. So from UofL Health and UofL Hospital, I want to send my prayers and thoughts out to all the families that were affected yesterday, both those we treated and unfortunately those we did not. An update from us, we still have four patients in the hospital. Two remain in the ICU. Officer Wilt still-- Officer Wilt still remains in critical condition.

But we have been able to upgrade our other patient in the ICU to stable condition. The other two remain in the hospital being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. I want to thank my team, again, the emergency department, physicians and nurses, my trauma team at UofL Health and all those that supported us yesterday. I also want to send a thank you to the American Red Cross.

We used 170 units of blood yesterday to treat these victims, which far outstrips our hospital capacity. And their ability to get us that blood to save those lives helped save those lives. So I want to thank them for that. I'll be happy to take questions at the end of the press conference. Thank you.

CRAIG GREENBERG: Thank you, Dr. Smith. And now for a brief update on some information about things that we've learned about the events and the assailant yesterday. I'd like to call on our Chief of Police Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel. Chief?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: To the mayor and everyone who's in attendance today, we have learned that the suspect in this incident was a current employee with Old National Bank. We have also learned that he purchased the weapon used in this tragic incident-- on yesterday-- on April the 4th. He purchased the weapon legally from one of the local dealerships here in Louisville.

We have executed a search warrant on his residence. And we have recovered items. And we cannot get into specific details on what we recovered at this time because, again, the investigation's ongoing. And we want to make sure that we're providing accurate information.

The family deserves that, and the community deserves that. We also would like to share that later on this afternoon we will be releasing body-worn camera footage of the incident. And so that information at the time will be released to you and the location, so everyone will be privy to that information. Thank you.

CRAIG GREENBERG: Thank you, Chief. We need to acknowledge that a tragedy like this affects everyone. I've already talked about some of our first responders and colleagues in Metro government. Thanks also to the faith leaders and social workers and mental health professionals who provided comfort and counsel to people in understandable distress. I also want to acknowledge the teachers and parents who had to have difficult conversations with our children throughout our community about this inexplicable act of violence and cruelty.

We're all feeling shaken by this and scared and angry and a lot of other things too. It's important that we come together as a community to process this tragedy in particular, but not just this tragedy, because the reality is that we have already lost 40 people to gun violence in Louisville this year, including another young man yesterday just a few blocks away from Old National Bank shortly after this tragic incident happened. That was a separate targeted incident. But the result was the same-- needless tragedy, needless loss of life.

In order to help the people of our community, of our great city, come together and deal with this outbreak of tragedies, to grieve, to pray, to unite, I'd like to announce that we are going to be hosting a vigil tomorrow, Wednesday, at 5:00 PM at the Muhammad Ali Center Plaza. This vigil will be to acknowledge the wounds, physical and emotional, that gun violence leaves behind. It will be a interfaith opportunity for our entire community to come together to grieve, to heal, to begin to move forward.

We also know that Wednesday is a night of worship for many across our city. And so working with Paul Callanan and his colleagues at the Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhood, we will be having grief counselors at over a dozen churches throughout our city that have regularly scheduled worship on Wednesday evenings as well. We invite the entire community to join us at the Muhammad Ali Center tomorrow at 5:00 PM.

And also, if you prefer to worship on your own, again, we will be providing some grief counselors. And we'll have a list of those churches where members of Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhood will be located by mid-afternoon today. And I want to thank the Muhammad Ali Center for hosting this vigil on such short notice.

One really loving thing in the midst of this tragedy has been the sheer number of people locally and around the world who have shown such love and support for our city. It means a lot to my wife, Rachel and I. We are deeply grateful on behalf of everyone in Louisville for those who have reached out from beyond and within our city borders. There are so many people who want to do something who have offered to help, who see this nightmare unfold and want to make it better somehow. We love and appreciate that so much.

For those of you who are looking to take action right now to show your support for the first responders who are trying to save lives and for the victims of gun violence, one great way to do that is to donate blood. According to Johns Hopkins University, gunshot wounds require much more blood than other types of injuries. You just heard Dr. Smith talk about the amount of blood that was needed and used yesterday. He mentioned his thanks to the Red Cross.

We're very thankful to the American Red Cross, so we encourage people to make an appointment to donate at redcrossblood.org. That's redcrossblood.org. We encourage everyone to donate blood. And if you can't, there are other ways to support the American Red Cross with donations or your time. So next, I'd like to call up Steve Cunanan, who's CEO of the Louisville Red Cross. Steve?

STEVE CUNANAN: Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Our thoughts and our deepest sympathies are with the people of Louisville and those that have been impacted by Monday's tragic shooting. At the request of Local Emergency Management, on Monday, the American Red Cross Louisville area chapter and its volunteers helped support a family reunification center. The Red Cross continues to work with local authorities and their community partners and is helping to provide aid and assistance to those people affected by this tragedy.

At this time, the American Red Cross is working closely with the University of Louisville Hospital. And as Dr. Smith has mentioned, it has provided or we have provided more than 170 units of blood products to the hospital to treat those that have been affected by this. The Red Cross stands ready to provide additional blood and blood products upon the request. And as the mayor has mentioned, volunteer blood donors are needed each and every day to help save lives. This tragedy illustrates that it's the blood that's already on hand and on the shelves that helps during an emergency.

Type O-negative is the universal blood type. And that is what the emergency room personnel use and what they reach for when it's time-- when they don't have time to determine a blood type. And that's one of the types that is needed most. The American Red Cross is grateful to all those donors who generously give blood throughout this country. Thank you.

CRAIG GREENBERG: Thank you, Steve, to you and all of your colleagues at the Red Cross. There's one more topic that we need to talk about today, and that's guns. Yesterday's tragedy brings us to 40 people who've been shot to death this year in our city. That level of gun violence is beyond horrific. And it's beyond anything we can and will accept in our community.

Our police did a heroic job yesterday and every day. And we are already doing a lot to reduce the amount of gun violence in our city and make Louisville safer. We're investing in neighborhoods and in people who have been overlooked for generations, so every child has an opportunity to succeed and pursue their hopes and dreams.

We're going to invest more in mental health care. We're working to make universal pre-K a reality, workforce development initiatives for young and older adults alike. These are all important.

These are all also long-term solutions. We have to take action now. We need short-term action to end this gun violence epidemic now, so fewer people die on our streets and in our banks and in our schools and in our churches. And for that, we need help. We need help from our friends in Frankfurt and help from our friends in Washington, DC.

This isn't about partisan politics. This is about life and death. This is about preventing tragedies. You may think this will never happen to you, never happen to any of your friends or loved ones. I used to think that.

The sad truth is that now no one in our city, no one in our state, no one in our country has that luxury anymore. Last year, I survived a workplace shooting. And now yesterday, I've lost a very close friend in another workplace shooting. Five more families have lost a loved one.

It has happened in Louisville. It could happen in Paducah, in Pikeville or in Covington. This is happening in America everywhere and will keep happening until we say enough and take meaningful action. Congressman McGarvey will talk about some things at the federal level, so I'll address what we can do at the state level.

I have two requests today for every Kentucky State Senator and every Kentucky State Representative who wants to join me in reducing the amount of gun violence in Louisville. First, if you support police officers like Officer Wilt and Officer Galloway, who heroically ran into a barrage of fire from a waiting assailant with an assault rifle, if you support local decision-making to address local issues, if you want to help our state's largest city thrive, please give Louisville the autonomy to deal with our unique gun violence epidemic. Let us, the people of Louisville, make our own choices about how we reduce gun violence in our city. Other communities should be able to make the policies that work for them.

Let us implement policies that work for us, so please change our state law to let Louisville make its own decisions about reducing the amount of illegal guns on our streets and gun violence that is killing far too many people in mass shootings, in individual shootings, in any shootings. Let me be clear. I don't care about finger pointing. I don't care about blame. I don't care about politics.

I'm only interested in working together with our state legislators to take meaningful action to save lives, to prevent more tragic injuries and more death. Arguing is not a strategy. Doing nothing is not a strategy. It's not a solution.

The second thing, and to those in the national media that are joining us here today, this may be even more shocking than it is to those of us locally who know this and are dealing with this. But under current Kentucky law, the assault rifle that was used to murder five of our neighbors and shoot at rescuing police officers will one day be auctioned off. Think about that. That murder weapon will be back on the streets one day under Kentucky's current law.

My administration has already taken action to remove the firing pin before turning confiscated guns over to the state because that's all that the current law allows us to do. That's not enough. It's time to change this law and let us destroy illegal guns and destroy the guns that have been used to kill our friends and kill our neighbors. I

Know every member of the state legislature like everyone else in our state and in our country is horrified by what we saw yesterday, by what we see in other cities around the country. None of us wants this to happen again. None of us wants this to happen in our neighborhood.

But it will keep happening. That's why we have to do more than what we've already done. Let's change the state laws. That would make me a criminal for trying too hard to stop the real evil criminals who are taking other people's lives and who are eager to make a spectacle of mass murder. The laws we have now are enabling violence and murder.

It's time to change those laws to save lives and keep our people safe. To those in the Kentucky State legislature, let's work together. I look forward to working with you on this. Now I'd like to welcome Congressman Morgan McGarvey.

MORGAN MCGARVEY: Good morning. Thank you to Mayor Greenberg and your team, Rachel, for your leadership through this. I'm not here today simply as a congressman. I am a lifelong Louisvillian, born and raised here. And my heart hurts.

I got the call yesterday when I was in Washington DC. And we didn't know exactly what had happened yet. But you got that feeling of dread that something's wrong. This isn't normal.

And then more information starts coming out. And the heartbreak begins. And the names start coming out. And we know them and their friends because this is Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, the biggest small town in America.

We call it Louis Village because really and truly, everybody knows everybody. We are not seven degrees of separation from people in Louisville. We are one degree of separation from people in Louisville. When we ask you what school did you go to, we mean high school.

I went to Manual High School. My mom went to Waggener High School. Louisville is my home. And we are hurting.

This is an unimaginable tragedy for our community. As Mayor Greenberg mentioned, Deana Eckert passed away last night, a truly lovely woman. Jim Tutt is no longer with us. Josh Barrick is no longer with us.

The woman who was the maid of honor in our wedding and for whom we are the godparents of two of their children called me yesterday from the Barrick's house and said I'm with Jessica Barrick. She hasn't heard from her husband. Can you find out if he's alive? I called LMPD.

And as they did everything yesterday, were quick in their response, I had to call back and say I cannot confirm anything. But he is not on the list of survivors. And she had to tell their two small children that their father would never come home from work.

Juliana Farmer is no longer with us. Tommy Elliot, my friend, he's no longer with us. Because it's Louisville, I didn't just know Tommy. I knew Tommy well.

His wife even worked with my wife for a time at a company here in town. Their lives have been forever changed. The people who knew them are forever changed. Our community is forever changed.

I am so grateful to the quick response of the Louisville Metro Police Department. Chief, your team was incredible yesterday. To run headfirst into that gunfire without question saved lives. It also changed lives. Officer Wilt, as we know, is fighting right now after being struck in the head by an AR-15 round on his fourth ever shift as a police officer.

To the team at UofL, thank you, Dr. Smith. Again, this is the collateral damage of gun violence. Every person who touched these victims and these officers had to deal with this trauma and will have to process this trauma in their own way. Thank you also to all of our first responders, the Louisville Fire Department, our emergency medical technicians, to the FBI, to the ATF, to everyone who is involved.

Continue to pray for the people recovering. They need it. And we want it. Today and in the weeks ahead, we are grieving. We are hurting.

We are heartbroken. We are despondent. But we are Louisvillians. And that same close-knit community that creates this heartbreak will knit together the strength that brings us back.

I'm proud of the mayor and his team for the job they've done. I've talked with the governor. I've also worked with federal authorities, talking with Secretary Mayorkas at Homeland Security and the Vice President of the United States. They are sending additional resources to Louisville, including counseling resources.

Unfortunately, this is not the first, second, or third time an incident like this has happened in our country. They know what to do. And they're going to be helping us out. I will continue with our federal and local officials to mobilize the resources we need, working with our police departments, our faith leaders, our city and state leaders, to make sure that our city receives what it needs to begin healing. And we need to take this grief and turn it into action.

I am a person of faith. I was raised in the church. We've raised our kids in the church. Please, if you are a person of faith and you want to give us your thoughts and your prayers, we want them. And we need them.

Our community is hurting. But we need policies in place that will keep this from happening again so that thoughts and prayers do not have to be offered to yet another community ripped apart by the savage violence coming from guns. Look at what's happening. I had somebody tell me the other day, don't make this political. Fine, don't make this political.

People's lives aren't political. Public safety isn't political. Put those policies in place that put people first, people over guns, kids over guns, public safety over guns, because that is what we need to address this problem. I'm an optimist. Maybe to be a Democrat in Kentucky, you have to be. [CHUCKLING]

But I have seen us come together in the state legislature where I served before being elected to Congress, working with some of my conservative colleagues to introduce crisis aversion rights retention laws that would help temporarily remove firearms from people in crisis. This investigation is dynamic. It is ongoing. But we know this shooter purchased an AR-15 rifle on April 4.

We know he left a note. We know he texted or called at least one person to let them know he was suicidal and contemplating harm. But we don't have the tools on the books to deal with someone who is an imminent danger to themselves or to others. We can do this.

We can come together at the federal level, working with each other to solve this problem, which is impacting all of us in a uniquely American way and get universal background checks so that people who shouldn't have a gun can't buy one, that we are taking weapons of war off of our streets, that we are helping people who are in crisis. That is not a political issue. But it becomes one when Kentucky Republicans would rather ban books and pronouns--

- [CHUCKLING]

MORGAN MCGARVEY: --and then make Kentucky a sanctuary state for weapons. We are hurting. And no matter what policy we pass, no, it will not bring back these people. This will not bring back our friends, our neighbors, and our loved ones.

We will continue to get the resources for our community that we need. And we will continue to work to make sure that we have the policies in place that keep other families, other loved ones, other kids from going through this tragedy again.

CRAIG GREENBERG: Thank you, Congressman McGarvey. Dr. Smith, the Chief, Congressman, myself, we're available to take some questions from the media. And because we have many people joining us that we don't typically see, if you could please just let us know what your outlet is as we call on you. Yes?

MARK MORALES: Sir, I'm from CNN-- Mark Morales. If you could speak a little bit or maybe [INAUDIBLE] you could speak to the actual motive-- have we made any grounds on that that's actually decided? Do we know what the motive is?

And secondly, it sounds like there was a lot of planning to this, that [INAUDIBLE] that was mentioned [INAUDIBLE] last purchased the weapon on the 4th. Can we get some more details about that and, you know, what the level of planning was for this?

CRAIG GREENBERG: The chief might have some other things to add. I don't believe we have any other information to provide at this point. As the chief mentioned earlier, we have been able to confirm that he was a current employee of the bank and when he purchased the weapon. But Chief, do we have anything else?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: There's nothing else further at this time. But we do know that this was targeted. He knew those individuals, of course, because he worked there.

And the evil that was played out on yesterday, taking those lives and injuring so many others, just truly unfortunate. But again, the investigation is ongoing. And whatever we uncover, it will actually be revealed to everyone.

MARK MORALES: Would you [INAUDIBLE] targeting anyone, individuals at the bank, or just the bank in general?

CRAIG GREENBERG: We don't have an answer to that yet, Mark. We don't know. We just-- we just know what the results are. And we will certainly continue that as part of the investigation.

- Chief, can you speak procedurally about what comes next? We know that LMPD standard protocol when officers fire their weapons, there has to be an investigation. Can you give us a timeline for what that looks like, who will be conducting the investigation, when will we know how many officers fired shots-- things of that nature?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Yes. And I have my-- my colleagues here who have done extraordinary work and helping me on yesterday, so I would like to highlight Lieutenant Colonel Crowell-- come up and just share because he's over the investigation. And I think it's appropriate for him to give that.

AARON CROWELL: Thank you. [CLEARING THROAT] So at this point, because of the complexity of the scene, we made a determination yesterday to segment the internal shooting where-- between the shooter and the employees to a homicide investigation. And then the Public Integrity Unit will be the external shooting incident, which was between the suspect and the officers. So there's two separate investigations going.

Louisville Metro Police will be handling the Public Integrity Unit and the homicide investigation. We discussed it with KSP yesterday and determined that was the appropriate route for us to keep it within our own structure there. As far as number of rounds or any specific information, it's going to be quite some time before we're going to share any kind of specifics that would, you know, taint the investigation one way or another.

- [INAUDIBLE] you [INAUDIBLE] kind of weapon.

AARON CROWELL: As I think we've said multiple times, it was an AR-15.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- Yes, sir.

CRAIG GREENBERG: Yes, ma'am?

ADRIENNE: Adrienne [INAUDIBLE] from CNN. And my question is for Dr. Smith.

- [CLEARING THROAT]

ADRIENNE: [INAUDIBLE]. Can you just share with us what is on your heart and what that process was like for you and your team who had to operate on Officer Wilt? And how long did the surgery take?

JASON SMITH: Sure. Well, I won't get into too many specifics about the patients we're currently caring for. We did operate on three of them yesterday that required emergency operations. My team were absolute professionals. We trained for this.

It's difficult to-- it's very difficult to be able to process what's going on during that time. And so the training that we do with our emergency department nurses and physicians, our surgical services, our trauma teams, the blood bank, all of that makes a huge difference in being able to save those lives because we have to act quickly. But I'll be honest, caring for three shooting victims plus the other that came in is not an unfrequent day for us. And the events surrounding this made this obviously much more difficult.

But to be honest with you, we barely had to adjust our operating room schedule to be able to do this. That's how frequent we are having to deal with gun violence in our community. I'll tell you personally, I'm weary. I've been in Louisville for 15 years, all of it at University Hospital.

For 15 years, I've cared for victims of violence and gunshot wounds. And people say, I'm tired. But I'll be-- answer-- it's more than tired. I'm weary. There's only so many times you can walk into a room and tell someone they're not coming home tomorrow.

And it just breaks your heart. When you hear someone screaming mommy or daddy, it just becomes too hard day in and day out to be able to do that. Now, my team is fantastic. They're-- they're absolute professionals. And they're wonderful.

But sooner or later, it catches up to everybody. You just can't keep doing what we're doing because you just can't keep seeing these lives lost. You can't keep seeing all the people with these horrific injuries coming through the door without doing something to try and help them.

And I don't know what the answers are. I'm a doctor. I don't know what the answers are. But to everyone who helps make policy both at state, city, federal, I would simply ask you to do something because doing nothing, which is what we've been doing, is not working. We have to do something because this is just getting out of hand across our city and across this great nation of ours. Sorry.

ADRIENNE: Thank you. [INAUDIBLE].

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

CRAIG GREENBERG: No-- [INAUDIBLE].

JASON SMITH: Yeah, so he's still in the ICU. He's still sedated. And again, I apologize. I am not going to release any other information for the patients that we're still taking care of.

ADRIENNE: He's still in critical [INAUDIBLE]. You said yesterday the next 24 hours are going to be very intense. Is that still the same stance today?

JASON SMITH: Yeah, so he's still in critical condition in our ICU. He's being treated by our neurosurgery team, being treated by our trauma team and our anesthesia teams and is still undergoing a lot of care at bedside.

ADRIENNE: And good news, we had another patient released. I know we talk a lot about the hurt to see these people receive trauma care. But another person was able to leave and walk out of the hospital. How does that feel to see the good part of this today?

JASON SMITH: Yeah, so I mean, the answer is is that, you know, today, we had four. We may have three. The ones that are doing well are doing well. And I think, you know, the work that we do with the physicians and the nurses at the hospital is just-- it's unbelievable sometimes the people that we're able to save these days.

We have partners like the Red Cross that can get us, you know, 170 units of blood in a eight-hour period of time. It's just the coordination of the city, of the health care system and of the hospital is-- is outstanding to be able to say that those patients are going home.

ADRIENNE: Thank you.

JASON SMITH: Mm-hm.

- Was there armed security at the bank? And can you talk about any steps that people inside the bank may have taken that might have saved lives or they might have taken that were, like, the right thing to do if any of us are ever in that situation?

CRAIG GREENBERG: Yeah, I'll call on the chief or someone from LMPD to talk about precautions to take if this ever happens to you and you find yourself in a similar situation. I don't think we have the information yet on whether there were armed guards within the bank. We don't have any evidence that there was. But we have not yet confirmed that. Chief, do you or someone else [INAUDIBLE]?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Deputy Chief [INAUDIBLE].

CRAIG GREENBERG: Talk about some precautions.

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Yes.

PAUL HUMPHREY: Like you said, we have no information about any armed security that was at the bank. But in these situations, it's very simple. We teach people run, hide, fight, all right? I can say that we do know that people saved their own lives yesterday when they heard the gunshots and they-- they either run or hid, and they got out of the danger area. And we are grateful for that.

So run, hide, fight. Get out of the area. If you cannot get out of the area, hide. If you cannot hide safely, fight.

Do not think that you do not have the capacity to fight back and save your life. When it comes down to it, that's the only choice you have. And you better fight like your life depends on it because you have to. So run, hide, or fight.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

- How people were inside at the time? And was this also confined to one room, the shooting?

CRAIG GREENBERG: We don't have an exact number of people who were in the building or in the shooting yet. The shooting took place on the first floor, which is slightly elevated from the sidewalk because of the grade there. There were other people in the buildings. LMPD did clear the entire building in a very safe and rapid manner, so there were many other people in the building. We don't have those exact numbers yet. Yes?

- A question for the chief regarding Officer Wilt. Officer Galloway was also mentioned first of all. Is that his field training officer?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: That is correct.

- Obviously, as we heard, this was his fourth shift on the job. Is it accurate to say he still did not hesitate [INAUDIBLE]?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: He did not hesitate.

- At all?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: At all.

- [INAUDIBLE]

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: He was with his field training officer. And he did not hesitate. I'm just truly proud of the heroic actions of those two officers and everybody else that responded. They went towards danger in order to save and preserve life.

And that's what you saw on yesterday. They stopped a threat, so other lives could be saved. And so no hesitation. And they did what they were called to do.

- And how do you-- as we've heard from Dr. Smith being weary about his steps having to treat gunshot victims over and over, are you weary about your officers having to run these heavy circumstances frequently?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: I'm not weary at this point as to what my officers are going to do because they've been standing up. They're still engaged. They're still serving the city. I'm weary that we're dealing with the violence.

But I'm not weary that my officers are going to lay down and stop doing what they are told and trained to do. And they looked at me, and they were truly amazed that how everybody came together. And one of the questions I asked them on yesterday, I says, if we don't go, who will? And they all nodded that they're going.

And so we'll continue to go because the citizens of this great city depends on us. And so I'm just really proud of the resiliency of LMPD. The men and women of this great city is showing up, and they're serving. And I appreciate them. And I appreciate the community's support for our department.

CRAIG GREENBERG: One question here. And then we'll go over here. One second, Isaiah. We'll get this question. Then we'll come over to you guys.

- [INAUDIBLE] Maggie [INAUDIBLE]. Thank you all for this update and [INAUDIBLE]. First [INAUDIBLE] was Officer Galloway the other officer shot during--

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Yes, ma'am, he was grazed in the left side.

- I appreciate that. What was his first name [INAUDIBLE].

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: I'm sorry.

- Cory.

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Cory.

- Cory?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Yes.

- Thank you. Can you also speak to any potential history of red flags that may have existed with the suspect? We heard about [INAUDIBLE]. We heard about [INAUDIBLE] voicemails.

[INAUDIBLE] like he spoke to his family at this point. And we've heard about a whole history of mental health issues. [INAUDIBLE] new kind of context you can give about what may have led up to this-- what you know now?

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Again, it's still ongoing. And we're just trying to piece everything together and just truly unfold everything. But again, once we do have it all, you'll be able to receive that information in its totality and with accuracy because that's important.

So right now, we're just still at the beginning stages. And I know we want more. But we're right here. And just, the family deserves for us to get this right and continue to do it the right way.

- [INAUDIBLE]

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Sorry?

- I think this is [INAUDIBLE] note.

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: I don't want to confirm that just yet.

- I couldn't hear the question.

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: The confirmation of a note.

- [INAUDIBLE]

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: OK, so we're just going to leave it right there for right now.

CRAIG GREENBERG: Isaiah?

ISAIAH: Mayor, [INAUDIBLE] heard reports saying that the shooter will get a notice of his termination of work there [INAUDIBLE] department?

CRAIG GREENBERG: That is not-- from what I have been told from an official at the bank, that is not accurate. The shooter was a current employee of the bank.

ISAIAH: [INAUDIBLE]

CRAIG GREENBERG: Not to my knowledge. I don't believe that is correct. I don't believe that is correct.

- Sir, you laid out a number of things that your administration has done so far. But you've also [INAUDIBLE] the state legislature's two laws [INAUDIBLE] that you would like to see them change [INAUDIBLE]. With that said, do you feel at this point that your administration or this government has done all it can to address the gun violence issue, and now the state legislators [INAUDIBLE] the only [INAUDIBLE]?

CRAIG GREENBERG: We're-- we're going to continue to keep trying. We've been doing a lot. We have started to do things that had not been previously done, both in terms of short-term action with respect to reducing the amount of illegal guns on our street and long-term investments in people and neighborhoods.

And we're going to keep trying. We're working with our partners on the Metro Council who I know are very supportive of a lot of what we're talking about here because like me, they care about our city today. And they care about our city tomorrow.

But one way we can do more is with the help of the state legislators. And that's why I'm reaching out to all of them today and will continue in the days and weeks and months ahead is to help us. Give us more tools in our toolbox to address this unique gun violence epidemic that we have in Louisville in a way that the members of the Metro Council and our administration and the people of Louisville feel is most appropriate to keep our city safe.

- Do you want to see a special session?

CRAIG GREENBERG: I'm not calling for a special session at this time. I want to have conversations. I want to work on a plan. And I want to work on getting that implemented as fast as possible. And we can figure out those details later.

- I have a question for-- for Dr. Smith. Just [INAUDIBLE] about the [INAUDIBLE] the blood that was used yesterday, a lot of people have been asking how can they help. Speak about just, you know, something as simple as giving blood and how that could help you all with your operations right now because there are other patients outside of, you know, this tragedy [INAUDIBLE], unfortunate [INAUDIBLE] situation [INAUDIBLE] your operations.

JASON SMITH: Yeah, there are always other patients is the simple answer to that. When we appreciate everyone getting out, but donating blood now helps us in the future. And the lives that were saved yesterday were because of the American Red Cross and the blood they had on the shelves and the blood that they provided us. So going now to donate and continuing to donate is what's going to make a difference for the patients that are coming through the doors tomorrow, today, a week from now, a month from now.

It's not just enough to go once because the blood is a finite resource. It lasts a finite period of time. It needs a continual effort from all those in the community to help supply the blood products needed to care for those that are victims of violence, of trauma, of car accidents. And I think that is really the message to get out is give blood, and continue to do that.

- What were the names of the other two officers who were injured [INAUDIBLE] in hospital [INAUDIBLE]?

CRAIG GREENBERG: One was Officer Galloway that we were talking about. And the third was--

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: [INAUDIBLE]. And we had just another officer that was just-- actually just had a bruise on the left [INAUDIBLE].

CRAIG GREENBERG: It was not the result of a gunshot.

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: [INAUDIBLE]. Just--

CRAIG GREENBERG: The third officer was-- was injured in the response but not as the result of a gunshot. Tara? Tara?

- [INAUDIBLE] this morning for Dow Chemical America in emergency testing. I wondered if that was in response to what happened yesterday? Or is it standard [INAUDIBLE]?

CRAIG GREENBERG: I'm not aware of anything in relation to that. So I don't have any information on that.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- Yes, [INAUDIBLE], in the blue.

- [INAUDIBLE]. Do you know that throughout the day [INAUDIBLE] alert about the situation? I waited I think until 5:00 PM [INAUDIBLE]. I was wondering [INAUDIBLE] how the check [INAUDIBLE] handled or the geographic [INAUDIBLE].

CRAIG GREENBERG: The most important thing in the immediate aftermath in the minutes after that was to ensure that our-- our officers could respond and that they could respond initially to the scene as they did and then to secure the scene and start ensuring that there was access to the hospitals for the victims and to provide-- get support to the victims who were there. That was the immediate focus. And so shortly after the shooting, an alert was sent out to encourage people to avoid that area. I understand that was well after the situation.

The immediate danger had been addressed and neutralized. But we still wanted to keep people away from that officer-- we had so-- from that area. We had so many first responders of all sorts that were there. And we were trying to keep that-- those lanes clear and people away from there so that they could focus on-- on doing what what they needed to do.

- [INAUDIBLE]

CRAIG GREENBERG: Yes?

- Do you have anyone [INAUDIBLE] AR-15 [INAUDIBLE].

CRAIG GREENBERG: Not at this time. Yes, ma'am?

- Sorry. My name is [INAUDIBLE]. I [INAUDIBLE] mentioned that he was a current employee. But do you know more details about how, where [INAUDIBLE] entrance to the building? Was he waiting for his colleagues? Or when exactly-- what's that time line?

CRAIG GREENBERG: He was a current employee who worked in that building, so he had access to the building as a result of being an employee in that building.

- Do we know if the shooter was armed with multiple weapons or just an AR? And do we have an idea of how many rounds he was able to discharge in a short period?

- [INAUDIBLE]

CRAIG GREENBERG: OK.

- [INAUDIBLE] question is how many [INAUDIBLE] the police and how many [INAUDIBLE]-- how many [INAUDIBLE] guns [INAUDIBLE] guns.

CRAIG GREENBERG: How many guns did the shooter have?

- Yes.

- And shot [INAUDIBLE] and shot [INAUDIBLE].

AARON CROWELL: Yeah, at this point in the investigation, we're not going to share any specifics as far as firearms other than what's already been stated. How many, how many rounds were fired, how many people were involved-- that's just-- it's premature for us to have that discussion. We're still gathering the information. And even what we think we know right now, it would be premature to hang our hat and say this is 100% what happened because it is still ongoing. So it's just, it's not appropriate or responsible to put that information out right now, and then we'd have to walk it back at a later time.

CRAIG GREENBERG: We have time for a couple more from folks that have not asked a question so far.

- [INAUDIBLE]. Will you be releasing the name of the officer who shot Connor? And will you be releasing any information on the time frame when the shooting happened to the time that he was taken down by the cops [INAUDIBLE]?

CRAIG GREENBERG: Well, it was just as we mentioned yesterday. I mean, it was just a matter of minutes. I believe that the 9-1-1 call came in at 8:38.

- Mm-hm.

CRAIG GREENBERG: And we were on scene at 8:41.

- [INAUDIBLE]

CRAIG GREENBERG: And we were on--

AARON CROWELL: --ten minutes from start to finish as far as when he began. Then we were notified three minutes after that. And then we responded three minutes after that.

- [INAUDIBLE]

AARON CROWELL: --and then within--

CRAIG GREENBERG: Yeah, stand by the mic. Say that again.

- Officer [INAUDIBLE].

AARON CROWELL: And we will get into more detail with this when we go through the videos this afternoon. But it's about a nine-minute span from the time he begins his assault. And then it was a few minutes after that before we get the first call on it, three minutes after that when we respond to the scene. And then about three minutes after we respond, the subject is neutralized.

- [INAUDIBLE] officer was shot.

AARON CROWELL: We've said multiple times it's Officer Galloway.

CRAIG GREENBERG: All right, we have time for two more questions. Yes, sir, and then over on this side of the room.

- [INAUDIBLE] Galloway-- how were they able to get there so quickly? Were they in kind of position to? And [INAUDIBLE]?

AARON CROWELL: It's their beat.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- Oh.

AARON CROWELL: They're riding-- that's their geographic area of responsibility, so they-- they were patrolling in the immediate area when the calls came up.

- I'm sorry. Did you say Officer Galloway is who shot the shooter?

AARON CROWELL: Yes.

CRAIG GREENBERG: Yes?

- [INAUDIBLE] from CNN. Along with being a rookie officer in the [INAUDIBLE] yesterday, can you confer [INAUDIBLE] Officer Wilt is still serving as a firefighter or an EMT on a volunteer basis?

- I don't know.

CRAIG GREENBERG: You don't know. [INAUDIBLE].

- [INAUDIBLE]

CRAIG GREENBERG: Is Officer Wilt serving as a-- still as an EMT or--

- [INAUDIBLE] at all?

AARON CROWELL: He had previously worked with Oldham County [INAUDIBLE].

CRAIG GREENBERG: OK. Previously worked at Oldham County. We don't have any other information on that. Again, as was mentioned, we will continue to provide updates on all of this. We'll be releasing body-camera footage later this afternoon.

If there are other updates available at that point in time, we'll make them available. Thank you all very much for being here. Have a good day. Thank you. [INAUDIBLE].

[SIDE CONVERSATION]

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL: Thank you. [INAUDIBLE].

- Good to meet you [INAUDIBLE].

[SIDE CONVERSATION]