The governor of Kentucky has said that two of his close friends were killed in a mass shooting on Monday in a bank in the city of Louisville.
Four people were killed in the Old National Bank after a former employee stormed the branch shortly after opening time and opened fire with an AR-15-style assault rifle. The gunman himself died, taking the toll to five.
Nine more people were wounded and treated for injuries in a nearby hospital.
Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, moved to tears, told a press conference on Monday: “This is awful. I have a very close friend who didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either. And one who’s at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through.”
A bank employee took refuge in the vault, locking herself in and calling her husband who she begged to contact police to send help. Caleb Goodlett, her husband, said that by the time he called authorities, they were already on the scene.
Other employees said they were in the office when a colleague came in and warned them about a shooter entering the building carrying guns.
A man who escaped the building during the shooting said the shooter opened fire with a long rifle in a conference room in the back of the building on the first floor.
Witness Troy Haste, who is reportedly a former employee of the bank, told the news station: “Whoever was next to me got shot – blood is on me from it.”
He said he survived the attack by hiding in a break room, adding: “I didn’t see his face. I was looking around, opening the door to see where he was at, and I could still see him shooting.”
One witness said she heard multiple gunshots and breaking glass while in her car at a junction nearby.
The woman, only named as Debbie, told local media station: “Gunfire erupted, like, right over my head. When I turned, I saw that one of the windows in the bank had been blown out.”
Police are now investigating the motive for the attack.
Paul Humphrey, deputy chief at Louisville Metro Police, confirmed that the shooter “did have a connection to the bank” believing him to be a former employee.
He said: “We believe this is a lone gunman involved in this that did have a connection to the bank. We’re trying to establish what that connection was to the business, but it appears he was a previous employee.”
Police were called to the building on East Main Street at around 8.30am where officers “encountered the suspect almost immediately, still firing gun shots”.
He died at the scene and police are still trying to confirm if the suspect died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds or if he was killed by officers.
Police were working to identify all of the victims.
Residents were urged to stay away from the scene as the investigation is expected to carry on into the night.