WICKED

Louisville Bank Shooter Planned His Livestreamed Massacre

Connor Sturgeon had “messages and notes” on his phone with “with plans on how to conduct” the shooting.

Before mowing down five co-workers and wounding eight at a Kentucky bank last month, gunman Connor Sturgeon, 23, planned the massacre and plopped his phone in his front shirt pocket to livestream it all, according to four unsealed police warrants. The search warrants—sent to Google, Apple, AT&T, and Snap Inc.—revealed “messages and notes” on his phone “with plans on how to conduct” the rampage. A “manifesto or note” was also found in his Louisville home, but the warrants did not delve further into the content of the letter or the specifics of the materials on his phone. In the moments leading up to the carnage, Sturgeon went live on Instagram with his phone in his shirt pocket “to capture the mass shooting,” the warrants stated. Instagram-owner Meta immediately took down the livestream. The warrants also disclosed more details on his history of mental health struggles, with a suicide attempt by Sturgeon last year and a recent statement from his parents, who told police “mental health disorders may have played a part during this criminal act.” At the scene of the massacre, an officer shot and killed Sturgeon in the lobby of the bank.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. You can also text or dial 988.