Evil gunman grins beside co-worker who survived shooting in chilling photo

11 April 2023 , 15:28

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Connor Sturgeon sits grinning next to two colleagues including Troy Haste, right, a regional account executive at Old National Bank, who was in the room when Sturgeon started shooting

Louisville gunman Connor Sturgeon grins alongside a colleague who would go on to narrowly survive the horror mass shooting he carried out in a chilling photo.

Evil Sturgeon, 25, brought an AR-15 rifle into work on Monday morning and opened fire as other employees had gathered for a morning meeting at the bank where he worked.

One manager at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, was watching the meeting through Microsoft Teams and saw her colleagues get slaughtered. The gunman was killed by police.

In the newly surfaced picture taken in September, Sturgeon can be seen at a construction site taking part in what appears to be a volunteer program organised by the bank.

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Blood on the shirt of Troy Haste who narrowly escaped the gunman

One of the other two men in the photo is Troy Haste, a regional account executive at Old National Bank.

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Mr Haste was in the conference room on Monday when Sturgeon opened fire.

He told WHAS: "We heard a click, and the lady next to me turned around and said 'What the heck' and he just started shooting."

Mr Haste fled to break room before running out of the building.

Evil gunman grins beside co-worker who survived shooting in chilling photo

A shaken Troy Haste speaks to reporters outside the scene

While speaking to reporters he showed them someone else's blood spattered on his shirt.

He said: "Whoever's next to me got shot, blood is on me from it."

Six people were killed, including the shooter, with nine being taken to hospital for treatment. The five deceased victims were identified as Joshua Barrick, 40, Thomas Elliot, 63, Juliana Farmer, 45, James Tutt, 64, and Deana Eckert, 57.

Louisville shooter Connor Sturgeon (Facebook/Lisa Sturgeon)

One of the dead includes a close friend of Kentucky's governor.

One of the injured was Louisville Metro Police Department Officer Nickolas Wilt, who was shot in the head and is in critical condition.

Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, the interim chief of the police department. said Wilt is in critical but stable condition at a hospital and underwent brain surgery.

Sturgeon wrote a note to loved ones before going to the bank, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said.

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Broken glass remains on the floor at the Old National Bank the day after the shooting (Getty Images)

The source also said Sturgeon knew he was about to be fired. Police have confirmed he worked at the bank.

Before the shooting he also made a series of ominous social media posts including one that said: "They won't listen to words or protests. Let's see if they hear this."

The note, according to the law enforcement source, to Sturgeon's parents and a friend said he was going to open fire in the bank.

Louisville Metro Police work outside the scene (Zuma Press/PA Images)

It is not clear whether it was read before the incident.

Sturgeon worked as a summer intern for the Old National Bank for three consecutive years, eventually joining as a commercial development professional in 2021 and a full-time associate and portfolio banker last year, according to his LinkedIn account.