Traumatised shooting survivor recalls being sprayed with colleague's blood

11 April 2023 , 19:40

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Traumatised shooting survivor recalls being sprayed with colleague's blood

A traumatised survivor of the Louisville shooting was sprayed by a colleagues blood when the shooting started.

Gunman Connor Sturgeon, 25, took an AR-15 rifle into work on Monday morning and opened fire killing five before being gunned down by police.

All those killed were colleagues of his, many who had gathered in a conference room for a meeting at around 8.30am on Monday.

Troy Haste is an account executive with Old National Bank, Kentucky, US, was was in the first floor room 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."

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Troy Haste shows a TV crew the spattered blood

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

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

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

Another colleague had logged on to the meeting using Microsoft Teams and was watching when the shooting started.

Troy Haste speaks to a reporter

Rebecca Buchheit-Sims, a manager at the Old National Bank, said: “Shortly after the meeting started, the gunman, which is an employee, started shooting up the conference room.”

She added: “I witnessed people being murdered. I don’t know how else to say that.”

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.

Troy Haste, right, sits with Louisville shooter Connor Sturgeon, left, in a chilling image

Gunman Sturgeon was killed by police.

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

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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.

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

The shooter was live streaming the massacre on Instagram, police have confirmed. "That's tragic to know that that incident was out there and captured," Chief Gwinn-Villaroel said.

Sturgeon joined the bank full-time in 2021 after three consecutive summer internships, and it is reported that he knew he was being fired from his job.

Community members gather at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church for a vigil following the mass shooting (Getty Images)

Police also clarified that Sturgeon was killed by police and not from a self-inflicted wound.

He was a track runner for his school in a Louisville suburb and was a semifinalist for a National Merit Scholarship in 2015, say local media reports.

Sturgeon, at 6ft 5in, was also a basketball player who went on to have a podcast with friends.

Workers inspect damage to the Old National Bank (Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)

A former school classmate who claims to have known the gunman and his family well, said that there were no “red flags”.

“This is a total shock. He was a really good kid who came from a really good family,” the classmate, who asked not to be identified and has not spoken with Sturgeon in recent years told CNN.

“I can’t even say how much this doesn’t make sense. I can’t believe it.”

Charlie Jones