(LONDON) — An Australian man has quite literally struck gold.
He discovered a rare gold nugget worth about 240,000 Australian dollars, or about $160,000, while scanning Victoria’s “Golden Triangle” with his metal detector.
The man, who did not wish to be named, was scanning the area between Ballart, Bendigo and St. Arnaud, which was popular during Victoria’s famous gold rush in the 1850s, when his Minelab Equinox 800 metal detector started to beep.
It was there that he unearthed a 4.6 kg rock, which contained 2.6 kg of gold.
Inquisitive about the rock’s worth, the man put it in his backpack to took it to Darren and Leanne Kamp at Lucky Strike Gold in Geelong, a city nearby, for appraisal.
Lucky Strike Gold told ABC News that in 43 years of working in the industry evaluating and prospecting gold, they have never encountered a gold nugget of this size.
“We are in a unique position to see lots of gold nuggets come through the door to be sold or shown off by prospectors,” Leanne Kamp told ABC News. “Darren, himself, has found gold nuggets weighing 24 oz, 16 oz, 10 oz, 8 oz, 6 oz, but nothing as big as this!”
She added, “The gold specimen was originally very dirty so the prospector broke it into two, thinking that there may be a solid nugget inside. However, it turned out that it was riddled with gold from the outside in.”
The prospector had thought the piece might be worth about 10,000 Australian dollars, but “when he placed it into Darren’s hand, it was immediately apparent due to its significant weight that it was worth more like 100,000,” Leanne said.
“Just on gold price alone, the valuation came in at 240,000 Australian dollars, however nuggets like these fetch a premium price because of their rarity,” she said.
Victoria’s “Golden Triangle” is known for producing some of the largest and purest gold nuggets in the world. It was there that the “Hand of Faith” — the biggest known golden nugget — was discovered in 1980, weighing 876 ozs. That nugget currently resides in Las Vegas’ Golden Nugget Casino.
Equipped with a more expensive detector, the man who found the $160,000 nugget said he’s going back to see if he can strike gold again.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — The five victims who were killed in a mass shooting at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank Monday morning have been identified by police, as well as the 26-year-old officer who was shot in the head and is now in critical but stable condition.
The Louisville Metro Police Department identified Joshua Barrick, 40; Thomas Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; James Tutt, 64, and Deana Eckert, 57, as the five people killed at Old National Bank.
Eight other people, including the officer, were injured in the shooting, according to authorities.
Officer Nickolas Wilt, who had just graduated from the police academy on March 31, was shot in the head while responding to the scene, police said.
He underwent brain surgery and is in critical but stable condition, police said.
Here’s what we know about the victims:
Juliana Farmer, 45
Farmer was killed during Monday’s shooting, police confirmed.
Thomas Elliott, 63
Elliott was fatally shot during the incident, according to law enforcement officials.
Joshua Barrick, 40
Barrick was killed during the shooting, police said.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Five victims were killed and eight others were injured in a mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday morning, according to police.
Authorities said the suspect was killed by police at the scene.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 10, 10:59 PM EDT
Old National Bank releases new statement
“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,” Old National Bank CEO Jim Ryan said in a new statement Monday night.
Ryan and other members of the Old National leadership team have been in Louisville much of the day offering support to affected individuals and their families, and they will continue to be on hand to provide support in the days ahead.
“Obviously, this is an incredibly difficult situation, and our entire focus is on making sure that everyone affected has the support and assistance they need,” Ryan said. “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.”
Apr 10, 11:01 PM EDT
Fifth person has died, police say
A fifth person has died following Monday’s mass shooting at a Louisville bank, police said.
Louisville police identified 57-year-old Deana Eckert as the latest victim.
Apr 10, 6:35 PM EDT
Louisville mayor vows to fight gun violence
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg spoke with ABC News’ Trevor Ault and pledged to make reducing gun violence his top priority in office, hours after four people, including his own friend, were gunned down inside a downtown bank.
“We have to take action. Today is a day for love and support to the victims… but this is life and death, so as mayor, this will continue to be our number one priority,” Greenberg – who was a victim of a workplace attack last year, said in the interview that took place a block away the bank.
Greenberg called his emotions “raw.”
“The second I got the alert that there was an active shooter going on, of course my mind immediately went back to the workplace shooting that I survived just over a year ago,” he said. “I know many people who work in that building, so I was thinking about them and everyone that was there.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Apr 10, 5:30 PM EDT
Shooting suspect was going to be fired from job: Sources
The suspected gunman who shot and killed four people at a downtown Louisville bank had recently been notified he was going to be fired from Old National Bank, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Connor Sturgeon had interned at Old National Bank for three years before earning a full-time job in June 2021, sources said. He had been promoted in April 2022.
There was no immediate indication why he was notified he would be terminated, according to sources.
The suspect allegedly left a note to parents and friends indicating he was going to shoot up the bank, sources said.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Apr 10, 3:50 PM EDT
Suspect worked at the bank, was armed with rifle
The suspected shooter, 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, was armed with a rifle when he allegedly carried out a mass shooting at the Old National Bank, where he worked, according to police.
The suspect was livestreaming, police said, though officials did not elaborate.
Authorities said the suspect was killed by police.
Nine people were hospitalized, including three currently in critical condition, said Dr. Jason Smith, chief medical officer at University of Louisville Health. Three victims are in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and the three others have been released, Smith said.
Among the nine injured is 26-year-old police officer Nickolas Wilt, who was shot in the head, according to police. He underwent brain surgery and is in critical but stable condition, police said.
Wilt just graduated from the police academy on March 31.
The four slain victims were identified by police as Joshua Barrick, 40; Thomas Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; and James Tutt, 64.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Elliott was “a very good friend of mine” and of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
“This was an evil act of targeted violence,” the mayor said.
“Today, I’m hurt and I’m hurting, and I know so many people out there are, as well,” Beshear said. “We lost four children of God today, one whom is one of my closest friends. Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad. … He was an incredible friend.”
The governor said of all four victims, “These are irreplaceable, amazing individuals.”
Apr 10, 2:56 PM EDT
Biden: ‘When will Republicans in Congress act?’
President Joe Biden tweeted Monday, “Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence.”
“Jill and I pray for the lives lost and impacted by today’s shooting. Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives,” he wrote. “When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Monday’s briefing, “Once again, today the president has called on Republicans in Congress to work together with Democrats to take action to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to require safe storage of firearms, to require background checks for all gun sales, to eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.”
“These are common sense actions we can ask for and should be getting right now,” she said.
“We need to act and we need Republicans to show some courage,” she said.
Apr 10, 1:02 PM EDT
2 officers among the injured, 1 in critical condition
Two officers and seven civilians were injured in the Louisville shooting, according to the University of Louisville Hospital.
One of those officers is in critical condition, according to police.
At least three patients have already been discharged, according to the hospital.
Apr 10, 11:27 AM EDT
McConnell ‘devastated’ by news of Louisville shooting
Republican leader and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who lives in Louisville, tweeted that he’s “devastated” by the news of Monday morning’s mass shooting.
“We send our prayers to the victims, their families, and the city of Louisville as we await more information,” McConnell tweeted.
His fellow Kentucky senator, Rand Paul, tweeted, “Our hearts break for the families of those lost.”
Apr 10, 11:21 AM EDT
Officers exchanged gunfire with suspect who died at scene
Officers arrived within three minutes of being dispatched and found the suspect still firing, Louisville police said.
Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect who died at the scene, police said. It’s not yet clear if the suspect’s wounds were self-inflicted, police said.
Four victims were killed and eight people are injured, police said.
At least two officers were shot during the exchange of gunfire, police said, including one who is undergoing surgery.
It appears the suspect was a previous or current employee, police said.
“This is awful. I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either, and one who is at the hospital that I hope is gonna make it through,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference.
Apr 10, 10:53 AM EDT
At least 15 mass shootings so far this month
There have been at least 15 mass shootings in the U.S. in the first 10 days of April, including Monday morning’s shooting in Louisville, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
So far this year, the nation has seen at least 146 mass shootings.
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as at least four people shot, not including the suspect.
“It feels like every day in this country we are totally consumed by yet another mass shooting. Nowhere else in the developed world do people wake up to this preventable horror every single morning,” Kris Brown, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement Monday. “Whether it’s a bank, a school, a supermarket, or a church, Americans no longer feel safe in their communities. And Americans are increasingly tired of living in fear of being a victim of a mass shooting.”
“It does not have to be this way,” Brown said. “But until the gun industry no longer has a vice grip on our elected officials, this will continue to be our daily reality.”
Apr 10, 10:32 AM EDT
Shooting unfolded in bank conference room
The gunman opened fire in the bank’s first-floor conference room at about 8:30 a.m. local time, according to officials.
Eyewitnesses said the shooter appeared to have been armed with a long gun.
“He just started shooting,” Troy Haste told ABC Louisville affiliate WHAS-TV. “Whoever was next to me got shot. Blood is on me from it.”
Police said the suspect is dead.
A responding police officer was shot in the head, sources told ABC News. The officer’s condition is unknown.
According to preliminary information, this shooting is not believed to have been terror-related, sources told ABC News.
Apr 10, 10:19 AM EDT
Suspected shooter neutralized
Louisville police tweeted that the “suspected shooter has been neutralized,” adding, “There is no longer an active aggressor threat.”
There is no longer an active aggressor threat. The suspected shooter has been neutralized.
Apr 10, 10:05 AM EDT
Residents urged to avoid area
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg tweeted that residents should avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice.
There is an active police situation downtown. Please avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice. We will provide information as soon as possible.
— Mayor Craig Greenberg (@LouisvilleMayor) April 10, 2023
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he is heading to the scene.
“Please pray for all of the families impacted and for the city of Louisville,” he tweeted.
FBI and ATF agents are assisting with the incident.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Investigators said they’re working to get more clues and information about the suspect who they say opened fire in a Louisville, Kentucky, bank Monday morning, killing four people and wounding nine others.
Police have identified the suspect as 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, an employee of Old National Bank.
The alleged suspect, who died after police responded to the scene, graduated from the University of Alabama and began working at the bank in 2018 when he started out as an intern, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
He was made a full-time employee in October 2021 and was promoted last April, sources said.
The suspect had recently been notified he was going to be fired, but it wasn’t immediately clear why he would be terminated, sources said.
Law enforcement officers combed a house connected to the suspect for more clues throughout Monday evening.
(NEW YORK) — The three Tennessee lawmakers at the center of a controversial and unprecedented expulsion vote last week said Monday that their fight continues — to reduce gun violence and to see the two of them who were ousted back in their seats.
Four days ago, Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson were expelled from the state House of Representatives by the Republican super-majority after participating in a raucous, unrecognized gun violence protest on the Legislature floor.
The pair and Rep. Gloria Johnson, who also faced expulsion but survived by one vote, sat down for a group interview with ABC News on Monday.
Johnson called the ousting of Jones and Pearson a “huge threat to democracy.”
“We are silencing dissenting voices. We aren’t listening to the people. The whole point of democracy is a people rule,” Johnson said in the interview.
Jones and Pearson, both Black, and Johnson, who is white, all feel that race was a factor.
“I want to commend sister Gloria as a 60-year-old white woman for standing with us,” Jones said. “And then even after having her expulsion canceled, still standing for the truth and saying it’s about race.”
For more from the three lawmakers’ interview about the expulsion and what’s next, watch ABC News Live Prime and ABC’s “Nightline.”
The state House speaker, Cameron Sexton, has challenged that view. “That’s a false narrative on her part,” he said on “Fox & Friends” on Friday, of Johnson. “It’s unfortunate. She’s trying to put political racism in this, which there was nothing on this.”
Leading Tennessee Republicans have defended the expulsions — the first such partisan removals in the state in modern history — as necessary to restore order.
“It’s not possible for us to move forward with the way they were behaving in committee and on the House floor,” state Rep. Jeremy Faison, the chair of the state House Republican Caucus, previously told CNN. “There’s got to be some peace.”
Faison also said that the expulsion proceedings included “due process.” All three members were able to speak in the chamber to defend themselves before the votes.
On Monday, however, Johnson pushed back. “They tried to put on a show that day because they knew the world was watching. … They allowed us to speak more that day than they have in the last three to four years, I would say,” she said.
Jones and Pearson concurred, emphasizing that their goal is to help their concerned constituents.
“This is going to set the tone for the years ahead if it’s not addressed,” Jones said. “And we went to that well [on the floor], calling for them to ban assault weapons. They responded by assaulting democracy.”
Three days after the Nashville school shooting that killed three children and three adults, hundreds reportedly protested for gun control at the state House.
During the March 30 protest, Jones and Pearson used a bullhorn, leading chants on the House floor, which caused a disruption in legislative business. (Johnson, who wasn’t expelled, was not seen using the bullhorn.)
“We had no idea that what we were doing would break a rule that could lead to our possible expulsion or our actual expulsions,” Pearson told ABC News. “This was a tragedy that happened at the Covenant School in Nashville. But instead of addressing the tragedy, the Republican super-majority in Tennessee decided that using our First Amendment right to listen to the thousands of protesters deserved expulsion.”
Jones said that they were “silenced” during the March 30 demonstration and their microphones were cut off, prompting him to bring a bullhorn to speak.
An educator for 27 years before she became a representative, Johnson told ABC News she was present during a school shooting while working as a teacher. She said that she has for years been pushing for more gun regulations but “they get killed in subcommittee immediately on a party-line vote.”
In response to gun violence, state Republicans have touted their efforts at “hardening” school security and increasing mental health resources.
Jones previously told ABC News that the removals were a “lynching of democracy.”
While the expelled lawmakers have said they were disciplined beforehand, losing their committee assignments and ID badge access among other things, Jones believes the situation escalated when Sexton compared the post-Covenant gun control protests to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“What that did is you created this false narrative of violence when our protest was doing the opposite. We were calling for the end of gun violence so that our children can live,” Jones said.
Sexton did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. On “Fox & Friends” on Friday, he defended the expulsion votes.
“In my house on the floor, since I’m speaker, we have rules, we have decorum, we have a process, we have procedures,” he said.
Although Jones acknowledged that there may have been a rule broken on the House floor, he argued on Monday that he was exercising his duty as a representative: “We were obedient to … the oath we took to our constituents: Article Two, Section 27, of the Tennessee Constitution says that any member of the House or Senate has a right to dissent from and protest against any action or legislation that is injurious to the people.”
Nashville Vice Mayor Jim Shulman told ABC News that his community has been demanding Jones and Pearson be back in the House.
“We’re getting hundreds of emails and lots of phone calls. People want us to send them right back up,” Shulman said. “This is how our democracy works — proper representation. I think there’s an understanding that we need to move promptly and quickly.”
On Monday night, the Nashville Metro Council voted unanimously to reinstate Jones in an interim role until a special election is held.
Separately, a special meeting will be held on Wednesday by the Shelby County Commission to discuss next steps for Pearson.
“I believe they failed to recognize that they didn’t send us to these positions,” Pearson told ABC News on Monday. “It’s the people in our communities who did.”
ABC News’ Faith Abubey, Kiara Alfonseca, Ella McCarthy, Ivan Pereira and Amanda Su contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken has officially determined that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is being “wrongfully detained” by Russia, a designation that will allow the U.S. government to more aggressively advocate for his freedom.
“Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth,” the State Department said in a statement announcing the development on Monday. “The U.S. government will provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family. We call for the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr. Gershkovich.”
Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American citizen who has worked in Moscow for more than half a decade, was arrested late last month on espionage charges. He has pleaded not guilty, and both the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have repeatedly declared the allegations are baseless.
Blinken has already held a rare call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to advocate for Gershkovich’s release. The secretary said last week that he had “no doubt” that the reporter was being unjustly held by Russia, but that the department was still working through the bureaucratic process required to classify the case a wrongful detention — an undertaking that can take months or even years to complete.
Officials say the speed at which the department moved to classify Gershkovich as wrongfully detained is unprecedented.
Gershkovich’s case will now be transferred to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs — a section within the State Department often referred to as the U.S. government’s top hostage negotiator. The designation also frees up additional government resources and grants the department additional authorities to push for his freedom.
But so far, American diplomats stationed in Russia have been unable to even see Gershkovich behind bars, a standard practice that allows foreign governments to communicate with nationals jailed abroad.
During a press briefing on Monday, the State Department said Moscow was violating international law and agreements between the U.S. and Russia by continuing to block officials from seeing Gershkovich.
“We have stressed the need for the Russian government to provide this access as soon as possible,” Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the department, said during a press briefing.”
Gershkovich is now the second American considered to be wrongfully detained by Russia. Paul Whelan, an American citizen who Moscow also accused of espionage, has been imprisoned since 2018.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to return to New York City Thursday to sit for a second deposition as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million civil fraud lawsuit, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Trump previously sat for an hourslong deposition in August, prior to James filing her lawsuit that accused Trump, his eldest children and his company of fraudulently inflating the value of the Trump real estate portfolio and his net worth.
The attorney general’s office has the right to depose relevant parties after the filing of the lawsuit as part of the discovery process.
Trump is expected to sit for this new deposition Thursday at the attorney general’s downtown office.
The former president did not answer many questions in the first deposition other than affirming he understood the ground rules and the procedures.
When Kevin Wallace, the attorney general’s senior counsel, asked what Trump did to prepare for the deposition he answered: “very little.”
When asked questions about his finances, Trump repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and continued to do so for the next several hours.
The suit claims that Trump’s Florida estate and golf resort, Mar-a-Lago, was valued as high as $739 million, but should have been valued at $75 million. Trump is also alleged to have overvalued assets such as his Trump Tower apartment; Trump Turnberry, his golf course in Scotland; and 40 Wall Street.
Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest children, also previously sat for depositions in the case.
Trump had initially countersued James for filing the lawsuit against him. But Trump withdrew the lawsuit in January after U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks warned Trump’s legal team that the lawsuit appeared to verge on frivolous.
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Nashville’s Metro Council voted unanimously to reinstate Justin Jones, the Tennessee House representative who was ousted last week for taking part in a gun control rally.
Jones will serve as an interim legislator until a special election is called.
Nashville Vice Mayor Jim Shulman, the council’s president, told ABC News that members quickly scheduled the meeting following Thursday’s vote by the Republican-led statehouse to expel Jones and Justin Pearson for allegedly violating the chamber’s rules of decorum by participating in the March 30 protest.
State Rep. Gloria Johnson, who also took part in the protest that was prompted by the March 27 mass shooting at The Covenant School, was subjected to an expulsion vote but not enough members supported it.
The meeting was packed with Jones’ supporters who made their voices heard, as Council members weighed their decision on the future of Jones’ seat. They let out a huge cheer after the vote came through after nearly 12 minutes.
Jones, 27, ran for office last year for the open house seat in Tennessee’s 52nd district, which includes Nashville. He had no opponents in the general election.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Last week’s decision from a federal judge in Texas has thrown access to a common abortion pill into limbo.
In the ruling, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas reversed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, potentially blocking access to the abortion medication across the country.
Kacsmaryk stayed his own order for seven days to give the federal government time to file an appeal, which it has already done.
However, immediately after that decision, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice in Washington state issued a ruling barring the FDA from pulling mifepristone off the market.
For the time being, the medication is available, but the conflicting decisions mean a battle is almost certainly heading to the Supreme Court — and are confusing for patients who may need access to the pills.
‘Understanding what it means, how soon that might go into effect, all of these things are sort of unclear for a lot of a lot of people,” Dr. Sadia Haider, an OBGYN at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, told ABC News. “And I do think it’s confusing, and it’s concerning, both from a provider and patient standpoint.”
Mifepristone is a drug typically used in combination with another drug, misoprostol, to induce an abortion or to help manage an early miscarriage.
The medication works by blocking progesterone, a hormone that the body needs to continue a pregnancy.
This causes the uterine lining to stop thickening and to break down, detaching the embryo. The second drug, misoprostol, taken 24 to 48 hours later, causes the uterus to contract and dilates the cervix, which will expel the embryo.
The FDA authorized mifepristone for medication abortion in September 2000 for up to seven weeks’ gestation, which was then extended to 10 weeks’ gestation in 2016.
However, the World Health Organization says the two drug-regiment can be taken up until the 12-week mark of pregnancy.
Medication abortion now accounts for more than half of all abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute.
In December 2021, the FDA announced it permanently lifted its restriction that abortion pills had to be dispensed in-person. In January, it went further by allowing retail pharmacies to provide the drug too, either by mail or in person, so long as they meet certain requirements.
“It’s a very safe medication and it’s highly effective in optimizing treatment of medical abortion, but also miscarriage management as well as helping improve outcomes with induction of labor for fetal demise,” Haider said. “All of these usages have been studied extensively from a safety standpoint, efficacy standpoint, patient acceptability standpoint, patient experience standpoint, et cetera.”
However, Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian conservative legal advocacy group — the plaintiff that the Texas judge ruled in favor of — claims mifepristone is not safe and that the FDA didn’t study it closely enough before it was approved.
Haider said she and her colleagues will continue to prescribe mifepristone over the next week for medical abortion and miscarriage care and encourages patients who are planning to receive the drugs to get them.
At the end of the week, they will analyze to see if they can keep using the drugs or not.
Misoprostol would still be available for both abortions and miscarriages on its own, but as an off-label use.
Data from around the world shows misoprostol is safe and effective — and that they’re ready to provide misoprostol-only abortions — but that the two-dose regimen is more effective and has fewer side effects.
When given alone to induce an abortion, patients need to take three to four doses of misoprostol about three hours apart.
“We can provide this, we will provide it if needed, we will just have to do a lot of a lot more counseling and support for the patients to go through it in this way, and just really prepare them for the scenarios where the side effects might experience that higher side effects,” Haider said. ‘In my career — I’ve been practicing for over 20 years — and never had to go to this route of medication abortion, so it’s going to be a new experience for our patients and providers.”
It’s unclear how the ruling will affect clinicians and companies that are currently able to send abortion pills through the mail.
If mifepristone does end up being restricted, Haider said clinical care teams, platforms and groups that currently mail mifepristone will likely not continue to do so, therefore patients need to be careful that they’re not being duped by receiving bogus pills.
‘Using a trusted resource would be really important,” she said. “I think patients just asking questions of whoever they are utilizing for these medications. It’s just being aware of where they’re getting it.”
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Four victims were killed and eight others were injured following a mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday morning, according to police.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 10, 3:50 PM EDT
Suspect worked at the bank, was armed with rifle
The suspected shooter, 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, was armed with a rifle when he allegedly carried out a mass shooting at the Old National Bank, where he worked, according to police.
The suspect was livestreaming, police said, though officials did not elaborate.
Authorities said the suspect was killed by police.
Nine people were hospitalized, including three currently in critical condition, said Dr. Jason Smith, chief medical officer at University of Louisville Health. Three victims are in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and the three others have been released, Smith said.
Among the nine injured is 26-year-old police officer Nickolas Wilt, who was shot in the head, according to police. He underwent brain surgery and is in critical but stable condition, police said.
Wilt just graduated from the police academy on March 31.
The four slain victims were identified by police as Joshua Barrick, 40; Thomas Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; and James Tutt, 64.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Elliott was “a very good friend of mine” and of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
“This was an evil act of targeted violence,” the mayor said.
“Today, I’m hurt and I’m hurting, and I know so many people out there are, as well,” Beshear said. “We lost four children of God today, one whom is one of my closest friends. Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad. … He was an incredible friend.”
The governor said of all four victims, “These are irreplaceable, amazing individuals.”
Apr 10, 2:56 PM EDT
Biden: ‘When will Republicans in Congress act?’
President Joe Biden tweeted Monday, “Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence.”
“Jill and I pray for the lives lost and impacted by today’s shooting. Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives,” he wrote. “When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Monday’s briefing, “Once again, today the president has called on Republicans in Congress to work together with Democrats to take action to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to require safe storage of firearms, to require background checks for all gun sales, to eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.”
“These are common sense actions we can ask for and should be getting right now,” she said.
“We need to act and we need Republicans to show some courage,” she said.
Apr 10, 1:02 PM EDT
2 officers among the injured, 1 in critical condition
Two officers and seven civilians were injured in the Louisville shooting, according to the University of Louisville Hospital.
One of those officers is in critical condition, according to police.
At least three patients have already been discharged, according to the hospital.
Apr 10, 11:27 AM EDT
McConnell ‘devastated’ by news of Louisville shooting
Republican leader and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who lives in Louisville, tweeted that he’s “devastated” by the news of Monday morning’s mass shooting.
“We send our prayers to the victims, their families, and the city of Louisville as we await more information,” McConnell tweeted.
His fellow Kentucky senator, Rand Paul, tweeted, “Our hearts break for the families of those lost.”
Apr 10, 11:21 AM EDT
Officers exchanged gunfire with suspect who died at scene
Officers arrived within three minutes of being dispatched and found the suspect still firing, Louisville police said.
Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect who died at the scene, police said. It’s not yet clear if the suspect’s wounds were self-inflicted, police said.
Four victims were killed and eight people are injured, police said.
At least two officers were shot during the exchange of gunfire, police said, including one who is undergoing surgery.
It appears the suspect was a previous or current employee, police said.
“This is awful. I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either, and one who is at the hospital that I hope is gonna make it through,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference.
Apr 10, 10:53 AM EDT
At least 15 mass shootings so far this month
There have been at least 15 mass shootings in the U.S. in the first 10 days of April, including Monday morning’s shooting in Louisville, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
So far this year, the nation has seen at least 146 mass shootings.
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as at least four people shot, not including the suspect.
“It feels like every day in this country we are totally consumed by yet another mass shooting. Nowhere else in the developed world do people wake up to this preventable horror every single morning,” Kris Brown, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement Monday. “Whether it’s a bank, a school, a supermarket, or a church, Americans no longer feel safe in their communities. And Americans are increasingly tired of living in fear of being a victim of a mass shooting.”
“It does not have to be this way,” Brown said. “But until the gun industry no longer has a vice grip on our elected officials, this will continue to be our daily reality.”
Apr 10, 10:32 AM EDT
Shooting unfolded in bank conference room
The gunman opened fire in the bank’s first-floor conference room at about 8:30 a.m. local time, according to officials.
Eyewitnesses said the shooter appeared to have been armed with a long gun.
“He just started shooting,” Troy Haste told ABC Louisville affiliate WHAS-TV. “Whoever was next to me got shot. Blood is on me from it.”
Police said the suspect is dead.
A responding police officer was shot in the head, sources told ABC News. The officer’s condition is unknown.
According to preliminary information, this shooting is not believed to have been terror-related, sources told ABC News.
Apr 10, 10:19 AM EDT
Suspected shooter neutralized
Louisville police tweeted that the “suspected shooter has been neutralized,” adding, “There is no longer an active aggressor threat.”
There is no longer an active aggressor threat. The suspected shooter has been neutralized.
Apr 10, 10:05 AM EDT
Residents urged to avoid area
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg tweeted that residents should avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice.
There is an active police situation downtown. Please avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice. We will provide information as soon as possible.
— Mayor Craig Greenberg (@LouisvilleMayor) April 10, 2023
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he is heading to the scene.
“Please pray for all of the families impacted and for the city of Louisville,” he tweeted.
FBI and ATF agents are assisting with the incident.
