‘Sickening’: Loved Ones, Colleagues Mourn Victims of Louisville Bank Shooting

On Monday, a mass shooting left four people dead at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. The community is mourning the loss of the victims who have been identified by the Louisville Metro Police Department as four executives of the Old National Bank: Joshua Barrick, Thomas Elliot, James Tutt, and Juliana Farmer.

During a press conference Monday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear referred to Elliot as a friend, the Courier-Journal reported. “He was an incredible friend, and he was loved, just like every single person lost – each one irreplaceable to their families and this community,” Beshear said.

Barrick, 40, was the senior vice president of commercial real estate banking at Old National Bank. He had been there less than a year, according to his LinkedIn page, and had worked in the industry for almost two decades. In 2020, the outlet Louisville Business First included him on a list of 20 People to Know in Banking. 

Tutt, 64, was the commercial real estate market executive for the southern region at Old National Bank, according to LinkedIn. He’d been with the company since 2015. Oldham County Judge Executive David Voegele told the Courier-Journal he’d served with Tutt on the board of the Oldham-La Grange Development Authority. “He added a tremendous amount of insights as we went about developing our office park in LaGrange,” Voegele told the paper. “He’s a very high quality, well-thought-of individual … It’s just sickening to hear what’s happened.” 

Farmer, whom police identified as 45 but who public records say was 48, was reportedly a loan officer at the bank. Her son posted publicly on Facebook, “Like what am I supposed to do now. They took my fucking mommmmm!!!!!!!!!!” An uncle of Farmer’s also posted on the social platform saying, “She told me she was moving to Louisville, she had a great job opportunity. Now we’re mourning you losing your life at the job. I’m just hurt.”

Elliot, 63, was senior vice president at the bank, according to LinkedIn. Beshear also shared how “Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career (and) helped me become governor.” The governor added, “He gave me advice on being a good dad. He’s one of the people I talk to most in the world, and very rarely are we talking about my job. He was an incredible friend.”

On Monday morning, the suspected shooter, identified by police as 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, an employee of the bank, arrived at the building and began shooting his colleagues with a rifle. Sturgeon, who died at the scene, authorities said. The shooting comes just two weeks after a shooter killed six schoolchildren and faculty members in Nashville, Tennessee, and is the 146th mass shooting so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The governor has ordered flags be flown at half-staff until sunset on Friday.