Status: 04/11/2023 04:23 am
Not a day goes by in America without gun violence. Now it happened in a bank in the US state of Kentucky: A 25-year-old gunman opened fire and killed five people before dying in a shootout with police.
In a bank in the US state of Kentucky, a 25-year-old man shot himself with a rifle, killing five people and injuring eight others. According to the police, the shooter died after an exchange of fire with the police at the scene.
The man was said to have been employed by the bank in Louisville. He filmed his attack on Monday morning and broadcast it live on the Internet, according to local police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel. However, the police are optimistic that they will be able to take the footage offline. The Facebook parent company Meta announced that the stream was quickly taken offline.
Louisville Deputy Chief of Police Paul Humphrey said officers arrived at the scene minutes after the 911 call and found the gunman, who was still firing at the time. Two officers were injured in the exchange of fire with him. Officials “reacted in a timely manner and quickly, and we stopped the threat so there were no more casualties,” Gwinn-Villaroel said. It was initially unclear whether the perpetrator was killed by the police or shot himself.
Governor’s close friend among those killed
According to the police, the victims killed are men and women between the ages of 40 and 64. A seriously injured woman died in hospital, two more of the eight injured were said to be in critical condition.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he himself lost one of his closest friends in the attack. “He’s one of the people I spoke to the most and very rarely did we talk about my job. He was an incredible friend,” the governor said of the dead man.
Police officer shot in the head
Police Chief Gwinn-Villaroel said one seriously injured was a police officer who was shot in the head during the confrontation with the gunman. It is a 26-year-old man who recently completed police training. “He is in critical but stable condition,” she said.
The United States has long faced massive levels of gun violence. Rampages and deadly shootouts are part of everyday life. Larger attacks of this kind regularly lead to discussions about tightening gun laws – but so far without any success. Firearms are readily available in the US.
Biden calls for tougher gun laws
After Monday’s shooting, US President Joe Biden once again called for tightening of gun laws in the country. “Too many Americans are paying the price of inaction with their lives,” he said. “When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?”
Efforts to introduce stricter gun laws have been in vain for many years – mainly because Republicans are opposed to them. In addition, the gun lobby, above all the powerful National Rifle Association, vehemently opposes any attempt to regulate gun ownership more closely.