“I know everyone says that about shooters, but honestly I never expected anything like that from him.” These are the words of a former classmate of Connor Sturgeon, 25, who was shot dead in Louisville, Ky., on Monday. after opening fire at a bank in the city, killing five people. The young gunman does not have the profile of the outsider who attacks his colleagues when he comes to work, but that of the boy “from a good family” with a bright future: Connor Sturgeon, a young finance graduate was a bank clerk, where he caught fire on Monday morning opened.
At around 8:30 a.m. local time, the young man reported to work at the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville. There, while the bank is still closed to the public, Connor Sturgeon opens fire on his colleagues. A manager who attended a meeting via video conference tells CNN how she witnessed the massacre of her employees. A scene the shooter broadcast live on Instagram and then deleted by the authorities.
So why did this “extremely intelligent” young man, a college basketball player, attack these bank employees?
Connor Sturgeon’s LinkedIn profile. (DR)
This NBA fan, son of a former athletic coach, describes his professional skills on LinkedIn: He explains that he is certified in credit risk management and has a master’s degree in finance. “I am a member of the Young Professionals Council of Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana,” he also wrote on the professional social network.
According to former relatives, the young man played basketball during his studies. Due to numerous head injuries at games, he had become accustomed to wearing a helmet.
Investigators said Connor Sturgeon, who had worked for Old National Bank for more than a year, struggled to fit into the team. His contract expired at the time of the shooting, police said, quoted by American media. According to local TV, the young man, who completed several internships at this bank before being given a long-term contract, was even fired last week. Before leaving home and committing the irretrievable in the bank, the young man left his family a note announcing his intentions, investigators say.
“A negative image of me that persists to this day”
The young man, who graduated from the University of Alabama in 2020, already spoke about his differences during his school days. In an essay written in 2018 and found in an online database by the Daily Beast, Connor Sturgeon talks about his quest for “rigor, responsibility, and self-esteem.”
“It took me a while to find my way to my co-workers and to high school. At times I found it difficult to fit in, which gave me a negative self-image that persists to this day, the young student writes. Making friends has never been easy, so I’m more experienced at introspection. Connor Sturgeon writes of the improvement: “I’ve found that taking the time to take stock of how I’m feeling and what I can do to make myself feel better has helped me. »
The brilliant student admits he doesn’t have to work much to excel, even if he finds limits there: “Obviously, as my classes get more difficult, it becomes a lot harder to take shortcuts… I keep fighting myself, even.” , but I think I’ve improved and can continue to do so. »
Who are the victims?
Five employees of the Old National Bank between the ages of 40 and 64 were shot: two women, one of whom died in hospital, and three men. One of them is the vice president of the bank, one of the best friends of Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky.
Eight other people were injured, including a young 26-year-old officer who just graduated from the police academy ten days ago and was shot badly in the head.
Connor Sturgeon was killed at the time of the police operation. It is not yet known if he was killed by a police fire or if he killed himself.