LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) 鈥� Frantic calls from witnesses reporting a at a Louisville bank were released Wednesday by police 鈥� including from a woman who was on a virtual meeting and saw the shooter, as well as one from the man's mother, who told a 911 operator that her son 鈥渃urrently has a gun and is heading toward鈥� the bank.
鈥淚 need your help. He鈥檚 never hurt anyone, he鈥檚 a good kid,鈥� said the woman, who identified herself as the gunman's mother.
None of the callers are identified by name and other information is edited out of the calls, but the first call that came in was from a woman who was on a video call inside the bank. She screams and cries throughout the four-minute call and says there is an active shooter at the downtown branch of the bank.
鈥淚 just watched it on a Teams meeting," she says. "We were having a board meeting. With our commercial (lending) team.鈥�
鈥淲e heard multiple shots and everybody started saying, 鈥橭h my God and then he came into the board room.鈥�
Bank employee Connor Sturgeon, 25, used an AR-15 assault-style rifle in the attack Monday at Old National Bank, where he killed while livestreaming before police fatally shot him. Eight others were injured, including a police officer who was shot in the head and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
After the first call, others began streaming in. One of the callers says she鈥檚 calling from within the building as numerous gunshots are heard in the background.
鈥淚鈥檓 in a closet hiding,鈥� the caller says. She says people have been shot and gives a description of the shooting, saying she knows the shooter. 鈥淗e works with us.鈥�
鈥淗ow long will it be before they get here?鈥� she whispers and the dispatcher tells her that authorities are on the way and advises her to keep quiet.
Asked what kind of injuries there were, the caller replies: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I just saw a lot of blood.鈥�
Another call came from a man inside the bank, who told dispatchers the address and said, "We have an active shooting in our building. White male. He鈥檚 an employee of Old National Bank. Get here now. We need somebody now.鈥�
Another call came from a motorist driving down Main Street, who reported seeing a man with an assault rifle and a bulletproof vest walking around.
鈥淗ow long ago was it that you saw this?鈥� the dispatcher asks.
The caller says it was about 5 minutes prior and asks, 鈥淗as anybody else reported this? Like, I hope to God I鈥檓 seeing things.鈥�
The dispatcher then describes what others reported the suspect was wearing and the caller confirms it.
鈥淒id you see him shooting or anything?鈥� the dispatcher asks.
鈥淣o ma鈥檃m. He was like kind of like jogging around like he was like trying to get somewhere in a hurry,鈥� the caller says, but isn鈥檛 able to give the direction the shooter was headed.
The woman identifying herself as Sturgeon鈥檚 mother asks during the call if she can go to the bank but is told by the dispatcher that she should not because 鈥渢here鈥檚 a situation going on down there鈥� and 鈥渋t鈥檚 dangerous.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檝e had calls from other people, so he鈥檚 already there?鈥� the mother asks with shock in her voice.
Wednesday鈥檚 release included a half-hour of emergency responder radio traffic.
The release came hours before hundreds of people gathered at the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville Wednesday evening to remember the victims and allow the public to offer prayers for the injured. The center has an outdoor auditorium just a mile from the site of Monday鈥檚 shooting. Gov Andy Beshear and Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg were among the speakers.
On Tuesday, police released that showed the chaotic moments when officers arrived at the bank as the shooter, whom they couldn鈥檛 see, rained bullets down on them.
Louisville Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey walked reporters through edited footage and still photos at a news conference and praised the responding officers for their heroism.
Sturgeon鈥檚 parents said in a statement that their son had mental health challenges that were being addressed, but 鈥渢here were never any warning signs or indications he was capable of this shocking act.鈥�
They said they are mourning for the victims and the loss of their son, and working with police to understand what happened.
The shooting, the 15th mass killing in the country , comes just two weeks after a former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian , Tennessee, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Louisville.
The five bank employees killed in the shooting were Joshua Barrick, 40, a senior vice president; Deana Eckert, 57, an executive administrative officer; Tommy Elliott, 63, also a senior vice president; Juliana Farmer, 45, a loan analyst; and Jim Tutt Jr., 64, a commercial real estate market executive.
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Raby reported from Charleston, W.Va.
Dylan Lovan, Rebecca Reynolds And John Raby, The Associated Press
