🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear paid tribute to Tommy Elliot, one of his "closest friends" who was killed during a mass shooting at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky on Monday.
A 25-year-old suspected gunman Connor Sturgeon, a former employee of the bank, opened fire at the Louisville institution Monday morning, fatally shooting four people and injuring at least eight others in the latest mass shooting to rattle the United States. Police have identified the victims as Joshua Barrick, Thomas Elliot, Juliana Farmer and James Tutt.
Beshear said during an emotional press conference Monday afternoon that Elliot was a close personal friend of his. Elliot, 63, worked as the senior vice president of Old National Bank, according to the Courier-Journal, a Louisville-based newspaper.
"We lost four children of God today, one of whom was one of my closest friends," Beshear said at the press conference. "Tommy Elliot helped me build my law career. Helped me become governor. Gave me advice on being a good dad."
Beshear described Elliott as an "incredible friend" and one of the people he talked to "most in the world." He said each of the shooting victims was "irreplaceable, amazing individuals that a terrible act of violence tore from all of us."
"We also lost Julianna Farmer, Jim Tutt, Josh Barrick, each amazing people whose families grieve them. Whose communities will mourn and will miss them," Beshear said.
Elliot was a longtime fundraiser for the Democratic Party and was also close friends with Steve Beshear, the father of Andy Beshear and the state's former governor, according to The Lexington Herald-Leader. He previously served as the chair of the Kentucky Retirement System Board of Trustees, which oversaw the state's pension system.
Police responded to the mass shooting near Slugger Field in downtown Louisville Monday at about 8:30 a.m. local time after receiving a call reporting an "active aggressor." Police said that Sturgeon had been "neutralized" by 10:17 a.m., according to the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).
Police have confirmed that Sturgeon livestreamed the shooting onto social media.
More information about the shooting, including Sturgeon's motive, remains under investigation.
"This will be a long, complex investigation involving local, state and our federal partners," said LMPD Interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel.
The United States for years has grappled with gun violence and several mass shootings. The shooting comes only two weeks after a school shooting occurred in Nashville, Tennessee that left three adults dead. So far in 2023, there have been 146 mass shootings in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive, an organization that tracks gun violence.
Newsweek reached out to Beshear's office for comment via email.
Update: 04/11/23 12:06 p.m. ET: This article was updated to change Sturgeon's age from 23 to 25.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more