A 25-year-old American opened fire on Monday at the bank that employed him in Louisville before being shot dead by police.
Five people were killed and at least eight people injured in a shooting Monday, April 10, in a bank in Louisville, announced the police of the main city of Kentucky. The shooter, a 25-year-old bank employee, was shot dead. The five victims, three men and two women, were between 40 and 64 years old.
The facts took place shortly after 8:30 a.m. within the premises of the Old National Bank in the city centre. A witness told local channel WHAS11 that he saw a man with a “assault rifle” shoot in a bank. Law enforcement arrived at the scene. “in less than three minutes”said the Louisville Police Chief, Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel. “The suspect fired in the direction of the police, we opened fire in response and neutralized the danger”she added.
Two police officers were injured in the exchange of gunfire. One of them was seriously hit in the head and his condition is stable but still critical after his brain operation. The authorities did not specify the shooter’s motive, but, according to CNN, he had just been informed that he would be fired.
More than 130 gunshot deaths every day
“It was a diabolical act of targeted violence”said the mayor, Craig Greenberg. For his part, the American president denounced “an absurd new episode of gun violence”. “Once again our nation is in mourning”wrote Joe Biden on Twitter, tirelessly calling for Congress to ban assault rifles.
The United States pays a very heavy price for the dissemination of firearms on its territory and the ease with which Americans have access to them. On March 27, a person opened fire at a private elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee (south), killing three 9-year-old children and three employees before being shot dead by police.
About 49,000 people died by gunshots in 2021, compared to 45,000 in 2020, already considered then as the deadliest year. This represents more than 130 deaths per day, more than half of which are suicides.