CNN
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Bank employees, an “incredible friend,” a beloved parishioner and a “huge fan and supporter” of the community are among the five people killed and several others hospitalized after a gunman opened fire inside a bank in downtown Louisville.
Monday’s tragedy is the 146th mass shooting so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and it comes exactly two weeks after three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Christian school in neighboring Tennessee, fueling a fierce fight between Democratic and Republican state lawmakers over gun control.
Nickolas Wilt, a 26-year-old rookie officer, ran toward the gunfire and was shot in the head, interim Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said. He had graduated from the police academy just 10 days before the shooting.
Wilt underwent brain surgery and was in critical but stable condition as of Monday afternoon, the chief said. He was still in critical condition Tuesday, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Three patients, including Wilk, are still being treated at the University of Louisville Hospital on Tuesday. One patient was released Tuesday, a hospital spokesperson told CNN. The others are in stable and fair condition.
Nine patients in total, including three LMPD officers, were treated at the University of Louisville Hospital following Monday’s shooting, the spokesperson said.
Five of the nine patients sustained gunshot wounds, and one of the patients died last night.
Here’s what we know so far about the lives lost:
Joshua Barrick, 40, and his family were members of the Holy Trinity Parish Louisville, the church wrote on Facebook.
“Our hearts are heavy, they are broken, and we are searching for answers,” they wrote. “Please keep the entire Barrick family in your prayers, including his wife, Jessica, and their two sweet children, who are students in our school.”
The church held a vigil for Barrick Monday evening.
Deana Eckert, 57, was one of the hospitalized victims who later died Monday, police announced. It’s unclear if she was among the three people in critical condition earlier in the day.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg described Eckert as a “very kind and a very thoughtful person.”
Old National Bank Senior Vice President Thomas Elliott is remembered by local and state leaders as a close mentor and beloved community leader.
“Tommy was a great man. He cared about finding good people and putting them in positions to do great things. He embraced me when I was very young and interested in politics,” state Sen. David Yates told CNN. “He was about lifting people up, building them up.”
Elliott, 63, was also close friends with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Greenberg, who said he spent Monday morning at the hospital with Elliott’s wife.
“It is painful, painful for all of the families I know,” Greenberg said. “It just hits home in a unique way when you know one of the victims so well.”
Beshear remembered Elliott as an “incredible friend” and also called the others who were killed “amazing people” who will be missed and mourned by their communities.
The city is setting up a family assistance center in collaboration with the American Red Cross to provide support, Greenberg said.
“To the survivors and the families, our entire city is here to wrap our arms around you,” Greenberg added.
Members of the Old National Bank executive team, including CEO Jim Ryan, were in Louisville on Monday after the shooting, the company said on Facebook.
“As we await more details, we are deploying employee assistance support and keeping everyone affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers,” Ryan said in a statement Monday morning.
Juliana Farmer, 45, was also an employee of the bank who had just started a new chapter in her life by moving to Louisville from Henderson, her aunt Vicki Brooks-Scott told CNN affiliate WFIE.
It had only been her third week on the job, according to Brooks-Scott. She last talked to her niece on Easter.
“She loved life,” Brooks-Scott said. “She was a beautiful young lady. All I can say is that heaven has gained a beautiful angel.”
Farmer leaves behind three children, four grandchildren, and a fifth on the way, who’s expected to arrive in September, according to her aunt.
James “Jim” Tutt, 64, was a “huge fan and supporter” of the downtown Louisville area and actively helped to promote it, Rebecca Fleischaker, the executive director of the Downtown Development Corporation, told CNN.
Tutt, a native of Frankfort, Kentucky, worked as the CRE market executive at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville since 2015, according to his LinkedIn.
He served on the board of the Downtown Development Corporation, a non-profit organization, since 2018 and recently served as its treasurer.
“Jim was very helpful to me as I started my role with Louisville Downtown Partnership last year and had an ‘open-door policy’ with taking any call or question,” Fleischaker said. “Jim will be deeply missed.”
