Reports: Louisville gunman’s brain to be tested for CTE
The Louisville gunman responsible for killing five people and wounding eight others at a bank in downtown Louisville Monday will have his brain studied for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), according to reports.
Connor Sturgeon, 25, was identified as the shooter by LMPD hours after the shooting occurred. He was an employee with Old National Bank and was armed with an AR-15 that he legally purchased six days before the shooting.
A friend of the gunman’s family told CNN the Kentucky State Medical Examiner has completed most of its tests on the suspect, and the process of testing for CTE is expected to begin soon.
“Yes, Connor is being tested for CTE. Probably will take a while to get results,” Sturgeon’s father, Todd Sturgeon, texted to CNN.
CTE is a rare disorder that is likely caused by repeated head traumas, according to the Mayo Clinic. There are no specific symptoms related to CTE, but it has been found in the brains of people who played contact sports or had explosive to explosive blasts.
The shooter’s family believes he suffered three significant concussions while playing prep sports as an eighth and ninth grader, according to CNN. The Courier-Journal reported that Sturgeon wore a soft leather helmet playing basketball at Floyd Central High School in Southern Indiana near Louisville.
WLKY has video highlights of the gunman’s basketball games, where he can be seen wearing the helmet.
According to social media accounts, the shooter graduated from Floyd Central High School in southern Indiana in 2016. According to the News and Tribune, based in Jeffersonville, Ind., he played basketball at the high school and ran track. He was a top athlete and the 2016 NTSPY winner for Boys Track Athlete of the Year. During the 2015-16 season, he won the Evansville Regional crown in the 400 meter, going on to finish 20th in the state meet.
The shooter’s family previously released a statement to Louisville media, saying he had mental health issues, but they never saw any warning signs to indicate he would attack the bank.
“While Connor, like many of his contemporaries, had mental health challenges which we, as a family, were actively addressing, there were never any warning signs or indications he was capable of this shocking act,” the family said in the statement.
“While we have many unanswered questions, we will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials and do all we can to aid everyone in understanding why and how this happened.”
The gunman entered the bank around 8:30 a.m. Monday and opened fire, killing five people and injuring eight others, including LMPD officer Nickolas Wilt. Gwinn-Villaroel said the suspect was live-streaming the shooting as it happened.
LMPD released body camera footage from the shooting Tuesday afternoon, saying the suspect was waiting near the bank entrance to “ambush” officers. The attack ended when Wilt’s field training officer, Cory Galloway, shot the suspect.
Galloway had also been shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the gunman’s LinkedIn profile, he was a syndications associate and portfolio banker at Old National. He attended the University of Alabama for finance and economics from 2016 to 2020 and graduated with a master of science and finance in 2020.
He was on the Young Professionals board for Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana.
The suspect also worked as a summer intern associate with Old National Bank from May 2018 to August 2020, according to his LinkedIn page. He was hired at the bank in June 2021, and he worked as a commercial development professional before taking the most recent portfolio banker position in April 2022.
Herald-Leader reporters Taylor Six and Aaron Mudd contributed to this report.
