Louisville Shooter's Rifle Will Be Back On The Streets Under Kentucky Law, Mayor Says

The assault rifle used to kill five people at a Kentucky bank on Monday will likely be sold at public auction and put “back on the streets” in accordance with state law, Louisville’s mayor said while calling for the law to be abolished and more power given to cities to respond to rising gun violence.

“Let us destroy illegal guns and destroy the guns that have been used to kill our friends and kill our neighbors,” Democratic Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a news conference Tuesday while highlighting the law that would make it a crime to destroy the murder weapon.

“We have to do more than we’ve already done,” he said. “Let’s change the state laws that would make me a criminal for trying too hard to stop the real evil criminals who are taking other people’s lives.” 

Firearms confiscated by state police must either be retained for official police use or be sold at auction, with the proceeds benefiting state police and the state’s Office of Homeland Security, according to the law. 

“Think about that. That murder weapon will be back on the streets one day under Kentucky’s current law,” Greenberg said.

The AR-15 rifle used in the shooting at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville was legally purchased by the gunman at a local dealership just six days earlier, police said.

The family of the gunman, Connor Sturgeon, released a statement late Tuesday saying that the 25-year-old had been struggling with depression but that they otherwise saw no signs that he was capable of such violence.

“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 a statement obtained by local station WDRB.  

A woman identifying herself as Sturgeon’s mother called 911 around the start of the violence warning that her son had left a note indicating he was heading to the bank with a gun, according to a copy of the 911 recording released by police Wednesday.

“He’s never hurt anyone; he’s a really good kid,” she said. “He doesn’t even own guns. I don’t know where he would have gotten a gun.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), who said two of his close friends were among the shooting victims, has not publicly mentioned gun law reforms in the wake of the tragedy. At a news conference Monday, he said “we will talk about issues” at a later time, though he did not specify which ones.

Beshear’s power is largely limited, however, with Republican supermajorities controlling both the state House and Senate. The state legislature last month passed a bill that would make it a so-called Second Amendment sanctuary, prohibiting local law enforcement from enforcing federal firearm bans.

Greenberg on Tuesday implored state legislatures to give cities local autonomy in how they can reduce violent crime.

“Let us, the people of Louisville, make our own choices about how we reduce gun violence in our own city,” Greenberg said at the news conference. “Change state law to allow Louisville to make the decisions to reduce the amount of guns on its streets.”

Greenberg’s call was endorsed by the National League of Cities, an organization that represents 19,000 cities, towns and villages in the U.S. and advocates for their interests in federal policy.

“We stand with [the mayor’s] pledge to make reducing gun violence a top priority,” the organization tweeted. “The plague of gun violence is a national health emergency impacting everyone.”