Pictures of Louisville bank victims shot dead released by cops after rampage

The five victims of the mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, have been pictured for the first time.

Joshua Barrick, 40, Thomas Elliott, 63, Juliana Farmer, 45, James Tutt, 64, and Deana Eckert, 57, were all shot by Connor Sturgeon at the Old National Bank in Louisville on Monday.

Sturgeon, 25 used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to kill the five and wound eight others – broadcasting his gun rampage on Instagram.

READ MORE: Louisville shooting: 5 dead in busy bank as workers hide in vault from rampaging gunman

Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said police had asked Instagram to remove the footage: “I will say this,” she said, "that the suspect was live streaming. And unfortunately, that’s tragic. To know that that incident was out there and captured…"

Sturgeon started his attack around 8:30am as employees at Old National Bank met for a staff meeting before opening up.

Rebecca Buchheit-Sims, a manager at the bank, told CNN she had been attending the meeting via video link and watched the horrific incident unfolding on her computer screen.

Police arrived as shots were still being fired inside the bank and killed Sturgeon after he began firing at them.

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Sturgeon, who had worked at the bank, complained that he wasn’t fitting in with other staff and had expected to be sacked.

Sturgeon had reportedly told a friend he was feeling suicidal and intended to "shoot up the bank”. He had made several Instagram posts suggesting he was planning some kind of dramatic act.

“Let’s be clear about what this was,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said. “This was an evil act of targeted violence.”

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Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he had lost two "close friends" in the shooting, with a third friend being treated for their wounds in hospital.

In a tearful statement top reporters, he said: "This is awful.

"I have a very close friend that didn't make it today. And I have another close friend who didn't either. And one who's at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through."

Latest figures from the US Gun Violence Archive say there have been at least 145 mass shootings in the first 100 days of 2023.

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