Police identified an officer who was wounded while stopping a shooter who killed four people at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday.
Officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, “was critically wounded while stopping the active shooter,” said a tweet from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).
Police said Wilt “ran towards the gunfire today to save lives” and, after reportedly receiving surgery, “remains in critical condition after being shot in the head.”
Officer Nickolas Wilt, a new officer to the LMPD, ran towards the gunfire today to save lives. He remains in critical condition after being shot in the head. pic.twitter.com/yPNZBfAl7I
— LMPD (@LMPD) April 10, 2023
“Our city and so many from around the nation are praying for Officer Wilt’s strength and healing. His heroic actions exemplify the best of law enforcement,” tweeted Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
The shooting happened at Old National Bank on Monday morning.
The gunman, who is believed to have been an employee at the bank where the shooting took place, died in a confrontation with responding police. Authorities said the suspect was armed with a rifle and was live-streaming during the attack. An investigation is ongoing.
The Daily Wire is not naming the suspect in keeping with a policy of depriving mass shooters of undeserved notoriety.
The Louisville Metro Police Department also revealed the identities of the four victims who died in the shooting: Joshua Barrick, 40; Thomas Elliott, 63; and James Tutt, 64; and Juliana Farmer, 45.
Greenberg said Elliott was a “a very good friend of mine” and of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. The governor also called Elliott an “incredible friend” who “helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad.”
Police said nine other people have received treatment at a local hospital, including Wilt and another LMPD officer, according to The Courier Journal. The report said Wilt graduated from LMPD’s Police Academy on March 31.
Interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said during a Monday afternoon news conference that three of the injured victims, including Wilt, were in critical condition. Three others were listed as noncritical, and three more were treated and released.
Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel of the Louisville Metro Police Department reads the names of the victims of Monday's Kentucky shooting that left four dead and nine hospitalized with injuries. https://t.co/cC6veOWxsE pic.twitter.com/U5cfTiS520
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 10, 2023
“Today is a tragedy. Louisville and the entire commonwealth are mourning and we call on everyone to share the love, support and compassion this community desperately needs right now,” Beshear, a Democrat, said on Twitter.
“A senseless act took the lives of our fellow Kentuckians, including friends of mine. What these families are experiencing is unimaginable. They need us to wrap our arms around them and to love them with all our hearts,” the governor added. “Thank you to the heroic members of the LMPD and all of our first responders who undoubtedly saved lives while putting their own at risk. We are forever grateful.”
President Joe Biden remarked on the shooting in a tweet that brought up the issue of gun control.
“Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence – Jill and I pray for the lives lost and impacted by today’s shooting,” he said, referring to his wife Jill Biden. “Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?”