Louisville Shooter's Mom Placed 911 Call: 'Oh My Lord'

'I'm so sorry, I'm getting details secondhand,' Connor Sturgeon's mom tells dispatcher
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 12, 2023 3:00 PM CDT
One of the 911 Calls Came From Louisville Shooter's Mom
In this screen grab taken from the body cam video of Louisville Metro Police Department Officer Nickolas Wilt, fellow Officer Cory Galloway approaches an active shooting situation, with Wilt following behind him, at Old National Bank, in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023.   (Louisville Metro Police Department via AP)

One of the 911 calls placed Monday morning in connection with the shooting spree that killed five at a downtown Louisville bank branch came from the shooter's own mother. On Wednesday, the city released a number of 911 calls, including a more than 2-minute call placed by Connor Sturgeon's mom. Fox News quotes her as frantically saying, "He has a gun and he's heading toward the Old National ... on Main Street here in Louisville. This is his mother, I'm so sorry, I'm getting details secondhand. ... Oh my Lord." She explains her son's roommate called her and said Sturgeon "apparently left a note." WDRB reports the roommate got a text from Sturgeon Monday morning conveying he was suicidal, found notes, and alerted her; police have those notes but the family has not seen them yet.

In the call, the shooter's mother says he "didn’t even own a gun" and "never hurt anyone; he's a really good kid." She tells the dispatcher "I'm shaking," then asks if she should go to the bank. The dispatcher advises her not to, saying "we have a situation that’s going on down there right now. ... I do not need you to go to the location at this time. It’s dangerous there." That prompts her to ask, "You’ve had calls from other people so he’s already there?" The dispatcher replies in the affirmative, and the call ends.

A lawyer for the family says family members got a text from Sturgeon just before the shooting saying "I love you." Some family members did go to the bank, but "by the time they get there, it was too late." The AP reports the first 911 call that was placed came from a woman who was on a video call inside the bank and screams and cries over the call's four minutes. "I just watched it on a Teams meeting," she says. "We were having a board meeting. With our commercial (lending) team. We heard multiple shots and everybody started saying, 'Oh my God' and then he came into the board room." Another caller says she is hiding in a closet.

story continues below

In a statement released Tuesday, the family said that "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. ... We pray for everyone traumatized by his senseless acts of violence and are deeply grateful for the bravery and heroism of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department." (More Louisville stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X