LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It has been one year since an Old National Bank employee used a rifle to kill five people, injuring eight others. A ceremony was held at Louisville's Metro Hall Wednesday honoring those who were lost.
“One year ago today, our lives were changed forever by a senseless, unthinkable, brutal act of violence that has certainly hit me and so many of you at your core,” said Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky.
Beshear was close friends with Thomas Elliott, one of the five killed that day.
“This life and its moments are just so precious, and I wish it didn’t take the murder of this many great people to sometimes remind us of how important those moments can be,” Beshear said.
Wednesday’s speakers also included Jason Smith, chief medical officer at UofL Health; Rev. Kevin Gardner-Sinclair and Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville.
“In this room today that we all join in, there is so much love," Greenberg said. "I am so grateful for that and for the incredible outpouring of love and care that we saw in the moments following that tragedy a year ago today."
Deana Eckert, James Tutt, Thomas Elliott, Juliana Farmer and Josh Barrick were those killed in the mass shooting.
Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officer Nick Wilt, who had only been in uniform for a few weeks, was shot in the head shortly after arriving on scene. Doctors at UofL Health treated Wilt, who has since returned home and improved greatly in the last year.
“Remember that it’s OK to not be OK," Beshear said. “And I’ll tell you when it comes to this, I’m certainly not.”