5 killed in Louisville attack; gunman shot

A shooting in downtown Louisville in the US state of Kentucky left six people dead, including the shooter, and nine others injured on Monday morning.

Following an initial death toll of four, local authorities announced in the evening that a fifth victim, a 57-year-old woman, had died of her injuries. Another woman and three men, aged between 40 and 64, were also killed in the attack.

Three people were in critical condition, including one of two police officers who took a bullet to the head, Louisville police confirmed in a news conference.

The suspect, 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, shot at officers, who returned fire and killed the shooter, said Louisville interim chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel at a news briefing on Monday afternoon.

The gunman was an employee of Old National Bank, located downtown in Kentucky's largest city.

Gwinn-Villaroel said the shooter had broadcast a livestream of the attack on Instagram.

"That's tragic to know that, that incident was out there and captured," she said.

Sturgeon was notified that he was going to be fired from the bank, and he wrote a note for his parents and a friend indicating that he was going to shoot at the bank, CNN quoted a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation as saying. Sources indicated that he had issues of low self-esteem growing up.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said in a statement that it "quickly removed the livestream of this tragic incident this morning".

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, himself a workplace shooting survivor, called the shooting "an evil act".

US President Joe Biden responded to the shooting in a tweet: "Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?"

Demanding justice

Meanwhile, hundreds of community members rallied on Monday outside the Alameda County Courthouse to seek justice for Jasper Wu, a 23-month-old boy who was fatally shot as he slept in his car seat during a freeway shooting in 2021.

Standing on the steps of the courthouse and holding signs high, the diverse crowd chanted "Justice for Jasper", "He is a baby" and "We are angry" in unison.

They demanded that Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who recently took office and is in charge of prosecuting the case, explain how her office will handle the case and whether the three suspects will face jail time.

In a recent meeting with Wu's parents, Price was reluctant to share what kind of punishment she would pursue for the three suspects.

Wu's relatives believed Price may drastically reduce charges against the three suspects under her new policies.

Butch Ford, a veteran prosecutor in Alameda who was directed by Price to take paid administrative leave for at least 13 weeks, spoke out at the protest. He said although some warned him not to talk publicly, he believes "silence toward crime itself is crime".

"This is about victims," he said. "This is about the safety of our community."

Ford said the prosecutor handling the case had recently been reassigned.

Yang Shao, a Fremont City Council member, accused Price of being lenient on criminals by "putting killers and attackers back to the street".

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.