LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nickolas Wilt, an officer who graduated from the police academy 10 days ago, was shot in the head during the deadly mass shooting Monday morning in Louisville, the city’s Interim police chief said.
Wilt, 26, who graduated from the Louisville Metro Police Academy on March 31,ran towards the gunfire to save lives, the police department posted on Facebook Monday. He was later hailed as a hero by his co-workers.
Five people were killed and nine injured during the shooting at an Old National Bank in downtown Louisville. Two police officers, including Wilt, were among the injured.
Wilt remains in critical condition following brain surgery, Interim Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said Monday. “The next few days are important and very critical for Nickolas’ recovery.”
“We throw around the term hero, but he’s the guy who’s going to do the right thing,” said Maj. John Luker, who had worked with Wilt at Oldham County EMS before he joined the police recruiting class. “A co-worker said that term’s entitled this time. He earned it.”
MAPPING THE INCIDENT:Old National Bank shooting in Louisville kills 5
‘Actions saved a lot of other lives’
Gwinn-Villaroel, said she had just sworn him in as his family watched. Wilt’s twin brother is going through the academy now, friends of the family told the Courier-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Police identified bank employee Connor Sturgeon as the shooter. He died during the shooting along with five other people: Thomas “Tommy” Elliott, 63; Josh Barrick, 40; James “Jim” Tutt Jr., 64; Deanna Eckert, 57; and Juliana Farmer, 45.
A second officer injured was released from the University of Louisville Hospital within a few hours, along with two other victims who sustained minor injuries.
An officer and firefighter
Wilt began working as an emergency medical technician for Oldham Emergency Medical Services in March 2021 and was always professional and dependable, Luker said.
He was a team player who always wanted to help where he could. And while “I hated for us to lose him … knowing what police are going through in Louisville, he’s the type of officer they need,” Luker said.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened,” he added about the shooting. “But as tore up as everybody is, we also know those actions saved a lot of other lives. … We’re just so proud of him.”
Wilt remained on the roster at Oldham EMS, director Deborah Berry wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.
“He’s our hero too,” she said. “He came to us a few months ago … to tell us he was following his dream of becoming an LMPD officer. He knew the risks. He was willing to accept the risks.”
“He asked to stay on our roster and promised to come back and work for us part-time,” Berry wrote.
LOUISVILLE BANK SHOOTING:What we know about the suspect, motive
Mass killings involving guns
One hundred days into 2023, there have been 15 mass killings — shootings in which four or more people were killed, not including the shooter — in the U.S., according to a USA TODAY/Associated Press/Northeastern University database tracking the killings.
Going back to 2006, the first year for which data has been compiled, the years with the most mass killings were 2019 and 2022, with 45 and 42 mass killings recorded during the entire calendar year. The pace in 2009 slowed later in the year, with 32 mass killings recorded that year.
“This is consistent with the overall trend that mass shootings are becoming more frequent,” said James Densley, co-founder of the Violence Project, a nonprofit research center.
Contributing: Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
