The man who opened fire at a Louisville bank, killing five people and wounding eight, left behind notes saying he wanted to demonstrate how easily a person with a serious mental illness can obtain an assault-style weapon, CNN reports by way of law enforcement sources. One note was found on him after he was killed in a shootout April 10 with police; a second was located in his home. A week before the mass shooting, Connor Sturgeon bought an AR-15-style rifle legally at an authorized dealer, per NBC News. He had only to fill out a US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form and go through an FBI records check to be make sure he wasn't a felon or named in a restraining order. The 25-year-old was being treated for depression and anxiety.
His mother told a 911 operator on the day of the killings that her son didn't have a firearm. "We don't even own guns," she said. "I don't know where he would have gotten a gun." Firearms seized by law enforcement officers sent to state police officials to sell at auction, with the money raised going to buy police equipment. That would apply to this rifle; the city's mayor has warned that the "murder weapon will be back on the streets one day under Kentucky's current law." The shooter's family is trying to keep that from happening, after being "aghast to learn" the gun would be sold, a spokesman said. The auction items are sold to federally licensed gun dealers, per the AP. The statement said federal agents took possession of the rifle on Monday as part of the family's effort. (More mass shootings stories.)
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