In Kentucky, a gunman armed with an AR-15-style semiautomatic assault rifle killed five people at a bank in downtown Louisville Monday morning. Eight others were injured, including a police officer who was shot in the head and required brain surgery. Louisville police say they responded to reports of “shots fired” within three minutes and killed the shooter in an exchange of gunfire. Investigators identified the shooter as a 25-year-old employee of Old National Bank who live-streamed the massacre on social media as he targeted his co-workers. Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Andy Beshear said three close friends were among the victims, including the bank’s vice president, Thomas Elliott, a longtime Democratic Party donor. 

Gov. Andy Beshear: “This is awful. I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either, and one who’s at the hospital, that I hope is going to make it through.” 

Just two hours after Monday’s mass shooting in Louisville, one person was killed and another injured at a community college less than two miles away. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 146 mass shootings in the United States this year alone. The violence brought renewed focus to efforts by Republicans to further deregulate guns, including U.S. Congressmember Thomas Massie of Kentucky, whose district includes parts of Louisville’s suburbs. In 2021, Massie tweeted a photo of himself and six family members holding assault-style rifles, with the caption, “Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo.”