TIRANA, April 10 – Five people were killed and at least six others hospitalised following a shooting targeting a bank on Monday in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States of America.
Police tweeted that calls had come in around 8:30 am for an “active aggressor” at the Old National Bank in Louisville, the largest city in the southern state and that officers were on the scene in “minutes.”
“Five people have been confirmed to have been killed inside. At least six were transported to University of Louisville hospital, including one officer with various injuries,” a police spokesman told a press conference, adding he could not confirm the status of the injured.
“There is no active danger to the public at this time,” said the spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Paul L. Humphrey.
“There is no longer an active aggressor threat. The suspected shooter has been neutralized,” the police department confirmed on Twitter while urging residents to stay clear of the area.
The incident triggered a massive police deployment outside the Old National Bank building.
CNN reported that some people had been able to take refuge in the bank vault and lock themselves in — contacting police from inside.
The United States, a country of around 330 million people, is awash with some 400 million guns, and deadly mass shootings are a regular occurrence.
Efforts to tighten gun controls have for years run up against opposition from Republicans, staunch defenders of America’s constitutional right to bear arms. The political paralysis endures despite widespread outrage over recurring shootings, it is reported. /Argumentum.al
