Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said a close friend was killed in the shooting at the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville Monday morning and another was hospitalized.
“I have a very close friend that didn't make it today,” Beshear said, his voice breaking. “And one who's at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through.”
Earlier Beshear thought two of his friends had been killed, but later learned one had survived.
Beshear said that he banked in the building and that he ran his campaign for attorney general from it. Beshear, a Democrat, served as the state's attorney general before being elected governor in 2019.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Five people were killed in the shooting; the shooter also died.
“So when we talk about praying, I hope people will, for those that we are hoping can make it through the surgeries that they're going through,” Beshear said.
He urged people who needed help to reach out.
U.S. & World
“There are a lot of people that are hurting today and if we have a place to focus our energy, I hope it is to surround them with the love and the compassion that we have been so good at showing one another,” he said.
“Our bodies and our minds are not meant to go through these types of tragedies,” he said.
Note: Mass shootings are defined as events where at least four people are shot, either injured or killed, not including the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Source: Gun Violence Archive, 2023 mass shootings
Amy O’Kruk/NBC
