U.S. Louisville shooting kills 6, including shooter

CHICAGO, April 10 (Xinhua) -- A shooting in downtown Louisville in the U.S. state of Kentucky left six people dead, including the shooter, and nine others injured Monday morning.

Following an initial death toll of four, local authorities announced in the evening that a fifth victim, a 57-year-old woman, had died of her injuries, adding to another woman and three men killed in the attack, who were aged between 40 and 64.

Three people were in critical condition, including one of the two police officers who took a bullet to the head, Louisville police confirmed in a news conference.

Local police made to the scene in three minutes. Police said the suspect, 25-year-old white man Connor Sturgeon, shot at officers, who returned fire and "stopped that threat," killing the shooter, said Louisville Interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel at a news briefing Monday afternoon.

The incident started around 8:30 a.m. Monday (1230 GMT) at the Old National Bank on the E. Main Street, the Louisville Metro Police Department tweeted.

The gunman was an employee of Old National Bank, located downtown in Kentucky's largest city, Gwinn-Villaroel said.

There was a heavy police presence at the scene, with damaged glass and discarded medical equipment at one location, local media reported.

Gunshots could be heard on video clips posted on social media.

Gwinn-Villaroel said that the shooter, whose age was at first reported as 23 but later updated by police to 25, had broadcast live video of the attack on Instagram.

This was the latest in a string of gun crises that have already left more than 4,900 people dead of firearm-related violence in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.