LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky lawmakers say it's unclear whether the manifesto left behind by the Old National Bank shooter will directly motivate the state to enact stricter gun laws -- though they didn't rule it out.
In handwritten notes and journal entries addressed to his parents, Connor Sturgeon detailed his unhappiness with politicians, mocking Kentucky's gun laws and describing how easy it was to buy the AR-15 style rifle he used in the mass shooting that killed five people in downtown Louisville in April and seriously injured several others -- including officer Nickolas Wilt.
Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) published its 64-page investigative report on the deadly shooting on Nov. 21, calling the case closed.
In the evidence file, the gunman admitted to being mentally ill and called himself a 'psychopath.' In his excerpts, he pointed to how easy he said it was to purchase the rifle, just days before the shooting. While purchasing the gun, he said he lied about whether he'd been institutionalized for his mental health struggles or whether he intended to use the gun for violence.
WHAS11 discussed the writings with State Senators Gerald Neal, a Democrat from Louisville, and Whitney Westerfield, a Republican representing southwestern Kentucky.
"I don't know how to respond to someone who is so clearly troubled," Westerfield said. "What I do know is that there have been too many of these shootings -- too many instances where some legislation could have made a difference."
The legislation Westerfield is referring to is the bipartisan CARR bill, standing for 'Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention.' It's to prevent gun-related deaths while also retaining second amendment rights.
CARR would allow law enforcement to temporarily seize a person's gun, if a judge deems them in crisis and a risk to themselves or others.
Westerfield told WHAS11 he's currently working on two different drafts of that bill, which will be discussed in committee in December in Frankfort.
But as for whether the findings in LMPD's report will motivate state lawmakers to go a step further, Westerfield said that's not yet clear.
"I don't know if you were to poll all the legislators, how many of them outside of Louisville are even aware [of the report]," Westerfield said. "So, I don't know what impact it has, if it has any impact at all. And I wouldn't want to speculate on that."
Meanwhile, Neal told WHAS11 he doesn't think the writings "raise the issue any stronger."
"I'm not sure it's going to change anything significantly that is not already in the works," Neal said. "Even if we adopt a series of policies, which we should, we're still going to have problems because of the proliferation of guns."
Neal said he plans to work on several bills aiming to prevent gun violence, including making it a requirement to secure guns in lockboxes when leaving them in cars. He's also looking to drum up support for his own version of a 'Red Flag' law.
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