The brain of Connor Sturgeon, who police shot and killed after he murdered five people on Monday at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, will be tested for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
CTE is often linked to high-impact sports, such as football, where athletes routinely experience hard collisions that rattle their brains. It has also commonly been linked to professional wrestling, with wrestlers often experiencing similar cranial trauma.
Scientists generally agree that routinely experiencing concussions can lead to the condition, which can only be detected and diagnosed after someone had died.
According to the Louisville Courier Journal newspaper, before Sturgeon’s massacre that also left several people wounded at the Old National Bank, he suffered multiple sports-related concussions as a teenager.
Some people who have tested positive for CTE postmortem have exhibited signs of strange behavior and violence.
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His family issued a statement that said they never saw any behavior that led them to believe he was capable of mass murder.
“While Connor, like many of his contemporaries, had mental health challenges which we, as a family, were actively addressing, there were never any warning signs or indications he was capable of this shocking act,” the family said, according to ABC News.
The statement continued, ”While we have many unanswered questions, we will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials and do all we can to aid everyone in understanding why and how this happened.”
Sturgeon’s family concluded they felt “sorrow” for his actions.
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“No words can express our sorrow, anguish, and horror at the unthinkable harm our son Connor inflicted on innocent people, their families, and the entire Louisville community.”
A family attorney named Peter Palmer said Sturgeon’s brain will be sent to a lab for CTE testing to determine if he suffered from the condition.
The 25-year-old previously worked at the bank and attended a high school just north of the city where he played multiple sports.
He opened fire on Monday morning in the bank and reportedly live-streamed the mass casualty event.
Sturgeon shot a responding police officer in the head, but the shot was not fatal.
He was shot dead by officers within five minutes of the first 9-1-1 call.
One call released to the media and shared by WAVE-TV was made by Sturgeon’s mother, who suspected he was behind the shooting.
“I don’t know what to do, I need your help,” she said on the call. “He’s never hurt anyone, he’s a really good kid. Please don’t come at him.”
She reportedly received a phone call from Sturgeon’s roommate, who had told her a note was found indicating he intended to behave violently.
