Louisville shooter’s family tests his brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy and reveals he was hit in the head so many times playing high school basketball that he had to wear a helmet – as they search for answers behind his deadly rampage
- Conor Sturgeon’s family says they still can’t make sense of the fatal shooting
- He got concussions several times in high school while playing basketball
Louisville shooter Conor Sturgeon’s family plans to test his brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the judgment-altering brain condition NFL players may develop, in search of an answer to why five teammates were killed last week in a rampage at Workplace.
Sturgeon, 25, opened fire on co-workers at Old National Bank on April 10, killing five people before killing himself in a shootout with police.
He had legally purchased his AR-15 rifle days earlier, and had passed background checks despite the fact that he was seeking treatment for anxiety and depression.
Conor Sturgeon was hit in the head so many times that he had to wear a soft helmet during high school baseball games
Conor Sturgeon (far right) with his family. They say they plan to test his brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy in an attempt to understand why he snapped and killed five co-workers last week.
His family was at a loss as to what could have prompted him to commit such violence.
Now, they say they will have his brain tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
They fear he may have developed the condition as a result of his high school football career in which he was hit in the head so many times that he had to wear a soft helmet during games.
The most severe case of terrible encephalopathy ever recorded for a person his age was that of Aaron Hernandez, who hanged himself in prison after being acquitted of double murder.
Sturgeon suffered multiple concussions, but continued to play until his graduation.
His family had previously said that he suffered from psychological problems, but showed no signs of being able to commit the acts of violence he committed at the bank.
While Connor, like many of his contemporaries, struggled with mental health challenges that we, as a family, were actively dealing with, there were never any warning signs or indications that he was capable of this traumatic act.
“While we have many unanswered questions, we will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials and do everything we can to help everyone understand why and how this happened,” the family said in a statement earlier this week.
In a panicked 911 call the morning of the shooting, his mother, Lisa, said the family had no idea he had a gun.
“He’s never hurt anybody, he’s a really good kid…we don’t even have guns. I don’t know where he’s going to get a gun,” she said.
Sturgeon Fish reportedly wrote a note before the shooting where he complained about being told he was set to lose his job at the bank.
Louisville gunman Connor Sturgeon inside the Old National Bank on Monday where he killed five associates before being fatally shot by police.
Among the notable athletes who have suffered from CTE is Aaron Hernandez, the former Patriots player turned convict who committed suicide in his jail cell in April 2017.
He had been convicted of the double murder of two men when he hanged himself in his cell after smoking synthetic marijuana.
After his death, surgeons studied his brain and found that he had the most severe CTE they had ever seen in a person his age.
Iron Mike Webster, the Steelers player who was rendered homeless before his death, also suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Ken Stabler died of colon cancer, but his widow said posthumously that he also suffered from horrific headaches, disorientation and confusion which he believed were the result of his many football injuries.
