Parkland survivor calls out Florida senator after he reveals friend was killed in Louisville shooting

Victim Tommy Elliott was banker ‘for many years’ for Republican politician Rick Scott

Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg called out US Senator from Florida Rick Scott after he revealed a close friend was shot and killed in Louisville.

Mr Scott, a Republican, took to Twitter to mourn the killing of Tommy Elliott by gunman Connor Sturgeon at the Old National Bank on Monday.

“My friend Tommy Elliott was killed today in Louisville. He was my banker for many years. This news is very shocking and sad for Ann and me. He did so much in the Louisville community, and we pray for his family during this awful time,” wrote Mr Scott.

Sturgeon was shot and killed by police after killing five people and injuring another eight in an attack on the bank with an AR-15 rifle after he was fired from his job there.

Mr Hogg, 22, is a gun control activist and a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that killed 17 people and injured another 17.

He rebuked Mr Scott, the former governor of Florida, for his political inaction on gun violence.

“Rick Scott as one of the most powerful people in the country has not passed a single thing in the senate to reduce gun violence. I’m sorry for your loss but is protecting easy access to weapons like the AR-15 really worth the cost?” he tweeted.

A Twitter user then asked Mr Hogg what had changed from the 1960s onwards with the escalation of gun deaths in the US.

“The popularity and sale of semi auto rifles with high cap magazines exploded. Not to mention the speed of a .223 or .556 coming out of an AR-15 has a considerable more amount of energy more than a 9mm plus the longer barrel of rifles makes the rounds go faster,” he replied.

Authorities say that Sturgeon legally bought the AR-15-style rifle used in the mass shooting just six days before carrying out the massacre.

Rick Scott as one of the most powerful people in the country has not passed a single thing in the senate to reduce gun violence. I’m sorry for your loss but is protecting easy access to weapons like the AR-15 really worth the cost? https://t.co/HAen8OXIp4

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) April 11, 2023

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Louisville Metro Police Department Interim Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel said that Sturgeon purchased the gun used in the attack from a local dealership in Louisville on 4 April.

Just six days later, he entered the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, armed with the rifle.

He opened fire in a first-floor conference room as executives gathered for their morning meeting – all the while livestreaming the massacre on his Instagram account.

Officers responded to the scene within minutes and exchanged gunfire with the gunman, shooting him dead.