Jeremy Renner, center, the host and executive producer of "Rennervations," is surrounded by family members at the premiere of the four-part Disney+ docuseries, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at the Westwood Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeremy Renner attended the premiere for his new series Tuesday, capping a remarkable recovery less than four months after the “Avengers” star was nearly killed in a snowplow accident.
Renner was surrounded by family and supporters at the “Rennervations” premiere in Los Angeles, where he posed for photos and did interviews, at times making use of a cane and a knee scooter. At one point he flashed photographers a thumbs up sign while moving down the carpet.
The premiere marked Jeremy Renner’s first public, in-person appearance since a Jan. 1 snow plow accident outside his Reno, Nev., home left him with life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Renner was crushed by his 7-ton snowplow on New Year’s Day while trying to help free a relative’s car at his Nevada home. The actor has said he broke numerous bones and suffered a collapsed lung and pierced liver in the accident.
“Rennervations,” which premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, follows Renner as he transforms large vehicles into community spaces for young people in India, Mexico, Chicago and Nevada. The purposes range from serving as a mobile music studio to a water filtration truck for a community in India.
Jeremy Renner first public, in-person appearance since a Jan. 1 snow plow accident outside his Reno, Nev., home left him with life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Renner said his aim was to give young people access to things they might not already have and present opportunities they might not know existed.
Renner wrote the theme song for the show, something he did while working on another show.
“I use music and piano to write songs and use it like therapy for me,” he said.
Jeremy Renner, center, the host and executive producer of “Rennervations,” is surrounded by family members at the premiere of the four-part Disney+ docuseries, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at the Westwood Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Construction and music have been creative outlets for Renner, who is best known for playing the superhero Hawkeye in the Marvel “Avengers” films and his own spin-off TV series.
Marvel co-star Anthony Mackie appears in the show, and Renner said the secret to their friendship is they “laugh a lot.”
Renner, a two-time Oscar nominee, told Diane Sawyer in an interview that aired that while he thought he might die from his injuries, he refused to be “haunted” by the accident.
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Associated Press writer Leslie Ambriz contributed to this report.
File image shows the planned integrated resort to be constructed the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay in Japan. (Courtesy of MGM Resorts International and Orix Corp.)(Kyodo)
The central government will hold a task force meeting as early as Friday, at which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and relevant ministers are expected to approve the Osaka IR plan, the sources said.
The Osaka prefectural and city governments aim to open the facility between the fall and winter of 2029 on the existing artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, the sources said.
The resort, created in partnership with MGM Resorts International of the United States and Japan’s Orix Corp., is expected to attract around 20 million visitors annually and bring 1.14 trillion yen ($8.5 billion) in annual economic benefits to the western Japan region centering on the prefecture.
File photo shows Osaka’s artificial island of Yumeshima (front) in March 2023. (Kyodo)
Nagasaki Prefecture has also submitted a plan to host an IR but the task force is likely to postpone any decision on the basis it requires more time to further assess the detail, according to the sources.
In 2018, a law was enacted that allowed for the development of up to three IRs. But plans to stimulate the economy through casinos faced public opposition largely due to concerns about the negative impacts of gambling.
Momentum was also slowed by procedural delays amid the pandemic, withdrawals of foreign operators and a graft scandal that led to the arrest in 2019 of a lawmaker who campaigned for casino legalization.
AIS Fibre is proving itself at the regional level by being the only broadband provider in Thailand to win “Broadband Telecom Company of The Year”at theAsian Telecom Awards 2023. The award highlights the company’s focus on setting new standards for the Thai home Internet industry in terms of service coverage, reaching all 77 provinces of Thailand and 8.8 million households.
In terms of quality, AIS Fibre provides the best home Internet networks, now rolling out speeds of up to 2Gbps, also a Thailand first. AI is now deployed in routers to enhance the signal available in any building, while intelligent Wi-Fi efficiently allocates speed as required by different use cases in the home.
The company has also performed with regard to customer service. Customers are given a firm promise about service and experts are on call to troubleshoot issues 24 hours a day, a new standard for the industry. This includes advice, and helping customers to maintain continuity without glitches. There are also new standards for installations to be quick, punctual and effective in the installation and service, or getting around any issue.
These factors of innovation and service standards align with criteria people are considering when they need to select a broadband provider. These are the reasons enabling AIS Fibre to become the only internet provider in Thailand to be awarded with “Broadband Telecom of the Year” from the Asian Telecom Awards 2023.
The Asian Telecom Awards 2023 are a forum to rank telecom companies active in the Asia Pacific who are admired by their industry peers, and are conducted by Asian Business review magazine in Singapore.
AIS Fibre has expended considerable effort on understanding the diverse range of use cases favored or preferred by consumers. This is the main factor for AIS Fibre’s steady growth in market share of paid-up subscribers to over 16%. AIS Fibre has consistently delivered outstanding and well differentiated services to customers, as demonstrated by this Broadband Telecom Company of The Year award, a tangible proof of success.
Sgt. Maj. Khemarat Boonchuay, center, accompanied by a military officer at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau on Apr. 12, 2023.
BANGKOK — The hacker accused of stealing and trying to sell personal data of almost every Thai citizen on Wednesday turned himself in to police after hiding to avoid arrest for weeks.
Sgt. Maj. Khemarat Boonchuay arrived at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau this morning where he and his wife were being questioned by police as of publication time. Police said the suspect remained silent.
Khemarat, a soldier serving the army’s transportation department, was identified by police to be the hacker behind the pseudonym 9Near who threatened to reveal personal data of 55 million Thai citizens believed to be stolen from the government’s Mor Prom vaccination application.
Sgt. Maj. Khemarat Boonchuay arrived at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau.
It remains unclear how the hacker managed to breach the database and what his motives were. Digital economy minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn played down speculations that the suspect was politically motivated and said he was just vying for fame.
“He is not involved with politics or the election, but some political groups use this incident to discredit,” Chaiwut said. “We know that the suspect has not sold or used the data, but he just posted it on social media to create some buzz.”
Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn
An arrest warrant for Khemarat was issued earlier this month on charges under the Computer Crime Act and Personal Data Protection Act.
Police previously failed to arrest the suspect after he was identified as the hacker and a warrant for his arrest was issued on Apr. 2. The cybercrime police commander said the suspect could not be located since his phone was switched off.
“We issued a letter summoning the suspect to the suspect’s agency, but they said the suspect could not be reached because his phone was switched off,” Pol. Lt. Gen. Worawat Watnakornbancha said Friday. “His wife was nowhere to be found either.”
The army also appeared to distance themselves from the hacker, saying he was acting under his personal capacity. The suspect was suspended from his active duties after a warrant was out for his arrest.
“This is personal wrongdoing and has nothing to do with his military service,” army’s spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong said Sunday. “He serves as a driver and is not involved with IT duties.”
A heart-touching story was reported from Ban Si Liam, Khao Khok sub-district, Prakhon Chai district, Buri Ram province, where a mother and daughter reunited after more than 30 years of separation with the help of social media.
Both the mother and daughter hugged each other immediately after the meeting. Their relatives held a blessing ceremony to celebrate the reunion according to traditional rules. This is good news before the Songkran festival.
The Khaosod reporter met with the mother and daughter at house No. 103, moo. 2, Ban Si Liam, Khao Khok sub-district, Prakhon Chai district, Buriram province, with Suwan Thothong, 59, the mother, and Sangdao Thothong, 33, the daughter, on April 11. Locals and relatives expressed their joy at this reunion.
Suwan said that her husband, who is from Si Sa Ket province, and she had a problem that led to their separation when their daughter was about a year old. Her husband took the daughter away. She had tried to find her daughter but failed to find both her husband and her daughter.
Her relative tried to look up her daughter’s name on Facebook and eventually discovered the daughter’s account. The relative made an effort to engage the daughter, and they soon began conversing.
The daughter informed the relative via the internet that her father had passed away and that she was now married and having children.
The chat in which a relative asked Sangdao whether she has a father named Somnuek.
Sangdao, who had not seen her mother in 33 years, arranged her trip to the Prakhon Chai area in Buri Ram province after becoming certain that they were the long-lost mother and daughter, while Suwan was so excited to see her daughter because she had lost hope of seeing her again.
Sangdao told the reporter that when her father brought her to Si Sa Ket, she was only 1 year and 3 months old and could barely remember anything. She finished school at 19 and went to Bangkok to work. She got married when she was 25 years old. She now has 2 children: an 8-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter.
The moment of joy
She had been trying to find her mother for the last 30 years but had no information. The only thing her father told her was that her mother lived in Prakhon Chai district in Buri Ram province.
Until a relative of her mother approached her through Facebook and asked if she was a daughter of Somnuk and Suwan. She answered in the affirmative based on a study record where both parents’ names appear. They kept in touch until she found out that her mother was still alive and she wanted to meet her as she could barely remember her mother’s face.
“When I was sure that it was my long-lost mother, I contacted the relative and travelled to Prakhon Chai district in Buri Ram province. When I saw my mother for the first time, I was overjoyed. I had never thought I would see her again. I thought she had passed away. I want to visit her often and hope she is in good health,” said Sangdao.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in a ceremonial yellow hat arrives at the Tsuglakhang temple to give a sermon in Dharamshala, India, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia,file)
DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama apologized Monday after a video showing him kissing a child on the lips triggered criticism.
A statement posted on his official website said the 87-year-old leader regretted the incident and wished to “apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama apologized Monday after a video showing him kissing a child on the lips provoked outrage.
The incident occurred at a public gathering in February at the Tsuglagkhang temple in Dharamsala, where the exiled leader lives. He was taking questions from the audience when the boy asked if he could hug him.
The Dalai Lama invited the boy up toward the platform he was seated on. In the video, he gestured to his cheek, after which the child kissed him before giving him a hug.
The Dalai Lama then asked the boy to kiss him on the lips and stuck out his tongue. “And suck my tongue,” the Dalai Lama can be heard saying as the boy sticks out his own tongue and leans in, prompting laughter from the audience.
The footage triggered a backlash online with social media users condemning his behavior as inappropriate and disturbing.
SNAP, the national advocacy group for victims of clergy abuse, said they were “horrified” by the Dalai Lama’s actions. “Our primary concern is with the innocent boy who was the subject of this disgusting request by a revered spiritual figure,” the group said in a statement.
Sticking out one’s tongue was often used as a greeting according to ancient Tibetan culture, but is not commonly seen anymore.
“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement from the Dalai Lama read.
The Dalai Lama has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles.
The Department of Agriculture has warned tourists not to buy fresh fruit as a phytosanitary certificate is required for re-entry into the Kingdom to avoid a fine of 20,000 baht or imprisonment for 1 year.
Rapeephat Chantarasriwong, director-general of the Department of Agriculture, said the government agency has warned both Thai and international tourists that importing fruits from aboard without a phytosanitary certificate is illegal under the Plant Quarantine Act B.E. 2507 and its amendments. Those who violate it face both fees and imprisonment.
credit: Elianna-Friedman / unsplash
“This is a travel season in Thailand when we have many tourists from Thailand and outside, especially those who come back from South Korea and Japan. They like to buy fresh fruits like persimmons and grapes, which are cheaper than in Thailand, to return to the country. We would like to warn them that this behaviour could be against the law without them being aware of it or intending to do it,” said Rapeephat.
The official will prosecute those who break the law. They will be threatened with payment of a fee or imprisonment. The disputed property will be confiscated and destroyed. Both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Public Relations Department of Thai Airports are working hand in hand to pass this law.
credit: Jordan-Christian / Unsplash
The charges are to pay a fee of 20,000 baht, imprisonment for 1 year, or both.
It is reported that Suvarnabhumi airport is constantly confiscating fresh fruits and vegetables on board that passengers bring back to Thailand.
The official warns the passengers and releases them, but confiscates the disputed commodity and later destroys it at a high temperature to prevent any risk of the disease sabotaging the country’s agricultural industry, according to the Plant Quarantine Act B.E. 2507 and its amendments.
The Department of Agriculture has also instructed the Agricultural Regulation Department to place several appropriate bins at the airport for tourists to throw away the prohibited items, which may not be known to passengers.
AIS flexes at the Asian level with two major awards uniquely among 49 countries “CEO of the Year” and “Broadband Telecom Company of the Year” at Asian Telecom Awards 2023. Underlining leadership in every aspect of Thailand’s telecom sector
AIS has taken its place at the Asian level and bought renown to Thailand by winning two major awards: CEO of the Year and Broadband Telecom Company of the Year, at the Asian Telecom Awards 2023 hosted by Asian Business Review, a Singapore-based publication expert in ranking Asia-Pacific telecom companies, which are widely recognized by operators in the Asia-Pacific telecommunications industry.
The awards are presented to Asia-based telecom companies who have achieved success by originating and innovating to become leaders of their markets, and who are able to cope with a competitive environment efficiently.
AIS is the only telecom company from Thailand to have been chosen for this award from a pool of 49 countries. This highlights AIS leadership of the Thai telecom industry in providing service to the high standards of international operators.
AIS Chief Executive Somchai Lertsutiwong commented, “Telecom providers have evolved into Digital Life Service Providers. Now AIS has upgraded itself to the next level, into what we call a Cognitive Tech-Co. We are focused on building a resilient digital infrastructure, while enhancing our capabilities to add value to every business sector.
We have assisted many companies to adapt in their internal Digital Transformation over the last few years. We enable company staff to understand transformation in its global context, while being open to re-skilling and up-skilling to develop the products and services demanded by customers and the general public.
“Being recognized by the Asian Telecom Awards 2023 is a demonstration of the power which AIS teams can achieve by working together, to deliver the best digital experience in Thailand on a consistent basis. On behalf of the company and all of its staff, I would like to thank Asian Business Review for recognizing AIS’ determination and vision to deploy digital infrastructure with the intention to improve the user experience and build extra capabilities for the nation.”
The Asian Telecom Awards are presented to Asian telecom companies with successful performance in both developing products by innovation to meet customer needs, and dealing with competition efficiently. They are hosted by Asian Business Review in Singapore, and last year, AIS was able to win in three categories: Mobile Operator of the Year, Telecom Company of the Year and Digital Initiative of the Year. This year, AIS has won two major awards as follows:
CEO Of the Year: AIS Is the only company from 49 countries in the region to be honored with this award, which is presented to telecom business leaders in the Asian region who have shown clear vision and achieved excellence in business performance, in terms of both innovations, coping with competition and other challenges from the global situation. AIS has been able to demonstrate its potential as the pioneer provider of 5G service in Thailand in 2020, which extended coverage to all of the country’s 77 provinces in a single year. The company has also been powered by the development of people for digital transformation at AIS Academy for Thais, which provides digital skills for employees and the Thai public.
Broadband Telecom Company of the Year was won byAIS Fibre, the only Thai home Internet provider to win the award this year. It is presented to broadband telecom providers who have been outstanding for innovation and excellent service, as well as setting new standards for the Thai home internet industry. Customer care has been upgraded to 24-hour call-out teams for troubleshooting customer problems, innovating the fastest home Internet of 2 Gbps for the first time in Thailand, deploying AI in routers for better signal capabilities, and intelligent Wi-Fi, which can efficiently allocate user speeds consistent with the wide range of use cases of a family in their home.
Somchai concluded, “Both of the awards which we have received on this occasion spotlight the company’s vision and readiness to power sustainable growth for the benefit of our customers, the Thai people and Thailand itself in every dimension. We are extremely proud to be representing Thailand, and we hope that this will be a motivator for our AIS teams to continue in their dedication to their work, so that we will continue to be a prototype for the telecom industry in delivering excellent user experiences to consumers.”
In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) steams in the Philippine Sea, on March 13, 2023.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launch their largest combat exercises in decades that will involve live-fire drills, including a boat-sinking rocket assault in waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait that will likely inflame China.
The annual drills by the longtime treaty allies called Balikatan — Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder — will run up to April 28 and involve more than 17,600 military personnel. It will be the latest display of American firepower in Asia, where Washington has repeatedly warned China over its increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed sea channel and against Taiwan.
U.S. Marine Corps Major General Eric Austin, right, U.S. Exercise Director Representative, right, with Philippine Army Major General Marvin Licudin, Philippine Exercise Director, answers a question from a reporter after the opening ceremonies of a joint military exercise flag called “Balikatan,” a Tagalog word for “shoulder-to-shoulder,” at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Quezon City, Philippines (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in a possible confrontation over Taiwan.
That dovetails with efforts by the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea by boosting joint military exercises with the U.S. and allowing rotating batches of American forces to stay in more Philippine military camps under a 2014 defense pact.
U.S. Marine Corps MGEN Eric Austin, U.S. Exercise Director Representative, right, and Philippine Army MGEN Marvin Licudine, second left, Philippine Exercise Director, unfurl the joint military exercise flag called “Balikatan,” AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
About 12,200 U.S military personnel, 5,400 Filipino forces and 111 Australian counterparts are taking part in the exercises, the largest in Balikatan’s three-decade history. America’s warships, fighter jets as well as its Patriot missiles, HIMARS rocket launchers and anti-tank Javelins, would be showcased, according to U.S. and Philippine military officials.
“We are not provoking anybody by simply exercising,” Col. Michael Logico, a Philippine spokesman for Balikatan, told reporters ahead of the start of the maneuvers.
“This is actually a form of deterrence,” Logico said. “Deterrence is when we are discouraging other parties from invading us.”
In a live-fire drill the allied forces would stage offshore for the first time, Logico said U.S. and Filipino forces would sink a 200-foot (61-meter) target vessel in Philippine territorial waters off the western province of Zambales this month in a coordinated airstrike and artillery bombardment.
A U.S. Marines personnel gestures at the flight deck of the USS America (LHA 6) during a scheduled port visit in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
“We will hit it with all the weapons systems that we have, both ground, navy and air,” Logico said.
That location facing the South China Sea and across the waters from the Taiwan Strait would likely alarm China, but Philippine military officials said the maneuver was aimed at bolstering the country’s coastal defense and was not aimed at any country.
Such field scenarios would “test the allies’ capabilities in combined arms live-fire, information and intelligence sharing, communications between maneuver units, logistics operations, amphibious operations,” the U.S. Embassy in Manila said.
Washington and Beijing have been on a collision course over the long-seething territorial disputes involving China, the Philippines and four other governments and Beijing’s goal of annexing Taiwan, by force if necessary.
China last week warned against the intensifying U.S. military deployment to the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a regular news briefing in Beijing that it “would only lead to more tensions and less peace and stability in the region.”
The Balikatan exercises were opening in the Philippines a day after China concluded three days of combat drills that simulated sealing off Taiwan, following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week in California that infuriated Beijing.
On Monday, the U.S. 7th Fleet deployed guided-missile destroyer USS Milius within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, a Manila-claimed coral outcrop which China seized in the mid-1990s and turned into one of seven missile-protected island bases in the South China Sea’s hotly contested Spratlys archipelago. The U.S. military has been undertaking such “freedom of navigation” operations for years to challenge China’s expansive territorial claims in the busy seaway.
“As long as some countries continue to claim and assert limits on rights that exceed their authority under international law, the United States will continue to defend the rights and freedoms of the sea guaranteed to all,” the 7th Fleet said. “No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms.”
Louisville metro Police and emergency personnel block the streets outside of the Old National Bank building in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Louisville bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his workplace Monday morning, killing five people — including a close friend of Kentucky’s governor — while livestreaming the attack on Instagram, authorities said.
Police arrived as shots were still being fired inside Old National Bank and killed the shooter in an exchange of gunfire, Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said. The city’s mayor, Craig Greenberg, called the attack “an evil act of targeted violence.”
Law enforcement, ambulances, and public safety vehicles line the street at the scene of a shooting in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP)
The shooting, the 15th mass killing in the country this year, comes just two weeks after a former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) to the south. That state’s governor and his wife also had friends killed in that shooting.
In Louisville, the chief identified the shooter as 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, who she said was livestreaming during the attack.
“That’s tragic to know that that incident was out there and captured,” she said.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said in a statement that it had “quickly removed the livestream of this tragic incident this morning.”
Social media companies have imposed tougher rules over the past few years to prohibit violent and extremist content. They have set up systems to remove posts and streams that violate those restrictions, but shocking material like the Louisville shooting continues to slip through the cracks, prompting lawmakers and other critics to lash out at the technology industry for slipshod safeguards and moderation policies.
Nine people, including two police officers, were treated for injuries from the Louisville shooting, University of Louisville Hospital spokeswoman Heather Fountaine said in an email. One of the wounded, identified as 57-year-old Deana Eckert, later died, police said Monday night.
One of the wounded officers, 26-year-old Nickolas Wilt, graduated from the police academy on March 31. He was in critical condition after being shot in the head and having surgery, the police chief said. At least three patients had been discharged.
Multiple agencies arrive at a building after a shooting took place in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he lost one of his closest friends in the shooting — Tommy Elliott — in the building not far from the minor league ballpark Louisville Slugger Field and Waterfront Park.
“Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad,” said Beshear, his voice shaking with emotion. “He’s one of the people I talked to most in the world, and very rarely were we talking about my job. He was an incredible friend.”
Also killed in the shooting were Josh Barrick, Jim Tutt and Juliana Farmer, police said.
“These are irreplaceable, amazing individuals that a terrible act of violence tore from all of us,” the governor said.
It was the second time that Beshear was personally touched by a mass tragedy since becoming governor.
Two people embrace outside of a building where a shooting took place in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP)
In late 2021, one of the towns devastated by tornadoes that tore through Kentucky was Dawson Springs, the hometown of Beshear’s father, former two-term Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. Andy Beshear frequently visited Dawson Springs as a boy and has talked emotionally about his father’s hometown.
Beshear spoke as the investigation in Louisville continued and police searched for a motive. Crime scene investigators could be seen marking and photographing numerous bullet holes in the windows near the bank’s front door.
As part of the investigation, police descended on the neighborhood where the suspect lived, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of the downtown shooting. The street was blocked as federal and local officers talked to residents. One home was cordoned off with caution tape. Kami Cooper, who lives in the neighborhood, said she didn’t recall ever meeting the suspect but said it’s an unnerving feeling to have lived on the same street as someone who could do such a thing.
“I’m almost speechless. You see it on the news but not at home,” Cooper said. “It’s unbelievable, it could happen here, somebody on my street.”
A man who fled the building during the shooting told WHAS-TV that the shooter opened fire with a long rifle in a conference room in the back of the building’s first floor.
“Whoever was next to me got shot — blood is on me from it,” he told the news station, pointing to his shirt. He said he fled to a break room and shut the door.
Bullet holes are seen in the front windows of the Old National Bank building in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023. A shooting at the bank killed and wounded several people police said. The suspected shooter was also dead. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Deputy Police Chief Paul Humphrey said the actions of responding police officers undoubtedly saved lives.
“This is a tragic event,” he said. “But it was the heroic response of officers that made sure that no more people were more seriously injured than what happened.”
Just a few hours later and blocks away, an unrelated shooting killed one man and wounded a woman outside a community college, police said.
The 15 mass shootings this year are the most during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009, when 16 had occurred by April 10, according to a mass killings database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
Going back to 2006, the first year for which data has been compiled, the years with the most mass killings were 2019 and 2022, with 45 and 42 mass killings recorded during the entire calendar year. The pace in 2009 slowed later in the year, with 32 mass killings recorded that year.
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Contributing to this report were Becky Reynolds in Louisville, Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Kentucky, Beatrice Dupuy in New York, database journalist Larry Fenn, researchers Rhonda Shafner and Jennifer Farrar in New York and AP Technology writer Michael Liedtke in San Ramon, California.
