At least five people were killed and eight others were injured in a shooting at a bank in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday morning, the police said. The suspected gunman died at the scene.

Paul Humphrey, the deputy chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, said that the police received calls around 8.30am (local time) about a shooting at Old National Bank and when they arrived on the scene, “they encountered the suspect almost immediately, still firing gunshots”.

Chief Humphrey said that the gunman, whose name was not immediately released, was confirmed dead at the scene. “We do not know exactly the circumstances of his death at this time,” he said. It was not immediately clear if the gunman was included among the five dead.

The police did not give a motive for the shooting, but they said that the gunman had a connection to the bank and may have been a current or former employee. “We believe this is a lone gunman involved in this that did have a connection to the bank,” Chief Humphrey said at a news conference. Five people were killed inside the bank, the deputy chief said, and at least eight people, including a police officer, were taken to a nearby hospital. He said that two people were in critical condition, including a police officer who was in surgery on Monday morning.

“There is no active danger known to the public at this time,” Chief Humphrey said.

The bank is across the street from Louisville Slugger Field, a minor-league baseball stadium where the Louisville Bats play. The area includes many hotels and apartment complexes.

The University of Louisville Hospital received nine patients, including two police officers, from the shooting, a spokeswoman, Heather Fountaine, said in an email. She said at least three of the patients had been discharged by early Monday afternoon.

The chief executive of Old National Bank, Jim Ryan, travelled to the building in Louisville with other executives on Monday. “The safety of Old National Bank employees and everyone we serve in our banking centre locations is paramount,” Ryan said in a statement. “As we await more details, we are deploying employee assistance support and keeping everyone affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers.”

Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky was emotional at the news conference on Monday morning. “This is awful,” he said. “I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either, and one who is at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through.”

New York Times News Service