PICTURED: Rookie cop shot in the head and critically wounded by Louisville bank ... trends now
The heroic cop who was shot in the head while trying to stop the Louisville bank gunman had only been on the police force for ten days.
Officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, remains in critical condition at a local hospital after running toward gunman Connor Sturgeon, 25, to save the lives of innocent Old National Bank employees on Monday, according to Louisville Metro Police Department.
Wilt was one of two officers responding to the mass shooting when Sturgeon opened fire around 8.30am - killing four and injuring nine.
The rookie officer was shot in the head while his colleague was grazed by a bullet in an undisclosed area.
Wilt was transported to the hospital where he is now in stable condition after undergoing brain surgery.
Nickolas Wilt, 26, was identified as the officer shot by the Louisville gunman. He had graduated from the police academy and joined the force ten days before
Wilt was shot in the head while responding to the mass shooting on Monday. A photo of Wilt at his graduation ceremony showed him smiling alongside Louisville Major Craig Greenberg and interim police chief Jacquelyn 'Jackie' Gwinn-Villaroel
Wilt was sworn into the police department in March 31 - ten days before the mass shooting, the police department said.
A photo of Wilt at his graduation ceremony showed him smiling alongside Louisville Major Craig Greenberg and interim police chief Jacquelyn 'Jackie' Gwinn-Villaroel.
'I just swore him in and his family was there to witness his journey to become a police officer,' Gwinn-Villaroel said. She added the next few days for Wilt's recovery will be critical.
According to a LinkedIn page matching Wilt's name and location, he graduated in 2016 from Oldham County High School.
Wilt had been with the police department since October 2022 - around the time he likely would've started the 24-week police academy program.
His extensive work history includes time at the La Grange Fire Department, Oldham County Emergency Medical Services, Oldham dispatch and Henry County EMS and the La Grange Fire Department.
A quote at the top of the LinkedIn page reads: 'The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.'
Connor Sturgeon, 25, has been identified as the shooter at the Old National Bank on Monday
A photo of the swearing in ceremony Wilt participated in are seen above. Police chief Gwinn-Villaroel (far right) said the next few days will be critical for his recovery
Officers were seen being sworn into the Louisville Metro Police Department in
