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Kentucky Rep Thomas Massie's 'tasteless' Christmas card resurfaces amid Louisville mass shooting

The mass shooting took place on April 10 when Connor Sturgeon stormed inside Old National Bank in Louisville and gunned down his senior colleagues

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie has once again come under fire as his Christmas card resurfaced after the horrific Louisville mass shooting which left five people dead. The tragedy unfolded on Monday, April 10, when 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon stormed inside Old National Bank in Louisville and began gunning down his senior colleagues with an AR-15-style assault rifle. Sturgeon, who was an ex-employee at the bank, was fatally shot during a brief police standoff and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the wake of the shooting, Massie’s old Christmas card has resurfaced, in which he, his wife and their five children were seen holding assault rifles in front of a Christmas tree. The congressman originally posted the picture in 2021 and captioned it, “Merry Christmas! PS. (SIC) Santa, please bring ammo," followed by a Christmas tree and gift emoji. The image attracted criticism at the time as well, given that it was released only days after the Oxford shooting. Massie represents Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, which includes the eastern suburbs of Louisville and Northern Kentucky, according to the the Daily Mail.

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'Tasteless, but prophetic'

Massie was called tone-deaf on social media as many people slammed him. “Never forget. Rep. Thomas Massie, who represents Louisville, Kentucky, used this photo as his Christmas card in 2021. The fetishization of weapons of mass destruction is something we don’t need in our members of Congress. Full stop,” a user wrote. “Tasteless, but prophetic. Thomas Massie's war weapon of choice struck in his backyard. What horror will you ask Santa to bring next Christmas?” another added.

“How could Rep, Thomas Massie think was a good idea?? We need leaders with better judgment and common sense!!! Rep. Thomas Massie acts like a 5-year-old!! Our loved ones are being killed by gun violence and he acts like it’s all a big joke!!!! Shameful and disgusting!!!” another user said. The traumatic shooting at Old National Bank has sent shockwaves through the close-knit town of Louisville.

Who are the victims of the Old National Bank shooting?

The victims of the shooting are Thomas Elliott, 63, a close friend of the governor of Kentucky, and four other bank employees, namely Joshua Barrick, 40, Juliana Farmer, 45, James Tutt, 64, and 57-year-old Deana Eckert. Other than that, nine people, including two police officers, were also left critically wounded during the shooting.

One of the wounded officers, 26-year-old Nickolas Wilt, had joined the force on March 31. He was in critical condition after being shot in the head and had to undergo surgery. Sturgeon was killed by police officers after he livestreamed his rampage. He allegedly wrote a letter to his parents announcing his intention to carry out the massacre after being fired from the bank, according to Daily Mail. His friends said they would "never have expected" him capable of carrying out such an attack.

Deputy Police Chief Paul Humphrey said that the actions of responding police officers undoubtedly saved lives. "This is a tragic event. But it was the heroic response of officers that made sure that no more people were more seriously injured than what happened," he said.

Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear also reacted to the shooting and said he lost one of his closest friends in the tragedy. "Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad,' said Beshear, adding, "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."

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