The Old National Bank shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday, April 10, 2023, which left several people dead and more injured, led to a flurry of information about suspected perpetrator Connor Sturgeon, 25, based on social media profiles thought to be his.
Sturgeon was employed by the bank, police said, and had live-streamed the attack before responding officers killed him.
In the conversation that has followed since the tragedy, social media users claimed to have dug up posts published by Sturgeon before the incident, including a shot of Adam Driver as Kylo Ren from the most recent Star Wars movies.
The Claim
A Reddit post by user "chrisabyss", published April 10, 2023, included what appeared to be a photo of an Instagram story by "csturg41", described on Reddit as "Connor Sturgeon Louisville Shooter alleged Instagram Story before account taken down."
The post has 721 points and 253 comments at the time of writing.
The photo features a screengrab from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It shows Adam Driver's character Kylo Ren with subtitled dialogue stating: "I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it."
The Facts
As has been the case with prominent mass shootings recently, misinformation and unverified claims have filled in the blanks where facts are still forthcoming. Similarly, this claim can't be verified and should be treated with suspicion.
Part of the problem is that the user "csturg41" has had his Instagram account suspended. Account suspension of alleged or convicted perpetrators of mass shootings is standard practice across social media platforms.
Even if the account had not been suspended, it would still be difficult to verify whether the Instagram Story featuring Driver was posted by "csturg41". Instagram Stories only stay online for 24 hours, assuming the account was unrestricted.
The picture appears to be a photograph of a screen, providing the image a reduction in quality which makes it harder to assess inconsistencies or evidence of photoshopped manipulation. The use of low-quality images is a well-worn misinformation technique.
That is not to say the image is inauthentic. Perpetrators of mass shootings have been known to leave plans or otherwise hauntingly prescient material before their crimes. This may be a legitimate screen capture of the account's Instagram Stories.
In the case of this screengrab, it was taken from a scene just before Adam Driver's Kylo Ren unexpectedly kills another character.
There are indications that the Instagram handle belonged to Sturgeon. The Daily Beast identified a Twitter account with the same name that had been quoted in a tweet from 2015, recognizing his sports achievements, which have been reported elsewhere.
This does not mean the image on Reddit is verified. But it does use what appears to be an account belonging to Sturgeon.
As believable as it may be that Sturgeon posted that image, it could equally have been fabricated, an attempt, perhaps, by an unrelated individual to make mischief or create a narrative while details surrounding the story remain relatively scarce.
The issue remains that without further evidence, we can't verify that the image was posted to Instagram by Sturgeon, nor when.
Newsweek has contacted the press team at Meta, which owns Instagram, via email for comment.
The Ruling
Unverified.
Social media accounts attributed to Connor Sturgeon have all been suspended since the shooting in Louisville.
If the image was posted as an Instagram Story, it would have disappeared after 24 hours. So, even if the account was not suspended and did belong to Sturgeon, it may have disappeared before the shooting.
Photos of such low quality (as this image has) have been a common misinformation tool in the past. This post may be real or a fabrication; there presently isn't enough verifiable information to be certain either way.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
