Five people were killed and eight others wounded after a shooting at a bank in Louisville, in the US state of Kentucky, police said on Monday.

Eight people, including two police officers, were treated for injuries from the shooting, University of Louisville Hospital spokeswoman Heather Fountaine said.

Suspect identified

The suspect behind the shooting has been identified by the police as 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, a white male who worked at the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville. He used a rifle and was livestreaming the attack before he was fatally shot, police said.

The motive behind the suspect's actions remains unclear at this point. However, according to a law enforcement source cited by CNN, the suspect had recently been informed he was losing his job.

Interim police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel media that the suspect shot at officers, who returned fire and killed him.

According to Gwinn-Villaroel, three individuals, including a police officer who was shot in the head, are in critical condition.

Some people managed to seek shelter in the bank's vault and secured themselves inside, subsequently contacting the police from within, CNN reported.

Kentucky governor fights back tears

Speaking at a press conference following the incident, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, on the verge of tears, said he knew some of victims of the attack, including Tommy Elliot, 63, who helped him build his law career and to become governor.

"He was an incredible friend," the governor said.

"I have a very close friend that didn't make it today," Beshear said, "and one who's at the hospital that I hope is going to make it through."

"We will come together as a community to work to prevent these horrific acts of gun violence from continuing here and around the state," Craig Greenberg, mayor of the city of 625,000, said. 

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who represents Kentucky, wrote on Twitter he was "devastated" by the news and offered "thoughts and prayers" to the victims' families and the city. 

Police arrived as gunshots were still being fired

Social media posts showed that the police arrived and were on the scene minutes after the emergency call came through.

"This is a tragic event," LMPD's Humphrey said. "But it was it was the heroic response of officers that made sure that no more people were more seriously injured than what happened." 

According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Louisville incident was the 146th mass shooting, defined as incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed, in the United States this year.

It happened just two weeks after a former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) to the south.

Efforts to tighten gun controls in the US face Republican opposition, despite public outrage over shootings. 

President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter, "too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives."

In the latest illustration of the deadlock, two Tennessee lawmakers were expelled from the state legislature after protesting for stricter gun control.

lo/fb (AP, Reuters, AFP)