Due largely in part to misinformation shared to social media accounts that do not confirm their information or tips with law enforcement officials or on-scene reporting, rumors quickly spread through the community Wednesday about an active shooter at the U.S. Bank Home Mortgage Center on Tamarack Road. No shots were ever fired, no firearm was found, no one was injured, and no charges have been filed. Here’s how things unfolded and what we know so far.
Initial communication between dispatch and Owensboro Police Department
1:46 p.m.
Dispatch reported receiving a call “from the parking lot of U.S. Bank on Tamarack advising that there is a subject in the parking lot threatening to shoot people” but the caller would not give any further details.
1:49 p.m.
Upon being asked if they were advised about a type of weapon, dispatch said they were not. Dispatch also indicated the incident involved an employee and was in the northwest wing.
1:49 p.m.
Dispatch said “subject made threats to shoot people, just be advised.”
1:52 p.m.
Dispatch said a caller advised that the subject made a reference to the recent bank shooting in Louisville and that “he could do that” to the employees. Dispatch said U.S. Bank was evacuating the building.
1:52 p.m.
An officer told dispatch that all employees were outside.
1:52 p.m.
An officer advised that he had not made contact with the subject yet.
False posts about active shooter
Owensboro Times found multiple social media posts and received messages about an “active shooter.” An OT staff member was first told about a possible “active shooter” at 2:03 p.m., and within minutes had multiple other messages asking about a possible shooter. The earliest public social media post we could find was posted on a personal Facebook account at 2:05 p.m. and read “Active shooter at US Bank on Tamarac?”
By 2:11 p.m. Owensboro Times had confirmed with a law enforcement officer that no shots had been fired but there was a potential threat. OT arrived on scene at approximately 2:18 p.m. again confirmed no shots had been fired, but it was still unclear what the threat was. Most officers were outside the north entrance to the building, but some officers were also stationed on the south side.
OT posted a story to our website at 2:37 p.m. with the title saying there was an “active situation” and stating no shots had been fired. That story was shared to our Facebook at 2:38 p.m.
Also at 2:37 p.m., a Facebook page titled “The Owensboro Police Scanner” made a post that initially read “Reports of active shooter at US bank scanner is reporting 2 employees are sheltered inside.” There has not been any confirmation that anyone was sheltering inside or that there was any sort of hostage situation.
OT went live on Facebook from the scene at 2:48 p.m. During that live both in the comments and via an update from the reporter, OT again clarified there was no active shooter. At around the 25-minute mark of that live feed, OPD Public Information Officer Dylan Evans provide some basic details about the incident — largely confirming the information already shared by OT — but said multiple times that he could not answer certain questions due to the open investigation.
At 3:03 p.m., officers relayed to dispatch that there was “no active threat to the building.”
At 3:06 p.m. — after multiple other updates that did not include removing “active shooter” — The Owensboro Police Scanner’s post was updated to say “active situation” rather than “active shooter.” They also added a message that they “had several messages reporting a ‘shooter’ there were no shots fired in this incident. Apologies for the mis communication.”
OPD officials would not directly answer the question of whether they received a call about an active shooter, instead saying multiple times they were investigating a possible threat.
No charges are being filed
Evans told OT via text Wednesday night that “Detectives interviewed witnesses and individuals involved and after consulting with the County Attorney, no charges would be filed at this time. Multiple locations were searched and no firearms were found.”
Due to no charges being filed, OT is choosing not to identify the person who is alleged to have made a threat.
OT also asked if the subject was ever “apprehended” or “taken into custody” but Evans said “As stated earlier detectives interviewed witnesses and individuals involved and after consulting with the County Attorney no charges will be filed at this time. I can’t comment any further on an ongoing investigation.”
OT also specifically asked if there was ever actually a threat since no charges were filed, but Evans said “We will not comment any further on an ongoing investigation but we refer further questions to U.S. Bank.”
Wednesday night, U.S. Bank Vice President of Public Affairs & Communications Lee A. Henderson declined to answer any questions about the incident and said via email “I would refer you back to law enforcement on this matter.”
