LMPD Officer Nickolas Wilt taken off ventilator, 'on correct path to recovery' after shooting

Louisville Metro Police Officer Nickolas Wilt has been taken off the ventilator and is "on the correct path to recovery" four weeks after being shot while responding to the mass shooting at Old National Bank, the Louisville Metro Police Foundation said.

Wilt, 26, was shot in the head as he and another officer headed up the steps to the bank's offices, where five people were fatally shot inside by a gunman. Since then, Wilt has had brain surgery and pneumonia −a common condition for patients who are placed on a ventilator. But the update on Facebook from the foundation said he is showing "improvement neurologically and is able to follow some commands."

Wilt was taken from University of Louisville Hospital to U of L Health Jewish Hospital last month after he developed pneumonia, which he still has, according to the post. Wilt is also battling some infections, but showing improvements on those, it said.

Doctors will probably move Wilt to Neuro Rehab within the next week, the post said.

The foundation has been updating the public on Wilt's condition since he was shot, and it previously reported that he was able to open his eyes "and (could) look at you, which is a huge step forward."

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Wilt was shot on only his fourth shift with LMPD. Wilt's training partner, Officer Cory Galloway, killed the gunman minutes after Wilt was shot outside the bank offices on East Main Street.

The community held a vigil in late April at the Jeffersontown Senior Center to pray for Wilt's recovery.

"They didn't wait," Lt. Col. Steve Healey told the crowd, referring to Wilt and Galloway. "They didn't wait to see if they had keys to get in. They didn't wait if they had enough people to make entry. They just knew they had to go anyway. And that's what they did."

Five people were killed at the bank – Josh Barrick, 40; Deana Eckert, 57; Tommy Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; and Jim Tutt Jr., 64. – along with the gunman.

Wilt, who graduated from the police academy on March 31, was one of the eight people injured in the shooting.

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Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: LMPD's Nickolas Wilt, shot at Old National Bank, breathing on own