Savannah Guthrie received an overwhelming response from her followers after she interviewed the parents of the Louisville bank shooter on the Today show.
The TV anchor took to Instagram on Thursday to post a snippet of the interview with Todd and Lisa Sturgeon, whose son killed five co-workers and injured eight others when he opened fire at the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville on April 10.
Posting a clip on her Instagram Stories, Savannah wrote: "This story may break your heart. It did mine. But so important to hear this." She shared a longer video of the interview on her grid, which she captioned: "Todd and Lisa Sturgeon have an important story to tell. I hope you'll take a moment to hear it."
Fans were quick to respond to the "difficult" interview, with one replying: "You did such a good job!! This is an important story that needed to be told. My heart goes out to them, and every parent can see themselves in them." A second said: "A masterclass in handling such a difficult yet important story."
A third wrote: "Great job, Savannah. Thank you, Todd and Lisa. These parents were so brave. I truly appreciated their courage and honesty in sharing their pain so that we can learn more about what triggers these mass shootings.
A fourth added: "Savannah, you are one of my favorite interviewers for your way of empathy and asking the next question that we all hope you ask. To the Sturgeons, your courage is in fact, exceptional. I continue to pray over you and the other victims of that day and their families."
During the interview, Savannah asked the Sturgeons if they knew the reason why their son did what he did. "I don't think there's any way to know for sure," Todd said. "We know that Conner was struggling with some mental health issues. I'm afraid whatever we come up with as the cause, still isn't going to make sense."
© Getty ImagesLisa added: "There was no clear tell, so this could happen to someone else, and we don't want that to happen."
The victims of the attack have been named as Joshua Barrick, Thomas Elliott, Juliana Farmer, James Tutt, and Deana Eckert, all of whom were employees at the bank. Of the people who were initially injured, a police officer, Nick Wilt, who was shot in the head, is still in critical condition and in a medically induced coma.
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