Anonymous rose petaler leaves artwork outside Old National Bank after mass shooting

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A rose petaler left a heart on the ground of the entrance to where the mass shooting took place at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville on Monday.

The bank is the location where a gunman shot 13 people, killing five of them.

”Up on that platform, we lost an officer, and that is sacred ground,” the rose petaler said. “I didn’t want to disturb that glass and I didn’t want to disturb that sawdust because it’s placement there was through tragedy and my purpose was to shroud that with love.”

The artist said she wants to remain anonymous because her artwork has never been about her. Instead, she wants people to focus on spreading love, no matter where it comes from.

“The belief that grounds me is that, truly, if we put more love into the world, the world will be filled with more love,” the artist said.

The artist said she has sprinkled millions of petals for tragedies and families around the world since 2015. She partners with Nanz & Kraft Florists and Value Market to get the rose petals. Each time a petal is put down, she hopes she’s planting a seed for others to do the same.

”I knew that when I was putting the rose petals down that somebody’s heart was going to be lifted as a result of it,” she said. “And when I left, descended those steps, that was the first time I had felt any peace.”

The petals were cleaned up from the ground the second day after the shooting.

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