The sister of the Ohio gunman and her boyfriend have been found shot dead in a car just hours after the 24-year-old opened fire in a crowded bar, killing nine and injuring 27 others in less than a minute.
Dayton authorities identified the gunman as Connor Betts, who was wearing body armor when he gunned down patrons at the Ned Peppers Bar in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio, around 1am on Sunday.
Officers arrived to the scene immediately, and were able to 'put an end to it quickly', Lt Col Matt Carper said at a press conference.
Betts, of Bellbrook, was identified as the suspect around noon. He was shot to death by responding officers.
Because officers were in the area when the shooting started, they killed Betts in 'less than a minute,' authorities said.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said during a Sunday morning press conference that had police not responded so quickly, 'hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today'.
Whaley said Betts was carrying a .223-caliber rifle and had additional high-capacity magazines with him. Betts opened fire on the bar from the street.
Police say Betts killed his sister, Megan, 22, and her boyfriend. They were found shot dead in a vehicle near the bar.
Police released the identities of the victims Sunday afternoon: Lois Ogelsby, 27, Sayeed Seleh, 38, Derek Fudge, 57, Logan Turner, 30, Nicholas Cummer, 25, Thomas McNichols, 25, Beatrice Warren Curtis, 36, and 39-year-old Monica Brickhouse.
The mayor said a community vigil is planned for the victims at 8pm on Sunday evening.
Authorities have not established a motive for the attack, but it has been reported that six of the nine victims were African-American men.
'It's a very tragic incident and we're doing everything we can to investigate it and try to identify the motivation behind this,' Carper said.
Scroll down for video
It was also revealed that Betts' sister, Megan, and her boyfriend were found dead in a car. They had both been shot. Megan is pictured with her brother, Connor Betts
Authorities have not established a motive for the attack, but it has been reported that six of the nine victims were African-American men. Betts is pictured with his sister, Megan (left)
Monica Brickhouse (left), 39, and Lois Ogelsby (right), 27, both leave behind young children
Ogelsby had just given birth in June to her baby girl, Reign (pictured). She also has another young daughter
'We're still interviewing obviously a lot of witnesses as well as officers to determine if anyone else was involved,' Carper added.
At least 27 others are being treated at area hospitals, though no details about their conditions have been released. At least one person is in critical condition.
Miami Valley Hospital spokeswoman Terrea Little said 16 of the victims were brought to the hospital, but she couldn't confirm their conditions.
Kettering Health Network spokeswoman Elizabeth Long said multiple victims from the shooting had been brought to system hospitals, but she didn't have details on how many.
Authorities said of the 27 injured, 15 have been discharged from the hospital and several people remain in serious or critical condition.
According to his LinkedIn page, Betts attended Sinclair Community College where he studied psychology between 2017-2019. He had been working at a Chipotle in Centerville.
Before Chipotle, Betts worked at a Marathon gas station.
'I was their go-to guy for anything that needed done - changing lights, painting the walls, covering shifts. Beyond that, I worked the weekend shifts for 3 years - Friday through Sunday, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Unfortunately, I started school and Chipotle, and I had to drop Marathon,' he wrote.
Betts' sister, Megan, was studying biological sciences at Wright State University, according to her Facebook page.
The two appeared to be really close as Facebook photos show them smiling for the camera.
The Ohio shooting is the second mass shooting in the US in less than 24 hours.
Betts was wearing body armor when he opened fire on patrons at the Ned Peppers Bar in Dayton, according to police
Dayton police said that an active shooter situation began in the Oregon District at 1am, but officers (pictured at the scene) nearby were able to 'put an end to it quickly'. Lt Col Matt Carper said at a press conference that the suspect, later identified as Betts, was shot dead by officers
Miami Valley Hospital spokeswoman Terrea Little said 16 of the 27 victims have been received at the hospital, but she couldn't confirm their conditions. Pictured are two staffers from the bar
Authorities said the gunman was carrying a .223-caliber rifle and had additional high-capacity magazines with him
Shoes are piled outside the scene of the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, Sunday morning
The Ohio shooting, which took place at the Ned Peppers Bar (pictured) in Dayton, is the second mass shooting in the US in less than 24 hours
In a Facebook post, the bar confirmed that their employees were safe.
'All of our staff is safe and our hearts go out to everyone involved as we gather information,' the post reads.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the Dayton shooting and is monitoring the situation, Deputy Press Secretary Steven Groves said.
In a series of tweets on Sunday morning, Trump said 'information is rapidly being accumulated in Dayton'.
'God bless the people of El Paso Texas. God bless the people of Dayton, Ohio,' he said in another tweet.
The president condemned both shootings as 'hateful and cowardly acts'. He also ordered that the flags at the White House, all public government buildings and facilities abroad to be lowered to half staff until sunset on August 8.
Democratic Sen Sherrod Brown of Ohio says 'thoughts and prayers are not enough' after a shooter killed nine people and wounded dozens more before he was killed by police in Dayton.
In a statement Sunday, Brown says he is angry that state and national lawmakers won't pass more gun safety laws.
No comments:
Post a Comment