Ohio mass shooter had ‘kill, rape lists’ in high school
Gunman identified as 24-year-old whose victims included his sister
OHIO : The 24-year-old gunman who killed nine people in a rampage in Dayton, Ohio, had a troubled past, including threatening fellow students in high school, the authorities said, but police said it was too soon to establish a motive for the slaughter.
Police identified the shooter as Connor Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, Ohio, Reuters reported.
The slaughter began at 1am on Sunday in the city's Oregon District and ended rapidly when police officers, who were nearby, moved in and shot him dead. Those killed included Betts'sister and at least 27 people were wounded.
"Just based on where we're at now we are not seeing any indication of race being a motive," Dayton police chief Richard Biehl said as he gave an update into the investigation into the shooting in the early hours of Sunday.
Six of the nine victims killed by the 24-year-old white gunman were black.
Betts had been troubled in high school, at one point drawing up a "kill list" of students he wanted to harm, the authorities said. Several schoolmates told AP that he was suspended during their junior year at suburban Bellbrook High School after the "kill list" was found scrawled in a school bathroom.
CNN reported that Betts had a history of threatening girls who spurned his advances. AP quoted former classmates who said he had a "rape list".
Betts had been previously suspended when he arrived in school with the list of female students he wanted to sexually assault, a male and a female classmate told AP.
Both, now 24, spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern that they might face harassment.
"There was a kill list and a rape list, and my name was on the rape list," said the female classmate.
News media reported that at one point in high school, he was taken off a school bus by police, Reuters reported.
STUDYING PSYCHOLOGY
Apart from his high school troubles, Betts had traffic tickets for speeding and other minor traffic offences, police said.
He had been studying psychology at a community college and working at a Chipotle restaurant. In an online profile, Betts reportedly described himself as "Good under pressure. Fast learner. Eager to overachieve".
Nothing in Betts' record precluded him from purchasing the assault-style weapon, which had been modified since it was sold, the police chief said.
The rifle was fitted with an extended drum magazine that could hold 100 rounds. The gun was bought legally online from a dealer in Texas and shipped to a local firearms dealer, police said.
Betts' sister, Ms Megan Betts, 22, was one of the first to be killed. The siblings had arrived in the same vehicle with a third person earlier in the evening, but they separated before the rampage, Reuters reported.
The companion was wounded in the shooting, police said.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
