Shooting In Dayton's Oregon District: 9 Killed, 27 Hurt

DAYTON, OH — A gunman dressed in body armor opened fire outside a bar in the city's popular Oregon historic district Sunday, killing nine people and wounding 27 others. Police then shot the suspect to death.

Gunshots rang out near Ned Peppers Bar on East 5th Street around 1 a.m. Sunday, police said, and nearby officers "put an end to it quickly," police Lt. Col. Matt Carper said at a press conference. He said the suspect was killed in less than a minute after he began firing.

Police believe there was one shooter and have identified the suspect. They are still looking into possible motives.

A federal law enforcement official identified the shooter on Sunday as Connor Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, Ohio, as CBS News first reported. Betts worked in Centerville at a fast food restaurant, the official told Patch.

Authorities were searching the shooter's home and combing his social media feeds for information, the official said. They now believe Betts and his sister went to the area together and killed her at the scene, the person said.

The gunman used a long gun and fired multiple rounds, police said. The shooter used a .223-caliber high-capacity magazine rifle and had extra magazines with him, police told reporters at a news conference Sunday morning. He concealed his face with a mask or other type of covering, the Dayton Daily News reported.

All of the deaths were outside the bar, police said.

"If the Dayton police had not gotten to the shooter in under a minute, hundreds of people in the Oregon District would be dead today," said Mayor Nan Whaley. "This is the 250th mass shooting in America," she said. "It’s sad that it’s in the city of Dayton."

Whaley later said: "I'm just completely amazed at the heroic nature of the police department."

A vigil will be held at 8 p.m. Sunday in the Oregon District to remember the victims of this tragic shooting. Police on Sunday identified the victims as: Lois Oglesby, 27; Megan Betts, 22; Saeed Saleh, 38; Derrick Fudge, 57; Logan Turner, 30; Nicholas Cumer, 25; Thomas McNichols, 25; Beatrice Warren-Curtis, 36; and Monica Brickhouse, 39.

The victims included three white people, six black people, four women and five men. All the victims were from the area, Gov. Mike DeWine said.

Meghan Betts was the shooter's sister.

A community blood bank was supporting area hospitals, Whaley said. Officials were working to set up donation centers but officials said they had enough blood and will happen Monday.

The Dayton shooting came several hours after a gunman wielding an AK-47-style rifle opened fire on back-to-school shoppers in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. In that shooting, 21 people died and 26 more were hurt, officials said. The 21st victim died early Monday at a hospital.

Authorities are looking into whether that shooting was a hate crime.

In the Ohio shooting, a graphic video posted on Twitter showed dozens of gunshots ring out, followed by a flurry of responding gunshots. A second video taken after the shooting showed two bodies covered in a white sheet.

In a third video, frightened bystanders call their loved ones near police tape.

"There's just dead people on the roads everywhere," the man recording the graphic video said.

In police radio transmissions posted online, officers can be heard yelling: "Shots fired! Shots fired!" The relevant audio begins around the 3-minute-20-second mark.

"We got shots fired," one officer said. "We got multiple down, we're going to need multiple medics."

A trauma surgeon at Miami Valley Hospital told reporters Sunday his facility activated a mass casualty plan around 1:30 a.m., mobilizing the entire team. The hospital received 16 patients. Four were admitted and one was critically hurt, he said. All have undergone or will undergo surgery.

A spokeswoman with the Kettering Health Network system of hospitals said three of its centers received patients. Nine people were treated at one hospital, two of whom were taken into surgery immediately. A third is being considered. Of the nine, three were in serious condition and three more were in fair condition, she said. Three others were treated and released.

Their injuries included gunshot wounds to lower extremities and abdomen, the hospital system said. One person suffered a foot cut. Another person was brought in serious condition to a different hospital.

The FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation.

The city's Oregon district is a popular nightlife spot, described as "a safe part of downtown," with various entertainment options such as bars, restaurants and theaters. The Oregon district will reopen this afternoon, said Whaley.

The neighborhood is one of the safest places in the region, she said, noting "senseless acts of violence" can happen anywhere.

Whaley said this is a day we all dreaded would happen. She has been in contact with Gov. Mike DeWine, who offered his condolences. Dayton has had a "really tough year," she added, noting that a day after Memorial Day, 14 tornadoes "ravaged" the city.

"What really goes through my mind is one seems completely preventable," said Whaley. "When is enough enough?"

She added that she continues to be "amazed at grit and resiliency" of the community. More than 50 mayors have reached out to Whaley, she said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 937-225-6217. A family assistance center has been established at the Dayton Convention Center. Individuals can go there or call 937-333-8430, police said.

Nikita Papillon, 23, was across the street at Newcom's Tavern when the shooting started. She told AP that a girl she had talked to earlier in the night was lying on the ground outside the bar.

"She had told me she liked my outfit and thought I was cute, and I told her I liked her outfit and I thought she was cute," Papillon said.

Papillon was at Ned Peppers the previous night. She said it as the kind of place "where you don't have to worry about someone shooting up the place."

"People my age, we don't think something like this is going to happen," she said. "And when it happens, words can't describe it."

Tianycia Leonard, 28, was smoking in the back at Newcom's when she heard "loud thumps" and thought people were pounding on a trash bin.

"It was so noisy, but then you could tell it was gunshots and there was a lot of rounds," Leonard said.

Whaley tweeted around 6 a.m. Sunday she was "heartbroken." She also thanked first responders for their efforts.

The governor said in a statement before 7 a.m. that he ordered state flags to remain at half-staff. He also offered assistance to Whaley.

"Fran and I are absolutely heartbroken over the horrible attack that occurred this morning in Dayton," DeWine said. "We join those across Ohio and this country in offering our prayers to victims and their families.

"I commend Dayton Police and other first responders for their bravery and quick response to save lives and bring an end to this tragedy."

President Donald Trump has been briefed on the Dayton shooting and is monitoring the situation, the White House said. Trump tweeted that the FBI, local and state law enforcement are working together in Dayton.

"Information is rapidly being accumulated in Dayton," wrote Trump. "Much has already be learned in El Paso. Law enforcement was very rapid in both instances. Updates will be given throughout the day!"

Trump added: "God bless the people of El Paso Texas. God bless the people of Dayton, Ohio."

The White House issued a proclamation Sunday honoring the victims in El Paso and Dayton. Flags at all federal public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels were to be flown at half-staff until sunset Thursday.

"Our Nation mourns with those whose loved ones were murdered in the tragic shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and we share in the pain and suffering of all those who were injured in these two senseless attacks," the proclamation stated. "We condemn these hateful and cowardly acts."

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown tweeted that as the state wakes up to the news of the "horrific attack," he and his wife, Connie, are "filled with sadness for the victims and their families." He also expressed gratitude for the police officers who responded to the scene and the medical professionals caring for the injured.

"We are also angry — angry that shooting after shooting politicians in Washington and Columbus refuse to pass sensible gun-safety laws to protect our communities," wrote Brown. "We are still learning about the attack in Dayton and we don’t know exactly what, if anything, could have prevented this specific tragedy. But we know thoughts and prayers are not enough, we have a responsibility to act."

Brown's office is prepared to help the Dayton community investigate and recover from the attack, he said.

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner said his daughter and a family friend were at the Tumbleweed Connection across the street when the gunfire started. Both said there was a "visible" police presence before the shooting and saw the "bravery" as officers ran toward the gunshots.

"My daughter & friend fled into #OregonDistrict & contacted me at 2am," tweeted Turner. "As they ran home, I followed their progress & prayed for them & our community. Thank you to @DaytonPolice for their bravery in stopping this evil."

Brown told CNN that Dayton's mayor has received "dozens and dozens" of texts from mayors across the country offering advice from their experience dealing with mass shootings.

The Ohio senator urged U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reconvene lawmakers on Monday to pass a background-check bill in the wake of the Ohio and Texas mass shootings.

As Patch previously reported, while mass shootings do happen in other countries, the sheer number of them is a uniquely American phenomena. Americans make up just 4.4 percent of the world's population, but they own 42 percent of the world's guns.

That high gun-ownership rate leaves Americans particularly vulnerable to public mass shootings, according to a 2016 study by Adam Lankford, an associate criminology and criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama.

"I found that approximately 31 percent of all public mass shooters attack in the United States," Lankford told Patch in June following a mass shooting in Virginia Beach. If mass shootings were evenly distributed, that number would be closer to 5 percent or less.

"That says we have far more than our share of the world's public mass shootings," he said.

Comparatively, the United States has about six times more mass shootings than other countries with at least 10 million people. Only Yemen saw a higher rate of mass shootings.