Nine dead in second US mass killing in 24 hours
Nine people have been killed in Ohio and at least 26 injured in the second mass shooting in the US in less than 24 hours.
Police said the suspect opened fire in the Oregon district of the city of Dayton at 1am (6am BST) on Sunday, before being shot and killed by responding officers.
At a news conference on Sunday afternoon the Dayton police deputy chief, Matt Carper, named the lone gunman as 24-year-old Connor Betts. Carper listed the names of the victims, which included the gunman’s younger sister, 22-year-old Megan Betts.
The victims ranged in age from 22 to 57 and all were killed in the same vicinity.
Authorities were expected to provide further details on the shooting later on Sunday afternoon.
The mayor of Dayton, Nan Whaley, said the gunman was wearing body armour. He used a 223-calibre rifle magazine and had additional high-capacity magazines with him.
Whaley said the injured had been taken to a number of hospitals and that some had life-threatening wounds.
She added uniformed officers were in the area when the suspect started shooting. “In less than one minute, Dayton first responders neutralised the shooter. While this is a terribly sad day for our city, I am amazed by the quick response of Dayton police. They saved literally hundreds of lives.”
She said: “As a mayor this is a day that we all dread happening and certainly what’s very sad is … that so many of us have gone through it.”
Video from the scene near downtown Dayton showed a number of emergency vehicles on a street that had been cordoned off. The FBI was assisting with the investigation and a family assistance centre had been set up at the Dayton Convention Center. Carper called on those with information about the incident to contact police.
The Oregon district is a historic neighbourhood near downtown Dayton, home to bars, restaurants and theatres. Carper said officers routinely patrolled the area, which was popular with visitors, and described it as “a safe part of downtown”.
“We are very fortunate that the officers were in close proximity and that they reacted in the way that they did,” Carper said at an earlier news conference. “As bad as this is, it could have been much, much worse as I think everyone will become aware of here as more information unfolds. So we’re very appreciative of the officers who were on scene and the action that they took.
“This is obviously a very difficult situation. They put themselves in harm’s way. That’s what they are here for – to protect the public – and that’s what they did tonight.”
The official later read out the names of each victim, one by one. He listed: Lois Oglesby a 27-year-old woman, Saeed Saleh, a 38-year-old man, Derrick R Fudge, a 57-year-old man, Logan Turner, a 30-year-old man, Nicholas Cumer, a 25-year-old man, Thomas McNichols, a 25-year-old man, Beatrice Warren-Curtis, a 36-year-old woman, and Monica Brickhouse, a 39-year-old woman, along side Megan Betts, the shooter’s sister as those killed during the attack.
The Ohio shooting came hours after a young man allegedly opened fire in a crowded shopping area in El Paso, Texas, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured.
Days before, on 28 July, a 19-year-old shot and killed three people, including two children, at the Gilroy garlic festival in northern California.
The shooting in Ohio marked the 31st deadly mass shooting in America this year, defined as those where at least three people are killed by gun violence in a single episode.
Mike DeWine, the Ohio governor, tweeted that he was heartbroken by the attack. He commended Dayton police and other first responders for “their bravery and quick response to save lives and bring an end to this tragedy”.
“I have ordered that flags in Ohio remain at half-mast in honour and memory of the victims who lost their lives this morning,” he said.
Nikita Papillon, 23, was across the street at Newcom’s Tavern when the shooting started. She said she had seen a girl she had talked to earlier lying outside Ned Peppers Bar, near where the shooting took place.
“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. She had been to Ned Peppers the night before, describing 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 in the back, smoking, at Newcom’s. She heard “loud thumps” that she initially thought was someone pounding on a dumpster.
“It was so noisy, but then you could tell it was gunshots and there was a lot of rounds,” Leonard said.
Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting and praised law enforcement’s speedy response in a tweet on Sunday. The Guardian UK
