Dayton shooting: Police respond to Ohio 'mass shooting'

Dayton shooting: Police respond to Ohio 'mass shooting'
3 minutes ago
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Police are responding to reports of a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, where a number of people are thought to have been hit.

First reports came in at about 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) of a shooting outside a bar in the Oregon district of the city.

Casualties have been taken to a number of hospitals, according to local media.

The incident came hours after another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas which left at least 20 people dead.

It is unclear whether the shooter is still at large. Police have appealed for witnesses.

Twitter post by @DaytonPolice;

Dayton Police Dept.
@DaytonPolice
We are actively investigating an active shooter incident in the #OregonDistrict. Please avoid the area. More information to come.

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1:14 AM - Aug 4, 2019
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End of Twitter post by @DaytonPolice

Footage posted on social media showed people running as dozens of gunshots echoed through the streets.

It is thought the shooting took place outside Ned Peppers Bar on E 5th Street.

Jae Williams told the BBC he was at a nearby rap performance when they were told to evacuate.

"I was very shocked," he said. "We all evacuated quickly and safely. We were told to avoid the Oregon district."

"I got to my car, I could see cops, multiple ambulances. When I drove past I saw a lot of cops and ambulances."

Emergency services gathered at the corner of E 5th Street and Wayne Avenue in the wake of the shooting.

FBI agents also arrived at the scene.

9 killed in Ohio in second US mass shooting within 24 hours
By DAN SEWELL and JOHN MINCHILLO
42 minutes ago


Shoes are piled outside the scene of a mass shooting including Ned Peppers bar, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Several people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A gunman wearing body armor and carrying extra magazines opened fire in a popular nightlife area of Dayton, Ohio, killing nine and injuring dozens, authorities say, in the second U.S. mass shooting in less than 24 hours.

Dayton police patrolling the area responded in less than a minute to the shooting, which unfolded around 1 a.m. Sunday on the streets of the Oregon District, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said at a press conference.

Whaley said if the police had not responded so quickly, “hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today.”

The Oregon District is a historic neighborhood that Lt. Col. Matt Carper described as “a safe part of downtown,” home to entertainment options, including bars, restaurants and theaters.

The gunman, who has not been identified by authorities, was shot to death by responding officers. Whaley said he was carrying a .223-caliber rifle and had additional high-capacity magazines with him. Police believe there was only one shooter, and have not yet identified the suspect or a motive.

At least 26 others are being treated at area hospitals, though no details about their conditions have been released.

Miami Valley Hospital spokeswoman Terrea Little said the hospital had received 16 victims, but she couldn’t confirm their conditions. Kettering Health Network spokeswoman Elizabeth Long said multiple victims from a shooting had been brought to system hospitals, but she didn’t have details on how many.

Nikita Papillon, 23, was across the street at Newcom’s Tavern when the shooting started. She said she saw a girl she had talked to earlier lying outside Ned Peppers 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. She herself 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 people 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.

President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting and praised law enforcement’s speedy response in a tweet Sunday morning.

Gov. Mike DeWine issued his own statement before 7 a.m., announcing that he’s ordered flags in Ohio remain at half-staff and offered assistance to Whaley.

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

The FBI is assisting with the investigation. A family assistance center was set up at the Dayton Convention Center.

The Ohio shooting came hours after a young man opened fire in a crowded El Paso, Texas, shopping area, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured. Just days before, on July 28, a 19-year-old shot and killed three people, including two children, at Northern California’s Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Sunday’s shooting in Dayton is the 22nd mass killing of 2019 in the U.S., according to the AP/USA Today/Northeastern University mass murder database that tracks homicides where four or more people were killed — not including the offender. The 20 mass killings in the U.S. in 2019 that preceded this weekend claimed 96 lives.

The shooting in Dayton comes after the area was heavily damaged when tornadoes swept through western Ohio in late May, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes and businesses.

“Dayton has been through a lot already this year, and I continue to be amazed by the grit and resiliency of our community,” Whaley said.

Slideshow at https://www.apnews.com/3b1b785f5b364d9da050bec3d0d48312

https://nypost.com/2019/08/09/suspected-dayton-shooter-connor-betts-slain-sister-was-reportedly-a-transgender-man/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_4376787

The “sister” of the Dayton, Ohio, shooter who was killed during the attack identified as a transgender guy — although his family had no idea, according to a report and some of his own social media posts.

Connor Betts’ 22-year-old sibling was named by authorities as Megan Betts in the days after the mass shooting, with cops releasing a statement saying relatives had lost “a daughter.”

But he apparently went by the name Jordan Cofer, and identified as a male, although he was only “out” to a small circle of friends, according to Splinter News, which spoke to several of those pals anonymously.







https://medium.com/@_adeliajohnson_/my-ex-boyfriend-was-the-dayton-shooter-2b7f2d792b68

Connor and I met in our Social Psychology class at Sinclair College. We bonded over the laughable conspiracy theories that our professor tried to preach as we walked to similar parking spots in the college parking garage. We also were very open about our mental illnesses from the very beginning. He told me that he had bipolar disorder and possibly OCD; that didn’t scare me, some of the sweetest people I know have those conditions.