Preliminary information has been released about the victims of the mass shooting that occurred in Dayton, OH. Dayton police report that that the sister of the shooter, 22-year-old Megan K. Betts, was among the nine victims, according to the Associated Press. Authorities did not provide any information as to whether her killing was intentional on the part of the shooter, who has now been identified as 24-year-old Connor Betts, a white man from Bellbrook, OH.
Megan Betts was a student at nearby Wright State University and was studying environmental science. She had planned to graduate in 2020, according to her Facebook page. Wright State University Provost Sue Edwards is expected to send an email to students, staff, and faculty about her death, Dayton Daily News reports.
Lois L. Oglesby, 27, a Black woman who was killed in the shooting, is survived by her two children, one of whom is a newborn, reports Dayton Daily News. According to close friend Derasha Merrett, Oglesby was in nursing school and looked forward toward a new career while also remaining dedicated to her children.
"She was a wonderful mother, a wonderful person," Merrett said. "I have cried so much, I can’t cry anymore.”
Jevin Lamar, a cousin to victim Thomas J. McNichols, 25, described him to The New York Times as a “a great father, a great brother — he was a protector.”
The other people who were killed in the attack were identified as: Saeed Saleh, 38, a Black male; Derrick R. Fudge, 57, a Black male; Logan Turner, 30, a white male; Nicholas P. Cumer, 25, a white male; Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36, a Black female; Monica E. Brickhouse, 39, a Black female. Many of the victims were killed outside of Ned Peppers, a bar located in the Oregon District of downtown Dayton.
Though the majority of the victims were Black, Police Lt. Col Matt Carper said it was unlikely that the gunman shot the victims based on race.
“It’s hard to imagine that there was much discrimination in the shooting,” said Carper. “It happened in a very short period of time.”
The mass shooting in Dayton occurred just hours after another massacre in El Paso, TX. Twenty people were killed and at least two dozen were wounded at a Walmart. According to the Gun Violence Archive, these two shootings brought America’s number of mass shootings to 251 so far this year.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley issued a statement on Twitter calling for support in the Dayton community and for something to be done to prevent future tragedies.
A statement on last night’s mass shooting. pic.twitter.com/hVNEyKcXha
— Nan Whaley (@nanwhaley) August 4, 2019
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