August 4, 2019 – In Breaking News – NWI .com and AP
A gunman wearing body armor and carrying extra magazines opened fire in a popular nightlife area of Dayton, Ohio, killing nine and injuring at least 27, 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.”
CNN reported the gunman’s sister was among the nine dead.
(Nine people were killed and at least 27 injured Sunday in a shooting in a popular nightclub district of downtown Dayton, Ohio, police say. The gunman has been identified as Connor Betts, 24, according to local and federal law enforcement sources. Betts was also confirmed dead Sunday morning. Betts, was reportedly suspended in high school for causing a lockdown by writing a reported “hit-list” on a bathroom wall.” Courtesy of PIX11 News and YouTube. Posted on Aug 4, 2019.)
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.
A law enforcement official identified the shooter who killed nine people and injured dozens when he opened fire in a popular nightlife area of Dayton, Ohio, as Connor Betts.
The official says Betts was in his 20s.
(Small silver linings are starting to shine through after two mass shootings gripped the United States in less than 24 hours. Authorities in El Paso, Texas, put out calls for blood donations after at least 20 people were killed at a shopping center there. So many people came out to help, authorities had to turn people away. And one witness said he wasn’t worried about saving himself – he only wanted to get kids to safety. InsideEdition.com’s Stephanie Officer has more on the tragedies in Texas and Ohio. Courtesy of Inside Edition and YouTube. Posted on Aug 4, 2019.)
The official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Betts was killed by police less than a minute after he started shooting a .223-caliber rifle into the streets of the Oregon District around 1 a.m. Sunday.
Continue reading… At least nine killed, 27 injured in Ohio in second US mass shooting within 24 hours
(CBS2 has the latest on the mass shooting at a shopping center in Texas that left 20 people dead. Courtesy of CBS New York and YouTube. Posted on Aug 3, 2019.)
Attack on El Paso Shoppers to be Handled as Domestic Terrorism
August 4, 2019 – In Breaking News – AOL and AP
A gunman armed with a rifle opened fire in an El Paso shopping area packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school season, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured, police said.
Hours later, another shooting in Dayton, Ohio, claimed nine lives. That gunman was killed by police.
Authorities were investigating whether Saturday’s El Paso attack was a hate crime after the emergence of a racist, anti-immigrant screed that was posted online shortly beforehand.
Detectives sought to determine if it was written by the man who was arrested.
(Authorities are investigating the crime as an act of domestic terrorism and a possible hate crime; the gunman is now charged with capital murder. Capable of ABC News and YouTube. Posted on Aug 4, 2019.)
The border city has figured prominently in the immigration debate and is home to 680,000 people, most of them Latino.
Federal authorities were treating the attack as a domestic terrorism case, according to the U.S. attorney.
Despite initial reports of possible multiple gunmen, the man in custody was believed to be the only shooter, police said.
Two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity identified him as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius.
Authorities did not release his name at a news conference but said he was arrested without police firing any shots.
He is from Allen, which is a nearly 10-hour drive from El Paso.
(All over America today, people prayed for the neighbors we lost in El Paso and in Dayton. And for the families we left behind. Courtesy of CBS Evening News and YouTube. Posted on Aug 4, 2019.)
The suspect was booked on capital murder charges, according to jail records. There was no immediate indication that he had an attorney.
The district attorney said officials would seek the death penalty.
The Justice Department was weighing federal hate crime charges that would carry the potential for the federal death penalty, according to a person familiar with the department’s decision-making process.
The person was not authorized to speak on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
Police say more than two dozen people were wounded in the attack at a shopping area about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the main border checkpoint with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
Many of the victims were shot at a Walmart.
“The scene was a horrific one,” El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said, adding that many of the 26 people who were hurt had life-threatening injuries.
The shooting came less than a week after a 19-year-old gunman killed three people and injured 13 others at the popular Gilroy Garlic Festival in California before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Continue reading… Attack on Texas shoppers to be handled as domestic terrorism
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(El Paso shooting witness Glendon Oakley makes an emotional address to the media, saying the attention should be on the families, not on him. That his thoughts and concerns are with the victim’s families. Courtesy of ABC News and YouTube. Posted on Aug 4, 2019.)
