Dayton, Ohio, shooting: President Trump, first lady visit people injured in deadly mass shooting

DAYTON, Ohio — President Donald Trump visited Dayton on Wednesday, three days after a gunman opened fire outside a bar in the city's popular Oregon District, killing nine people and leaving dozens of others wounded.

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Police responded to the shooting early Sunday within about 30 seconds, investigators said, and managed to shoot and kill the suspect, preventing many more casualties.

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Here are the latest updates:

Update 3 p.m. EDT Aug. 7: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stopped between rooms at Dayton's Miami Valley Hospital on Wednesday "to thank the hardworking medical staff," while visiting victims injured in Sunday's mass shooting in the Oregon District, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Graham said.

Media outlets were not allowed to be with the president and first lady as they visited victims.

Trump met with Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who previously criticized the president's rhetoric as "painful for many in our community." She told reporters after the meeting that she felt those affected by Sunday's shooting that left nine dead and dozens injured appreciated his visit.

Sen. Sherrod Brown said that while he is "concerned about a president that divides in his rhetoric and plays to race in his rhetoric," Trump "did the right things" in his visit to survivors in the hospital and first responders. He said that privately, some people told him they weren't Trump admirers but "showed respect for the office."

Whaley and Brown said they urged Trump to push gun restrictions in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Whaley said she bolstered her pitch by noting Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, voted for an assault weapons ban while in Congress.

Update 1:15 p.m. EDT Aug. 7: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday visited people injured in Sunday's mass shooting in the Oregon District.

"You had God watching," Trump told one of the victims, according to White House Press Secretary Stephanie Graham. "I want you to know we're with you all the way."

The media was not allowed to be with the president and first lady as they visited victims. They are expected to leave Dayton to meet with first responders and victims of Saturday's deadly shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon.

Update 11:10 a.m. EDT Aug. 7: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have arrived in Dayton to meet with first responders, law enforcement officials and victims of Sunday's deadly mass shooting in the Oregon District.

Update 10:40 a.m. EDT Aug. 7: Protesters set up Wednesday morning near Miami Valley Hospital ahead of a planned visit by President Donald Trump.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to arrive in Dayton Wednesday morning. They're scheduled to leave for El Paso, Texas, where a mass shooting left 22 people dead Saturday, around 12:45 p.m.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich visited the Oregon District on Wednesday morning and told reporters the president's visit "should be a day of healing."

"This is not a day of debating Donald Trump. He's coming here," Kasich said. "I'm sure people are going to have something to say, and that is all part of America. But this is for him to come and help heal."

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley previously told reporters that she will greet the president but that his "rhetoric has been painful for many in our community."

"I think people should stand up and say they are not happy if they are not happy he's coming," Whaley said.

Trump said Whaley's comments and similar comments from political leaders in Texas following Saturday's deadly mass shooting were examples of politicians "trying to make political points."

Update 9:30 a.m. EDT Aug. 7: ​​​President Donald Trump is coming to Dayton Wednesday. A schedule released by officials showed he was slated to arrive at 10:35 a.m. at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and to leave for El Paso, Texas, where a separate mass shooting Saturday left 22 dead, at 12:45 p.m.

Gov. Mike DeWine confirmed the president's visit Tuesday, but he did not have many details.

"I do not know much about the visit. My understanding is that the president is coming tomorrow," DeWine said. "I was invited to be there. ... At this point I don't know the final details."

DeWine said he thinks it is "appropriate" for President Trump to visit Dayton.

"I think it's always appropriate for a governor or the president to go where there is sorrow, to go where people are hurting. My understanding of the visit is that's what it's focused on," DeWine said Tuesday in Columbus during an address unveiling proposals to fight gun violence.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway confirmed Tuesday that the president was making the trip. He "has wanted to go there since he learned of these tragedies," she said.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich was in the Oregon District Wednesday morning.

Update 7:55 p.m. EDT Aug. 6: Chief of Police, Doug Doherty, has released the statement from the Betts family.

"The Betts family is shocked and devastated by the events of Sunday morning in the Oregon District," it stated. "They offer their most heartfelt prayers and condolences to all the victims, their families and friends."

Update 4:20 p.m. EDT Aug. 6: The suspect in the Dayton, Ohio, shooting previously interest in committing a mass shooting, Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said.

Because of a suspected interest in mass shooting and violent ideologies, the FBI will be more involved in the investigation. Dayton police are investigating the homicide part of the investigation, while the FBI's focus is on the motive, said Special Agent Todd Wickerham.

Wickerham added that the investigation revealed the shooter had previously expressed interest in violent ideologies but wouldn't reveal more details on the topic.

At this point, there have not been any indications that the shooting was race-based, Wickerham said. There is also no apparent connection to the mass shooting less than 24 hours earlier in El Paso, Texas.

FBI officials say they will be looking into three main questions,  revolving around why the Dayton shooting happened and exploring people who might have known the 24-year-old wanted to commit a mass shooting.

The FBI is also investigating if the suspect received any help.

Wickerham also said the FBI is looking for any videos of the shooting.

Update 3:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 6: Police are holding a news briefing Tuesday afternoon in connection to Sunday's deadly mass shooting in Dayton's Oregon District.

Update 1:35 p.m. EDT Aug. 6: The ex-girlfriend of suspected Dayton shooter Connor Betts described his mental health struggles in a statement released Tuesday.

Adelia Johnson, a Sinclair Community College student, said she grew close to Betts this year.

"He trusted me with so much of his darkness that I forgot most of it," Johnson said in a message posted Tuesday on Medium. "Another thing between mentally ill friends: the capacity to forget things can be a blessing if the person is telling you something in confidence."

The two met in January this year, according to Johnson's account. Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, majored in psychology at Sinclair Community College.

She said they shared "depression humor, something that only people who have been in the throes of it really ever understand."

"So, when he started joking about his dark thoughts, I understood," Johnson wrote. "... Joking about wanting to hurt people was just heard as ‘I have uncomfortable thoughts that are inappropriate to express, but I need to joke about them otherwise they're too scary and real.'"

Johnson said Betts told her that he had bipolar disorder and possibly obsessive compulsive disorder.

"That didn't scare me, some of the sweetest people I know have those conditions," Johnson wrote on Medium.

Still, Johnson said that by May she knew she had to end the relationship.

"He needed to do more work on himself and find more coping mechanisms so he didn't become so dependent on other people," she wrote. "I didn't have the emotional capacity to be his therapist, and that wasn't my job."

>> Read more on WHIO.com

Update 10:50 a.m. EDT Aug. 6: At a news conference Tuesday morning, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine urged the GOP-led Legislature to pass laws requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales and allowing courts to restrict firearms access for people perceived as threats.

State senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, on Monday said that the Ohio Senate has "talked numerous times with the governor about a ‘red flag' provision and what that could look like."

"It's an issue we can look at and might be able to work through," he said.

Lawmakers had concerns about a "red flag" law unsuccessfully sought last year by then-Gov. John Kasich, feeling it lacked due process and the right to confront the accuser, Obhof said.

On Tuesday, the governor said Ohio needs to do more while balancing people's rights to own firearms and have due process.

Police say there was nothing in the Dayton shooter's background to prevent him from buying the firearm used.

Update 9:20 a.m. EDT Aug. 6: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to announce proposals on Tuesday morning to deal with gun violence and mental health after a gunman opened fire in the Oregon District on Sunday, killing nine people and injuring dozens of others.

Update 7 a.m. EDT Aug. 6: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is set to announce proposals Tuesday to deal with gun violence and mental health in the wake of Sunday's mass shooting in Dayton.

On Monday, President Donald Trump also addressed the shooting, saying Congress must enact so called "red-flag laws" which bar those deemed a risk to safety from owning firearms.

Trump is set to visit Dayton on Wednesday, according to a notice posted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Details of the visit have not been released.

Nine victims and one shooter died and more than 30 people were injured in the attack that occurred early Sunday in the Oregon District

DeWine will host a 9 a.m. press conference Tuesday at the Statehouse to discuss his proposals.

Read more here.

Update 11:55 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: Friends of the alleged gunman cut ties with him earlier this year because he would unexpectedly brandish guns and once talked about shooting up Timothy's, a popular bar among University of Dayton students, a former friend told the Dayton Daily News.

Other people — far from friendly with Connor Betts, the alleged shooter — recalled how they had been concerned about him and his bizarre behavior for years, even reporting him to local police, the newspaper reported.

Police said Betts, 24, shot and killed nine people, including his sister, in a less-than-a-minute rampage Sunday in the city's Oregon District. Officers shot him outside Ned Peppers, a popular bar where many of the victims were shot. Police haven't publicly disclosed a motive.

Update 4:00 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: Former President Barack Obama issued a statement on the shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Texas, Monday afternoon. He acknowledged the frequency of mass shootings in the United States, concerns of racist ideologies of suspected shooters, and the need for tolerance and valuing diversity.

The statement can be read in full below and on Obama's official Facebook page.

Update 11:40 a.m. EDT Aug. 5: The suspected Oregon District shooter had a maximum of 250 rounds on him during the mass shooter incident Sunday morning, Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said during a press conference Monday morning.

Police have recovered 41 spent shell casings from 24-year-old Conner Betts's weapon. They also collected 48 45-caliber casings, 16 .233 casings and 1 shotgun shell casing.

It was not immediately clear if Betts realized his sister — Megan Betts, one of the nine people who died in Sunday's shooting — was one of the people in his path during the attack.

Police said Conner Betts opened fire around 1 a.m. Sunday on a crowd of people outside Ned Peppers on East Fifth Street, killing nine people and injuring dozens of others.

The five men and four women killed in the shooter were Nicholas Cumer, Logan Turner, Thomas McNichols, Derrick Fudge, Saheed Saleh, Lois Oglesby, Monica Brickhous, Beatrice "Nicole" Warren-Curtis and Megan Betts.

Update 11:20 a.m. EDT Aug. 5: Fire officials said 37 people were treated for injuries they sustained when a gunman opened fire early Sunday outside a bar in the Oregon District.

Police Chief Richard Biehl said at least 14 people suffered gunshot wounds in the early morning attack. Fire officials said others were trampled or suffered lacerations from broken glass as they fled from the area.

Eleven people remained hospitalized Monday, officials said.

Biehl said Monday that authorities continue to investigate a possible motive for the shooting.

"Just where we are right now, we're not seeing any evidence of race being a motive," Biehl said.

Update 11 a.m. EDT Aug. 5: City officials are expected to provide an update Monday morning on the Oregon District shooting.

Update 10:30 a.m. EDT Aug. 5: President Donald Trump called the man who shot and killed nine people Sunday morning in Dayton a "twisted monster" while delivering remarks Monday morning at the White House.

Trump spoke after separate mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Texas, left nearly 30 people dead.

"These barbaric slaughters are an assault upon our community," Trump said. "We are outraged and sickened by this monstrous evil. ... We are a loving nation and our children are entitled to grow up in a just, peaceful and loving society. Together we lock arms to shoulder the grief.

"In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy."

Update 10 a.m. EDT Aug 5: President Donald Trump is expected to speak shortly after a pair of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio left 29 people dead over the weekend.

Update 7:11 a.m. EDT Aug. 5: President Donald Trump is scheduled to discuss last weekend's deadly mass shootings at 10 a.m. EDT Monday, multiple news outlets are reporting.

Meanwhile, more details are coming out about Dayton shooting suspect Connor Betts' past. Acquaintances told the Dayton Daily News that warning signs of the shooter's obsession with killing and death cropped up long ago.

One middle school classmate, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity, said the shooter once said he fantasized about tying her up and slitting her throat.

"He and I talked at length about him getting help," she said of the decade-old conversation.

Chris Baker, the former principal of Bellbrook High School, which Betts attended, confirmed to the Dayton Daily News that the shooter was suspended for causing a lockdown by writing a hit list on a bathroom wall.

Former high school classmate Demoy Howell, who participated in Bellbrook's Junior ROTC military program with the suspected gunman, said he never had a problem with Betts but sensed "a dark energy around him."

"I think this is less of a hate crime and more of an 'I hate everybody' crime," Howell told the newspaper. "I honestly feel more comfortable now knowing that he's gone."

Update 10:15 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: Hundreds of people gathered in the Oregon District in Dayton, Ohio, Sunday night to remember the nine victims killed in a mass shooting early Sunday.

Nine doves were released at the beginning of the vigil in memory of those who died, according to The Associated Press.

When Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine addressed the crowd and started talking about his daughter who was killed 26 years ago, the crowd started chanting, "Do something! Do something!" CNN reported.

The AP reported the crowd also chanted "Make a change."

DeWine quickly finished his speech as Mayor Nan Whaley calmed the crowd, saying policy issues would be addressed later.

Update 7:00 p.m. EDT Aug 4: Thirty people were transported to local hospitals for treatment following the shooting in Dayton early Sunday that left nine people dead, police said, according to WHIO.

Three of the 18 patients transported to Premier Health hospitals are still being treated. One person is in serious condition and two others are in fair condition.

Kettering Health Network is continuing to treat six of the 12 patients brought to its facilities. Two patients are in fair condition and three are in good condition at Grandview Medical Center. One person is in fair condition at Kettering Medical Center. Four patients at Grandview and two patients at Soin Medical Center have been treated and released.

Update 5:10 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: President Donald Trump publicly addressed the two mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, this weekend for the first time Sunday afternoon while leaving his golf club in New Jersey.

"Hate has no place in our country and we're going to take care of it," Trump said to reporters at the Morristown Airport on his way back to the White House, according to The Hill.

The president said he would make a longer statement on the attacks Monday morning, but mentioned that he had spoken to both the governors of Ohio and Texas about the shootings and members of Congress.

Update 4:30 p.m. EDT Aug 4: Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl, in an afternoon news conference on the mass shooting Sunday morning, said it is too early in the investigation to determine a motive in the attack.

But Biehl said there was nothing in the suspect's history, except several traffic violations, to indicate any propensity toward violence.

Biehl also said the officers who responded to the sounds of gunshots outside a bar in the city's Oregon District managed to shoot and kill the suspect, identified as Connor Betts, 24, within 30 seconds.

If the suspect had made it into the bar, it would have resulted in "catastrophic injuries," Biehl said.

Biehl said the gun Connors used in the attack, a .223 caliber rifle, was ordered online from Texas and transferred to a Dayton dealer.

The police chief also said there was nothing to indicate there was "any bias" in the shooting.

Update: 3:10 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: A number of officials spoke at a 3 p.m. news conference ahead of another one -- coming at 4 p.m. local time -- in which more details will be offered in the incident.

Mayor Nan Whaley urged Congress to respond to prevent further mass shooting incidents.

Sen. Rob Portman directed people to support victims of the shooting by contributing to the Dayton Oregon District Tragedy fund, which Mayor Nana Whaley said he made a donation to.

Dayton police Lt. Col. Matt Carper did not add many additional details, except to say a lost and found will be set up tomorrow morning since a number of items were left downtown in the shooting.

Update: 1:35 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: Ohio governor Mike DeWine said at a Sunday afternoon news conference that the fast actions of police and first responders "saved many, many lives."

Dayton Assistant Chief of Police Lt. Col. Matt Carper confirmed the identity of the shooter in the incident as Connor Betts, and said some photographs and Facebook posts released by media have been inaccurate. Additional information on the suspect and the shooting will come at a 4 p.m. news conference

Carper also identified the nine victims of the shooting, and included the race of each victim. Carper said the families of each victim have been notified.

Lois Oglesby, a 27-year-old black woman; Megan Betts, a 22-year-old white woman; Sayeed Seleh, a 38-year-old black man, Derek Fudge, a 57-year-old black man; Logan Turner, a 30-year-old white man; Nicholas Cumer, a 25-year-old white man; Thomas McNichols, a 25-year-old black man; Beatrice Warren Curtis, a 36-year-old black woman; and Monica Brickhouse, 39-year-old black woman.

Authorities confirmed that Betts was the sister of the suspect.

Carper confirmed that the Bellbrook, Ohio, location where police searched was where the suspect was staying.

Update: 12:45 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: President Donald Trump ordered flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the mass shooting victims on El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, according to Dayton Daily News. The flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on Aug. 8.

"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. We condemn these hateful and cowardly acts," Trump said Sunday. "Through our grief, America stands united with the people of El Paso and Dayton. May God be with the victims of these two horrific crimes and bring aid and comfort to their families and friends"

Update 11:55 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: The shooting suspect has been identified as Connor Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, government sources confirmed to WHIO.

Update 11:30 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: WHIO reported police are searching a home in Bellbrook, Ohio, as part of an investigation into the shooting at the Oregon District at 1 a.m. Sunday. Bellbrook is about 15 miles south of Dayton.

Update 10:15 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said at a news conference that there have been 27 people treated for injuries in the shooting and 15 people have been discharged.

Dr. Gregory Semon with Miami Valley Hospital said he received 16 patients. Twelve have been treated and released, and four remain hospitalized and one remains in critical condition. Some will be undergoing surgery, he said.

Kettering Health Network spokeswoman  Elizabeth Long said nine people were treated at three different network hospitals, and three are in serious condition. Three were treated and discharged and three others are in fair condition. Two were taken immediately to surgery. Injuries range from gunshot wounds in the lower extremities to abdominal wounds to a laceration on the foot.

Whaley said the Oregon District, where the shooting occurred will reopen this afternoon.

A community vigil will be held at 8 p.m. tonight for the victims, with a location to be announced later Sunday.

Update 7:36 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: At least 10 people are dead, including the suspect, and 26 injured after a shooter opened fire in Dayton's Oregon District, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said in a news conference early Sunday.

The shooter, who has not been identified, used a .223-caliber high-capacity magazine rifle and was wearing a mask or covering over his face.

"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," Whaley said.

"This is the 250th mass shooting in America," she said. "It's sad that it's in the city of Dayton."

She called the shooting "a terrible day for Dayton."

Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine responded to news of the shooting in a series of tweets.

Update 4:19 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Ten people are confirmed dead, including the shooter, and at least 16 have been wounded in the shooting near Ned Peppers Bar on East Fifth Street, Dayton police Lt. Col. Matt Carper said.

Police are trying to identify the suspect, who was shot to death by Dayton police officers, he said. As far as police know, there was only the one suspect, he said.

Police also are trying to determine what motivated the shooter, who Carper said used a long gun with multiple rounds.

There were officers on regular patrol in the Oregon District, which he called a very popular and usually safe section of the city.

There was "a very short timeline of violence" because the officers were on their regular patrols of the district. "We're very fortunate for that," he said. "We had officers in the immediate vicinity when this shooting began and were able to respond and put an end to it quickly," Carper said.

Several area police departments responded to a "Signal 99" broadcast asking for all available police to respond to the district. Agents with the FBI and ATF are on scene as well.

Carper said the police department has opened the Convention Center, which is near the Oregon District, for family members and friends who were disconnected from their family members and friends during the shooting.

For people who have questions about friends or loved ones, or have information that could help police, Carper said they should call 937-225-6217.

A man identifying himself as Jeff, who said he is a bouncer at an establishment next door to Ned Peppers, said he was 20 feet from the gunman and saw the muzzle flashes.

"He damaged our city," said Jeff, who asked that his last name not be used.

Update 3:54 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Liz Long, Kettering Health Network spokeswoman, said the hospital has received victims from the shooting, but they have no information on numbers or patient conditions yet, as their focus is on treating the patients.

Update 2:59 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Sources are telling WHIO that there are at least 10 people dead and an unknown number of wounded. The TV station is working to confirm some eyewitness accounts that a person who was denied entry into the bar opened fire.

Update 2:24 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Police scanner traffic has indicated that there may be as many as seven people dead, and police are searching for a second possible shooter that may have left the area in a dark-colored Jeep, WHIO reported.

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Update 2:12 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Police and medic scanner traffic indicate that a triage area has been established in the Oregon District, and police are checking the bars in the area for any additional shooting victims, according to WHIO.

Medics are reporting critical patients in the area.

Initial reports also indicate that medics are directing "walking wounded" to Grandview and Kettering hospitals.

Original report: Police in Dayton, Ohio, are responding to a report of an active shooter in the area of East Fifth Street in the Oregon District.

Initial reports indicate multiple people shot, and medics are responding to the area. Reports also indicate that a shooter is down.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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