DAYTON, Ohio -- The shooter who killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, had expressed a desire to commit a mass shooting and showed an interest in violent ideology, investigators said Tuesday as the FBI announced that it is opening an investigation.
Federal investigators will try to determine what ideologies influenced 24-year-old Connor Betts, who might have helped him or knew in advance of his plan, and why he chose the specific target of Dayton's Oregon entertainment district for the shooting early Sunday, said Special Agent Todd Wickerham, the head of the FBI's Cincinnati field office.
Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said Betts had "violent ideations that include mass shootings and had expressed a desire to commit a mass shooting."
Wickerham didn't say whether the FBI is looking at if the case could be treated as domestic terrorism, as the agency has done in the El Paso, Texas, mass shooting earlier in the weekend. He said Betts hadn't been on the FBI's radar. He declined to discuss what specific ideologies might be linked to Betts' actions but said there was no evidence so far that they were racially motivated.
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GOP Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announced proposals Tuesday that he said could reduce such shootings and limit gun access for people with mental health problems.
DeWine proposed adopting a version of a "red flag law," which would allow the authorities to take firearms from a person deemed by a court to be dangerous.
He also said he would ask the General Assembly to pass a law requiring background checks for all firearm sales in the state, with some exceptions including gifts between family members.
DeWine, who took office in January, had previously spoken in support of red flag legislation, but the Republican-led Legislature never took up the proposal.
"If we, after a tragedy, only confine ourselves to doing those things that would have prevented this tragedy, we are missing a real opportunity," DeWine said. "So we need to look at these tragedies together."
President Donald Trump has said he wants Washington to "come together" on legislation providing "strong background checks" for gun users, but he gave no details.
The Democrat-led House has passed a gun control bill that includes fixes to the nation's firearm background check system, but it has languished in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Vice President Mike Pence spoke about the dual attacks during a speech Tuesday at Alliance Defending Freedom's conference, where he said he shares the president's belief that "hate has no place in America."
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"The sinister ideologies of racism, bigotry and white supremacy must be defeated," Pence said.
The vice president said Trump has directed the FBI to prioritize combating hate crimes and domestic terrorism.
"As the president also said, now is the time to set destructive partisanship aside," Pence added.
TRUMP PLANS VISITS
The president, meanwhile, is preparing to visit El Paso and Dayton today.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway confirmed Trump's plans while speaking to reporters Tuesday, saying he "has wanted to go there since he learned of these tragedies."
Conway suggested that Trump's itinerary would be similar to other visits in the wake of mass shootings or natural disasters, which have included meetings with those affected and with law enforcement officials and first responders.
Several Democratic officials have urged Trump not to visit El Paso, a city of about 683,000 with a largely Hispanic population, in the aftermath of Saturday's attack at a Walmart that left 22 dead.
"This president, who helped create the hatred that made Saturday's tragedy possible, should not come to El Paso," former Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas tweeted late Monday afternoon. "We do not need more division. We need to heal. He has no place here."
The words of O'Rourke, a presidential candidate, echoed those earlier in the day of U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, whose district includes the Walmart that was targeted in the shooting.
During a television appearance Monday, she urged the president and his team "to consider the fact that his words and his actions have played a role in this."
"From my perspective, he is not welcome here," Escobar said on MSNBC's Morning Joe. "He should not come here while we are in mourning."
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, a Republican, said at a Monday news conference that he would welcome Trump in an official capacity and ask him "to support our efforts with any and all federal resources that are available."
On Tuesday afternoon, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said she will "serve her official capacity as mayor" by welcoming Trump to Dayton in his "official capacity as president." But Whaley, a Democrat, said she expects protests because some Dayton residents have been unhappy with Trump's leadership in the aftermath of shootings.
"I know he has made this bed, and he's got to lie in it," said Whaley, who was speaking in front of a makeshift memorial honoring the victims of Sunday's mass shooting. "His rhetoric has been painful for many in our community, and I think the people should stand up and say they are not happy if they are not happy he's coming."
Asked whether Trump was visiting too soon after the shootings, Whaley said: "He's the president of the United States. He does his calendar. I do mine."
She also criticized Trump's Oval Office remarks Monday about the two mass shootings, saying "his comments weren't very helpful to the issues around guns."
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Meanwhile, public conversation around the Ohio shooting shifted Tuesday toward how to address people with mental health issues who might pose threats of violence. A woman who briefly dated the gunman recounted their bonding over struggles with mental illness, and the governor called for more mental health support along with gun safety measures.
Investigators haven't publicly offered a motive for why Betts, wearing a mask and body armor, opened fire with a rifle outside a strip of nightclubs in Dayton early Sunday, killing his sister and eight others before officers fatally shot him less than 30 seconds into his rampage.
Adelia Johnson, who said she briefly dated the Ohio gunman, said he suffered from bipolar disorder, joked about his dark thoughts and exhibited a fascination with mass shootings.
Johnson wrote in an online essay that Betts showed her a video of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on their first date.
She said Betts expressed "uncontrollable urges" that she called "red flags," which eventually led her to call things off in May.
It's unknown whether any of the Dayton victims were specifically targeted.
Hospital officials said 37 people have been treated for injuries, including 14 with gunshot wounds.
Johnson's comments add to a conflicting picture emerging of Betts, with some people defending him as a nice guy and friendly neighbor while former schoolmates recall a troubled teenager.
Two former classmates said Betts was suspended from Bellbrook High School after a hit list was found scrawled in a school bathroom. That followed an earlier suspension after Betts went to school with a list of female students he wanted to sexually assault, according to the two classmates, a man and a woman who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern they might face harassment.
Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools wouldn't comment and refused to release information about his student records.
Sugarcreek Township police said the only records they have on Betts are from a 2015 traffic citation. They noted without further explanation that Ohio law allows sealed juvenile court records to be expunged after five years or when the person involved turns 23.
Bellbrook police say they weren't aware of any history of violence. Betts had no apparent criminal record as an adult, and police said there was nothing that would have prevented him from buying a gun.
Information for this article was contributed by John Seewer, Kantele Franko, Dan Sewell, Julie Carr Smyth, Amanda Seitz, Robert Bumsted and Cedar Attanasio of The Associated Press; by Mitch Smith, Rick Rojas and Campbell Robertson of The New York Times; and by Tim Craig, John Wagner and Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post.
A Section on 08/07/2019