quote:

A lone gunman in body armor opened fire early Sunday in a "very safe" entertainment district, killing at least nine people, injuring 26 and igniting chaos in the crowded outdoor area before he was fatally shot by police within seconds, authorities said.

"Hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today” if police hadn’t acted quickly, Mayor Nan Whaley said.

It was the nation's second mass shooting in less than 24 hours. Late Saturday morning, a 21-year-old gunman killed 20 and wounded 26 others at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

In Dayton, Assistant Chief of Police Matt Carper said the shooting began at about 1:07 a.m. EDT and involved a "very short timeline of violence" before the attacker was killed. He said the gunman appeared to have acted alone, but that the investigation was continuing. The Oregon District is a trendy stretch of bars and restaurants.

"Downtown Dayton is a very safe area," Carper said. “This is unheard of and very sad. It’s a very tragic evening.”

quote:

Betts began shooting as he made his way toward a bar called Ned Peppers, Decker said.

Carper said Betts fired multiple rounds from "a very large gun, in technical terms."

Someone from Ned Peppers grabbed the barrel of the rifle, and the shooter "picked up a handgun and was willing to continue shooting," Decker said, when police arrived and killed the shooter.

The shooter wore body armor, she said.

No officers were injured, Carper said.
"In less than one minute, Dayton first responders neutralized the shooter," Whaley said.
"I really want to -- think about that minute. The shooter was able to kill nine people and injure 26 in less than a minute. And if we did not have police in the Oregon District and the thousands of people in the Oregon District enjoying their Saturday evening, what we could have had in this city," she said.

"The question has to be raised, why does Dayton have to be the 250th mass shooting this year?"

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Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Thought and prayers.

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:
Dear Candace Keller,

IT'S THE GUNS, STUPID.

Regards,
The Majority of Americans

quote:

Betts carried an AR-15 pattern rifle and used a 100-round capacity drum, allowing him to fire more rounds without reloading as often as he would with smaller magazines. Biehl (Dayton police chief) said he could have carried 250 bullets if all magazines were at a “full capacity.”

“It’s fundamentally problematic to have that level of weaponry in a civilian environment,” said Biehl, adding that the gun appears to have been purchased on the Internet and then modified in such a way “as to avoid any legal prohibitions.”

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
I certainly think it's the case that in the fast-moving, uncertain world that we live in, some of those things that Keller outlines can add to our general stress levels.

The question is, how many of those factors affect people in other countries? Probably most, if not all of them. And yet we don't see the same level of gun violence. I gotta believe that's largely due to the fact that there are a lot fewer guns to reach for when people get to their breaking point....