Why Dayton gunman shot sister still unknown

One of the first victims struck by the Dayton shooter during his 32-second rampage that left nine people dead was his younger sister, but whether he intentionally killed her remains unknown more than a week later, the city’s police chief said Tuesday.

Investigators have “radically different views” on whether Connor Betts targeted his 22-year-old sister, Megan, two hours after they arrived with a friend, Chief Richard Biehl said at a news conference.

Text messages show the 24-year-old gunman knew his sister and their friend were going to a taco stand minutes before he came down an alley and started shooting, Beihl said.

“There’s a real question whether he could see who was on the other side,” the police chief said, adding that its possible investigators may never come up with an answer.

Authorities have interviewed witnesses, studied video and reviewed Betts’ phone while trying to come up with a motive and other factors that led to the mass shooting Aug. 4.

While they don’t know why Betts chose his location or what his motive was, investigators do know a lot about his mind-set, including his obsession committing a mass shooting, the police chief said.

Pieced-together surveillance from businesses shows Betts before the shooting with his sister and their friend, and again after he went to his car and changed into a black hoodie, put on body armor and retrieved an Biehl assault-style gun from the trunk.

The three had arrived together and spent about an hour inside a bar before Betts left and went to another nightclub by himself, police said. He then walked back to his car and spent about eight minutes changing and getting out his weapon, Biehl said.

Betts was very familiar with the area and had been there the night before, the police chief said. It’s clear he had a plan for the mass shooting, the chief said.

Authorities said a friend, Ethan Kollie, bought armor and a 100-round magazine for Betts, but there was no evidence he knew what Betts planned, they said.

Kollie will appear Wednesday in federal court. “He was as shocked and surprised as everyone else that Mr. Betts committed the massacre,” attorney Nick Gounaris said.