Dayton shooting: Police release CCTV video of gunman Connor Betts being shot dead
Suspect killed within 32 seconds of opening fire, authorities say
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Your support makes all the difference.Thirty-two seconds was all it took for a 24-year-old man to unleash a fatal volley of bullets killing 9 and wounding 26 others on a street in a popular night-life spot in Dayton, Ohio.
Armed with a .223 calibre rifle and 100-round drum magazine, the gunman fired his first shot at 1.05am on Sunday, in an alley by the Blind Bob’s pub.
His last, came at 1.06am, as he himself was shot down on 5th Street by at least three officers responding to the shooting.
Dayton police have released footage of these fatal last 30 seconds in the life of the gunman.
In the CCTV footage people can be seen racing down the street, with a number choosing to flee into a nearby bar amidst the racket of gunfire.
The gunman, who police named as Connor Betts, then runs into view dressed in a bullet-proof vest and mask.
He appears to be aiming for the Ned Peppers bar, where dozens had fled in search of safety just moments before.
But he is met with gunfire from the opposite direction, as officers on patrol rush to put an end to the mass shooting.
The surveillance footage released by the police shows the moment he is shot and falls to the ground.
Additional CCTV footage, which offers a different view of the crime scene, shows one of the officers firing at someone just out of the camera’s view.
“The threat was neutralised within approximately 30 seconds of the suspect firing his first shots,” said police in a media briefing released in the hours after the mass shooting.
Police chief Richard Biehl said if the gunman had not been stopped before he got inside the bar, the result would have been “catastrophic”.
Already, the toll is high, with 9 killed – the youngest 22-year-old Megan Betts, the sister of the shooter. The oldest was Derrick Fudge, 57.
Police said Betts, 24, his sister and another companion had arrived in a grey Toyota Corolla with a third person earlier in the evening, but had gone their separate ways.
Betts had little on his criminal record beyond a number of traffic violations.
Police have not given any indication of a possible motive for the attack, but told reporters the gun had been bought legally online from Texas and shipped to a local arms dealer.
The mass shooting was the second to rock the US in a matter of hours. Earlier on Saturday morning another gunman had opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
A 21-year-old man was taken into police custody and faces several charges. Officials are treating the case as one of domestic terrorism.
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