The suspected shooter behind the Dayton gun massacre that killed nine people this past weekend was seen on surveillance video at a bar just two hours before he opened fire in a popular entertainment district.
CNN obtained video of Connor Betts, 24, entering a bar called Blind Bob’s with two companions shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday night. The companions are believed to be his 22-year-old sister Megan Betts and a friend, identified as Charles Beard, who survived being shot and is reportedly talking to investigators.
The surveillance video shows Betts entering the bar ahead of his sister and Beard, passing through the ID check, and waiting for them to join him before the trio moves out of the frame and into the bar. Later, at 12:13 a.m., Betts is seen exiting the bar, stopping first to speak to the people working the door. In the surveillance footage, Betts blends into the crowd, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. When Betts opened fire, he was wearing a mask, a bulletproof vest and hearing protection.
The CNN report further reveals a new detail that may be significant to the question of whether Betts’ sister was an intended target or simply a bystander. The suspect did not return to Blind Bob’s, and Megan Betts and Beard were reportedly seen leaving the bar at 12:59. Just minutes later, at 1:06 a.m., Betts began his rampage, first shooting someone in an alleyway near where the vehicle he had taken to the bar district, along with his sister, was parked.
As NBC reports, Dayton Police Chief Richard S. Biehl told reporters that Megan was among her brother’s first victims.
“Right as [Betts] came out of the alleyway, [Megan] and another male who was a companion of the suspect was shot and wounded,” Biehl reportedly said. “So they were victims initially after the first person was shot.”
According to CNN, Biehl also said that Betts and his sister were in contact between the time he left the bar and when he began shooting.
“We do know there was some communication once they separated,” Biehl said, without providing further details.
Authorities have not yet publicly revealed any suspected motive in the shooting.
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