Connor Stephen Betts

Connor Stephen Betts was born on October 28, 1994, and lived in Bellbrook, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. He had no major criminal record aside from minor traffic offenses, but concerns about his mental health and disturbing behavior were present as early as his high school years.

While attending Bellbrook High School, Betts was suspended after reportedly creating a "hit list" and "rape list" naming classmates. These lists prompted a police investigation in 2010, though no charges were filed. Peers described him as socially awkward and bullied, while a former girlfriend said Betts had confessed to experiencing hallucinations and feared he was developing schizophrenia.

After high school, Betts enrolled in classes at Sinclair Community College and worked at a fast-food restaurant. He expressed political beliefs on social media that aligned with left-wing ideologies, including support for Antifa, gun control, and Democratic politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

In the early morning hours of August 4, 2019, Connor Betts carried out a mass shooting in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio, a popular nightlife area. The shooting began at approximately 1:05 a.m., just outside the Ned Peppers Bar on East 5th Street. Betts had arrived in the area earlier in the evening with his brother, Megan Betts, and a mutual friend. After visiting Blind Bob’s Bar, Betts left to prepare for the attack, changing clothes, donning tactical gear, and retrieving his AR-style pistol from his car parked behind a nearby restaurant.

Wearing body armor and a mask, he walked to an alley adjacent to Blind Bob’s, where he readied his weapon. He then emerged and began shooting into a crowd of patrons gathered outside bars and restaurants. In under 30 seconds, Betts fired 41 rounds, killing nine people and injuring 17 others directly through gunfire. Ten more individuals were injured by related causes, bringing the total number of injured to 27.

His first victim was Saeed Saleh, whom he shot while walking toward East 5th Street. Tragically, Betts also shot and killed his own sibling, Megan Betts, who was standing nearby with their mutual friend (who was also wounded). He then fired into crowds outside Blind Bob’s Bar, killing Lois Oglesby and injuring others. As he moved toward Ned Peppers, he fired in multiple bursts, killing Logan Turner, Nicholas Cumer, Thomas McNichols, Monica Brickhouse, and Beatrice Warren-Curtis. Brickhouse and Warren-Curtis were seen on the ground attempting to escape when Betts executed them at close range.

Betts continued shooting as he ran toward the entrance of Ned Peppers. He was engaged by Dayton police officers, who had been patrolling nearby and responded within 20 seconds of the first shots. They opened fire and fatally shot Betts just as he reached the bar's entrance at 1:06 a.m., ending the massacre just 32 seconds after it began.

Police later confirmed that six officers fired a total of 65 rounds, with Betts struck by 30 bullets and wounded by several additional shrapnel and graze injuries.

All nine fatalities occurred outside the bar, with the victims including six Black individuals and three white individuals, ranging in age from their 20s to 50s. Two of the victims were also hit by police bullets; however, the Montgomery County Coroner confirmed that Connor Betts caused their deaths, as they had already sustained fatal injuries from his gunfire.

The nine victims killed in the attack were: Megan Betts, Saeed Saleh, Lois Oglesby, Logan Turner, Nicholas Cumer, Thomas McNichols, Monica Brickhouse, Beatrice Warren-Curtis, and Derrick Fudge. Their deaths occurred within seconds, before many bystanders could register what was happening.