9 Killed, 27 Injured in Mass Shooting in Dayton, Ohio, Less Than 24 Hours After El Paso Attack
Nine people were killed in a mass shooting on the streets of a popular nightlife area of Dayton, Ohio, early Sunday morning, marking the second mass shooting in the United States in less than 24 hours, police announced.
Dayton police said on Twitter that the shooter was also killed and 27 other people were injured.
Officers in the immediate vicinity “neutralized the shooter in less than a minute,” police said on Twitter. The shooter has not been publicly identified and a motive has not been discussed.
At a press conference, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said the shooter was wearing body armor and carrying a .223-caliber rifle while also carrying high-capacity magazines.
Whaley said that if not for the quick police response, “hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today,” reports the Associated Press.
Police said the shooting began at 1:05 a.m. and lasted about 30 seconds before the gunman was shot dead by police.
Police believe the shooter acted alone but the investigation continues, said Carper.
“Downtown Dayton is a very safe area,” Carper said. “This is unheard of and very sad. It’s a very tragic evening.”
I’m heartbroken. Thank you to our first responders for all that you’ve done. We will share updates as we have more information.
— Nan Whaley (@nanwhaley) August 4, 2019
The Dayton shooting followed a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, inside a Walmart in which 20 people were killed and 26 were injured.
RELATED: 20 Killed and 26 Injured in Mass Shooting Inside Walmart in El Paso, Texas
Police arrested a 21-year-old male suspect in El Paso and authorities are investigating the shooting as a hate crime after learning the suspect apparently wrote a manifesto with white nationalist themes, a source familiar with the investigation tells PEOPLE.
NBC News, citing eyewitnesses, reports the Dayton shooting took place near the Ned Peppers bar.
In a Facebook post, the bar said, “We have police regularly staffed next to our business who engaged the shooter and neutralized the threat.”
Taylor Mayberry, who was inside the bar when the shooting took place, told NBC she hid in the bar’s bathroom with 10 other people while she heard “tons of gunshots.”
“I just heard a few gunshots and then saw everyone jumping to the ground,” she said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that, so I dove to the ground and started running to the bathroom. I saw people trying to move toward the exit.”
