The following covers how the weekend mass shootings could have been even worse, Mexico’s reaction to the El Paso shooting, the Dayton shooter’s motive and who some of the victims were.
4 Articles On Weekend Mass Shootings
The following covers how the weekend mass shootings could have been even worse, Mexico’s reaction to the El Paso shooting, the Dayton shooter’s motive and who some of the victims were.
29 Killed In 2 US Shootings, And It Could Have Been Worse
By The Associated Press
It took just 30 seconds in Ohio and zero bullets in Texas for officers to stop two mass shooters this weekend, but not before 29 people were killed and about 50 injured in less than 24 hours.
Officers gunned down the Ohio shooter at the doorstep of a bar-turned-hiding place in the middle of Dayton's nightclub district, and arrested the El Paso shooter as hundreds fled a crowded shopping center. Though the two attacks staggered a nation accustomed to gun violence, the bigger shock may have been that the death toll wasn't worse.
In the Texas border city of El Paso, a gunman opened fire Saturday morning in a shopping area packed with thousands of people during the busy back-to-school season. The attack killed 20 and wounded more than two dozen, many of them critically.
Hours later in Dayton, Ohio, a gunman wearing body armor and carrying extra magazines opened fire in a popular nightlife area, killing nine and injuring at least 26 people.
The attacks came less than a week after a 19-year-old gunman killed three people and injured 13 others at the popular Gilroy Garlic Festival in California before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The El Paso shooting was being investigated as a possible hate crime as authorities worked to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly beforehand was written by the man arrested. The border city is home to 680,000 people, many of them Latino.
El Paso authorities offered few details about the assault, but Police Chief Greg Allen described the scene as "horrific" and said many of the 26 people who were hurt had life-threatening injuries.
In Dayton, the bloodshed was likely limited by the swift police response. Officers patrolling the area took just 30 seconds to stop the shooting, which unfolded around 1 a.m. on the streets of the downtown Oregon District, Mayor Nan Whaley said.
Video released by police shows 24-year-old Connor Betts being shot down by officers, just steps away from entering a bar filled with hiding patrons.
Had police not responded so quickly, "hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today," Whaley said.
Betts' 22-year-old sister, Megan Betts, was among those killed in Dayton.
Authorities identified the El Paso suspect as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius from Allen, a Dallas suburb which is a nearly 10-hour drive from El Paso.
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said he knew the shooter was not from his city.
"It's not what we're about," the mayor said at a news conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and the police chief.
President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that Washington "must come together" in the wake of the shootings "to get strong background checks" for gun users. But he provided no details on what sort of legislation he would support.
The Democrat-led House has passed a gun control bill that includes fixes to the nation's firearm background check system, but it has languished in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Trump suggested Monday that a background check bill could be paired with his long-sought effort to toughen the nation's immigration system. He didn't say how.
Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, who is from El Paso and was at a candidate forum Saturday in Las Vegas, appeared shaken after receiving news of the shooting in his hometown.
He said he heard early reports that the shooter might have had a military-style weapon, saying we need to "keep that (expletive) on the battlefield. Do not bring it into our communities."
The shootings were the 21st and 22nd mass killings of 2019 in the U.S., according to the AP/USA Today/Northeastern University mass murder database that tracks homicides where four or more people killed — not including the offender.
Including the two latest attacks, 125 people had been killed in the 2019 shootings.
Mexicans Reel From Apparent Hate Crime In Texas
By AMY GUTHRIE Associated Press
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government plans to evaluate the possibility of extraditing the U.S. man accused of killing 20 people, including six Mexican citizens, in El Paso over the weekend and hopes the shooting will result in changes to America's gun laws.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that Mexico will respect the debate that will unfold in the United States, but he believes the discussion could lead to change.
"There could be a change to their laws because it is stunning what is happening, unfortunate and very powerful," López Obrador said. "I don't rule out that they could change their constitution and laws. These are new times; you have to always be adjusting the legal aspects to the new reality."
Many in Mexico were reeling Sunday from revelations that the shooting appeared to have been aimed at Hispanics — and Mexicans in particular.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard labeled the shooting "an act of terrorism" against Mexicans and urged the U.S. government to establish a "clear and convincing position against hate crimes."
Seven Mexican citizens were among the dozens wounded in the attack in addition to the six killed.
"Mexico is outraged," Ebrard said.
Ebrard said Mexico would take legal action against the business that sold the shooter the gun and that its Attorney General's Office would take legal action declaring it an act of terrorism against Mexican citizens. This would give Mexican prosecutors access to information about the case, Ebrard said. Then the Attorney General would decide whether to pursue the shooter's extradition.
"For Mexico this individual is a terrorist," Ebrard said.
Just minutes before the rampage, U.S. investigators believe the shooter posted a rambling online manifesto in which he railed against a perceived "invasion" of Hispanics coming into the U.S. He then allegedly targeted a shopping area in El Paso that is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the main border checkpoint with Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Tens of thousands of Mexicans cross the border legally each day to work and shop in the city of 680,000 full-time residents, and El Paso County is more than 80% Latino, according to the latest census data.
The Mexican victims were identified as Sara Esther Regalado of Ciudad Juarez; Adolfo Cerros Hernández of Aguascalientes; Jorge Calvillo García of Torreon, Coahuila; Elsa Mendoza de la Mora of Yepomera, Chihuahua; Gloria Irma Marquez of Ciudad Juarez; and María Eugenia Legarreta of the city of Chihuahua. Other victims may have also been of Mexican descent.
As the news dominated weekend headlines, some in Mexico said the shooting was the result of the simmering resentment that President Donald Trump had stirred early into his presidential campaign when he called Mexicans coming into the U.S. "rapists" and "criminals." The U.S.-Mexico relationship was only further strained after he took office and vowed to build a border wall and slap tariffs on Mexican imports.
On Sunday, López Obrador chose his words carefully when speaking of the shooting.
"In spite of the pain, the outrage" that Mexicans are feeling, he said, the U.S. is headed toward elections and Mexico doesn't want to interfere in the "internal affairs" of other countries. He also said the events in Texas reaffirmed his conviction that "social problems shouldn't be confronted with the use of force and by inciting hate."
Former President Felipe Calderón said via Twitter that regardless of whether the shooting is a hate crime, Trump "should stop his hate speech. He should stop stigmatizing others."
Amatza Gutiérrez, a student from the Mexican capital, said the idea of a shooter targeting Mexicans because of their ethnicity gives her goose bumps.
"I don't understand why anyone would go to that extreme," the 24-year-old said.
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AP writer Christopher Sherman contributed to this report.
Hate Ruled Out, But Motive Still A Mystery In Dayton Attack
By JOHN SEEWER, DAN SEWELL and JOHN MINCHILLO Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — As authorities in Ohio try to pin down a motive for the weekend's second U.S. mass shooting and dig into the slain shooter's life, what they find might also help answer another big question looming over the tragedy: What, if anything, could have stopped it?
Police say the gunman was wearing a mask and body armor when he shot and killed his younger sister and eight others after the pair had arrived together with a friend earlier Saturday evening at a popular entertainment district packed with people.
It all happened within 30 seconds, before police officers stationed nearby shot and killed 24-year-old Connor Betts, who was armed with a .223-caliber rifle with magazines capable of holding at least 100 rounds of ammunition, said Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl.
What's not known is whether Betts targeted any of the victims, including his 22-year-old sister, Megan, the youngest of the dead.
While the gunman was white and six of the nine killed were black, police said the quickness of the rampage made any discrimination in the shooting seem unlikely.
Any attempt to suggest a motive so early in the investigation would be irresponsible, the police chief said.
Surveillance video shared by police showed officers shot Betts at the doorstep of further destruction, stopping him from entering a bar where some people took cover when the chaos broke out around 1 a.m. Sunday in Dayton's historic Oregon District.
Had he gotten inside the bar, the result would have been "catastrophic," Biehl said.
Anthony Reynolds, 31, said the first gunshot "was kind of an echo because of the buildings. Then it was rapid, rapid. People were just falling."
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine visited the scene Sunday and said policymakers must now consider: "Is there anything we can do in the future to make sure something like this does not happen?"
But hours later hundreds of people, mostly young adults, stood shoulder-to shoulder Sunday night at a vigil and vented their frustration at the Republican governor, interrupting him with chants of "Make a change!" and "Do something!" as he talked about the victims.
"People are angry, and they're upset. They should be," said Jennifer Alfrey, 24, of Middletown, who added that she didn't agree with interrupting the vigil but understood why so many did.
Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democrat, said there would be time later for dealing with policy issues and implored the crowd to honor the victims.
Whaley noted at a news conference that the city was still recovering from tornadoes that swept through western Ohio in late May, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes and businesses.
"What really goes through my mind is one seems completely preventable," she said. "When is enough enough?"
Ohio's two U.S. senators visited the scene of the mass shooting. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said responding with thoughts and prayers is not enough and stronger gun safety laws are needed. Republican Sen. Rob Portman said the discussion must include not just policy changes, but issues such as mental health support.
Police have said there was nothing in Betts' background that would have prevented him from buying the rifle used in the shooting. They said they also found a shotgun in his car.
Authorities identified the other dead as Monica Brickhouse, 39; Nicholas Cumer, 25; Derrick Fudge, 57; Thomas McNichols, 25; Lois Oglesby, 27; Saeed Saleh, 38; Logan Turner, 30; and Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36.
At least 15 of the 27 more people known to have been treated for injuries had been released, according to city officials. Some suffered multiple gunshot wounds and others were injured as they fled, hospital officials said.
Conflicting accounts of the shooter have emerged.
To some, Betts was known as a friendly guy who sometimes stopped for a beer or two at a bar southeast of Dayton in Bellbrook, a short drive from his home.
Bartender Andy Baker said Betts was at Romer's Bar & Grill last Monday and seemed fine. Fellow customer Mike Kern said he sometimes played trivia at Romer's with Betts, who was good for answers about current events and pop culture and was "the kind of kid you'd want as a son."
"I never heard him talk about violence, say a racist word, or anything like that," Kern said.
But high school classmates said he was suspended for compiling a "hit list" of those he wanted to kill and a "rape list" of girls he wanted to sexually assault.
Both former classmates told The Associated Press that Betts was suspended during their junior year at suburban Bellbrook High School after a hit list was found scrawled in a school bathroom. That followed an earlier suspension after Betts came to school with a list of female students he wanted to sexually assault, according to the two classmates, a man and a woman who are both now 24 and spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern they might face harassment.
A former cheerleader, the woman said she didn't really know Betts and was surprised when a police officer called her cellphone during her freshman year to tell her that her name was included on a list of potential targets.
"The officer said he wouldn't be at school for a while," she said. "But after some time passed he was back, walking the halls. They didn't give us any warning that he was returning to school."
Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools officials declined to comment on those accounts, only confirming that Betts attended schools in the district. Bellbrook Police Chief Doug Doherty said he and his officers had no previous contact with Betts and weren't aware of any history of violence, including during high school.
Betts had no apparent criminal record as an adult. If he had been charged as a juvenile, that would typically be sealed under state law.
The Ohio shooting came hours after a young man opened fire in a crowded El Paso, Texas, shopping area, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured. Just days before, on July 28, a 19-year-old shot and killed three people, including two children, at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California.
Sunday's shooting in Dayton is the 22nd mass killing of 2019 in the U.S., according to the AP/USA Today/Northeastern University mass murder database that tracks homicides where four or more people were killed — not including the offender. The 20 mass killings in the U.S. in 2019 that preceded this weekend claimed 96 lives.
President Donald Trump claimed Monday he wanted Washington to "come together" on legislation providing "strong background checks" for gun users, but he provided no details and previous gun control measures have languished in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Trump, who will make remarks to the nation later Monday, tweeted about the weekend shootings: "We can never forget them, and those many who came before them."
The Democrat-led House has passed a gun control bill that includes fixes to the nation's firearm background check system, but it has languished in the Senate.
Trump suggested that a background check bill could be paired with his long-sought effort to toughen the nation's immigration system. He didn't say how.
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Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Dayton, Michael Balsamo in Orlando, Florida, and Kantele Franko in Columbus contributed to this report.
Shooting Victims Include A Mom Who Died Protecting Her Baby
By MORGAN LEE and AMY GUTHRIE Associated Press
In the border town of El Paso, Texas, a shooter opened fire and left 20 people dead and more than two dozen injured. Hours later in Dayton, Ohio, a shooter killed 9 people and injured at least 27 others.
Here are some of their stories:
JORDAN ANCHONDO: 'GAVE HER LIFE' FOR HER BABY
Jordan Anchondo was among those killed in El Paso, Anchondo's sister said, and she apparently died while protecting her 2-month-old son from the hail of bullets.
Leta Jamrowski of El Paso spoke to The Associated Press as she paced a waiting room at the University Medical Center of El Paso, where her 2-month-old nephew was being treated for broken bones — the result of his mother's fall.
"From the baby's injuries, they said that more than likely my sister was trying to shield him," she said. "So when she got shot she was holding him and she fell on him, so that's why he broke some of his bones. So he pretty much lived because she gave her life."
Jordan, a mother of three, and Andre Anchondo had dropped off her 5-year old daughter at cheerleading practice before going to shop for school supplies on Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso. They never returned.
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ANDRE ANCHONDO: HAD TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND
Andre Anchondo — the husband of Jordan Anchondo, who was also killed in El Paso — had recently turned his life around after struggles with drug dependence and run-ins with the law, a friend recalled.
On Sunday night, John Jamrowski, the grandfather of Jordan Anchondo, said in a text message that his family has been notified of the death of Andre Anchondo.
The death of Jordan Anchondo was confirmed in the hours after the attack, but the family agonized as investigators waited to confirm more than a dozen other deaths.
Koteiba "Koti" Azzam, a friend of Andre Anchondo, had fond memories of him.
"I love the guy," Azzam said in a phone interview from San Marcos, Texas, where he attends Texas State University. "He had the character and the charisma."
Azzam said Andre Anchondo had started a business in El Paso, building things from granite and stone, and made it successful through hard work. He also was on the verge of completing a home for his family.
"It makes you question your faith almost," said Azzam, who is Muslim. "But God didn't have a part in it. The hands of man altered my friend's life in a drastic way."
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NICHOLAS CUMER: HAD HELPED CANCER PATIENTS
A graduate student at a university in Pennsylvania who was interning with a facility in Dayton for people battling cancer was among those killed in the Ohio city early Sunday.
Nicholas Cumer was a graduate student in the master of cancer care program at Saint Francis University.
"Nicholas was dedicated to caring for others," university President Malachi Van Tassell said in a statement. The university, in Loretto, Pennsylvania, is the oldest Franciscan institution of higher learning in the United States.
The family released the following statement through a relative: "We are heartbroken by the loss of our Nicholas in this senseless act on August 4. As our family grieves, we ask for privacy at this time. Thank you."
Cumer had been in Dayton as part of his internship program with the Maple Tree Cancer Alliance, which strives to improve the quality of life for individuals battling cancer through exercise, nutrition, and faith.
Maple Tree Cancer Alliance offered Cumer a full-time position just days before he was killed, the organization said on its website. It described Cumer as hard-working, dedicated and one week away from completing his internship.
"He was well liked and respected by everyone on our team, and we all will miss him very much," the organization said.
Van Tassell said a Mass in Cumer's memory will be arranged on campus this week.
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LOIS OGLESBY: A NURSING STUDENT WHO WANTED TO CARE FOR CHILDREN
Lois Oglesby, 27, was in nursing school and looked forward to a career that would make the most of her love for children, her cousin said. She was also the mother of a newborn and had an older daughter.
Derasha Merrett told the Dayton Daily News that she was up feeding her own newborn when a friend called her at 3 a.m. Sunday to tell her, through sobs, that Oglesby had died in the Dayton shooting.
"She was a wonderful mother, a wonderful person," Merrett said. "I have cried so much, I can't cry anymore."
Merrett said she and her cousin grew up in the same church, were on the same drill team and that Oglesby worked at her children's day care center.
"We all grew up in this little town, Merrett said. "We're all family."
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JESSICA COCA GARCIA and MEMO GARCIA: FUNDRAISING FOR KIDS' SPORTS TEAM
Jessica Coca Garcia and Memo Garcia were at the Walmart in El Paso to raise funds for a youth sports team one of their children played on when a gunman opened fire, wounding them, a relative said.
Norma Coca told Wichita, Kansas-television station KWCH that her daughter and son-in-law were near the front doors of the Walmart when they were shot.
Coca, who lives in Salina, Kansas, said her daughter, Jessica Coca Garcia, was shot three times in the leg. She said her son-in-law, Memo Garcia, was shot twice in the leg and once in the back. She said her daughter was in stable condition and her son-in-law was in critical condition.
Jessica Coca Garcia's father, Don Coca, said they have family in the El Paso area who were able to be with the couple. Don Coca says: "She was just crying ... I told her that our prayers are there and we're on our way."
The couple's 5-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter were also at the Walmart and were not shot.
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MARIO DE ALBA: A WOUNDED FATHER
Mario de Alba, 45, had come to El Paso with his family from Mexico to go shopping.
Described by his sister Cristina de Alba as an "excellent father" and as a "decent, hardworking person," he was in serious condition Sunday after being shot in the back, the bullet exiting via his diaphragm.
His wife, Olivia Mariscal, and 10-year-old daughter Erika both appear to be recovering after also being wounded, de Alba said from the El Paso hospital where her brother is being treated.
The family lives in Chihuahua, Mexico -- a four-hour drive south of El Paso -- and was buying school supplies in the Texas city. El Paso is a popular shopping destination for people who live in northern Mexico.
Mario de Alba's Facebook page shows him as a devoted father to Erika.
In one picture, taken in a living room, Erika cups her hand in the shape of a heart in front of an entertainment center. 0n the shelves behind her are the words FAMILY and PEACE in bold letters.
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MEXICAN GOVERNMENT IDENTIFIES FIVE CITIZENS KILLED IN EL PASO
Mexico's Foreign Ministry identified five citizens who were killed in the shooting Saturday in a shopping complex in El Paso. The ministry did not provide ages for them. They are:
— Sara Esther Regalado of Cuidad Juarez.
— Adolfo Cerros Hernández of Aguascalientes.
— Jorge Calvillo García of Torreón.
— Elsa Mendoza de la Mora of Yepomera.
— Gloria Irma Márquez of Juárez.
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Lee reported from El Paso. Guthrie reported from Mexico City. AP reporters Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Andrew Selsky in Salem, Oregon, Lisa Cornwell in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report.
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