Beaver Falls will soon be the location for a new state-funded community cultural project. Beaver County Radio News Intern Kristian Biega has more on the story…

WEATHER FORECAST FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 5TH, 2019

TODAY – MIXED CLOUDS AND SUN THIS MORNING.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON.
HIGH – 86.

TONIGHT – PARTLY CLOUDY. A STRAY SHOWER OR
THUNDERSTORM POSSIBLE. LOW – 66.

TUESDAY – SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS DURING
THE AFTERNOON. STORMS MAY CONTAIN
STRONG GUSTY WINDS. HIGH – 85.

Police: Ohio gunman who killed 9 was stopped in 30 seconds
By DAN SEWELL and JOHN MINCHILLO Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A masked gunman in body armor opened fire early Sunday in a popular entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio, killing nine people, including his sister, and wounding dozens before he was quickly slain by police, officials said.
Connor Betts, 24, was armed with a .223-caliber rifle with magazines capable of holding at least 100 rounds of ammunition and was gunned down about 30 seconds after his rampage began about 1 a.m. in the historic Oregon District, said Police Chief Richard Biehl.
After squeezing off dozens of shots, he was killed at an entrance to a bar where people were taking cover, Biehl said, adding that had Betts gotten inside, the result would have been “catastrophic.”
Police have not identified a motive in what was the second U.S. mass shooting in less than 24 hours.
Betts’ 22-year-old sister Megan was the youngest of the dead — all killed in a nightlife spot of bars, restaurants and theaters that is considered a safe area downtown, police said.
The gunman was white and six of the nine killed were black, police said. Although they’ll investigate the possibility of a hate crime, they said the quickness of the rampage made any discrimination in the shooting seem unlikely.
They 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.
Mayor Nan Whaley said at least 27 more people were treated for injuries, and at least 15 of those have been released. Several more were in serious or critical condition, hospital officials said at a news conference Sunday morning. Some suffered multiple gunshot wounds and others were injured as they fled, the officials said.
Betts was from Bellbrook, southeast of Dayton. Bellbrook Police Chief Doug Doherty said he and his officers weren’t aware of any history of violence by Betts, including during high school.
Brad Howard said he went to school with Betts and had known him for two decades.
“The Connor Betts that I knew was a nice kid,” Howard said. “The Connor Betts that I talked to I always got along with well.”
Police blocked access in Betts’ neighborhood, where neighbor Stephen Cournoyer said he often saw Betts mowing the lawn or walking the dog.
“He seemed like a good kid,” Cournoyer said. “He wasn’t a speed demon, didn’t do anything crazy. But that’s not to say, I mean, obviously he had an issue.”
Nikita Papillon, 23, was across the street at Newcom’s Tavern when the shooting started. She said she saw a girl she had talked to earlier lying outside Ned Peppers bar, where Betts was slain at the entrance.
“She had told me she liked my outfit and thought I was cute, and I told her I liked her outfit and I thought she was cute,” Papillon said. She herself had been to Ned Peppers the night before, describing it as the kind of place “where you don’t have to worry about someone shooting up the place.”
“People my age, we don’t think something like this is going to happen,” she said. “And when it happens, words can’t describe it.”
Tianycia Leonard, 28, was in the back, smoking, at Newcom’s. She heard “loud thumps” that she initially thought was someone pounding on a dumpster.
“It was so noisy, but then you could tell it was gunshots and there was a lot of rounds,” Leonard said.
Staff of an Oregon District bar called Ned Peppers said in a Facebook post that they were left shaken and confused by the shooting. The bar said a bouncer was treated for shrapnel wounds.
A message seeking further comment was left with staff.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting and praised law enforcement’s speedy response in a tweet Sunday. The FBI is assisting with the investigation.
Gov. Mike DeWine visited the scene after earlier ordering that flags in Ohio remain at half-staff.
DeWine, a Republican, said policymakers must now consider: “Is there anything we can do in the future to make sure something like this does not happen?”
Both of Ohio’s two U.S. senators visited the scene of the mass shooting. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said responding with thoughts and prayers wasn’t 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 supports.
Whaley said more than 50 other mayors also have reached out to her.
A family assistance center was set up at the Dayton Convention Center, where people seeking information on victims arrived in a steady trickle throughout the morning, many in their Sunday best, others looking bedraggled from a sleepless night. Some local pastors were on hand to offer support, as were comfort dogs.
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.
Whaley said the Oregon District has reopened, and a vigil is planned Sunday evening. The minor league Dayton Dragons who play in nearby Fifth Third Field postponed their Sunday afternoon game against the Lake County Captains “due to this morning’s tragic event.”
The shooting in Dayton comes after the area was heavily damaged when tornadoes swept through western Ohio in late May, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes and businesses.
“Dayton has been through a lot already this year, and I continue to be amazed by the grit and resiliency of our community,” Whaley said.
___
This story has been corrected to say the shooting took place around 1 a.m., not 1:22 a.m., per a police update.
___
Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Dayton, Michael Balsamo in Orlando, Florida. and Kantele Franko in Columbus contributed.

The Latest: Trump: ‘Hate has no place in our country’
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The Latest on a mass shooting at an El Paso shopping complex (all times local):
3:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump has denounced two mass shootings in Ohio and Texas, saying “hate has no place in our country.”
Addressing reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump said Sunday that “we’re going to take care” of the problem. The president says he’s been speaking to the attorney general, FBI director and members of Congress, and will be making an additional statement Monday.
He says the problem of shootings has been going on “for years and years” and “we have to get it stopped.” Trump also pointed to a mental illness problem in the U.S., calling the shooters “really very seriously mentally ill.”
The shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend left at least 29 people dead.
___
3:10 p.m.
Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the number of Mexicans killed in the shooting in the border city of El Paso, Texas, has risen to six.
López Obrador made the comments during a visit Sunday to a rural hospital in the western Mexican state of Michoacan. He had previously said three Mexicans were killed.
López Obrador also says that the events in Texas reaffirm his conviction that “social problems shouldn’t be confronted with the use of force and by inciting hate.”
The FBI has not publicly released the names or nationalities of the 20 people killed Saturday at a shopping complex in El Paso.
___
2:50 p.m.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the federal agency does not conduct immigration enforcement operations “during tragedies” such as the shooting in El Paso, Texas.
ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa says the statement was issued Sunday afternoon in an effort to dispel “false rumors.”
Zamarripa says ICE agents immediately responded to aid local and state law enforcement officers as the shooting unfolded.
Saturday’s shooting at an El Paso shopping area left 20 people dead and more than two dozen injured.
___
1:30 p.m.
FBI agents have executed search warrants at three homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area where suspected El Paso gunman Patrick Wood Crusius had stayed.
An agency spokeswoman, Melinda Urbina, declined to give more details on the locations.
One of them was the home of his grandparents in Allen, Texas, where authorities shut down streets following the shooting.
Allen, located 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Dallas, is an affluent community of about 100,000.
The shooting Saturday at an El Paso shopping area left 20 people dead and more than two dozen injured. Crusius has been booked on capital murder charges in connection with the attack. Authorities say they are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime and could seek the death penalty.
— Associated Press reporter Jake Bleiberg in Dallas.
___
1:20 p.m.
Police in the hometown of the suspected gunman in a Texas mass shooting say they had few past interactions with 21-year-old Patrick Wood Crusius.
Authorities in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas, released a statement Sunday saying their contact with Crusius “can be described as limited at best.”
Crusius has been booked on capital murder charges nearly 600 miles (966 kilometers) away in El Paso. At least 20 people were killed and more than two dozen injured when a gunman opened fire at a shopping area in the Texas border city Saturday.
Allen police say Crusius was reported as a juvenile runaway in 2014 but returned home roughly a half-hour later. He was also among eight students on a school bus involved in a minor crash in 2016 that resulted in no injuries.
Allen police say their last involvement with Crusius came in March, when he reported a false residential alarm at his grandparents’ home.
___
12:50 p.m.
The president of a leading Hispanic group says politicians such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and President Donald Trump must stop making anti-immigrant statements that he blamed for “costing the lives of innocent people.”
Speaking in downtown El Paso on Sunday, League of United Latin American Citizens president Domingo Garcia said that “unfortunately what we saw here was another massacre by again somebody using racial hatred as a basis to kill people of Mexican American descent, and we need to stand up and fight against it.”
A shooting at a shopping area in El Paso Saturday left 20 people dead. Authorities increasingly believe that an anti-immigrant screed posted before the attack was written by 21-year-old Patrick Wood Crusius. He was arrested and booked on capital murder charges in connection with the shooting. Prosecutors say they are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.
___
12:20 p.m.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard says Mexico will take legal action to protect Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent after the shooting in El Paso, Texas.
In a video statement, Ebrard called the shooting an “act of barbarism” and said the country’s first priority is attending to the impacted families.
Next, he said, Mexico plans to seek legal measures to protect Mexican nationals and Mexican-Americans in the U.S.
Mexican officials say three Mexican nationals were killed and another six were wounded in the Saturday shooting at a Texas Wal-Mart.
El Paso is a popular weekend shopping destination for Mexicans who live across the border, in Ciudad Juarez.
The shooter appears to have been targeting Hispanics and authorities are investigating it as a hate crome.
— Associated Press reporter Amy Guthrie in Mexico City.
___
11:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump is ordering flags at half-staff in remembrance of the victims of two mass shootings in less than a day that killed at least 29 people and injured dozens more.
A proclamation released by the White House on Sunday says the nation shares “in the pain and suffering of all those who were injured in these two senseless attacks.”
The first attack Saturday at a shopping area in El Paso, Texas, killed at least 20 people. That was followed by another shooting in a nightlife district in Dayton, Ohio, which claimed nine lives.
Trump has been out of public view since both shootings. He has reacted to the attacks on Twitter.
___
11 a.m.
A man and woman injured when a gunman opened fire in an El Paso, Texas, shopping area were there to raise money for a youth sports team one of their children played on.
Norma Coca tells Wichita, Kansas-television station KWCH that her daughter and son-in-law were near the front doors of the Walmart on Saturday morning when they were shot.
Coca, who lives in Salina, Kansas, said her daughter, Jessica Coca Garcia, was shot three times in the leg. She says her son-in-law, Memo Garcia, was shot twice in the leg and once in the back. She said Saturday that 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. They were not shot.
___
This version of the 11 a.m. item fixes garble in the word station; corrects 2nd reference to Don Coca; and deletes reference to Garcia’s fundraising for baseball team and replaces with sports team.
___
10:45 a.m.
The police chief in El Paso is linking a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly before a shooting that killed 20 people to the suspect in custody.
Authorities have booked 21-year-old Patrick Wood Crusius on capital murder charges. El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen told reporters Sunday that “we have to attribute that manifesto directly to him.” Prosecutors say they’ll seek the death penalty.
The document posted online expressed concern that an influx of Hispanics into the United States will replace aging white voters, potentially turning Texas blue in elections and swinging the White House to the Democrats.
When asked whether the shooting was a hate crime, Allen said “it’s beginning to look more solidly like that is the case.”
Federal prosecutors say they’re treating the shooting as a domestic terrorism case.
___
10:18 a.m.
A Justice Department official says the federal government is treating the El Paso shooting that killed 20 people as a “domestic terrorist” case.
U.S. Attorney John Bash said Sunday at a news conference in El Paso that the federal government is also investigating the attack at a shopping plaza with a view toward bringing federal hate crime charges.
Authorities have been working to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly before the attack was written by the suspected gunman, 21-year-old Patrick Wood Crusius.
El Paso County District Attorney Jaime Esparza told reporters that the state of Texas also plans to seek the death penalty.
___
9:50 a.m.
The Justice Department is seriously weighing federal hate crime charges against the El Paso shooting suspect that would carry the potential for a sentence of the death penalty.
That’s according to a person familiar with the department’s decision making process, who was not authorized to speak on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
A gunman armed with a rifle opened fire in an El Paso shopping area packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school season, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured, police said. Law enforcement officials who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity identified the suspect as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius.
— Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C.
___
10 a. m.
A hospital official in El Paso says at least three victims of a mass shooting at a shopping area that left 20 people dead remain in critical condition.
Dr. Stephen Flaherty said Sunday that a total of 11 victims were taken to Del Sol Medical Center. They ranged in age from 35 to 82 years old. More than two dozen people in all were injured in Saturday’s shooting, some of whom were treated elsewhere in the Texas border city.
Flaherty told reporters that “a number of the patients” being treated at Del Sol will need to return to the operating room, and potentially multiple times.
Jail records show that the suspected gunman, 21-year-old Patrick Wood Crusius, has been booked on capital murder charges.
___
9 a.m.
Jail records show the gunman arrested in the El Paso shooting that left 20 people dead has been booked on capital murder charges.
El Paso County records Sunday showed that 21-year-old Patrick Wood Crusius was booked at the downtown jail in the Texas border city. There was no immediate indication that he had an attorney.
Police say more than two dozen people were also injured in the attack Saturday at an El Paso shopping area.
Authorities are investigating the possibility the shooting was a hate crime. They’re working to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly beforehand was written by Crusius.
___
2 a.m.
A gunman armed with a rifle opened fire in an El Paso shopping area packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school season, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured, police said.
Hours later, there was another mass shooting across the country. Police in Dayton, Ohio, said nine people were killed by a shooter who was shot to death by responding officers.
Authorities are investigating the possibility the Saturday shooting in El Paso was a hate crime, working to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly beforehand was written by the man arrested in the attack on the 680,000-resident border city.

Police: Shooter killed 9 in Ohio, including his sister
By DAN SEWELL and JOHN MINCHILLO Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A gunman in body armor opened fire early Sunday in a popular entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio, killing nine people, including his sister, and wounded dozens of others before he was quickly slain by police, city officials said.
Connor Betts, 24, was killed by police less than a minute after he started shooting a .223-caliber rifle in the streets of Dayton’s historic Oregon District about 1 a.m. in the second U.S. mass shooting in less than 24 hours. Police haven’t released further information about Betts or publicly discussed a motive.
His 22-year-old sister Megan, the youngest of the dead, were all killed in the same area, police said. The other men and women who were killed ranged in age from 25 to 57.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said the shooter was wearing body armor and had additional high-capacity magazines. Had police not responded so quickly, “hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today,” she said.
The neighborhood, home to bars, restaurants and theaters, is “a safe part of downtown,” said police Lt. Col. Matt Carper.
Whaley said at least 27 people were treated for injuries, and at least 15 of those have been released. Several more remain in serious or critical condition, hospital officials said at a news conference. Some suffered multiple gunshot wounds and others were injured as they fled, the officials said.
Nikita Papillon, 23, was across the street at Newcom’s Tavern when the shooting started. She said she saw a girl she had talked to earlier lying outside Ned Peppers Bar.
“She had told me she liked my outfit and thought I was cute, and I told her I liked her outfit and I thought she was cute,” Papillon said. She herself had been to Ned Peppers the night before, describing it as the kind of place “where you don’t have to worry about someone shooting up the place.”
“People my age, we don’t think something like this is going to happen,” she said. “And when it happens, words can’t describe it.”
Tianycia Leonard, 28, was in the back, smoking, at Newcom’s. She heard “loud thumps” that she initially thought was someone pounding on a dumpster.
“It was so noisy, but then you could tell it was gunshots and there was a lot of rounds,” Leonard said.
Staff of an Oregon District bar called Ned Peppers said in a Facebook post that they were left shaken and confused by the shooting. The bar said a bouncer was treated for shrapnel wounds.
A message seeking further comment was left with staff.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting and praised law enforcement’s speedy response in a tweet Sunday.
Gov. Mike DeWine issued his own statement, announcing that he ordered flags in Ohio remain at half-staff and offering assistance to Whaley and prayers for the victims.
Whaley said she has been in touch with the White House, though not Trump directly, and with DeWine. She said more than 50 other mayors also have reached out to her.
The FBI is assisting with the investigation.
A family assistance center was set up at the Dayton Convention Center, where people seeking information on victims arrived in a steady trickle throughout the morning, many in their Sunday best, others looking bedraggled from a sleepless night. Some local pastors were on hand to offer support, as were comfort dogs.
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.
Whaley said the Oregon District is expected to reopen Sunday afternoon, and a vigil is planned Sunday evening. The minor league Dayton Dragons who play in nearby Fifth Third Field postponed their Sunday afternoon game against the Lake County Captains “due to this morning’s tragic event.”
The shooting in Dayton comes after the area was heavily damaged when tornadoes swept through western Ohio in late May, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes and businesses.
“Dayton has been through a lot already this year, and I continue to be amazed by the grit and resiliency of our community,” Whaley said.
___
This story has been corrected to say the shooting took place around 1 a.m., not 1:22 a.m., per a police update.
___
Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Dayton, Michael Balsamo in Orlando, Fla., and Kantele Franko in Columbus contributed.

Report: Iran seizes tanker carrying ‘smuggled fuel’ in Gulf
By MEHDI FATTAHI and AYA BATRAWY Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian forces seized a ship in the Persian Gulf suspected of carrying smuggled fuel, state media reported Sunday, marking the Revolutionary Guard’s third seizure of a vessel in recent weeks and the latest show of strength by the paramilitary force amid a spike in regional tensions.
State TV and the semi-official Fars news agency reported that seven crew members were detained when the ship was seized late Wednesday carrying 700,000 liters (185,000 gallons) of “smuggled fuel” from Iran. The local reports did not provide further details on the vessel or the nationality of the crew.
The news agency reported the ship was seized near Farsi Island, where a Revolutionary Guard naval base is located. The island sits in the Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Iran, north of the Strait of Hormuz.
Guard commander Gen. Ramazan Zirahi was quoted by Iran’s state TV saying the ship was seized in Iranian territorial waters and had been transporting diesel fuel. State TV and other local media also ran footage of the ship, but did not show any flag or identifying marker for the vessel.
“This foreign vessel had received the fuel from other ships and was transferring it to Persian Gulf Arab states,” Zirahi said in comments carried by Fars new agency.
It was not immediately clear why a ship carrying Iranian fuel would transfer its cargo to energy exporting Gulf states, but smuggling has been a source of concern in Iran. Iranian media reported last month that some 8 million liters of government-subsidized Iranian fuel are smuggled daily to other countries where prices are much higher.
The new claims would make this the third vessel seized by the Guard in the past two weeks, and the second accused of smuggling fuel.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it did not have information to confirm the reports. Maritime tracking experts also said they did not have any immediate information about the incident or details on the vessel.
Maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global said that, if confirmed, this is likely to be “another relatively low key interception designed to signal to the West that Iran maintains the capability and intent to exercise its influence” in the Persian Gulf.
Tensions in the Persian Gulf have escalated recently, with the United States boosting its military presence in the region and six oil tankers targeted in the Gulf of Oman in unclaimed acts of sabotage that the U.S. blames on Iran. Iran has denied any involvement in those attacks.
In June, Iran shot down an American surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump came close to retaliating, but called off an airstrike at the last moment. Washington has since claimed that a U.S. warship downed an Iranian drone in the strait. Iran denies losing any aircraft in the area.
Maritime security in the region was further jolted in mid-July, when Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval forces confirmed they’d seized a United Arab Emirates-based oil tanker, the Panamanian-flagged MT Riah, for allegedly smuggling some 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of fuel from Iranian smugglers to foreign customers.
Also in July, the Guard seized a British-flagged vessel near the Persian Gulf in the Strait of Hormuz, in what some Iranian officials suggested was retaliation for the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker in a British Royal Navy operation off Gibraltar, near Spain.
The U.K. says the Iranian oil tanker was suspected of violating European Union sanctions on oil shipments to Syria. Iran denies the ship was bound for Syria but has not disclosed its destination. Officials in Spain initially said the tanker was seized upon request from the United States.
The current tensions stem from Trump’s decision last year to withdraw the U.S. from Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers and impose sweeping sanctions on the country that have crippled its economy. In response, Iran began openly breaching limits set by the nuclear agreement to pressure European signatories to provide economic relief to help offset the sanctions.
Maritime security around the Persian Gulf is of international importance. The Strait of Hormuz sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, a shipping channel for one-fifth of all global crude exports. Petroleum products from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain are exported through the strait to countries around the world. Iran also uses the strait for its exports.
Some 67,533 ships sailed through strait last year, according to data from maritime publication Lloyd’s List sourcing research by Russell Group.
Ranjith Raja, a senior analyst at data firm Refinitiv, said this latest seized ship by Iran could be a barge or supply vessel rather than a commercial merchant tanker based on the amount of fuel it was allegedly transporting. Due to the numerous supply vessels operating in the area, it was not possible to pinpoint which ship had been seized, he said.
___
Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Latest: Dayton mayor says gunman who killed 9 wore armor
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The Latest on a deadly mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio (all times local):
7:30 a.m.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley says the gunman in a mass shooting that killed nine people in Ohio was wearing body armor and had extra magazines.
She says Dayton police officers patrolling the area fired on the shooter within a minute, killing him. She said “hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today” if police hadn’t acted quickly.
The mayor said at a press conference Sunday morning that 26 people have been injured and are at local hospitals.
Officials say it’s too early to provide details on the suspect’s identity.
Whaley commended the “girt and resiliency of this community,” saying Dayton has been through a lot this year.
The mayor said she would provide frequent updates throughout the day with the next one scheduled for 10 a.m. EDT.
___
7:15 a.m.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has issued a statement following a mass shooting in Dayton that killed nine people.
He says he’s ordered flags in Ohio to remain at half-mast in honor of those killed early Sunday morning in a popular nightlife district.
The statement says he’s offered Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley “any assistance on behalf of the state.” He commended first responders for their “bravery and quick response to save lives and bring an end to this tragedy.”
___
7:10 a.m.
Two women who were in a bar across the street from the Dayton, Ohio, shooting say they are in shock.
Nikita Papillon says she heard the shooting and ran out of Newcom’s Tavern, where she saw bodies on the ground.
The 23-year-old says people her age “don’t think something like this is going to happen.”
Tianycia Leonard says she heard “loud thumps” she initially thought were people pounding on a dumpster. The 28-year-old says she then realized “it was gunshots and there was a lot of rounds.”
Police say at least nine people were killed and 16 others were injured in the shooting in a popular nightlife area. Authorities say the suspected shooter is also deceased.
This is the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours.
___
6:30 a.m.
The mayor of Dayton, Ohio, has weighed in on a mass shooting that killed nine people and injured at least 16 others.
Mayor Nan Whaley tweeted that she was “heartbroken” around 6 a.m. Sunday, around five hours after the active shooter situation began in Dayton’s historic Oregon District.
She thanked first responders and said officials would share updates when they had more information.
Dayton police have yet to identify the suspected shooter, who was shot to death by responding officers.
According to the AP/USA Today/Northeastern University database, the Dayton shooting is the 22nd mass killing and sixth public mass shooting in the U.S. in 2019. It came just hours after 20 people were killed in an El Paso, Texas, shooting.
___
5:45 a.m.
A police spokesman in Dayton, Ohio, says the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours took place in “a safe part of downtown.”
Speaking at a press conference Sunday, Lt. Col. Matt Carper said the suspect in the deaths of nine people was shot to death by responding officers in the Oregon District.
Police believe there was only one shooter. They haven’t yet identified the suspect or a motive. Carper said the suspect fired multiple rounds from a long gun.
At least 16 other people have been hospitalized with injuries from the early morning shooting.
No details about the victims have been released. A family assistance center has been set up at the Dayton Convention Center.
Sunday’s shooting came hours after 20 were killed in El Paso, Texas.
___
4:35 a.m.
Police in Ohio say nine people have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours.
Dayton police announced that the suspect in the early Sunday morning shooting is also deceased. At least 16 others have been taken to local hospitals with injuries.
Police say the active shooter situation began at 1 a.m. in the Oregon District, but that officers nearby were able to “put an end to it quickly.” The Oregon District is a historic neighborhood known for its entertainment offerings.
Further information, including the suspected shooter’s identity, has not been released.
The FBI is assisting with the investigation.
Sunday’s shooting came hours after 20 people were killed and more than two dozen injured in an El Paso, Texas, shooting.
—
Per a police update, this story has been corrected to show the shooting began around 1 a.m., not 1:22 a.m.
___
4:15 a.m.
Police in Ohio say they’re investigating a shooting in a historic neighborhood in Dayton known for its entertainment offerings.
The tweets from Dayton police early Sunday did not include further details, but described the Oregon District shooting as “a large scene and investigation.” Miami Valley Hospital spokeswoman Terrea Little said 16 victims have been received at the hospital, but she couldn’t confirm their conditions.
Police told The Associated Press that they did not have representatives available to speak to the media.
Video from the scene near downtown Dayton showed a host of emergency vehicles on a street that had been cordoned off.
Kettering Health Network spokeswoman Elizabeth Long said multiple victims from a shooting had been brought to system hospitals, but didn’t have details on how many.

9 killed in Ohio in second US mass shooting within 24 hours
By DAN SEWELL and JOHN MINCHILLO Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Nine people in Ohio were killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said.
Dayton police tweeted that an active shooter situation began at 1 a.m. Sunday in a historic district that’s a popular nightlife destination, but officers nearby were able to “put an end to it quickly.” Lt. Col. Matt Carper said at a press conference that the suspect was shot to death by responding officers.
At least 26 others were injured, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said at a press conference. No details about the victims were released.
Miami Valley Hospital spokeswoman Terrea Little said the hospital had received 16 victims, but she couldn’t confirm their conditions. Kettering Health Network spokeswoman Elizabeth Long said multiple victims from a shooting had been brought to system hospitals, but she didn’t have details on how many.
With a population of around 140,000 Dayton is in western Ohio, around 55 miles (90 kilometers) northeast of Cincinnati, 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Columbus and 120 miles (195 kilometers) east of Indianapolis. The shooting took place in the Oregon District, a historic neighborhood that Carper described as “a safe part of downtown,” home to entertainment options, including bars, restaurants and theaters. The shooting took place outside, on the 400 block of East 5th Street.
Nikita Papillon, 23, was across the street at Newcom’s Tavern when the shooting started. She said she saw a girl she had talked to earlier lying outside Ned Peppers Bar.
“She had told me she liked my outfit and thought I was cute, and I told her I liked her outfit and I thought she was cute,” Papillon said. She herself had been to Ned Peppers the night before, describing it as the kind of place “where you don’t have to worry about someone shooting up the place.”
“People my age, we don’t think something like this is going to happen,” she said. “And when it happens, words can’t describe it.”
Police believe there was only one shooter, and have not yet identified the suspect or a motive. Carper said the suspect used a long gun and fired multiple rounds.
Tianycia Leonard, 28, was in the back, smoking, at Newcom’s. She heard “loud thumps” that she initially thought was people pounding on a dumpster.
“It was so noisy, but then you could tell it was gunshots and there was a lot of rounds,” Leonard said.
The FBI is assisting with the investigation. A family assistance center was set up at the Dayton Convention Center.
“I’m heartbroken,” Whaley tweeted around 6 a.m. Sunday, thanking first responders for their efforts.
Gov. Mike DeWine issued his own statement before 7 a.m., announcing that he’s ordered flags in Ohio remain at half-mast and offered assistance to Whaley.
“Fran and I are absolutely heartbroken over the horrible attack that occurred this morning in Dayton, the statement said. “We join those across Ohio and this country in offering our prayers to victims and their families.”
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 Northern California’s Gilroy Garlic Festival.
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 killed — not including the offender. The 20 mass killings in the U.S. in 2019 that preceded this weekend claimed 96 lives.
___
This story has been corrected to say the shooting took place around 1 a.m., not 1:22 a.m., per a Dayton police update.