At least nine people killed, 26 injured in a mass shooting in downtown Dayton, Ohio, overnight Sunday. This is the 250th mass shooting in this country in 2019.
At least 9 dead, 26 injured in mass shooting in downtown Dayton
In the second mass shooting in less than 14 hours, at least nine people are dead and more than two dozen wounded after someone opened fire in downtown Dayton, Ohio, early Sunday, according to police.
In addition, the suspected shooter was shot and killed by responding officers “in less than a minute” of opening fire, Mayor Nan Whaley said at a Sunday morning press conference. Police said they were only aware of one shooter.
Authorities responded quickly to the shooting, first reported at 1 a.m., and said police are regularly present in the crowded district popular with tourists and locals.
Whaley said the shooter was carrying a .223-caliber rifle, wore armor and had additional high-capacity magazines with him.
The shooting could have been much worse, according to Whaley, as “thousands of people” were in the Oregon District at the time “enjoying their Saturday evening.”
President Donald Trump took to Twitter to characterize the mass shooting as “an act of cowardice.”
Miami Valley Hospital spokesperson Terrea Little told ABC News they received 16 victims from the shooting in the Oregon District. She did not provide further information on their injuries.
Three victims have been admitted to the hospital, eight were treated and released and five others remain under observation, Little said.
“Most of us can’t get to our cars because there are bodies scattered all over across the street from our cars,” an eyewitness told Dayton ABC affiliate WKEF. “People that were shot, hit, innocent people — we can’t get home to our families now, and those people aren’t going home to their families either.”
The shooting took place in Dayton’s Oregon District, a collection of bars, restaurants and local businesses in the city’s downtown. The entire shooting took place outside, police said.
The suspect was using a “long gun,” according to police.
“I’m heartbroken,” Whaley tweeted Sunday morning. “Thank you to our first responders for all that you’ve done. We will share updates as we have more information.”
Whaley said she received several calls from across the country as Dayton, Ohio, has become the scene of the 250th mass shooting in the country, according to certain counts.
In addition to local police, the FBI is on scene assisting with the investigation.
The Dayton Police Department said in a tweet just after 3 a.m. they were “actively investigating an active shooter incident in the #OregonDistrict. Please avoid the area.”
“This is a large scene and investigation. Thank you for your patience,” Dayton police added in a subsequent tweet.
Two bars in the Oregon District — Hole in the Wall and Ned Peppers — wrote on Instagram that their staff was safe.
Kettering Health Network, which operates eight hospitals in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas, said it was treating patients, but offered no specifics.
The shooting comes just 14 hours after and 1,600 miles away from where a gunman killed 20 people and injured more than two dozen more at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The shooting was the eighth-deadliest in modern U.S. history. Five of the top-10 deadliest shooting in U.S. history have come since 2016.
The pope, delivering his Sunday mass, referenced the three shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton, asking worshipers “to join my prayer for the people who lost their lives, the injured and their family members.”
“I am spiritually close to the victims of the episodes of violence that have bloodied Texas, California and Ohio, in the United States, striking defenseless people,” Pope Francis said.
ABC News’ Christina Carrega contributed to this report.
— Read on abcnews.go.com/US/active-shooter-incident-investigated-dayton-ohio-police/story
DAYTON, Ohio — Nine people in Ohio have been 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 in the Oregon District at 1 a.m., 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 16 others were taken to local hospitals with injuries, police said. No details about the victims were released.
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.
Miami Valley Hospital spokeswoman Terrea Little said 16 victims have been received at the hospital, 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 didn’t have details on how many.
With a population of around 140,000 Dayton is in western Ohio, around 55 miles northeast of Cincinnati, 75 miles west of Columbus and 120 miles east of Indianapolis. The Oregon District is 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 on the 400 block of East 5th Street.
“This is extremely unusual, obviously, for any community, let alone Dayton,” Carper said. “In our Oregon District, this is unheard of.”
The FBI is assisting with the investigation. A family assistance center was set up at the Dayton Convention Center.
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.
The El Paso shooting was the 21st mass killing in the United States in 2019, according to the AP/USATODAY/Northeastern University mass murder database that tracks all U.S. homicides since 2006 involving four or more people killed — not including the offender — over a short period of time regardless of weapon, location, victim-offender relationship or motive. That makes Sunday’s shooting in Dayton the 22nd mass killed in the U.S. this year.
The first 20 mass killings in the U.S. in 2019 claimed 96 lives.
