Former classmates say the suspected Dayton, Ohio, mass shooting gunman kept a “hit list” during high school of fellow students he wanted to kill or injure.
Several of them have spoken to news outlets, including The Associated Press, about 24-year-old Connor Betts’s hit list following the shooting that claimed the lives of 9 people.
{mosads}The former classmates are reportedly frustrated that police said there were no red flags in Betts’s background that would have prevented him from buying the .223-caliber rifle that was used in the shooting outside a crowded bar in a historic neighborhood of Dayton.
“There was a kill list and a rape list, and my name was on the rape list,” a female former classmate, who asked not to be named, told the AP.
Two other former classmates told the news service that Betts was suspended from Bellbrook High School during his junior year following the discovery of a hit list that was found written on the wall of a school bathroom.
They added that Betts was suspended the year before for coming to school with a list of female students he wanted to sexually assault.
“The officer said he wouldn’t be at school for a while,” a former classmate 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.”
Roughly one-third of the high school’s student population reportedly skipped school following the discovery of Betts’s hit list.
The Hill has reached out to the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek School District for comment.
Betts was killed by police who responded to the scene within a minute of him opening fire, authorities said. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley (D) said the gunman could have killed “hundreds more” if not for the swift response from police.