Classmates: Shooter kept “hit list”

DAYTON,l (AP) — High school classmates of the gunman who killed nine people Sunday in Dayton say he was suspended for compiling a hit list and a list of girls he wanted to sexually assault.

The accounts from two former classmates emerged after police said there was nothing in the background of 24-year-old Connor Betts that would have prevented him from purchasing the rifle used in the attack.

Both former classmates told The Associated Press that Betts was suspended after a hit list was found in a school bathroom. The former principal generally confirmed that account to the Dayton Daily News. The classmates spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern they might face harassment.

Another classmate, Brad Howard, said he knew Betts for 20 years and called him a nice kid.

Betts mowed down so many people so quickly that authorities say he probably wasn’t targeting anyone.

Beyond that, investigators deemed it too soon to say what touched off the 30-second rampage.

Among the questions: Why would the 24-year-old have shot his 22-year-old sister Megan, the youngest victim? And what could authorities have done to prevent the attack that ended when officers gunned him down?

Some students who went to high school with Betts in a Dayton suburb note that he got suspended for making threats. School officials haven’t discussed those details.

Others considered Betts a nice guy. One friend even described him as “the kind of kid you’d want as a son.”

President Trump on Monday condemned the weekend shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Texas, as barbaric crimes “against all humanity” and called for bipartisan cooperation to respond to an epidemic of gun violence.

Trump said he wants legislation providing “strong background checks” for gun users, but he provided scant details and has reneged on previous promises after mass shootings.

“We vow to act with urgent resolve,” Trump said Monday.