Police Chief Richard Biehl says it's hard to believe that the gunman in the Dayton attack didn't recognize his sister when he open fired and killed her and eight other people.
Police say 24-year-old Connor Betts open fired around 1 a.m. Sunday in a popular entertainment district. Police say he was fatally shot by officers within 30 seconds.
Biehl told reporters Monday that it is hard to believe Betts would have targeted his own sister but also difficult to imagine he wouldn't have recognized her.
Betts was white and six of the nine killed were black, but police have said the quickness of the rampage made any discrimination seem unlikely. Biehl reiterated Monday that there is no indication that race was a motive in the attack, but the investigation is continuing.
High school classmates previously said that Betts 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 Betts' background 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.
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