Coroner: Dayton gunman had cocaine, alcohol and antidepressants in his system
Police in Dayton, Ohio killed the suspect within 30 seconds after he started firing, but not before he murdered 9 people.
The gunman who carried out a deadly mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, this month had cocaine and other drugs in his system at the time, a according to a coroner's report.
In a news conference on Thursday the Montgomery County coroner, Dr. Kent Harshbarger, said cocaine, antidepressants and alcohol were found in Connor Betts’ system when he opened fire with an AR-15 style gun in the city’s historic Oregon District on Aug. 4, killing nine people before police shot and killed him. That shooting came just hours after another deadly gun rampage, this time in El Paso, Texas.
Harshbarger added that investigators also found a pipe device and a clear bag containing cocaine on the 24-year-old Betts.
DAYTON GUNMAN SHOT 26 PEOPLE IN 32 SECONDS BEFORE POLICE KILLED HIM, OFFICIALS SAY
The coroner also told reporters that two people shot by Betts also were shot by police, but none fatally. He said all the deadly gunshot wounds to the nine victims came from Betts' weapon.
Harshbarger said police shot Betts about 24 times in all, mostly striking his upper torso and lower extremities.
Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said the officers’ goal at the time was to "immediately stop the killing."
On Tuesday, Biehl said Betts shot 26 people in the span of 32 seconds before responding officers fatally shot him.
Surveillance footage released this week, which was pieced together from several local businesses, showed Betts spending nearly two hours in the area before his spree began.
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Betts was first caught on camera in the area at 11:04 p.m. when he parked his car and walked to a bar, Blind Bob's, with his sister Megan and another companion.
Police said the footage "strongly suggests that his [the siblings'] companion," who was wounded in the rampage, "had no idea what he [Betts] was gonna do nor did he have any knowledge of the weapons that were in the trunk of that vehicle."
All three remained at the bar until 12:13 a.m. Betts left the bar alone and went across the street to another bar, Ned Peppers, staying there until 12:42 a.m.
Police said he then went back to his car, changed into a hoodie and took items out of the trunk of the vehicle, including a "very heavy backpack."
Investigators said Betts then made his way from the parking lot toward the strip of bars again, through an alley, while he loaded his gun. He emerged and opened fire near Blind Bob's at 1:04 a.m.
Police confirmed that the shooter's sister, Megan Betts, was one of the first three fatalities, but Biehl conceded that law enforcement officials had "radically different views" about whether the shooter intentionally killed his sister first.
Although investigators could not confirm the shooter's motive, Biehl said Betts had a "history of obsession with violence and violence ideations, the discussion of interests in mass shootings and the expression of desire to carry out a mass shooting."
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Investigators have said there was nothing in Betts' background to prevent him from buying the gun, which was purchased online from a dealer in Texas and shipped to another firearms dealer in the Dayton area.
Fox News’ Vandana Rambaran and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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