Connor Betts, the Dayton shooter, raised many red flags before the mass shooting in Ohio with his behavior. Unfortunately, not much was done about them.
After the horrific shooting incident, which took the lives of several people; many reports have started to come out, implying that the shooter might have battled mental illnesses.
Moreover, some people have even gone as far as to say that they suspected he might be up to something, but they were not sure what.
Most recently, another ex-girlfriend of the shooter, 24-year-oldCaitlyn “Adelia” Johnson, has decided to come forward with her own statements, explaining that she dated the man for a couple of months earlier this year, and broke up with him not long before he went on his shooting spree.
Betts was reportedly very interested in mass shooting incidents and had expressed these interests in conversations with his partner multiple times, he even showed her a video of one during a date at a bar.
This, according to her, was one red flag which made her believe that something was wrong with him.
He admitted that he was actively studying tragedies of this type, although it was not apparent what his motivations were until he committed his mass shooting himself.
The man seemed to believe that there was nothing wrong with his attitude towards mass shootings, as he was taking curiosity in something he described as “totally normal.”
The shooter had also admitted to his girlfriend that he was suffering from bipolar disorder, along with various other mental disturbances.
It is not clear if those were self-diagnosed or if he was looking for professional help, however. There is still much speculation surrounding the incident, and many unknown factors are still up in the air.
Johnson said this about their breakup: “In the gentlest way that I could, I told him that I didn’t think he was ready for a relationship in the mental state that he was in. I didn’t have the emotional capacity to be his therapist, and that wasn’t my job. I just wanted to be his girlfriend, and it was clear that he was not in a position that that was possible. I hope you find peace and never have to stress about anything again.”
When she found out about the mass, here is how she reacted: “That man who was so sweet to me and told me he loved me was a mass murderer. I kissed a mass murderer. I have no idea what his motivation was. I will never know. But there are a few things that I’m certain that it wasn’t. This wasn’t a hate crime. He fought for equality. This wasn’t a crime of passion. He didn’t get passionate enough. This wasn’t very premeditated. He wasn’t a thorough planner.”
Another red flag for the young woman was when the shooter tried to send a threatening letter to one of his ex-girlfriends.
Despite all of this, Johnson puts most of the blame for this tragedy on a “failed system” that is not equipped to help people like Betts.
