More information is being reported on Connor Betts, 24, the deceased gunman who shot and killed nine people and wounded 27 others in a mass shooting early Sunday morning.
A Twitter account appearing to belong to Betts showed he supported socialist causes and was a supporter of presidential candidate Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, according to Heavy.
The Twitter biography reads, “he/him / anime fan / metalhead / leftist / i’m going to hell and i’m not coming back.” Tweets include praising Satan and “F— John McCain” after late Arizona Sen. John McCain died.
He also reportedly criticized American gun laws, tweeting in 2018, “This is America: Guns on every corner, guns in every house, no freedom but that to kill” and tweeted to Ohio Sen. Rob Portman on the day of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, “@robportman hey rob. How much did they pay you to look the other way? 17 kids are dead. If not now, when?”
On the Fourth of July, in response to a tweet on “easy ways to help close detention camps,” the account linked to Betts replied, “Cut the fences down. Slice ICE tires. Throw bolt cutters over the fences.”
Betts reportedly did not want to vote for California Sen. Kamala Harris because “Harris is a cop,” but “Warren I’d happily vote for.”
“I want socialism, and i’ll not wait for the idiots to finally come round to understanding,” read one tweet.
Betts also exhibited a fascination with the devil, using such hashtags as “#selfie4satan,” “#HailSatan,” and “@SatanTweeting”.
The shooter was shot and killed by police within a minute of starting his attack at a popular bar and restaurant scene in Dayton, Ohio. It appears he also killed his sister and her boyfriend shortly before the attack.
Betts’ reported beliefs are different than those tied to the mass shooter who attacked a Walmart in El Paso hours before. In a manifesto that was linked to him, he wrote that he wanted to stop the “Hispanic invasion of Texas,” but also adds his bigoted beliefs “predate Trump and his campaign.”
Unlike Betts, the El Paso shooter surrendered to police and was arrested without incident.
