The Ohio Walmart shooter purchased the gun used in his attack two days before he opened fire and wounded four in what investigators believe may have been a racially motivated incident.
Benjamin Jones, 20, purchased the .45 caliber Hi-Point carbine with a 9-round magazine on Saturday, November 18, and the following Monday he walked into a Beavercreek Walmart and began shooting.
He purchased the gun in the Dayton area, according to the Beavercreek Police Department.
The Department and the FBI’s Cincinnati Office also revealed that the four victims were two African-American women and a white woman and man.
Jones’ diaries were recovered by police after the attack and he “may have been, at least partially, inspired by the ideology of Racially Motivated Violent Extremism (RMVE),” according to police.
“The FBI will continue to investigate the factors that motivated this attack,” police said in a statement.
Benjamin Charles Jones, 20, bought a rifle on Nov. 18, two days before he used it to wound four people at a Beavercreek Walmart. He purchased the gun in the Dayton area. Beavercreek Police Department
Authorities are investigating whether or not the mass shooter, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at Walmart, lied on the form used to determine whether a buyer is eligible to receive a gun.
A source previously told The Post that Jones has been admitted to a hospital for mental health issues three times in the past two years, which should have made him ineligible to own a firearm.
“I had been to the hospital three times in the last two years for 72-hour mental evaluations. His mother had him hospitalized [the hospital] once, then he got into it himself,” the source said. “We thought that would be a red flag to the authorities, no one thought he would be able to get a gun, but he had talked about getting one.”
Authorities are investigating whether or not the mass shooter, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, lied on his ATF Form 4473, the form used to determine whether a buyer is eligible for a gun. Getty Images The Department and the FBI’s Cincinnati office also revealed that the four victims were two African-American women and a white woman and man. SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Under federal law, anyone involuntarily committed to a mental institution is prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
Additionally, Jones was interested in right-wing conspiracy theories and believed that the Holocaust and 9/11 did not happen, and he was not socialized after attending an online Christian school, according to the source.
“I wasn’t socialized, I spent all my time at home. I don’t think he was able to deal with conflicts, girlfriends, breakups and everything else.”
Jones’ diary revealed that the attack “may have been inspired, at least partially, by the ideology of Racially Motivated Violent Extremism (RMVE),” according to police. Obtained by NY Post Additionally, Jones was interested in right-wing conspiracy theories and believed that the Holocaust and 9/11 did not happen, and he was not socialized after attending an online Christian school, the source said. Obtained by NY Post
Jones entered the Beavercreek Walmart around 8:30 p.m. and injured four people, one of whom remains in critical condition.
He then shot himself behind the visitor center and was already dead when first responders found him.
Other aspects of the attack are still under investigation.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn