The shooter identified in Sunday’s Dayton, Ohio, attack appears to have had a now-suspended Twitter account filled with far-left rhetoric and comments about guns.
Connor Betts, 24, opened fire in downtown Dayton early Sunday morning. He killed nine people, including his sister, and injured 27 others. This attack came 14 hours after 21-year-old Patrick Crusius allegedly murdered 22 people and injured over two dozen others in an El Paso, Texas, shopping area Saturday.
The Twitter account, called “@iamthespookster,” included retweets about attacks against fascists, comments about guns and support for Satan, Heavy first reported.
Photographs from the Twitter account look similar to those circulating identifying Betts. One picture tweeted out is of a new tattoo, which can be partially seen from a photo used in articles about the shooting. He had references about Dayton and apparent family members had commented on some of his tweets.
The photo on the left, taken from Betts’s mother’s Facebook page, looks similar to the one on the right, taken from the Twitter account. (Facebook Screenshot Moria Cofer Betts/Twitter Screenshot @iamthespookster)
An image tweeted out by the now-deleted account appears to match part of a tattoo showing in a photo circulated by media. (Screenshot Twitter, @iamthespookster)
Betts appears to have tweeted out about Dayton, Ohio, which is where the shooting occurred. (Screenshot Twitter/@iamthespookster)
Betts appears to identify himself as “he/him / anime fan / metalhead / leftist / i’m going to hell and i’m not coming back,” according to the Twitter account. He tweeted about gun control and commented on past mass shootings.
In one from Aug. 2, the account user retweeted a comment about video games. The tweet commented on rounding up hostages and shooting “them all in the head, one after the other.”
Betts appears to have tweeted in 2017 talking about video games again and wrote that a particular game was “underrated.”
“No filler, no bullshit, just ‘Find problem, Kill problem, repeat until no more problem,'” the tweet read.
The account also had pro-Antifa rhetoric and spoke out against fascism. In one, @iamthespookster retweeted a photo identifying alleged KKK members attending a rally in Dayton in May. “Know your enemies,” @iamthespookster wrote in the tweet.
“This is America: Guns on every corner, guns in every house, no freedom but that to kill,” another tweet from 2017 read. (RELATED: Liberals Blame Trump, Fox News Following Weekend Shootings)
In another, @iamthespookster retweeted a photo about “Cold Boy Winter,” which showed people attacking what appears to be KKK members.
The Twitter account retweeted photos and comments about anti-fascism. (Screenshot Twitter/@iamthespookster)
The account also showed support for 2020 Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts senator, as well as tweets supporting Satan.
“Hail Satan,” one tweet read. Another noted that “Warren has a decent shot.”
“I want socialism, and i’ll not wait for the idiots to finally come round to understanding,” Betts wrote according to Heavy.
Betts was killed within a minute of opening fire Sunday morning as he attempted to enter a bar, according to video footage. The now-suspended Twitter account shows a contrast from the alleged shooter Saturday, who is believed to have had an anti-immigrant agenda. That shooter gave himself up to police and is currently in custody.
“We’re proactively removing content that violates our policies and will be engaged with law enforcement, as appropriate,” a Twitter spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The FBI and the Dayton Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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