Image by Getty Images

By Aiden Pink August 6, 2019

The man who allegedly killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday showed a woman footage of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on their first date, the woman told the Associated Press.

Adelia Johnson said she met suspect Connor Betts in a college psychology class this year and that they dated for a few months until May. Johnson told the AP that Betts often joked about having dark thoughts, but that didn’t scare because she thought it was a symptom of the bipolar disorder he claimed to have.

Betts’s social media history showed support for leftist causes like the antifa movement and opposition to President Trump. But he also “liked” posts about the mass shooting that had occurred in El Paso earlier that day, including one calling him a “white supremacist.” The El Paso shooter is believed to share similar white nationalist and anti-immigration sentiments to the Pittsburgh gunman.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Dayton shooting occurred at a bar in Dayton’s Oregon district. Betts allegedly killed nine people, including his sister, before shooting himself.

Eleven people were killed in the Pittsburgh massacre last year. The suspect in that case is facing the death penalty.

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount