Dayton, Ohio (AP) - High school classmates of the gunman who killed nine people Sunday in Dayton, Ohio, say he was suspended for compiling a hit list and a list of girls he wanted to sexually assault.
The accounts from two former classmates emerged after police said there was nothing in the background of 24-year-old Connor Betts that would have prevented him from purchasing the rifle used in the attack.
Both former classmates told the Associated Press that Betts was suspended after a hit list was found in a school bathroom. The former principal generally confirmed that account to the Dayton Daily News. The classmates spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern they might face harassment.
Another classmate, Brad Howard, said he knew Betts for 20 years and called him a nice kid.
As far as motive goes, investigators say Betts mowed down so many people so quickly that he probably wasn't targeting anyone. Beyond that, investigators deemed it too soon to say what touched off the rampage.
Among the questions: why would the 24-year-old have shot his 22-year-old sister, Megan, the youngest victim? And what could authorities have done to prevent the attack that ended when officers gunned him down? In a news conference Sunday afternoon updating the police investigation, Chief Richard Biehl stressed multiple times that it's too early to start speculating on motive.
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Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Dayton, Michael Balsamo in Orlando, Florida, and Kantele Franko in Columbus contributed to this report.