A local newspaper has published a report detailing the troubled past of Connor Betts, the 24-year-old gunman behind a deadly mass shooting in Dayton early Sunday morning.

The Dayton Daily News interviewed Betts’ friends and acquaintances, revealing that Betts began displaying concerning behavior in middle school.

A former classmate who went to middle school with Betts, Eva Lewis, told the newspaper that he would whisper threatening things to her, and when they were in the eighth grade he approached her with his cell phone out, making threatening gestures towards her throat and/or stomach. She said that she spoke to a guidance counselor about her concerns, but she was not sure if anything was done.

Later, in high school, Lewis learned that her name was on a “hit list” that Betts had created of students he apparently intended to target. He also reportedly made a “rape list.” The Dayton Daily news reports that Betts was charged as a juvenile and took a plea deal in connection to the lists. The newspaper has not been able to obtain the court records, but Betts’ mother reportedly confirmed the plea deal.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, a former friend claimed that Betts pointed a gun to his head a few months before the shooting. According to the new report in the Dayton Daily News, another acquaintance said he was at a park with Betts before their freshman year of high school and Betts had been staring at a female friend, making her uncomfortable. The male who spoke to the newspaper said he asked Betts to leave, and said Betts then took a knife out of his pocket and held it inches away from his neck.

Betts was also reportedly arrested for a suspected DUI in 2016, but pleaded to a lesser charge.

Multiple sources told the newspaper that Betts used various illegal drugs and spoke of having mental health issues. A former girlfriend told the Dayton Daily News that Betts sought mental health treatment, but she did not know for how long or if it was consistent.

Betts killed nine people, including his 22-year-old sister Megan Betts, and injured 14 more before police fatally shot him, less than a minute after he opened fire.

Authorities have not yet publicly commented on a motive.

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