Dayton shooter had cocaine in his system, coroner says

The man who opened fire on a crowded bar district in Dayton, Ohio, had drugs in his system, the county coroner said.

Cocaine, Xanax and alcohol were found in Connor Betts’ blood during the autopsy, Montgomery County Coroner Kent Harshbarger said at a press conference Thursday.

Armed with a .223-caliber high-capacity rifle, Betts opened fire on August 4 in the popular Oregon district, killing nine people, including his sister, and wounding 17 others. He was killed by patrol officers 30 seconds after he opened fire.

The shooter, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was probably shot at least 24 times as police tried to stop him, Harshbarger said. Betts had 52 gunshot wounds, but some of them could be exit wounds, the coroner said.

Two of the those killed were also hit by police gunfire, but Harshbarger said he believes one of them, a female, had already been fatally shot by Betts. The other had a superficial wound from a police officer’s bullet, the coroner said.