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Friend Bought Body Armor and Ammunition for Dayton Gunman, Authorities Say Friend Bought Body Armor and Ammunition for Dayton Gunman, Authorities Say
(about 2 hours later)
A friend of the man who shot nine people dead in the Dayton, Ohio, massacre told investigators that he bought the body armor and ammunition the gunman used in the attack, the authorities said Monday.A friend of the man who shot nine people dead in the Dayton, Ohio, massacre told investigators that he bought the body armor and ammunition the gunman used in the attack, the authorities said Monday.
Ethan Kollie, 24, bought the items for the gunman, Connor Betts, and then kept them in his apartment to help Mr. Betts hide them from his parents, said Benjamin C. Glassman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. The friend, Ethan Kollie, bought the items for the gunman, Connor Betts, and then kept them in his apartment to help Mr. Betts hide them from his parents, Benjamin C. Glassman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said in a news conference.
There was no evidence that Mr. Kollie intentionally helped in the planning of the attack, Mr. Glassman added. Mr. Betts was killed in the shooting. There was no evidence that Mr. Kollie, 24, intentionally helped in the planning of the Aug. 4 attack, Mr. Glassman added. Mr. Betts was killed in the shooting, 30 seconds after firing his first shot and while wearing the body armor. Officials have said hundreds more people could have died if he had got inside a bar he was trying to enter in the city’s popular Oregon entertainment district.
[The Dayton gunman shared a common trait with other mass shooters: misogyny.]
Separately, Mr. Kollie was accused of lying on federal firearms forms for an unrelated gun purchase and was charged late Friday with a weapons violation, the authorities said.Separately, Mr. Kollie was accused of lying on federal firearms forms for an unrelated gun purchase and was charged late Friday with a weapons violation, the authorities said.
Mr. Kollie acknowledged that he lied about whether he was a drug user so he could receive the gun he was buying, Mr. Glassman said.Mr. Kollie acknowledged that he lied about whether he was a drug user so he could receive the gun he was buying, Mr. Glassman said.
On the form, Mr. Glassman said, Mr. Kollie indicated that he was not a drug user, though he admitted using marijuana to federal law enforcement authorities in interviews following the shooting on Aug. 4. On the form, Mr. Glassman said, Mr. Kollie indicated that he was not a drug user, though he admitted using marijuana to federal law enforcement authorities in interviews after the attack in Dayton.
On the day of the shooting, officials from the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spoke with Mr. Kollie at his home. He admitted to buying body armor and a gun accessory. On the day of the shooting, officials from the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spoke with Mr. Kollie at his home. He admitted to buying several items used by the gunman, including the body armor, an upper receiver that was attached to the AR-15-style weapon, and a 100-round double drum magazine.
Officers interviewed him again on Aug. 8, and they said Mr. Kollie told them he had done hard drugs with Mr. Betts four or five times a week in 2014 and 2015. The upper receiver contains the firing bolt, barrel and gas tube and is often called the “guts” of the weapon. Upper receivers and similar accessories can be bought online without background checks.
A drum magazine often holds between 60 and 100 rounds. Its size, weight and propensity to jam make it an unpopular choice by those in law enforcement and the military.
Mr. Betts, 24, could have legally bought the weaponry himself, and the authorities believe he was shielding his purchases from his parents.
The officials said that the two men, who had been friends for several years, assembled the weapon in Mr. Kollie’s apartment about 10 weeks ago, and that Mr. Kollie obtained the drum magazine six to eight weeks ago.
Officers interviewed Mr. Kollie again on Aug. 8, and they said he told them he had done hard drugs with Mr. Betts four or five times a week in 2014 and 2015.
After officials got a federal search warrant, he again admitted to being a regular user of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms and to growing them in his residence.After officials got a federal search warrant, he again admitted to being a regular user of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms and to growing them in his residence.