Preliminary information has been released about the victims of the mass shooting that occurred in Dayton, OH. Dayton police report that that the brother of the shooter, 22-year-old Jordan Cofer, was among the nine victims, according to the Associated Press. Authorities did not provide any information as to whether his killing was intentional on the part of the shooter, who has now been identified as 24-year-old Connor Betts, a white man from Bellbrook, OH.
Cofer was initally reported dead under a different name and gender by authorities, but a report by Splinter News revealed that Cofer preferred a different name and he/him pronouns to friends and a trusted circle. Cofer was reportedly the first victim in the shooting. There is no indication that his identity as a transgender man was a factor in his death at this time.
Cofer was a student at nearby Wright State University and was studying environmental science. He had planned to graduate in 2020, according to his Facebook page.
Lois L. Oglesby, 27, a Black woman who was killed in the shooting, is survived by her two children, one of whom is a newborn, reports Dayton Daily News. According to close friend Derasha Merrett, Oglesby was in nursing school and looked forward toward a new career while also remaining dedicated to her children.
"She was a wonderful mother, a wonderful person," Merrett said. "I have cried so much, I can’t cry anymore.”
Jevin Lamar, a cousin to victim Thomas J. McNichols, 25, described him to The New York Times as a “a great father, a great brother — he was a protector.”
The other people who were killed in the attack were identified as: Saeed Saleh, 38, a Black male; Derrick R. Fudge, 57, a Black male; Logan Turner, 30, a white male; Nicholas P. Cumer, 25, a white male; Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36, a Black female; Monica E. Brickhouse, 39, a Black female. Many of the victims were killed outside of Ned Peppers, a bar located in the Oregon District of downtown Dayton.
Though the majority of the victims were Black, Police Lt. Col Matt Carper said it was unlikelythat the gunman shot the victims based on race.
“It’s hard to imagine that there was much discrimination in the shooting,” said Carper. “It happened in a very short period of time.”