FBI reviewing Ohio shooter’s interest in violent ideology

Mourners pause at a makeshift memorial for the slain and injured outside Ned Peppers bar in the Oregon District after a mass shooting that occurred early Sunday morning, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in Dayton. Facing pressure to take action after the latest mass shooting in the U.S., Ohio's Republican governor urged the GOP-led state Legislature Tuesday to pass laws requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales and allowing courts to restrict firearms access for people perceived as threats. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Mourners pause at a makeshift memorial for the slain and injured outside Ned Peppers bar in the Oregon District after a mass shooting that occurred early Sunday morning, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in Dayton. Facing pressure to take action after the latest mass shooting in the U.S., Ohio's Republican governor urged the GOP-led state Legislature Tuesday to pass laws requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales and allowing courts to restrict firearms access for people perceived as threats. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

By Associated Press August 6, 2019 6 min read

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Dayton, Ohio shooting

Mourners gather for a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. A masked gunman in body armor opened fire early Sunday in the popular entertainment district in Dayton, killing several people, including his sister, and wounding dozens before he was quickly slain by police, officials said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Shoes are piled outside the scene of a mass shooting including Ned Peppers bar, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Several people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Authorities retrieve evidence markers at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Multiple people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Mourners gather at a vigil following a nearby mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Multiple people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Dayton police patrolling the area responded in less than a minute to the shooting, which unfolded around 1 a.m. Sunday on the streets of the Oregon District.;

Mourners gather for a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Multiple people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

This undated photo provided by the Dayton Police Department shows Connor Betts. The 24-year-old masked gunman in body armor opened fire early Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in a popular entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio, killing several people, including his sister, and wounding dozens before he was quickly slain by police, officials said. (Dayton Police Department via AP)

Mourners bow their heads in prayer as they gather for a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Multiple people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley speaks during a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Multiple people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, left, speaks alongside Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, right, during a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Multiple people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Mourners visit a makeshift memorial outside Ned Peppers bar following a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. A masked gunman in body armor opened fire early Sunday in the popular entertainment district in Dayton, killing several people, including his sister, and wounding dozens before he was quickly slain by police, officials said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

A makeshift memorial is setup outside Ned Peppers bar following a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. A masked gunman in body armor opened fire early Sunday in the popular entertainment district in Dayton, killing several people, including his sister, and wounding dozens before he was quickly slain by police, officials said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

A candlelight vigil was held at Ohio Statehouse Sunday evening in Columbus following mass shootings in El Paso, Tx., and Dayton, Oh., on August 4, 2019. [Barbara J. Perenic/Dispatch]

Family members of slain mass shooting victim Thomas “TJ” McNichols, from left, Donna Johnson, aunt, and sisters Jamila and Finesse McNichols, mourn beside a memorial near the scene of the crime, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Jamila McNichols, sister of slain mass shooting victim Thomas “TJ” McNichols, mourns beside a memorial near the scene of the crime, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Pedestrian and vehicular traffic passes through the Oregon District that was the scene of a mass shooting the previous day Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

A mourner prays his rosary beads beside a memorial outside Ned Peppers bar that was the scene of a mass shooting the previous day, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Bodies are removed from at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Several people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – The gunman who killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, had expressed a desire to commit a mass shooting and showed an interest in violent ideology, investigators said Tuesday as the FBI announced it is opening an investigation.

Federal investigators will try to determine what ideologies influenced 24-year-old Connor Betts, who might have helped him or knew in advance of his plan, and why he chose the specific target of Dayton’s Oregon entertainment district for the shooting early Sunday, said Special Agent Todd Wickerham, the head of the FBI’s Cincinnati field office.

Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said Betts had “violent ideations that include mass shootings and had expressed a desire to commit a mass shooting.”

Wickerham didn’t say whether the FBI is looking at if the case could be treated as domestic terrorism, as the agency has done in the El Paso, Texas, mass shooting earlier in the weekend. He said Betts hadn’t been on the FBI’s radar. He declined to discuss what specific ideologies might be linked to Betts’ actions but said there was no evidence so far that they were racially motivated.

Meanwhile, public conversation around the shooting shifted Tuesday toward how to address people with mental health issues who might pose a threat of violence, as a woman who briefly dated the gunman recounted their bonding over struggles with mental illness and the governor called for more mental health support along with gun safety measures.