Dayton Walmart Shooter Identified After Taking His Own Life and Inuring Four

(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On Nov. 20, Benjamin Charles Jones, 20, shot and injured four people in a Beavercreek, Ohio, Walmart before taking his own life.Three women and one man were among those injured in the shooting, which occurred at about 8:35 p.m. Nov. 20, according to acting Beavercreek Police Department Chief Capt. Chad Lindsey.

Jones was caught on surveillance footage exiting a black pick-up truck in the parking lot. He left the door on the driver’s side of the pick-up open and left the engine running. Jones then entered the store carrying a rifle and a backpack, according to court documents. Lindsey stated that witnesses reported Jones indiscriminately shot at patrons while he walked through the store.

Police entered the store and found Jones dead in the visitor’s center of the store with an apparent “self-inflicted gunshot wound.” According to Lindsey, responding police officers did not fire any shots.

Jones used a Hi-Point .45 caliber carbine along with one 9-round magazine in the attack. He purchased the gun at a Dayton area store Saturday, Nov. 18.

Over the past three years, Jones has been both voluntarily and involuntarily hospitalized three times for 72-hour mental health evaluations, according to a report by the New York Post. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone involuntarily held in a mental institution to purchase a firearm. Authorities are investigating whether Jones lied on the form used to determine if someone is eligible to buy a gun.

A Nov. 22 news release from the FBI states that based on evidence collected so far, the attack might have been “partially inspired by racially motivated violent extremist ideology.” According to reports, two Nazi flags were found at Jones’ home, as well as “the SS history book.” Two of the victims wounded in the shooting were black, and two of the victims were white.

This is the second deadly shooting at the store. Almost 10 years ago, a black man holding an air rifle that he had found on a shelf at the store, not in its packaging, was shot and killed by police.