Former classmates say the Dayton gunman had a 'hit list' in high school
(CNN)As a high school student, the gunman in the Dayton massacre had a "hit list" of classmates he wanted to "kill" or "rape," said former students who said they were told by school officials they were on the list.
Spencer Brickler said a counselor at Bellbrook High School in Ohio told him he and his sister were on Connor Betts' hit list.
Brickler recalled sitting on a school bus about nine years ago when he saw Betts getting escorted away by officers investigating the threats.
"He was kind of dark and depressive in high school," said Brickler, who was a freshman when the school counselor told him about the hit list. He said he had no idea what prompted Betts, then a sophomore, to put him or his sister on the list.
The information has taken on new significance now that police say Betts has been identified as the gunman who killed nine people early Sunday morning in a popular nightlife district in downtown Dayton. Police officers on patrol nearby responded and killed Betts.
Connor Betts is shown with his sister Megan. Police said Betts killed Megan and eight others Sunday.
While his motive remains a mystery, a dark picture is emerging of the shooter.
Authorities searched the Betts' family home in Bellbrook, a suburb southeast of Dayton, and uncovered writings that expressed an interest in killing people, two law enforcement sources told CNN.
But the writings did not indicate any racial or political motive, sources said.
Dayton police released photos of the AR-15-style rifle and 100-round drum magazines Connor Betts used in the attack.
Former classmate said he called police
A former high school classmate of the shooter said he and another classmate called police years ago to warn them that Betts had a "kill list."
David Partridge said a friend had showed him text messages she received from Betts referencing his "kill list," and that one of Partridge's relatives was on it. Partridge told his friend he was going to call police and said he convinced her to do the same.
"I said, 'Hey, I don't want to drag you into this, but we have to go to the police. This guy could go to the school, he could kill people, he could hurt my family, he could hurt you,'" Partridge recalled telling his friend.
In an interview with CNN, Partridge said he believed the incident occurred about 10 years ago, when he was a sophomore at Bellbrook High School. He said police took his friend's cell phone as part of their investigation.
After calling police, Partridge said he confronted Betts over the phone.
"(I) said, 'Hey ... I hear there is this hit list, and you've got my family on there. What is this about? Why have you written these things?' He was really avoidant about me confronting him about this, denying it, and not angry, but just shocked that someone had gone up to him and said, 'What is this, Connor?'" Partridge recalled.
Partridge said he witnessed Betts being detained by police at school the following day.
CNN has repeatedly requested records pertaining to Betts from the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek school district.
Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools Superintendent Douglas A. Cozad confirmed that Betts was a student who graduated in 2013. In a statement, the superintendent said they need to get approval from their legal counsel or a court before releasing records. Although Betts is deceased, Ohio law offers broader protections for students' records and "we have no official documentation of the student's death at this time," the statement said.
CNN requested records from the Sugarcreek Police Department, and they responded with a file on Betts that showed "sealed records" had been expunged.
A 'kill list' for boys and a 'rape list' for girls
Another former high school classmate, who asked not to be identified out of concerns for his privacy, also recalled being summoned to a school administrator's office and being told he was "number one" on the list of students Betts wanted to kill.
He said the list was separated into two columns: a "kill list" for boys and a "rape list" for girls.
Another source, who also asked not to be named for privacy reasons, told CNN that Betts sent messages about the list to one of his classmates, who told her mother. Her mother then notified the police, who came to the school and interviewed people on the list individually in the school's office.
"Personally, it freaked me out," said the classmate who was told she was on the list. "I started having panic attacks in the school building."
A fourth person, who also asked not to be named for privacy reasons, said, "All I know is there was a list of violent actions and a list of names including mine."
She said some of the names were female students who, like her, turned him down for dates. She said Betts often simulated shooting other students and threatened to kill himself and others on several occasions.
"He loved to look at you and pretend to shoot with guns, guns with his hands," she said.
Another former classmate, who was not on the list, said he met Betts through a "friend of a friend." He said whenever they hung out, Betts would talk about violence and use harsh language about women, like calling them "sluts."
Betts' former classmates told CNN that they recalled Betts being removed from the school for at least a year, but that he later returned to Bellbrook High.
The shooter later attended Sinclair Community College in Dayton but was not enrolled in the summer term, the school's president Steve Johnson said.
Not everyone remembered Betts as a troubled teen.
Betts' friend Brad Howard described the gunman as "a really nice kid" who was quiet and kept to himself.
Howard said he grew up with Betts and knew him for over 20 years.
He said news of Betts' final act was "a kick in the teeth" to the community.
CNN's Holly Yan, Blake Ellis, Melanie Hicken, and Gisela Crespo contributed to this report.
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