20-year-old Benjamin Charles Jones identified as shooter in deadly Walmart attack in Ohio

A 20-year-old man named Benjamin Charles Jones has been identified as the shooter who entered a Walmart in Ohio on Monday night and opened fire, injuring four people before taking his own life. The incident took place in Beavercreek, about 10 miles east of Dayton. According to police, Jones was seen holding a Hi-Point .45 caliber carbine long gun, a semi-automatic rifle, as he walked through different parts of the store, shooting indiscriminately at patrons.

The victims were quickly taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. One man and three women were injured, with three in stable condition and one in critical condition. The injuries sustained by the victims appeared to be random, with gunshot wounds throughout different parts of their bodies. Police have not released any additional information about the victims or their backgrounds, as it is part of an ongoing investigation into the motive behind the attack.

This is not the first time the Walmart in Beavercreek has experienced a shooting incident. Nearly 10 years ago, police shot and killed a Black man who was holding an air rifle he had found on a store shelf. The killing sparked outrage and calls for reform.

In response to Monday night’s shooting, police responded to the scene within three minutes of receiving the first 911 call. Roughly seven minutes later, they found the shooter on the ground near the store’s front entrance with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The police secured and cleared the building within an hour.

Unfortunately, this incident adds to the growing list of shootings that have occurred in common places across the country, such as retail stores, schools, bowling alleys, and birthday parties. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 609 mass shootings in the US this year, defined as incidents in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.

Walmart has pledged to offer support to affected associates and set up an offsite resource center for counseling. The store’s reopening date has not been determined yet. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations are all involved in the ongoing investigation.

Students from a nearby university expressed shock at the incident, realizing how close they were to becoming victims themselves. They emphasized the need for increased security and safety measures to prevent future tragedies.