DAYTON — Six months after nine people were killed and dozens injured in a mass shooting in the Oregon District and the legal battle for the gunman’s juvenile records continues.
The shooter, Connor Betts, was shot and killed by police.
>> RELATED: Former classmates reveal new details in Oregon District shooter’s violent past
In the days following the shooting, multiple former classmates and their parents told Channel 7 that his behavior in high school raised red flags.
News Center 7’s John Bedell followed up on WHIO’s legal fight to better understand what Betts was accused of doing in high school and if that information could have prevented the shooting.
An Ohio appeals court rejected an argument from WHIO and other media outlets to obtain Betts’ student records from Bellbrook-Sugarcreek School District , which could be the only records tied to him.
News Center 7 believes those records will show how past incidents, including how hit and rape lists he reportedly made in high school were handled and if any lessons can be learned from that information.
>> RELATED: Dayton Shooting: Oregon District gunman left decade of red flags
The district argued that the records are not public, citing student privacy laws.
Our lawyers at WHIO argued any privacy rights Betts had died with him.
The state appeals court ruled in favor of the district in October, so News Center 7 and the other plaintiffs decided to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Now, the case sits in front of the state’s high court, which will decide whether to set the case for oral arguments or rule on the case now.
Former classmates of Betts and their parents told News Center 7 they believe that if Betts’ alarming behavior in high school was properly addressed that the mass shooting might have been prevented.
The only problem is the paper trail documenting Betts’ juvenile criminal history was wiped clean.
His juvenile record was expunged; the documents destroyed.
>> RELATED: In wake of Dayton shooting, lawmakers want to keep juvenile records longer
By the time of the Oregon District mass shooting police and the courts had no record of any potential red flags from Betts’ past.
The Ohio Supreme Court isn’t expected to make a final decision for several week, but we will let you know when that happens.
