The suspect in the Ohio Walmart shooting, identified as Benjamin Charles Jones, is believed to have been partially motivated by racial extremism in conducting the attack that injured four people.
On Wednesday, investigators said that they are still going through the evidence, which includes the journals that belonged to the suspect. The gunman reportedly entered the Walmart at around 8:36 p.m. and subsequently shot four people who were shopping inside the store.
Ohio Walmart Shooting Suspect
![[UPDATE] Ohio Walmart Shooting: Suspect Allegedly Partially Motivated by Racial Extremism](https://d.hngn.com/en/full/283955/update-ohio-walmart-shooting-suspect-allegedly-partially-motivated-racial-extremism.jpg?w=830&f=5f636477760bab3904de16163203f8bf)
Officials identified the victims as two Black women, a white woman, and a white man. Authorities also said that all of them were quickly transported to local hospitals to be treated for their injuries. Three of them were in critical condition and a fourth had non-life-threatening wounds.
When other police officers arrived at the scene of the crime at around 8:42 p.m., they discovered the gunman lifeless from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that the 20-year-old shooter legally bought the .45 caliber handgun on Nov. 18 from a Dayton area store, as per ABC News.
In a statement, the agency said that investigators were still looking through the background of the shooter to determine whether or not any answers on his ATF form 4473 were inaccurate. The FBI is also asking any person who has information about the shooter to contact the agency.
Jones allegedly spouted white supremacist conspiracy theories and was previously admitted to a hospital for mental health evaluations three times in the last two years. The 20-year-old never attended public school and was found to have hung a Nazi flag on the wall behind his bed.
A source said that there were many warning signs and red flags around the suspect. The statements come a day after the shooting as the first photographs of the shooter emerged. The images featured Jones sporting long shaggy brown locks and scruffy facial hair.
They claimed that Jones talked about right-wing conspiracy theories, including claims that the Holocaust did not happen as well as the 9/11 tragedy. The source added that the shooter was "not socialized" and only attended an online Christian school, according to the New York Post.
Racial Extremism
It was said that the gunman lived with his mother and the source never thought that Jones would be able to buy a gun for himself despite always talking about getting one. It remains unclear how the suspect got ahold of the firearm as under federal law, any individual who is involuntarily committed to a mental institution is prohibited from buying one.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and other local agencies are cooperating with the Beavercreek police in the investigation into the incident.
There was another shooting at a separate Walmart establishment in Ohio on Thursday that left a child injured. Authorities said that the two-year-old boy was recovering after being the victim of an accidental shooting.
The young boy's mother said that her toddler removed a 9mm Taurus from her purse which resulted in the "unintentional discharge of the weapon." There were no other injuries resulting from the incident and the mother was arrested and charged with one count of endangering children, said USA Today.
