The FBI believes a man who opened fire in a Walmart store in Ohio was motivated by racist extremism.
The gunman, identified as Benjamin Charles Jones, shot and wounded two Black women, a white woman and a white man before fatally shooting himself at the Beavercreek store, reported WXIX-TV.
“Based on evidence collected, including journal writings from the attacker, Benjamin Charles Jones, the attack may have been at least partially inspired by Racially Motivated Violent Extremist (RMVE) ideology,” investigators said.
The 20-year-old purchased the Hi-Point .45 caliber carbine used in the shootings just two days before from a store in nearby Dayton, and agents are investigating whether he provided inaccurate statements on the ATF Form 4473 needed for the purchase.
Jones reportedly attended an online Christian school and spent all of his time at home, and police found Nazi flags at his home in Dayton after the shooting.
He reportedly was a Holocaust denier and believed in other right-wing conspiracy theories and had been previously admitted to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.
