Oregon District shooting: What we’ve learned about the victims

Here is what we’ve learned about the five men and four women who lost their lives.

>> The latest news developments in the Dayton mass shooting

When the phone rang at 3 a.m., Derasha Merrett happened to be up, feeding her newborn. A friend was on the line, delivering horrible news through sobs: “Lois got shot and she’s dead.”

Merrett and Lois Oglesby were more than just friends.

“We grew up as cousins,” she said. “We grew up in the same church, on the same drill team. She works at my kids’ daycare. We all grew up in this little town. We’re all family. We’re all hurting behind this.”

Betts was studying environmental science, according to Wright State’s student search online. She planned to graduate in 2020, according to her Facebook page.

Betts’ brother, Connor Betts, 24 of Bellbrook, is the suspected shooter. He was killed by police outside of Ned Peppers but not before he was able to shoot and kill nine people and injure 37 others, police have said.

Wright State provost Sue Edwards sent an email today to students, staff and faculty to let them know that “two of our dear Wright State family members” were killed in the shooting.

Nicholas Cumer was a Pennsylvania graduate student in town for an internship.

Saint Francis University President Fr. Malachi Van Tassell said in a letter to the Loretto, Penn., university that Nicholas Cumer, a graduate student in the Master of Cancer Care program, was one of the victims who died.

“Nicholas was dedicated to caring for others. He was recognized at the 2019 Community Engagement Awards among students who had completed 100+ hours of service. In addition he was a graduate assistant with the university marching band,” Van Tassell said.

A Springboro man killed in a Sunday shooting in Dayton’s Oregon District was the “world’s best son,” his mom said.

Logan Turner, 30, of Springboro, was one of the nine people shot and killed by a gunman early Sunday just outside Ned Peppers bar. At least 26 others were injured and the suspected shooter, Connor Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, was killed by police less than a minute after he opened fire.

Turner’s mom, Danita Turner, described her son as both “sweet and smart.”

Thomas McNichols, known to all as T.J. and a father of four, was a ‘gentle giant,’ according to his aunt.

“He was so tall and a lot of folks thought he was older than he really was,” said Donna Johnson.

McNichols, 25, was living with Johnson in her Westwood neighborhood home in Dayton.

The sister of one of the Sunday morning shooting victims, Derrick Fudge, was out in downtown Dayton with family when he was killed.

Twyla Southall said her brother’s son, Dion Green, son’s fiance and several others were all downtown together with Fudge, who was a 57-year-old Springfield resident.

She said that Fudge loved his family and had a dog Lucy that he “absolutely loved.”

A woman from Springfield is being remembered for her kindness after she was killed in a Sunday shooting in Dayton’s Oregon District.

Brittany Hart, a friend of Brickhouse, posted on Facebook that she was “in shock” to learn that her friend had been killed. Brickhouse was “like another aunt” to her, Hart wrote on Facebook.

“To lose a loved one to senseless violence is just unfair, especially since it could be preventable!!” Hart wrote on Facebook. “I am so sorry this has happened to you all!”

A Dayton man, Saeed Saleh, killed in the Sunday shooting at the Oregon District was a native of the Eastern African country of Eritrea.

Beatrice “Nicole” Warren-Curtis, 36, was in the Oregon District Saturday evening with her friend Monica Brickhouse, who also died in the tragedy.

“To lose a loved one to senseless violence is just unfair, especially since it could have been prevented,” a friend told our reporters.

The suspected shooter Connor Betts was killed by police. Twenty-seven people also were injured.

>>RELATED: What we know now about the shooting suspect

We will continue to update this story as more information is available.