President Donald Trump is expected to visit Dayton Wednesday to meet with city officials and first responders, shooting survivors and victims’ families.
Few details about the visit have been released. But news of the president’s trip has already sparked protest in the city where a mass shooting over the weekend left nine people dead and more than two dozen others injured.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley has told reporters she anticipates protest, calling President Trump’s rhetoric “painful” for some here.
And, on Tuesday afternoon a few dozen people gathered at City Hall to protest Trump’s visit and demand tighter gun control.
Julie Beall lives a few blocks from the site of the shooting. She says she fears the president's appearance will sow division in her city.
“We had to deal with the tornadoes that touched down in Dayton, Ohio. Now this horrible tragedy in the Oregon District. We don't need Donald Trump to come and share his hate here. He should just stay away. We are healing now. He's not going to help anything,” Beall says.
Meanwhile, some Ohio lawmakers say they look forward to sitting down with the president to talk about the shooting.
It’s still not clear what motivated the attack.
The investigation into the shooting rampage is ongoing.
Dayton Police and FBI officials say they found evidence the 24-year-old shooter had a history of obsession with violence.
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