The sister of the suspected gunman in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, is among the nine people who were killed in the attack, officials said.

The alleged gunman opened fire near a bar in the city shortly after 1am local time on Sunday, reaping carnage that officials said on Sunday was likely indiscriminate since it happened over a period of just one minute.

Among those killed was his sister, 22-year-old Megan Betts. Police identified the other fatalities as 27-year-old Lois Oglesby, 38-year-old Saeed Saleh, 57-year-old Derrick Fudge, 30-year-old Logan Turner, 25-year-old Nicholas Cumer, 25-year-old Thomas McNichols, 36-year-old Warren Curtis, and 39-year-old Monica Brickhouse.

“Our people are very well trained for a situation like this,” said Matt Carper, the assistant police chief for the Dayton Police Department. He noted that it was ”very fortunate that the officers were in close proximity“.

Nan Whaley, the mayor of the city, said that she was “amazed” by that quick response, and described the events as the kind of nightmare that every elected official dreads.

Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Show all 21 1 /21 Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Several officers (top left and right) firing at Connor Betts (bottom left), who they identified as the gunman, seconds after he began killing people outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Betts killed nine people including his sister, and injured 26 others. He was also shot dead at the scene by the responding officers Dayton Police Department/AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 rifle with a 100-round double drum magazine which Connor Betts used Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Surveillance footage of people beginning to flee from the sound of gunshots fired by Connor Betts Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Police officers move towards Connor Betts Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The vehicle which Connor Betts traveled to the scene in Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Bodies are removed from the scene of a mass shooting in Dayton AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The city's mayor, Nan Whaley, said the shooter was wearing body armour and used a ".223 high-capacity" gun during the assault. “In less than one minute, Dayton first responders neutralized the shooter.” AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The FBI is assisting with the investigation Derek Myers/AFP/Getty Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar It was the second mass shooting in the US in less than 24 hours AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Witnesses comfort one another at the scene AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Police tape drapes over a chair near a pile of shoes. The shooting took place in the popular bar and nightlife area, Oregon district Dayton Daily News via AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Dayton police look for evidence Dayton Daily News via AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Shoes piled outside the scene AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Residents comfort each other as they await word on whether they know any of the victims AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Authorities retrieve evidence markers AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Evidence markers lay on the ground near a hotdog stand Reuters Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Evidence markers rest on the ground after a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. August 4, 2019. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston BRYAN WOOLSTON Reuters Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar People fill the streets during a vigil EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Mourners gather to recognise the victims Getty Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Mourners leave flowers and candles at the entrance of Ned Peppers bar Getty

“As a mayor, this is a day that we all dread happening,” she told reporters. “What's very sad is I've got messages from mayors across the country – it's sad that we've all gone through it.”

The killing marked the second mass shooting in the US in just 13 hours, after at least 20 people were killed at a Walmart in El Paso when a gunman who had apparently posted an anti-immigrant screed online opened fire.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

The attacker in Ohio has been identified as 24-year-old Connor Betts, and officials did not immediately disclose a motive for the attack.