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As authorities in Ohio try to pin down a motive for the weekend's second U.S. mass shooting and dig into the slain shooter's life, what they find might also help answer another big question looming over the tragedy: What, if anything, could have stopped it? Police say the gunman was wearing a mask and body armor when he shot and killed his younger sister and eight others after the pair had arrived together with a friend earlier Saturday evening at a popular entertainment district packed with people. (Seewer, Sewell and Minchillo, 8/5)

“Honestly, and I have to say unfortunately, because we have had so many of these incidences, there is a bevy of mayors who are able to give great advice and feedback,” Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said during a Sunday afternoon briefing. “I think that’s quite frankly a little sad, if you think about it, that they’ve learned so much because all of their communities have gone through these terrible mass shootings.” She called the deaths in her city “completely preventable,” in an earlier phone interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’re city No. 250,” she said. “How many more cities have to go through mass shootings before somebody does something to change the law?” (La Ganga, Etehad, Monetero and Hennessy-Fiske, 8/4)

Among the victims killed in the barrage of gunfire outside Ned Peppers, a popular spot in Dayton, Ohio, was the gunman’s sister, a 22-year-old college student described as “bubbly” and “outgoing.” Investigators had not determined on Sunday evening whether the gunman, armed with a military-style rifle and clad in protective armor, had specifically targeted his sister or anyone else in the crowd. (Stockman and Bogel-Burroughs, 8/4)

In El Paso, Texas, a lone gunman walked into a crowded Walmart Saturday morning, shooting with an AK-style semiautomatic rifle. Authorities were investigating the shooting, which killed 20 and injured 26 more, as a possible case of domestic terrorism and a hate crime because officials believe the suspect, a white man, was targeting Hispanics. He has been charged with capital murder. (Hobbs, Maher and Bauerlein, 8/5)

El Paso Police Sgt. Robert Gomez said police arrested the man without incident near the Walmart next to Interstate 10 on the east side of the city. Gomez did not identify the man, but CNN and other news outlets, citing multiple sources, have identified him as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, north of Dallas — more than 650 miles from El Paso. Gomez said police don't believe there were other shooters — but he said they are still investigating. "This is unprecedented in El Paso," Gomez said.(Aguilar and Blanchard, 8/3)

In a country that has become nearly numb to men with guns opening fire in schools, at concerts and in churches, the back-to-back bursts of gun violence in less than 24 hours were enough to leave the public stunned and shaken. The shootings ground the 2020 presidential campaign to a halt, reignited a debate on gun control and called into question the increasingly angry words directed at immigrants on the southern border in recent weeks by right-wing pundits and President Trump. “It’s outrageous,” said Terrion Foster, who works in accounting and lives in Kansas City, Mo., where he was out shopping at a farmer’s market near downtown on Sunday afternoon. “It’s really sad because I feel like you can’t go anywhere and be safe. I’m 50 years old and I didn’t think I’d be alive to see some of the things that are going on today.” (Robertson, Bosman and Smith, 8/4)

The weekend’s violence rekindled an array of other national arguments: over gun rights, over pop culture, over social media and over what constitutes terrorism. Amid the overwhelming tragedy of the shootings, the El Paso incident drew special attention to the problem of lone-wolf shooters and whether they should be viewed as isolated actors — “sick people,” in the words of White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — or as part of a larger, ideologically driven movement. “These are not single shooters,” said Daniel Okrent, author of “The Guarded Gate,” a history of anti-immigrant bigotry in the United States. “They’re a mob with high-powered rifles, people who feel they’re part of something bigger. The technology has changed: A mob doesn’t have to get together in the street with torches anymore.” (Fisher, 8/4)

Prior to the mass shooting outside a Dayton bar that killed nine people, the Republican-ruled Ohio General Assembly had shown no appetite to consider legislation addressing gun violence. While lawmakers are moving on a bill to allow any law-abiding adult to carry a gun without a concealed-carry permit, no Republican-backed legislation to limit Ohioans’ access to guns has been introduced. Now, in the wake of what he called a “horrible day for Ohio,” first-year Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday that “everything’s on the table” when it comes to potential changes in gun policy. (Ludlow, 8/4)

In the wake of Dayton's mass shooting Sunday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was shouted down by a crowd of vigil attendees wanting action. As he took the stage in the Oregon District of Dayton, the location of Sunday's mass shooting, and commented on the size of the crowd gathered, he was met with chants. "Do something!" the crowd chanted over and over. (Knight and Balmert, 8/4)

More than a dozen years ago, pro-gun legislators -- fueled by the NRA and Buckeye Firearms Association – passed House Bill 347, which prohibited local governments from passing any regulations more restrictive than those passed by the Ohio legislature. The bill nullified ordinances already in effect in cities such as Cleveland, which had enacted a ban assault weapons. (MacDonald, 8/4)

Tears ran down the cheeks of some visitors to the Levitt Pavilion Dayton during Sunday afternoon’s vigil, as people sang songs and hymns and talked about the importance of uniting and helping the community heal. “We will not succumb to fear,” said Caleb Ingram, the executive director of Declare Worship Community. “I don’t want to hear people say, ‘Oh, we can’t go to Dayton anymore, we are afraid of what might happen. We can’t go to Levitt Pavilion anymore, we are afraid. We can’t got to the Oregon District anymore. We afraid.’ We are not going to give fear an opportunity.” (Frolik and Kelley, 8/4)

They were there to mourn those killed early Sunday morning outside a popular Dayton bar. One of victims was the sister of suspected shooter Connor Stephen Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, southeast of Dayton. Pastor Joel Burton with Simple Street Ministries directed the informal gathering, as dozens more filed in and around the concert venue, and started off with a simple message before leading the crowd in prayer. (Doyle, Woods, Sullivan, 8/4)

Many in the crowd were wearing "Dayton Strong" shirts and tanks, which were printed back when tornadoes swept through the area in May. "Unfortunately I need to wear it again because we have to be strong again," David Coon said. "We were strong when the tornadoes came through, when the KKK came to town, and we’ll stand up against this." (Bailey, 8/4)

More than 600 miles and a time zone away from El Paso, Hispanics in the Dallas area continued their Sunday routines after at least 20 people died  in an attack that has been blamed on anti-immigrant rage. But the massacre was never far from their minds. When Cristal Gonzalez heard about the mass shooting, she immediately texted her friends from El Paso who live near the Walmart where the shooting occurred. They were safe but spent hours in a lockdown. (Jimenez, Vizcaino and Mendez, 8/4)

El Paso is a border community unaccustomed to such large-scale acts of violence. And for many residents of El Paso — an epicenter of another of the nation's most divisive issues, immigration — the gruesome attack not only underscored the need to restrict access to high-caliber weapons like the one used by the alleged assailant, it also represented a clear and direct assault on the city's diversity and its standing as a welcoming community for migrants. (Montoya-Galvez, 8/5)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is facing backlash online after he tweeted about gun deaths over the weekend.In the tweet, the astrophysicist and author coolly referred to the mass shooting deaths in Ohio and Texas, suggesting they pale in comparison to deaths from other causes, namely illness and accidents. (Silverman, 8/5)

A tally of a mass shooting could be written in countless ways. The term is not a legal one — which means that definitions fluctuate. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tallies gun violence in the United States, defines a mass shooting as four or more victims shot or killed. Some media outlets use three fatalities as a baseline for a mass shooting; others four. The topic is widely debated. (Miranda, 8/4)

A list of some of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States in the last two years. (8/4)