Oregon Shooting Aftermath: 5 Facts We Know The Day After The UCC Shooting
At around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, a gunman opened fire on the Umpqua Community College campus in Roseburg, Oregon. It was the deadliest college shooting since 2007 massacre at the Virginia Tech and 142nd school shooting since Sandy Hook. Initial information varied and sometimes differed wildly, but now that things have calmed down, a lot has been confirmed and refuted. Here's what we know for sure now that it's the next day.
The Numbers: 10 Killed, 7 Injured, Four Guns, One Shooter
Law enforcement sources confirmed to various media outlets that shooting was perpetrated by a single person and that he shot 17 people, 10 of whom have died from their injuries. According to reports, the gunman was armed with an assault rifle and three handguns and was wearing body armor.
The Shooter Is Dead & Has Been Identified
The perpetrator was killed exchanging fire with local sheriff's deputies. Although Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin dramatically refused to say his name in a press conference, news outlets were able to confirm that gunman was Chris Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old local resident originally from California, who moved to the area with his mother. He was reported to have been describe by neighbors and acquaintances as quiet and close with his mother. He also left something of a social media footprint, with old profiles on sites like MySpace and a dating site, where he described himself as introverted, posed with a gun, and showed support for the Irish Republican Army.
There Seems To Have Been An Anti-Religion Motive
Part of Harper-Mercer's online footprint reveals a professed dislike towards organized religion. According to one survivor, he demanded people state their religion before he shot them and other survivors have reportedly said he asked people if they were Christian, shooting those that said "yes" in the head.
The Shooter May Have Posted About His Plan On 4Chan
A post and ensuing thread on /r9k/, part of the anonymous forum site 4chan, seems to many to have been posted by Harper-Mercer. The initial post, which you can read with the resulting comments here, reads in part "Don't go to school tomorrow if you are in the northwest." According to The New York Times, the FBI is investigating if it was really Harper-Mercer who posted the warning, although an NBC reporter did write on Twitter that he'd communicated with the real poster and it wasn't the UCC shooter.
The Hero Who Charged The Gunman
One of the few positive tales to come out of the tragedy is that of 30-year-old Chris Mintz, an Army veteran and Umpqua who reportedly charged Harper-Mercer and was shot at least five times (some reports say seven). Yesterday was also reportedly Mintz's son's birthday, which he allegedly talked about while laying wounded. Mintz is recovering and will survive.