Identities of some Oregon shooting victims become public

The family of the gunman who killed nine people at an Oregon community college says they are “shocked and deeply saddened” by the slayings.

Harper-Mercer was officially identified on Friday as the assailant who survivors said stormed into the classroom of his introductory writing class to shoot the professor at point-blank range, then began picking off other victims one at a time as he questioned each about their religion and whether they were Christians.

As the gunman moved toward an adjoining classroom, Mr Mintz tried to stop him, according to Jamie Skinner, Mr Mintz’s former girlfriend and the mother of their six-year-old son. A man opened fire at the school before dying in a shootout with police.

“When Chris hit the ground, he told him it was our son’s birthday yesterday”.

But the gunman fired additional rounds, Ms Skinner recounted, adding that the gunman then changed direction and entered a different room. She declined to say whether the gunman was taken into custody or killed.

Authorities investigating the shooting say they have found a number of firearms at the gunman’s apartment.

Mercer enlisted in the army in 2008, but was discharged after less than a month in basic training, for reasons unknown.

Speaking at his home in Tarzana, California, his father, Ian Mercer, said it had been a “devastating day”. Hanlin, the county sheriff, said an investigation was underway by homicide detectives and federal agents.

Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio said in a statement that his thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

Harper-Mercer was enrolled in the class but officials have not disclosed a possible motive for the killings.

Officials said on Friday that he had body armour, three pistols, a rifle and five extra magazines of ammunition.

Another official said the shooter, who lived with his mother, was obsessed with guns and religion and had leanings toward white supremacy. “‘Are you a Christian?’ he would ask them….” He did not name the victim but said she was the great-granddaughter of his first cousin.

Another student who survived the shooting, Kortney Moore, gave a similar account to a local newspaper, The News-Review.

McGowan’s mom told The Oregonian on Friday that her son was treated and released at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg.

CHICAGO (AP) – Kansas City Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie fondly remembers those days growing up in Oregon – riding his bike all around Roseburg, going to the local swimming pool and cheering on the basketball team at Umpqua Community College. And back in 2013, the sheriff wrote a letter to Vice President Joe Biden to say that his deputies wouldn’t enforce any law that infringed on the constitutional right to bear arms. Mental health and access to firearms also play a key role, the study showed.

Authorities say 13 people were killed at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.

The details of his weapons arsenal emerged as Oregon governor Kate Brown urged that the debates over America’s gun laws wait, to allow the community to support grieving families.

Witness reports, however, suggest the gunman was targeting Christians.

– In one or more online forums, he identified himself as “non-religious, but spiritual”.