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| Oregon killings: US reels from another school shooting – live updates | Oregon killings: US reels from another school shooting – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.41pm BST12:41 | |
| Douglas county sheriff John Hanlin just spoke on CNN, where reporter Chris Cuomo pressed him on the issue of gun control. Hanlin had previously said that gun control “is not the answer” for preventing things like school shootings. | |
| “My position has not changed,” Hanlin said towards the end of a tense interview. | |
| During the interview, Cuomo repeatedly questioned Hanlin on how such an event could be prevented in the future. | |
| “The debate and discussion over firearms is going to occur, now is not the time,” said Hanlin. “We want to focus on the investigation.” | |
| More importantly, Hanlin said, families of the victims need space to grieve. | |
| But Cuomo, who said he had reported on too many mass shootings, would not relent. | |
| “Again, Chris, I want to stay focused on completing this investigation and focus on the families of this victims,” Hanlin said. | |
| The sheriff said he would contribute to discussions about gun violence “at a later time”. | |
| 11.44am BST11:44 | 11.44am BST11:44 |
| Summary | Summary |
| Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the aftermath of the latest mass shooting in the US. You can see our previous live blog for how news of the killings unfolded. This blog will focus on the political fallout and further details about the shooter as they emerge. | Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the aftermath of the latest mass shooting in the US. You can see our previous live blog for how news of the killings unfolded. This blog will focus on the political fallout and further details about the shooter as they emerge. |
| Here’s what we know so far: | Here’s what we know so far: |
| What happened, when and where? | What happened, when and where? |
| A gunman killed as many as nine people and wounded seven more at a community college in Oregon before he was killed. Emergency services first received a report of shots fired on the Umpqua Community College campus in the rural town of Roseburg at about 10.38am. The community college, which mostly provides adult education to students in their late 20s, has about 3,000 registered students but only a few hundred attend full-time. | A gunman killed as many as nine people and wounded seven more at a community college in Oregon before he was killed. Emergency services first received a report of shots fired on the Umpqua Community College campus in the rural town of Roseburg at about 10.38am. The community college, which mostly provides adult education to students in their late 20s, has about 3,000 registered students but only a few hundred attend full-time. |
| Who is the gunman? | Who is the gunman? |
| The killer has been named as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, who lived near the college in an apartment complex in Winchester with his mother. Mercer was born in the UK before moving to the US at a young age. He was the son of Ian Bernard Mercer, a restaurant manager who lives in Tarzana, California, and Laurel Margaret Harper. Ian Mercer, said he was “just as shocked as everybody” at his son’s actions. Although little more is known about Mercer, he appears to have left an online footprint that hints at interest in mass shootings as well as apparent support for the IRA. A neighbour, Bronte Hart, said he lived upstairs and would “sit by himself in the dark in the balcony with this little light”. Mercer was cornered in a hall by a police officer who reported exchanging shots with the man. | The killer has been named as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, who lived near the college in an apartment complex in Winchester with his mother. Mercer was born in the UK before moving to the US at a young age. He was the son of Ian Bernard Mercer, a restaurant manager who lives in Tarzana, California, and Laurel Margaret Harper. Ian Mercer, said he was “just as shocked as everybody” at his son’s actions. Although little more is known about Mercer, he appears to have left an online footprint that hints at interest in mass shootings as well as apparent support for the IRA. A neighbour, Bronte Hart, said he lived upstairs and would “sit by himself in the dark in the balcony with this little light”. Mercer was cornered in a hall by a police officer who reported exchanging shots with the man. |
| How did this happen? | How did this happen? |
| There are scant details about the attacks as they unfolded. Eyewitnesses have told reporters that Mercer fired through the doors and windows of a classroom before making his way through the 16-building campus. CNN reported that four guns were recovered at the scene of the killings. Kortney Moore, 18, told the News Review in Roseburg she was in her writing class when a bullet came through a window and hit her teacher in the head. She said Mercer then ordered students to stand. It was not clear whether he had been a student at Umpqua college although a listing from a Noel Coward play staged there had his name posted as a production assistant. | There are scant details about the attacks as they unfolded. Eyewitnesses have told reporters that Mercer fired through the doors and windows of a classroom before making his way through the 16-building campus. CNN reported that four guns were recovered at the scene of the killings. Kortney Moore, 18, told the News Review in Roseburg she was in her writing class when a bullet came through a window and hit her teacher in the head. She said Mercer then ordered students to stand. It was not clear whether he had been a student at Umpqua college although a listing from a Noel Coward play staged there had his name posted as a production assistant. |
| Did the gunman have a motive? | Did the gunman have a motive? |
| Investigators are focusing on reports from survivors that Mercer told students to state their religion before he opened fire. The police were also looking at reports that hours before the attack he posted messages on an internet chat site warning people to stay away. | Investigators are focusing on reports from survivors that Mercer told students to state their religion before he opened fire. The police were also looking at reports that hours before the attack he posted messages on an internet chat site warning people to stay away. |
| How have the local police reacted? | How have the local police reacted? |
| The Douglas County sheriff, John Hanlin, refused to identify the shooter. “I will not give him the credit he probably sought with this horrific and cowardly act,” said Hanlin. “You will never hear me mention his name.” It also emerged that Hanlin has lobbied the White House against restrictions on gun ownership. | The Douglas County sheriff, John Hanlin, refused to identify the shooter. “I will not give him the credit he probably sought with this horrific and cowardly act,” said Hanlin. “You will never hear me mention his name.” It also emerged that Hanlin has lobbied the White House against restrictions on gun ownership. |
| What’s been the political reaction? | What’s been the political reaction? |
| President Barack Obama, clearly agitated at making his 15th statement on shootings since taking office, said the country was numbed by the repeated massacres. He urged individuals to lobby the authorities to implement “common-sense gun laws”. He said: | President Barack Obama, clearly agitated at making his 15th statement on shootings since taking office, said the country was numbed by the repeated massacres. He urged individuals to lobby the authorities to implement “common-sense gun laws”. He said: |
| “This is something we should politicise ... We spend over a trillion dollars, and pass countless laws, and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?” | “This is something we should politicise ... We spend over a trillion dollars, and pass countless laws, and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?” |