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| Roseburg prepares to bury dead as chilling accounts of shooting emerge | Roseburg prepares to bury dead as chilling accounts of shooting emerge |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Roseburg prepared on Saturday to bury its dead, with flags at half-staff and the nation watching as it readied the hearses, churches, eulogies and gravesides. As it did so, numbness turned to anger as the town sensed this was all as the killer intended. | Roseburg prepared on Saturday to bury its dead, with flags at half-staff and the nation watching as it readied the hearses, churches, eulogies and gravesides. As it did so, numbness turned to anger as the town sensed this was all as the killer intended. |
| Related: 'Thoughts and prayers are not enough': Why the US has so many mass shootings | Related: 'Thoughts and prayers are not enough': Why the US has so many mass shootings |
| Until Thursday’s massacre of nine people at Umpqua Community College, few people, not even neighbours, noticed Chris Harper-Mercer, an awkward loner who lived with his mother. But on Saturday, his name haunted the logging town and filled the airwaves, just as he had anticipated. | Until Thursday’s massacre of nine people at Umpqua Community College, few people, not even neighbours, noticed Chris Harper-Mercer, an awkward loner who lived with his mother. But on Saturday, his name haunted the logging town and filled the airwaves, just as he had anticipated. |
| Speeches honouring the nine people he murdered will ring out over the next few days, with bright autumn sunshine bathing the funerals. | Speeches honouring the nine people he murdered will ring out over the next few days, with bright autumn sunshine bathing the funerals. |
| But the darkness within Harper-Mercer again consumed Roseburg as it emerged he had enrolled at the college and apparently planned not just to kill but to die there, turning a place of learning which was supposed to give him a fresh start into an arena for a bloody end. | But the darkness within Harper-Mercer again consumed Roseburg as it emerged he had enrolled at the college and apparently planned not just to kill but to die there, turning a place of learning which was supposed to give him a fresh start into an arena for a bloody end. |
| The 26-year-old, obsessed by the macabre hoopla surrounding other mass shootings, left a note – a multi-page, angry screed, it was reported – and murdered with apparent yearning for posthumous notoriety. He wore body armour and carried enough firepower, three handguns and a rifle, plus lots of ammunition, for a potential siege, according to investigators. | The 26-year-old, obsessed by the macabre hoopla surrounding other mass shootings, left a note – a multi-page, angry screed, it was reported – and murdered with apparent yearning for posthumous notoriety. He wore body armour and carried enough firepower, three handguns and a rifle, plus lots of ammunition, for a potential siege, according to investigators. |
| A total of 13 weapons were found at the campus and during a search of his apartment. | A total of 13 weapons were found at the campus and during a search of his apartment. |
| As the weekend arrived, fresh details of his life depicted a troubled young man who tried, in vain, to get a drifting life on track. He enlisted in the US army in 2008, two years after his parents divorced, but lasted only five weeks in basic training before dropping out for unspecified reasons. | As the weekend arrived, fresh details of his life depicted a troubled young man who tried, in vain, to get a drifting life on track. He enlisted in the US army in 2008, two years after his parents divorced, but lasted only five weeks in basic training before dropping out for unspecified reasons. |
| He then attended the Switzer Center, a private non-profit school in Torrance, California, for students with learning disabilities, including autism and Asperger syndrome, according to its website. | He then attended the Switzer Center, a private non-profit school in Torrance, California, for students with learning disabilities, including autism and Asperger syndrome, according to its website. |
| In Roseburg, Harper-Mercer lived with his mother. Neighbours described an anti-social loner, yet he worked as a set designer at Umpqua college’s theatre and was listed among the crew for an autumn production of Blithe Spirit. | In Roseburg, Harper-Mercer lived with his mother. Neighbours described an anti-social loner, yet he worked as a set designer at Umpqua college’s theatre and was listed among the crew for an autumn production of Blithe Spirit. |
| It was unclear if he knew any of his victims. Just before shooting some victims, he said “I’ll see you soon” or “I’ll meet you soon”, according to Stephanie Salas, the mother of Rand McGowan, an 18-year-old who was wounded but survived the slaughter. | It was unclear if he knew any of his victims. Just before shooting some victims, he said “I’ll see you soon” or “I’ll meet you soon”, according to Stephanie Salas, the mother of Rand McGowan, an 18-year-old who was wounded but survived the slaughter. |
| Related: 994 mass shootings in 1,004 days: this is what America's gun crisis looks like | Related: 994 mass shootings in 1,004 days: this is what America's gun crisis looks like |
| The gunman told everyone to move toward the centre of the room, she told the Oregonian, recalling her son’s account. | The gunman told everyone to move toward the centre of the room, she told the Oregonian, recalling her son’s account. |
| “The shooter would call a person: ‘You, stand up,’” Salas said. “And then he would ask them if they were a Christian, knew God, or had religion. And it wasn’t like it was stated on TV. It wasn’t about that he was just trying to pinpoint Christians, no.” | “The shooter would call a person: ‘You, stand up,’” Salas said. “And then he would ask them if they were a Christian, knew God, or had religion. And it wasn’t like it was stated on TV. It wasn’t about that he was just trying to pinpoint Christians, no.” |
| The shooter would tell them it wouldn’t hurt. | The shooter would tell them it wouldn’t hurt. |
| “And then he would shoot them,” she said. | “And then he would shoot them,” she said. |
| McGowan told his mother he kept his head down among students crouched in the middle of the classroom, didn’t move and just tried to be not noticed. | McGowan told his mother he kept his head down among students crouched in the middle of the classroom, didn’t move and just tried to be not noticed. |
| At one point, Salas said, McGowan heard the shooter tell someone: “You, with the glasses, stand up.” His friend, Lucas Eibel, 18, wore glasses and was among the students killed. | At one point, Salas said, McGowan heard the shooter tell someone: “You, with the glasses, stand up.” His friend, Lucas Eibel, 18, wore glasses and was among the students killed. |
| “We have been trying to figure out how to tell everyone how amazing Lucas was, but that would take 18 years,” the Eibel family said in a statement released through the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. | “We have been trying to figure out how to tell everyone how amazing Lucas was, but that would take 18 years,” the Eibel family said in a statement released through the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. |
| Eibel, who was studying chemistry, volunteered at a wildlife center and animal shelter. | Eibel, who was studying chemistry, volunteered at a wildlife center and animal shelter. |
| The family of another victim, Quinn Glen Cooper, said their son had just started college and loved dancing and voice acting. | The family of another victim, Quinn Glen Cooper, said their son had just started college and loved dancing and voice acting. |
| “I don’t know how we are going to move forward with our lives without Quinn,” the Coopers said. “Our lives are shattered beyond repair.” | “I don’t know how we are going to move forward with our lives without Quinn,” the Coopers said. “Our lives are shattered beyond repair.” |
| Roseburg was still struggling to come to terms with the shooter’s actions. On Friday, Joleen Conner, 36, queuing with dozens of others to donate blood at a mobile blood bank, said she had graduated from UCC three years ago and knew people caught up in the rampage. | Roseburg was still struggling to come to terms with the shooter’s actions. On Friday, Joleen Conner, 36, queuing with dozens of others to donate blood at a mobile blood bank, said she had graduated from UCC three years ago and knew people caught up in the rampage. |
| “I had pins and needles waiting to hear from everyone,” she said. “This is hard. We’re very tight knit here.” | “I had pins and needles waiting to hear from everyone,” she said. “This is hard. We’re very tight knit here.” |
| On Friday, at a McDonald’s across the street from the college, the shooting was the only topic of conversation, with diners exchanging in some cases wildly inaccurate reports about the massacre. | On Friday, at a McDonald’s across the street from the college, the shooting was the only topic of conversation, with diners exchanging in some cases wildly inaccurate reports about the massacre. |
| “Who could have expected this, here?” asked one elderly woman. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.” | “Who could have expected this, here?” asked one elderly woman. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.” |
| Subsequently, more solid details emerged. The shooter singled out one person in the room to live, McGowan told his mom. | Subsequently, more solid details emerged. The shooter singled out one person in the room to live, McGowan told his mom. |
| “I want you to be able to tell the cops about me, or something like that,” Salas said of the directive. | “I want you to be able to tell the cops about me, or something like that,” Salas said of the directive. |
| When the shooting stopped, Harper-Mercer was dead, “neutralized” in an exchange of fire with a deputy, according to the Douglas County sheriff’s department. Details remained unclear. | When the shooting stopped, Harper-Mercer was dead, “neutralized” in an exchange of fire with a deputy, according to the Douglas County sheriff’s department. Details remained unclear. |
| Eight died at the scene. The gunman’s ninth victim died in the emergency room of Mercy Medical Center. | Eight died at the scene. The gunman’s ninth victim died in the emergency room of Mercy Medical Center. |
| Related: Oregon shooting: eight ways to stop gun massacres in the US | Related: Oregon shooting: eight ways to stop gun massacres in the US |
| One who survived was Chris Mintz, a US army veteran who tried to stop Harper-Mercer entering a classroom. He was shot at least five times. | One who survived was Chris Mintz, a US army veteran who tried to stop Harper-Mercer entering a classroom. He was shot at least five times. |
| “He was in the military and knew what it was,” said Mintz’s aunt, Wanda Mintz, who also said her nephew had not seen combat while serving. | “He was in the military and knew what it was,” said Mintz’s aunt, Wanda Mintz, who also said her nephew had not seen combat while serving. |
| After Chris Mintz was shot three times and fell to the floor, Wanda Mintz said, he told the suspect: “It’s my son’s birthday today. Don’t do this.” The gunman then shot him at least twice more and went into the classroom, where he kept firing. | After Chris Mintz was shot three times and fell to the floor, Wanda Mintz said, he told the suspect: “It’s my son’s birthday today. Don’t do this.” The gunman then shot him at least twice more and went into the classroom, where he kept firing. |
| Wanda Mintz said her nephew tried to crawl away but could not move because of his wounds. On Saturday, he was recuperating in hospital. He was expected to survive. | Wanda Mintz said her nephew tried to crawl away but could not move because of his wounds. On Saturday, he was recuperating in hospital. He was expected to survive. |
| “He’s lucky to be alive, and we’re grateful he’s alive,” his aunt said on Friday. “Chris is a tough guy.” | “He’s lucky to be alive, and we’re grateful he’s alive,” his aunt said on Friday. “Chris is a tough guy.” |
| Sheriff John Hanlin, meanwhile, vowed to a press conference that he would not name the shooter. | Sheriff John Hanlin, meanwhile, vowed to a press conference that he would not name the shooter. |
| “I will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act,” he said. | “I will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act,” he said. |
| The Oregonian newspaper criticised that stance in an editorial, saying Hanlin’s hostility to gun control was clouding a clear and necessary view of what caused Harper-Mercer’s homicidal spree. | |
| “Did mental illness play a part?” the newspaper asked. “How did he get his weapons? These are relevant, uncomfortable questions that, in Hanlin’s mind, may glorify the act, but in truth they only expose the complexity of the problems we face.” | “Did mental illness play a part?” the newspaper asked. “How did he get his weapons? These are relevant, uncomfortable questions that, in Hanlin’s mind, may glorify the act, but in truth they only expose the complexity of the problems we face.” |
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