OREGON, United States. Police investigating a mass shooting at an Oregon college say the gunman had access to a deadly arsenal of 13 weapons.
Chris Harper-Mercer killed nine people and injured nine others as he carried out his rampage at the Umpqua Community College.
He was a student there and was enrolled in the class where the attack took place in Roseburg.
A witness said the 26-year-old man ordered students to stand up and state their religion before firing. Harper-Mercer later died in a shoot-out with officers.
Police have recovered six weapons from the scene of the attack, including at least three pistols and a rifle as well as body armour, and another seven at his apartment.
They said all were purchased legally, seven by Harper-Mercer or family members in the last three years.
US authorities have appealed for information from the public about the deadly shooting, including any video footage or photographs they have of the incident.
Harper-Mercer was said to have been born in England before moving to the United States as a young boy.
He trained in the US army for a month in 2008 but was discharged for failing to meet the minimum administrative standards.
Student Kortney Moore, 18, told the News-Review newspaper she was in her class in Snyder Hall when a shot came through a window.
The bullet hit her teacher in the head, throwing him to the ground, before the gunman stormed in.
The witness said the gunman told people to get on the ground before ordering them to stand up and state their religion.
If students replied that they were Christian, he replied: “Good, you’ll see God in a second.”
It has emerged a heroic student was shot five times after charging at the gunman to try and save his classmates.
Chris Mintz, 30, was struck multiple times, but “no vital organs were hit”, his cousin said on Facebook.
Harper-Mercer’s social media profiles featured content supporting the IRA.
According to his profile on a dating site, he is ‘mixed race,’ a ‘conservative Republican,’ ‘not religious’ and lived with his mother.
The gunman’s father, Ian Mercer, said he was “shocked” and “devastated” by the attack.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “Obviously, it’s been a devastating day. Devastating for me and my family.
“I’m just as shocked as everybody at what happened today. I’ve just been talking to the police and the FBI.”
The massacre is the deadliest shooting in the US since nine people died in a rampage at a South Carolina church in June.
President Barack Obama has called for stricter gun control laws in America to stop the violence.
Credit: Sky News
