Oregon college shooting: police confirm gunman Chris Harper Mercer killed himself after rampage

Gunman: Harper Mercer posted pictures online of himself posing with guns
Myspace
Rachel Blundy3 October 2015

A gunman who shot dead nine people at a college in the US died after turning the gun on himself, police have confirmed.

Chris Harper-Mercer, 26, gunned down fellow students and his English professor at the Umpqua Community College in Oregon on Thursday.

He then shot himself dead during a shoot-out with police, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin confirmed today.

The victims have been named as 19-year-old Lucero Alcaraz, of Roseburg; 18-year-old Quinn Glen Cooper, of Roseburg; 59-year-old Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, of Roseburg; 18-year-old Lucas Eibel, of Roseburg; 67-year-old teacher Lawrence Levine, of Glide; 33-year-old Jason Dale Johnson, of Winston; 18-year-old Rebecka Ann Carnes, of Myrtle Creek; 44-year-old Sarena Dawn Moore, of Myrtle Creek; and 20-year-old Treven Taylor Anspach, of Sutherlin.

Interview: Ian Mercer, father of shooter Chris Harper Mercer

Nine other people were injured in the shooting, police said.

Harper Mercer, who moved to the US from England as a child, reportedly demanded to know his victims' religious beliefs, specifically whether they were Christian, before opening fire on the campus.

Police investigating the massacre, believed to be the second deadliest in the US in the last two years, said 14 weapons had been discovered.

Emergency response: paramedics at the college in Oregon
Aaron Yost/Roseburg News-Review via AP

It has emerged that Harper-Mercer, who is not thought to have had a criminal history, also failed basic training for the US Army in 2008 while his social media profiles suggested he may have supported the IRA.

Police believe he may have been a student at the college after a receipt found at the scene showed he purchased textbooks from the campus bookshop two days before the shooting.

In a short statement tonight, the gunman's family said: "We are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific events that unfolded on October 1.

"Our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families of those who died and were injured."

Additional reporting by the Press Association

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in