Jump to content

2015 Umpqua Community College shooting

Coordinates: 43°17′20″N 123°19′55″W / 43.2888°N 123.3320°W / 43.2888; -123.3320
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Chris Harper Mercer)

Umpqua Community College shooting
photograph showing Snyder Hall, the scene of the shooting
Snyder Hall, the scene of the shooting
LocationRoseburg, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates43°17′20″N 123°19′55″W / 43.2888°N 123.3320°W / 43.2888; -123.3320
 (Snyder Hall)
DateOctober 1, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-10-01)
10:38 – 10:48 a.m. (PDT)
Attack type
School shooting, mass shooting, mass murder, shootout, murder–suicide
Weapons
Deaths10 (including the perpetrator)
Injured8
PerpetratorChristopher Sean "Chris" Harper-Mercer
MotiveRevenge for perceived sexual and social rejection

A shooting occurred on October 1, 2015, at the Umpqua Community College campus near Roseburg, Oregon, United States. Chris Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student who was enrolled at the school, fatally shot an assistant professor and eight students in a classroom, and injured eight others. Roseburg police detectives responded to the incident and engaged Harper-Mercer in a brief shootout. After being wounded, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The mass shooting is the deadliest in Oregon's modern history.[a]

Shooting

[edit]

At 10:38 a.m. PDT, the first 9-1-1 call was made from Snyder Hall on the school campus reporting gunfire. Students reported that the shooting began in Classroom 15, where English and writing classes are conducted.[4][5]

Harper-Mercer, who was a student in the writing class, entered the hallway and fired a warning shot.[6] Some witnesses said he then forced fellow students to the center of the classroom. Before he opened fire on the other students, he deliberately spared one student's life so that the student could deliver a package from him to the police. He forced this student to sit at the back of the classroom and watch as he continued shooting with two handguns (a Glock 19 and a Taurus PT24/7).[7][8][9]

Harper-Mercer first shot the English professor at point-blank range. One student said that he asked two victims for their religion, although their responses did not appear to determine who he shot.[6][10] One victim was agnostic[11] and another was pagan.[12] Some students were shot multiple times;[6][13] one woman was struck several times in the stomach while trying to close a classroom door.[14] One witness said he made a woman beg for her life before shooting her, shot another woman when she tried to reason with him,[15] and shot a third woman in the leg after she tried to defend herself with a desk.[10] One victim, Sarena Dawn Moore, was killed while trying to climb back into a wheelchair on his orders.[6][16]

Roseburg Police Sergeant Joe Kaney and Detective Todd Spingath (who were in plainclothes at the time of the shooting) were the first to respond to the scene. They arrived at the hallway of Snyder Hall at 10:44, six minutes after the first 9-1-1 call was received. Two minutes later, Harper-Mercer reloaded his handguns and leaned out of the classroom, firing several shots at the officers. They fired three shots in return, hitting him once in the right side.[17] After two more minutes of shooting at the officers, the wounded Harper-Mercer retreated into the classroom and killed himself with a single shot to his head.[6][8][18][19] None of the officers were injured.[2][20][21] Kaney is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with 23 years on the Roseburg Police Department while Spingath is a U.S. Air Force veteran with 16 years on the Roseburg Police Department.

The package that Harper-Mercer had given to a student during the attack contained writing in which the shooter stated his motivations. Harper-Mercer complained that he had "no friends, no job, no girlfriend" and was a virgin. He critiqued other mass killers.[22] Harper-Mercer used language associated with the incel subculture. He expressed admiration for the misogynist mass killer responsible for the 2014 Isla Vista killings.[23]

According to the Anti-Defamation League, "The issue most often raised about the shootings is whether they constitute an anti-Christian or anti-religious hate crime." By some accounts, the shooter asked his victims about their religion before killing them, but others point out that his rage was not limited to religious matters and stressed his mental health history. The report that the shooter asked victims about their religion before killing them comes from a survivor, as well as family members of the victims.[24]

Aftermath

[edit]

Following the shooting, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents launched a campus-wide search for explosives. Six firearms were recovered from the crime scene:[25] five handguns and one long gun. None were owned by his mother.[26][27][28] The long gun, a 5.56 x45 mm Del-Ton DTI-15 semi-automatic rifle, was not used during the incident.[29] Harper-Mercer also had a flak jacket and "enough ammunition for a prolonged gunfight".[30][31] Police said they found eight other firearms at his apartment, and that all of the weapons were purchased legally by him or members of his family.[19][32] Almost four hours after the shooting, Laurel Mercer was interviewed by Oregon State Police detectives, but the content was not released until September 13, 2017. She said her son had been prescribed medication, but it did not seem to help, and that he had been "born angry." She told police that he enjoyed watching videos of killings on the Internet. Their home was so disordered, that after the murders, she could not tell what guns were missing.[33]

Victims

[edit]

Fatalities

[edit]

The attacker killed a total of nine people: eight died at the scene while the ninth died at Mercy Medical Center. The dead were:[34]

  • Lucero Alcaraz, age 19
  • Treven Taylor Anspach, 20
  • Rebecka Ann Carnes, 18
  • Quinn Glen Cooper, 18
  • Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, 59
  • Lucas Eibel, 18
  • Jason Dale Johnson, 33
  • Lawrence Levine, 67
  • Sarena Dawn Moore, 43

Injured

[edit]

Eight other students were injured,[35][36][37] some with multiple gunshot wounds.[38][39]

Among the wounded was Chris Mintz, a U.S. Army veteran who was studying fitness training at the college,[40] who responded when he heard screams coming from an adjacent classroom. He blocked the connected door with his body to allow his class to escape. He next left the building to alert students in the library to evacuate. Returning to the shooting scene, he advised a wounded student to stay down and be quiet. At that point, Harper-Mercer leaned out from the classroom into the hallway and shot Mintz five times as he was first standing, then falling to the floor, because he said Mintz had called police. Mintz pleaded that he not be killed on his son's birthday and said an apparently emotionless Harper-Mercer withdrew back into the classroom.[41]

At a press conference held on October 3, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin thanked Mintz for his actions.[42] To help pay for his medical bills, Mintz's family set up a GoFundMe account. By the end of that day, it had already received more than US$650,000 in donations.[43] Mintz was released from a hospital on October 7.[44] On October 13, a 16-year-old girl who was critically wounded in the shooting was released from a hospital.[45]

Perpetrator

[edit]

Christopher Sean "Chris" Harper-Mercer[38] (July 26, 1989 – October 1, 2015) was enrolled in the introductory composition class where he shot his victims.[38][46] He was born in Torrance, California to Ian Mercer, an Englishman, and Laurel Harper, a Black American woman. His parents separated before he was born, and agreed to share legal custody in their divorce. This never went through however, as Harper-Mercer spent his entire life living with his mother, and hadn't seen his father since they had moved to Oregon some two years before the shooting.[47][48][49][50][51][52]

Harper-Mercer joined the U.S. Army in 2008, but was discharged after five weeks for his failure to meet the "minimum administrative standards" of basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.[38][53] Officials linked to the investigation said that he was discharged as the result of a suicide attempt, but Army officials did not comment on this.[54] In 2009, he graduated from Switzer Learning Center, a school for teenagers with learning disabilities or emotional issues.[19][55] Laurel Harper was reportedly protective of him[56] and tried to shield him from various perceived annoyances, some of them minor, in their neighborhood in Torrance.[53] From early 2010 to early 2012, Harper-Mercer attended El Camino College in Torrance.[57]

Harper-Mercer maintained several Internet accounts, including one in which he described himself as mixed race.[58][59][52] Media reports said he had an e-mail address linked to an account on a BitTorrent website. The last upload on the account, three days before the Umpqua shooting, was a documentary on the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[60][61] According to the Los Angeles Times, unnamed law enforcement sources described him as a "hate-filled" man with antireligious and white supremacist leanings, and with long-term mental-health issues.[62] His mother, Laurel Harper, had previously written anonymously in an online forum that both she and her son had Asperger syndrome.[63]

He and his mother moved to Winchester, Oregon in 2013 after she received a job there.[48][53] His mother said he was initially excited to be able, unlike in California, to "open carry".[33] There were 14 legally purchased weapons kept in the apartment, and Harper-Mercer's mother wrote online that she always kept full magazines in Glock pistols and an AR-15 rifle inside.[64] The two often spent time together at shooting ranges, but Harper-Mercer was otherwise extremely isolated.[65]

Harper-Mercer had been placed on scholastic probation at Umpqua Community College for falling below a C average. According to his community college transcript, Harper-Mercer earned a 1.75 GPA during his time at UCC, and a letter dated September 1 warned him that he could be suspended if he did not raise his grades. A UCC tuition bill due on October 6 noted that Harper-Mercer owed $2,021.[57]

On the day of the shooting, Harper-Mercer gave a survivor numerous writings showing he had studied mass killings, including the 2014 killing spree at Isla Vista, California.[66] These expressed his sexual frustration as a virgin, animosity toward Black men, and a lack of fulfillment in his isolated life.[67][68][69] In them, he said "Other people think I'm crazy, but I'm not. I'm the sane one,"[70] and that he would be "welcomed in Hell and embraced by the devil."[71] He also reportedly admired the perpetrator of the WDBJ shooting for the fame received, and wrote that: "A man who was known by no one, is now known by everyone. His face splashed across every screen, his name across the lips of every person on the planet, all in the course of one day."[72][73]

Reactions

[edit]
Video of President Obama delivering a statement on the shooting (12:44)[b]

Oregon Governor Kate Brown said she was heartbroken by the events and that she would immediately travel to Roseburg. The American Association of Community Colleges and the Association of Community College Trustees issued a joint statement, calling the shooting a tragedy and expressing their commitment to on-campus safety.[74]

Sheriff John Hanlin of Douglas County said he would not "name the shooter ... I will not give him credit for this horrific act of cowardice. Media will get the name confirmed in time ... but you will never hear us use it."[75][c]

U.S. President Barack Obama said that "thoughts and prayers [do] not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted some place else in America next week or a couple months from now."[b] He ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half staff in memory of the victims the day after the shootings. On October 5, the White House announced that Obama would continue to take more executive action on the subject of gun control.[78] Obama was met at Roseburg Regional Airport by around 200 protesters rallying behind a security fence, some with holstered weapons, who also showed support for Sheriff Hanlin, who had been highly visible during press conferences about the shooting. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Hanlin had sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden saying he would not enforce any new gun legislation he deemed to be unconstitutional.[79]

Although Harper-Mercer had substantial mental illness, he had never been involuntarily committed (which under federal and state law prohibits a person from purchasing a gun). Harper-Mercer was therefore able to pass a background check and bought a .380 semiautomatic handgun.[80] An Oregon law passed in 2017, which went into effect in 2018, allows law enforcement or family members to file a petition in state court for an "extreme risk protection order"; such an order, if granted, temporarily blocks an individual from purchasing or possessing deadly weapons if the individual is determined to present an "imminent threat to themselves or others."[80] Had the law been in effect earlier, it is possible that Harper-Mercer could have been prevented from purchasing his weapon.[80]

A memorial for the victims of the shooting was unveiled in December 2016.[81]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The shooting is considered the deadliest shooting since 1887,[2][3] when 10 to 34 Chinese miners were shot dead at a site in Hells Canyon later named Chinese Massacre Cove.
  2. ^ a b See:
    • "Statement by the President on the Shootings at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Oregon". White House Office of the Press Secretary. October 1, 2015.
  3. ^ The practice of withholding a perpetrator's name is controversial. The Associated Press cited a recent study suggesting that copycat crimes were more likely to happen within an average of 13 days following significant press coverage of a mass shooting, while noting that criminologists and ethicists say withholding names could make it more difficult to track patterns of behavior and prevent future acts of violence.[76][77]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "An arsenal at UCC". The Registered Guard. September 11, 2017. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "10 dead, 9 injured in mass shooting at Oregon college". Portland, Oregon: KGW-TV. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  3. ^ Jackson, Derrick Z. (October 2, 2015). "The shameful irony of Ore. mass shooting". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  4. ^ Vanderhart, Dirk; Johnson, Kirk; Turkewitz, Julie (October 1, 2015). "Oregon Community College Shooting Leaves at Least 7 Dead". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "Deadly shooting at Umpqua Community College". Portland, Oregon: KATU-TV. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e Turkewitz, Julie (October 9, 2015). "Oregon College Student Says Gunman Smiled, Then Fired". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  7. ^ Karlinsky, Neal; Ghebremedhin, Sabina; Gard, Cassidy (October 5, 2015). "Oregon Umpqua Shooting Survivor Recalls Terrifying Moments Inside Classroom". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Almaguer, Miguel; Helsel, Phil (October 10, 2015). "Survivor of Umpqua Community College Shooting Describes Rampage". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  9. ^ "Oregon college gunman spared 'lucky one' to give police a message, survivor says". The Dallas Morning News. Associated Press. October 3, 2015. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Chiu, David (October 10, 2015). "'Lucky One' Who Survived Oregon School Shooting Describes Massacre". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  11. ^ Cain Miller, Claire; Wines, Michael; Turkewitz, Julie (October 3, 2015). "Confusion, Horror and Heroism in Oregon Shooting". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2015. "She said if you were to ask Quinn if he were Christian, he would have said, 'I am agnostic,'" Ms. Ferris said, quoting Mr. Cooper's mother, Janet Cooper.
  12. ^ Greene, Heather (October 3, 2015). "Oregon Pagan Community loses member in College Shooting". The Wild Hunt. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  13. ^ Payne, Ed; Sidner, Sara; Lah, Kyung (October 2, 2015). "Umpqua College gunman apparently targeted Christians". CNN. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  14. ^ Vanderhart, Dirk; Johnson, Kirk; Turkewitz, Julie (October 1, 2015). "Oregon Shooting at Umpqua College Kills 10, Sheriff Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Oregon shooter showed little sympathy in calculated killings". Newsday. Associated Press. October 4, 2015. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  16. ^ Gray, Melissa (October 5, 2015). "Merciless gunman shot woman in a wheelchair, Oregon survivor says". CNN. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  17. ^ "Officers' use of force against Umpqua Community College shooter was justified". WBAY-TV. Green Bay, Wisconsin. October 7, 2015. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  18. ^ "Oregon shooting: Gunman killed himself". BBC News. October 3, 2015. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c Elinson, Zusha (October 3, 2015). "Oregon Shooting Suspect Chris Harper-Mercer Committed Suicide, Officials Say". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  20. ^ "Gunman among 10 dead at Umpqua Community College". KOIN-TV. Portland, Oregon. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  21. ^ Cooper, Jonathan J. (October 7, 2015). "Prosecutor: Oregon college gunman killed himself inside classroom after 2 officers wounded him". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  22. ^ Flaccus, Gillian (September 8, 2017). "Oregon authorities release 'manifesto' from mass shooting". AP. Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  23. ^ Bates, Laura (2020). Men Who Hate Women: From incels to pickup artists, the truth about extreme misogyny and how it affects us all. Simon & Schuster UK. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-1728236247. OCLC 1125958377.
  24. ^ "Plumbing the Depths: Were the Umpqua Shootings an Anti-Christian Hate Crime?". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  25. ^ Barnard, Jeff; Wozniacka, Gosia (October 2, 2015). "'We began to run': Students describe horror of shooting". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  26. ^ Ford, Dana (October 1, 2015). "Oregon shooting: Gunman dead after college rampage". CNN. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  27. ^ Vanderhart, Dirk; Pérez-Peña, Richard; Schmidt, Michael S. (October 2, 2015). "Gunman in Oregon Shooting Was Armed With 6 Guns and Left 7 at Home". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  28. ^ LeBlanc, Jay (October 1, 2015). "Chris Harper Mercer identified as Umpqua Community College shooter". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  29. ^ Wozniacka, Gosia; Abdollah, Tami (October 3, 2015). "Survivor: Gunman spared 'lucky one' to give police message". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  30. ^ Bloom, Tracy (October 1, 2015). "Former L.A. County Resident ID'd as Gunman in Umpqua Community College Shooting That Left 10 Dead: Report". KTLA-TV. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  31. ^ Keneally, Meghan (October 2, 2015). "Umpqua Community College Shooter Armed With 6 Guns and Flak Jacket". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  32. ^ Fieldstadt, Elisha (October 3, 2015). "Oregon College Shooting: Gunman Chris Harper Mercer Died of Suicide, Officials Say". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  33. ^ a b Cegavske, Carisa (September 13, 2017). "UCC shooter's mother said her son was born angry". News-Review. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  34. ^ "Umpqua Community College shooting victims identified". Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  35. ^ Rosen, Kenneth (October 17, 2015). "Survivor of Oregon Shooting Writes About Encounter With an Emotionless Gunman". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  36. ^ "Oregon gunman killed himself after police wounded him". Chicago Tribune. October 7, 2015. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  37. ^ Saslow, Eli; Schaff, Erin (September 26, 2023). "Notebooks, Pens and Bulletproof Backpacks: A New School Year in America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  38. ^ a b c d McDade, Mary Beth; Spillman, Eric (October 2, 2015). "Oregon Gunman Was Enrolled in Class Where He Opened Fire, Authorities Say". KTLA-TV. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  39. ^ "Oregon college shooting: Alleged gunman ID'd as Chris Harper Mercer, 26". CBC News. Associated Press. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  40. ^ Cain Miller, Claire; Wines, Michael; Turkewitz, Julie (October 3, 2015). "Confusion, Horror and Heroism in Oregon Shooting". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  41. ^ Keneally, Meghan (October 2, 2015). "'Hero' Umpqua Community College Student Chris Mintz Speaks After Being Shot 7 Times". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  42. ^ Shapiro, T. Rees; Dewey, Caitlyn; Bernstein, Lenny (October 3, 2015). "Oregon shooter killed himself after 3 officers arrived at community college". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  43. ^ "Over $650K raised for hero shot 7 times standing up to shooter". KGW-TV. Portland, Oregon. October 3, 2015. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  44. ^ Theen, Andrew (October 8, 2015). "Chris Mintz released from Roseburg hospital; 3 Umpqua shooting victims remain in care". OregonLive.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  45. ^ Whitcomb, Dan (October 13, 2015). "Girl critically wounded in Oregon college massacre is released from hospital". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  46. ^ Berger, Sarah (October 1, 2015). "Who Is Chris Harper Mercer? Oregon's Alleged Umqua Community College Shooter Identified, Police Say". International Business Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  47. ^ "Christopher Sean Harper, Born 07/26/1989 in California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  48. ^ a b Mai-Duc, Christine (October 2, 2015). "Gun-obsessed, timid, and his mom called him 'baby': What we know of Chris Harper-Mercer's life". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  49. ^ Ziv, Stav (October 5, 2015). "Father of Umpqua Community College Shooter Says Gun Laws Must Change". Newsweek. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  50. ^ Walker, Tim (October 2, 2015). "Oregon shooting: Shooter Chris Harper Mercer was reclusive 26-year-old with an interest in IRA and Nazism". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  51. ^ "What we know about suspected Oregon shooter Chris Harper Mercer". CBS News. Associated Press. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  52. ^ a b Zavadski, Katie; Nestel, M.L. (October 2, 2015). "Umpqua Gunman Chris Harper Mercer Hated Religion Online". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  53. ^ a b c Lovett, Ian; Stack, Liam (October 2, 2015). "Chris Mercer, Oregon Gunman, Hinted of Anger and Loneliness". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  54. ^ Crilly, Rob (October 7, 2015). "Oregon shooting: Chris Harper-Mercer 'discharged from army after suicide attempt'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  55. ^ Altman, Larry; Green, Nick (October 1, 2015). "Oregon shooting suspect lived in Torrance, graduated from Switzer Center". The Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  56. ^ Winton, Richard; Mejia, Brittny; Mozingo, Joe (October 2, 2015). "Online and off, a mystifying portrait of the Oregon college gunman emerges". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015. (Article author[s]:) Harper-Mercer long struggled with mental health issues, law enforcement sources said. The allegations add to a messy and mystifying portrait emerging of Harper-Mercer, who, despite his allegedly white supremacist leanings, was mixed-race and lived with a hyper-protective black mother who appeared to be his only true companion.
  57. ^ a b Gunderson, Laura (October 22, 2015). "Oregon school shooting: Umpqua shooter on academic probation". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  58. ^ Sherwood, Courtney; Flitter, Emily (October 4, 2015). "Gunman in Oregon college massacre committed suicide". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  59. ^ "What we know about Oregon shooter Chris Harper Mercer". CBS News. Associated Press. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  60. ^ Carroll, Rory (October 3, 2015). "Chris Harper Mercer was enrolled at the college where he made a bloody last stand". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  61. ^ Ryall, Jenni (October 2, 2015). "Who is Chris Harper-Mercer, the man suspected of killing 9 in Oregon?". Mashable. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  62. ^ Muskal, Michael; Winton, Richard; Gerber, Marisa (October 2, 2015). "Death in a classroom: Oregon shooter targeted his English class". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  63. ^ Healy, Jack; McIntire, Mike; Turkewitz, Julie (October 5, 2015). "Oregon killer and mother had close bond with guns". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2015. [The mother] opened up about her difficulties raising a troubled son, who used to bang his head against the wall, and said she and her son struggled with Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder.
  64. ^ Healy, Jack; McIntire, Mike; Turkewitz, Julie (October 5, 2015). "Oregon Killer's Mother Wrote of Troubled Son and Gun Rights". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  65. ^ Johnson, Eric M.; Flitter, Emily (October 7, 2015). "Oregon gunman slipped into isolation after California move". Yahoo! News. Reuters. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  66. ^ Sidner, Sara; Lah, Kyung; Almasy, Steve; Ellis, Ralph (October 2, 2015). "Oregon shooting: Gunman was student in class where he killed 9". CNN. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  67. ^ Levine, Mike; Thomas, Pierre; Margolin, Josh; Date, Jack (October 2, 2015). "Umpqua Community College Shooter Chris Harper-Mercer Had Hate-Filled Writings, Sources Say". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  68. ^ Hughes, Trevor; Johnson, Kevin (October 2, 2015). "Official: Oregon gunman left angry note glorifying mass killers". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  69. ^ Gray, Melissa (October 5, 2015). "Merciless gunman shot woman in a wheelchair, Oregon survivor says". CNN. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2015. The shooter also expressed frustration at not having a girlfriend and being a virgin, the law enforcement officials say.
  70. ^ Cooper, Jonathan J.; Abdollah, Tami (October 6, 2015). "In writings, Oregon gunman Christopher Harper-Mercer ranted about others being crazy". Los Angeles Daily News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  71. ^ Vinograd, Cassandra; Williams, Pete; Blankstein, Andrew; Winter, Tom (October 2, 2015). "Oregon Shooting: Umpqua Gunman Chris Harper Mercer — What We Know". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  72. ^ S.J., Prince (October 1, 2015). "Was Chris Mercer Harper Inspired by Vester Flanagan?". Heavy. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  73. ^ Glum, Julia (October 2, 2015). "Oregon Shooting Suspect Chris Harper-Mercer Linked To Blog Post About Roanoke Gunman Vester Flanagan: Reports". International Business Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  74. ^ Ortiz, Erik; Johnson, M. Alex; Winter, Tom (October 1, 2015). "13 Killed in Shooting at Oregon's Umpqua Community College: Officials". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  75. ^ Saslow, Eli; Kaplan, Sarah; Hoyt, Joseph (October 2, 2015). "Oregon shooter said to have singled out Christians for killing in 'horrific act of cowardice'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  76. ^ Gurman, Sadie (October 3, 2015). "More police refusing to name shooters for fear of copycats". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  77. ^ Yukich, Joshua; Towers, Sherry; Gomez-Lievano, Andres; Khan, Maryam; Mubayi, Anuj; Castillo-Chavez, Carlos (2015). "Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings". PLOS ONE. 10 (7): e0117259. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1017259T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117259. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4489652. PMID 26135941.
  78. ^ "Daily Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 10/5/2015". whitehouse.gov. October 5, 2015. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2015 – via National Archives.
  79. ^ Wozniacka, Gosia (October 9, 2015). "Strong emotions as Obama visits grieving Oregon town". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  80. ^ a b c Crombie, Noelle (September 15, 2017). "UCC shooting: New gun law may have applied to deeply troubled shooter". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  81. ^ Westbrook, Vera. "Pacific Power Unveils Memorial For Umpqua Community College Shooting". www.opb.org. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2020.

Further reading

[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2015_Umpqua_Community_College_shooting&oldid=1255077345#Perpetrator"