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| Students, staff and faculty with their hands up are evacuated from Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. Daily Mail |
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Gunman, 20, killed after mass shooting at Oregon college that left up to 13 dead and 20 injured
Daily Mail
September 30, 2015
Area: Eugene
Police responded to reports of shots fired at Umpqua
Gunman, described only as a 20-year-old male, was shot in a gunfight with police.
-At least part of the shooting played out at Snyder Hall in the English building on campus and police reported exchanging fire with gunman
-First responders reported there were 'multiple patients in multiple classrooms,' meaning shooter was moving from room to room
-ATF agents accompanied by K-9 units from Portland were en route to the campus
-Students were being bused off campus to Douglas County Fairground
-Community College in Roseburg at 10.40am local time
-At least one of the injured victims was a woman who was shot in the chest
The gunman who opened fire on students at Umpqua Community College Thursday morning, killing at least 13 people and wounding 20 others, has been confirmed as dead.
Students at the scene described how the shooter asked people to stand and state their religions before he began firing, according to local reports.
Officials confirmed that the shooter, a 20-year-old man, had been 'neutralized,' although reports differ on whether he was shot by police or had killed himself.
Dozens of police officers and detectives are still on the scene at the Oregon college where the mass shooting took place while school was in session.
According to law enforcement officials, at least one of the injured victims was a woman who was shot in the chest.
Sgt. Dwes Hutson, of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, says officers responded around 10.40am local time to reports of a shooting at the Roseburg campus.
The station KATU reported, citing a school official, that gunfire erupted at Snyder Hall located in the English building on campus, which is comprised of about 16 auxiliary buildings.
Douglass County Commissioner Chris Boice later confirmed that the shooter, 20, was now dead.
Authorities said that there doesn't appear to be a link with international terrorism.
CNN reported the shooter posted a message on a social media account that indicated the incident was premeditated, and that he picked the campus as a 'soft target.'
Reports from a police scanner recorded a dispatcher saying he was 'exchanging gunshots right now with a shooter' who was located in Snyder Hall.
Brady Winder, 23, of Portland, was on campus when he described hearing a 'thud.'
He told The News-Review he then then heard a barrage of gunfire and saw students fleeing 'like ants.'
One neighbor, who lives across the street, recalled to CNN hearing what they thought were 'fireworks'.
A warning message from the shooter who opened fire at an Oregon college allegedly appeared on an internet forum last night.
The message, which was posted anonymously on bulletin board 4Chan, read: 'Some of you guys are alright. Don't go to school tomorrow if you are in the northwest.'
The message continues 'happening thread will be posted tomorrow morning. so long space robots.'
The alleged post is no longer visible on the website - the cached version was first posted on Reddit after the shooting.
'Will post again in am, 10 min countdown. Won't say more to much to prepare,' the post continues.
Under the disturbing message several users advise the poster on the best ways to kill people.
One user wrote: 'I suggest you enter a classroom and tell people that you will take them as hostages. Make everyone get in one corner and then open fire.
'Make sure that there is no way that someone can disarm you as it it possible. I suggest you carry a knife on your belt as last resort if someone is holding your gun.'
While another user wrote: 'You might want to target a girls school which is safer because there are no beta males throwing themselves for their rescue.
'Do not use a shotgun. I would suggest a powerful assault rifle and a pistol or 2x pistols. Possibly the type of pistols who have 15+ ammo.'
Dailymail.com can not verify the authenticity of the message.
The witness, who only realized what happened when he saw a slew of emergency vehicles, said he heard 'lots of shots in about a minute.'
They also saw some of the victims of the attack, describing how one girl was carried out of the building wrapped in a bloodied blanket.
Kortney Moore, 18, from Rogue River, was in her English class in Snyder Hall when she saw her teacher get shot in the head.
She said the gunman demanded everyone get up and tell him their religion before he began shooting.
Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin confirmed at an afternoon press conference that the shooter had been killed.
Responding officers were reportedly going room to room at the UCC science building, where at least part of the shooting played out, checking for possible booby traps and interviewing witnesses, reported The News-Review.
The Umpqua Community College shooter appears to have targeted the science building because it is a large lecture hall and would have allowed him to cause mass casualties.
Douglas County Sheriff spokesman Gerlad Eifert said that Snyder Hall was one large room and some offices.
Mr Eifert also confirmed that the building was where the shooting started.
ATF agents accompanied by K-9 units from Portland were dispatched to the campus to help with the search for explosives.
Emergency responders are setting up local triage centers to administer care on the scene while the most seriously injured have been rushed to area hospitals.
A Douglas County fire official told CNN when he arrived on the scene, they found 'multiple patients in multiple classrooms.'
Students from UCC were eventually evacuated to the Douglas County Fairground for a debriefing.
Kayla Marie, who is believed to be a student at UCC, has been tweeting about the shooting as the situation unfolded.
'Omg there's someone shooting on campus,' she wrote. 'Students are running everywhere. Holy god.'
She later offered an update, tweeting that student were being bused off campus.
Jodi Sonka was also at the scene when the shooting began.
'3rd day into college and there's an active shooter so we're on lockdown,' she tweeted, adding that she was 's*** scared.'
She added that she had not heard any gunshots and had not heard the names of any students who had been killed.
The freshman, who had been in the science lab for class, told CNN that students had been told to get into the back room as soon as they were alerted of the shooting.
'We heard something was happening in the middle of our biology lab,' she said. 'We were working in the lab and we were all kind of noisy.
'And then we heard "we need to get in the back room now. Immediately.'
She added: 'We were all trying to figure out what was going on. By the time we figured it out, the FBI came in and said the shooter was down.
'We got taken outside and patted down by police officers and loaded up on buses.'
Douglas County Sheriff's Department has tweeted that counselors are being made available for UCC students, staff and their families.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the Oregon shooting rampage by homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco and will receive updates throughout the day, according to a White House official
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest addressed the shooting during Thursday's daily briefing, saying Obama is committed to passing tougher gun control laws.
'The issue of sensible steps that can be taken to protect our communities from gun violence continues to be a top priority of this administration,' Earnest told reporters.
'The president has been quite candid about how this is and has been a source of frustration for him.'
Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio, who represents Roseburg, said in a statement that his thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. He also expressed gratitude for the first responders.
DeFazio says once he knows more about what happened, he plans to work with his colleagues in Congress to find ways to prevent such tragedies.
The two-year college, located 180 miles south of Portland, has more than 4,000 students, more than half of them female. The average age of students enrolled in UCC is 38.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a pro-gun control group, the incident in Oregon is the 45th shooting at a school so far this year.
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