Kansas City Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie fondly remembers those days growing up in Roseburg, Oregon – riding his bike all around town, going to the local swimming pool and cheering on the basketball team at Umpqua Community College.
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The gunman – who has been named in reports as Chris Harper Mercer (26) – attacked students inside a classroom. Investigators are also looking into social media postings they believe Mercer made that may have signaled his intentions. The former secretary of state says she’s committed to doing everything she can to achieve that.
At 11:39 a.m. the Roseburg News Review quoted Jared Norman, a nursing student at UCC, who said he heard shots and then everyone was running.
Police soon arrived and, after students were convinced that it was indeed officers, they opened the door.
The lockdown has been lifted, and the sheriff said the “threat is over”.
“Our community came together time and time again”, he told 8News sister station KOIN.
At a news conference on Thursday, the county sheriff said he was not going to say the shooter’s name because that’s what he would have wanted.
Governor Kate Brown said the suspect was a 20-year-old man but he was not identified further by authorities.
One law enforcement official said the shooter had body armor with him and was heavily armed, with a large amount of ammunition – enough for a prolonged gunfight. “I will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act”, said John Hanlin.
Bronte Hart lived below Mercer in the community of Winchester. Yellow police tape surrounded the building Thursday night. Authorities say it’ll be another 24 to 48 hours until they release the names of the victims killed in Thursday’s shooting. While she lay bleeding on the floor, the gunman called out to her, “Hey you, blond woman”, her mother said.
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“I was freaking out. He wanted everyone to be happy…I don’t know what to do…My mom’s inside crying…I’m actually still shaking”. Students and faculty were bused to the fairgrounds where counselors were available and a few parents waited for their children. “Right now I’m focused, along with Oregonians across the state, on supporting the community”. “It is just ridiculous”, she said.
