Christopher Harper-Mercer, the gunman in Thursday's mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, died by suicide, local law enforcement officials announced on Saturday.
The suicide occurred during a firefight with law enforcement officers, who had arrived to disarm him, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said at a press conference on Saturday.
Advertisement
Two Roseburg, Oregon, police officers and an Oregon state trooper exchanged fire with Harper-Mercer within minutes of arriving at the scene. The medical examiner subsequently ruled Harper-Mercer's death a suicide, suggesting that Harper-Mercer shot himself before law enforcement could kill him.
The sheriff confirmed that Harper-Mercer was enrolled in the class in which he opened fire, killing 9 people, among them classmates and the professor.
Hanlin also revealed that law enforcement found an additional handgun in Harper-Mercer's home, bringing the total number of firearms in his possession to 14.
To show just how short a period of time it took for the entire massacre and police response to transpire, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office released the following timeline of Thursday's events:
Advertisement
Shortly before the Saturday press conference, The Associated Press reported on new details about what occurred on Thursday.
Harper-Mercer allowed a student in the class to survive and gave him a package to deliver to police, according to Janet Willis, grandmother of Anastasia Boylan, a student present in the classroom. Boylan told Willis that she was wounded and playing dead when she saw Harper-Mercer spare the other student and give him the package.
Willis also told the AP that Boylan recalled Harper-Mercer asking students if they were Christian and shooting them in the head if they said yes.
There are divergent accounts of just what Harper-Mercer said as he fired on the victims, though.
Stephanie Salas, whose son Rand McGowan survived the attack, said that McGowan remembers Harper-Mercer asking about people's religions, but not targeting Christians.
Advertisement
McGowan said Harper-Mercer would make each person stand and then ask them about their faith.
"'Do you have a God? Are you Christian? Do you have a religion?' It was more so saying, 'You're going to be meeting your maker. This won't hurt very long.' Then he would shoot them," Salas told the AP.
At Saturday's press conference, Hanlin did not provide additional insight on the motive of the shooter.
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.