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Chris Harper Mercer

Chris Harper Mercer9 posts

Chris Harper Mercer killed 10 people and injured more than 20 in a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, on October 1, 2015. He was killed by police at the scene.

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4 Oct, 2015

Father blames access to guns

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Mercer’s father, Ian Mercer, says he doesn’t know where his son got his weapons.

How on earth could he compile 13 guns? How could that happen? We talk about gun laws. We talk about gun control. Every time something like this happens, they talk about it and nothing gets done. I’m not trying to say that that’s to blame for what happened, but if Chris had not been able to get hold of 13 guns, this wouldn’t have happened…It has to change. How can it not? Even people that believe in the right to bear arms, what right do you have to take people’s lives? That’s what guns are, the killers. Simple as that. Simple as that. It’s black and white. What do you want a gun for?

On his son’s mental state:

Obviously, somebody who goes and kills nine people has to have some kind of issue. Whatever it is, let the police determine what they find.

2 Oct, 2015

Victims names released

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The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office releases the name of the victims: Professor Lawrence Levine of Glide, 67, Lucero Alcaraz of Roseburg, 19, Quinn Glen Cooper of Roseburg, 18, Kim Saltmarsh Dietz of Roseburg, 59, Lucas Eibel of Roseburg, 18, Jason Dale Johnson of Winston, 34, Sarena Dawn Moore of Myrtle Creek, 44, Treven Taylor Anspach of Sutherlin, 20, and Rebecka Ann Carnes of Myrtle Creek, 18.

Note left at scene

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Law enforcement officials say Mercer left a note at the scene of the killings. They say the multi-page typed note was a philosophical rant of someone who was mad at the world. The officials say Mercer lamented the fact that he did not have a girlfriend.

[He] felt the world was against him [and that he would be] welcomed in Hell and embraced by the devil. He wrote that he was ‘in a bad way. He was depressed, sullen. He said he had no life. He felt the world was against him.

Weapons purchased legally

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The ATF Bureau says thirteen weapons,  six from the school and seven from Mercer’s residence, were purchased legally. All of the weapons were traced to a federal firearms dealer. Seven of the weapons were purchased by the shooter or his family members in the last three years. Law enforcement also recovered a jacket with steel plates and additional magazines.

Admired Roanoke shooter

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In a blog under the name Lithium_Love, an online identity linked to Mercer, he expresses admiration for Roanoke shooter Vester Flanagan.

People like him have nothing left to live for. On an interesting note, I have noticed that so many people like him are all alone and unknown, yet when they spill a little blood, the whole world knows who they are… 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. Seems the more people you kill, the more you’re in the limelight.

Shot seven times

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Family members say Mintz, and army veteran, was shot seven times while trying to save other students during the Umpqua killings. He was shot in the back, abdomen and hands, and has two broken legs, and has been in surgery since the shooting.

[He] tried to protect some people. We were told he did heroic things to protect some people…We’re not sure how his legs got broken. He was on the wrestling team and and he’s done cage-fighting so it does not surprise me that he would act heroically…It was a great, great shock … We’ve all been sitting on pins and needles and praying very hard.

A message on Mintz’s Facebook:

This is Chris’s friend, Chris asked me to thank everyone for their support, he is grateful and keeping our community and all victims in his thoughts.

10 killed, 20 injured in shooting

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10 people are killed by Mercer. and more than 20 others injured, in a shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College. Mercer is also killed. The shooting starts in one building before the gunman moves to the school’s science building. Those killed and wounded are found in at least two classrooms. Three pistols and one rifle believed to have belonged to the suspect are recovered at the scene. A woman who claims to have a grandmother inside a writing class in Snyder Hall, where a portion the massacre unfolded, says Mercer targeted Christians.

The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christian. If they said yes, then they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn’t answer, they were shot in the legs. My grandma just got to my house, and she was in the room. She wasn’t shot, but she is very upset.