10 reported dead as gunman strikes Oregon campus

At an evening news conference, John Hanlin, the sheriff of Douglas County, said that he believed there were 10 dead, calling the toll the “best, most accurate information we have at this time.” He declined to say whether the gunman was included in the death toll.

Law enforcement officials identified the gunman Thursday night as Chris Harper Mercer, and said he had three weapons, at least one

of them a long gun and the other ones handguns. It was not clear whether he fired them all. The officials said the man lived in the Roseburg area.

They said one witness had told them that Mercer had asked about people’s religions before he began firing.

“He appears to be an angry young man who was very filled with hate,” one law enforcement official said.

The first reports of shots came at 10:38 a.m. Pacific time, on what was the fourth day of the new session. Students said they took place in classroom 15 in a building called Snyder Hall that houses many English and writing classes.

Cassandra Welding, a 20-year-old junior, was in a classroom next to the shooting and heard several loud bursts, like balloons popping.

A middle-aged woman behind her rose to shut the classroom door and was struck in the stomach by several bullets.

A friend of the injured woman dragged the woman into the room and began delivering CPR, said Welding. Someone clicked the door shut and the students huddled in the corner, blocking themselves with desks and backpacks.

“I heard more shooting,” Welding said. “It was horrific. My whole body was shaking. A chill was going down my spine. We called 911.”