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UCC Shooter Is A 20-Year-Old Male, Confirmed Dead

by Melissah Yang

Update: On Friday, it was confirmed that there were nine victim fatalities and that Mercer killed himself after Thursday's mass shooting at Umpqua Community College. On Saturday, there were reports that Mercer handed out a box to a fellow classmate that possibly contained his final note. The note that Mercer left detailed his depression and loneliness. In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Mercer's father wondered how his estranged son was able to obtain 13 guns. Mercer was a student at the college and was enrolled in the writing class where he opened fire. He previously attended a school for mentally unstable children and was briefly enrolled in the U.S. Army in 2008, before he was kicked out a month in for not demonstrating the basic administrative standards required to serve. All of his guns were purchased legally.

The victims' names were released Friday night: Lucero Alcaraz, 19; Treven Taylor Anspach, 20; Rebecka Ann Carnes, 18; Quinn Glen Cooper, 18; Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, 59; Lucas Eibel, 18; Jason Dale Johnson, 33;Lawrence Levine, 67 (assistant professor); Sarena Dawn Moore, 44.

Update: The shooter was confirmed dead by Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin at a 1:30 p.m. press conference. He was described as a 20-year-old white man. At 5 p.m., Hanlin said 10 fatalities and seven injuries could be confirmed. The shooter was identified by the New York Times as Chris Harper Mercer Thursday night.

Thirteen people were killed and reportedly 20 others were injured Thursday after a shooter opened fire at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, at around 10:30 a.m. PT. And the number injured could rise. There have been conflicting accounts on the shooter's status or possible injuries. CNN first reported the shooter had been detained, while a Douglas County fire official told NBC News the shooter was "down."

Officials do know the identity of the shooter, but Hanlin declined to share additional details about him, including whether the gunman was a student at the college. Authorities believe four guns recovered at the scene belonged to the shooter, as firearms are banned on campus. During a separate press conference, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said the shooter was 20 years old. Authorities are currently combing through his social media presence, and according to CNN, the shooter described himself as a "beta male." The shooter also reportedly posted something on a social media account that warned students to avoid campus prior to the shooting.

The gunman appears to have acted alone. Officials have yet to disclose a possible motive, or the type of firearm used in the shooting. One witness, Kortney Moore, told The New York Times that the shooter asked students inside a classroom to stand up and say their religion. Moore said he then began to open fire.

The shooting began at around 10:30 a.m. PT inside or near Snyder Hall, a mix English and science building on the southeast end of campus. The small college is no longer considered an active shooting scene. The Roseburg college, located roughly 180 miles south of Portland, has 3,300 full-time and 16,000 part-time students, according to its website. Roseburg has a population of 22,000 people. The incident could be the deadliest mass shooting since the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, which left 20 children and six adult staffers dead. Umpqua is also the 45th campus shooting to have occurred in 2015.

Image: vpickering/Flickr