(Newswire.net — October 1, 2015) — At least 9 people are dead and 20 more injured in a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. The first 911 call was received of an active shooter at 10:38, according to MSNBC. Victims are being treated at two hospitals, Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg where the school is located and Sacred Heart General Hospital in Eugene.
Reports also say the gunman was killed in a shoot out with law enforcement officials. Other unconfirmed reports say that the police have “one suspect” in custody. While it is still unclear as to the fate of the shooter(s), an expert in mass killings said that such gunmen rarely exchange gunfire with police.
“Shootouts are rare,” said Professor Jay Corzine at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando. “But they do happen (roughly 12 to 15 percent of the time). Most of these people who stick around and wait for the cops to show up, it’s a suicide by cop thing. They know they’re not going to win that.”
Oregon’s top federal prosecutor said he and other government officials have heard the same social media rumors that the public has about the shooter issuing “some sort of race-related manifesto” before the crime. According to one unconfirmed report, the shooter was asking the “religion” of his victims before executing them.
Billy J. Williams, the acting U.S. Attorney for Oregon, told The Oregonian/Oregonlive at shortly before 3 p.m. that he was about to board a plane to head to the command post. There he would meet with the FBI’s Gregory T. Bretzing, special agent in charge of the Portland Field Office, and other local authorities.
“Right now, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is the lead (investigative) agency,” Williams said.
“What a senseless loss of life – it’s tragic,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families.”
UPDATE: October 1, 2015, 4:19 PDT — The lone gunman was killed in a shootout with police, after executing 9 people at the college. All victims were in the same room, forced to lie on the ground, and were shot execution style. One potential victim was spared, and directed to find a “manefesto” detailing the shooter’s thoughts before embarking on his violent quest.