At least 10 killed, 20 injured in gun rampage at Oregon college

A 20-year-old gunman went on a deadly rampage at an Oregon community college on Thursday — killing at least ten people before dying in a shootout with police, officials said.
Authorities responded to a call about an active shooter in a classroom at Umpqua Community College at 10:38 a.m. and later found him inside a building on campus.

“There was an exchange of gunfire,” Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said at an afternoon press conference, adding that no cops were injured during the shootout.
“The shooter threat was neutralized and officers continued to sweep the campus looking for other threats,” he said.

Four guns were recovered at the scene, a source told CNN.
Police officials would not confirm the number of victims, but the Oregon attorney general at one point said the death toll was 13, according to MSNBC.
At least 20 more were wounded, according to news reports.
“There’s been another mass shooting in America,” President Obama said at a press conference on Thursday following the massacre. “It means there are more American families, moms dads, children, whose lives have been changed forever. That means there’s another community stunned with grief, and communities across the country forced to relive their own anguish, and parents across the country who are scared because it might have been their children. Somehow this has become routine…we’ve become numb to this.”
Describing the shooter, he added, “We don’t know yet why this individual did what he did. And it’s fair to say anybody who does this has a sickness in their minds, regardless of what they think their motivations may be.”
While authorities have not released a motive, survivors claimed the shooter had been targeting Christian students who were in a writing class in Snyder Hall.
Douglas County Fire Marshal Ray Shoufler told CNN that victims were also found in “multiple classrooms,” as well.
In his statement, the President explained that even though it is unclear why this young man chose to take so many lives before taking his own, the shooting is another example of the senseless gun violence that America has become notorious for over the years.
“Each time this happens I’m going to bring this up,” he said. “I’m going to say we can do something about it, but we have to change our laws. This is not something I can do by myself. I’ve got to have a congress and state legislatures, and governors who are willing to work with me on this. I hope and pray that I don’t have to come out again during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances, but based on my experience as president I can’t guarantee that and that’s terrible to say and it can change.”

Even though the gunman has yet to be identified, CNN reported that investigators are examining social media postings made by a young man who they believe to be the shooter — and he may have sent out an ominous warning the night before the massacre.
One Twitter user posted a link to a 4chan post, in which an anonymous poster wrote last night, “Some of you guys are alright. Don’t go to school tomorrow if you are in the northwest.”
“Happening thread will be posted tomorrow morning…so long space robots,” the user continued.
Mercy Medical Center said in a Facebook post that the hospital has already received nine victims, and three more were on the way.
“Please continue to pray,” the hospital wrote.
The wounded include a woman who was shot in the chest, according to CNN. Non-injured students and college staff were being transported to local fairgrounds. Just after the shooting, one college official said the campus was on lockdown.
“We’re asking that no one come to the campus,” the official said. “The road coming into the campus is pretty small so we don’t want parents coming onto the campus.”

“We’re all just kind of staying inside right now,” she said. “We’re all pretty calm.”
The official said the school had a lockdown drill just a week ago.
“We talked about lockdown and what to do in the case of a lockdown so we’re prepared,” she said.
Some students took to Twitter to describe the chaotic shooting scene.
“Omg there’s someone shooting on campus,” wrote Twitter user Kayla Marie. “Students are running everywhere. Holy God.”
The Oregon community college, which is located in Roseburg, has about 3,300 full-time students and 16,000 part-time students, according to its website. Roseburg is roughly 180 miles south of Portland.