Plea for peace at candlelight vigil for mass shooting victims
ROSEBURG, Ore. (KTVU) - Hundreds gathered in the darkness at a vigil for the victims of Thursday's Umpqua Community College mass shooting. Students, faculty, staff, and community members, held candles at a park in Roseberg, Oregon, searching for solace and still stunned by the violence.
Officials say 10 people died and another 7 people were injured when the gunman opened fire on a classroom about 10:38 a.m. Thursday.
It was the first week of school for the estimated 3,000 students who attend UCC, which is some three hours south of Portland, Oregon.
At the vigil, the opening prayer by veteran Bill Johnson captured the disbelief of many people.
"Help us to understand. Father help us to gain wisdom and help us to work together, draw together, be closer to one another," Johnson said.
Also at the vigil was Rita Cavin, the President of Umpqua Community College, who urged the crowd to dispel any anger and focus instead on healing and supporting the victims.
"Anger caused this and we can't have anger around us right this minute. We need love and compassion and healing and it's going to take a long time," Cavin said.
News reports Thursday night identified the gunman as Chris Harper Mercer, 26, based on information from law enforcement sources. The suspect died after exchanging gunfire with police.
The Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin refused to name the suspect at a 7 p.m. news conference Thursday. He said the medical examiner would release the identification of the shooter and the sheriff had strong words saying he would never say the shooter's name.
"We have information that leads us to believe we know who the shooter is," Hanlin said.
"I will not give him the credit he probably sought," Hanlin continued, "You will never hear me mention his name."
The sheriff urged the public to focus instead on remembering the victims and supporting their families. He said the victims' names would be withheld until Friday to allow for notification of family members.
Students recalled the shock of hearing the gunfire.
"I heard screaming after that first gun shot and I looked out and seen the people running I told the teacher, 'we need to get out of here right now,' said a student named Sarah.
Another student, Kendra Gordon, said she and friends hid in a classroom and heard gunfire next door.
"So one of the students in our class, she went out and checked it. She got shot twice. One in the arm and the stomach and she came back and said shut the door and turn the lights off and we sat there for 20 minutes," Gordon said, her voice faltering, "We called the cops and we called our families and we prayed. We prayed that we weren't going to be next."
President Obama, visibly frustrated and upset, gave his condolences to the victims' families. He also blasted opponents of gun control measures, naming other mass shootings he has seen during his presidency.
"We've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine, and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charleston," President Obama said, "It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun.'
One student told a local newspaper that the gunman asked people their religion before shooting them. The L.A. Times reports Chris Harper Mercer lived most of his life in Torrance. A relative told the paper Mercer only recently moved to Oregon.
Other reports say he was living there with his mother.
KTVU found a MySpace page that shows a man with the same name posing in a photo with a gun.
East Bay Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell joined President Obama in demanding action on gun control. In a tweet shortly after the shooting he said, "Here's what'll happen: Moment of silence on House floor-- Followed by moments of "inaction" by Congress. Victims deserve action."
The Douglas County Sheriff says the FBI is helping to process the scene. Federal officials also are investigating whether the suspect was on any watch lists.