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Is The Umpqua Community College Shooter Dead?

by Celia Darrough

On Thursday afternoon, a mass shooting at a community college in Oregon left multiple people dead and injured. The Umpqua Community College shooting suspect was reported "down," according to scanner reports heard by The Oregonian, but CNN reported that the shooter was detained. Soon after, The Oregonian also indicated that Douglas County dispatchers said a suspect had been detained. Reports often vary in the initial stages of a tragedy — numbers of how many people have been killed or wounded are varying widely from two to 15 — and it will take more time before authorities can give an official statement on what exactly has happened.

UPDATE: At 1:45 p.m. PST, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin confirmed that the shooter, who was a male suspect, is deceased. Hanlin said he believes there was gunfire exchanged between the shooter and police officers. He confirmed that there were fatalities and injuries, but could not confirm the number. It was later confirmed that there were nine dead. The shooter was identified by the New York Times as Chris Harper Mercer Thursday night, and he is deceased. 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.

The college is located in Roseburg, a small town in southern Oregon. A call was received around 10:30 a.m. PST reporting a shooting on campus. Multiple casualties were reported, and victims were transported to the hospital by ambulance as well as LifeFlight.

According to KVAL, the CBS news affiliate in Eugene, which is about 70 miles from Roseburg, Oregon State Police Lieutenant Bill Fugate said that, as of noon PST, at least 10 people were dead, and more than 20 were wounded.