13 shot dead in U. s. college massacre
AT LEAST 13 people were feared dead last night after a gunman went on the rampage at a US college.
A further 20 people are believed to have been injured at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.
Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said the gunman, in his late 20s, was among the dead.
Officials could not confirm whether the murderer had been a student at the college.
They said the victims included a woman who had been shot in the chest.
Reports at the scene suggested the man killed 13 people.
A Douglas County official, who declined to be named, said: “It’s less than 20 but I don’t have an exact number.”
Sergeant Des Hutson, of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said officers responded at around 10.40am local time to reports of a shooting.
The fire brigade advised people on Twitter to stay away from the school. It later tweeted that there were “multiple casualties” but did not elaborate.
Kayla Marie, who is believed to be a student at UCC, tweeted about the shooting as the drama unfolded. “OMG. There’s someone shooting on campus,” she wrote. “Students are running everywhere. Holy God.”
She later said students were taken off campus by bus. An employee at the college said: “College students came in running. We just went into lockdown.”
Special agents and dogs were called to the scene to check for explosives.
Endi Hartigan, a spokeswoman for the Oregon department that oversees community colleges in the state, said: “It’s extremely concerning and sad.” Umpqua Community College has about 3,000 students. Roseburg is a city of 22,000 people located 70 miles south of Eugene, Oregon, and some 180 miles south of Portland.
Student McCrae Kittleman said: “As far as I know it was at a building on campus where as far as I know 15 are dead.
“They said that it was a man and a woman and the woman was down. I think it’s terrible and sad.” The congressman who represents the area described the horror as a “heartbreaking tragedy”.
Democrat Peter DeFazio said his thoughts and prayers were with the victims and their families.
He also expressed gratitude to the emergency services.
Last night Andrea Zielinski, a spokeswoman for Douglas County Sheriff’s office, said the threat at the college had subsided.