The Oregon gunman who carried out an execution-style massacre at a college classroom had a cache of 13 weapons, body armour and ammunition, authorities said on Friday as they sought a motive for the bloodiest US mass shooting this year.
Celinez Nunez, assistant special agent of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, disclosed the cache as details emerged about the suspect in Thursday's rampage at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg.
Six guns, armour and five magazines of ammunition were recovered from the campus where the gunman stormed into a classroom, killing nine people before he was shot dead by police, Ms Nunez told a news conference.
Douglas County sheriff John Hanlin declined to name the gunman.
“I continue to believe that those media and community members who publicise his name will only glorify his horrific actions,” he said. “And eventually, this will only serve to inspire a future shooter.”
Law enforcement sources confirmed reports identifying the suspect as Chris Harper-Mercer (26).
The gunman shot a professor and then ordered cowering students to stand up and state their religion before he shot them one by one, according to survivors’ accounts.
Seven guns and a stockpile of ammunition were found at the apartment he shared with his mother in nearby Winchester, Ms Nunez said.
The shooter left behind a “multipage, hate-filled” statement in the classroom, according to a tweet from an NBC reporter, citing multiple law enforcement sources. Citing unspecified sources, CNN said the statement showed animosity toward blacks.
Harper-Mercer, who identified himself on a blog post as “mixed race”, enlisted in the US Army and served for about a month in 2008 before being discharged for failing to meet administrative standards, military records showed.
At some point of his life, Harper-Mercer appears to have been sympathetic to the IRA. On an undated Myspace page, he posted photos of masked IRA gunmen carrying assault rifles.– (Reuters)