Authorities have identified the terrorist who murdered 10 people -- or 9, if he was the 10th one dead-- as 26-year old Chris Harper Mercer.
The 26-year-old man that left 10 people dead and seven others wounded in a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon was identified on Thursday night as Chris Harper Mercer, NBC News and CBS News reported.
Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin did not identify Mercer as the gunman during a press conference on Thursday evening. The shooter died at the scene after exchanging gunfire with authorities.
CBS also reported that four firearms, including a rifle and pistols, were recovered from the scenes. The purported gunman was originally described as being 20 years old by Gov. Kate Brown during a statement earlier in the day.
I will update with further information as it's available.
Update: This appears to be a dating profile he posted saying he's conservative and hates religion. Strange, but not unheard of.
Here's a screenshot:
The Daily Beast reports:
A MySpace account belonging to Christopher Harper-Mercer is registered to Torrance, California. Harper-Mercer and his mother previously lived in Torrance before moving to an apartment in Winchester, Oregon, where neighbors tell The Daily Beast there is a heavy police presence.
An online dating profile, linked to Harper-Mercer's e-mail address and featuring another photo of him, says the 26-year-old was living with his parents and searching for the "yin to my yang." It identifies his views as "conservative, republican," and lists "organized religion" as one of his "dislikes."
According to a student at Umpqua, Mercerdemanded to know his victims' religions before killing them.
