Students describe horror of shooting

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) — Armed with multiple guns, a 26-year-old man walked into a morning writing class at a community college in this rural Oregon town and opened fire, hitting some students with multiple gunshots. One witness said the attacker demanded to know students' religion before shooting them.

Students in a classroom next door heard several shots, one right after the next, and their teacher told them to leave.

"We began to run," student Hannah Miles said. "A lot of my classmates were going every which way. We started to run to the center of campus. And I turned around, and I saw students pouring out of the building."

At least nine people were killed and seven others wounded Thursday, the fourth day of classes at Umpqua Community College in this former timber town 180 miles south of Portland. The worst mass shooting in recent Oregon history was raising questions about security at the college with about 3,000 students.

"I suspect this is going to start a discussion across the country about how community colleges prepare themselves for events like this," former college president Joe Olson said.

The killer was identified as Chris Harper-Mercer, according to a government official who was not authorized to speak publicly and provided the name on condition of anonymity. Mercer died after a shootout with police, who were not saying whether they knew of any motive.

Sarah Cobb, 17, was in a next-door classroom. She heard a shot. A teacher said they needed to get out, and the class ran out the door as she heard two more shots.

"I was freaking out. I didn't know what to think, what to do," she said.