Roseburg, Oregon
CNN is reporting that at least 15 are dead and another 20 wounded. [See Update 1 below on number of casualties]. Reports are still unclear regarding motive or names of victim or shooter.
Initial reports are that the shooter is “down”. Other reports said the shooter was taken into custody. Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials have been called to the scene.
The crime scene is the campus of Umpqua Community College, located in Roseburg, about 200 miles south of Portland. Roseburg is best known as a logging town, with a tourism element helping to support the local economy. There is no indication yet whether the shooter was a student at the college, a local resident or an outsider to the small community in Douglas County.
Updates as they become available.
UPDATE 1: The number of dead remains in flux. Reports indicate 7 to 10 at one source, “multiple dead” at another source and “at least 15 dead” at two sources.
Roseburg has only one hospital/medical center. At last report they did not have exact numbers of those treated at the facility. Based on these varying reports, the headline has been changed from 15 dead to “Dozens Dead and Wounded” as it appears the total number is still estimated to exceed two dozen, though the number of dead may be 7 known at this time.
The picture above is reportedly from the scene as students were being checked on leaving the campus following the shooting.
UPDATE 2: In a sign of the times, at least one pro-gun site is already reporting this tragedy as having taken place on a “gun free” campus, the implication being that the presence of students or faculty with guns may have averted the massacre. [Editorial comment – You can search out the site yourself; I refuse to link it.]
UPDATE 3: As reported by Politico,
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum told MSNBC that 13 have died and more than 20 injured.
And in further reporting, this response from the White House:
Josh Earnest said during the daily briefing that the issue of gun control has not fallen on the administration’s priority list, but that President Barack Obama is “quite realistic that we’ll need to see a fundamental change in terms of the way the American people communicate this priority to Congress before we’ll see a different outcome in the legislative process.
…
We’ve not yet seen that kind of strong bipartisan support across the country translate into legislative support in the United States Congress that’s sufficient to pass legislation that would, again, implement these kinds of common-sense solutions.”
UPDATE 4: Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin is reporting that the gunman, still officially unidentified, is dead from an apparent exchange of gunfire with authorities.
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.