In a few brutal minutes Thursday, a 26-year-old man turned Roseburg's Umpqua Community College into the site of Oregon's deadliest mass shooting -- a rampage so violent police pleaded for "as many ambulances as possible" and President Barack Obama went on national TV to argue, again, for tougher guns laws.
The gunman shot and killed nine people before dying himself after a firefight with officers.
"There's been another mass shooting in America, this time at a community college in Oregon," the president said. "It means there are more American families -- moms, dads, children -- whose lives have been changed forever. That means there's another community stunned with grief ...
"I've been to Roseburg, Oregon. There are really good people there." The gunman, whose name police have not released but The Oregonian/OregonLive confirmed as Chris Harper-Mercer, entered an Introduction to Expository Writing class in Snyder Hall around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. He carried a "long gun," according to radio calls between police and emergency dispatchers, and up to three handguns.
The shooting began immediately.