Oregon Shooter Was Enrolled in Class Where Shootings Occurred

The man who killed nine people at an Oregon community college Thursday was enrolled in the class where the shootings occurred, CNN reports. He had body armor, six firearms, and five extra magazines with him during the massacre, the AP reports. Authorities found seven additional firearms inside the shooter's apartment a few miles from Umpqua Community College. All 13 firearms had been purchased legally, and seven of them had been bought by the shooter or his family in the past three years. The 26-year-old shooter was obsessed with guns, enjoyed military history, and left behind an "angry, hate-filled" note, the Los Angeles Times reports, citing unnamed law enforcement sources. Those sources say he was anti-religion, anti-government, and had "white supremacy leanings."

The Oregonian notes that tabloids looking into the shooter's online presence have described him as a "Nazi paraphernalia devotee." It's been previously reported the shooter targeted Christians during his rampage, described himself as "conservative, Republican" on a dating site, showed support for the IRA on social media, and had recently uploaded a documentary on the Sandy Hook school shooting to a torrent site. He is not believed to have a criminal history. The AP reports that he flunked out of Army boot camp; he was in basic training for just over a month before he was discharged for failing to meet minimum standards in 2008. (More Umpqua Community College stories.)