Nine fatalities occurred in Umpqua Community College in Oregon when a student named Christopher Harper-Mercer gunned down students in his writing class.

The deceased included students of the ages between 18-67, and the shooting was believed to be linked to religion. Witnesses and the nine injured claim that before Harper-Mercer shot the professor, ordered the students to stand up. After doing so, he asked the students if they were Christians and said, “Good, because if you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second.” The sheriff disputes this claim, despite witnesses’ accounts.

There was a brief gunbattle with the police after the shooting in the classroom, and the shooter was killed.

It has been identified that the shooter was heavily armed, with 13 firearms and body armor as he intended to not only commit mass murder in the school, but also hurt police officers as well.

From the typed manifesto that he had reportedly given to a witness to give to the police, it was shown that the shooter was bitter and hostile at the fact that he had no girlfriend and felt that life was conspiring against him.

“This is sick. What kind of sick human plans and proceeds to murder innocent people? How can someone like that even stand to live,” says sophomore Pooja Loka.