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Survivor: Gunman spared ‘lucky one’ to give police message

Bonnie Schaan, second from left, discuss her daughter, Cheyanne Fitzgerald, who was wounded in the shooting at Umpqua Community College, during a news conference outside Mercy Medical Center, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, in Roseburg, Ore. Cheyanne Fitzgerald, 16, is listed in critical condition from a gunshot wound that required the removal of her kidney. Fitzgerald was one of several people wounded when Chris Harper-Mercer walked into a class at the community college, Thursday and began shooting. Also seen are Cheyanne's aunt, Colleen Fitzgerald, left, and cousins, Kylie, third from left, and Courtney Fitzgerald.
Bonnie Schaan, second from left, discuss her daughter, Cheyanne Fitzgerald, who was wounded in the shooting at Umpqua Community College, during a news conference outside Mercy Medical Center, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, in Roseburg, Ore. Cheyanne Fitzgerald, 16, is listed in critical condition from a gunshot wound that required the removal of her kidney. Fitzgerald was one of several people wounded when Chris Harper-Mercer walked into a class at the community college, Thursday and began shooting. Also seen are Cheyanne's aunt, Colleen Fitzgerald, left, and cousins, Kylie, third from left, and Courtney Fitzgerald.

By Associated Press 5 min read

ROSEBURG, Ore. – The 26-year-old killer who gunned down classmates inside an Oregon college spared a student and gave the “lucky one” something to deliver to authorities, according to the mother of a student who witnessed the rampage.

Shooter Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer later killed himself as officers arrived, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said Saturday.

Authorities have not disclosed whether they have an envelope or package from Harper-Mercer. However, a law enforcement official said Saturday a manifesto of several pages had been recovered.

Bonnie Schaan, the mother of 16-year-old Cheyeanne Fitzgerald, said she was told by her 16-year-old daughter that the gunman gave someone an envelope and told him to go to a corner of the classroom.

Harper-Mercer said the person “was going to be the lucky one,” Schaan told reporters outside a hospital where her daughter had her kidney removed after being shot.