ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) – The gunman who killed nine people at an Oregon college last week killed himself in front of students after two police officers wounded him in a shootout, authorities said Wednesday.
Two plainclothes detectives responding to Umpqua Community College last Thursday heard a volley of gunfire and ran toward the shots, Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg said at a news conference.
The two officers, who were not wearing bulletproof vests, spotted Christopher Harper-Mercer, 26, in a doorway of a building where he had just opened fire in a classroom. The gunman fired several rounds at the detectives, who returned fire, hitting him once in the right side, Wesenberg said.
Harper-Mercer then went back into the classroom, walked to the front of the room and shot himself, Wesenberg said.
Nine others were wounded in the attack.