Family of Oregon shooter releases statement

Chris Harper Mercer had a fascination with killing and the celebrity it can bring.
 
In an online blog, the 26 year-old wrote about the August murder of WDBJ-TV reporter Allison Parker and photographer Adam Ward on live television in Virginia, focusing on their killer, Vester Flanagan, a former reporter who had been fired from WDBJ in 2013.
 
"I have noticed so many people like him are all alone and unknown, yet they spill a little blood,  the whole world knows who they are. Seems the more people you kill, the more you're in the limelight." He finished by mentioning Flanagan's cellphone video of the murders, saying,  "It's a short video but good nonetheless."

The blog provides insight into the man who shot and killed nine people and wounded nine others.
 
Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin refused to even say Mercer's name one day after the murders, claiming he didn't want to give him the celebrity he sought.
 
"I continue to believe that those media and community members who continue to publicize his name will only glorify his actions," Hanlin said during a Friday morning news conference.
 
CBS has obtained what is described as a manifesto by Mercer. Sources say he left behind what includes a philosophical rant of someone mad at the world -- focusing on a low opinion of himself and his lowly place in the world. No more details were released on the writings.

Chris Harper Mercer enlisted in the Army in Nov. 2011, but he was out by Decemeber.

"A review of Army records indicate that Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer was in service at Ft Jackson, S.C, from 5 November-11 December 2008,  but discharged for failing to meet the minimum administrative standards to serve in the U.S. Army," Army Public Affairs wrote.

Mercer also had a profile posted on a dating website called Spiritual Passions on which he described himself as spiritual,  but not religious, and that he was searching for the yin to his yang.
  
His motives for the murders of nine people still aren't clear. Witnesses say he targeted Christians, asking their religion before shooting them.
 
On Friday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown met with firefighters in Roseburg. Some fought back tears as she thanked them and other first responders who rushed to the Umpqua Community College campus after Mercer opened fire.
 
Local and federal investigators seized a total of 14 guns from Mercer's home and the crime scene. Body armor was also found on Mercer after he was killed.
 
"I'm proud of how the Roseburg community pulled together to care for and comfort each other during this horrific crisis," said Brown.
 
But the politicians who came to Roseburg in the wake of the shootings dodged questions about the role of gun laws in mass murders. U.S. Sen Ron Wyden of Oregon said something had to be done to stop mass shootings, but stopped short of saying what needed to be done.
 
"Gun owners have rights under the law," said Wyden. "And there must be responsibilities if these massacres are going to end."

A neighbor of the man who went on a deadly shooting rampage at an Oregon college says he "seemed really unfriendly."

Bronte Hart lived below Mercer in the community of Winchester. She says Mercer would "sit by himself in the dark in the balcony with this little light."

Hart says a woman she believed to be Mercer's mother also lived upstairs and was "crying her eyes out" Thursday.

Authorities responded to the Roseburg campus about 10:30 a.m. Thursday after receiving a report of a shooting on campus. Witnesses reported hearing shots fired from within one classroom, then a text was sent out saying the school was on lockdown.

During a news briefing Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said there were 10 fatalities and seven others were injured in the shooting. The gunman was among the 10 people killed.

Earlier in the day, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum reported that 13 people were dead, including the shooter. The injured were taken to several area hospitals.

Two vigils were planned in Roseburg parks on Thursday night.

In his 15th statement on mass shootings since taking office, President Obama spoke from the White House saying another community is stunned with grief. He said his response to mass shootings in the United States is becoming routine.

“We are the only advanced country that sees these shootings every few months," he said.

The Douglas County Sheriff earlier reported the gunman was a 20-year-old man but did not identify him.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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