Federal authorities said Friday that investigators had recovered six firearms at the site of yesterday’s shooting at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, that left ten people dead and nine injured. An additional seven firearms were found at the apartment of the now-deceased gunman Chris Harper Mercer, which he shared with his mother.
ATF Assistant Special Agent Celinez Nunez said in a news conference that all of the weapons had been purchased legally, and seven of the recovered firearms had been purchased by the shooter or a family member in the last three years. All thirteen weapons were traced to a federal firearms dealer (FFL), she added. A steel-plated flak jacket and five magazines belonging to the shooter were also recovered.
According to the Associated Press, among the guns recovered at the college campus were a 9mm Glock pistol, a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol, .40-caliber Taurus pistol, and a .556 Del-Tron AR-15-style rifle. The Glock and Smith & Wesson pistols were traced back to Mercer.
If Mercer purchased any of the guns at a FFL, he would have been required to undergo a background check. Oregon is what’s known as a full “point of contact” state, which means it operates its own version of the National Instant Criminal Check background check system (NICS) for gun sales. Oregon’s system, FICS, disqualifies anyone from purchasing a gun if they would not meet the federal criteria. It also bars anyone convicted of several misdemeanors from purchasing a gun: assault in the 4th degree, reckless endangerment, menacing, strangulation, and intimidation in the 2nd degree. This year, Oregon enacted a universal background check law, becoming the 12th state to require a background check on all private gun sales and transfers.
A background investigation service report obtained by The Trace indicates that Mercer did not have a criminal record. CNN, citing two officials with knowledge of the investigation, is reporting that the gunman “suffered from mental health issues and had sought treatment for those issues,” but there is no evidence he was ever adjudicated mentally unfit to own a gun or involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution.
[Photo: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli]
