A gunman opened fire at a community

A gunman opened fire at a community college in rural Oregon Thursday morning, killing and wounding multiple people, authorities said.



Local and federal law enforcement were still trying to cobble together details of the shooting at Umpqua Community College, outside the small city of Roseburg, Ore., which is about 180 miles south of Portland.



Authorities received 911 calls reporting a shooting at the community college around 10:38 a.m. local time, according to Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin.



The suspected gunman was confronted by police, and is dead after firing on authorities, Sheriff Hanlin said.



He said local officials were still trying to confirm the number of people killed and wounded, including reports citing state officials who reported there were 13 dead. But he confirmed that there were multiple people killed and wounded.



"It has been a terrible day," Sheriff Hanlin said, adding that roughly 100 law-enforcement officials were on the scene.



Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are on the ground to assist local law enforcement, who are leading the investigation.



Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said in a news conference Wednesday that the suspected gunman was a 20-year-old man.



"We are holding the community of Douglas County in our hearts today," she said. "The work that emergency responders have done is harrowing."



Gavin Bell, a student at the school, said he was sitting in the library, next door to the building where the shooting took place, when several students burst in, shouting for people to call 911. School officials rushed into the library moments later and informed students there was an active shooter on campus.



Mr. Bell said he and 20 other students hid in a bathroom until police told them it was safe to leave.



"We didn't hear any shots. But everyone was pretty nervous," he said.



Mr. Bell said a fellow classmate told him that she was sitting in class when gunshots rang out. Her teacher opened the door and was immediately shot in the chest, Mr. Bell said she recounted.



"A couple of my favorite instructors were in the building where the shooting took place," Mr. Bell said. "This is a real small community. A lot of these kids take classes together. I'm anxiously waiting to hear names."



Residents and officials in the small, bucolic lumber community were stunned on Thursday, as word of the shooting spread throughout the region. The college, located about 6 miles outside of Roseburg, has about 3,000 full time students and 16,000 part-time students, and sits near the North Umpqua River.



"Nothing like this has happened before here," said Victoria Hawks, a Roseburg city councilor. "We're a small enough community so that everyone is going to know someone who was deceased or injured."



Ms. Hawks said she had two grandchildren, including Mr. Bell, who were at the school at the time of the shooting. Both are safe, she said.



"It is enough. How many shootings? It is just ridiculous," she said.



Write to Dan Frosch at dan.frosch@wsj.com, Jim Carlton at jim.carlton@wsj.com and Miguel Bustillo at miguel.bustillo@wsj.com






(END) Dow Jones Newswires



October 01, 2015 15:20 ET (19:20 GMT)