--- description: Witnesses describe what they saw and heard title: Watch: Umpqua Students Recall Scene of Oregon Shooting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ea9bae16f6c37c2/698866b70a4a2243149c661e/oregon-shooting1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Witnesses Describe Shooting at Umpqua Community College  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 2, 2015 7:10 PM CUT  Attendees of a candlelight vigil Oct. 1, 2015, in Roseburg, Ore. Attendees of a candlelight vigil Oct. 1, 2015, in Roseburg, Ore.John Locher—AP  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 2, 2015 7:10 PM CUT Witnesses said the shooter who [killed nine people at Umpqua Community College](http://time.com/4059136/oregon-shooter-ucc-chris-harper-mercer/ "undefined") Thursday was roaming the college looking for people to shoot. “I heard one gunshot and then I looked over outside and people were running away from the building, so I knew exactly what was happening,” one witness said. Another witness said when a classmate tried to close the door to protect the other students, she was was shot in the lower abdomen. Witnesses describe hearing loud gunshots. Other witnesses have reportedly said that the shooter, identified by multiple news outlets as Chris Harper Mercer, appeared to target Christians. Before she went into spinal surgery, student Anastasia Boylan told her father and brother that Mercer asked Christians to stand up, then shot them, Boylan’s father Stacy told[ CNN. ](http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/01/us/oregon-college-shooting/ "undefined") Officials from the Douglas County Sheriff’s office said the shooter had six weapons recovered at the school, and investigators found seven other firearms in his home. **Read Next**: [_‘Heroic’ Army Vet Shot 7 Times Trying to Block Oregon Shooter_](http://time.com/4059224/oregon-college-shooting-heroic-army-vet/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4059736/oregon-shooting-witnesses-describe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4059736/oregon-shooting-witnesses-describe/"},"headline":"Witnesses Describe Shooting at Umpqua Community College","datePublished":"2015-10-02T19:10:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:28:56.483Z","description":"Describe seeing fellow students shot","url":"https://time.com/4059736/oregon-shooting-witnesses-describe/","keywords":["Crime","Guns","oregon","Shooter","Oregon shooting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ea9bae16f6c37c2/698866b70a4a2243149c661e/oregon-shooting1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ea9bae16f6c37c2/698866b70a4a2243149c661e/oregon-shooting1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Oregon School Shooting","caption":"Oregon School Shooting","creditText":"John Locher—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4059736/oregon-shooting-witnesses-describe/","name":"Witnesses Describe Shooting at Umpqua Community College"}}]}] ```