The 26-year-old man who killed 10 people at an Oregon community college on Thursday reportedly maintained a short-lived blog where he wrote about two recent high-profile shootings and uploaded a variety of pirated files, including porn videos and documentaries about infamous mass shootings.
Chris Harper-Mercer entered a classroom at Umpqua Community College at around 10:30 a.m. Thursday and began shooting. Witnesses to the massacre said that Harper-Mercer, who was living with his mother in Winchester, asked his victims if they were Christian and shot them if they said they were. Harper-Mercer also died, though it is unclear if police officers shot him or if he killed himself.
Chris Harper-Mercer’s dating profile picture
In one post at Harper-Mercer’s blog, discovered hours after the shooting, the killer seemed to sympathize with Vester Lee Flanagan, the ex-TV reporter who killed two former colleagues during a live interview in Roanoke, Va. on Aug. 26. Flanagan, who was black, wrote a 23-page manifesto claiming that he was the lifelong victim of racism.
Harper-Mercer wrote of the shooting that “I have noticed that so many people like him are all alone and unknown, yet when they spill a little blood, the whole world knows who they are.”
“A man who was known by no one, is now known by everyone. His face splashed across every screen, his name across the lips of every person on the planet, all in the course of one day. Seems the more people you kill, the more your’re [sic] in the limelight.”
He encouraged readers to watch video Flanagan recorded as he shot his two ex-colleagues.
“It’s a short video but good nonetheless,” Harper-Mercer wrote. (RELATED: Did Shooter Tip Off Community College Shooting On This Website?
In another blog post about the recent killing of a Houston-area sheriff’s deputy, Harper-Mercer seemed to disdain violence. The deputy, Darren Goforth was ambushed at a gas station and executed by Shannon Miles. Many speculated that Miles, who is black, was motivated by the Black Lives Matter movement.
“In case anyone’s wondering, I’m not on the side of the suspect, I’m on the side of the officer, and generally don’t agree with the black lives matter protests,” Harper-Mercer wrote. (RELATED: Obama Calls For Stricter Gun Laws After Shooting)
Other content loaded to the site where Harper-Mercer blogged indicates that he was fascinated with violence — including school shootings — conspiracy theories, the paranormal, and pornography.
Earlier this week, the killer uploaded the documentary “This World: Surviving Sandy Hook” about the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The shooter, Adam Lanza, killed 20 children and six adults. Within the past month, he uploaded an interview with Charles Manson and documentaries about the 1999 Columbine massacre and the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.
He also uploaded numerous back issues of “Phenomena Magazine” about UFOs, ghosts and other paranormal activity. He also appears to have been interest in conspiracy theories, as indicated by titles such as “Lost Secrets of the Illuminati” and “All Wars Are Bankers’ Wars.”
Many of Harper-Mercer’s earlier additions to the site are porn videos and copies of erotic novels.
Harper-Mercer also maintained a MySpace account. One picture on the site shows Harper-Mercer holding what appears to be a rifle. Other photos posted on the page are of members of the Irish Republican Army, many of whom are carrying weapons.
He also maintained a profile on a dating website. Harper-Mercer lists himself as mixed race and also claimed to be a Republican, though none of his posts cover political issues. Among the groups he supported on the site one called “Doesn’t like organized religion.”
Harper-Mercer’s hatred for religion — and Christianity in particular — appears to be the main motive behind the attack.
Anastasia Boylan was inside the classroom in which Harper-Mercer opened fire. Her father, Stacy, relayed her first-hand account, telling CNN that Harper-Mercer entered the room and shot the teacher at point-blank range. After everyone dropped to the ground, Harper-Mercer reloaded his gun and asked Christians in the room to stand up.
“And they would stand up and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second,'” Stacy Boylan said.
“And then he shot and killed them.”