A teenager survived a mass shooting at an Oregon college because the gunman believed she was dead, her father said.
Randy
Scroggins said the attacker ignored his daughter Lacey because she was
covered by the body and blood of another victim. Instead the gunman shot
dead another student.
Nine people were killed in the shooting at a community college in Oregon.
The gunman, Chris Harper Mercer, 26, shot himself dead after exchanging fire with police.
The victims ranged in age from 18 to 67. Eight were students while the oldest was a teacher.
Mr
Scroggins, a pastor, said he was indebted to the family of 20-year-old
Treven Anspach, who was shot after Mercer passed over his daughter.
"I will say thank you for giving birth to the one that saved my baby."
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Mr Scroggins also said his daughter told him Mercer had spared one student to deliver a message to the authorities.
Other
students' relatives have backed up the account: Bonnie Schaan, mother
of Cheyeanne Fitzgeral, said she was told by her 16-year-old daughter
the gunman told a classmate they were "going to be the lucky one".
Media captionSharon Kirkham: "He shot my best friend three times"
It is unclear why Mercer carried out the killings. The authorities have not released the contents of notes left by him.
Two
survivors have said religion was an issue - the gunman asked his
victims to state their religion and shot dead the Christians.
Police discovered 14 weapons at his home and the college.
His
father, Ian Mercer, told CNN he had no idea how his son had amassed
such an arsenal and said the attack would not have happened if the US
had stricter gun control laws.
President Barack Obama on Friday
expressed his anger at gun violence, calling on the public to press
their politicians to support reform.
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
A vigil has been held for the victims of the Umpqua Community College shooting
The gunman who killed nine people
and wounded seven others in Oregon had targeted Christians, the father
of one of the victims says.
Named as Chris Harper Mercer, the gunman opened fire on Thursday inside a classroom at Umpqua Community College.
Thirteen weapons were recovered, six at the school and seven at his home, the police said. All were bought legally.
Mercer had body armour, three pistols and a rifle when he was shot and killed by police officers after a gun battle.
On Friday, US President Obama repeated his calls for Congress to toughen up the gun laws.
And he urged the public to apply pressure to their local politicians.
"You have to make sure that anybody who you are voting for is on the right side of this issue."
Earlier, Stacy Boylan, whose daughter survived the shooting, told US television network CNN that his daughter described to him how the gunman asked his victims to state their religion before shooting them.
"'Are you a Christian?' he would ask them, 'and if you are a Christian stand up,'" the father recalled.
Image copyrightAFPImage caption
A vigil was held for the victims
Mr Boylan said the gunman told the victims: "because you're a Christian you're going to see God in just about one second".
Another student who survived the shooting, Kortney Moore, gave a similar account to a local newspaper, The News-Review.
It
also emerged that he enlisted in the Army in 2008, but he was
discharged after less than a month in basic training, for unknown
reasons.
The attacker was identified by unnamed officers, as local police refused to release his name.
Douglas
County Sheriff John Hanlin said he did not wish to give the gunman "the
credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act".
However, the sheriff has come under fire for his stance opposing gun control measures in the past.
At the scene: Vanessa Barford, BBC News, Roseburg, Oregon
Twenty-four hours after a 26-year-old gunman went on
a ruthless shooting spree, the college is cordoned off by police tape, a
"pray for Rosebury" sign up against the fence.
Just 200 metres up the road at Del Ray Cafe, local residents are heartbroken by the tragedy.
"This
is a close knit community. Everyone knows everyone. We have a group of
professors from the college for breakfast every Friday. They were in
shock this morning. Everyone is devastated," the manager said.
Customer
Victor Moffett, 82, wired the electrics in the science building - where
some of the victims lost their lives - 30 years ago.
"It's
terrible. A neighbour called me yesterday saying her friend's daughter
had been shot in the leg. She was really upset. I never thought I'd see
something like that where I live," he said.
Another local couple in their 60s, who wished to remain anonymous, were visibly angry.
"[The
gunman] thought he could make a splash - and he did. Now Obama is using
it to jump start gun crime. That doesn't work here. It's too bad they
couldn't get him as soon as he fired the first shot," the man said.
Hours after the attack, President Obama reiterated demands for tighter gun laws, saying prayers are "no longer enough".
Candidates vying to replace Mr Obama in office have begun to weigh in as well.
The gunman was reportedly born in the UK and moved to the US as a young boy.
A man identified as the gunman's father, Ian Mercer, told US media he was "just as shocked as everybody" by his son's actions.
The
killer's motive is not known, although police said they were
investigating reports that he had warned of his intentions on social
media.
Media captionHow common are school shootings in the US?
Army vet 'hero' in Oregon shooting - the man that tried to stop the attack US gun violence in numbers - Shootings have become increasingly commonplace. What we know about Chris Harper Mercer - The alleged gunman reportedly supported the IRA. Oregon shooting: The '4chan' thread - Did the gunman give a warning on the Internet? Suspect's father speaks out - Ian Mercer says he is shocked and appealed for privacy. Image copyrightAPImage caption
Students were reunited with their families at a nearby fairground
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
A vigil was held in a Roseburg park on Thursday evening
Image copyrightAPImage caption
More than 100 police officers responded to the scene of the shooting
Image copyrightAPImage caption
Police said they killed the gunman
In an online profile appearing to belong to the
gunman, he listed hobbies including the internet and "killing zombies",
described his politics as "conservative, republican" and said he was
spiritual but not religious.
Lorie Andrews, who lives opposite the
campus, said she heard what sounded like fireworks and when she came
out of her home she saw students streaming out.
"One girl came out wrapped in a blanket with blood on her," she said.
Hannah Miles, 19, said that she and fellow students were led to a nearby bookshop, where they hid in a back room.
Hundreds attended a vigil to remember the victims on Thursday evening.
