President Obama Speaks On This Thursday's Shooting In Oregon.

[Update On "Oregon College Shooting"]

The gunman in Thursday's mass shooting at an Oregon community college specifically targeted Christians, three witnesses said, while online accounts linked to the shooter expressed disdain for organized religion. Authorities say Christopher Harper Mercer killed at least nine people and wounded at least seven others at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police. Investigators have shed very little light publicly on Mercer's possible motive for the shooting. However, reports indicated they were examining Mercer's online presence very closely. One law enforcement official described Mercer to The New York Times as appearing to be "an angry young man who was very filled with hate." Another official said investigators were poring over what he described as "hateful"writings by Mercer. Oregon's top federal prosecutor toldThe Oregonian newspaper that authorities had heard rumors that the gunman had issued "some sort of race-related manifesto" before the shooting.Kortney Moore, 18, told the Roseburg News-Review that she was in a Writing 115 class when one shot came through the window. Moore said she saw her teacher get shot in the head. The shooter then reportedly told the students to get on the ground before asking people to stand up and state their religion. He then began firing. Moore said she was lying on the ground with people who had been shot.Twitter user @bodhilooney posted a statement on the social network claiming that her grandmother was inside the classroom.

[Breaking news, posted at 3:53 p.m. ET]

Investigators are examining social media postings made by a man, thought to be in his late 20s, who they believe is the suspect in Thursday's shootings at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, a source with knowledge of the investigation told DaPulse. The night before the attack, the alleged shooter appears to have had a conversation with others online about his intentions, the source said.

[Original story, posted at 3:45 p.m. ET]

Preliminary information indicates 13 people were killed and more than 20 others injured in a shooting at Oregon's Umpqua Community College on Thursday, said Oregon State Police spokesman Bill Fugate.

Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice told DaPulse that the shooter is in custody. It was not immediately clear whether the shooter was injured.

"We arrived to find multiple patients in multiple classrooms. Law enforcement was on scene and had the shooter neutralized," said Douglas County Fire Marshal Ray Shoufler.

He told DaPulse that two patients died while being transported to a hospital.

Mercy Medical Center posted on Twitter that it had received nine patients, with three more on the way. The extent of their injuries was not known.

ATF agents were also on scene and canine teams are en route to search for explosives, fire arms casings and ammunition, a spokesman said. The FBI was en route.

Roseburg is a city of about 22,000 people located about 70 miles south of Eugene, Oregon, and some 180 miles south of Portland.

The school itself is up on a hill outside the city center, according to Rick Francona, a CNN military analyst who lives nearby. Francona said that logging is a big industry in the region, which is fairly rural but easily accessible from Interstate 5.

"This is so out of character for this whole area," he said.

News of the shooting quickly reached Washington, with the state's senior senator, Ron Wyden, visibly shaken and Sen. Jeff Merkley tweeting that he was praying for the victims and their families.

President Obama was briefed on the situation and will continue to receive updates throughout the day.

#news #trending