The US college gunman who killed at least nine people before being fatally shot in a stand-off with police had an ‘Ireland Freedom Fighters’ album on his MySpace page.
Chris Harper-Mercer was an English-born mass shootings fanatic whose blog documents an interest in mass shootings including a recent post about the gunman who killed two US journalists live on air in August.
He describes killer Vester Flanagan as a man who “wanted the world to see his actions”. Before adding: “Seems the more people you kill, the more you’re in the limelight”.
He was the son of Laurel Margaret Harper and Ian Bernard Mercer, who split before he was born, according to reports.
Harper-Mercer lived with his African-American mother, a nurse, at an apartment, according to the LA Times. A neighbour said Ms Harper would often call her son “baby” despite the fact he was an adult.
They also said that Harper-Mercer, who would often wear camouflage trousers tucked into black boots, seems to carry around a black case with a gun inside and loved target shooting.
The 26-year-old, whose social media profiles featured content supporting the IRA, apparently demanded to know his victims’ religious beliefs before opening fire at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.
Mercer had a number of photos posted on his Myspace page under a album called “Ireland’s Freedom Fighters”.
Under a photograph that read “IRA Undefeated Army”, Mercer captioned it: “Have faith and keep fighting. Never lose, never stop.”
Another photograph of Mercer posing with a rifle saying “Me, holding a rifle. It was supposed to be all the way in the picture, but it didn’t work out. Only the barrel shows”.
He also uploaded the front page of An Phoblacht with the headline British Army Could Not Defeat IRA and commented under the image “Yeah, it’s true”.
Mercer captioned another photograph of a group of men dressed in camouflage, wearing balaclavas and holding rifles : “Looking cool defending their country”.
Another blog post discussing the recent shooting of a Houston police officer said he did not “agree with the black lives matter protests”.
The first entry from July, titled The Material World Is A Lie, reads: “Most people will spend hours standing in front of stores just to buy a new iPhone ... I used to be like that, always concerned about what clothes I had, rather than whether or not I was happy. But not anymore.”
The gunman’s father who spoke with a distinctive English accent from his home in US told reporters he was “shocked”.
Bronte Hart, a neighbour in Harper-Mercer’s community of Winchester, said he would “sit by himself in the dark in the balcony with this little light”.
She said a woman she believed to be the gunman’s mother also lived upstairs and was “crying her eyes out” on Thursday.
Authorities, who initially refused to name the gunman, shed no light on his motive and said they were investigating. Several people remain injured in hospital.
It is the 45th school shooting in the US this year.
Additional reporting PA
