Oregon Shooter Presented Horrifying Question to Victims Before Opening Fire, Survivors Say

The shooter who opened fire at an Oregon community college Thursday asked his victims to state their religion before he opened fire, witnesses said.

"The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were christian," tweeted Bodhi Looney, who said her grandmother was in the room as the shooting unfolded. "If they said yes, they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn't answer, they were shot in the legs."

That account was corroborated by others.

18-year-old student Kortney Moore told the News Review that the shooter asked individuals to stand up and state their religion before he opened fire.

Stacy Boylan, the father of a wounded student, offered details his daughter provided to him before heading into spinal surgery.

“He shot the professor, point blank, one shot, killed him — took him right out of it,” he told CNN. “And then, this man, had enough time, I don’t know how much time elapsed before he was able to stand there and start asking people one by one what their religion was. ‘Are you a Christian?’ he would ask them. And if you’re a Christian, 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,’” he continued, relaying his daughter’s account. “And then he shot and killed them.”

Members of law enforcement have a meeting at the local fairgrounds after a deadly shooting at Umpqua Community College, in Roseburg, Ore., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)

Another student, identified as Colby, told the Independent Journal he heard a similar account.

“I heard he was lining people up and asking if they were Christians," he said. "If they answered no, then they got shot in the leg. That’s just what I heard, I’m not sure.”

As of Thursday evening, authorities had not commented on what the suspect's motive might have been. Chilling online messages posted to an Internet forum seemingly warned of the massacre the night before.

The incident left at least 10 dead and seven wounded.

This story has been updated with more information.

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