Christopher Harper-Mercer Discharged from Army After Attempting Suicide

Well, I knew he was discharged from the Army after just weeks of basic training, but I didn't know that was the reason.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Alleged Oregon Shooter Discharged From Army After Suicide Attempt":

The gunman who allegedly killed nine people and wounded nine others at a rural community college in Oregon last Thursday had been discharged from the Army after attempting to commit suicide, according to law-enforcement officials familiar with the case.

Christopher Harper-Mercer, who was 26 years old at the time of the shooting, was discharged from basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., after just one month in 2008. The Army said it couldn’t confirm details of his discharge due to privacy regulations. But law-enforcement officials familiar with the investigation into last week’s mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg said the discharge occurred after Mr. Harper-Mercer tried to take his own life.

The details of the suicide attempt haven’t been made public. But it is the latest indication that Mr. Harper-Mercer—described by former friends and neighbors as a disaffected loner who loved firearms and disliked religion—had been deeply troubled long before opening fire on fellow students and a teacher in Oregon.

The Army discharge didn’t affect Mr. Harper-Mercer’s ability to legally purchase firearms. He didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge, which would have required a court-martial, according to an Army spokesman. Because he didn’t have that type of discharge, often deemed equivalent to a felony, he wasn’t precluded from buying guns under existing federal law.

The nature of his administrative separation is protected by privacy laws, and an Army spokesman said it could have been for a wide variety of reasons.

Mr. Harper-Mercer’s parents couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific events that unfolded on Thursday,” the family said in a statement Saturday. “Our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families of those who died and were injured.”

An official with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said last week that a total of six guns—five pistols and a rifle—were recovered from where the shooting took place, along with a steel-enhanced flak jacket and five magazines of ammunition. Eight more guns were found at the nearby apartment that Mr. Harper-Mercer shared with his mother, officials said.

The guns all appeared to have been purchased through a federally licensed firearms dealer by Mr. Harper-Mercer or his relatives, federal officials said.

Friends and neighbors have described Mr. Harper-Mercer as reclusive and odd, and also having shown a keen interest in guns. A classmate also told The Wall Street Journal that he attended a school for emotionally troubled students while living in Torrance, Calif. And in online postings linked to his email account, Mr. Harper-Mercer showed a fascination with mass shootings.

At a Wednesday news conference, Oregon authorities said that two plainclothes Roseburg police detectives were the first to confront Mr. Harper-Mercer after he opened fire on a writing class at the college. The two came across Mr. Harper-Mercer in a hallway and exchanged fire with him, wounding him once...

Still more.