Chris harper Mercer (courtesy heavy.com)

“The Umpqua Community College shooter was obsessed with Satan and documented his devotion to darkness in a manifesto that was recovered from his computer, a source familiar with the investigation tells PEOPLE. In the reported manifesto, which allegedly had ‘666’ scrawled across it, the source says, 26-year-old gunman Chris Harper Mercer wrote in detail about his desire to ‘serve darkness.'” Well that explains . . .

Mercer’s “Are you Christian” interrogation of his victims, before deciding whether to shoot them in the head or the legs. It also tells us that the evangelical community is about to get a major proselytizing point. The same sort of thing happened – albeit inappropriately – after the Columbine spree killing.

In that mass shooting, it was initially reported that killer Eric Klebold asked an attractive student name Cassie Bernall if she believed in God before shooting her to death. According to eyewitness testimony, he did no such thing. But Bernall’s supposed statement of faith spread like wildfire thoughout the evangelical community, to the point where her parents’ book She Said Yes, The Unlikely Martyrdom Of Cassie Bernall (which repeated the claim) became a best-seller.

We can fully expect the students who professed their Christian faith to Mercer in Umpqua to become elevated to martyrdom status. Which, in this case, is not inappropriate.

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110 COMMENTS

  1. So if a white Klansman kills black people, he’s motivated by hate, but if a black satanist kills Christians, he’s mentally ill? And a Muslim extremist shooting up an army base is “workplace violence”?

    Do I have all the media characterization rules straight?

    • Murdering whites and Christians will never be classified as a “hate crime” in this current political climate.

      I think the whole “hate crime” enhancers are stupid anyways since murder is already a top tier felony, but I’m just a white American male who has a family and works for a living so I am clearly ultra racist.

      • That is true. I feel it’s mostly due to the idea of white guilt and similar “past guilt” concepts. Their logic is white Christians built this country and so all the problems that we currently face are because of white Christians so obviously the white Christians of today must pay for the sins of their forefathers. If anything happens to white Christians they subconsciously, or consciously, think “they got what they deserve”, even though that can’t be further from the truth. It also requires they absolve themselves of any personal responsibility, even if they’re the direct cause, and use the past as a scapegoat. What I find particularly odd is the Champion of the left and minorities currently is an organization that was created by a white Christian to kill off minorities, planned parenthood, but I guess they like its anti-responsibility message.

        But the politicians and newsmen don’t want us to look to closely at the real root causes, real progress would hinder political appointments and profits.

      • I dunno if all hate crimes are as silly but for murder yes. It’s not like you loved somebody to death.

        • They all are. Whether it’s an assault, a murder, or even just nonviolent criminal harassment, the motivation doesn’t make the injury, death, or insult any more or less severe.

    • Before they’re done with this guy he will be a hero for bringing gun violence awareness to a head and once and for all bringing about the disarming of those crazy 2nd A nut cases who believe that they must defend themselves and their own .
      SATAN RULES ! comment contribution by Associated Press

    • Dickie J,

      You hit the proverbial nail-on-the-head! The leftist, Marxists have a twisted ideology that blinds them to anything or anyone that does not agree with them. They are also intolerant of opposing views. Its akin to a mental disease that does not allow a person to reason and only allows them to form irrational opinions and make irrational judgments, while rejecting everyone else’s viewpoints. Their intolerance forces them to be bitter and lash out in personal attacks, while ignoring the facts of the matter. The truth has no relevance if it does not advance their ideology.

  2. Hmmm
    Don’t know, but sounds like bs to me. Sounds like someone’s runnin cover for the great satan islam. People were tripping over their di<Ks to scrub any a_ _-rape friends of satanist mohammed from the murderer's back story. Their giving satan a bad name trying to pawn off their golden boy.

  3. Saw a photo yesterday that someone claimed showed an ISIS flag draped on the table in his room. I couldn’t make it out. Anyone else? Not saying it was.

    • “What was the point of this article again?”

      It’s called providing insight about the possible motivations of a spree school shooter.

      Knowing what makes them ‘tick’ could be valuable in stopping them before they kill.

      See?

      Ehh, probably not.

      • I believe the headline itself answered the ‘ what made him tick ‘ question . SATAN .
        I think someone needs to do a little investigation and see if he was visited by any men in black before he did this . I know that the NSA was aware of his progress into the realm of mass shooter before now . If you think otherwise I believe you’re living in a fantasy world . HAVE TECHNOLOGY ___ WILL USE . I also know that they monitor this web sight and a computer will red flag every time NSA comes up , wouldn’t you ?
        Good morning Utah !

    • Saturday morning Associated Press article in local paper said .
      ‘ He brought six weapons and four extra magazines and his weapons were ( military grade ) ‘ .
      ………..at least they didn’t say four clips .
      Did he have full auto ? Then the very next sentence said they were all purchased legally . Anybody see where they’re going here ?

  5. Robert

    Can you please start following the commonsense advice of not showcasing the killer’s name and picture. A large part of the reason for these acts is to achieve publicity and have people finally take note of their wretched lives. Denying them this notoriety removes a lot of the incentive for these sick acts. This does not mean news organizations and others cannot provide information about their background and the clues to their motivations, that they left behind.

    Despite this criticism, overall, have to say this is a great gun blog.

    Steve

    • +1

      The is an accomplice(that’s not an exaggeration) in mass murders. Please don’t allow this website to be a part of this.

      Perhaps you could come up with some nicknames for the dead perps, something mocking. “Sexually Frustrated Loser” might be a good name this Satanic perp, because he was complaining about being a virgin.

      • +1. Lets start referring to the Oregon shooter as the mentally ill man-child ignored by Obama.
        No wonder Obama was so quick to disown him, and blame it on the NRA…
        White racissssttsss…

    • Not showing faces and not naming names would also set an example showing that the PotG, at least here, do NOT celebrate these people, indeed consider them garbage.

    • I disagree with the whole “not say their name” game. It’s putting your head in the sand and pretending that evil doesn’t exist. If we refuse to say “Bernie Sanders”, he still exists as does his communist agenda that masquerades as grandfatherly socialism. Names mean things. Certain names should be synonymous with evil: Chris Harper Mercer, Adolph Hitler, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Hussein Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Cosby.

      • I disagree with the whole “not say their name” game. It’s putting your head in the sand and pretending that evil doesn’t exist. If we refuse to say “Bernie Sanders”, he still exists as does his communist agenda that masquerades as grandfatherly socialism.
        ———————-
        Bernie Sanders didn’t kill people, and as such, he didn’t have as part of his motivation that his murders would cause people to repeat his name and get his picture shown.
        Numerous times after mass shootings, the murderers have talked openly about desiring the “fame” that would result from their act. The murderer in Oregon expressed the same before he committed his murders.
        He wants you to say his name, it’s part of the reason why he murdered people.
        Comparing that to people with actual political control is absurd.
        I don’t repeat the names of mass attackers, not because I’m pretending they don’t exist or that they didn’t commit murder, but because I’m not going to abide by the murderer’s wishes and repeat their damn names.

    • TTAG not displaying the photos of killers is probably even less likely to save a life than your voting for someone is going to get them elected president – approaching 0 percent. As far as rewarding the killer goes – that is not possible when they are dead.

      • +1
        It’s the mass media that’s the part of the problem. These people do it because it will get anchors on CNN and NBC to talk about them non-stop for a week, not because it will get them mentioned on TTAG.

  6. Just so you don’t have to wait or go looking far, calling the victims martyrs for their “I am Christian” response was covered thoroughly by Glenn Beck on his Friday morning program.

    Sorry, but the only thing I could think of listening to this was that any person who answered “Yes” to this question after the second person was shot for that response was not so much a Christian as an idiot. The proper response at this point, IMO, should more appropriately have been “not any more.”

    Maybe it’s only the Catholics that believe that suicide is a mortal sin, but saying something to a man with a gun pointed at your nose that you know will result in your death is suicide.

    • “But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”

      Threat of death is not a good enough reason to either lie or repent of your faith.

      • Agreed. I would have said yes and charged him at the same instant with all the rapid speed and sudden violent adrenaline fueled reflexes I could possibly muster. Almost certainly I would be shot and killed but with a chance of reaching him and/or delaying him long enough for others to jump in and end the attack. We are all going to die someday anyway, remember no one gets off this boat alive. Sometimes holding to your convictions is more important than living a bit longer.

    • Wrong, the ultimate sign of true Christian faith is to answer yes when your life is on the line unlike Muslims who show their true Muslim faith when they put your life on the line.

      I bet Chris Mintz thought of himself as a Christian when he put his life on the line to try to save others.

      • Ironically Mintz is overwhelmingly likely to be Jewish-maybe this ex-soldier is just a really good heroic kind of guy tdiinva-I wish I had some $ to send him…

      • No, the ultimate is to lay down your life for your brothers in the faith, which is why that room of people should have been able to defend themselves and others. Patton was wiser than Jesus’ disciples in his estimation of who should be the one dying for their beliefs.

    • Cliff by that mentality then is it safe to assume that nothing in your life is worth having a gun pointed at you for? Because not forfeiting everything or sacrificing others could be “suicidal” for you? If it came down to it would you be a puppet passed from muzzle to muzzle? I’m not attacking, Just asking.

    • Cliff ,
      What you don’t obviously understand and can’t be expected to understand is how faith in Christ changes your thought process . Our kingdom is not of this earth , our riches are not of this earth , our desires are not of the flesh , our earthly possessions are only to be used as tools to help our fellow man ( woman ) . We do not view our flesh and material gains as worthy of saving over our purpose to stand and be counted for Christ . We ‘ believe ‘ that He really did give His life for us and what promise would one have if they denied Christ at that moment that they wouldn’t be murdered anyway and in the clutches of denial . The simple act of stating your faith before God in the face of such peril is enough to cause any who witnessed such an act of strength to be overwhelmingly convicted and your statement will only help evil to place it’s foot in the doorway of this conviction and wiggle itself back in .
      I understand your thought process because I was once there , but completely laid my soul at the foot of the cross has lightened my view and I completely understand and overwhelmingly support their decision to say yes , I am a Christian . I respect your opinion and would hope that you too would one day find respect mine .

    • God willing, my answer to his question would have been at a much higher decibel level, and I would have survived the attempted martyrdom, as would everyone after me. Sorry, not me, not today.

    • I’m not going to renounce my faith, and I’m ready to return fire against a mass murderer. I may die, but some things in this life are worth dying for: freedom, faith and family.

  7. White Christian male here-I will NEVER deny Christ cliff-call me an idiot but I know where I’m headed. I also got a pretty black wife and 2 large IRC sons. I must really be stupid-but at least I’m armed…BTW ISIS makes sense-just another moongod cult member…
    buds with the prince of darkness.

      • Dude former water walker brings his wifes race up at least every 3 posts regardless of what the article is about

        • A little like Grindstone who brings up the latest racial profiling case his wife endured, regardless of the content of the article.

        • Umm…no I don’t. This whole post is about a tragic interracial boy not finding a place in life. My kids are well adjusted and not committing crimes or murdering anyone. Please don’t lump me in with Grindstone. MY wife is never victimized by the po-leece. If you knew her you would be jealous of me.

        • Water, I am jealous, sounds like you got a gem. I am sure you put your work into that marriage as well.

    • BTW ISIS makes sense-just another moongod cult member…
      buds with the prince of darkness.
      For some reason, I always thought Islam and Satan had a connection somewhere along the line. Something to do with verses in the book of Revelation.

  8. CNN is reporting that the shooter was also enlisted in the Army but discharged during basic. How about some follow up on that? Did he get a mere less-than-honorable, or was it a full dishonorable (making him a prohibited person)?

    • It sounds like he was released because he could adjust to military life which not be a dishonorable discharge. If he was section eighted then he would been prohibited on mental health grounds.

    • He probably received a general discharge which wouldn’t have prevented him from owning firearms. I worked in initial entry training for two years and I never once saw a dishonorable discharge. They do happen, but in the hundred of soldiers that came through, we never handed one out.

      • I’m former enlisted (finished my contract) and I’ve watched a lot happen from both ends. And usually a discharge during basic means other than honorable. Which, again, it’s worth looking into, but likely nothing. There are three legal discharge categories: honorable, dishonorable, and other than honorable. I’ve seen at least a couple guys get dishonorables categorized as “general.” One was cocaine possession, he went to Leavenworth, the other was excessive failing to report, he went back to the general population a prohibited person. Being discharged during basic is not likely a dishonorable, but it might be. CNN says, “failing to meet minimum administrative standards,” which could be on the form under honorable, depending on the circumstances. We don’t know, which is why I think someone should look into it.

      • LAnza was in the army? Or at least tried to be? I would think someone on his meds would’ve made that impossible

    • Most boot camp discharges are what is called an “Entry Level Separation” or ELS. They actually have no characterization of service – honorable, general, other than honorable, or dishonorable – because they happened after less than 180 days of service. They just are. It simply terminates your contract to Uncle Sam.
      http://themilitarywallet.com/types-of-military-discharges/

  9. Martyr – “a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.”

    Tell me again how being killed specifically for their religious beliefs DOESN’T make them martyrs?… Cuz as I see it, that is literally the definition of martyr.

    • Martyr , I think so .
      It wouldn’t make a difference if they would have grabbed the gun and fought with this mommy’s boy punk and been shot in the process or not , I may have done so , but it doesn’t matter , martyr still the same . I applaud their courage and life . Whether they admitted their faith or lied , God is their judge , not me and I pray for their families in this horrible time of their grief .

  10. Imagine the shooters response if the respondent employed his belief in (pick one) Ruger, Smith Wesson, HK…

  12. Thank you for publishing that shitbag’s name and photo yet again, let’s give him more attention to excite the next guy seeking fame.

  13. His social media pages have been scrubbed, and fake ones posted by the 4chan folks. He had ties to the BLM and FTF groups, and was friends with at least one mooslime agitator. Russia included him on a list of probable ISIS wannabes as well. There is plenty on him at theconservativetreehouse.com . his conservative republican politics were Irish republican, not American.

    • Correct- here is the link, with more interesting info:
      http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/10/02/the-curious-case-of-oregon-shooter-chris-harper-mercer-a-social-media-profile-shaped-modified-and-deleted/

      Since we know that progressive groups, especially those funded by Soros (see: http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/) and sympathetic press have collaborated since long before the “Journolista” scandal, and that Obama the community organizer leveraged that collaboration in coordination with the Google Geek Squad in the 2012 election, it would be highly unlikely that there is NOT an organized effort to shape the Narrative.

      We have proof already of the Nudge Team, first started in the UK, now funded by the US Feds,
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioural_Insights_Team

      and the various techniques first used on the left at HuffPo, for creating false content and bringing it to credibility:
      http://observer.com/2014/04/mainstream-media-takes-cues-from-blogosphere/

      And Obama’s handlers having learned their lesson on Martin, Ferguson, and the Muslim shooters – to be sure they got the story right, and got ahead of the narrative-

      Then its no surprise Obama was so cued in, and the media so ready to respond, to shape the narrative as ordered.

      When we get better, faster, more accurate and non-biased news reporting from UK newspapers, you know the StateRunMedia here in the US is not going to change…

      And lets be clear- the average US journo doesnt care about Pew Research…remember, as long as they have a job, the ends justify the means…and that means to lie for progressive memes is everything. They are simply naive young idealists, or alternatively cynical left wing whores looking to get included into the kool kids klub, to get that ticket to the White House Correspondents Dinner, to get that juicy PR job in some captive Fed or NonProfit, or ReliablePartyOrgan, at the big league.

  14. The only good thing is that by specifically murdering Christians he didn’t kill any (or many) unsaved folks…..

  15. How about you Google satanism and find out what it’s really about before you point fingers?

    • WHOOAAAATTTT ?
      You mean , CONFUSION .
      That is all anyone need to know , and if you think otherwise I would be willing and able to prove you confused , not here of coarse , this is definitely not the proper avenue .
      There are other declared Satanist who post here and even in their eloquent banter there is always an inconsistent confusion .

    • Well Tam please enlighten us all about the prince of darkness…some kind of wiccan deity or just the pagan derivation of the muslim moon god? Animal or human sacrifice? Or just divination and spells?

    • I assume you’re affiliated with Church of Satan, or perhaps The Satanic Temple? Either way, neither of these hold a monopoly on the term “satanism”, and there are many other organizations that apply that label to themselves.

      Granted, I don’t know of any that would endorse such an act. Then again, given the extreme degree of individualism that is the norm in most of them, endorsing or rejecting would be an empty gesture, anyway.

  16. Or maybe this is just all bullsh!t. From the article “(PEOPLE has not received a copy of this document or confirmed its existence.) “.

  17. I think the author is worried about nothing here. The late 90’s were a different time, and I don’t think this fits a good narrative for proselytizing. Alex Jones will probably make a religion thing about it, but, you know that’s him. I don’t think anyone but AJ sees AJ as a spiritual authority.

    And why put “Satanist” in the title if you think the proselytizing would be inappropriate? That’s like adding to it then complaining about it.

    • @Jim: Ok fine. But knowing why might be informative. Otherwise all kinds of ideas come to mind that may have nothing to do with your decision.

    • +1. Jim, not defending RF, per se- just observing that you dont leave any information as to why, which might be helpful.

      Sometimes RF can be, shall we say…”provocative” in his lede, compared to the material in the article, to attract attention, naturally- and thats his style, and part of the attraction of the site. If you dont like it, you dont have to read it. Sort of like a free bbq. No one is forcing you to eat the ribs and beans, and unless you are bringing potluck and helping clean up, its kinda rude to complain about the cooking…

      Having said that, I find it helpful to go back to my high school english, and look for the summary paragraph, for reading comprehension.

      “We can fully expect the students who professed their Christian faith to Mercer in Umpqua to become elevated to martyrdom status. Which, in this case, is not inappropriate.”

      If you disagree, it would be interesting to know why, with facts. 50% of the value of TTAG is the readers comments, which range from newbies to very experienced, mostly pretty rational, witty and entertaining, with the few odd loose screws included (I fully admit my likely classification by some might be considered as belonging in the last category…;)

  22. More proof that there needs to be racial and religious profiling when it comes to 2A.

    So far my good-no good list is

    Good
    1. Veterans
    2. Christians
    3. Koreans
    4. Jews

    No good
    1. Black kids under 25
    2. Satanists
    3. Muslims

  23. Thanks to a good Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy he can join with what he worships…. in Hell.

  25. I am a Christian but have no desire to be a martyr. “Plan .45” goes into effect once we get to the Q&A.

  26. US military forces, under it’s Commander in Chief, bombed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz. There are at least 19 dead. Compared to POTUS, the Oregon shooter was an amateur.

    I therefore protest showing any pictures of said Commander in Chief and also protest the very mention of his name. That should stop him from ever doing anything bad again, because we all know how much he loves seeing his own picture.

  27. The only thing surprising about that little twerp is that there is very little surprising about that little twerp. Gotta say, while I’m interested in learning his motivations, his name should die with him. Maybe there should be a pseudonym like Needles McPrick or Dyldoe Phaggins.

    • That jumped out at me, too. Doesn’t make any sense. There’s a strong whiff of BS coming off of this one.

    • You put it on a USB stick, scrawl it on a stick, and give it to the only survivor that you’ve let go.

  29. TTAG, why are you giving this guybthe attention he wanted? Hasn’t this site bitched about the media giving these kinds of people the attention they want?

  33. Who cares whether the shooter was a muslim, a satanist, politically motivated, or just plane sick in the head?

    Who cares?

    That’s beside the most important point.

    The bottom line is that the innocent people of the school were all forcibly disarmed or if they had
    a weapon were not allowed to engage the shooter to stop him.

    I know one thing for sure is that this event alone is going to cause many many more students with Concealed Carry Licenses to IGNORE ANY LAW that says they can’t carry a firearm on campus.
    If not ON-BODY, certainly OFF-BODY in their backpack.

    In my state the penalty is only $250 fine and a 3-month suspension of your license and maybe suspension from school.

    So what?

    But I would take that deal over getting slaughtered like sheep any day of the week.

  34. I’m a pagan/heretic/heathen and I own guns and I’m definitely not the only one. It doesn’t mean I’m going to murder anyone. If anyone thinks that I/we are then you need to check your discrimination. We keep guns to protect ourselves from you so called “tolerant and peace loving” Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

  35. I heard a black comedian joke about knowing the position,”up against the wall”, because God spray painted them black because their palms and bottom of their feet are “white”. The question is what color do we bleed, if our palms and the bottom of our feet are a shade of white is everyone white? I have seen Nepali people that have paper white skin on their palms and bottom of feet.
    No double standards put the DC politicians on Obamacare and SS.Thanks for your support and vote.Pass the word. mrpresident2016.com

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