Before going into surgery on Thursday night, Anastasia Boylan told her father that Mercer entered her classroom firing and shot the professor at point blank. As other people were hit by gunfire, everyone in the classroom dropped to the floor.
According to Anastasia, Mercer then reloaded his handgun and ordered the students to stand up if they were Christians.
"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.
"And then he shot and killed them," Anastasia's father Stacy Boylan said to CNN.
Anastasia also posted about the incident on her Twitter account earlier in the day.
“The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christian. If they said yes, then they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn’t answer, they were shot in the legs," Anastasia wrote.
Kortney Moore, an 18-year-old student at Umpqua Community College, was in the same classroom as Anastasia Boylan. Moore also confirmed to Oregon’s News Review that Mercer was targeting Christians.
Police officials identified Mercer as the suspect responsible for the mass shooting at Oregon's Umpqua Community College. Oregon State Police spokesman Bill Fugate said that preliminary information indicates 10 people were killed and 7 more wounded.
Reports are also indicating that Mercer was a student at the college.
According to Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin, officers engaged the 26 year old Mercer and he is now deceased.
"They located the shooter in one of the buildings. Officers engaged that suspect. There was an exchange of gunfire. The shooter threat was neutralized.
"Officers continued to sweep the campus looking for other threats. We have confirmed that there is confirmed injuries and confirmed fatalities," Hanlin said.
Police investigators are looking at social media postings they believe were made by the suspect. On Wednesday night, the shooter appears to have had a conversation with others online about his intentions.
In a news release, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said:
"Today is heartbreaking for Umpqua Community College, the greater Roseburg community, and all of Oregon.
"My heart is heavy as details of today's shooting become available. While it is still too early to know all of the facts, the effects of an incident such as this one are long-lasting.
"Please join me in keeping the victims and their families, as well as first responders, in your thoughts."
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