Oregon Shooting at Umpqua Community College:
- #1 Original Event Thread – Including shooter history
- #2 Follow-up Information on shooter background, media and family
- #3 Father Interview, Mother hiding, Manifesto kept secret
Matthew Smith is the 18-year-old student who Umpqua Community College shooter, Christopher Mercer, selected to take possession of an envelope containing a manifesto and computer flash drive.
It is apparent from a CNN video interview with Matthew Smith’s mother, Summer Smith, that she (they) have been given instructions not to discuss what Matthew was given. See Video:
According to Australia News:
Summer Smith (left), Matthew Smith (blue glasses – center)
[…] THE college student singled out by the Oregon gunman as “the lucky one” who would live attended a memorial service for the friends he watched die as the tiny town of Roseburg gathered on Sunday morning to mourn.
The 18-year-old was too distressed to speak, but his mother Summer Smith told how her son Matthew was forced to sit, frozen, against the back wall of the classroom as the gunman executed his friends one by one.
[…] Shedding more light on the tragedy, Matthew’s mother Summer Smith said her son didn’t understand what was happening when Harper Mercer singled him out by his blue glasses, telling him to stand up.
“He thought he was standing up to die,” Ms Smith later told CNN.
“He was sent to the back of the room and was forced to watch. He froze. He didn’t make a single move. He was afraid to look away. He thought if he did anything to make the shooter notice him he would be shot.” (link)
- In the South Carolina case (shooter Dylan Roof W/M ) – His “manifesto” was widely circulated.
- In the Roanoke Virginia case (shooter Vester Flanagan B/M ) – His 23 page “manifesto” was hidden despite being given to ABC and CBS news.
- In this Oregon case (shooter Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer B/M ) – His “manifesto” is also being kept secret.
What makes the Dylan Roof shooting manifesto different from Vester Flanagan and Christopher Mercer’s manifestos?
Or, put another way, what makes the Vester Flanagan and Christopher Mercer shooting different from Dylan Roof?
Maybe we’ll find out – Maybe not. As with all information, it would seemingly depend on what the media would like the public to know and what they prefer to keep hidden.