Sheriff to victims’ families: ‘Your loved ones are heroes’

Here is the full text of Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin and several other officials who spoke at Saturday’s news briefing on the Umpqua Community College shooting, as well as disseminated information on timeline, partner agencies, how to help and resources available to the public.

Talking Points
Sheriff John Hanlin

10/3/15
12:00 p.m. briefing

Good afternoon.

My name is John Hanlin, and I am the Sheriff for Douglas County. I have a group of partners joining me to address a number of issues and details.

I will start with the investigation.

Tips

We are still in need of any tips, photos or videos that are relevant to the investigation. If you are unsure as to whether what you have is relevant, please go ahead and call and let us decide. The tip line is 1-800-CALL FBI. Again, that is 1-800-CALL-FBI. Choose option 7.

Timeline

We have put together a basic timeline as to the events as they unfolded in the first hour of the incident. As you can see, officers responded immediately. The Roseburg Police Officers and an Oregon State Police trooper, were first on-scene arriving within five minutes.

Two minutes later the officers tell dispatch that they have engaged the shooter. Two minutes after that, dispatch reports “shooter down”. You can see how things progressed beyond that.

Investigation Process

This is a complex investigation with many different facets:
* the shooting event at Umpqua Community College
* the shooter’s background, including how he obtained his weapons
* the use of force by the initial responding officers-

To date, we have:
* Run down hundreds of leads and Interviewed hundreds of people, including victims, witnesses, neighbors and others
* Conducted searches at the school and residence as well as of the shooter’s vehicle
* Seized evidence from multiple locations including the weapons and ammunition; documents; and digital media. The Oregon State Police Crime Lab as well as the ATF and FBI Laboratories are all engaged in the effort to move forward with processing this evidence.

I want to let you know that investigators located one additional handgun during the search of the shooter’s residence, bringing the total number of guns seized to 14.

Officer Involved Shooting Investigation

I have been asked to release the following information by Oregon State Police on behalf of the Oregon State Medical Examiner.

The Medical Examiner has determined the cause of death of the shooter to be suicide.

The Oregon State Police is conducting the investigation on the officer involved shooting.

Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg

As District Attorney for Douglas County, it is my responsibility to review all deadly force incidents to determine if the force used is justified under Oregon law. It is my understanding that the officer-involved shooting investigation being conducted by the Oregon State Police is nearing conclusion. I expect to be presented with the case early next week. Once I receive the case, I will do a thorough review and make a determination on whether the use of force was justified.

Roseburg Police Chief Jim Burge

Beyond this initial incident, we want to be very clear about the fact that there are NO current threats against any school or facility in our area. Saying that, I know that parents and students have concerns. In fact, we’ve had our own police officers and fire fighters answering questions from their spouses and children as to whether they are “safe”. I am sure that other parents and students in the general community have the same concerns.

As we move into next week, I want to reassure you that Roseburg Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work to ensure your school is, indeed, safe.

Fire District 2 Chief Greg Marlar

Good Afternoon,

My name is Greg Marlar and I am honored to say that I am the Fire Chief for Douglas County Fire District 2. Our community has been rocked by this horrendous act and I am proud of my community and the resiliency we have shown in the face of such tragedy.

Our Fire District is comprised of more than120 personnel. I knew we had some incredible people within our organization but the professionalism and strength of character I have witnessed in the last couple days has absolutely confirmed that fact.

Prior to this incident we have had several trainings specific to mass casualty incidents. I saw that work come to bear on the campus that day. Our crews response was immediate and robust. There is no doubt that the exceptional patient care and proficient use of lifesaving skills by first responders — saved lives that day.

At the scene we had over 45 fire and ems responders, 5 chief officers, 4 engines companies and 10 paramedic ambulances. Our crews worked quickly to establish a triage system to identify critical patients. Crews provided advanced life support including airway protection, bleeding control and gun shot wound care. We then worked to arrange transport and quickly get patients to the appropriate care facility.

It was all hands on deck for our organization and their focus and dedication has made for an effective operation. We also are greatly appreciative of the law enforcement officers whose partnership allowed our crews to safely access and treat victims.

However, it was with great sadness that we learned that Firefighter Justin Anspach lost his son Treven Taylor Anspach and EMS Paramedic Brian McFadden lost his niece Becca Ann Carnes. I have been moved by how quickly our entire firefighting family has rallied, as it always does, to support these families.

I have been a part of emergency response for 32 years and I know that nothing can completely prepare you for the physical and mental toll an incident can have on any responder. Debriefings and support has been made available to all of our personnel and those that responded are now with their families and recovering. Please respect their privacy so they can spend time with their family and friends. If you have question regarding our organization I will be making myself available for interviews later today .

I haven’t stopped thinking about the many other families that have experienced an unthinkable loss. The entire firefighting and ems community is praying for you during this difficult time.

We are also thinking of the nine injured, those are our patients and their full and speedy recovery is our utmost hope.

The direct support from agencies throughout the state has been incredible. We specifically appreciate the help and support of City of Roseburg Fire, Bay City Ambulance, Douglas County Sheriff’s and City of Roseburg Police.

I want to end by saying that while we deal with this tragedy on two fronts, both as a community and within our Fire District, our stations are open and our crews are ready to serve our community. We are proud to serve and nothing or no one will deter us from that mission.

Vanessa Becker, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Umpqua Community College

Umpqua Community College is helping the healing process for the UCC community – coordinating supports for students, staff and faculty and planning to reopen campus.
Community partners have come together to provide mental health services to UCC students, faculty and staff.
* Mental health professionals are offering no-cost grief sharing: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. through Sunday at the Ford Foundation, 1600 NW Stewart Parkway; and the Community Health Alliance, 201 Medical Loop, suite 180.
* Beginning Monday , Oct. 5, grief sharing will be available on campus, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the campus cafeteria.
* The Community Health Alliance is staffing a 24-hour hotline at 541-440-3532 or 800-866-9780 .
Planning to re-open campus
* Campus will reopen for students and staff at 7:30 a.m. on Monday Oct. 5, although classes and events will be cancelled.
* Classes and events will resume Oct. 12.
Donations
* The Greater Douglas United Way is accepting donations via text and online: http://www.gduway.org/UCCgive
* The Umpqua Community College Foundation is accepting donations online and by mail: https://www.umpqua.edu/scholarships-donations

We strongly recommend that donors cast a careful eye when considering other funds, as some are not based at charitable organizations and might apply high administrative fees. Also, unfortunately, at times like these, there are unscrupulous people who will set up false accounts.

Community support: Community organizations are creating I am UCC, and UCC Strong, decals. As soon as they are available, details will be provided on the UCC website.
Starting Sunday , the school will issue a news advisory each day at 3 p.m. with pertinent information.

Sheriff John Hanlin

Mental Health Resources
We have the Health and Human Services National Disaster Mental Health team – 16 people in total – who have flown in to help our community recover. They are providing immediate assistance and developing a strategy for a long-term support for our community. The executive director of the Community Health Alliance, Janet Holland is with us today and will be available after this press conference for one-on-one interviews.
Looking Ahead

* We are still collecting investigative information from various sources. Those details will continue to come in over the next few days and weeks.
* We continue to have law enforcement and victim service teams working with the families to provide any help they may need. This includes counseling resources, helping to make any arrangements related to funerals and more.
* The FBI’s Behavioral Analyst team has arrived on-scene and will assist with helping to understand “the why” of this event.

This is our last planned press conference. As the need arises, we will continue to provide information through the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and our local partner agencies.

I can’t understate the support we have received from our local, state and federal partners. If I were to read the list of agencies now, we would be here quite a bit longer. We are putting out a complete list of partner agencies on the press release site.

I can’t say thank you enough to each and every first responder, investigator, victim specialist, analyst, and the rest. Your help has been invaluable in getting us through this event and helping move Douglas County down the path to recovery.

And finally – I want to express my most sincere appreciation to those most directly touched by this incident.

* The two Roseburg Police Officers who responded and stopped the shooter from killing dozens of other people who were in that classroom and in the immediate vicinity.
* The student who – by all reports – charged the shooter and suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
* To the families of the victims – our hearts are with you now and forever. Please know that we consider your loved ones to be heroes. They will not ever be forgotten.

—

Timeline of UCC Shooting Response

10:38 am First 911 call comes into Douglas Co. Emergency Communications
Roseburg Police officers en-route to UCC (5 miles to travel)
Medical notified

10:39 am Dispatch updates “shooter in science building’

10:40 am Dispatch updates UCC buildings in lock down

10:41 am Dispatch updates shots coming from “Snyder Building”

10:42 am OSP dispatch receives report of active shooter

10:44 am First two Roseburg Police officers and OSP Trooper arrive

10:46 am Officer reports exchange of shots with suspect

10:48 am “Suspect down”

10:48 am First ambulance sent into scene

10:50 am Dispatch requests all local ambulances to report to UCC

11:11 am ODOT responding to assist with traffic control

11:14 am Dispatch notifies Mercy Medical of 10 deceased, 6 critical to transport

11:26 am Request for bomb squad response

11:47 am Fairgrounds set for reunification

—

On behalf of the Oregon State Police and the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner:

On October 1 , 2015 at 10:38 AM Douglas County Emergency Communications (DCEC) received the first 911 calls directing law enforcement to the Umpqua Community College. Roseburg Police Department (RPD) officers were the first to arrive at 10:44 AM. Two RPD officers engaged the shooter in gunfire. The Oregon State Police Medical Examiner has determined the cause of death of the shooter to be suicide.

The Oregon State Police is conducting the investigation on the officer involved shooting. Any further details will be released by the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office upon completion of the investigation.

—

Suspect family statement:

This statement have been provided by a spoke person for the family:

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific events that unfolded on Thursday, October 1 . Our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families of those who died and were injured. “

—

Umpqua Community College Response
List of Partner Agencies

* Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
* Douglas County Fire District 2
* Roseburg Police Department
* Roseburg Fire Department
* Douglas County Emergency Management
* Douglas County Commission
* Douglas County District Attorney
* Umpqua Community College
* Oregon State Police
* Curry County Sheriff’s Office
* Josephine County Sheriff’s Office
* Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
* Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
* Linn County Sheriff’s Office
* Sutherlin Police Department
* Winston Police Department
* Medford Police Department
* Ashland Police Department
* Corvallis Police Department
* Beaverton Police Department
* Portland Police Bureau
* Oregon State Fire Marshal
* Oregon Emergency Management
* Oregon Military Department
* Portland Fire and Rescue
* Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue
* Hillsboro Fire Department
* Jacksonville Fire Department
* FBI
* ATF
* U.S. Marshals Service
* Homeland Security Investigations
* U.S. Bureau of Land Management
* U.S. Attorneys Office
* Federal Protective Service
* Jackson/Josephine County Emergency Management
* Coos County District Attorney’s Office
* Jackson County District Attorney’s Office
* Lane County District Attorney’s Office
* Yamhill County District Attorney’s Office
* Josephine County District Attorney’s Office
* Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office
* Washington County District Attorney’s Office
* Union County District Attorney’s Office
* Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office
* Oregon Department of Justice – Crime Victims Services
* Bay City Ambulance
* Community Health Alliance
* University of Oregon

—

On behalf of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office:

How to help with Umpqua Community College Shooting relief

While the community is healing from the tragic Umpqua Community College shooting, the relief effort has already started. There are many ways to be supportive, but here a list official sources are recommending:

Donate to UCC relief funds

The Greater Douglas United Way: http://www.gduway.org/UCC

The Umpqua Community College Foundation: https://www.umpqua.edu/scholarships-donations

Take advantage of grief counseling services

The Community Health Alliance (CHA) is offering drop-in grief counseling services 9:00 am-8:00 pm until Tuesday Oct. 6 at two locations in Roseburg:

Community Health Alliance Annex B, at 2700 NW Stewart Parkway

The Ford Family Foundation, at 1600 NW Stewart Parkway

Support a UCC solidarity effort

Ask those with reader boards in your community to post “I am UCC” or “We are UCC” or any other message that they are moved to share. Via social media, you can download and share the “I am UCC: http://www.tfff.org/i-am-ucc.

Donate blood at your local American Red Cross: http://www.redcrossblood.org/.

Resources on Traumatic Events and Mass Violence

SAMHSA Behavioral Health Disaster App: The SAMHSA Disaster App allows disaster behavioral health responders to navigate resources related to pre-deployment preparation, on-the-ground assistance, and post-deployment resources. Users can also share resources from the app via text message or email, and quickly identify local behavioral health services. http://store.samhsa.gov/apps/disaster

Dealing with the effects of trauma: A self-help guide: This SAMHSA guide provides in-depth information on recovering from a traumatic event, including tips for seeking and receiving help from healthcare providers, things survivors can do on their own, and links to additional resources.
http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content//SMA-3717/SMA-3717.pdf

Effects of traumatic stress after mass violence, terror, or disaster: Developed by the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), this publication provides information regarding expected reactions to out-of-the ordinary situations. It includes descriptions of common traumatic stress reactions, problematic stress responses, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder.
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/trauma/disaster-terrorism/stress-mv-t-dhtml.asp

Incidents of mass violence: This SAMHSA page lists the risk factors for distress after a mass violence event. SAMHSA also provides tips on what to do in lockdown situations, lists signs of emotional distress, and highlights the Disaster Distress Helpline and other resources.
http://disasterdistress.samhsa.gov/disasters/incidents-of-mass-violence.aspx

Traumatic incident stress: This fact sheet from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health highlights the physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms that first responders may experience after a disaster. The Institute provides tips and links to additional resources that can help responders take care of their own emotional health.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/traumaticincident

Resources for Teachers, Families, and Caregivers to Help Children and Youth

Children and Youth–SAMHSA Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series installment: This SAMHSA Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series installment focuses on the reactions and mental health needs of children and youth after a disaster and contains resources from both the child trauma and disaster behavioral health fields. The collection includes an annotated bibliography and a section with helpful links to organizations, agencies, and other resources that address disaster preparedness and response issues surrounding children and youth: http://archive.samhsa.gov/dtac/dbhis/dbhis_children_bib.asp

Helping Your child cope with media coverage of disasters: A fact sheet for parents: The authors discuss the effects of post-disaster media coverage on children and provide strategies that parents can use to address these effects.
http://www.oumedicine.com/docs/ad-psychiatry-workfiles/parent_disaster_media_factsheet_2011.pdf

It’s Okay to Remember: This video provides information regarding traumatic grief in children, addresses the three main types of trauma reminders, and illustrates how families can experience the pain of loss and then heal. It features physicians and experts in the field and is appropriate for parents and others who care for children.
http://www.nctsn.org/trauma-types/traumatic-grief/what-childhood-traumatic-grief

A national tragedy: Helping children cope: This website hosted by the National Association of School Psychologists provides recommendations for parents and school personnel for helping children cope with a crisis. The website lists suggestions for what adults, parents, and schools can do following a traumatic event.
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/terror_general.aspx

Parent tips for adolescents: This table lists possible reactions, suggested responses, and examples of things parents can do and say to children affected by a disaster.
http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/pfa/english/appendix_e7_tips_for_parents_with_adolescents.pdf

Parent tips for infants and toddlers: This table lists possible reactions, how to understand them, and suggestions that can help parents of infants and toddlers cope with their emotions after a disaster. http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/pfa/english/appendix_e4_tips_for_parents_with_infants_and_toddlers.pdf

Parent tips for preschoolers: This table lists possible reactions, suggested responses, and examples of things parents can do and say to preschool-age children affected by a disaster.
http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/pfa/english/appendix_e5_tips_for_parents_with_preschool_children.pdf

Parent tips for school-age children: This table lists possible reactions, suggested responses, and examples of things parents can do and say to school-age children after a disaster.
http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/pfa/english/appendix_e6_tips_for_parents_with_schoolage_children.pdf

Responding to stressful events: Helping children cope: This packet contains information on helping children cope after a stressful event, highlighting common reactions and coping techniques.
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/oes-bsu-02/pdf/helping-child-cope_e.pdf

Tips for talking to children and youth after traumatic events: A guide for parents and educators: The authors explain how to help children cope with the emotional aftermath of a disaster and include information on common reactions according to developmental stage. https://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/KEN01-0093R/KEN01-0093R.pdf

Disaster Response Personnel

The behavioral health response to mass violence: The speakers in this SAMHSA DTAC podcast inform disaster behavioral health professionals about the psychological responses to mass violence and suggest strategies and interventions to provide immediate support and mitigate long-term negative mental health consequences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeFrjY9Dfuo&list=PLBXgZMI_zqfRcTt9ndxkbieQ-pQslk-R6

A guide to managing stress in crisis response professions: This SAMHSA pocket guide provides first responders with information on signs and symptoms of stress and offers simple, practical techniques for minimizing stress responses prior to and during disaster response. http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content//SMA05-4113/SMA05-4113.pdf

Stress management for emergency responders: What responders can do: This CDC audio podcast is part of a series that examines sources of stress and what individuals, team leaders, and agency management can do to manage the stress. Tips for reducing stress and lessening its negative impacts are also provided by CDC.

http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10613

Understanding compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction: Tips for disaster responders: This SAMHSA DTAC podcast can help disaster behavioral health professionals learn about the positive and negative effects of helping disaster survivors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSJ0Lk8MsIQ&list=PLBXgZMI_zqfRcTt9ndxkbieQ-pQslk-R6

Links to Organizations and Agencies

Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress: The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress is dedicated to advancing trauma-informed knowledge, leadership, and methodologies. The center’s work addresses a wide scope of trauma exposure from the consequences of combat, operations other than war, terrorism, natural and human-caused disasters, and public health threats. http://www.centerforthestudyoftraumaticstress.org

National Association of School Psychologists (NASP): The mission of NASP is to “empower school psychologists by advancing effective practices to improve students’ learning, behavior, and mental health.” NASP’s School Safety and Crisis Resources webpage provides resources to promote the ability of children and youth to cope with traumatic or unsettling events.http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/index.aspx

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN): Terrorism: The mission of NCTSN is to raise the standard of care and increase access to services for traumatized children and their families. The terrorism section of their website assists parents and families after a biological, chemical, or radiological terrorist attack. http://www.nctsn.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=typ_terr