Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg talks to reporters during a news conference in Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Wesenberg determined that two Roseburg Police Department detectives were justified when they fired at a gunman on the Umpqua Community College campus last week. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)
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ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) - The gunman in last week's rampage at an Oregon community college was wounded in a shootout with police officers before he killed himself in the classroom where his victims lay dead and wounded, authorities said.
It was authorities' most detailed account yet of the death of 26-year-old Christopher Harper-Mercer, who killed nine other people at Umpqua Community College. The victims included his classmates in a writing class and the instructor.
When two plainclothes detectives spotted Harper-Mercer in the doorway of a campus building, he fired at them, and the officers quickly returned fire. The killer then went back inside and shot himself in the classroom, Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg said at a news conference Wednesday.
The detectives arrived within minutes of the first reports of gunfire at Umpqua Community College.
Seconds later, the officers "both felt they had a good target," Wesenberg said. Two of their bullets hit a wall. A third struck Harper-Mercer on the right side.
The wounded gunman "entered the classroom again, went to the front of the classroom and shot and killed himself," Wesenberg said.
The attack in this rural timber town was the worst mass shooting in Oregon history. Nine others were wounded in the Oct. 1 attack.
A private memorial has been held for Lawrence Levine, who was killed while teaching the class. Another private service was held Wednesday for 44-year-old Sarena Dawn Moore of Myrtle Creek. More funerals are scheduled through Saturday, and President Barack Obama arrives Friday to meet privately with grieving families.
Investigators have not yet shared any motive for the killings.
They have seized 14 guns - six found at the college and eight at the apartment Harper-Mercer shared with his mother on the outskirts of Roseburg.
Authorities have said the gunman's mother told them her son was struggling with mental health issues, but no details have been released.
Harper-Mercer and his mother shared a love of firearms and would go to shooting ranges together.
Rogue Community College Student Jessica Rodriguez lights a candle for RCC student Alen Bracero during a vigil in downtown Medford, Ore. in support of UCC on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. (Jamie Lusch/Mail Tribune via AP)
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Roseburg Police Chief Jim Burge talks to reporters during a news conference in Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg, left, determined that two Roseburg Police Department detectives were justified when they fired at a gunman on the Umpqua Community College campus last week. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)
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Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg, center, describes the events surrounding the officer involved shooting the morning of the mass murders at Umpqua Community College, during press conference in Roseburg, Ore. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)
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Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg, center, describes the events surrounding the officer involved shooting the morning of the mass murders at Umpqua Community College, during press conference in Roseburg, Ore. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)
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Roseburg Police Chief Jim Burge, center, talks about his officers involvement in the shooting the morning of the mass murder at Umpqua Community College during press conference in Roseburg, Ore., Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. (Chris Pietsch /The Register-Guard via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
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An Oregon State Patrol Trooper walks the grounds of Umpqua Community College near Roseburg, Ore. Tuesday Oct. 6, 2015 in the aftermath of the mass shooting on the Roseburg campus. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)
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A Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy screens visitors at the entrance to Umpqua Community College near Roseburg, Ore. Tuesday Oct. 6, 2015 in the aftermath of a mass shooting on the campus last week. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)
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Candida Miller, left, and Brandon Snyder leave flowers at a site of a growing memorial to victims of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015. (AP Photo via Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard)
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Rogue Community College and the RCC Association of Student Government hosts a Candlelight Vigil to show support for Umpqua Community College in downtown Medford, Ore. on Wednesday, Oct 7, 2015. (Jamie Lusch/Mail Tribune via AP)
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Douglas County Commissioners Tim Freeman, from left, Susan Morgan and Chris Boice hold a news conference in Roseburg, Ore., Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. President Obama plans to travel to Roseburg on Friday to meet with victims' families. Obama's calls for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shootings did not sit well with many people in this conservative region, where gun ownership is pervasive. The county commissioners tried to tamp down any suggestion that Obama was not welcome. (Michael Sullivan/The News-Review via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
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