Chris Harper-Mercer, 26, was in the Army for a little more than a month at Fort Jackson — from Nov. 5 to Dec. 11, 2008 — spokesman Lt. Col. Ben Garrett said, but was discharged for failing to meet the minimum standards.
Garrett did not say which standards Harper-Mercer failed to meet. Generally, the Army requires recruits to pass physical fitness tests and to be generally in good physical and mental health. Recruits must also pass a multiple-choice test covering science, math, reading comprehension and other topics.
Harper-Mercer died during a shootout with police Thursday at Umpqua Community College, 180 miles south of Portland.
One of the wounded, Chris Mintz, reportedly confronted the gunman during the incident and was shot multiple times. Mintz was in surgery most of the day Thursday and has two broken legs among other injuries, family members told multiple media outlets. Army Times was not immediately able to confirm details of his military service.
Harper-Mercer's relationship with the college, which has about 3,000 full-time students, was not immediately clear, though investigators said a receipt found at the scene showed he purchased textbooks from the campus bookstore two days before the shooting. Investigators recovered six weapons and a flak jacket with steel plates on campus, and seven more weapons at Harper-Mercer's house.
