TheCable

At least 13 people have been killed in a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, a state in the United States.

The 3,000-student school is located in Roseburg, a rural area about 175 miles (281 km) south of Portland.

An official said a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on students in the school and was killed during an exchange of gunfire with the police.

Ellen Rosenblum, attorney-general of Oregon, said at least 20 people were wounded.

In audio from police radio channels an officer can be heard saying the suspect was down and that there were “multiple gunshot wounds” and calling for multiple ambulances to the scene.

Speaking on CNN, Douglas County Fire Marshall Ray Shoufler said there were “multiple patients in multiple classrooms” and that 11 people had been transported to a local hospital, two of which died at the hospital.

Marilyn Kittelman, the mother of a student at the college, told CNN her son said he heard no sound from the “30 some shots”.

A former president of the school, Joe Olson, said the school has no formal security staff, and that there was debate over whether to have armed security guards on campus last year.