"I was hated ever since I arrived in the world," OregonshooterChris Harper-Mercer reportedly said in a manifesto discovered on his computer. "I was always under attack. I've always been the most hated person in the world." The manifesto, recently excerpted to People via "sources familiar with the investigation," reveals that Mercer felt there was nothing that could have been done to prevent his tragic actions at Umpqua Community College, as society had forced him to align himself with his demons:
"He says, 'Many will ask how can they have prevented this? You can't. You could never give me what I wanted. Nothing could have stopped it,' " the source tells PEOPLE.
"He talks about other mass killers, and says, 'These people were denied everything they deserved and wanted.' "
Mercer then purportedly expresses skepticism that anything could have turned his life around: "He asks, 'What was supposed to happen? What great event was supposed to make me realize I had so much going for me?' " the source says.
Abandoned and alone, Mercer allegedly writes, "I've been forced to align myself with these demons and become one of them. At first, it was involuntary, but now I am aligned with them. I now serve. When I die I will become one of them."
He adds: "My success in Hell is assured."
Mercer ultimately committed suicide after taking the lives of nine people and injuring others, a harrowing event that quickly triggered another debate in America regarding the future of potential gun law reform. Consequently, a Republican-led avoidance of the gun control topic entirely inspired a separate debate regarding the current status of mental health services in this country.
Prompted by President Barack Obama's request during a statement on the Oregon shooting, various publications compiled comparison charts of deaths from terrorism and deaths from gun violence. The results, as one might expect, paint a very detailed picture of the issue's most pressing realities.
