The gunman who killed nine people and wounded seven others in Oregon had targeted Christians, the father of one of the victims says.

Named as Chris Harper Mercer, the gunman opened fire on Thursday inside a classroom at Umpqua Community College.

Thirteen weapons were recovered, six at the school and seven at his home, the police said. All were bought legally.

Mercer had body armour, three pistols and a rifle when he was shot and killed by police officers after a gun battle.

It also emerged that he enlisted in the Army in 2008, but he was discharged after spending less than a month in basic training, a US Army spokeswoman told the BBC.

She did not disclose why he was discharged, citing privacy rules.

Stacy Boylan, whose daughter survived the shooting, told US television network CNN that his daughter described to him how the gunman asked his victims to state their religion before shooting them.

“‘Are you a Christian?’ he would ask them, ‘and if you are a Christian stand up,’” the father recalled.