Sheriff praises two hero cops who rushed to protect Oregon students

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Sheriff John Hanlin praised cops who rushed to shooting 'within minutes'
Said the pair got to Umpqua Community College before locating gunman
Audio recording captures the moment men exchanged shots with killer
They can then be heard radioing dispatchers, saying 'suspect is down'

Published: 22:28 EST, 1 October 2015 | Updated: 22:58 EST, 1 October 2015

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Two hero cops who rushed to defend helpless students from the Oregon school shooter have been praised this evening as a dramatic audio recording captured the moment they confronted the killer.

John Hanlin, the sheriff of Douglas County, Oregon, praised two cops who he said entered the school building within minutes of the attack starting, before firing at shooter Chris Harper-Mercer, 26.

Moments later a police radio recording captured one of the breathless cops saying they were exchanging shots with Mercer, before he radioed back later to say: 'Suspect down'.

Douglas County sheriff John Hanlin has praised two hero cops who he said rushed to the site of today's school shooting 'within minutes' and began exchanging fire with killer Chris Harper-Mercer, 26

Dramatic recording from police radio captured the moment the officers arrived and began firing at Mercer (pictured) before reporting 'suspect is down'

Mercer killed at least 10 people and wounded another seven when he attacked Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, this morning.

According to distraught witnesses, Mercer shot a teacher in the head through a classroom door, then forced students to lie on the floor as he asked them to stand up one by one.

Survivors of the tragedy said he then asked the victims their religion before gunning them down.

Speaking about today's attack, Sheriff Hanlin said: 'We do know that we also had two police officers who responded into the building within minutes and exchanged gunfire with the suspect.'

He refused to reveal the officers' identities, but said they would be issued by another department at a later date.

Recordings taken from police radio at the scene of the shootings reveal how the event played out until the officers arrived.

In some of the first communications from this morning, dispatchers can be heard talking about an 'active shooter' on the UCC campus, discussing one woman who had been reported shot.

Mercer, who was later revealed to be carrying an AR-style assault rifle and three handguns, killed at least ten people at Umpqua Community College this morning before being shot dead

Distraught witnesses described how Mercer shot a teacher through the door of their classroom before asking students their religion, then shooting them dead (pictured, students console one another after today's killings)

They then narrow down the shooter's location to Synder Hall, saying he is outside the classroom firing in and requesting medical aid.

Moments later the cops first come on to the radio to report that they have found the shooter.

Speaking to the dispatchers, a male officer says: 'We are exchanging shots with him. He's in a classroom on the south east side of the hall.'

The officer, who sounds out of breath, then calls back to say there is an unconfirmed report that the suspect has a 'long gun' - meaning either a rifle or a shotgun.

Police have since revealed that Mercer had an AR-style assault rifle, along with three handguns.

After a short lapse in communication, the officer radios back, shouting down the line that the 'suspect is down.'

Having neutralized the threat, likely saving dozens of lives in the process, the officers then turn their attention to the wounded.

He says: '[We need] multiple medical units. Suspect is down, we have multiple gunshot wounds, we are going to need multiple ambulances on scene.'