Hilton Head Island counselor has ties to Oregon city reeling from school shooting
Hilton Head Island counselor Andy Kohlhepp turned on the news Thursday and was stunned to see the blue collar town he had once called home was the topic.
In Roseburg, Ore., where Kohlhepp worked as a high school teacher and wrestling coach from 1975 to 1978, nine people -- students and teachers at Umpqua Community College -- were killed in a mass shooting.
Kohlhepp had visited the town only two weeks ago.
He spent Thursday calling friends to see if they had family or friends at the school, a big part of the Roseburg community.
So far, none of the people Kohlhepp keeps in contact with had direct connections to the victims of the shooting, but he said Friday it likely wouldn't take long to make those connections once the names of those killed or injured were released. Kohlhepp said his friends expressed frustration at the lack of news locally. He said most of what his friends have been able to learn has come from watching or reading national news.
The city, along Interstate 5 about an hour's drive south of Eugene, is still dear to him, he said. It is a logging and salmon-fishing town he remembers fondly. One of his daughters was born there.
"They're all pretty shook up," he said. "It hits close to home. For that town to have this scar moving forward is shocking. It's just a beautiful town."
After learning more about the tragedy and the suspected shooter, who lived in an apartment complex Kohlhepp's friend had painted -- Kohlhepp said he hoped some change would come from the shooting.
"Who would ever expect in your town someone could do this?" he said. "But mental health issues are issues everywhere. You could say 'Who would ever think that could happen here?' but it could happen as easy on Hilton Head Island as it did in Roseburg, Oregon."
Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.
Related content:
- 'We began to run': Students describe horror of shooting, Oct. 1, 2015
This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Hilton Head Island counselor has ties to Oregon city reeling from school shooting."