By October 2015, over 315,000 people have died because of firearm wounds in the US, while slightly more than 300 have died in the terrorist attacks. At the same time, 1,340 people have become victims of shootings, 300 of them were killed. By the end of the year 2015, there have been 23 college shootings across the states. The largest and most tragic of them happened is Roseburg, Oregon.
On October 1, 2015, a shooting occurred on the territory of Umpqua Community College. The gunman opened fire at 10:38 a.m. Before being shot dead by the police, he killed a teacher and eight students, and caused gunshot injuries to nine other people. The events took place right at the beginning of the school year during a public speaking class. Reports suggest that the entire school was stricken with panic, but there was one man who confronted the killer, and there were also those who called 911 immediately. The shootings ended after the police intervened, and the gunman was neutralized.
Central figure, the gunman, was Chris Harper Mercer, a 26-year-old student at Umpqua College. He was born in the UK and moved to the US as a kid attending an educational facility for children with special needs before studying in Roseburg. People who knew Harper Mercer thought that he was a loner with too few friends and shooting as a hobby. As a result of an online police investigation, it was found that Harper Mercer sympathized with the Nazis, IRA and also followed the news on the other massacres. It was reported that, prior to killing, the gunman asked each victim what his or her religion was. Right before the shooting, the young man left a note where he fantasized about being welcomed in hell by the devil after his death. Shortly after that, he took three pistols and a rifle, put the body armor on, and set off to the school.
Massacres like this have become rather common for the US. While the number of school shootings is much smaller than the total number of shootings or mass shootings (294 in 2015), this should not be left unattended. The worst and biggest shooting had happened in Newtown, Connecticut (Sandy Hook Elementary School), late 2012. 28 people were killed and 2 wounded. The US President Barack Obama bitterly said that it “has become routine”, and Hillary Clinton emphasized on repetition of mass murders in the country. Some political figures were caught with no apparent reaction to the events, such as Jeb Bush who said “stuff happens”.
The reactions from the politicians repeat the statistics where killings are a regular occasion. The gun control issue is raised on regular basis, but no conclusion is ever reached. Universities like Umpqua Community College are among the most common educational institutions, meaning that this could happen to any other school in the US. Something needs to be done with free access to the weapons and especially with carrying them at school.
References
- Blankstein A, Winter T, Carrero J. “10 Killed in Shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College”. NBC News, October 1, 2015.
- Vanderhart D, Johnson K. and Turkewitz J. Oregon Shooting at Umpqua College Kills 10, Sheriff Says. The New York Times, Oct 1, 2015.
- Akkoc R, Lawler D, and Crilly R. Oregon shooting: Army veteran survives after being shot charging at British gunman as victims’ names released – live. The Telegraph. 2 Oct, 2015.
- Ford D, Payne E. Oregon Shooting: Gunman Dead after College Rampage. CNN, 2 Oct, 2015.
- PBS News Desk. 10 dead in southwest Oregon college shooting, including gunman. PBS, Oct 1, 2015.
- “Sandy Hook shooting: What happened?” CNN, December 2012.
Sanburn J. These Are All the College Campus Shootings in 2015. TIME, Oct 1, 2015.