Oregon shooting: Gunman dead after college rampage

[Dos Equis]

Terrible tragedy.  The president wasted no time turning this tragedy into a political issue.    

“We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.”
Moments ago, President Barack Obama delivered remarks on the ‪#‎UCCShooting‬ and demanded a change of politics on gun control across America.

Oregon shooting: Gunman dead after college rampage
By Dana Ford, CNN
Updated 7:03 PM ET, Thu October 1, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

"We arrived to find multiple patients in multiple classrooms. Law enforcement was on scene and had the shooter neutralized," said Douglas County Fire Marshal Ray Shoufler.

He told CNN that two patients died while being transported to a hospital.

Mercy Medical Center posted on Facebook that it had received 10 patients. The extent of their injuries was not known.

Three female victims were at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, about 70 miles north of the shooting scene, according to a hospital spokeswoman Thursday afternoon.

The shooting appears to have started in one building before the gunman moved to the school's science building, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN. Those killed and wounded were found in at least two classrooms.

ATF agents were on scene and canine teams were en route to search for explosives, fire arms casings and ammunition, a spokesman said. FBI agents were also en route, officials said Thursday.

'I'm so insignificant'

According to the source close to the investigation, authorities are looking at social media posts between a person they believe may have been the shooter, and others.

The conversation happened Wednesday night on 4chan.

In it, the writer talks about planning to carry out a shooting. Others egg him on, giving him suggestions on how to do it, and the type of weapons to use.

The responses are mixed -- with some users characterizing the would-be gunman as a pathetic loser. Others called him a twisted hero.

In the posts, there is a reference to the UC Santa Barbara shooter, who wrote a manifesto and videoed himself before opening fire a year ago.

"This is the only time I'll ever be in the news. I'm so insignificant," reads an apparent post by the would-be Oregon gunman.

'This is so out of character'

Roseburg is a city of about 22,000 people about 70 miles south of Eugene, Oregon, and some 180 miles south of Portland.

The school itself is up on a hill outside the city center, according to Rick Francona, a CNN military analyst who lives nearby. Francona said that logging is a big industry in the region, which is fairly rural but easily accessible from Interstate 5.

"This is so out of character for this whole area," he said.

News of the shooting quickly reached Washington, with the state's senior senator, Ron Wyden, visibly shaken and Sen. Jeff Merkley tweeting that he was praying for the victims and their families.

U.S. President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation and will continue to receive updates throughout the day.

He pushed for a change in gun laws when he spoke to reporters about the shooting Thursday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America -- next week, or a couple months from now," he said.

'The saddest day'

A picturesque campus in the North Umpqua River Valley, Umpqua Community College prides itself on a "a peaceful, safe atmosphere, and year-round recreational activities," according to its website.

Oregon shooting shatters 'peaceful' enclave

It's not a traditional institution of higher learning, as the average age of its 13,600 students was 38 during the 2013-2014 school year. Only 740 of those were full time, 2,437 were part time and more than 10,000 fell under the umbrella of "community education."

It first began teaching classes out of rented facilities in 1961. Elton and Ruth Jackson donated 98.5 acres to house the campus in 1965.

The school will be closed until Monday as a result of the shooting.

The interim leader of Umpqua Community College called Thursday "the saddest day in the history of the college."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/01/us/oregon-college-shooting/index.html

[Irongrip400]

 

[240 is Back]

hey dicks,

you should have impeached his ass the minute you took over the senate.

You own it ALL now, all the anti-gun bullshit he delivers - that is on YOU.   

Ted cruz, cahffertz, and majority of repubs wanted to bounce him - and you RINO fvcks didn't want it. 

[Dos Equis]

hey dicks,

you should have impeached his ass the minute you took over the senate.

You own it ALL now, all the anti-gun bullshit he delivers - that is on YOU.   

Ted cruz, cahffertz, and majority of repubs wanted to bounce him - and you RINO fvcks didn't want it. 

So I probably will vote dem.  i'd love to see Obama choose a Wes Clark for a running mate, or a Jim Webb, possibly more likely, for strong military and defense credibility.

My whole family - all Republicans - are voting Obama.  i'm driving them to the station later - buying everyone dinner - making it a real family event.

[WOOO]

Americans and their guns. You're a pathetic bunch.

You should all be shot.

The maybe you'd understand how ridiculous you look to the rest of the world.

[whork]

Yeah how dare Obama making a fuss about dead American kids and a war veteran.

I guess dead kids and war veterans doesnt matter to you Beach?

[JOHN MATRIX]

watching Obama basically makes me physically ill at this point. Jan 2017 cant get here soon enough.

so, which laws would have stopped this? oh that's right, none 

the only deterrent to these events is having armed guards at the schools (like they have at so many other places) but no, the left melts down if you recommend something as realistic and common sense as that.

[whork]

watching Obama basically makes me physically ill at this point. Jan 2017 cant get here soon enough.

so, which laws would have stopped this? oh that's right, none 

the only deterrent to these events is having armed guards at the schools (like they have at so many other places) but no, the left melts down if you recommend something as realistic and common sense as that.

A law banning schools would prevent something like this.

[JOHN MATRIX]

A law banning schools would prevent something like this.

very true 

[Dos Equis]

Looks like the president was wrong again if all of this kid's guns were legally obtained. 

Also looks like the shooter was targeting Christians.   

Murderer’s gun stash: More than a dozen weapons found after Oregon community college rampage
Published October 02, 2015
FoxNews.com

Oregon college massacre: Inside the mind of the shooter


Investigators have found at least 13 weapons linked to the gunman in Thursday’s mass murder at an Oregon community college: six at the crime scene, including a rifle, and seven at his apartment.

All of the weapons were purchased legally, seven of them by the gunman or a relative, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It reports that investigators recovered body armor including a flak jacket at the school, and additional ammunition in the apartment.

In addition to the rifle, the shooter also carried five handguns, a law enforcement source tells Fox News.

Details on the shooter's background are slowly emerging. The U.S. Army says the gunman, Christopher Harper Mercer, flunked out of basic training in 2008.

Lt. Col. Ben Garrett, an Army spokesman, said Mercer was in service at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, starting on November 5, 2008. But by December 11, 2008, he was discharged for failing to meet the minimum administrative standards.

The Army spokesman did not say which standards Mercer failed to meet. Generally, the Army requires recruits to pass physical fitness tests and to be generally in good physical and mental health. Recruits also must score highly enough on a multiple-choice test covering science, math, reading comprehension and other topics.

Authorities say Mercer killed nine people at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police. Witnesses said the gunman specifically targeted Christians.

There didn't seem to be many recent connections on the social media sites linked to the gunman, with his MySpace page just showing two friends. He appeared to have at least one online dating profile.

On a torrents streaming site and blog that appeared to belong to Mercer, posts referenced multiple shootings and downloads included several horror films and a documentary on a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

A blog post urged readers to watch the online footage of Vester Flanagan shooting two former colleagues on live TV in Virginia, while another lamented materialism as preventing spiritual development.

A MySpace page that appeared to belong to Mercer included several photos and graphics of the Irish Republican Army as well as a picture of Mercer holding a rifle.

One law enforcement official described Mercer to The New York Times as appearing to be "an angry young man who was very filled with hate." Another official said investigators were poring over what he described as "hateful" writings by Mercer.

Mercer's father says he's as shocked as anybody else. Ian Mercer spoke to KABC-TV and several other media outlets gathered outside his house in Tarzana, California late Thursday night.

He said it's been a "devastating day" for him and his family and said he has been talking to police and the FBI about the shooting.

He refused to answer questions and asked that his family's privacy be respected.

Mercer "seemed really unfriendly" and would "sit by himself in the dark in the balcony with this little light," according to neighbor Bronte Harte, speaking to the Associated Press.

The New York Post identified the dating site as SpiritualPassions.com and reported that Mercer used the screen name "Ironcross45," a possible reference to a WWII decoration awarded to Nazi soldiers.

The shooting sparked panic at the usually quiet college, more than 70 miles south of Eugene. Some students ran for their lives, while others crammed into buses taking them to safety.

Two people remain in critical condition in the ICU at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon. Doctors there say one victim was shot in the head.

One other victim is in critical condition at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, according to chief medical officer Dr. Jason Gray. He said his hospital initially received 10 patients.

Twitter user @bodhilooney posted a statement on the social network claiming that her grandmother was inside the classroom.

Hundreds went to a candlelight vigil Thursday night, with many raising candles as the hymn "Amazing Grace" was played.

Former student Sam Sherman said Roseburg was a "poor town, a mill town." Oregon's timber industry went into a tailspin 25 years ago.

"People don't generally aspire to greater things here," he said. "So having a place you can go to do that is a big deal. For something that terrible to happen at such a small school is frustrating."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/02/witnesses-say-oregon-gunman-targeted-christians-in-community-college-shooting/?intcmp=hpbt3

[Dos Equis]

Respect.

Oregon shooting hero tells gunman, 'It's my son's birthday today'
By Don Melvin, CNN
Fri October 2, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

Chris Mintz tried to block the door to keep the gunman out
Victim, shot several times, is in stable condition
Cousin: "He walked away with his life"



(CNN)—When Chris Mintz heard gunfire at Oregon's Umpqua Community College on Thursday, his thoughts were not of himself.

Instead, he thought first of protecting others. Then he thought of his 6-year-old son, Tyrik.

Nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the College on Thursday. Nine others were injured.

When the shooting broke out, Mintz, 30, a military veteran and a former high school football player in Randleman, North Carolina, tried to save the lives of others.

"Tries to block the door to keep the gunman from coming in," his aunt, Wanda Mintz, told Fox 8, a CNN affiliate in High Point, North Carolina.

"Gets shot three times," his aunt said. "Hits the floor."

"Looks up at the gunman and says, 'It's my son's birthday today,' " his aunt said.

Still, there was no mercy. The gunman shot Mintz again. It's not yet clear exactly how many more times, but both his legs are broken, said family members who talked to him by phone on his way into surgery.

"He's going to have to learn to walk again," Ariana Earnhardt, his cousin, told Fox 8. "But he walked away with his life, and that's more than so many other people did."

Frantic students hid behind backpacks, chairs

Some on social media hailed Mintz's courage and encouraged people to remember him rather than the killer.

"What a example of what it means to be a American Hero," one person said on Twitter.
 
Sheriff who 'will never' say shooter's name is no fan of gun control

Despite plea, gunman showed no mercy

Even in the hospital, riddled with bullet wounds, Mintz was thinking of others.

"When I found out he had been transferred to the hospital, I immediately tried calling him," said another cousin, Derek Bourgeois. "His ex-girlfriend was with him."

"When I asked him how he was doing," Bourgeois said, "he immediately said 'people died' and lost it crying."

Mintz told his cousin he had been shot five times, but the total number is not entirely clear.

"His ex-girlfriend actually corrected him while he was on the phone with me, telling him he was actually shot seven times," Bourgeois said. "He was so out of it, he didn't even know how many times he had been shot."

Mintz was shot in the back, stomach, hands and legs, Bourgeois said. He is in stable condition, according to staff at Mercy Medical Center.

Grave as Mintz's injuries are, Bourgeois -- like Mintz's other relatives -- is grateful.

"I'm just so happy that he's OK," Bourgeois said. "It could have been worse."

According to the Army, Mintz served as an infantryman from 2004 to 2007, reaching the rank of specialist (SPC). He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

A GoFundMe page set up for Mintz by Bourgeois had raised over $200,000 in six hours, as of Friday afternoon.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/oregon-school-shooting-hero/index.html

[WOOO]

What's wrong with targeting Christians? Don't you all wanna meet Jesus?

[LurkerNoMore]

What's wrong with targeting Christians? Don't you all wanna meet Jesus?

Apparently, it was God's will.

[whork]

What's wrong with targeting Christians? Don't you all wanna meet Jesus?

 

[WOOO]

Jesus apparently appreciates irony as much as I do.

[BayGBM]

• This is the 264th mass shooting this year. Yes, 264 mass shootings in less than a year.  41 school shootings in the U.S. this year.

• Firearms kill 33,000 people every year.

• Every 6 hours in America more people die from gun violence than were killed by terrorists in all of 2014. If a disease like Ebola was killing as many people as guns there would be rioting in the streets to cure it.

• In the last 30 years there has never been a single instance of a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy intent on killing a bunch of people... 30 years.

• In the last 50 years, half of the world's mass shootings have occurred in the U.S.

• The U.S is the most armed country in the world.

• We have as many guns as people and 1/3 of the populace owns at least one.

• Nearly half of all civilian guns in the world are held by Americans.

• Besides bombs and chemical weapons, guns are the most efficient killing machines. Bombs and chemical weapons are illegal.

• The second amendment was written by slave-holding men who carried muskets to protect themselves from tyranny and from their slaves. A musket took over 10 seconds to reload for a single shot.

[JOHN MATRIX]

• This is the 264th mass shooting this year. Yes, 264 mass shootings in less than a year.  41 school shootings in the U.S. this year.

• Firearms kill 33,000 people every year.

• Every 6 hours in America more people die from gun violence than were killed by terrorists in all of 2014. If a disease like Ebola was killing as many people as guns there would be rioting in the streets to cure it.

• In the last 30 years there has never been a single instance of a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy intent on killing a bunch of people... 30 years.

• In the last 50 years, half of the world's mass shootings have occurred in the U.S.

• The U.S is the most armed country in the world.

• We have as many guns as people and 1/3 of the populace owns at least one.

• Nearly half of all civilian guns in the world are held by Americans.

• Besides bombs and chemical weapons, guns are the most efficient killing machines. Bombs and chemical weapons are illegal.

• The second amendment was written by slave-holding men who carried muskets to protect themselves from tyranny and from their slaves. A musket took over 10 seconds to reload for a single shot.

almost every point on here is laughably wrong. but whatever makes you libtards feel better

[LurkerNoMore]

almost every point on here is laughably wrong. but whatever makes you libtards feel better

Should be easy to post some stats and refute the claims then.

[Las Vegas]

• In the last 30 years there has never been a single instance of a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy intent on killing a bunch of people...

Where did you get this?

[JOHN MATRIX]

the vast majority of these 241 so-called 'mass shootings' are gang/drug related violence in which criminals are offing each other, you know, they type that occurs almost exclusively in big liberal cities with strict gun control that Obama always forgets to say anything about.

the implication that these are 'mass shootings' like the one at the school is laughably disingenuous.

and theres no way there have been 41 'school shootings' this year...again, its all in how they intentionally define it, for example when a car jacking or drug killing takes place within a few blocks of a school in a bad area, they throw it in the 'school shooting' category to pad the stats. don't believe me? try to actually look up 41 school shootings this year. actually try to find them. you wont find even half that.

second point is a classic libtard favorite and  the easiest to debunk- 1/2 to 2/3 of that number are SUICIDES so they don't even count as they are not murders at all. also included in tis numbers are criminals shot by cops. the killer in the recent attack would be included in this number. and again, the vast majority of what is left is gang related thugs shooting each other. take away the 3-4 biggest urban democrat cities numbers (Chicago, LA, new york, DC) and America's murder rates are closer to Switzerland's.

the point about ebola is so vague and stupid its not worth addressing.

the next one is completely false, in fact it is also so absurdly wrong no one should even address it. not once in 30 years? really?? that's strange because it happens on a DAILY BASIS all over the country, but it rarely makes the news because it isn't sensational/doesn't fit the agenda.

the next point is also completely absurd.  we have carefully recorded data for the US, and no reliable numbers are kept in most parts of the world. America realistically has not 50 % but maybe a tiny, tiny fraction of that relative to the rest of the world. realistically, there are more mass killings in Iraq/Syria/Africa/mexico/latin america on a daily basis than there are in America in 50 years combined.

no one can say if America is the 'most armed country in the world because there is no reliable data from everywhere else. does America have more weaponry per person than Afghanistan? or sierra leone? or Switzerland? or many others? doubtful. many of these places, the citizenry have things like grenades, IED's, RPG's, fully automatic machine guns, and tons of other things that law-abiding americans have no access to at all. even regarding guns, America must have the most peaceful weapon-owners on earth, because of the 80 million LEGAL gun owners in America, 99.999% never , ever shoot anyone.

the one about 'half the civilian guns in the world' is also not only based on completely unreliable data, but even if it were true(which it is not), again, 99.99% of LEGAL gun owners never, ever shoot anyone in their entire lives.

bombs and chemicals are fully accessable to those who want really them-same as guns that are already banned, or could be banned in the future-and bombs and chemical weapons have been used extensively by those wanting to kill people both in America and all over the world. banning them only stops law abiding people from obtaining them. bad people who want to kill can get whatever they want from back channels regardless of the law.

the last 'point' is typical leftist anti-American dribble that is so ignorant on so many levels it doesn't even need addressing.

[JOHN MATRIX]

Where did you get this?

probably Vox or Huffington Post

[WOOO]

Like all statistical data. It's about how you define the terms.

[LurkerNoMore]

the vast majority of these 241 so-called 'mass shootings' are gang/drug related violence in which criminals are offing each other, you know, they type that occurs almost exclusively in big liberal cities with strict gun control that Obama always forgets to say anything about.

the implication that these are 'mass shootings' like the one at the school is laughably disingenuous.

and theres no way there have been 41 'school shootings' this year...again, its all in how they intentionally define it, for example when a car jacking or drug killing takes place within a few blocks of a school in a bad area, they throw it in the 'school shooting' category to pad the stats. don't believe me? try to actually look up 41 school shootings this year. actually try to find them. you wont find even half that.

second point is a classic libtard favorite and  the easiest to debunk- 1/2 to 2/3 of that number are SUICIDES so they don't even count as they are not murders at all. also included in tis numbers are criminals shot by cops. the killer in the recent attack would be included in this number. and again, the vast majority of what is left is gang related thugs shooting each other. take away the 3-4 biggest urban democrat cities numbers (Chicago, LA, new york, DC) and America's murder rates are closer to Switzerland's.

the point about ebola is so vague and stupid its not worth addressing.

the next one is completely false, in fact it is also so absurdly wrong no one should even address it. not once in 30 years? really?? that's strange because it happens on a DAILY BASIS all over the country, but it rarely makes the news because it isn't sensational/doesn't fit the agenda.

the next point is also completely absurd.  we have carefully recorded data for the US, and no reliable numbers are kept in most parts of the world. America realistically has not 50 % but maybe a tiny, tiny fraction of that relative to the rest of the world. realistically, there are more mass killings in Iraq/Syria/Africa/mexico/latin america on a daily basis than there are in America in 50 years combined.

no one can say if America is the 'most armed country in the world because there is no reliable data from everywhere else. does America have more weaponry per person than Afghanistan? or sierra leone? or Switzerland? or many others? doubtful. many of these places, the citizenry have things like grenades, IED's, RPG's, fully automatic machine guns, and tons of other things that law-abiding americans have no access to at all. even regarding guns, America must have the most peaceful weapon-owners on earth, because of the 80 million LEGAL gun owners in America, 99.999% never , ever shoot anyone.

the one about 'half the civilian guns in the world' is also not only based on completely unreliable data, but even if it were true(which it is not), again, 99.99% of LEGAL gun owners never, ever shoot anyone in their entire lives.

bombs and chemicals are fully accessable to those who want really them-same as guns that are already banned, or could be banned in the future-and bombs and chemical weapons have been used extensively by those wanting to kill people both in America and all over the world. banning them only stops law abiding people from obtaining them. bad people who want to kill can get whatever they want from back channels regardless of the law.

the last 'point' is typical leftist anti-American dribble that is so ignorant on so many levels it doesn't even need addressing.

Good refute.

[240 is Back]

Where did you get this?

NRA is releasing a list of "mass" shootings that were stopped.
We can probably all agree that many "smaller" shootings have been stopped by people with permits.  


My solutions... better background checks (national) for crazy/drug/restraining order people + triple the sentence for all those breaking gun laws.  Punish the #@$*$& out of people that cannot respect the law.  and end "stand your ground" - if you have a gun, you should carry the burden to take at least 2 steps back from every confrontation when possible.  Most of teh time, stepping back means nobody dies.

Also, CLOSE that private/loophole sales thing.  It's stupid that an ex-con with drug problems under restraining order can buy an unlimited number of guns in the parking lot of a Mcdonalds or walmart or whatever.  I don't hear anyone defending that.

[Dos Equis]

Where did you get this?

It's an opinion piece with zero support identified in the commentary. 

http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/facts-gun-violence-guns-in-america-2nd-amendment-6544647.php