Today there was a school shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, making this the 45th school shooting in 2015. The alleged gunman, 26 year old Chris Harper Mercer, stormed into the classrooms in Snyder Hall at the college, and according to reports by the students in the classroom and the next classroom over, walked into the class, asked people to stand up and announce their religion, and started shooting. One student says she saw her teacher get shot in the head and she was lying on the ground with shot victims around her, another student recounts her teacher going to close the door in the adjacent classroom and getting shot in the stomach multiple times. The most accurate numbers are 10 dead and 7 injured, however the polls have been varied all day. Mercer was said to be carrying three weapons, one long gun and two handhelds, Oregon is one of seven states where it is legal to carry a concealed weapon on postsecondary campuses. There were friends and family waiting outside the school to hear the names of fallen victims and there are still parents that have no idea where there kids are or their status.
This is something that absolutely disgusts me. This is the 45th shooting this year, that means we haven't gone over 2 months without a school shooting, which is horrifying. It is in-comprehendible how someone can have such a hate in their heart and a sickness in their head that they feel the need to kill people based on their religion and then some, as if they're doing something for the greater good. I am appalled by the statistics, there have been at least 142 school shootings since Sandy Hook in 2013 and no further restrictions on gun laws either. Obama said in a press conference today that no matter what party you belong to, democratic, republican, independent, that we need to really be looking at every politician's outlook on gun laws before we vote for them, as it could potentially save the lives of hundreds of people from hundreds of schools. It is unbelievably frightening knowing the numbers because it brings forth the reality that this could all to easily happen to me or you. The problems of school shootings is exigent and if we don't get it taken care of soon, who knows how many innocent lives will be lost in the name of hatred, how many mothers, fathers, and children will have an empty seat at the dinner table?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/us/oregon-shooting-umpqua-community-college.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=a-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
I agree, this is horrible. It really scares me to hear about all of the school shootings because as you said, it could as easily be our school. We need to do something more about school shootings. Even more than gun control. I think school security all over the United States needs to tighten.
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