Umpqua Community College — The Site of a Tragedy

Students, staff and faculty are evacuated from Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. after a deadly shooting Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. (Michael Sullivan /The News-Review via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

When Chris Harper Mercer, 26, visited Umpqua Community College, it was not to study. In Oregon, where the crime and violence rate is low, an unexpected and brutal killing spree shook the entire state and country yet again.

On Thursday morning, around 10:30 AM, students were already in class when a loud noise similar to a book or a table falling on the ground — as described by a witness — radiated throughout the classrooms. Chris Harper Mercer had come prepared to kill as many people as possible. He had bought with him five pistols, two rifles, 5.56mm ammunition, and a ballistic vest. The shooter killed ten people and injured nine.

According to witnesses, Mercer asked each person to stand up and state their religion. If they said they were a Christian, he killed them. However, his aim was not to kill Christians, as a witness says that he only wanted to tell them that they would meet their maker. His rampage finally came to an end when Douglas County deputies killed him during a firefight.

When the Sheriff John Hanlin was pressed to reveal more information about the shooter, he refused to, as he didn’t want to glorify the shooter’s actions by saying his name. The Mercy Medical Center received ten patients, but one died in the emergency room. The doctors treated two victims of the shooting and released them to another hospital for further care.

One patient was released on Thursday, one will leave on Friday, but the other two will remain in the hospital with one of them in critical condition. Soon after the shooting, the media sought out Ian Mercer, the shooter’s father, who told them that he was devastated and shocked by his son’s actions.

Earlier reports of the fatalities had reached 13 victims, Ellen Rosenblum, the State Attorney General, attributed the error to the confusion and chaos that set in when the school was under siege by the shooter.

Sheriff Hanlin described the day as a terrible one and told the media that no officers were injured on duty. Autumn Vicari, a high school student, accounted the story to reporters of how her brother J.J heard the shooter ask each person if they were a Christian and shot them in the head if they said “yes.” If they answered otherwise, he shot them in the leg or somewhere else. Her brother

was lucky enough to escape, but not before he saw Mercer kill three other students in another classroom. Her brother is really shaken up by the ordeal, as he tries to recover from what he saw.

The President was incredibly frustrated at the rising number of shootings occurring in the United States, urging people to take a stance on the issue of gun control with their state’s senators. President Obama even went on to say the shootings, killings, and mourning have all become routine and it is about time they break from this routine.

Kortney Moore, another witness, saw her teacher get shot in the head. Kenny Ungerman, a Navy veteran, heard a gunshot while he was out in the hallway talking to a friend. He saw the shooter coming inside the building, wearing a T-shirt and jeans.

Chris Mintz, an army veteran, stood in the way of the shooter to protect people, but was shot seven times. He has undergone surgery and is said to make a full recovery, but will need to learn to walk again.

The Association of Community College Trustees and the American Association of Community Colleges have said that they will put safety measures in place to prevent an incident like this from happening again.