US college shooter had arsenal of weapons

ROSEBURG, United States - The 26-year-old behind America's latest mass shooting at a college in rural Oregon appears to have been a gun enthusiast who hoarded an arsenal of weapons and was obsessed with religion.

Though authorities have yet to formally name him, the gunman behind the murder of nine people at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg has been widely identified as Chris Harper Mercer.

As a portrait of the shooter -- who died in the carnage -- began emerging on Friday, officials said they had recovered 13 weapons belonging to him, including six at the school.

Celinez Nunez, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told a press conference that a flak jacket with steel plates and five magazines were also found laying next to a rifle at the school.

Authorities said they were still trying to determine what prompted the killings. Several reports said Mercer, who apparently had no ties to the college, may have been seeking notoriety.

"He appears to be an angry young man who was very filled with hate," the New York Times quoted an unnamed law enforcement official as saying.

Another official said Mercer, who lived with his mother, was obsessed with guns and religion and had leanings toward white supremacy.

Witnesses said he demanded to know his victims' religion before gunning them down.

"They would stand up and he said 'Good, because you're a Christian, you're going to see God in just about one second'," Stacy Boylan told CNN, relaying his daughter Ana's account. She survived by playing dead.

 Hate-filled writings
CNN quoted investigators as saying that during the shooting rampage, Mercer handed hate-filled writings to a survivor that spoke of his frustration at not having a girlfriend and at being a virgin. He also reportedly left behind a box.

Derrick McClendon, a former neighbor of Mercer when he lived in California, said the young man was very withdrawn and ill at ease.

"I would say, 'Hey, man, you all right?'" McClendon told the New York Times. "He would say 'hi,' but that's it. He was really shy".

Mercer's neighbors in Oregon described him as a withdrawn, anxious man who wore the same outfit every day -- combat boots, green army pants and a white T-shirt.

"He was not a friendly type of guy," said Bronte Hart.

"He did not want anything to do with anyone."

The rampage Thursday in the close-knit rural community prompted an impassioned new plea for gun control by President Barack Obama who said Americans had become "numb" to the horror of mass shootings.

Obama on Friday warned that unless gun safety measures are adopted, such killings would go on.

"Let's not forget this is happening every single day in forgotten neighborhoods around the country," he told reporters. "Every single day, kids are just running for their lives trying to get to school."

In answer to those who argue that mental illness lies at the root of America's mass shooting epidemic, Obama said the key was to limit access to guns for the tiny minority of mentally ill people who turn violent.

"The only thing we can do is make sure that they can't have an entire arsenal when something snaps in them," he said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also added his voice to calls for action to curb gun violence saying it was taking an "appalling toll" on American society.

 'It's my son's birthday'

In Roseburg, a close-knit community, stories of heroism began to emerge Friday, among them that of army veteran Chris Mintz who was seriously injured after charging the gunman.

Mintz, who was studying at Umpqua to become a fitness trainer, threw himself against the classroom door to prevent Mercer from entering, his family said.

The gunman managed to blast his way in, shooting Mintz in the back, abdomen, hand and legs.

"He gets shot three times, hits the floor, looks up at the gunman and says 'it's my son's birthday' and gets shot two more times," Mintz's aunt told a CNN affiliate. She said her nephew too was expected recover.

Local residents voiced dismay to see their town of some 20,000 residents gain notoriety as the site of America's latest mass killing.

"There is a sense of pride about our community and to think that we're getting national recognition because someone shot people," Dean Remick, 62, a retired Umpqua theatre professor, told AFP.

School shootings are a disturbing reality of American life and many facilities have reinforced security in recent years, especially in the wake of the Sandy Hook, Connecticut massacre in 2012 that left 20 students and six adults dead.

There have been 142 school shootings in the United States since that tragedy, according to data compiled by Mass Shooting Tracker.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama voices anger over Oregon shooting, urges gun control

WASHINGTON, United States - US President Barack Obama on Thursday voiced his anger and sadness after the country's latest deadly shooting, this time at an Oregon community college, and made another impassioned plea for gun control legislation.

"There has been another mass shooting in America," a stony-faced Obama said in reaction to the shooting by a male gunman at Umpqua Community College in rural Roseburg, which left 10 people dead.

"Somehow this has become routine," said the president. "We become numb to this."

"The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine," said the president, making his 15th statement on a mass shooting since taking office in 2009.

"And what's become routine, of course, is the response of those who oppose any kind of common sense gun legislation."

Obama reiterated his frustration at the failure of the Republican-controlled Congress to back new gun control measures, and threw down the gauntlet to lawmakers.

"Prayers are not enough," he said. "We can actually do something about it, but we're going to have to change our laws."

"This is a political choice we make," Obama said. "This is not something I can do myself. I have to have a Congress and state legislatures and governors who are willing to work with me on this."

"It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."

- 'It doesn't make sense' -

School shootings have become a disturbing reality of American life and many facilities have reinforced security in recent years, especially in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012.

When 26 people -- among them 20 young children -- were killed in the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in one of the worst-ever school massacres, many thought it would mark a turning point in the US debate on gun control.

As America reeled in shock, Obama tasked his Vice President Joe Biden to push for movement on the issue in Congress.

But within just four months, hopes for a meaningful reform were dashed, after senators rejected a law that would have made criminal and mental health background checks compulsory for gun purchases online and at gun fairs -- a major political setback for the president.

A furious Obama called it a "shameful day for Washington," placing the blame squarely on the powerful US gun lobby.

Obama also called the US media to account, asking them to set the human cost of gun violence side by side with the -- far lower -- number of people killed in terrorist attacks.

The United States has the highest number of firearms per capita of the developed world, with close to 89 guns in circulation per 100 people -- without counting police and military weaponry.

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, an average of 32,000 people died annually from firearms from 2009 to 2013, including about 20,000 suicides per year.

Beyond the political class, the president appealed directly to the public -- voicing hope that perhaps this shooting could be the one that provokes a shift in mindset.

"When Americans are killed in mine disasters, we work to make mines safer. When Americans are killed in floods and hurricanes, we work to make communities safer," Obama said.

"When roads are unsafe, we fix them. To reduce auto fatalities, we have seat belt laws because we know it saves lives."

"The notion that gun violence is somehow different, that our freedom and our constitution prohibits any modest regulation of how we use a deadly weapon... It doesn't make sense."

"So tonight," Obama said, "I'd ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws.

"And to save lives. And to let young people grow up."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Multiple deaths and injuries after shooting at Oregon college

OREGON - At least 15 people were killed and another 20 wounded at a shooting on Thursday at a community college in Roseburg, Oregon, media reported.

The Portland Oregonian newspaper and CNN reported that a suspect had been taken into custody, citing Douglas County officials. That suspect was not identified.

CNN reported that one of the wounded was a female who had been shot in the chest. There was no immediate information on condition of the other wounded victims.

A spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff's department confirmed to Reuters that there was a shooting at the Umpqua Community College campus in Roseburg. The spokeswoman had no further details.

"Active shooter scene is code 4. Multiple casualties all pt's transported," the Douglas County Fire Department said in a tweet. Multiple ambulances were reported to be on scene.

The Portland Oregonian newspaper reported that officers responded at around 10:40 a.m. PDT to reports of a shooting at the college. The Oregonian said police scanner traffic indicated that the shooter was "down."

Shelly Stefanich, spokeswoman for Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, said that the hospital was the only one in town and most likely to receive patients, but could not say how many were being treated there.

Local media reported that authorities were combing through the campus.

The paper said agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were en route to Roseburg, a city of about 20,000 people some 260 miles (418 km) south of Portland.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com