In familiar ritual, Obama consoles victims in Oregon mass shooting

ROSEBURG, Oregon - President Barack Obama, in a ritual that has become both familiar and frustrating to him, traveled to Oregon on Friday to console families of the victims of a community college shooting that once again sparked a push for U.S. gun reform.

The president, a Democrat who tried but failed to tighten firearms laws after previous mass shootings, arrived in a community where support for gun rights remains strong despite the massacre in which nine victims died in the deadliest massacre on U.S. soil in two years.

As his motorcade drove into town, supporters and protesters lined the streets with signs such as "Not giving up our rights," "Please leave us in Peace" and "Gun-free zones are for sitting ducks."

Obama met privately for about an hour with the families at a local high school.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said he had "strong feelings" about the issue of gun control and said the country needed to come together to prevent such shootings from happening in the future. But he did not show the same anger he has previously, saying the day was about the families.

Last week the president furiously denounced the killings as a symptom of a political choice by U.S. lawmakers to bow to pressure from the powerful National Rifle Association lobby group instead of reforming gun laws.

"I will politicize it, because our inaction is a political decision that we are making," he said at a White House news conference.

Obama has made regular trips to funerals and memorial services for victims of mass shootings during the past seven years as president. He has said the December 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut was his toughest day as president.

About 250 people gathered in Roseburg, some driving for hours, to protest his visit.

"The way things played out with Sandy Hook and the president parading those families across the country to take away my gun rights - that is why I'm here," said Jason Harju, 40, who was wearing a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun on his belt and a sweatshirt that said "OREGUN."

"He's using us to politicize this shooting. He's trying to get guns taken away," said Willie Windon, 56, a retired U.S. Army veteran.

Obama has tasked White House lawyers and advisers to look for new ways he could use his executive powers to enforce existing gun regulations.

One of those options is a regulatory change to require more dealers to get a license to sell guns, which would lead to more background checks on buyers - an action that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she would take if elected in November 2016.

The White House had drafted a proposal on that issue in 2013, but was concerned it could be challenged in court and would be hard to enforce.

But officials are now hopeful that they can find a way to advance the plan, a White House official said on Friday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Student charged with killing one, wounding three at Arizona university

PHOENIX - An 18-year-old student killed a classmate and wounded three other students when he opened fire during a confrontation on the campus of Northern Arizona University early on Friday, in the latest shooting to hit a U.S. school, authorities said.

The suspected gunman, Steven Jones, a freshman at the state university in northern Arizona, was taken into custody following the shooting, campus Police Chief Gregory Fowler said.

Jones was charged with first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault and was ordered held on $2 million bond at a brief court appearance.

Fowler said Jones pulled the handgun in a confrontation with several students.

The university identified the student who was killed as Colin Brough. Brough was from Annapolis, Maryland, according to an online article by the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis.

The three injured students, identified as Nicholas Prato, Kyle Zientek and Nicholas Piring, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were being treated at Flagstaff Medical Center, Fowler said. Their conditions were not disclosed.

The shooting occurred just hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to visit Roseburg, Oregon, to meet privately with families of the nine people killed in a mass shooting at a community college there last week.

Northern Arizona University, with a student body of about 20,000, is located in the mountain city of Flagstaff, about 140 miles north of Phoenix, and about 80 miles south of the Grand Canyon.

A university spokeswoman said Friday's incident occurred in a parking lot next to a residence hall for Greek organizations - fraternities and sororities - around 1:20 a.m.

"We don't know the facts yet about what brought them together, or what caused the confrontation," Fowler said.

Delta Chi International Fraternity executive director Justin Sherman said the four victims were members of the fraternity but the alleged gunman was not.

Jones, who did not try to flee, was arrested by university police and was cooperating with authorities, Fowler said. He said guns are not allowed to be carried on campus.

Classes continued on Friday, university president Rita Cheng told a news conference, calling the incident isolated.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and U.S. Senator John McCain, both Republicans, extended thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.

Obama reacted to the killings in Oregon by vowing to step up efforts to curb U.S. gun violence. Gun rights advocates said the Oregon shootings underscored the importance of the right of Americans to bear arms and defend themselves.

Just hours after the Arizona shooting, police said one person was killed and another wounded in a shooting at an apartment complex near the campus of Texas Southern University in Houston, and a suspect had been taken into custody.

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

Pinoy students safe after shooting near California school

VALLEJO, California – Police arrested a 19-year old Vallejo resident late Thursday night on suspicion of killing 17-year-old Kenneth Maxwell Rusk near a high school campus.

Vallejo police responded to reports of a shooting at about 11:55 a.m. on Thursday.

They later found the victim about 100 yards from the trail head located between Jesse Bethel High School and Joseph Wardlaw Elementary School, both of which have a high number of Pinoy students.

Police immediately ordered a lockdown on both schools.

"A bunch of the kids were outside but then a few seconds after they left, they all rushed back in and they were running in and then they were all getting pushed in by the campus supervisors and were telling them to get inside and we were on lockdown," said Randall Navarra Monte, a senior at Bethel.

"I feel scared at first but once it was happening I felt more calm and safe since everyone was saying we were going to be fine," said Kaelanee Navarra Mendoza, a junior at Bethel.

Family members also feared for their safety but were satisfied with how the schools took the necessary precautions to keep the children safe.

"As a parent, of course you’re going to be scared and nervous at the same time. You don’t know what’s going on. I put my trust in the administration that all protocols were met and they have contacted the proper authorities," said Princess Navarra, Kaelanee's mother.

"It’s good to know they let us know that they’re all right and they were canceling all the after school programs just to get them out of the area as soon as possible," said Leander Navarra Monte who is Randall’s older brother and who also has a sister at Wardlaw.

The fatal shooting marks the city’s eighth homicide this year and Filipinos unfortunately say they have gone through this routine before.

"I’ve been in Vallejo schools for how long already and I generally feel safe when this happens," said Randall.

The victim’s family is planning to hold a vigil each day for the next two weeks as they continue to mourn their loss and call for the end of violence.

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Police seek motive in fatal Washington state school shooting

MARYSVILLE, Wash. - Authorities in Washington state worked on Saturday to find out what led a popular high school student to open fire on a group of classmates seated at a cafeteria table, killing one and wounding four others, including a pair of his cousins, before killing himself.

The Friday incident at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in the city of Marysville, north of Seattle, sent students fleeing from the building and sheltering under desks in the latest in a series of U.S. school shootings.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said on Saturday that officers had completed their on-scene investigation and recovered a 0.40 caliber handgun.

Police have not released the shooter's identity, but a Marysville school official and multiple classmates said a well-liked freshman named Jaylen Fryberg was responsible for Friday's rampage.

Students who knew Fryberg, a member of the Native American Tulalip Tribes, described him as an outgoing and popular football player, unlike the loner personality that is often associated with school shootings.

Authorities were also still piecing together a motive, interviewing about 100 witnesses, the sheriff's department said Saturday.

Classmates and parents said the teen shooter had recently been in a dispute on the football field and had also been despondent over a break up.

Rebecca Cooley, whose son played football with Fryberg, said he had recently been in a fight with another player over a disparaging remark made during football practice.

"(Jaylen) broke the kids nose," she said. "A lot of the football players stepped in during this fight," she said.

A school official who did not want to be named and a friend of one of the female victims said he had been recently rejected by a girl who favored his cousin.

"I heard he asked her out and she rebuffed him and was with his cousin," said Bella Panjeli, a ninth-grade student at a different school who said she was a friend of one female victim.

She added that she learned of the connection after talking to the victim's family and friends on social media. "It was a fight over a girl."

FRIENDS TARGETED

Witnesses said the shooter had targeted a single table in the cafeteria.

"He came up from behind and had a gun in his hand, and he fired about eight bullets," student Jordan Luton told CNN. " ... They were his friends so it wasn't just random."

All five victims were under 18, medical officials said.

One female classmate was killed, police said. Her identity has not been released.

Fifteen-year-old Andrew Fryberg was shot in the head and remained in critical condition in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Saturday, a spokeswoman said. She said Nate Hatch, 14, was shot in the jaw and was in serious condition there.

Local media, community members and fellow students said the boys were cousins of the shooter.

Brandon Hatch, 26, a first cousin of Nate Hatch, said Andrew Fryberg and Nate are cousins of Jaylen, and the other victims were friends.

"As far as I knew they were all a bunch of bright kids and had a future," he said. :I've heard rumors but can't state fact on what provoked this. I'm just confused at this moment."

The two female victims, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, and Gia Soriano, 14, remained in critical condition Saturday at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, said Dr. Joanne Roberts.

"The next three days are going to be crucial," she said.

The sheriff's office said a cafeteria worker had attempted to stop the shooter, who took his own life.

Vigils were planned through out the weekend.

Misty Himes, 30, drove with her friend to pick up her son after the shooting.

"Everybody is just torn up to see the kids so young have to go through this," she said.

There were no indications on Fryberg's social media accounts that he had been planning such a rampage, but on Tuesday he posted his feelings of despondency, apparently over a romantic split, on Twitter.

"It breaks me...It actually does...I know it seems like I'm sweating it off... But I'm not.. And I never will be able to," he wrote.

Classmates said they were shocked that mass violence had come to their city.

Karalyn Demarest, 17, a senior at Marysville, added a bouquet of flowers to nearly a dozen that were lying against a fence at the school.

"It's just really sad and tragic. You just never expect it to happen anywhere near you."

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson and Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Franklin Paul)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com