Obama, Media Ignore Christian Hate Crime/At least 13 killed in college shooting in Oregon/Obama Uses Oregon College Tragedy to Push Gun Control
At least 13 people have been killed in a shooting at Umpqua Community College in the US state of Oregon.
The 20-year-old gunman died after exchanging fire with police officers inside a classroom about 10:30 local time (18:30 BST), officials said.
Oregon State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said that at least 20 people were wounded.
The 3,000-student school is located in Roseburg, Oregon, a rural area about 175 miles (280 km) south of Portland.
Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said more than 100 police officers have responded to the shooting inside the college’s Snyder Hall building.
In audio from police radio channels an officer can be heard saying the suspect was down and that there were “multiple gunshot wounds” and calling for multiple ambulances to the scene.
The suspect supposedly used a “long gun”.
A White House official said President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation and will continues to receive updates.
FBI agents are on the scene at the college and more are on their way from across Oregon, FBI Portland Field Office spokesperson Beth Steele told the BBC.
Police search students outside Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, following a deadly shooting at the college.Image copyrightAP
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Police searched students and their bags after the shooting
Students, staff and faculty are evacuated from Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. on 1 October 2015, after a deadly shooting.Image copyrightAP
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More than 100 police officers have responded to the scene of the shooting
Authorities respond to a report of a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, on 1 October 2015Image copyrightAP
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Police said they killed the 20-year-old gunman
Marilyn Kittelman, the mother of a student at the college, told CNN her son said he heard no sound from the “30 some shots”, suggesting a suppressor may have been used on the gun, despite there not being an official count of those shot yet.
Sgt Aaron Dunbar of the Roseburg Police Department told CNN the “entire college went into lockdown very quickly”.
Students were transported by bus to a local fairground to be reunited with their loved ones.
According to Umpqua Community College’s website, the average age of students is about 38. The college is 58% female and 42% male.
The two-year college is made up of about 16 buildings on 100 acres of land along the Umpqua River.
Sheriff Hanlin said the school is the only place of higher education in Douglas County and that both young people and adults seeking continuing education attend the school.
A former president of the school, Joe Olson, said the school has no formal security staff, and that there was debate over whether to have armed security guards on campus last year
IMAGE: A woman is comforted as friends and family wait for students at the local fairground after a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., on 1 October 2015.Image copyrightAP
For more on this story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34419802
James Woods: Obama, Media Ignore Christian Hate Crime
From Newsmax
Actor James Woods is blasting the Obama administration for ignoring what he describes as the plight of Christian hate crime in the wake of the murders at Umpqua Community College in Oregon.
Chris Harper Mercer, 26, opened fire on the campus on Thursday, killing nine people and wounding seven. Mercer reportedly singled out Christians for death by asking the religion of potential victims before firing on them. Mercer was then shot and killed by law enforcement.
Tweeting on Friday, Woods said it was clear that the victims were killed because they were Christian but that President Obama and the media was ignoring that. CNS News first reported on Woods tweets.
“NY Times writes a front page story about a hate massacre targeting Christians without using the word ‘Christians,'” Woods tweeted, linking to story in the New York Times. Then: “If it is determined that the Oregon shooter targeted Christians specifically, that’s the last we will hear of it on MSM [mainstream media].”
Woods then pointed out that President Obama’s potential reaction had much to be desired: “Now that it is recognized that the terrible Oregon tragedy was an assault on Christians, will the President still sing Amazing Grace there?” Finally Woods tweeted a picture of the president with the comment: “Hate crime massacre of Christians finally silences Obama. #LiberalLaryngitis.”
For more on this story go to: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/james-woods-christian-hate/2015/10/03/id/694547/#ixzz3nVodRddm
Obama Uses Oregon College Tragedy to Push Gun Control
President Barack Obama on Thursday angrily called for stricter U.S. gun laws after the latest mass murder in Oregon and took aim at the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby for blocking reform.
Appearing in the White House briefing room with a grim expression and an angry tone, Obama said it was not enough to offer prayers after major shootings continued to occur regularly throughout the country.
“As I said just a few months ago, and I said just a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Obama told reporters after the latest shooting at a community college in which 13 people were killed and some 20 people were wounded.
Nodding to the arguments that such shootings are often committed by the mentally ill, Obama said it was clear that anyone who commits such crimes had a “sickness in their minds.”
“But we are not the only country on Earth who has people with mental illnesses who want to do harm to other people,” he said. “We are the only advanced country on Earth who sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.”
Special:
Obama spoke mainly without notes, angrily anticipating the arguments that gun advocates would brandish in the wake of the shooting. He said he knew his opponents would criticize him for politicizing a tragedy.
“This is something we should politicize,” he said, calling on Americans of all political stripes to hold their elected leaders accountable for acting on the issue.
Obama called on gun owners who use weapons for hunting, sport and protection to question whether the gun lobby represented their views. He did not mention the National Rifle Association by name, but his comments were clearly directed at that organization, which has broad political influence in Washington.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden made a concerted push for broad gun control reforms after the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut school shooting of young children that shocked the country. They were unsuccessful.
Obama said he would continue to bring up the need for reform every time such a shooting took place, but the White House has made clear that it was unlikely to attempt another broad push on gun control through the Republican-led U.S. Congress.
For more on this story go to: http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/US-crime-shooting-Oregon/2015/10/01/id/694316/#ixzz3nQ65MfQM