FEATURES
What Happened in Oregon
By Matthew Hudson, Gwen Goins
And why it's important.
On October 1st, a man shot and killed nine students and teachers at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. Chris Harper Mercer, the 26-year-old man responsible for the national tragedy, reportedly asked about the religions of the victims before he shot them. When the police arrived, he returned fire before finally turning the gun on himself. In total, 17 people were physically hurt or killed by the shooter, and the impact of this event was felt around the country.
When this type of tragic event occurs, people are forced to remember similar cases that took place in the recent past.
There are two shootings in particular that resemble the Oregon shooting; Sandy Hook in 2012 and Virginia Tech in 2007. The incident at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut shocked the nation when 20 children were massacred while school was in session on December 14th. On April 16th, 2007, Seung Hui Cho killed 27 students and five teachers before killing himself on Virginia Tech’s campus in Blacksburg. These two events brought up many political issues that are now being brought up again due to the recent violence in Oregon.
In all three instances, the killers had a few similarities including mental health issues and access to guns. While it is important to remember the innocent people who were killed in these past occurrences, we need to discuss as a nation what we can do to prevent another shooting spree does not take place in the future.
The following articles in this feature hope to present the key arguments for and against gun control so we may all make informed decisions during this important debate.