The gunman who opened fire at Umpqua Community College killing 9 and wounding another seven, asked his victims to state their religion as he attacked them with three handguns and an assault rifle. He then shot and killed the Christians.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ana Boylan, a student who was shot in the back, told her grandmother from her hospital bed that as she lay wounded, the gunman, identified as 26-year-old Chris Harper-Mercer, asked people to rise and state their religion.
The gunman, identified Chris Harper Mercer, 26, and a resident of Oregon, is relatively unknown and police are revealing few details about him.
Calling for more gun control legislation, President Obama said, “This is a political choice that we make — to allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction.”
The attack was among the worst mass school shootings over the last two decades, including the one at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 in which 13 people were killed; the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, which claimed 26 lives; and the rampage at Virginia Tech in 2007, in which 32 people were killed.
Ana Boylan, 18, was wounded in the back by the gunman. She lay on the ground and pretended to be dead. She said the girl next to her was shot.
“As Boylan lay there, she heard the gunman ask others in the classroom to rise and state their religion. If they said they were Christians, they were shot.” Police confirmed that the victims were asked their religion before they were shot.
Umpqua has a student population of about 3,300 full- and part-time students. According to the campus website, it offers “a peaceful, safe atmosphere and year-round recreational activities.” None of its employees or its single security officer is permitted to carry a gun. The campus is a gun-free zone.
“I have been shown that the Spirit of the Lord is being withdrawn from the earth. God’s keeping power will soon be refused to all who continue to disregard His commandments. The reports of fraudulent transactions, murders, and crimes of every kind are coming to us daily. Iniquity is becoming so common a thing that it no longer shocks the senses as it once did.” Last Day Events, page 27
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