On Thursday, October 1st, student Chris Harper-Mercer came to class heavily armed at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. In total, Harper-Mercer was armed with five pistols and one rifle. He then opened fire, killing nine and leaving nineteen injured. Minutes later, the police received the call.
        The victims’ ages ranged from 18 to 67. Among the injured, Matthew Downing described what happened to the police on friday, October 9th. Downing said that Harper-Mercer entered the classroom with a gun and forced everyone to go to the center.

“With everyone herded into the middle of the room,” CNN stated, “Harper-Mercer put a backpack on the front desk and pulled out an envelope with a flash drive inside. The gunman said whoever survived could give it to authorities.”

Downing said that the shooter then handed Matthew the envelope and told him to sit in the back of the classroom. Then, Harper-Mercer began firing at students in the classroom and the police officers upon arrival. He was then shot by an officer before he took his own life.  

       Downing said, “He looked directly at me and said, ‘hey kid with the glasses, you are the lucky one, I will not shoot you if you give this to the cops.'”
         In the shooting that took place in Oregon, all of the guns were obtained legally, thus proving that there needs to be more laws to regulate the purchase of firearms. Also, it is evident that in other countries that have stricter gun control laws, less violence erupted and the death toll is significantly lower.

         Gun control is a serious topic that needs to be addressed by the United States’ government. In the future, if there are more laws on gun control, fewer shootings would occur. Such laws are necessary for the well-being of all people.