[ot-caption title=”People bow their heads in prayer during a prayer vigil Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, in Winston, Ore. The vigil was held in honor of the victims of the fatal shooting at Umpqua Community College. (AP Photo/John Locher).”]

On October 1, 2015, Christopher Harper-Mercer, a 20-year old student, fatally shot eight students, along with a teacher, and injured nine others at Umpqua Community College near Roesnburg, Oregon. After the police arrived and Harper-Mercer engaged in a two-minute shooting exchange with the responding officers, the shooter walked to the front of the classroom and fatally shot himself.

Since the shooting, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) launched a search at the college for explosives and discovered six weapons: five handguns and one long gun.  Police also came across eight other legally obtained firearms at Harper-Mercer’s apartment.  In total, the police officers obtained fourteen guns.

Since the shooting, background investigations have been launched to find out the motives of the shooter. It was discovered that Christopher Harper-Mercer was raised in the presence of guns, as he attended shooting ranges with his mother since a young age.  Harper-Mercer is believed to have been struggling with mental health disorders, although further details have not been confirmed.  Regardless, this shooting was the deadliest mass shooting in Oregon’s history, and many memorials and services have been held for the victims.

Less than two weeks after the mass shooting, the seemingly perpetual conversation on gun culture in the United States has resurfaced both at Pine Crest and across the nation. This incident in Oregon can be added to the long list of shootings that have happened recently, such as the twelve murders in Aurora, the 27 people (most of whom were children) killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and the nine deaths at Charleston’s African American church.  The nine deaths at Oregon’s community college, along with the other incidents, have caused many Americans to seek a change in policy.  In 2011, economist Richard Florida found a highly predictable correlation between states with tighter gun control and fewer gun-related deaths.  Although a mere correlation, this finding has many peopole advocating for a future with fewer gun-related deaths and injuries.

Sources: Washington Post, Newsweek, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Flickr