A gunman opened fire at a community college in Oregon Thursday killing at least 10 people before dying after an exchange of gunfire with police, authorities said.
The shooting rampage at Umpqua Community College is the latest incident of gun violence in the United States, and led to President Obama to call for more effective gun control as the country has become numb to the shootings.
“Each time this happens, I’m going to bring this up,” Obama said during an emotional speech at the White House.
“Somehow this has become routine,” Obama said. “The reporting has become routine. My response here, from this podium, has become routine.”
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum told the local NBC affiliate that 13 people had been killed, and 20 more injured following the shooting. That number was later revised to 10 people confirmed dead and seven people injured.
Authorities said the shooting began shortly after 10:30 a.m. local time at the college in Roseburg, a city of about 20,000 people roughly 290 km south of Portland.
“It’s been a terrible day,” Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told reporters Thursday afternoon.
“This is a peaceful community,” he said. “We have our share of crime like any community but certainly this is a shock to have this level of a crime.”
Images from the scene showed students walking from classrooms with their arms raised in the air while tactical officers cleared buildings across the campus.
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