The father of a gunman who killed nine people at Umpqua Community College on Thursday is speaking out in the wake of the tragedy in southern Oregon and adding his voice to the growing number of people calling for stricter gun control in the U.S.
In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Ian Mercer said the shooting “would never have happened” if his son, 26-year-old Christopher Harper-Mercer, would not have been able to collect so many weapons.
“We talk about gun laws. We talk about gun control. Every time something like this happens, they talk about it and nothing gets done. I’m not trying to say that that’s to blame for what happened, but if Chris had not been able to get hold of 13 guns, this wouldn’t have happened,” Ian Mercer told CNN outside his home in Torrance, Cal.
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Federal investigators recovered six weapons at the college and seven at Mercer’s nearby apartment.
Ian Mercer also offered condolences to the victims’ families.
“I know words cannot bring families back. I know there’s nothing that I can say that can change what happened,” Ian Mercer said. “But please believe me, my thoughts are with all of those families and I hope they can get through this.”
Chritopher Harper-Mercer took nine lives in a shooting rampage on Oct. 1 before turning the weapon on himself as police closed in. The ages of the victims ranged from 18 to 67.
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This latest incident of gun violence has thrust the small town of Roseburg, Ore., into the spotlight of the gun control debate that has raged as mass shootings become increasingly common in the U.S. There have been 300 mass shootings in the past 12 months; 264 so far this year, according to gunviolencearchive.org.
The gun violence epidemic has plagued President Obama’s administration who again made calls for stricter gun control during an emotional press conference at the White House last week where he said the U.S. has become “numb” to the violent incidents.
“Somehow, this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it. We’ve become numb to this.”
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