By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The tragedy of the deaths and wounding of students and faculty of Umpqua Community College was without doubt a terrible event. We first and foremost must center our prayers and attention towards the victims and their families who have endured suffering and pain that we hope to never experience ourselves.
But if anything can be praised it is the police, emergency crews, and community members who took upon the risks and the responsibility to protect the victims and provide at least a measure of comfort to the survivors and those who did not make it. One person in particular truly caught my attention and I am sure everyone else as well. He is Chris Mintz, who undoubtedly saved several lives but as a result became one of the shooting victims himself.
His actions are truly heroic as you may certainly agree.
Chris Mintz was attending class at Umpqua Community College when he heard shots ring out in an adjacent room. Instead of running for safety, the ten year military veteran went toward the scene, directing people away from the danger. He found and walked toward the shooter, trying to prevent him from entering another classroom by blocking the doorway. He attempted to calm the shooter by talking to him and trying to buy time and life for the other students. Mintz certainly knew the great risk of facing this armed attacker alone and it did not go well for him.
Chris was hit multiple times from gunfire and went down. As the gunman walked toward him, Chris told his assailant that today was his son’s birthday. Showing no mercy his assailant shot him again.
In all Chris was shot seven times trying to protect others. Authorities credit Chris with delaying the shooter and in doing so likely saved numerous lives. Though exact details of the events are still in flux with reporting information, it is clear Chris Mintz’ actions were heroic and lifesaving.
Police arrived six minutes after the active shooter dispatch went out. Every second in distraction of the shooter helped law enforcement arrive and be able to more quickly confront the gunman, who then committed suicide.
A hospital spokesperson stated that Chris suffered hits to his hands, arms, back, stomach and both legs were broken. Despite this he is expected to recover but he will need extensive rehabilitation.
I cannot stress how brave his actions were and how inspiring his story can be for many.
His cousin sponsored a GoFundMe petition to help defray the costs of his medical bills. Social media took hold and contributions from seventeen thousand donors rapidly poured in. Initially ten thousand dollars was requested in the fund drive, but in the first twenty two hours over half a million dollars poured in from grateful citizens. It is certainly enlightening.
I have to stress that Chris Metz was not the only victim and that others suffered as much or worse as lives were tragically lost. Other victims now have similar pages started but have not yet garnered such large donations. Those also deserve contributions as well. Since it is only the beginning of such things I will at a later time attempt to compile a list of other victims’ pages or sources where funds may be directed in their direction.
UPDATE:Officials announced the shooter committed suicide during the shout-out with police.
By Darren Smith
Sources:
CNN
Chris Mintz GoFundMe Page
Northwest Cable News
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
Have all you lemmings gone to the Umqua CC website and seen that firearms and even knives longer than 4 inches were banned? Have you read that even security were only allowed mace?
One could make an argument that having these “Gun Free Zones” is Machiavellian. Liberals provide shooting galleries for angry, disaffected men, then say “See, we need to repeal the 2nd Amendment.”
Nick, I wonder how you would have acted if you were in Chris Mintz’s situation. I guess it Depends.
“There is no definition of Arms in the second amendment.”
That’s because the Constitution and Bill of Rights were written for intelligent people who knew what “arms” referred to, then and now, and not for junior high school pedantic poltroons.
So some local residents (and the local gun lobby) knew they could carry on campus by law, although the disparity in rules and jurisdiction had not been tested on this campus.
Suffice it to say that the school advertised being gun free (defying the law), and likely most of the young people did not know the law said otherwise, and most people don’t want to test that rule by getting kicked out of school, even if they later win a lawsuit.
So the campus had one guy with a gun, and even the security guard had no gun.
Brilliant work, lefties.
But I Can detect the silent happiness that this time some of those damned Christians you’re always railing on about got taken out, including future bakers who’d refuse to cater gay weddings.
I see the usual pro-gun uninformed crazy comments being posted. There is no definition of Arms in the second amendment.
So if democratic will is still to be prevented by the minority, all the President has to do to address dysfunctional opposition to gun control is to pass a federal law making it a criminal offence to be in possession of a firearm, or other specifief weapon etc. without having insurance including public liability.
The shear stupidity of the “Right” to bear Arms (not guns) can remain but the cost of the insurance will deal with much of the problem.
This should be regarded as a first step away from the path of United Stupidity.
All this is a bit late for this Hero and we await the next mass shooting.
Some 994 mass shootings have taken place in the last 1004 days.
America is a really Sick Country. There is nothing to admire by such National Stupidity.
And the pro-gun comments are even sicker. It is a masterclass in mind control not seen since Nazi Germany.
The time to put all the crazies in their place and the People need to show their mettle and take America back from these lunatics.
The message America sends to the world is of a sick society unable to deliver the liberty and freedom pretends to support.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/oct/02/mass-shootings-america-gun-violence?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_LinkedIn
If one goes to the Umqua CC website under Student Code of Conduct it clearly states FIREARMS ARE NOT ALLOWED!! Knives w/ longer than 4 inch blades are also banned.
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
As Steven Colbert said last night, to do nothing after this tragedy is insanity. I think that a two pronged approach is needed. One to stiffen requirements for being able to buy firearms and do background checks for ALL gun purchases, with an exemption for antique firearms. That means between private sellers and close the gun show loopholes. We already have laws banning straw buyers in Texas, but there are no means of enforcing this until AFTER the fact of committing a crime with the weapon.
The second means is to increase the number of regulated armed persons on campuses. I am against simply allowing any CWP holder to come on campus since there is no means for law enforcement to know who the good guys are in such a situation as this. They are worse than useless since they will take up the officers time to figure out that they are legal and the cops have to assume that they are the bad guys for simple self preservation. I would propose that all students enrolled in law enforcement courses and ROTC members who wish to be armed be allowed to do so. The answer is to increase the number of law enforcement supporters who can take effective armed action against the usually deranged person. Thus an armband should be used that is changed every day, and a password used that can be shouted out to the responding LEOs to make themselves obvious to the cops. This can be done on campus or by a secure web site for those authorized. I would want a recommendation from a professor in that dept to give the prospective CWP the entrance to this program. I would also recommend a training program for these people so that there is a common tactical approach for all those concerned. The stupidity of allowing everybody to be armed is best shown by the U of Texas shooting in the 60s in Austin, when a large number of people brought out their own guns to shoot back at the sniper in the tower, and the result was simply chaos. It is amazing that more people on the ground were not killed by all the falling bullets. Fortunately most Texans CAN hit the broad side of a tower, and thus the low count of injured from that source.
http://youtu.be/bK-Ht57AdBA
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2015/10/umpqua_community_college_not_a.html
“Umpqua Community College, site of a mass shooting Thursday, bans guns, knives longer than 4 inches and other weapons from campus.
But that policy has one big exemption that renders the pastoral 100-acre campus near Roseburg anything but a gun-free zone: Everyone with a concealed firearms license is allowed to bring guns on campus.
That is because a 1989 Oregon law forbids any public body except the Legislature from restricting the rights of concealed weapons permit-holders to bring guns where they wish.”
Annie, People on the right wing have no use for reality or facts. IT is like talking to a chair or a table.
If you want an education on propaganda, do a Google search on Umqua Gun Free Zone. The first hits that come up on Google are left wing sites spreading the lie that this school was not gun free. But, delve further and you’ll find the truth. Google News is a good resource, but it tilts left. I have dealt w/ sources for decades, and know how to analyze them logically and w/ intellectual honesty. Some are just like ADD squirrels, clicking on whatever meets their bias.
Like their cult leader, lemmings spread lies as well. The law banning gun free zones did not apply to this school, only state universities. This campus decided to ban guns and indeed did not even allow their security force to be armed. They only had mace. The one security guard on duty had to wait for armed cops to stop this killing. Lies spread QUICKLY. THIS CAMPUS WAS GUN FREE, except for the crazed killer.
And absolutely YES Chris Mintz is a true hero. He is to be commended, I’m sure his wife,children, parents and all who know and live him are very proud of hm. Hoping he heals quickly and fully and can get on with his life.
The UCC was not a gun free zone.
http://crooksandliars.com/2015/10/lay-gun-free-zone-canard-rest-please
“The entire gun-free zone claim is a right-wing canard.
But these references of “gun-free zones” represent a red herring because they rely on the assumption that more people carrying guns would stop mass shootings, when in reality there is no evidence to support such claims.
The overwhelming majority of mass shootings actually occur where guns are allowed to be carried. And according to an analysis of 62 public mass shootings over a 30 year period conducted by Mother Jones, not a single shooting was stopped by a civilian carrying a firearm. Mother Jones also found that gunmen do not choose to target locations because guns are not allowed, but rather other motives typically exist for choice of location, such as a workplace grievance.
Umpqua Community College, however, was not a gun free zone. A 2011 state court decision prohibited public colleges from banning guns on campus. The decision stemmed from a suit filed by the Oregon Firearm Education Foundation, a gun rights group. There was an effort to pass a new law to reinstate the ability of public colleges to ban guns. That measure was defeated by gun rights advocates.”
Annie, you really should actually read your sources. Your source wrote: “Umpqua Community College, however, was not a gun free zone. A 2011 state court decision prohibited public colleges from banning guns on campus.” But when you go to the article supposedly supporting this statement, here is what you find as the very first few sentences:
========
The Oregon University System will not appeal a court ruling that declared its gun ban on its seven campuses exceeds its authority and is invalid. The system still has authority to control its property and facilities and can make and enforce internal policies that ban guns from university classrooms, dormitories and sports stadiums, said Chancellor George Pernsteiner on Tuesday. Some universities, for example, already prohibit firearms in sports arenas as a condition of purchasing a ticket to a sporting event.
========
In other words, while the court case decided that the University’s gun free policy exceeded its authority, the University System said they would still enforce their internal policy of banning guns from classrooms, dormitories, and sports stadiums.
In practice, this is what they have done. They do not enforce their gun policy for people wandering around outside on campus, but they still restrict people from carrying their firearms into buildings. That, in effect, allows lawless students like this killer to carry 6 firearms into class because they don’t really check everyone, but it disallows people like this hero Chris Metz from carrying his firearm.
How much better it would be if the gun policy stated that every person was allowed one firearm, but nobody would be allowed to carry more than one firearm, and they actually checked people to be abiding by the policy. If I saw someone carrying 6 firearms (5 pistols and 1 rifle) to class, I would suspect a nefarious purpose to what he had planned. If just half of each person in the class each had a concealed weapon, that killer would have been taken down pretty quick.
It is time we teach the duty of every citizen to protect themselves and others from lawless individuals like this killer.
Citizen soldiers won WW2. It is going to take citizen cops to win this new war.
Darren, Another great post this weekend.
Too bad davidm lives in a FACT free zone. There were a number of concealed weapons holders on campus at the time, and if he would READ the statute he cites, he would see the exception as authorized by law. Which means that there WERE ARMED individuals on campus. Unfortunately, they were not in the building and as one guy noted, he did not pull his gun out since by the time he heard the shooting, the cops would be on scene, and he did not want to be shot by them.
randyjet wrote: “There were a number of concealed weapons holders on campus at the time, and if he would READ the statute he cites, he would see the exception as authorized by law. Which means that there WERE ARMED individuals on campus. Unfortunately, they were not in the building and as one guy noted, he did not pull his gun out since by the time he heard the shooting, the cops would be on scene, and he did not want to be shot by them.”
Your facts are correct as stated here, but what you do not point out is that there is a conflict in the State of Oregon between local and State laws. The local policy is a gun free zone policy. The State laws do not make the campus a gun free zone. As a result, in practice what happens is that properly licensed people can carry concealed weapons on campus, but they cannot enter the buildings with their weapons. Even carrying on campus, they run the risk of being disciplined by the campus even though they do not violate State gun laws.
The college would be much safer if it were to enact a weapons policy in accordance with State law and allow both students and teachers to carry firearms anywhere on campus. As Nick pointed out, if this 10 year military veteran had been armed, he would surely have stopped this killer in his tracks.
In his hand wringing political statement about this tragedy, OBAMA LIED. He said we know strict gun laws control violence. His city of Chicago has the strictest gun laws in the US and consistently one of the highest murder rates in this country. And, those rates would be higher if the mayor and chief didn’t cook the murder rate books. Chicago Magazine did a superb expose on this practice. This mendacity is why 2nd Amendment haters cannot be trusted.
If people cannot admit that “Gun Free Zones” are like honey to the bees for disaffected angry men, intent on killing w/o resistance, then they are liars as well. There is one thing worse than no security, and that is a false sense of security, which this pathetic “Gun Free Zones” provide. If you want a gun free zone, you do what airports, courthouses, sports stadiums, etc. do, YOU ENFORCE IT W/ METAL DETECTORS. This courageous hero could have ended this tragedy w/ one shot, if he were armed. But, he was a law abiding citizen, which are fish in a barrel for this type of predator.
Great job, Chris Mintz.
Too bad the college is a gun free zone or he might have been able to do what he was trained to do in the military, preventing injury to himself and others.
Following is the college’s policy on weapons, a policy applauded by gun control advocates:
“Possession, use, or threatened use of firearms (including but not limited to BB guns, air guns, water pistols, and paint guns) ammunition, explosives, dangerous chemicals, or any other objects as weapons on college property, except as expressly authorized by law or college regulations, is prohibited.
Possession of knives with a blade longer than 4” is prohibited.
Brandishing weapons is prohibited.
Misuse of personal defensive weapons – e.g., pepper spray, etc. is prohibited. The owner is responsible and accountable for any misuse of these devices.”
The Man is clearly a Hero.
But as President Obama said Prayers are not enough.
This Stupidity needs to End and to end now.
That such a Hero has to rely on donations for Medical Care is disgusting.
But the Generosity of the Donors is WONDERFUL…..
Definitely a true hero
The science geek
http://www.thesciencegeek.org