15th mass shooting in the US: Attacker asked victims about their religion before massacre

Ten people were killed and 20 were injured in a shooting at a college in Roseburg, Oregon, reports the Patria News Agency.

US President Barack Obama on Friday blamed gun control opponents and their supporters for the latest massacre at a college in the northwestern US where ten people lost their lives, agencies report.

Law enforcement officers identified the attacker as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, the Independent writes.

The attacker singled out Christians, said the father of an injured student. Before being taken for spinal surgery, Anastasia Boylan told her father and brother what had happened. After the attacker entered her classroom, he said, "I've been waiting for this for years" and then shot the professor at close range, CNN writes.

He then continued to shoot at others in the classroom, and everyone threw themselves to the ground. The attacker paused to reload and then ordered them to stand up and asked them if they were Christians, Boylan told her family.

"They stood up, and he then said, 'Good, because you're Christians, you're going to see God in a second.' And then he shot and killed them.".

The 18-year-old was shot in the back. As she lay bleeding on the floor, the attacker told her, "Hey you, blonde." But she pretended to be dead and survived.

Obama called on Americans to demand that Congress pass common-sense gun control legislation.

"This is a political choice that we've made, we've allowed this to happen every few months," said a visibly upset Obama at the White House, hours after an armed man randomly shot at a public college in the US state of Oregon, killing nine and injuring seven before being killed himself in a shootout with security forces.

According to US media, this is the 15th mass shooting with firearms in the US since Obama became president. Obama said that the positions of powerful lobbies opposing a ban on carrying weapons are contrary to public opinion and urged voters to demand change.

"We are collectively responsible to the families who lose their loved ones due to our inaction," Obama said, Reuters reports.

Oregon authorities released the latest data on the massacre at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, according to which ten people died, including the attacker, and seven people were injured. Earlier reports indicated thirteen killed and twenty injured.

Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said the attacker was killed in a shootout with "two brave police officers" who arrived at the college after an emergency call, dpa reports. Police are investigating the circumstances of the shooting, and it is believed the attacker acted alone.

CNN reported that three handguns and one long gun were found at the scene of the shooting. It has not yet been confirmed whether Mercer fired all of them, local media report. The motives for the attack are currently unknown. This attack is the latest case of gun violence in the United States. Recent cases include the murder of nine people in a church in South Carolina in the spring and the murder of five US soldiers in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Roseburg is a city of about 20,000 inhabitants, 418 km south of Portland, the largest city in the state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. The attacker shot the professor in the head, then ordered everyone to lie on the floor and state their religion, writes telegram.hr.