Social media users have been showing support for the victims of the Umpqua Community College mass shooting via social media. Following the attack,reports began to surface that gunman, Christopher Harper-Mercer, specifically targeted Christians.
The grandmother of one of the shooting victims said her granddaughter told her the gunman was singling out students who said they were Christian. Janet Willis explained that her granddaughter, Anastasia Boylan, was in the classroom when the shooter opened fire. Willis said she was told the shooter was questioning students in regard to their faith. “If they said they were Christian, he shot them in the head,” Willis said.
She said her granddaughter also told her the shooter handed one of the students, who hadn’t been shot, a package and told him to deliver it to the authorities. Additionally, a law enforcement official told the New York Times that Mercer had asked victims about their religion before killing them. Those who indicated they were Christian wereinformed by the shooter that they would “see God in just about one second.” This quickly evolved into the mass murder of 9 Christians.
So, in response to the deaths of those who some are calling martyrs, many users have changed their profile pictures and/or begun using the hashtag #YesImAChristian. Presidential candidate Dr, Ben Carson chimed in with this picture, which he posted on Twitter:
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