President Barack Obama On Oregon Shooting: “This Has Become Routine"

President Barack Obama has spoken about today’s shooting at an Oregon community college. It is the 294th mass shooting in America this year.

A mass shooting is classified as “incidents where four or more people are killed or injured by gunfire.”

Ten died and seven were injured in this particular attack at Umpqua Community College.

The 20-year-old gunman was shot dead by police after a short firefight.

Speaking in The White House’s press room, President Obama expressed deep frustration with his nation’s inability to protect its citizens through gun safety legislation. (This shooting is the 994th mass shooting in his second term alone.)

“As I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I say each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough,” he said.

“It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America, next week or a couple months from now.

“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.”

President Obama cited Australia’s strict gun laws as a model worth replicating in his twelve-minute address.

Australia introduced those laws following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Gun-related deaths in Australia have fallen by about 7.5 per cent each year since.

“What’s become routine of course is the response of those who oppose any kind of common sense gun legislation,” he added.

“Right now, I can imagine the press release is being cranked out. ‘We need more guns’, they’ll argue. ‘Fewer gun safety laws’.

“Does anybody really believe that?”

Watch it all below.