Circumstances

In this part of the study guide, we will discuss the circumstances surrounding Barack Obama’s statement on the shooting in Oregon.

The speech was delivered on 1st of October, 2015, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, in the White House. Obama’s speech comes as a response to the shooting in Oregon, at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, where a gunman killed nine people and injured another eight.

The Oregon shooting took place earlier that day, when a 26-year-old student with mental health problems entered his classroom and opened fire on eight students and one professor. After a shooting exchange with police officers, he entered the classroom and committed suicide.

In his speech, Obama expresses his sadness that such a tragic event happened in the United States again. He briefly addresses the shooter’s mental illness and talks about the tragic situation in which America finds itself in on a regular basis:

We don't yet know why this individual did what he did. And it's fair to say that anybody who does this has a sickness in their minds, regardless of what they think their motivations may be. But...