by Abigail Buttacavoli, WTOP10-TV

Halloween celebrations started early this past weekend on Sunday October, 30. SUNY Oswego held it’s annual Safe Trick-or-Treat day for Oswego families where children from the community dress up and have fun while being in a safe environment.

Vega, the junior senior honor and service society at SUNY Oswego organized this popular event. “Today the purpose is everyone whose coming needs to bring one food donation and then all of the food donations we get we will give them to the Oswego food bank,” said Vice President of Vega Ashley Cianciabella.  

The event started at 11 p.m. and was filled with almost four hours of candy, smiles, and games. The Marano Campus Center had tons of games set up in the lower level by the food shops, while trick or treating activities were located in the east and central campus dorms.

This tradition is one of the many events that promotes safety and involvement for students and residents in the community. Vega president Jennifer Moss says that this year the program raised hundreds of food donations and that it was a success.

Chris Mintz.

That is the name of the student at Umpqua Community College who was shot five times in his attempt to save others from a gunman who went on a shooting rampage on the school’s campus.  During the aftermath of the horrific shooting at the College, participants on social media have called for the widespread recognition of Mintz while stressing the importance of not popularizing the shooter.

The shooter has been identified as 26-year-old Christopher Harper Mercer, and the father of one of the victims said that during the shooting, Mercer intentionally targeted Christians.  While it is unclear why he targeted the college specifically, it was reported that he went into at least two different classrooms.

A total of ten people were killed during the incident, with seven others reported as injured. The father of one of the victims stated that the gunman went into the classroom, and said (to the professor) “I’ve been waiting to do this for years” and then shot the professor point blank.  Other reports say that he ordered “Christians” to stand up and then would shoot them when they emerged.

The gunman was reported dead earlier Thursday.

Chris Mintz is a 30-year-old military veteran and student of Umpqua Community College.  According to claims, he attempted to block the door to prevent the gunman from coming into the classroom, and was shot three times.  He then looked up at the gunman and stated “It’s my son’s birthday today”, to which he was shot at least two more times.  While it is still unknown exactly how many times he was shot, it is reported that both of his legs are broken.  He remains in stable condition at Mercy Medical Center.

President Barack Obama released a statement after the incident in which he indirectly pushed for stricter gun control laws, stating, “Somehow this has become routine,” he said. “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.”

This incident is just one of the many that continue to seem more and more common in the United States.

In situations like this, it is important to publicize not the gunman, but the heroes like Chris Mintz.

*Quotes recorded from CNN.com*