Donations Pour in for Oregon Hero

Chris Mintz, the former soldier who was shot seven times while trying to fend off a shooter at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, stands to receive significant financial help to offset his medical bills. Mintz, who had deployed to Iraq, sustained two broken legs when gunman Christopher Harper-Mercer opened fire in a classroom on the campus Oct 1. Nine persons died and nine more were wounded before Harper-Mercer killed himself. Mintz was wounded while trying to block Harper-Mercer’s exit from the classroom. Friends immediately launched a Gofundme.com campaign in the former soldier’s behalf, raising more than $700,000 in donations. Mintz’s family posted a note thanking donors on the Gofundme.com Web site, asking future prospective donors to consider giving money to the general fund for shooting victims, or other victims themselves, instead. Coincidentally, Harper-Mercer also served in the Army. Military.com quoted a Pentagon source as saying Harper-Mercer was discharged because he did not “meet the minimum administrative standards.”