Wake Tech Community College honors Oregon victims
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Students at Wake Technical Community College gathered in front of the student service building on the main campus in a moment of silence and group prayer Thursday to honor victims of the Oregon community college shooting that claimed the lives of nine victims last week.
Read more about the shooting victims here
"We want folks in Roseburg to know that our hearts certainly bleed with this horrific incident that happened and that certainly we continue to keep them in our prayers," said Mark Gibson, Wake Tech Dean of Student Services.
Gibson is also a reverend and led students in prayer, calling on them to be responsible to one another. He told them that if they see something, they should say something.
"We just offer a moment of silence on behalf of them here at Wake Tech," Gibson said. "We don't want to operate in fear; we want to operate in courage. And we are indeed our brother and our sister's keeper here at Wake Tech."
The school offers a "behavioral concern and threat reporting" form students can fill out if they notice anyone on campus exhibiting any alarming behavior.
Access the form here
"They encourage the teachers to lock the classrooms when they're attending class," Wake Tech student Matt Kimble said. "I know students aren't allowed to be alone in the classroom, but it's one of those things that just a normal . . . somebody can look normal, and you never know if they're going to lose it."
Dozens of students gathered at the moment of silence on campus to show their support.
"Just to let them know that you're not the only one thinking about this, that it affects us too," Wake Tech student, Mariah Ballen said. "And we want to kind of support and show that we care too."
Student Lance Page says he was rocked after hearing accounts that the shooter asked students to stand and declare whether or not they were Christian before firing.
"The main reason I came out is because of the motive that was reported for the shooting being religious against Christians," Page said. "And really what I wanted to say is to people of like faith too is that there is hope and comfort in times like these."
Wake Tech students and parents can sign up for campus safety alerts here
