Did the Oregon Shooter Actually Target Christians? That Doesn’t Appear to Be the Case

[KamaAina]

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/10/04/did-the-oregon-shooter-actually-target-christians-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-the-case/

All of those stories seem to report a variation on the line “Christians were targeted.” A Washington Post headline read “Oregon shooter said to have singled out Christians for killing in ‘horrific act of cowardice.’” NBC reported: “The gunman who opened fire at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College targeted Christians specifically, according to the father of a wounded student.”

Though some outlets like the New York Times noted that that “Law enforcement officials would not confirm or deny” that Christians were targeted, that “fact” has already become conventional wisdom.

Support for that idea, however, is limited, as Lauren showed in an earlier post on this site. Most people making that claim point to the shooter’s membership in a Facebook group called “Against Organized Religion,” his self-characterization as “spiritual but not religious,” and two secondhand accounts from relatives of survivors....

The bottom line? Only two of the nine victims are confirmed to be Christians. While some of the other seven may be Christians, there’s currently no publicly available evidence for it. And several others seem to hold beliefs other than Christianity.

I hate to say "I told you so", but... oh, screw it.

[LAGC]

1. You mean we don't get to have our "persecution complex" pity party after all?!

Non-believers must still be to blame for this tragedy, somehow...

[Vogon_Glory]

2. Just Like Columbine

Just like the mass shooting at Columbine, Evangelicals and Findamentalist Christians are putting out phony martyrdom stories.
Meanwhile, the barbarous ISIL is murdering Christians for real while Radical Righties stateside are whining about " persecution."

[Fred Sanders]

3. I think folks need to remember, as proven here, that first media reports are not evidence and are

likely wrong.....because second hand reports have never been evidence, rumor at best.

This would likely never have been reported at all in bygone days, exactly because it was clearly rumor, and certainly not so breathlessly thrown at the public by major media in the days when there was actually a functional responsible media not hungry for "buzz" more than accuracy.