Oregon shooting victim STILL opposes gun control and wants armed guards in schools

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Cheyeanne Fitzgerald, 16, was badly wounded during Oregon shootings
She is still in critical condition in hospital after having a kidney removed
Today her brother said she is still opposed to gun control despite injuries
Jesse Fitzgerald told Dailymail.com that entire family are against new laws

Published: 22:58 EST, 4 October 2015 | Updated: 23:43 EST, 4 October 2015

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A teenager who was shot in the back during the Umpqua College shootings on Thursday has said she is still in favor of gun ownership – despite her narrow escape.

Cheyeanne Fitzgerald, 16, remains critically ill in hospital following an operation to remove one of her kidneys but her brother Jesse, speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com outside the Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, says she is beginning to improve.

He also revealed that the family have discussed the issue of gun ownership and said that all – including Cheyeanne – remain opposed to controls.

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Jesse Fitzgerald (left) spoke outside hospital on behalf of his sister Cheyeanne, 16 (together right), who was wounded in the Oregon school shooting to say her injuries have not changed her views on gun control

Cheyeanne Fitzgerald, 16, lost a kidney and is still in constant pain after being shot by Oregon school killer Chris Harper-Mercer, but says she is still opposed to tighter gun laws

‘We’re pro second amendment, pro guns,’ said Jesse. ‘My sister, my mother, my whole family are all in favor. We were talking about it in the hospital and none of us have changed our minds.’

Asked whether the answer to tragedies such as the one on Thursday is more guns, Jesse said he would like to see armed guards on campuses and teachers trained in the use of non-lethal force.

‘We should have teachers trained in non-lethal ways to take people down,’ he said. ‘There is surely a way to defend kids at school. Armed guards on campuses maybe.’

Jesse has spent the past three days at his sister’s side and rushed to be with her and other family members at the hospital following the tragedy.

Cheyeanne was in class when gunman Chris Harper-Mercer burst in and, like her friend Lacey Scroggins, 18, survived the attack by playing dead and hiding under the body of a classmate.

‘Talking about what happened is hard for her,’ added Jesse. ‘I don’t like to bring it up too much when she’s around.’

Jesse revealed that Fitzgerald supports putting armed guards on college campuses and favors training teachers to use non-lethal force

The teenager now faces a long road to recovery and, along with an operation to remove a kidney, has also had surgery to remove some of the shrapnel littering her body.

‘It’s hard for her to move right now,’ said Jesse. ‘It’s painful for her to move around and she can’t sit up by herself. She’s also pretty disoriented from the medication.’

Cheyeanne’s family have also begun a GoFundMe page in a bid to help pay for the cost of her care and are hoping to raise $10,000.

The page, which was set up by her cousin Courtney, reads: ‘Chey started her day by grabbing a coffee on her way to class and texting her mom saying she loved her, and to have a beautiful day.

‘God was looking over her that day as she was shot but now is recovering in ICU at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Oregon.

‘She has a long recovery ahead in both physically and mentally. Your prayers for our family would be greatly appreciated, as well as any contributions.’

Jesse’s comments on gun control echo the statement released by the family of another victim, Quinn Cooper, 18, who was shot dead by depraved Harper-Mercer on Thursday.

In a statement released on Friday, his grieving family said their lives were ‘shattered beyond repair’ but said Quinn’s death should not be used as a means of advancing arguments in favour of gun control.

‘We are hearing so many people talk about gun control and taking people's guns away,’ they said.

‘If the public couldn't have guns it wouldn't help since sick people like this will always be able to get their hands on a gun.

‘We need to be able to protect ourselves as a community and as a nation. Please don't let this horrible act of insanity become about who should or shouldn't have a gun.

‘Please remember the victims and their families. Please remember Quinn.’

Despite their pleas, Thursday’s shooting has reignited the argument over gun control with a visibly angry President Obama telling reporters that ‘prayers are not enough’ during a press conference later the same day.

‘We talked about this [gun control] after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charleston,’ he added.

‘It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun.

According to Fitzgerald's brother Jesse, his whole family, including mother Bonnie Schaal (pictured) still support second amendment rights

Fitzgerald is still recovering in hospital following the shooting, with Jesse revealing that she currently in pain from the shrapnel littering her body, and cannot move easily

‘And what's become routine, of course, is the response to those who oppose any kind of common-sense gun legislation.

‘Right now, I can imagine the press releases being cranked out: 'We need more guns,' they'll argue, 'fewer gun safety laws.' Does anybody really believe that?’

Mercer-Harper is thought to have amassed an arsenal of 13 guns, some of which were owned by his mother Laurel.

Laurel, a nurse who has been seen only once since the killings, is also thought to have a penchant for firearms and bragged about her collection in a social media post last year.

‘'It's ridiculously easy to understand the apprehension associated with open carry. I moved from So. Calif. to Oregon, from Southern Crime-a-mania to open carry. An open carry law won't work everywhere!' she wrote in the September 2014 post.

'And when the mood strikes, and as long as we're tossing around brand names, I sling an AR, Tek-9 or AK over my shoulder, or holster a Glock 21 (not 22), or one of my other handguns, like the Sig Sauer P226, and walk out the door.

‘I find the shotguns are a little too cumbersome to open carry.'

By contrast, Harper-Mercer’s British father Ian told reporters that he has never held a gun himself and was left baffled by the size of his son’s weapon collection.

‘We talk about gun laws. We talk about gun control. Every time something like this happens, they talk about it and nothing gets done,’ he said in an interview with CNN outside his Torrance, California home.

‘I'm not trying to say that that's to blame for what happened, but if Chris had not been able to get hold of 13 guns, this wouldn't have happened.’