#IAmaChristian: Ben Carson honors the Oregon shooting's fallen students

A call for support for the victims and their families

Nine were shot dead during the recent horrifying shooting at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon where a student claimed the gunman specifically targeted the religious. 

Following the claim, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson started a social media campaign encouraging Americans to declare their Christianity in support of the fallen students and their families. 

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Carson was photographed in a car, where he was holding a sign reading "I Am A Christian" above an ichthys. While many politicians responded to the Oregon shooting with statements on guns and gun control, Carson met the crisis with a plea to American Christians to unite against the violence perpetuated against the religious. 

Carson's social media campaign was met with warm responses as Christians shared his photo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As of Monday afternoon, the photo has been Liked 1,141,846 times on Facebook and shared 176,570 times.

"Today, many of your questions were in regards to the sorrowful event that took so many precious lives in Oregon yesterday. We don't have all the details yet, but as time passes more are coming out. Millions of people are posting pictures of themselves declaring they are Christians in support of the victims and their families. I did so on Facebook this afternoon. If you have a moment, please consider doing it as well," Carson wrote on his Facebook.

He also asked people to change their profile pictures in a symbolic solidarity with the victims and their grieving families. 

Thousands of people posted their photos with the hashtag #IAmaChristian. 

Chris Harper-Mercer reportedly asked his fellow students if they were Christians before shooting them down based on the testimony of a victim's father. His daughter, Anastasia Boylan, revealed the gunman's question while Kortney Moore, another eyewitness, said that he was asking if they were religious -not specifically about Christianity.

The motive is still uncertain and not all victims were Christians, as teacher Lawrence Levine was Jewish. However, Harper-Mercer stated that he is not religious, hates organized religions and was against the Black Lives Matter movement.

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