Petition Calls for Oregon Community College Hero to Be Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

More than 7,000 individuals have signed a White House petition calling for President Barack Obama to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Chris Mintz, the military veteran who was shot while attempting to stop the gunman at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, last week.

Chris Mintz was shot while attempting to stop the gunman at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, last week. (Image source: WGPH-TV)

Mintz has been hailed as a hero after trying to block gunman Chris Harper Mercer when he opened fire at the community college campus, killing nine. Mintz was shot several times.

The petition reads:

I am recommending Mr. Chris Mintz for the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions taken on 1 October 2015 during the shootings at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Mr. Mintz, a Veteran, continues to display the values of the United States military by his actions to alert others of the danger and then to endanger himself while delaying the attacker to allow time for others to escape. Mr. Mintz positively displayed the values of loyalty, duty, respect, honor, integrity, personal courage, and self-sacrifice to attempt to save as many of his fellow citizens as possible. I believe that awarding Mr. Mintz the Presidential Medal of Freedom will hold him up as a strong example to the rest of America that one person can make a difference.

A security guard patrols outside Snyder Hall on the campus of Umpqua Community College, Oct. 4, 2015 in Roseburg, Oregon. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Presidential Medial of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor. The petition, posted Friday, needs 100,000 signatures by Nov. 1 to require a response from the White House.