Ben Carson says he would have confronted Oregon shooter

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Tuesday said he would have confronted the shooter at Umpqua Community College had he been present at the time of the attack. 

“Not only would I probably not cooperate with him, I would not just stand there and let him shoot me. I would say ‘Hey, guys, everybody attack him! He may shoot me but he can’t get us all,’ ” the retired neurosurgeon said on “Fox and Friends.”

A gunman opened fire at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., on Thurday, killing nine people and wounding nine others. Authorities said the gunman shot himself.

{mosads}Obama is expected to visit Roseburg on Friday to meet families of the victims. The visit comes amid a previously scheduled four-day swing across the West Coast for political fundraisers and events.

Carson slammed the visit and accused Obama of grandstanding.

“Imagine, a politician politicizing something,” the retired neurosurgeon said on “Fox and Friends.”

“When do we get to the point where we have people who actually want to solve our problems, rather than just politicize everything?” Carson continued. “I think that’s what the American people are so sick and tired of.”

When asked during the Fox News interview whether he would make the trip to Oregon on Friday like Obama, Carson said as president, he likely would not make the trip if the community didn’t want him to.

“Probably not. I mean, I would probably have so many things on my agenda that I’d go to the next one,” Carson said.

Obama argued for action on guns during a press conference hours after the shooting last week, saying that mass shootings are “something we should politicize.”

“This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America,” Obama said. “We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction.”

— This story was updated at 10:28 a.m.