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VA Tech shooting survivor times release of E-book with Presidential debates

Posted at 9:03 AM, Oct 03, 2012
and last updated 2012-10-03 09:03:21-04

BOULDER, Colo. (WTVR) - A survivor of the Virginia Tech mass shootings is releasing an E-book about being shot four times during ordeal, and how it transformed him into a gun control advocate--timed to coincide with the presidential debate.

Colin Goddard is scheduled to speak at the University of Colorado in Boulder, just two hours before Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are scheduled to debate in Denver. At 7 o'clock Goddard will formally release "10 Minutes That Changed My Life."

The book details what Goddard went through the morning of April 16th 2007. Goddard was attending class in Norris Hall when gunman Seung-Hui Cho opened fire.

He describes the ordeal in detail in his book:

“…I don’t remember everything. I do remember the constant sound of gunfire. I do remember the smell... I remember being on the floor, under a bunch of overturned tables and chairs, seeing empty shell casings all around. …I then saw this gunman begin to move down my aisle.”

“At the end of those 10 minutes, the police burst in the door, and 10 of my classmates and my teacher lay dead. I was bleeding out of four holes in my body and had a broken leg.”

Goddard is purposely holding the release on the same day as the presidential debate, hoping he can draw attention to the issue of gun control and the need for the candidates to take a decisive stance on the issue, instead of just talking about it in the wake of mass shooting like Virginia Tech or the Aurora theater shooting.

"Neither Mitt Romney or Obama have given thoughts on what they would do to reduce the number of us that are shot and killed every year," Goddard told CBS 6. "During the next presidential term an average of 48,00 of us will be murdered by someone with a gun."

While at the University of Colorado, Goddard will address another issue he's taken up: campus gun bans. The University had a gun ban, but the Colorado Supreme Court overturned it, calling it unconstitutional.

In his E-book Goddard encourages all Americans to host debate night parties to learn what the presidential candidates have to say about preventing gun deaths and injuries.