Barack Obama issued a public statement Friday regarding the tragic shooting that took the lives of 20 children and 6 adults at a Connecticut elementary school, in addition to the gunman and his mother.
As previously reported, at approximately 9:30 a.m. yesterday morning, police received a 911 call that notified them that a “masked man” in black had opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who is believed to have lived with his mother, Nanzy Lanza, reportedly shot his mother in the face yesterday morning, and then taking her firearms and car, drove to the elementary school to go on a shooting rampage. Most of the dead are stated to be small children, and Lanza himself is deceased.
“This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller,” Obama outlined during a press conference yesterday after learning of the massacre. “I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation and made it clear that he will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, and care for the victims and counsel their families.”
“We’ve endured too many of these tragedies the past few years, and each time I learn the news, I react not as a president, but as anybody else would — as a parent. And that is especially true today,” he continued. “I know there’s not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.”
As he began to speak about the lives lost, Obama became visibly emotional.
“The majority of those who died today were children — beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten years old,” he said, giving a long pause before he continued. “They had their entire lives ahead of them — birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.”
He again paused, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Among the fallen were also teachers — men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams,” Obama said. “So, our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain.”
Obama then noted that shooting sprees in America have become more commonplace over the past year.
“As a country, we have been through this too many times, whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago,” he lamented. “And we’re going to have to come together to take more actions to prevent tragedies like this regardless of the politics.”
He stated that the massacre will likely remind parents that their children are valuable.
“This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter and tell them we love them, and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another,” Obama said. “But, there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all of us right now.”
“In our days to come, that community needs us to be our best as Americans and I will do everything in my power as president to help, because nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one,” he continued. “All of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we are here for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories, but also in ours.”
Obama then concluded by citing Scripture from Psalm 147:3.
“May God bless the memory of the victims, and in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.”
While some have noted Obama’s grief over the children, others are also asking why he does not then oppose abortion.
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