President Obama: America grieves brutal murders in Orlando
The president called for Americans to respond with love in the face of fear and violence
President Barack Obama has spoken in the wake of a mass shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, which killed at least 50 people and injured 53.
“Today as Americans, we grieve this brutal murder. A horrific massacre of dozens of innocent people,” the president said. “We pray for the families, who are grasping for answers with broken hearts. We stand with the people of Orlando who have endured a terrible attack on their city.”
President Obama has met with his security advisors and has directed the federal government to lend their full resources to the investigation. It is being investigated as an act of terror, with the utmost importance being lent to discovering what the killer’s motives were. “What is clear is that he was a person filled with hatred,” Obama said.
The president praised the authorities and first responders who rushed to the scene.
“Their courage and professionalism saved lives,” he said. “It kept the carnage from being even worse…. We can never thank them enough.”
Obama then acknowledged the impact the shootings would have on the LGBT community.
“This is an especially heartbreaking day for our friends, our fellow Americans who are [LGBT],” he said. “The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance, to sing, to live.
“The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub, it is a place of solidarity and empowerment, where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds and to advocate for their civil rights. This is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.
“No act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.”
The President also noted that this was the most deadly shooting in American history, and reiterated that lax gun regulations need to be examined. “This shows how easy it is for a person to get their hands on a weapon to shoot people at a school, or a restaurant or a cinema or a nightclub,” he said.
He concluded by asking America not to give in to fear or succumb to scaremongering and scapegoating.
“In the face of hate and violence we will love one another. We will not give into fear or turn against one another,” he said. “Instead, we will stand united as Americans to protect our people, defend out nation and take action against those who threaten us.”
“This was an act of terror and act of hate.” —@POTUS on the tragic shooting in #Orlando https://t.co/i7fOS38GzH
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 12, 2016
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