President Obama Addresses Connecticut Elementary School Shooting

Today the country faced one of the worst tragedies that we have seen in years. 27 people lost their lives, and out of those 27 were 20 children at a Connecticut elementary school.

The shooter has been identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, reportedly a son of one of the kindergarten teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Photo by Lawrence Jackson

Lanza shot and killed his mother then went to Sandy Hook Elementary killing 18 students. The school’s principal and another staffer were also reportedly killed and the school’s vice principal was shot in the leg.

President Obama addressed the tragedy, visibly emotional when he talked about the victims and their innocent lives:

The majority of those who died were children. Beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten-years-old. They had their entire lives ahead of them – birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.

Among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams, 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. […]

This evening Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter. We’ll tell them that we love them and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another. But there are families in Connecticut that cannot do that tonight and they need all of us right now. In the hard days to come that community needs us to be at our best as Americans, and I will do everything in my power as President to help.