Something Heartbreaking About Violence at Places of Worship: Obama
Condemning the Charleston shooting, Obama said such incidents don’t happen so frequently in other advanced nations.
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President Barack Obama condemned the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday. The incident that led nine people dead, Obama said, shows the need for a national reckoning on gun violence in America.
The President said that all too often, he has been called to the microphone to mourn the deaths of innocents killed by those “who had no trouble getting their hands on a gun.”
At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.
– Barack Obama, US President
“It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency. It is in our power to do something about it,” Obama added.
Obama said that he and Vice President Joe Biden both spoke with Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley to express condolences. And the President said that he and the first lady Michelle Obama knew several parishioners at Emanuel AME church, including the church’s pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who was among those killed.
(With inputs from AP)
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