WATCH: President Obama Sings 'Amazing Grace' at Slain Charleston Pastor's Funeralĭemocratic presidential hopeful and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shared her thoughts regarding the tragedy on Twitter.“Just to look in the eyes of our officers told the whole story,” Mina told reporters. He is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to receive regular updates as we know more.” “Vice President Biden offered his prayers for all those killed and injured in the shooting and sends his condolences to all the families and loved ones of the victims. “The Vice President was briefed this morning by his national security advisor on the heinous attack that took place overnight at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida,” the statement read. The White House also issued statements from Vice President Joe Biden and Press Secretary Josh Earnest. May God continue to watch over this country that we love.” “God bless the Americans we lost this morning, may he comfort their families. Instead, we will stand united as Americans to protect our people and defend our nation and to take action against those who threaten us,” the President concluded.
We will not give into fear or turn against each other. “In the face of hate and violence, we will love one another. We need to demonstrate that we are defined more as a country by the way that they lived their lives than by the hate of the man who took them from us.” "Say a prayer for them and say a prayer for their families, that God would give them the strength to bear the unbearable and that he would give us all the strength to be there for them and the strength and courage to change. The joy that they brought to families and to friends and the difference that they made in this world," he said. “We will learn about the victims of this tragedy. Obama concluded his remarks by offering a message of hope, reminding Americans to remember those lost and learn from the accounts of heroic and selfless acts that will emerge in the coming days. NEWS: Los Angeles Pride Continuing With Parade In Face of Orlando Shooting Tragedy To actively do nothing is a decision as well.” “We have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be.
“This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or in a movie theater, or in a nightclub,” he said, referencing recent mass shootings in the U.S. The President also spoke on the importance of gun control, in light of reports from Orlando Police Chief John Mina that the suspect was found with a handgun and an AR-15-style assault rifle. Over the coming days we will uncover why and how this happened, and we will go where the facts lead us.” “What is clear is that he was a person filled with hatred.
is appropriately investigating this as an act of terrorism, and I’ve directed that we must spare no effort to determine what, if any, inspirations or associations this killer may have had with terrorist groups. “We’ve reached no definitive judgement on the precise motivations of the killer,” Obama said. citizen with no apparent criminal history, according to sources, though CBS News reported that he called 911 at the time of the attacks to pledge his allegiance to ISIS and referenced the Boston bombers. Sources have confirmed to CBS News that authorities are investigating whether the suspect had ties to Islamic terrorism. He explained that the FBI was on the scene and leading the open investigation into the suspect in the shooting, who has been named as 29-year-old Omar Mateen. The President told reporters that he had spoken with the Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, and thanked law enforcement officials in the Florida metropolis for their response to Pulse, where shots rang out around 2:30 a.m. WATCH: LGBT Groups, Celebs and Public Figures Pay Tribute After 50 Killed in Orlando Nightclub Shooting