Following Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando, which has been called “the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nation’s worst terror attack since 9/11,” President Obama responded to the shooting by call it “an act of terror and an act of hate.”
Obama also noted the case “is an open investigation, and authorities have yet to reach “definitive judgment on the precise motivations of the killer.” The president also called the act, “an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.” Obama briefly alluded to gun control, adding, “[t]he shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle.”
A statement from Vice President Biden’s spokesman reads, “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.”
Speaker Paul Ryan also said in a statement that it is important “to be clear-eyed about who did this.”
My statement on the Orlando terrorist attack: pic.twitter.com/tiJX2yysK1
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) June 12, 2016
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added that, “[w]e thank the citizens and first responders who helped rescue and save lives amidst horror and chaos.”
My statement on the #Orlando shooting: “The nation’s prayers are with the victims and their families…” pic.twitter.com/RrvnUScq43
— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) June 12, 2016
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is postponing a trip to China following the attack, calling the tragedy “an act of terror and an act of hate.”
