U.S. President Barack ObamaBarack Obama will fly to Colorado on Sunday to meet families of the victims of Friday’s mass shooting and share their grief and anguish. The terrible tragedy that struck Aurora, Colorado, early Friday morning after a gunman went on a shooting rampage at a movie theater in a Denver suburb, killing at least 12 people and wounding 59.
President Obama toned down his campaign on Friday, pulled ads from Colorado and dedicated events to the victims in the aftermath of the deadly shooting attack. In his weekly radio address, Obama called for prayers for the victims and urged Americans to embrace the families who lost loved ones in Aurora and to show support in their moment of grief.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, President Obama called for a moment of silence at a Fort Myers, Florida, campaign stop, adding, "There are going to be other days for politics, this I think is a day for prayer and reflection."
His words were echoed by GOP candidate Mitt RomneyMitt Romney, who released statements in support for the victims and their families.
Denver Police identified the gunman as 24-year-old medical school dropout James Eagan Holmes, who shot at people during a midnight premiere of the blockbuster BatmanBatman film, “The Dark Knight Rises”. Names of the victims, who ranged from 6 to 51 years of age, were released Saturday afternoon by the local coroner's office.
Friday’s mass shooting stunned the whole nation and brought back painful memories of the 1999 carnage at Columbine High School in Littleton, 17 miles from Aurora, Colorado, where two students killed 12 students and a teacher.
President Obama's trip comes as intelligence agencies are investigating the case and trying to find a motive behind the shooting spree. James HolmesJames Holmes was arrested immediately after the attack at the local cinema and is being held in solitary confinement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said there was no indication that the shooting had any connection to terrorism.
According to sources, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said the mass shooting followed months of "calculation and deliberation.” James Holmes started purchasing weapons in May and received a "high volume" of deliveries of armaments to both his work and home. Federal authorities disarmed explosives in his booby-trapped apartment on Saturday.
