President Obama Says Pattern of US Mass Shootings Has 'No Parallel' After San Bernardino Shooting
— -- President Obama addressed the fatal shooting in San Bernardino, California Wednesday that left at least 14 dead, saying it continues a disturbing pattern of gun violence in America that has "no parallel."
"The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in world," Obama told CBS’ Norah O’Donnell in an interview.
Obama added that there were "steps we can take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don’t happen as frequently,” he said. “We should come together in a bipartisan basis at every level of government to make these rare as opposed to normal.”
The president was briefed on the shooting earlier in the day by his Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco, and is receiving regular updates as the situation develops.
In his interview, Obama told O’Donnell that the FBI was on the ground offering assistance to local officials.
“Obviously our hearts go out to the victims and the families," Obama said. “So my hope is, is that we are able to contain this particular shooting, and we don’t yet know what the motives of the shooters are.”
President Obama has delivered remarks 15 times following mass shootings in America, the most recent one following the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon on Oct. 1.
On Tuesday this week in Paris, President Obama remarked on the recent shooting at the Planned Parenthood Center in Colorado Springs, saying, “my hope is, is that, once again, this spurs a conversation and action.”
Elsewhere in Washington, D.C., House Speaker Paul Ryan offered his condolences to the victims of the San Bernardino shooting at the top of his remarks at the Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.
“We are all thinking about the current and ongoing tragedy in California today,” Ryan said, before asking for a moment of silence. “Please keep the victims and the families in your prayers right now."
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