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Obama leads mourning of Arizona shooting victims
January 13, 2011, Thursday
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US President Barack Obama mourned the victims of an Arizona shooting spree yesterday and urged Americans not to let the debate over the tragedy be used as "one more occasion to turn on one another."
In an emotional address to thousands of people who packed a Tucson arena for a memorial service, Obama said no one knew what prompted a gunman to go on a rampage that killed six people and critically wounded US Representative Gabrielle Giffords. He warned against seeking "simple explanations."
"The truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man's mind," Obama said.
Obama, who as president has sometimes had difficulty making an emotional connection with Americans, faced the challenge of comforting Americans, helping the community heal and bringing people together.
"We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief," he said.
Obama leaped firmly into the political debate that broke out shortly after the gunfire ended last Saturday -- whether harsh political rhetoric from last year's acrimonious congressional elections had anything to do with inspiring the gunman to open fire.
"We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future," he said. "But what we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another."
Obama began his visit to Arizona by stopping at University Medical Center to see Giffords, who survived a gunshot to the head that traveled the length of her brain on the left side. He also visited four other patients wounded in the attack.
He brought roars of approval from the crowd by saying he had been told that, shortly after he and his wife, Michelle, saw her, Giffords opened her eyes for the first time since the shooting.
"Gabby opened her eyes," Obama said. "So I can tell you she knows we are here, she knows we love her and she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey."
In an emotional address to thousands of people who packed a Tucson arena for a memorial service, Obama said no one knew what prompted a gunman to go on a rampage that killed six people and critically wounded US Representative Gabrielle Giffords. He warned against seeking "simple explanations."
"The truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man's mind," Obama said.
Obama, who as president has sometimes had difficulty making an emotional connection with Americans, faced the challenge of comforting Americans, helping the community heal and bringing people together.
"We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief," he said.
Obama leaped firmly into the political debate that broke out shortly after the gunfire ended last Saturday -- whether harsh political rhetoric from last year's acrimonious congressional elections had anything to do with inspiring the gunman to open fire.
"We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future," he said. "But what we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another."
Obama began his visit to Arizona by stopping at University Medical Center to see Giffords, who survived a gunshot to the head that traveled the length of her brain on the left side. He also visited four other patients wounded in the attack.
He brought roars of approval from the crowd by saying he had been told that, shortly after he and his wife, Michelle, saw her, Giffords opened her eyes for the first time since the shooting.
"Gabby opened her eyes," Obama said. "So I can tell you she knows we are here, she knows we love her and she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey."
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