Every Time President Obama Has Addressed A Mass Shooting In His Presidency
Written by
Iliana Rabun-Wood
Published on
June 14, 2016
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1. Fort Hood Shooting – November 5, 2009
Thirteen are killed when U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan opens fire on a military base.
“This is a time of war. Yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great state and the heart of this great American community,” Obama said in an address to the nation.
2. Tucson Shooting – January 8, 2011
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was injured and six others killed when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at an event in a supermarket parking lot. More than a dozen others were also injured.
“We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through,” Obama said.
3. Aurora Shooting – July 20, 2012
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During a showing of “The Dark Knight” at a Colorado movie theater, James Eagan Holmes set off tear gas and shot into the audience, killing 12.
“The people we lost in Aurora loved and they were loved. They were mothers and fathers; they were husbands and wives; sisters and brothers; sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled.”
4. Sikh Temple Shooting – August 5, 2012
Wade Michael Page, 40, entered a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, shooting six and wounding four.
“As we mourn this loss which took place at a house of worship, we are reminded how much our country has been enriched by Sikhs, who are a part of our broader American family,” Obama said in his address.
5. Sandy Hook Shooting – December 14, 2012
Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza entered the Connecticut school and killed 20 children, ages 6 and 7, along with six staffers.
“As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago — these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods,” Obama said through tears.
6. Navy Yard Shooting – September 16, 2013
Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old civilian contractor, killed 12 during a shooting rampage.
“We still don’t know all the facts, but we do know that several people have been shot, and some have been killed,” he said. “So we are confronting yet another mass shooting — and today, it happened on a military installation in our nation’s capital.”
7. Second Fort Hood Shooting – April 2, 2014
Army Specialist Ivan Lopez went on a shooting spree at the Texas base, killing three and injuring more than a dozen.
“Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families. We know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. Obviously our thoughts and prayers were — are with the entire community,” Obama said.
8. Kansas Jewish Community Shooting – April 13, 2014
Neo-Nazi Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. killed three in a pair of shootings at two Jewish community centers in Overland Park.
“Nobody should have to worry about their security when gathering with their fellow believers. No one should ever have to fear for their safety when they go to pray,” Obama said.
9. Charleston Emanuel AME Shooting – June 17, 2015
Self-proclaimed White supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine Black parishioners at the historic Emanuel AME church in Charleston. The church’s pastor, Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, was also killed.
“There is something particularly heartbreaking about the death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace…This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America,” Obama said.
10. Chattanooga Recruiting Center Shooting – July 16, 2015
Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire at a recruiting center and then a U.S. Navy reserve, killing five.
“My main message right now is, obviously, the deepest sympathies of the American people to the four Marines that have been killed. It is a heartbreaking circumstance for these individuals who have served our country with great valor to be killed in this fashion.”
11. Umpqua Community College Shooting – October 1, 2015
Student Christopher Harper-Mercer killed a professor and eight students at the Oregon school. A handful of others were also injured.
Addressing the gun debate, Obama said: “There is a gun for roughly every man, woman, and child in America. So how can you, with a straight face, make the argument that more guns will make us safer?”
12. San Bernardino – December 2, 2015
Husband and wife duo Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, inspired by ISIS, shot 14 people at a holiday party. Fourteen were killed.
“We should never think that this is something that just happens in the ordinary course of events, because it doesn’t happen with the same frequency in other countries,” Obama said.
13. Orlando Pulse Shooting – June 12, 2016
Gunman Omar Mateen opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 and injuring 53. Mateen, American-born, reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 call.
“The fact that it took place at a club frequented by the LGBT community I think is also relevant…But it’s a reminder that regardless of race, religion, faith or sexual orientation, we’re all Americans and we need to be looking after each other.”
