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Obama to meet victims of Colorado shooting
President Obama will travel to Aurora, Colo. on Sunday, two days after a shooting at a movie theater there left 12 dead and over 50 wounded, in one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history.
The White House announced that the president will "visit with families of victims of the shooting as well as local officials."
Following his visit, Obama will continue on to San Francisco. The president is scheduled to return to the campaign trail on Monday with an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Reno, Nev. and a fundraiser that evening in Oakland, Calif.
In his weekly address, Obama called on the nation to turn to "prayer and reflection" and vowed that the federal government would do "everything necessary to bring whoever’s responsible for this heinous crime to justice."
Authorities believe the shootings are the work of a lone gunman, James Holmes, 24, who is in custody. Holmes is believed to have entered a theater during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" and opened fire.
The White House says the president has been kept updated on developments in Colorado. Obama spoke with the Aurora chief of police on Friday to offer the "full support" of federal law enforcement agencies.
CNN reported Saturday that Homeland Security adviser John Brennan has been updating Obama over the weekend on the investigation as well as authorities’ efforts to enter the suspect's apartment. Officials said Holmes had booby-trapped his residence with possible explosive devices.
The shootings forced both Obama and Romney to abandon their scheduled campaign stops on Friday.
Obama had been scheduled to attend an event in Florida. There he delivered a short address on the tragedy and returned to Washington where he met with senior advisers who briefed him on the situation.
Mitt Romney, spoke about the shootings in Bow, N.H., where he had been scheduled to attend a rally. “Our hearts break with the sadness of this unspeakable tragedy," he said. "Ann and I join the president and first lady and all Americans in offering our deepest condolences to those whose lives were shattered in a few moments of evil.”
Romney is also expected to return to the campaign trail on Monday. He is headed west for a fundraiser in Irvine, Calif. and will then address the VFW convention in Reno, Nev. on Tuesday.
Romney's campaign has not said if he would visit Colorado during his trip west.
Both candidates visited the key swing state last month as firefighters and residents battled a series of devastating wildfires in the Colorado Springs area.
Obama spoke in Jan. 2011 at a memorial service for victims of another mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., which killed six people and wounded 13 including then-Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was hosting a constituent event in her district. Giffords, who was shot in the head, eventually left Congress to focus on her continued recovery.
This story was updated at 9:38 p.m.
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