President Barack Obama cancelled campaign events in Florida and issued a proclamation for flags across the nation to be lowered to half staff "as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated ... in Aurora, Colorado."
GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney also made abrupt halts to his campaign, reportedly pulling his campaign ads from Colorado and quoted from Scripture instead of giving his usual stump speech in New Hampshire.
“I stand here before you today not as a man running for office, but as a father and grandfather, a husband, an American,” Romney said. “This is for each of us to look into our hearts and remember how much we love one another and how much we love and how much we care for our great country.”
The shooting has claimed the lives of at least 10 people and wounded at least 59 more.
Police are still attempting to gain access to shooting suspect James Holmes' booby trapped apartment as of Friday afternoon.
The President said in a statement:
[Even] as we learn how this happened and who's responsible, we may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil is senseless. It's beyond reason. But while we will never know fully what causes somebody to take the life of another, we do know what makes life worth living. 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.
In his Tweets, the President said today is a time for prayer and reflection and that "There will be other days for politics."
Vice President Joe Biden released this statement:
Jill and I were shocked to learn of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado this morning. The reason this is so deeply felt by all Americans is that, but for the grace of God, the victims could have been any one of our children, in any one of our towns. It is every parent’s worst nightmare to receive ‘that phone call’ and to sit by their child’s bedside, praying. We know what it’s like to wait and wonder and the helplessness a parent feels at this moment. Our hearts go out to each and every person who is suffering right now as a result of this terrible event. The prayers of an entire nation are with the victims and their families. We stand with the city of Aurora and the state of Colorado in mourning.
While some in the media are speculating that the President may be returning to Colorado, that has yet to be confirmed.
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