Connecticut Shooting A 'Heinous Crime,' Says Emotional Obama

A visibly emotional President Obama called today’s deadly shooting at a school in Newtown, Conn., a source of “overwhelming grief.”

Details continue to emerge about the shooting at Sandy Creek Elementary School. Officials are putting the number of deaths at 27, including 20 children, six adults and the shooter.

Pausing several times to collect himself and to wipe his eyes with a finger, Obama spoke to the magnitude of a crime where the majority of the victims were young children.

“We’ve endured too many of these tragedies the past few years,” Obama said. He did not endorse any future gun control measures.

After gunman Jared Loughner opened fire on a public speaking appearance by Rep. Gabriel Giffords in Tucson, Arizona in 2011, killing six and severely wounding Rep. Giffords, Obama faced calls to push for more stringent gun-control legislation.

But the White House did not touch the issue, which was almost nonexistent during the 2012 presidential campaign. Despite warnings from the National Rifle Association that President Obama plans to tighten gun control laws, the president has mostly deferred to the Second Amendment.

Connecticut has comparatively tough guns laws compared to other states.