Obama: 'Our Hearts Are Broken Today'

 WHITE HOUSE — U.S. President Barack Obama wiped away tears Friday, as he offered government support and emotional support to the families of those killed in a mass shooting in a school in Connecticut.  Obama said he was reacting as a parent, not a president.

As the father of two daughters, the president said “our hearts are broken,” and he spoke¹ of parents across the country hugging their children tighter tonight.

“We have endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years.  And each time I learned the news, I react not as a president, but as anybody else would, as a parent,” he said. "And that was especially true today.  I know there is not a parent in America who does not feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.  The majority of those who died today were children - beautiful little kids between the ages of five and 10 years old.”

The president spoke several hours after children and adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Obama paused several times during his short statement and struggled to keep his composure when he described the victims.

“They had their entire lives ahead of them - birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own,” he said.  "Among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted² their lives to helping³ our children fulfill⁴ their dreams.”

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This is at least the 10th mass shooting in the United States since Obama took office in January 2009, with several taking place in previous years.

The president mentioned several of the incidents, including the killings⁵ of three people at a shopping mall in the northwestern state of Oregon just three days earlier. 

He said something must be done to stop further violence in public places.

“These neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children," he said. "And we are going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”

Obama did not discuss specific steps that might be taken.  Social media in the United States were full of demands Friday for tougher gun control legislation.

Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president remains⁶ committed to renewing the federal ban on assault weapons, which lapsed⁷ in 2004.

Out of respect for the shooting victims, Obama has ordered the flag atop the White House flown at half-staff, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, has done the same at the U.S. Capitol.

Speaker Boehner has released a written statement, calling on Americans to “lock arms and unite as citizens…to rise above unspeakable evil.”

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》