President Barack Obama will visit Orlando, Florida to pay respects to victims of gay nightclub shooting, White House press secretary Josh Earnest announced.
"On Thursday, the President will travel to Orlando, Florida to pay his respects to victims' families, and to stand in solidarity with the community as they embark on their recovery. We will have more information on the President's trip in the coming days," Earnest said.
Earlier, Obama has travelled to Newtown, Charleston, Connecticut, South Carolina, and among other places to meet with families who have lost loved ones to gun violence.
"At this stage, we see no clear evidence that he was directed externally," Obama said, referring to suggestions that the Islamic State group or other extremists had orchestrated the attack. "It does appear that at the last minute, he announced allegiance to ISIL," he said, using an acronym for the extremist group.
Obama has described Orlando shooting as "an act of terror and an act of hate". "Brutal murder of dozens of innocent people" was a further reminder of how easy it was to acquire a deadly weapon in the US and shoot people. "We have to decide if that's the kind of country we want to be," said the president, who has campaigned for stricter gun laws. "To actively do nothing is a decision as well," he said.
Also Read: 50 killed in Orlando Mass shooting!
-Nandini
