Obama speaks on shooting that left 9 people dead

President Barack Obama said Thursday the
church shooting that left nine people dead shows the need
for a national reckoning on gun violence in America.

The president said that all too often, he has been called to
the microphone to mourn the deaths of innocents killed by
those "who had no trouble getting their hands on a gun."

The victim in police custody 

"At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with
the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in
other advanced countries," Obama said. "It doesn't happen
in other places with this kind of frequency. It is in our
power to do something about it."
Obama said that he and Vice President Joe Biden both
spoke with Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley to express
condolences. And the president said he and first lady
Michelle Obama knew several parishioners at Emanuel
AME church, including the church's pastor, state Sen.
Clementa Pinckney, who was among those killed.
Obama spoke from the White House before departing on a
weekend fundraising trip to California. Biden joined
Obama in the briefing room for the statement.