Obama says Colorado shooting was an 'evil act'

Washington, Jul 23: US President Barack Obama described the shooting in a Colorado theater this week that claimed 12 lives as an "act of evil", as he visited Aurora - the city of tragic incident - to meet the victims' families.

"I come to them not so much as President as I do as a father and as a husband," Obama told reporters after he met the family members and friends of the victims. "I tried to assure them that although the perpetrator of this evil act has received a lot of attention over the last couple of days, that attention will fade away and in the end, after he has felt the full force of our justice system, what will be remembered are the good people who were impacted by this tragedy," he said.

Obama offered hugs, tears and sympathy to survivors of the shooting rampage and to families whose loved ones were shot dead during premiere of new Batman movie 'The Dark Knight Rises' at an Aurora theater in Denver, Colorado. The President paid visit - one by one - to families gathered at a hospital and wounded patients recovering in intensive care. He appeared before the TV cameras and kept his focus on the lives of the victims and the survivors, not the sole shooting suspect or his "evil act".

"I think that the reason stories like this have such an impact on us is because we can all understand what it would be to have somebody that we love taken from us in this fashion -- what it would be like and how it would impact us," he said.

Obama said he confessed to the victims' families and friends that "words are always inadequate in these kinds of situations". The President said his main task was to serve as a representative of the entire country and let them know that they are thinking about them at this moment and will continue to think about them each and every day, and that the awareness that not only all of America but much of the world is thinking about them might serve as some comfort.

PTI