President Barack Obama will travel to Orlando on Thursday to pay respects to the victims of Sunday’s tragic mass shooting, according to Josh Earnest, White House press secretary.
Earnest said the president is also traveling to Orlando to “stand in solidarity with the community.” The press secretary told the media that more details of the trip will be available in the coming days.
Obama’s visit comes just four days after a gunman opened fire in an Orlando gay nightclub, wounding over 50 people and killing 49 others. The massacre is being called the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The president was updated on the incident on Monday morning. The massacre is classified as a domestic terror incident.
After his briefing, Obama said the mass shooting was an example of “homegrown extremism” and stated there was no evidence that the shooter was “directed internally” by ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria). Officials say the shooter was radicalized through the Internet.
The president addressed the nation on Sunday from the White House, calling the incident an “act of terror and an act of hate.”
Obama was scheduled to campaign with Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin on Wednesday, but that event has now been postponed due to Sunday’s attack.
