As news reports of the school shooting in Connecticut flowed in, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney avoided questions about President Barack Obama's stance on gun control Friday, saying that it is "not the day" to discuss legislation.
“We’re still waiting for more information about the incident in Connecticut,” Carney said. "I'm sure there will be another day for discussion of the usual Washington policy debates, but I don’t think today is that day."
He said that the President has spoken to Connecticut Gov. Malloy, and continues to receive updates from his homeland security advisor John Brennan and the FBI on the situation in Sandy Brook.
NBC reports that Obama will make a statement on the shooting "shortly."
According to news reports, at least 26 people, including 18 children, were killed in Friday's shooting at Sandy Brook Elementary School. The Washington Post reports that, if true, that would make it the second most deadly shooting in U.S. history, falling behind the Virginia Tech massacre, which left 33 people dead.
Of the 12 deadliest shootings in U.S. history, including today's school massacre, five have occured during the Obama administration, including the 2009 shooting at an immigration center in Binghamton, N.Y. (14 dead); the 2009 Fort Hood massacre (13 dead); the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., this summer (12 dead); and the 2009 shooting spree in Alabama (11 dead).
UPDATE, 2:45 p.m.:
The White House has announced that Obama will deliver a statement on the Connecticut school shooting at 3:15 p.m.
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