03 December,2015 10:16 AM IST | | PTI
President Barack Obama has condemned the California shooting that killed 14 people and injured 17, saying that the pattern of mass shootings in the US has no parallel anywhere in the world and reiterated his call for more gun control reforms
Washington: President Barack Obama has condemned the California shooting that killed 14 people and injured 17, saying that the pattern of mass shootings in the US has no parallel anywhere in the world and reiterated his call for more gun control reforms.
"The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world," Obama told the CBS news in an interview shortly after the attack.
Two of the gunmen were shot dead by the police in a chase hours later, while another one was apprehended. In the past few years the US has been experiencing a series of tragic mass shooting, the frequency of which has increased.
Obama said the current law which lets anyone buy gun off the shelf without any background check needs to change. The Republican controlled Congress has refused to change the law.
"We should never think this is something that just happens in the ordinary course of events because it doesn't happen with the same frequency in other countries," he said. He reiterated his call to the lawmakers to come together "on a bipartisan basis" to make Americans safer.
Barack Obama. File pic
"There are some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently," he said. That includes "common sense gun safety laws" and "stronger background checks," as well as making use of the no-fly list, Obama said.
"For those who are concerned about terrorism, some may be aware of the fact that we have a no-fly list where people can't get on planes, but those same people who we don't allow to fly could go into a store right now in the US and buy a firearm, and there's nothing we can do to stop them.
That's a law that needs to be changed," said the US President. In San Bernardino, California where the mass shooting took place, the police shot dead two suspects ¿ a man and a woman. Both were wearing combat-style clothing.
They were killed in a exchange of fire in a street lined with homes. A third suspect has been apprehended. The police has so far refused to define this specifically as terrorism, but have not fully ruled it out.
