President Obama visits families of San Bernardino shooting victims

SAN BERNARDINO >> President Barack Obama
and first lady Michelle Obama met with the
families of victims of the Dec. 2 terrorist attack
and first responders Friday night.
“It was so moving for Michelle and myself, in
part, because it was so representative of the
country,” Obama said. “You had people from
every background, every faith.”
The president said the meetings, on which he
spent an hour and a half longer than scheduled,
were inspiring.
“As difficult as this is for them and the entire
(country), they also represent the strength and
the unity and the love that exists in this
community,” he said. “Despite the pain and the
heartache that they’re feeling, they could not
have been more inspiring.”
Wearing an American flag pin on his lapel,
Obama said many had asked how to prevent
similar shootings in the future.
Obama met with the families of the 14 people
killed by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen
Malik at a holiday party at the Inland Regional
Center on Dec. 2, privately speaking with them
at San Bernardino City Unified’s newest high
school, Indian Springs High School . The school
is more than a mile away from the airport and
less than 5 miles away from the IRC.
Air Force One landed at San Bernardino
International Airport at 7:40 p.m. Obama gave a
wave at the top of the stairs, then walked down
with his wife to shake hands first with San
Bernardino Mayor Carey Davis and then James
Ramos, chairman of the county Board of
Supervisors. They spoke for several minutes.
A motorcade, including more than half a dozen
law enforcement vehicles, then drove from the
airport.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, flew in
from the nation’s capital on Air Force One.
“It’s incredibly important for the president to be
here to lend his support to the families as they
mourn, to offer comfort to those who have lost
loved ones,” Aguilar said after Air Force One
touched down. “There are still funerals going
on. This is still an incredibly difficult time. For
the president to be here shows an incredible
amount of support for those family members.”
Obama also met with first responders,
according to San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod
Burguan, who said a call on Thursday from the
White House “indicated they wanted to meet
with some of the first responders as well.”
There, he was greeted by a cheering crowd.
Robert Cuenca, 38, of San Bernardino brought
his two kids and two of their friends to see the
president and show support for the victims of
the Dec. 2 attack.
“We get so busy in life, but I want the kids to
see what happened to our city and how we can
support these families in any way that we can,”
he said. “The victims’ families need to know the
president of this country is behind them and
that the city is behind them on every way
possible.”