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Obama visits Colorado, comforts massacre victims’ families
Obama said he assured the families that even though the suspect behind “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.”
The president’s most vivid lines came in describing the story of two friends, 19-year-old Allie Young and her best friend, 21-year-old Stephanie Davies. Both were in Young’s hospital room when Obama visited.
Obama recounted that when the gunman entered the movie theater and threw canisters of gas at the start of his killing spree, Allie stood up to warn people.
“And she was shot in the neck, and it punctured a vein, and immediately she started spurting blood,” Obama said.
“And apparently, as she dropped down on the floor, Stephanie, 21 years old, had the presence of mind to drop down on the ground with her, pull her out of the aisle, place her fingers over where Allie had been wounded, and applied pressure the entire time while the gunman was still shooting,” Obama said.
The president said Davies eventually joined others in carrying her friend to an ambulance. He said Young was going to be fine.
“As tragic as the circumstances of what we’ve seen today are, as heartbreaking as it is for the families, it’s worth us spending most of our time reflecting on young Americans like Allie and Stephanie,” Obama said. “They represent what’s best in us, and they assure us that out of this darkness a brighter day is going to come.”
The task of articulating sorrow and loss has become a familiar one for Obama.
