President Barack Obama Expresses "Overwhelming Grief" Over Newtown Shooting

President Barack Obama expressed his overwhelming grief while addressing the nation Friday, shedding tears for those affected by the Newtown shooting.

Early Friday, a gunman opened fire at a Connecticut elementary school, claiming the lives of a reported 28 people, including 20 children who were pronounced dead at the scene or later died at hospitals, as well as six adults who were killed at the school, the shooter, and an unidentified male relative of the shooter at a home in Newtown, Conn.

28 people, including 20 children, gunned down in Connecticut elementary school shooting

President Obama offered his condolences to the families, and pledged every resource available to investigate the shooting, care for the victims and counsel their families.  "We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years and each time I learn the news, I react not as a president, but as anybody else would as a parent," Obama said. "And that was especially true today. I know there's not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.
"The majority of those who died today were children. Beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old," Obama continued, wiping away tears and taking a moment before continuing on. "They had their entire lives ahead of them: birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own."

Obama also expressed sadness over the fallen teachers, as well as the parents of the surviving children because "their children's innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain."

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"As a country, we have been through this too many times," he said. "Whether it's an elementary school in Newtown or a shopping mall in Oregon or a temple in Wisconsin or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics."

Watch Obama's full address below: