In a somber press conference Thursday, President Obama mourned the nine victims who were killed when a gunman opened fire Wednesday night during a prayer meeting at a Charleston, South Carolina church. Obama decried the attack, which the FBI is investigating as a hate crime, for its allegedly racist undertones, and lamented the lack of tighter gun-control laws. "Once again, innocent people were killed because someone who intended harm had no trouble getting hands on a gun," he said. "At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence doesn't happen in other advanced countries... with this frequency."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policyspeed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
The Week Junior Book Awards 2025 Shortlist AnnouncedThe Week Junior Book Awards have unveiled the 2025 shortlist, celebrating the best in children’s literature across 13 categories.
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as presidentspeed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC paradespeed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museumspeed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attackSpeed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglersspeed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
