Obama laments Boulder shooting, says 'once-in-a-century pandemic' can't be only reason such violence slows

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

last updated 23 March 2021

Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday issued a statement in response to Monday's mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, where 10 people were killed. A suspect is in custody and has been charged with 10 counts of murder.

Obama lamented the violence, but also called for renewed gun control efforts. "Because in addition to grief, we are also in a deep, familiar outrage that we as a nation continue to tolerate these kinds of random, senseless acts day in and day out without taking any significant action," he said.

He urged "those with the power to fight this epidemic of gun violence to do so," because "a once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country," he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic that has contributed to a lower-than-usual number of shootings over the past year. "We shouldn't have to choose between one type of tragedy and another," he said. Read the full statement below. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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