Tearful President Obama calls for action after shooting (+video)

Obama has called for keeping assault weapons off the streets and the White House has said he still wants Congress to reinstitute a federal ban on military-style assault weapons. But reflecting the difficult politics of gun control, Obama has not pushed for stricter laws, calling for better enforcement of existing laws instead.

The latest attack comes less than two weeks before Christmas. It appeared to be the nation's second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.

Obama spoke from the "James S. Brady Press Briefing Room," named in 2000 in honor of the former White House press secretary, James Brady, who was shot and disabled in the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981. Brady and his wife, Sarah, have become activists for gun control.

The president and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters.

"Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter," he said. "But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all us of right now."

The president pledged support to Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Said Obama: "He will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime."

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

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