President Barack Obama on Thursday will pay his respects in Orlando to the victims of the country’s worst shooting massacre.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a written statement late Monday Obama would travel to the Florida city to “stand in solidarity with the community as they embark on their recovery.”
Earnest didn’t provide any details about Obama’s visit, but said additional information would be forthcoming before the trip.
Speaking in the Oval Office Monday, Obama described the attack as a result of “home grown extremism,” but said the attacker wasn’t being directed by any particular terror organization.
He described the massacre as a “devastating attack on all Americans.”
“It is one that is particularly painful for the people of Orlando, but I think we all recognize that this could have happened anywhere in this country,” Obama said. “And we feel enormous solidarity and grief on behalf of the families that have been affected.”
It was the second time Obama addressed cameras about the Orlando killings, which took place overnight Sunday at a gay night club. He said during the day afterward that the crime — where 49 people were killed and more than 50 others injured — was being investigated as a terror attack.
Obama is expected to address the shooting again Tuesday following a meeting of his National Security Council at the Treasury Department in Washington. The meeting is meant to focus on cutting off funding for ISIS.