President Barack Obama’s campaign said Friday it was canceling the second of two campaign events following a deadly shooting at a movie theater in Colorado. He will address the shooting at a first event at 11:20 a.m. ET in Fort Myers and then return to the White House.
Meanwhile, the campaign of presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney said Friday it would continue with planned political events.
Obama, who was alerted of the shooting around 5:30 a.m. ET by his homeland security adviser John Brennan, spent Thursday evening in Florida as part of a two-day campaign swing through the state.
Romney, who spent Thursday attending meetings at his campaign headquarters in Boston, will continue as planned with a campaign event in Bow, New Hampshire, at 12:10 p.m. ET. A spokeswoman with Romney’s campaign said the Republican candidate would address Friday’s deadly shooting at the event.
In a statement released early Friday morning, Romney said he and his wife Ann were “deeply saddened” by news of the shooting, which took place at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado.
“We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice,” Romney wrote.