Dark Knight Rises Tragedy: President Obama Meets With Victims' Families, Vows to Invoke "Full Force" of Justice

Commander in chief traveled to Colorado Sunday, where he honored the memories of those who perished and celebrated the heroism of those who put their lives ahead of others

By Alexis L. Loinaz Jul 23, 2012 1:16 PMTags
President Barack ObamaChip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As the fallout to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history continues to reverberate, President Barack Obama met with victims' families Sunday in Colorado to offer words of comfort.

The visit comes just as the Arapahoe County Coroner has identified the 12 people whose lives were tragically cut short by suspected gunman James Holmes early Friday morning at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in a Denver-area suburb.

The president visited the University of Colorado Hospital late Sunday afternoon, where he met privately with families of the victims, NBC News reports.

Afterward, accompanied by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, he delivered remarks that honored the memories of those who perished, celebrated the heroism of those who put their lives ahead of others, and vowed to bring the "full force" of justice on Holmes, who was not once mentioned by name.

"Out of this darkness a brighter day is going to come," Obama said.

"Although the perpetrator of this evil act has received a lot of attention over the last couple of days," he added, "that attention will fade away. And in the end, after he has felt the full force of our justice system, what will be remembered are the good people who were impacted by this tragedy."

Meanwhile, on Sunday local police successfully removed all remaining hazards from Holmes' apartment, which had been booby-trapped with "sophisticated" explosives that law-enforcement officials said were "designed to kill" whoever entered it.

Authorities also reportedly found a slew of Batman-related paraphernalia in the apartment, including a poster on a wall and a Batman mask.

Holmes is scheduled to appear in court this morning at 9:30 a.m. to face charges.