President Barack Obama told CBS News on Wednesday that an unfolding mass shooting in San Bernardino was yet another in a “pattern” of such shootings in the United States “that has no parallel anywhere else in the world.”
The shooting, which reportedly took place at the Inland Regional Center, a facility that serves individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, left as many as 20 victims.
“We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world,” Obama told CBS News. “And there are some steps we can take to not eliminate every one of these mass shootings but to improve the odds that they don’t happen as frequently.”
Obama said those steps could include stronger background checks and “common sense gun safety laws,” reiterating the same call for more gun control reforms that he’s issued after past mass shootings.
“We should never think that this is something that just happens in the ordinary course of events because it doesn’t happen with the same frequency in other countries,” he said.
Watch some of Obama’s comments:
“My hope is — we’re able to contain this particular shooting,” @POTUS tells @NorahODonnell https://t.co/HvzQ0Yeat1 https://t.co/jjNND1xDKR
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 2, 2015