Shocked and saddened: Bush ‘horrified’ by attack
“Schools should be places of safety, sanctuary and learning,” he said in reaction to the deaths of more than 30 people on the campus.
“When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom, in every American community.”
Bush spoke with Governor Timothy Kaine and Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. “I told them that Laura and I and many across our nation are praying for the victims,” Mr Bush said in the Diplomatic Room of the White House.
“Today our nation grieves with those who have lose loved ones at Virginia Tech,” he said.
White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said the president “believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed”, noting that Mr Bush and education secretary Margaret Spellings held a conference on school gun violence last October.
