President Obama was visibly emotional addressing the shooting massacre today at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. that left 27 people dead, including 18 children between the ages of five and 10.

In a brief statement, Obama, who at one point flicked away a tear, said he reacted to the news not as commander-in-chief, but as the father of two grade-school children.

“We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years,” Obama said. “And each time I hear the news I react not as a president, but as anyone would. As a parent.”

Obama said he has been in contact with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, which is investigating the incident. Police in Connecticut have identified the shooter, who was among the dead, as 20-year-old Adam Lanza. In a directive released shortly before he took the podium, Obama also ordered flags at U.S. government and military sites to fly at half-staff until next Tuesday.

But Obama’s remarks were more about the shock and grief of the horrific scene that unfolded in Connecticut. “They had their entire lives ahead of them,” he said. “Birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.

“Our hearts are broken,” Obama continued. “They know their children’s innocense has been torn away from them too early. as a country we’ve been through this too many times. These children are our children. We’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”

He also remembered the teachers who counted among the victims: “Men and women who devoted their lives to helping these children achieve their dreams.”

The mention of the politics of firearms, however, sounded almost unfamiliar coming from Obama, who has shied away from the issue since taking office. Earlier in the day White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that today was “not the day” to discuss gun control, an issue that was nearly absent from Obama’s re-election campaign this year. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, a pro-gun control group, is holding a rally outside the White House at 4:30 p.m.

Obama finished by saying that he and first lady Michelle Obama would, “hug our children a little tighter and tell them that we love them. There are families in Connecticut that cannot do that tonight.”

Full transcript:

This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller. I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation, and made it clear he will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, care for the victims, counsel their families.

We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news I react not as a president, but as anybody else would—as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there’s not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.

The majority of those who died today were children—beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them—birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers—men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams.

So our hearts are broken today—for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain.

As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago — these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.

This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter and we’ll tell them that we love them, and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another. But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight. And they need all of us right now. In the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as Americans. And I will do everything in my power as president to help.

Because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need—to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories but also in ours.

May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.