President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on Friday planned to privately meet with the families of victims of a terrorist attack in San Bernardino earlier this month that left 14 people dead, according to the White House.
The meeting comes just over two weeks after the Dec. 2 mass shooting at San Bernardino’s Inland Regional Center left a community devastated and reignited the national debate over gun control and how to deal with international terrorism.
The Obamas planned to depart from the South Lawn of the White House and land at the San Bernardino International Airport Friday night and meeting with families of the slain victims.
Temporary flight restrictions in the area — from 7:15 to 10:30 p.m. — indicated the meeting would be brief. No road closures had been announced as of the morning.
After the visit, Barack and Michelle Obama planned to continue on to Hawaii for a previously scheduled vacation.
First responders and the shooting's 22 injured victims were not expected to be at the meeting with Obama, according to San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman, who criticized the lack of inclusion.
“He could do more than what he’s doing,” Hagman said. “It doesn’t show the magnitude of how hard this community’s been hit.”
The survivors, and responders who did "an incredible job of putting their lives on the line for all of us" deserved a word of encouragement from the president, Hagman said, adding that the president "should take this opportunity to express the gratitude of the American people to these heroes face-to-face."…