Aurora, Colorado 'Dark Knight Rises' shooting: Presidential campaigns react to incident at theater

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama's campaign said Friday it was canceling the second of two campaign events following a deadly shooting at a movie theater in Colorado. He will address the shooting at a first event at 11:20 a.m. ET in Fort Myers and then return to the White House.

Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama also both cancelled scheduled campaign events Friday. The campaign of presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney said it would continue with a planned political event.

Obama, who was alerted of the shooting around 5:30 a.m. ET by his homeland security adviser John Brennan, spent Thursday evening in Florida as part of a two-day campaign swing through the state.

Romney, who spent Thursday attending meetings at his campaign headquarters in Boston, will continue as planned with a campaign event in Bow, New Hampshire, at 12:10 p.m. ET. A spokeswoman with Romney's campaign said the Republican candidate would address Friday's deadly shooting at the event.

In a statement released early Friday morning, Romney said he and his wife Ann were "deeply saddened" by news of the shooting, which took place at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado.

"We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice," Romney wrote.

Obama also released a statement expressing grief for the victims of the shooting, writing his administration "will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time."

"As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family," Obama wrote. "All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come."

The campaigns for the candidates said Friday they were asking television stations to discontinue airing some political advertisements following a deadly shooting in Colorado.

Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney's campaign will pull all television ads in Colorado, the candidate's spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.

President Barack Obama's traveling campaign press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One the president's campaign would pull "contrast advertising."

"We have asked affiliates to pull down our contrast advertising for the time being. It takes time for stations to be able to do this, but we are making every effort," Psaki said.

An advertisement slamming Romney for reports of offshore accounts is currently in heavy rotation from Obama's campaign.

On Friday Romney's campaign released an ad hitting Obama for remarks he made regarding small business last week in Virginia.
 
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