President Obama Calls for Stricter Gun Laws After Oregon School Shooting, Says 'Prayers and Thoughts Are Not Enough'

U.S. President Barack Obama called for stricter gun control laws Thursday after another mass casualty school shooting rocked the nation.

Obama said in a statement from the White House that something must be done to address the ongoing shooting epidemic in the U.S.

"As I said just a few months ago, and I said just a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough," Obama said during a solemn press conference Thursday.

"It's not enough," he added.

The president acknowledged that although the people who carry out these shooting are mentally ill, the U.S. is not the only country with mentally ill citizens.

"But we are not the only country on Earth who has people with mental illnesses who want to do harm to other people," he said. "We are the only advanced country on Earth who sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months."

Officials announced Thursday afternoon that ten people were killed and seven injured in a mass shooting in Roseburg, Oregon at Umpqua Community College.

The 20-year-old suspect was reportedly killed in a gunfire exchange with police after opening fire on students using multiple weapons.

In his address, the president added that he will continue to advocate for stricter gun control laws as long as mass shootings keep happening in the U.S.

"And each time this happens, I'm going to bring this up," the Commander-in-Chief said. "Each time this happens, I'm going to say that we can actually do something about it."