President Barack Obama emotionally addressed the nation about the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, barely fighting back tears as he spoke.

Obama addressed the shooting -- which has reportedly left 28 dead -- as both a president and a parent.

"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 anyone else would -- as a parent. And that was especially true today," Obama said. "I know there's not a parent in America who does not feel the same overwhelming grief as I do."

"Our hearts are broken today," Obama added.

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Noting other recent shootings including the massacre at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater in July, Obama added, "as a country, we have been through this too many times."

Obama also emphasized the need to take action against the rash of shootings "regardless of the politics," in an apparent reference to the debate over gun control in America.

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The president ended his speech with a scripture quote, intoning, "May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of scripture, heal the broken-hearted and bind up their wounds."

For the record: The title of this article initially misspelled the location of the shootings as Newton, not Newtown.

Watch the speech: