'Barack Obama has broken the silence he has maintained on gun control since the Colorado shootings, making a plea for Democrats, Republicans and community leaders to "arrive at a consensus" on how to reduce gun violence across the United States.

At the end of a trip lasting several days that began in Aurora, Colorado, where he met with families and victims of the massacre in a cinema, the US president told an audience that such tragedies were replayed on a smaller scale in cities throughout the country on a daily basis.

"Every day and a half the number of young people we lose to violence is about the same as the number of people we lost in that movie theater," Obama said in remarks at the National Urban League Conference in New Orleans.'

Read more: Obama Calls for Gun Control Deal in Wake of Colorado Cinema Shootings