President Barack Obama's executive actions on gun control could not come at a more urgent time. On the same day that he delivered an emotional speech announcing his proposals to expand background checks and gun safety measures on Tuesday, a dozen people were victimized by gun violence in his hometown of Chicago.

With tears streaming down his face, the president condemned widespread gun violence across the country and promised to take action to reduce it, with or without support from Congress.

"In this room right here, there are a lot of stories. There's a lot of heartache," Obama said Tuesday morning while standing in the East Room with relatives of victims of mass shootings. "There's a lot of resilience, there's a lot of strength, but there's also a lot of pain."

The president was overcome with emotion when he began talking about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which led to the deaths of 20 first-grade students.

"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," he said, wiping away tears. "And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day."

However, just before he stepped to the podium to deliver his anti-gun violence speech, a 43-year-old man and a 26-year-old man had already been shot in Chicago, reports CNN. Meanwhile, a third person was shot about an hour after Obama spoke.

Before the day ended, nine more people were shot, bringing the total number of shooting victims to 12 and the number of fatalities to four. However, no one was brought into custody in connection with any of the shootings as of midday Wednesday.

According to CNN, 47 people were shot between Jan. 1 and Jan. 5, 2016, a 176 percent spike in shootings compared to the same time last year.

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