On Sunday night, FBI Director Jim Comey issued new statement regarding the agency's ongoing struggle with Apple to gain access to the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Comey denied that the issue is about setting a precedent for giving the agency widespread access to user data. Instead, he said, it's about "a thorough and professional investigation under law" into the December shooting deaths of 14 people.

On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym ruled that Apple should supply highly specialized software the FBI can load onto the phone to cripple a security encryption feature that erases data after too many unsuccessful unlocking attempts. Officials couldn't access the phone used by gunman Syed Farook because they don't know his passcode.

Within the first 24 hours of the investigation, an unknown San Bernardino employee, attempting to gain access to Farook's iPhone 5C, reset the iPhone's iCloud account. Had the password not been reset, Apple officials said, they may have been able to trigger an automatic iCloud backup, which could have yielded additional information from the device without the need for its passcode.

On Saturday night, the FBI countered Apple's claims, saying San Bernardino officials were working in concert with the FBI and claiming they would need Apple's assistance regardless of the password reset.

In Sunday night's statement, Comey reiterated this line, saying, "We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly. That's it. We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land."

However, Comey's statement also hinted at the larger issue of encryption laws in the U.S. with regard to personal privacy when he wrote, "I hope folks will take a deep breath and stop saying the world is ending, but instead use that breath to talk to each other ... we have awesome new technology that creates a serious tension between two values we all treasure –- privacy and safety ... It should be resolved by the American people deciding how we want to govern ourselves in a world we have never seen before."

Read Comey's entire statement below:

The San Bernardino litigation isn't about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message. It is about the victims and justice. Fourteen people were slaughtered and many more had their lives and bodies ruined. We owe them a thorough and professional investigation under law. That's what this is. The American people should expect nothing less from the FBI. The particular legal issue is actually quite narrow. The relief we seek is limited and its value increasingly obsolete because the technology continues to evolve. We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly. That's it. We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land. I hope thoughtful people will take the time to understand that. Maybe the phone holds the clue to finding more terrorists. Maybe it doesn’t. But we can't look the survivors in the eye, or ourselves in the mirror, if we don't follow this lead. Reflecting the context of this heart-breaking case, I hope folks will take a deep breath and stop saying the world is ending, but instead use that breath to talk to each other. Although this case is about the innocents attacked in San Bernardino, it does highlight that we have awesome new technology that creates a serious tension between two values we all treasure — privacy and safety. That tension should not be resolved by corporations that sell stuff for a living. It also should not be resolved by the FBI, which investigates for a living. It should be resolved by the American people deciding how we want to govern ourselves in a world we have never seen before. We shouldn't drift to a place — or be pushed to a place by the loudest voices — because finding the right place, the right balance, will matter to every American for a very long time. So I hope folks will remember what terrorists did to innocent Americans at a San Bernardino office gathering and why the FBI simply must do all we can under the law to investigate that. And in that sober spirit, I also hope all Americans will participate in the long conversation we must have about how to both embrace the technology we love and get the safety we need. Jim Comey Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Additional reporting by Karissa Bell