President Obama suggested Wednesday that a series of shootings in Canada may have been acts of terrorism and said he has directed U.S. authorities to work closely with the Canadian government, in part to protect the long border between the two countries.
“Obviously the situation there is tragic,” Mr. Obama told reporters in the Oval Office. “When it comes to dealing with terrorist activity, Canada and the United States have to be entirely in sync. Obviously we’re all shaken by it.”
Mr. Obama said his advisers “don’t yet have all the information about what motivated the shooting. … whether this was part of a broader network or plan.”
But he added of the attacks in Ottawa, “It emphasizes the degree to which we have to remain vigilant when it comes to dealing with these kinds of acts of senseless violence or terrorism.”
Mr. Obama spoke by phone to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Wednesday afternoon.
“I pledged as always to make sure that our national security teams are coordinating very closely, given that not only is Canada one of our closest allies in the world, but our neighbors and our friends … [and] we have such a long border,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we’re standing side by side with Canada.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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