hello, everyone, it is noon here in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west and here's what's happening now. in just a few minutes, president obama will speak from warsaw, poland. that's where he has been attending a series of nato meetings after a shortstop president will return to washington tomorrow night. a full day earlier than

expected. this so he can prepare for a visit to dallas early next week. back here state side, it was a tense night as people filled the streets in half a dozen cities to protest the police involved shooting of two black men in minnesota and louisiana earlier this week. in atlanta, a crowd of thousands brought traffic to a standstill. while in rochester, new york, 74 people were arrested on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to resisting arrest. then to phoenix, arizona, where police hit protesters with pepper spray and bean bags. three were arrested. six more were injured in that melee. however, in dallas, a quieter scene of people gathering for an interfaith prayer service. this for the five police officers killed in thursday's shootings. let's head to dallas. and chris jansing, who join us us. a good day to you. please set the scene for us and talk about the mood there. >> a lot of tears today. i spent quite a wit bit of time

the memorial and talked to people. just about why they came. we've seen those pictures you've shown those pictures of police cars filled, overcome with memorials of people who have written notes, families coming. parents with their children who are trying to explain exactly what happened and why it happened. and so, here's a little sense of what people in the city of dallas are feeling today. >> we're here from mckenny and we want the city to unit. >> the thing about that happening, it's a tragedy. >> i want them to know you know, that we have to give thanks because we're going this togts. it's just not a one person thing. it's a whole community you know, i keep reminding them that the police officers always keeps us safe in the community and you know, we just have to give

thanks. >> it was really heartbreaking to see how much emotion is is down there and how desperately people are trying to heal what has happened here in this community and in the meantime, we're learning a lot more about the man who was the shooter. micah johnson. nbc news has talked to the military lawyer. while he was afghanistan we are told in 2014, he was accused by a female comrade of sexual harassment and there was a plea deal that was done. he did not get an honorable discharge, but as part of the deal, got a general discharge, but was told to stay away from her. got a protective order against him. came back to the where friends and family are trying to reconcile the person they think they knew with what happened here in dallas. his sister had posted something on facebook saying this is not the person she knew. that post has been taken down. the dallas morning news doing a lot of reporting about his

background. trying to talk to friends, people who knew him. who said he had an obsession with heavy weaponry and we saw that as we've been reporting, that when they went to his apartment. they saw the signs of that, of bomb making materials and the other thing that i think we're learning about him today is that there was many inconsistencies. he helped to care for a younger brother. he was somebody who was a loner, but nobody ever saw as and we often hear this in these cases, no one ever saw him as being violent in any way and other than that obsession with heavy weaponry, no signs. now, here back at the scene of the crime, we see that everything is still blocked off. we have seen a fairly light police presence, but when i was down at the police headquarters today, i had a chance to talk for a while to the state attorney general who was really going there to pay his respects as well. he says he's never seen in all

his years as a prosecutor and as attorney general, a crime scene quite this large and complex. you can just imagine what the number of people that were here, the interviews still going on. and when i asked him if he thought that there would be criminal charges brought in this case, he said that it was really too early to tell. but right now, this is a community that seems to be focused on trying to heal from what obviously has been the devastation and as the shock is wearing off, the realization of what has happened here, alex. >> you know, not with standing the allegations of harassment within the military circles, was micah johnson known at all to local police? >> you know, the only, the thing this we've seen reported was that there was a time and you wonder obviously what triggered it. that's the question everybody wants to ask, right, is why. for example, that a call was made one time when he was sitting in his chevy tahoe at a mall in suburban dallas and

somebody was called over there. they were looking at all these instances that don't seem to add up to much. when you really look at them. certainly not a tip off that something like this would happen. >> okay. chris jansing in dallas. thank you so much. we'll see you again. let's head over to tammy. across town at the baylor university medical center with the latest on the people who were injured in thursday's shootings. what do you know about that? >> good morning. one victim has been released. there's others still here. overnight, we spoke with the sister of one of the women who was shot in the leg. she was shot while trying to protect her children as well as somebody else's children. doctors have not told her when she'll be able to leave. she's just grateful she's going to be okay. we always spoke with an er doctor who was here who treated all the victims as they came in. he described the scene as completely chaotic. let's listen to what else he had to say. >> focus on the work.

everybody's blood pressure goes up, but it's, it's about getting the job done. you've got to stay focused. >> and getting that many victims, does that put a strain on your hospital? >> it does. it does. but we have disaster plans. we implemented immediately. we probably had 50 volunteers that were home watching the news, saw this, put on their scrub, came into work uncalled. i had five docs that i called on my drive in to work and they were ready to come in. >> there was a nurse working in the er at that time and she's actually married to a police officer. and she describes that moment when she was treating all of these victims and she suddenly realized they were police officers. she said it was just heartbreaking. >> oh, tammy, i can't even imagine the kind of aunguish

knowing how tight that community of blue really is is. it is heroic the way the doctors and nurses respond to that. is there an update on those that remain in the hospital? other than the one civilian who would be released at some point. do we know anything about the police officers and the extent of their injuries? >> well, we know there were three officers from the dallas area rapid trans d.a.r.t. and they work on the rails around here. one of those officers has been released. he was released yesterday. the other two are still in the hospital, but we're told they're pechted to make full recoveries. >> oh, that is good news. thank you very much. we'll check in again with you. as for the president, he was yesterday in warsaw for a nato summit addressing thursday night's shootings in dallas. >> i believe that i speak for every single american when i say we are horrified over these events. and that we stand united with the people and the police department in dallas. anyone involved in these senseless murders will be held

fully accountable. justice done. >> let's bring in james peterson, the director of africana studies at lehigh university. great to see you. before thursday's shootings in dallas, the president said that all americans should be troubled by what had previously happened in louisiana and minnesota. these two separate intanss of african-american men shot to death by police. why do we continue to see these deadly confrontations between police and african-americans? >> well, we haven't addressed the root causes of white supremacy and racism. we cover these things. we talk about them. but we don't get down to the brass tax of how's law enforcement trained. can we really radically rethink and overhaul how law enforcement and our criminal justice department system works in this nation and again, this is you know, this is such tough week

for so many communities. so many families who have lost loved ones to unfortunate violence over the last week. but what's interesting to me as someone who's been looking at these things over the last several years, the way that folks feel in response to the awful shooting of those law enforcement officers in dallas. the sort of an electic response. the empathy and the compassion and the wondering why this is happening or how this is happening. i think folks need to understand that that's how some people feel, particularly people in the black community every time one of these unfortunate instances happen between law enforcement and a motorist or law enforcement and someone who's trying to make a living on the streets of america and so, there's, there is a way in which there's a moment right now where we can connect along the lines of emp. >> and embrace all the different perspectives. no matter which you personally

hold. you know, the education. but training, you talk about james, dallas. this is one city that has taken these steps to improve relations between the police and black community. what about thursday's attack? do you worry that a wedge could be driven between the community and negate all the gains that have been made there? >> we have the acknowledge the great progress the dallas pd has made, especially under the leadership of chief brown. but we don't have to look too far into the history of the dallas police department to see they've had some of the same challenges. and so i think when we think about dallas, here's what we need to understand. and this is a message to folks in the media, too, alex. the rhetoric that we have, the kind of vitriol and hate that's in political discourse,

unfortunately creates contexts where extremists will take advantage of our vulnerabilities and they are when we all sort of go to our extremes instead of thinking about ways in which we can come to the table and address some of the main challenges this nation faces. again, some of this is is about white supremacy, access to guns. think about the ways in which our veterans are interpreted into this story. the assailant here was a veteran. some of victims were veterans. in order to make some progress here. it's a dark moment in the nation's history. it's difficult to see a way out of it and a way through it, but it's long haul work. and it's about having conversations and really rooting out white supremacy and biases in our institutions as the first step of sort of starting to try to repair these issues. >> it's about ditching a moppic view and really embracing so

many different viewpoints and educatinging ourselves. but a question to you, separate these incidents if you can from race relations. the black community may view it vastly differently in the day-to-day relations with police, but all views may be tainted. what does it say about us as a nation? >> well, it says as a nation that we are susceptible to diminished thinking and reflek in aftermath of terrorist activity. we have to put this in the context of how terrorism has operate nd this nation. we're barely a year out from dylann roof and so, the reality is that we're in sort of perpetual state of post-traumatic stress, but this is a moment for empathy. i know that folks are feeling vulnerable and people feel especially vulnerable on the national level when law enforcement is assassinate td in thed in this way. this is the feeling that black

folks feel when they get into their car and they're trying to drive from home to work. when they're trying to make a living on the street and they have to encounter or have multiple run ins with law enforcement and that's an opportunity for us to have an em pathic connection to try to address theseishes. if you doebt want to talk about white supremacy and racism, you don't want to solve these challenges. if you don't want to talk about access to guns and the capacity for us to address mental health issues, you don't want to solve these issues. these are tough conversations we have to have and we need political leadership to show part of the way, to partner with our civic leadership in all these great activists to try to get real change. >> and as you mentioned dylann roof, charleston, those people that were victim, embracing them and saying they forgive and i'll never forget those moments. absolutely extraordinary. we could all adopt that

attitude, it might help a lot. >> you won't see those comments directed at the assailant in dallas. there's a moment for empathy here, whether or not we seize it is is on the onus of people and our political leaders. >> good to talk with you. thank you, james. stopping gun crime. cent events have this country debating it again. is it as simple as passing more laws or strengthening exists ones? i'm going to ask a mother who lost her son to gun violence about that, and more. ♪ ♪ (vo) you can pass down a subaru forester. (dad) she's all yours. (vo) but you get to keep the memories. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

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with many families grieving across this country, let's bring in national spokesperson for moms demand action for gun sense in america. her son, jordan, was shot and killed in 2012 when a man who

objected to the loud music being played opened fire into the car in which her son was sitting. our condolences for your loss, but i know you're taking anchor here and when you look back at this week and you see not one, but two highly publicized shootings by police, what was your reaction? >> well, i have just been completely disheartened. it has been so tragic for me and i've been mourning every single day. as i've been watching you know, the video on television and just being reminded all over again of the kind of tragedy that i not only i have been suffering, but that we know these kinds of tragedies happen again and again and again disproportionately to young men of color. we're seeing increased tragedies with law enforcement and it's been very disconcerting to watch it. >> do you find yourself in disbelief sometimes, like how can can this continue happening?

>> i am completely in disbelief and completely reeling and not understanding why our legislators are not willing to stand up and enact common sense legislation to help prevent these kind of tragedies from happening over and over and over again. >> and over. >> of just morally and ethically what we see happening in the country is so disconcert iing a how many more people have to die? how many more tranlg diswill we have to witness before our ledge islator rs will stand up and do something about what we see happening. in the country. and i implore all americans to stand up and put pressure on our legislators to really be beholden to keeping the communities and people safe. you know, we are the constituents. that placed our ledge is laters in office and they have to be beholden to us to keeping us

safe and free from being gunned down in our own communities. >> absolutely. well said right there. you talk about seeing things and witnessing things and in fact, these two shootings this week received national attention, social media. there was streaming video as well. do you think that this is bringing a new awareness, particularly to the tense relationship between african-americans and police that exists in this country? >> absolutely. i think that you know, disproportionately in the minority community, these kinds of crimes and behavior have been going on all along. that's not to put a blanket statement and say all law enforcement are creating these kinds of heinous crimes and tragedies, but young men of color between the ages of 15 and 34 are the ones dying senselessly to these kinds of tragedy in minority communities, and so i think that the fact we're seeing these things played out before the public arena, played out on television, is

bringing a new light and measures to you know, communities being able to really see what's happening. you know, disproportionately across the country. and i think at this point that our legislators and community leaders cannot turn a blind eye. any longer as to what's happening. >> how many times have we said that. in the wake of so many instances shooting. go back the newtown and people thought in the wake of that, seeing those young first grand graders slaughtered, that there might be change at that point. if there are those who say i don't know if it's going to happen from capitol hill, what else can be done to help curb gun violence in this country? >> well, i think that i have to applaud congressman lewis and i have to applaud our legislators that stood up and sat in you know, during legislative convening over these kinds o crimes that continue to happen over and over again. i think it's a means of having to go back to the old measures that we used to take in the

civil rights area. civil rights arena. you know, people standing up and going to the streets and we'll take our clergy taking the congregations to the polls to vote out of office our legislators not being beholden to the will of the people. it takes more than just having our legislators there in their convenings on the floor trying to enact these common sense solutions. it's going to take community leadership. it's going to take people in our communities. talking to our legislators, going to the houses and demand ing that they pay heed to keeping us safe. it's going to have to be the will of the people. we're going to have to go beyond the vigils. we're going to have to go rallying in the streets. we're going to have to place pressure an all of our legislative houses to let them know that we mean business. >> i think though with sunday proceeding any workday come monday, there will be a lot of sermons from the pulpit tomorrow dealing with this. thank you so much for your time.

>> thank you very much very having me. presidential politics. both campaigns reacting to this week's shootings. the candidate's thoughts and how this debate will shape the election in its final months.

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and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon. stay strong. stay active with boost®. not suprisingly, thursday's shooting has impacted the presidential campaign. after the death of five plif, dt canceled his events on friday. >> a brutal attack on our police force is an attack on our country and an attack on our families. we must stand in solidarity with law enforcement, which we must remember is the force between civilization and total chaos. >> let's bring in hugh hewitt, an msnbc political analyst.

we have been given a two-minute warning to the president's news conference. so we'll start our discussion and should we get cut off, it is for that reason. i know you recently came out in support of mr. trump. his response here. what do you think of it? >> it's measured. it's appropriate. i remember in 1992 when i began my broadcast career in los angeles. los angeles burned during the riots and president bush sort of fumbled that response where as bill clinton came to los angeles, walked along the burning streets and really demonstrated a capacity to lead in troubled times. i think both candidates reacted well yesterday. and need to continue to react in a measured tone that is concerned both for victims like mr. castile and sterling and especially for police who are on the line every day and i think the los angeles model will be very useful in informing the discussion going forward. what happened in los angeles after those riots and what needs to happen across the united states and other police

departments. >> i was in los angeles at that time and remember every minute. let's talk about your reactions to the shootings in dallas and you have spoken out in defense of the second amendment. >> of course. i am a big supporter. your previous guest who was very, very well spoken -- >> unfortunately, it's a bit of a loss here. hang on just a moment as i'm going to have to cut you off. here's the president. >> it is my third visit to poland. each time, we have been received with tremendous friendship and it signifies the close bonds between our two countries. i want to begin this press conference with events back home. this has been a tough week. first and foremost for the families who have been killed. but also for the entire american family. in my call yesterday to attorney general lynch, i stressed that

the justice department and our fellow government should continue to do everything we can to assist the investigation in dallas. and to support the police and the city of dallas as they deal with this tragedy. in my call to chief brown. i commended him for showing outstanding leadership during an extremely challenging time and asked him to convey to all the officers and their families that the american people are grievinging with them and that we stand with them. i'll have the opportunity to convey our condolences and show solidarity when i visit dallas in a few days. but before i do, let me just make some very brief points. first of all, as painful as this week has been, i firmly believe that american is not as divided

as some have suggested. americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, whether it's in dallas or any place else. that includes protesters. includes family members. who have grave concerns about police conduct. and they have said this is unacceptable. there's no division there. and americans of all races and all backgrounds are also rightly saddened and angered about the deaths of sterling and castile and the problem of african-americans and latinos being treated differently in our criminal justice system.

so, there is sorrow. there is anger. there is confusion. about next steps. but there's unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. this is not who we want to be as a americans. and that serves as the basis for us being able to move forward. in a constructive and positive way. so, we cannot let the actions of a few define all of us. the demented individual who

carried out those attacks in dallas, he's no more representative of african-americans than the shooter in charleston was representative of white americans. or the shooter in orlando or san bernardino were representative of muslim americans. they don't speak for us. that's not who we are. one of the things that gives me hope this week is actually seeing how the overwhelming majority of americans have reacted. with empathy. and understanding. we've seen police continue to reach out to communities that they serve all across the country. and show incredible professio l professionalism as they're protecting protesters. we've seen activists and grass roots groups who have expressed

concern about police shootings, but are also adamant in their support of the dallas police department. which is particularly appropriate because the dallas police department is a great example of a department that is taken the issue of police shootings seriously. and has engaged in an approach that has not only brought down their murder rate, but also drastically reduced complaints around police misconduct f. that's the spirit that we all need to embrace. that's the spirit that i want to build on. it's one of the reasons why next week, using the task force that we have set up after ferguson, but also building on it and

inviting both police and law enforcement and community activists and civil rights leaders, bringing them together to the white house. i want to start moving on constructive actions that are actually going to make a difference because that is is what all americans want. so, when we start suggesting that somehow, there's this enormous polarization and we're back to the situation in the '60s and that's just not true. you're not seeing riots and you're not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully. you've seen almost uniformly peaceful protests. and you've seen uniformly police handling those protests with

professionalism. as tough, hard, as depressing as the leadoff of life was this week, we've got a foundation to build on. >> we just have to have confidence that we can build on those better angles of our nature. and we have to make sure that all of us step back, do some reflection and make sure that the rhetoric that we engage in is constructive and not destructive. that we're not painting anybody with an overly broad brush. that we're not constantly thinking the worst in other people rather than best.

if we do that, then i'm confidence that we will continue to make progress. now, here in europe, this is a pivotal moment for our alliance. in the nearly 70 years of nato, perhaps never we've faced such a wide range of challenging at once. huma the united states, canada, france, belgium and turkey have endured heinous terror attacks directed or inspired by isil. russia has violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent nation, ukraine, an engaged in provocative behavior. borders have been tested by millions of migrants fleeing conflicts and deprivation and the vote in united kingdom to

leave the eu has raised questions about the future of european integration. in this challenging moment, i want to take this opportunity to state clearly what will never change and that is the unwaivering commitment of the united states to the security and defense of europe. to our transatlantic relationship. to our commitment to our common defense. next year will mark the 100th anniversary of american troops arriving on european soil in the first world war and ever since, through two world wars, a long cold war in the decades since, generations of americans have served here for our common security. in quiet cemeteries from france to the netherlands to italy, americans still rest where they fell. even now more than 60,000

american military personnel serve in dozens of european countries. and my point is this. in good times and in bad, europe can count on the united states. always. hear in warsaw, we haven't simply reaffirmed our enduring article 5 obligations to our common security, we're moving forward with the most significant reenforcement of our collective defense anytime since the cold war. first, we're strengthening nato's strength and deterrence posture, building on our european reassurance initiative, which has increased readness from the baltics to the black sea. our alliance will enhance our forward presence on our eastern flank. the united states will be the lead nation here in poland, deploying a bah talianl of amern

soldiers. this will mean some 4,000 additional nato troops on a rotational basis in this region. more over, the additional u.s. armored brigade will rotate through europe including an additional 4,000 u.s. troops. meanwhile to the south, we agreed on new deter rans methods. so we are clear sebding a message with will defend the ally. and strengthing our forces against a range of threats. nato's task force is operational and can deploy anywhere in europe on short progress. with recent progress here, nato's ballistic missile defense is coming online and we're launching a new effort to boost the resilience of allies to better defend against new type

of threats including cyber attacks. nato is increasing our support to ukraine. in a meeting, e with agreed on a new assistance package to improve aligned support for ukrainian forces. prime minister cameron, chancellor merkel and i met with president por shen ko and reaffirmed our strong support for ukraine's integrity as well as the need to continue political and economic reforms. thank you, i'm already getting applause. i'm not even finished yet. and even as the nato russia council will meet in brussels next week, our 28 nations are united in our view that there can be no business as usual with russia until it fully implements its minsk obligations. nato will do more also to fight against terrorist networks.

every alley already contributes to the campaign dwens isil. now, they'll continue aircraft to improve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance against isil. nato training of iraqi security forces run in jordan, will move to iraq, where they can be even more effective and building on my decision to largely maintain the current u.s. troop presence in afghanistan into next year, 39 nations including the u.s. have committed more than 12,000 troops to nato's training mission. and in addition, some 30 nations have pledged upwards of $900 million to help sustain afghan forces. which is a very strong message of our enduringing commitment to afghanistan. we're bolsters our efforts on nato's southern flank. the alliance will increase our support to eu naval operations in the mediterranean, to stop arms traffickers and go after criminal exploiting desperate migrants and we're going to do

more to help partners from north africa to the middle east, georgia, strengthen their own defense, capacity. and finally after many year, nato has stopped the collective decline in defense spending. over the past two year, most nato members have halted cuts and begun investing more in defense. and this means defense spending across the alliance is now scheduled to increase. i especially want to commend our friends in the uk, poland, greece, estonia, all who along with the united states, pay their full share of at least 2% of gdp for our collective defense. but for those of you doing the math, that means that the jot of allies are still not hitting that 2% mark. on obligation we agreed to in wales. so we had a very candid conversation about this. there's a recognition that given the range of threats that we

face and the capabilities that we need, everybody's got to sfep up and got to do better. so inclosing, i just note this is my final nato summit. throughout my time in office, one of my top foreign policy priorities has been to strengthen our alliances, especially with nato. and as i reflect on the past eight years, both the progress and challenges, i can say with confidence that we've delivered on that promise. the united states has increased our presence here in europe. nato is as strong, nimble and ready as ever. and as we see from the presence of monte negative owe at this summit, the door to nato membership remains open to those who can meet our high standards. so nobody should doubt this allowance to stay united and focused on the future. just as our nations have stood together over the past hundred

year, i know we'll stay united and grow even stronger for another hundred more. with that, let me take some questions. i'm going start with kathleen hennessey of ap. >> thanks, mr. president. i wanted to specifically ask about the dallas shooting. and the attacker there now that we know more about the man who we believe did those crimes. i'm wondering if you could help us understand how you describe his motives, do you consider this an act of domestic terrorism? was this a hate crime? was this a mentally ill man with a gun? how should americans understand why that happened? and then also on the issue of political division in looking for solutions, there have been some critics who noted that you immediately mentioned your call for gun control soon after the attacks. do you think that in any way encourages or ensures that

people retreat to their corners as they think about this? >> first of all, i think it's very hard to untangle the motives of this shooter. as we've seen in a whole range of incidents with mass shooters, they're by definition, troubled. by definition, if you shoot people who pose no threat to you, strangers, you have a troubled mind. what triggers that, what feeds it, what sets it off. you know, i'll leave that to the psychologists and people who study these kinds of incidents. what i can say is that although

he may have used as an excuse his anger about previous incidents as has been indicated at least in the press, and as chief brown i think indicated. in no way does that represent what the overall majority of americans think. americans to a large degree, want to make sure that we have a police force that is supported. because they know our police officers do a really tough, dangerous job. and witness the professionalism of our dallas police officers as they were being shot at, the

fact that they helped to clear the area, they helped to get the fallen and the injured out of there. they were able to isolate the suspect. and that you didn't have other casualties as a consequence of the police shooting back. that just gives you an indication of what a tough job they have and how well they do it on a regular basis. so, i think the danger as i said, is that we somehow suggest that the act of a troubled individual speaks to some larger political statement across the country. it doesn't. you know, when some white kid walks into a church and shoots a

bunch of worshippers who invite him to worship with them, we don't assume that somehow, he's making a political statement that's relevant to the attitudes of the rest of america. and we shouldn't make those assumptions around a troubled muslim individual who is acting on their own in that same way. now, with respect to the issue of guns. i am going to keep on talking about the fact that we cannot eliminate all racial tension in our country overnight. we are not going to be able to identify ahead of time an

eliminate every madman or troubled individual. who might want to do harm against innocent people. but we can make it harder for them to do so. and if you look at the pattern of death and violence and shootings that we've experienc d ed over the course of the last year, or the last five years or the last ten years, i've said this before. we are unique among advanced countries. in the scale of violence that we experience and i'm not just talking about mass shootings. i'm talking about the hundreds

of people who have already been shot this year in my hometown of chicago. the ones that we just consider routine. now, we may not see that issue as connected to what happened in dallas, but part of what's creating tensions between communities and the police is the fact that police have a really difficult time in communities where they know guns are everywhere. as i said before, they have a right to come home and now, they have very little margin of error in terms of making decisions, so if wrou care about the safety of our police officers, then you can't set aside the gun issue and pretend that that's irrelevant.

at the protests in dallas, one of the challenges for the dallas police department as they're being shot at is because this is an open carry state, there are a bunch of people participate ng the protests who have weapons on them. imagine if you're a police officer and you're trying sort out who is shooting at you and there are a bunch of people who have got guns on them. in minneapolis, we don't know yet what happened, but we know that there was a gun in the car that apparently, was licensed.

but it caused in some fashion, those tragic events. so, no, we can't just ignore that and pretend that's somehow political or the president is pushing his policy agenda. it is a contributing factor. not the sole factor, but the contributing factor to the broader tensions that arise between police and the communities where they serve. and so we have to talk about that. and as i've said before, there is a way to talk about that this is consistent with our constitution. and the second amendment. the problem is even mention of it somehow invokes this kind of polarization and you're right. when it comes to the issue of gun safety, there is polarization.

between a very intense minority and a majority of americans who actually think that we could be doing better. when it comes to gun safety, but that expresses itself in stark terms when it comes to legislation and congress or in state legislatures and that's too bad. we're going to have to tackle that at some point and i'm not going to stop talking about it. because if we don't talk about it, we're not going solve these understood lying problems. it's part of the problem. carol lee. >> thank you, mr. president. you mentioned san bernardino and orlando and americans have been warned that similar attacks could happen here in the united, over there in the united states and obviously, r what happened this week in minnesota and louisiana and dallas.

these are not necessarily same types of attacks and the motivations may be different, but collectively, they're having a real impact on the american public and in that, there's a real anxiety out there where people are genuinely afraid going about their daily lives, doing routine things. my questions are, do you see any common thread in these events, you know, is this sort of a just a new normal. is there anything that you can do about this and what's your message to americans who are genuinely afraid because the anxiety just seems to be getter worse, not better and these attacks keep seeming to happen in much more regularity that wasn't a part of their experience even say a year ago. >> well, i do think we have to disentangle these issues. when it comes to terrorist attacks, people are understandly

concerned not just because of what's happened main the united states, but what's happened in brussels, in paris and what's happened in turkey. and what is consistently happening in iraq. and bangladesh and all around the world. and that's why the work we've done with nato and our counterisil coalition and other partners is so vital. one of the things that's been commented on is that as isil loses territory and the fraud of the caliphate becomes more obvious, they're going to start resulting to more traditional terrorist tactics. they can't govern.

they can't deliver anything meaningful to the people who's territory they control, the one thing they know how to do is kill. and so, we're going to have to redouble our efforts in terms of intelligen intelligence, coordination. our countermessaging on extremism. working closely with muslim communities, both overseas and in our own countries to make sure that we are reducing the number of people who are inspired by their message or are in some fashion trying to attack us. obviously, we have built up a huge infrastructure, the more successful we are, iraq and syria and other places where

isil has gotten a stronghold, the weaker they are the less resources they have, the less effectively they can recruit. when individuals are willing to die, and they have no conscious and compunction about killing innocent people, they are hard to detect and it means that we've got to continuely up our game. having said that, i think it is important to note just the success we've seen in the last several weeks when it comes to rolling back al-qaeda. the liberation of fallujah got a little bit lost in the news. but that's a big town. and with our support, the counterisil coalition support,

the iraqi government was able to move through there quickly. they're now positions themselves so that they can start going after mosul in syria. you're seeing progress along a pocket that has been used for foreign fighter flows. so, they're on their heels and we're going to stay on it. now, when it comes to crime generally, i think it's important to keep in mind that our crime rate today is substantially lower than it was five years ago, ten years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago. over the last four or five years during the course of my presidency, violent crime in the united states is the lowest it's been since probably the 1960s. maybe before the early 1960s.

there's been an incredible drop in violent crime. so, that doesn't lessen i think people's understandable fears if they see a video clip of somebody getting killed. but it is important to keep in perspective. that in places like new york or los angeles, or dallas, you've seen huge drops in the murder rates. that's aand that's a testimony smarter policing and there are a range of other factors that have contributed to that. so that should not, we should never been sats sats fied when any innocent person is being killed, but that should not be something that is driving our anxieties relatio