President Obama said Friday that the motive behind the deadly shooting that killed five people at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport will be clearer in the next 24 hours, declining for the moment to comment on whether officials suspect a connection to terrorism.
“Until I’ve got all the information, George, I don’t want to comment on it other than just to say how heartbroken we are for the families who’ve been affected,” Obama told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview.
A gunman opened fire at a terminal in the Florida airport, killing at least five and wounding eight, authorities said.
“These kinds of tragedies have happened too often during the eight years that I’ve been president,” Obama said.
The president received an initial briefing about the shooting Friday afternoon by Lisa Monaco, his homeland security and counter-terrorism advisor. Obama told Stephanopoulos he asked his staff to contact the local mayor to ensure that the local, state, and federal coordination was “what it should be.”