Circumstances as this morning is beyond expression and underlined by sad anger within my heart. But ill not let that anger rule the day. Our capital has seen tragedy in the past. Were doing so again. So far, no firm motive here but officials have been warning of terror chatter since canada first pledged its help to help isis in the middle east. That chatter according to officials including gun and knife attacks in u. S. And canada. Investigators trying to figure out if any of that chatter might be related at all to what happened this morning. To be clear, there have been no incidents today on u. S. Soil. In washington, Capitol Police remain on the same heightened alert thats been in place since after 9 11. Same story down the street at the white house where president obama is being kept up to date on developments by his Homeland Security adviser and he spoke by phone a short time ago with the canadian Prime Minister. Meantime, u. S. Officials are beefing up security, police and military centers around the nation out of an abundance of caution. Nbc news justice correspondent Pete Williams has been working the phones since those first shots were fired. Pete, how is u. S. Law enforcement here at home responding to what weve seen unfold in canada today . Not much. The reason is theres no threat in the u. S. The whole dhs system was changed here in the last couple of years. Getting away from the colorcoded threat level, the abundance of caution stuff. Now the threat is not changed here unless theres a specific credible threat. And everyone weve talked to said theres no indication that what happened in canada has any tentacles, any pointers in the direction of the u. S. It seems to be confined to ottawa. The best information we have at this point is there was a single gunman. There just doesnt seem to be any concrete evidence of another one. The same person, its believed, attacked both the memorial and then a few blocks away the Parliament Building. As you reported, there have been no reports of shots fired anywhere else. They are trying to identify this gunman. They havent really said much. Its not clear where hes from. Whether even hes from canada isnt even clear. But there dont appear to be any connections to the u. S. So what the fbi has told its offices is, pay attention, talk to the usual people, do what you normally do in a case like this, in another country thats obviously a close neighbor of the u. S. No change in the department of Homeland Security posture. But you have seen these an e anecdotal where we were told there was increased military at a military base in los angeles area. These things are up to local officials. Theyre not told to take any response by any federal agency. Pete williams, thank you very much for that. Joining us now from calgary, canada, is dr. Kelly sundayberg, associate professor in the department of justice studies at mount royal university. Critics say canadas charter of rights and freedoms inhibits federal police to take action against suspected homegrown terrorists. Explain how that works. Well, in canada, such as in the United States, we have a supreme law that ensures the rights and freedoms of canadians and governs the way that Police Conduct investigations, as well as how our Security Intelligence services investigate threats to our National Security. Be them from abroad or within here in canada. Our laws in canada are such that the burden for Law Enforcement and for Security Intelligence to take definitive action against suspected homegrown terrorists or others who threaten our society is very high. And just on this past monday we had an incident in the province of quebec where two soldiers were hit by a car. Unfortunately, one was killed. And reports have come out that the the canadian officials were aware that the person who killed this one soldier and wounded the other was known to authorities as possibly being a threat to security and that, in fact, had been on a list of 90 other individuals seen as a threat to our National Security. And then today we see tragedy at war memorial and Parliament Hill where another canadian soldier has been killed. Were yet to hear if theres a linkage between the two but the coincidence is evident. Officials have been on alert of Something Like this happening. It reopens the debate about having an open capitol where you can have tourists roam freely and also risk a gunman, getting too close to where the Prime Minister would work. With a situation like this, does this make canada maybe rethink having an open capitol . Well, im an environmental criminologist and i do look at how we can secure built environments, properties, buildings in a manner we can keep them open, we can keep them beautiful, we can keep them functional. At the same time im sure that we have optimum security to prevent possible incidences like this happening or at least mitigate it. Its a challenge. Any public space or government building where we want to encourage tourists and visitors to our country to visit the capitol. We want to encourage that but at the same time we have to be mindful we had our Prime Minister, all Senior Leaders of government in that building within meters of this shooting. When we see this, i do think that despite the significant security that does exist on Parliament Hill, there has to be a reassessment of this and see what more can be done. In the United States you do an excellent job on this. In canada, i think we do a good job, but i think theres more to be done. Lets talk more about ottawa and help fill the folks in with some context. Ottawa, from what ive heard s very proud of the open society that would not have guns all over the place. If i read this properly, ottawa had nine homicides in 2013 and seven in 2012. So, this has not been a major problem in this major city. Thats very true. Ottawa is a city of over a million people. Our capital city, a bustling center for government and for business. Yes, in canada we have very low crime rates, low homicide rates. What were beginning to see and we see this both in the United States, were seeing this in the United Kingdom, australia, now in canada, whereas our government becomes more involved in overseas operations with were now sending six of our fighter jets to engage isis in the battle over there, our threat level, our expose here at home. So when you think of crime, terrorism, although they are related, terrorism is a crime, this is something that inca nad yans are going to have to consider. That as we become more engaged in the war against terrorism internationally, our threat level here at home is going to increase. On that point, what is the history of terror attacks on canadian soil . I know you mentioned the incident in quebec a couple days ago. To be clear, we dont know in latest incident in ottawa is at all related to terrorist threats or related to isis. But is there a history in canada of terrorist attacks on canadian soil . October 19, 1970 former Prime Minister troudeu enacted the terrorist act because of the flq, known in history as the october crisis. 44 years later we now see again another october crisis where it would appear that our country is potentially facing a threat of terrorism, perhaps, stemming from International Activities here at home. Yet to be seen, but canada is a peaceful country. We have had the rcmp and csis, our federal police and national Security Intelligence agencies, have indicated they have prevented attacks and that we had one at the British Columbia legislature that was a suspected terrorist attack that the rcmp were able to disrupt. But were you know, canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism. However, as a society, we really do have a National View or sentiment that this is not something that we have to worry as canadians. This is an issue that the United States or the United Kingdom have to worry about. But i feel that this is something that canadians must reconsider and we are exposed to risk. Indeed. Dr. Kelly sundayberberg, thank. Lets turn to anthony roman, thank you for being with us. I want to ask you the question abby put to kelly, the balance of security versus having open government buildings, open access to the Parliament Building. As a security expert, how do you look at maintaining that balance . Well, in a Civil Society in which we have the great freedoms that we do, we really dont to want give those freedoms up, nor should we. But there can be a process where we mitigate the risk down to the minimum without being obtrusive. Thats creating a series of buffer zones, a series of access points, a series of escalating Protection Measures that are nonvisible. For example, the tactics being used to search for this gunman right now, there are many tactics being used that we simply wont talk about because we dont want dont want to give them up. The enemy to know how we use them. But there are measures that can be put in place, that civil libertarians would not find obtrusive but that we can fulfill our obligation to protect as we look at this footage, for people in canada, this is traumatic even with a relatively low death count here, because it is their capital, it is the seat of government. You imagine this weve had shootings at the u. S. Capitol before. Speak about the strategic nature of this when we dont know who did it or why. We know very little about what this kind of attack would be. Weve reported theres a broader context of the worry about isil, but no concrete evidence yet today. What are we to make of the location of this attack, which could be symbolic for geostrategic reasons or not . Well, the location of the attack and the nature of the attack, given the facts that we know right now, are suggestive that it may be a terrorist attack. And heres why. Weve had soldiers attacked in london that were first hit by a Motor Vehicle and then assaulted brutally with a knife and murdered. Weve had that happen in canada. Weve had that happen in ft. Hood in texas in the United States. Right. So this follows a pattern of radical islam, homeinspired attacks. That doesnt mean it is. But it does follow that pattern. And its also a symbolic target. The soldier is and so is the parliament. So, its all very suggestive. Whether it is or not will remain to be seen. How much of a wakeup call, though, should this be . I mean, there the officials here in the u. S. And canada have been on high alert about Something Like this happening. Do you expect the threat level here to be raised and potentially internationally . Well, even if the threat level is not raised, the level of preparedness will be heightened by each Law Enforcement agency and overseas in the embassies. I see for it happening that way and for it not to happen would be foolish. I think the Security Services know what they have to do and theyre preparing for it. Anthony, we heard our last guest there talking about the limitations that canadians have in terms of being able to conduct surveillance and prevent these sorts of attacks from happening. Particularly the one in quebec seems to have been related to isis inspiration. We dont know as much about this one yet. But dont all free societies have limitations on how much they can preempt of sort of attacks before they actually occur . Yes, they do. Its a tug of war and a balance, a moving bar, so to speak, given the threat level and given the nature of the targets we want to protect. For example, we all want to protect our children in elementary school. We all want to protect our families at the mall or at the stadium when we go to see a sporting event. We have to be prepared to do that, i believe, in a better, more effective way than we are right now. Yet, it does not have to be fully obtrusive, for example, where it is in israel where they face an imminent military threat against their Civil Society and have this limited geography in which fundamentally theyre surrounded. So, we dont have that set of circumstances, nor do i believe we need that kind of obtrusive security where everywhere you go, you need to walk through magnotometers and be searched. But we do need to improve what were doing because, simply, at malls unarmed security guards that are not brilliantly trained or former tactical officers or former Police Officers are not the greatest idea. Thank you for being here. Well take a quick break. When we go back, well go to the pentagon where some of the latest movements are being made by norad in light of todays shootings in canada. Uhhh. No, that cant happen. Thats the thing, you dont know how long it has to last. Everyone has retirement questions. So ameriprise created the exclusive. Confident retirement approach. Now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. Well, knowing gives you confidence. Start building your confident retirement today. And sometimes i struggle to sleep at night,nd. And stay awake during the day. This is called non24, a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70 percent of people who are totally blind. Talk to your doctor about your symptoms and learn more by calling 8448242424. Or visit your24info. Com. Dont let non24 get in the way of your pursuit of happiness. Yeah, citi mobile. Pay the dog sitter . And deposit that check . Citi mobile. Pack your bathing suit . Wearing it. Niiice bank from almost anywhere with the citi mobile app. Mormal snap jebby rolbanma jebby deetle flosh. [laughter] eh. Nows the time to get in the loop. Just look for our fall tv picks with xfinity on demand. Quickly find the seasons hottest shows, with a handpicked collection all in one place. Only from xfinity. Well, we were working on the statue and i heard a bunch of pops. I thought it was just firecrackers going ov. I look across the street and there was a man with a rifle shooting at a bunch of people. So, we i yelled at all my guys, theres guys shooting so everyone was, get down, get down. I was walking along the front of the war memorial. I was just passing just over here and all of a sudden just heard a shot. Turned around and there was a guy with a rifle just around on the back corner. And just, pow. He ran up the side of this building here and hijacked a car at gunpoint. Didnt hurt the gentleman in the car. And then took off towards the back here and headed in that direction toward the construction. Frightening moments today in the Canadian Capital described by the people who experienced them. Police are still calling the investigation into this mornings shootings a dynamic and unfolding situation. At this point, the one gunman we know of is dead, so is the soldier who encountered that guy near parliament. Jim, there is heightened security at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington National scemetery. How is our military reacting to this breaking story in canada . Well, the Immediate Reaction out of norad, the north American Aerospace command center in colorado was to put all of their fighter planes on a state of high alert just in case. There was a more ee lab ralt terrorist scheme that involved many different attacks against many different targets. The precaution, of course, was in case a terrorist had either commandeered a private plane. No planes are in the air but they remain at a heightened state of alert just in case. And the Aerospace Defense command has been in place for years, for decades, to protect the United States and canada, obviously, against any threat from the air. And it wasnt too long ago when a passenger, an unruely passenger on a commercial plane flying from the u. S. Into canada was believed to have been a threat and u. S. Aircraft escorted that plane, just in case, all the way to its destination in canada. And one other issue that may crop up later today. The canadians have reportedly told all their military personnel that when they leave their bases, to change their clothing from their uniforms into civilian clothing, so as not to be an easy target. Were told these several hundred american troops that are working in canada, if that were the case, they, too, would get out of their uniforms into civilian clothes as to not be a target. Norad has raised the security level. What sort of relationship does the pentagon have with our canadian counterparts . At all parts. Canadians have fought alongside with americans in iraq and afghanistan. So that relationship goes back. Of course, they patrol the skies constantly, watching those russian bombers buzz Northern Canada and alaska at a pretty regular basis. All right, mick, at the pentagon. Our next guest ran hostage negotiations for the atf. Jim cavanaugh is now an nbc Law Enforcement analyst. Were once again seeing attacks on soldiers and iconic government installations, targets. These are hallmarks of domestic and international terrorists. What does it tell you when we see these two things again . It tells you the security was really not adequate at the Parliament Building in ottawa. Ive been there, but its not adequate. If you have a facility where someone can pull out a rifle across the street from your facility, shoot someone down in cold blood and then run into your facility, your security is lacking. And