Just minutes after the Washington DC police chief said that two shooters might still be on the loose in the Navy Yard mass murders, President Obama held a previously scheduled event to defend his economic record.

The president opened his remarks by condemning a shooting that has reportedly left six dead and as many as 10 injured.

President Barack Obama is mourning what he called “yet another mass shooting” in the United States that he says took the life of American patriots.

Obama promised to make sure, quote, “whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.”

The president then went into a lengthy and familiar defense of his economic record as events surrounding the Navy Yard murders continued to unfold.  Obama criticized Republicans in advance of the upcoming budget battle, mocked Mitt Romney as having lost after calling for a repeal of ObamaCare, and talked about the economy he inherited from George W. Bush:

President Barack Obama says the nation’s financial system is `safer’ five years after the collapse of a Wall Street giant plunged the nation deeper into a recession.

Obama marked the fifth anniversary of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers by surrounding himself with Americans the White House says have benefited from the administration’s economic and banking policies.

Obama says his administration has laid a “new foundation” for a stronger economy. But he admits that the benefits are not being felt by many middle class Americans.

While the president spoke, law enforcement officials just a few miles away took care of the wounded and dead, and attempted to track down two additional shooters suspected of being involved.

 

Follow  John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC