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Is it possible we are, collectively, overreacting to the rash of shootings in the final weeks of 2014?

Put another way, could this be four or five idiots with rusty guns and terrible aim, as opposed to an all-out war between street gangs over money, drugs and turf?

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“The short answer is yes,” says Acting Staff Sgt. Ken Bryden of the Ottawa police guns and gangs unit, though he would estimate the total number of shooters as, not four or five, but likely between 10 and 20.

“We’re not experiencing a gang war by any stretch of the imagination.”

This might help explain, too, why Chief Charles Bordeleau is not clanging the town bell or calling for the cavalry. He made clear to police reporter Shaamini Yogaretnam in a Monday interview that the gang flare-up can be internally managed and does not require extraordinary measures, such as pleading for more funding.

The shorthand: No need to address city council, don’t go startin’ no inquisition, just move along people, take a pill if need be.