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Fort Hood Shooting Spree; Unemployed and Uninsured; The Obama Effect

Aired November 06, 2009 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for your top-of-the-hour reset.

I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 11:00 a.m. at Fort Hood, Texas, where a military community mourns 13 dead today as authorities search for a motive for the shooting spree.

It is noon in Washington, where President Obama today ordered flags flown at half-staff to honor the Fort Hood victims.

And across America, unemployment lines are getting a lot longer. The jobless rate for October tops 10 percent.

Let's get started.

We are learning some of the names of the 33 people killed or wounded in the Fort Hood shooting rampage. The military hasn't officially released the names of any victims, but we have been able to piece together some information based upon statements from family members.

Kim Munley, a civilian officer with the Fort Hood Police Department, was able to stop the rampage cold by shooting the gunman four times. She is being hailed a hero. Fort Hood's commander calls her response and performance pretty amazing and aggressive. Munley was shot, but is recovering today.

Suburban Chicago parents say their son is among the dead at Fort Hood. Twenty-one-year-old Michael Pearson, who joined the military a little more than a year ago, was hit three times. Pearson's older brother was overcome by the loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTOPHER CRAIG, BROTHER OF SOLDIER KILLED: I said, "No, he's on his way home. There's no way that out of, what, 43 people, he got injured. There's no way. He's already done with the readiness. He wasn't in that building. He wasn't."

I told my mom that there's no way he could have been there and there's no way somebody got on base and shot people unless it was one of our own. And then not a half hour after I said that, it was on the news that it was one of -- one of our own soldiers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A Missouri mother got word about her daughter, and fortunately her news was better. Army Specialist Cara Bono (ph) took a bullet in the shoulder, but she will be OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY MCCARTY, SHOOTING VICTIM'S MOTHER: I got a phone call about 2:40 from her. She said she was OK, but she was shot in the back on the left shoulder, and she has abrasions, you know, and they were cleaning her up, but she is OK. And it was a real brief conversation. She wouldn't tell me anything else of what was going on.

I didn't think that I would hear about this here. She's being deployed to Iraq December 7th, and I thought that I was more worried about her going over to Iraq than here, just doing training in Texas. She just got there yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Authorities say the man accused of this tragedy, Major Nidal Hasan, carried two handguns into Fort Hood. CNN has obtained several exclusive video of Major Hasan at a convenience store just outside the military post. He is wearing, as you can see here, a long white robe. You'll see in a second this video from Tuesday.

At a news conference earlier today, an Army colonel talked about how Hasan might have gotten his two handguns past security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. JOHN ROSSI, FORT HOOD, TEXAS: Soldiers, like citizens, are allowed to maintain privately-owned weapons and purchase them and use them for hunting and target shooting. We're looking into, in this case, whether it was registered on the post, which would be a requirement for him to do so, to register it. But, you know, random checks are done on vehicles coming in and out of the gate. So, in this case, he could have just brought it on to the installation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We are awaiting another news conference out of Fort Hood.

Let's check in with our Sean Callebs, who is there.

And Sean, you've been talking to those who responded to this tragedy yesterday. What are they telling you?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, Tony.

Fort Hood officials did make a number of the first responders available to chat with members of the media. And to give you an idea of just how many people were here, when I registered about 8:00 Central Time, I was the 245th member of the media to sign in here. Well, the first responders say when they arrived at that scene, it was basically controlled chaos. They said that their combat military training immediately kicked in. They began doing triage on a number of the suspects -- I mean, a number of the victims, rather, to see who was the most critically injured.

And we've all heard these stories of heroism, how the soldiers began shredding their uniforms, using those for makeshift bandages. Also, some of the responders did know the female civilian officer, Kim Munley, who is being called a hero in this whole endeavor. Many people said they just knew her in passing, but they said it goes to speak very well of the civilian training and the relationships that the members of the military have with them.

We did talk to Andrew Hagerman. He's a sergeant. He just got done doing 15 months in Iraq.

He said he saw a number of just gruesome scenes when he was in Baghdad, but when he came here yesterday, he was in shock. And he said, yes, of course, when you see something like this, and it's one soldier accused of killing many others, anger does flow through your blood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. ANDREW HAGERMAN, MILITARY POLICEMAN/FIRST RESPONDER: There's always anger that goes through your mind, but it's just one of those things that you have to let go to the back of your mind. You have to be -- you know, you have to do your job first.

You can't let emotions get in the way of what you've got to do. You've just got to get to the wounded. The emotions kind of go to the back of your mind. Like I said, you kind of kick into autopilot and you just go with what your training's taught you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Now, Sergeant Hagerman said he had never seen Major Hasan before on this base. And clearly, Tony, a lot of people trying to find out more about him.

We do know Ted Rowlands, who was working the other angle of the story for us, the CNN correspondent, told us that he went to the apartment complex today, and apparently Hasan gave a copy of the Koran to a number of his neighbors yesterday, and also gave away all of his furniture to another neighbor, saying he was going to deploy soon. But I think a lot of people here today are wondering if Hasan knew if he was ever going to go back to his apartment, if he knew what he was going to do when he came on this base yesterday -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Absolutely.

All right. Sean Callebs for us.

Sean, thank you. A cousin of suspected killer Nidal Hasan says his family is stunned by the shooting rampage. Nader Hasan of Falls Church, Virginia, issued a statement yesterday saying, "We are shocked and saddened by the terrible events at Fort Hood today. We send the families of the victims our most heartfelt sympathies. Our family loves America. We are proud of our country and saddened by today's tragedy."

Since yesterday, we've been able to dig up a lot of information about the accused gunman, the Army psychiatrist worked in the base hospital. A former neighbor who doesn't want to be identified describes him as a "cool guy."

That and more now from CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crazy because, you know, you think somebody's really nice and you think somebody's really calm, and I don't know what let for him to do that, but -- what triggered it -- but honestly, they seemed like really cool, calm guys.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Six months ago, according to media reports, the FBI had an eye on the suspected shooter because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats. An official investigation apparently wasn't opened, but one of the Web postings is reportedly a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

I can tell you that he's single, he's not married. And a federal official says Hasan is a U.S. citizen of Jordanian descent. His cousin has told reporters that Hasan "has always been a Muslim and is not a recent convert." He described him as a "good American" and said Hasan had been harassed for being Middle Eastern by some in the military. The cousin said Hasan was trying to leave the military and did not want to be sent to Iraq.

Now, one of his colleagues, a colonel at Fort Hood, told some members of the media that Hasan said things like, "Maybe the Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressors," and even suggested people should strap bombs on themselves and go to Times Square in New York City. The colonel told reporters Hasan grew more agitated when President Obama decided not to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, CNN has been talking with a lot of people about this tragedy. We asked Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison about the possible motive.

Here's that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: We don't know the motive, but since he is alive, certainly we will learn much more when he is able to be interrogated. But, of course, the fact that he was getting ready to be deployed, and certainly had this history, as you have mentioned earlier, of talking to people who have come back, begins to form a picture. That's for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Major Hasan was shot several times. He is at a hospital on a ventilator, so we are unsure when investigators will be able to speak with him.

The Fort Hood community coming together in grief today, as it has many times before when its own were lost at war. Four hundred eighty- seven soldiers from Fort Hood have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Thirty-four have died in Operation Enduring Freedom. That makes 521 soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan from this one military post alone.

The shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, changed the lives of dozens of families. Tomorrow night, a CNN prime-time special continues the search for answers -- the post, the suspect, the wounded. CNN's special investigation, "Inside the Fort Hood Shooting," tomorrow night, 8:00 Eastern.

We have a lot more on the tragedy at Fort Hood this hour. This Army facility has been one of the most proactive in addressing the stress its soldiers face in this combat-intensive era. We will show you what steps they've been taking.

And also, we will take a closer look at the police officer who is being called a hero for taking on the man who killed so many, so suddenly.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. An update now on the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

Investigators today searched the home of the alleged gunman, looking for answers. Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan is accused of killing 13 people at the military post. Another 30 people were wounded. Authorities say Hasan, who is in stable condition, had received orders to deploy overseas. There are conflicting reports about whether he was being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Very quickly, we want to, of course, show you the Big Board, the New York Stock Exchange, just to get a quick check of the markets. But before we do that, as always at this time, we like to remind you to get to CNNMoney.com if you'd like the latest financial news and analysis.

Now to the Big Board, 12 minutes after the hour.

As you can see, the Dow is up 21 points. It looks like we may end the week in positive territory. Fingers crossed on that. And the NASDAQ is up.

We're following these numbers throughout the day for you.

The jobless rate reaches double digits. New numbers out today put the nation's unemployment rate at its highest level since 1983. The Labor Department says the jobless rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October. That is higher than many economists predicted.

In remarks just a short time ago, President Obama said more help is on the way for unemployed Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, I would also like to announce that I just signed into law a bill that will help grow our economy, save and create new jobs, and provide relief to struggling families and businesses. The need for such a measure was made clear by the jobs report that we received this morning. Although we lost fewer jobs than we did last month, our unemployment rate climbed to over 10 percent, a sobering number that underscores the economic challenges that lie ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, among other things, the bill signed by President Obama today extends unemployment benefits to out-of-work Americans.

One of the biggest concerns for people in this economy is, how do I get health insurance if I lose my job?

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis here to talk about that.

And Gerri, didn't Congress recently extend a bit of a hand here to help people in this situation?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Right. Right, they did. And here's what they did.

Look, if you were laid off between September 1, 2008 and December of 2009, Uncle Sam covers 65 percent of your health insurance premium to extend the health insurance that you had as an employee for up to, I believe, six months.

HARRIS: OK. OK.

WILLIS: So, that is a big help. And it's not nothing. It's $400 to $1,000 per month. A lot of money. That lifeline is running out. This has not been extended.

HARRIS: I see.

WILLIS: It could be extended. We're waiting to find out. But so far it has not, Tony.

HARRIS: So, what if I received the word last month and, in fact, did lose my job last month? What are my options here for health insurance?

WILLIS: Yes, it's double jeopardy, right? You lose your job and then you don't have any health insurance.

And as you know, Tony, about 60 percent of folks that go into bankruptcy do so because they don't have health insurance, they have high health costs. Here's what you do if you lose your health insurance coverage.

First of all, best option out there, the cheapest option, is to piggyback on your spouse's coverage. So, the nice thing about this is that open enrollment for these purposes does not exist. If you lose your job any time, you can get on your spouse's coverage, provided that you do it within 30 days of the point that you lose your own coverage.

You can also ask if you get an exit package or a severance package, hey, make some kind of contribution to my health insurance premiums to help me continue my care over time.

And you can also pay for the COBRA yourself. You know, we were talking about Uncle Sam paying a part of that. If you're in a company, federal law requires companies with 20 employees or more to offer the option of extending COBRA coverage for 18 months. So, if you can pay $400, $1,000 a month for this coverage, you can get it, but it is tough for folks out there who have lost their job...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WILLIS: ... you know, to get this coverage. And it is critical to have some help, right?

HARRIS: Absolutely. I don't want anyone watching us now to miss out on the opportunity of watching your program tomorrow, live here, because we say it all the time, that this is special and that's special. What you've got planned tomorrow is special.

WILLIS: Yes. We're going to be answering your questions live about open enrollment.

And keep in mind here, this is the most important financial decision you're probably going to make this fall; right? This is something you can control. You can't control the economy. You don't know if you're going to get laid off...

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: ... in the next year or two. But you can control your choices in open enrollment and make the right choice.

Saturday, 9:30, join us here. I've got a panel of experts. We're going to talk about what you need to know, and give folks the tools, the tips, the strategies to really make the right choice.

HARRIS: You are terrific at this. I don't want anyone to miss it tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Gerri, good to see you. Thank you.

WILLIS: Thank you, sir.

HARRIS: Do you have questions about the economy? We're going to the White House for answers. E-mail us those questions to mailtothechief@cnn.com. At 1:30 p.m. Eastern, the vice president's chief economic adviser, Jared Bernstein, will join us to answer your questions.

And coming up, I am going to talk -- a conversation here -- with comedian Steve Harvey about a pretty serious topic -- President Obama's ability to inspire black men to step up and take charge of their lives.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: White House spokesman Robert Gibbs now taking questions on the Fort Hood mass shooting.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We will -- the memorial service would be scheduled for the convenience of the families that suffered the tragic losses yesterday.

Just to give you some background, in the facility where the incident happened were troops representing more than a dozen different units throughout the country. So, because of the dispersed nature of where individuals were, I'm told that not all of the notifications have yet been completed. When that is done and there's -- we have an understanding of when it is best for the families, the president will work his schedule around what's best for those families.

Yes, sir?

QUESTION: The president in the Rose Garden said that the unexpectedly big jump in unemployment, past the 10 percent mark, was sobering, and he also listed some ideas that he said his economic team was considering for further job creation.

The question is that some economists are asking is, is this really enough? And some say it's not, but there needs to be a second stimulus program of some sort.

Is there any consideration going to be given to a second stimulus package, or is the president ruling that out?

GIBBS: Well, I don't think today's news changes what we have said for quite some time on this, Matt, and that is, we know, first of all, that the recovery plan, as signed into law in February, continues to make investments and create and save jobs here in this country. We saw that we had positive economic growth for the first quarter in more than a year, and that before we could have job growth, we're going to have economic growth.

So, our focus obviously continues to be on ensuring that that money gets out as quickly as it is prescribed. The president and his team for some time have been evaluating other ideas. Advisers were here earlier in the week to go through some of their ideas that the president and the team will look at and decide if they make the most sense.

QUESTION: The Democrats lost two state houses early this week.

HARRIS: All right. And there you have the White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, taking a couple of questions on the October jobs report. But just ahead of those comments, some comments from Robert Gibbs on the mass shooting at Fort Hood.

But just last hour, we heard these comments from the president...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This morning, I met with FBI Director Mueller and the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what caused one individual to turn his gun on fellow servicemen and women. We don't know all the answers yet, and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And on the phone with us right now is CNN's Ted Rowlands. Ted is in Killeen, Texas, and he is following the FBI investigation into the mass shooting at Fort Hood.

And Ted, what are you learning?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we've talked to several neighbors at Major Hasan's apartment complex, which is right near the base at Fort Hood. And basically, it's kind of an eerie story that they're telling.

Several of them received Korans from Hasan the morning of the shooting rampage. They say this is a guy that mainly stuck to himself. He spent most of his time when he was there at the apartment, never really associated with many people.

But then, on the morning of the rampage, he gave at least three -- three people we've talked to -- copies of the Koran in English. And one of the women that he gave it to, he told her to read a certain passage, and that was it.

Another woman, his next-door neighbor, he gave her all of his furniture. He told them different stories.

One person he told he was going to Oklahoma. Another neighbor he told he was going overseas to Iraq.

Of course, all of the neighbors that we talked to really didn't think much of it, because military folks come and go from this area. And, of course, if you are going to be deployed, sometimes you do get rid of your stuff. But then, of course, in hindsight, they were horrified to realize that he was just literally hours away from going on this horrific shooting rampage.

HARRIS: And Ted, how do they describe the major as a person, as a man?

ROWLANDS: Basically, a guy that kept to himself. One neighbor we talked to did have more of an association than the others, because Hasan, they said, would use their computer.

This is -- the woman we talked to, she said that her boyfriend was fairly close, if you will, as neighbors to Hasan, and that he would come over and use his computer, which, of course, is curious, why this major in the Army would need someone else's computer to use. We don't know. But we do know this -- the FBI has taken that computer -- it was a laptop computer, and it was in the apartment next door to Hasan's.

And then another thing that happened which is interesting, according to this woman, Hasan left them a voicemail message at 5:00 in the morning, the morning of the shooting rampage, and he called simply to thank the boyfriend, the guy that let him use the computer, for being "such a good friend." And that was it.

They didn't save the message. They didn't think, again, much of it at the time. Thought it was a little weird that he said it, but now, of course, in hindsight...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

ROWLANDS: ... they are completely horrified by it.

HARRIS: Yes. All right.

CNN's Ted Rowlands for us in Killeen, Texas, on the phone with us, following the FBI investigation.

A quick break.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Perhaps part of President Obama's destiny is to inspire African-American men to step up and take charge of their lives and families. That's what we're talking about in our "What Matters" segment today.

The November issue of "Essence" features black men in the age of President Obama, a collection of essays on how it feels to be black and male in the Obama era.

I had a chance to sit down with one of the essay authors, best- selling author, comedian and radio superstar, Steve Harvey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So, Steve, take a look at this moment -- Chicago, November 4th, last year. And the thing that struck me is that image right there. Freeze that. It's that moment, frozen, and it is the moment that serves as a jumping-off point for your piece in "Essence."

STEVE HARVEY, RADIO HOST/AUTHOR: Man, that was such a great moment to see. And I was going, "Wow, man, I want to be more of that."

HARRIS: You just said you wanted to be more of that. What was in that moment for you as an African-American man? And what's the message that you find in moments like that for this family?

HARVEY: Here's a guy who has risen to the highest office in the world, the president of the United States. He happens to be African- American.

It enabled me to sit my sons down, my three sons, and go, "OK, guys, here's the deal. We have no more excuses at this point." There is no more -- let's take race out of this for a minute, because we can't keep using it. This is no longer acceptable here.

HARRIS: We're talking about "Essence" here, and we're talking about the essay that you wrote for "Essence." What is it that black men need to stop doing? What is -- the behaviors that we need to change to be better for the families that we claim to love and adore?

HARVEY: We actually do love our families dearly. We want to protect them and be there for them. But some of the behaviors don't belie that fact.

HARRIS: Right. Right.

HARVEY: They don't line up. The order of the building blocks for success, as I've learned them, is God first, family second, education third, business last. Where we mess up -- all men do this, but since we're talking about African-American men...

HARRIS: Yes.

HARVEY: ... our problem is we have God third, we have family fourth, we go take care of our business first, go back to school, get our education, family third, God ain't even in the top four, then we get in trouble then hit God up front when we need some help, and until you line it up just right, you're going to be forever looking for it.

HARRIS: In your book -- how many copies of this book have you sold? Take a look at it.

HARVEY: That's a little old thing, a little old thing. 1.8 million, some crazy number like that.

HARRIS: Some crazy number. "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man." One of the points you make is that part of the explanation for why men behave the way they do, in a way that is destructive to the families that they claim they love...

HARVEY: Right.

HARRIS: ... is because, you say, many of us have not become what we want to become. I think that's heavy. I need you to expand on that theme.

HARVEY: Well, see, the thing that drives a man is the who we are, what we do, and how much we make. That's what makes us wake up every morning. We are all constantly trying to become something. And then the who that is the what level, and that determines how much money we make. There is not a man living that's not trying to do that. When we don't have that part of ourselves together, we cannot be to a woman what she needs. And until we get on track with those three things right there...

HARRIS: Yes.

HARVEY: ... we're forever in discord with ourselves.

HARRIS: My final question to you is this, Steve, do you think that this imagery, the words, the actions, these pictures, really have the potential to transform many of us?

HARVEY: Absolutely it does. I see it changing. I listen. See, I have mentoring program with kids in it.

HARRIS: Yes.

HARVEY: I'm hearing 14, 18-year-old boys say, hey, Mr. Harvey, "I'm going to be like President Obama. I'm going to get my -- I'm going to be the father that I never had." I'm hearing them want to emulate this action that they see in front of them. It's starting to change, man, it really, really is.

HARRIS: So, the essay, I want you to read the essay, it's "when a man loves a woman" from Steve Harvey.

Baby, good to see you.

HARVEY: It's good to see you again.

HARRIS: Let's do it again.

HARVEY: A good friend of mine too.

HARRIS: Good to see you, too.

HARVEY: We on TV together, that's news right there.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Breaking news in to the CNN NEWSROOM. Want to get you to the pictures right now in Orlando, Florida. We are getting reports of as many as eight people shot at what looks to be an office building in Orlando.

Here's the reporting and the information we have so far. Firefighters called to the Gateway Center. This is 1000 Legion Place in Orlando. The call going out at about 11:30 a.m., just over an hour ago. And if you're familiar with this area, the building is near Lake Ivanhoe.

And, again, dispatchers with the Orlando Fire Department received the call, responded to the call of a shooting with multiple victims on the fourth floor of this building. Initial reports had this on the eighth floor. We're now getting a bit more updated information from our affiliate station, WESH, in Orlando of victims on the fourth floor of this building. We understand that at least six ambulances and dozens, as you can imagine, of police cars, fire engines, have arrived on the scene.

John Couwels is on the line with us, our all-platform journalist.

John, if you would, take your time. Tell us about this particular area. Once again, this is at 1000 Legion Place. I understand it's near Lake Ivanhoe, but maybe you can orient our viewers to this area.

JOHN COUWELS, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST: Yes, exactly, Lake Ivanhoe is adjacent to downtown Orlando, just to the northwest, adjacent to downtown Orlando. The area around there, there's a Sheridan hotel, there's an office building. It's adjacent also to the college park area, which is where I'm located, prior to heading to the scene.

All reports are very preliminary on the number of injured, and it's still very early in the situation. It's difficult to speculate, but I have not confirmed anything in particular. We're just by what our affiliates have been reporting.

HARRIS: Got you.

COUWELS: That several people have been shot and are injured, but we don't know the status of any of those.

HARRIS: John, is that a -- we're talking about the Gateway Center, it is, am I correct in saying, an office building?

COUWELS: Yes, I believe from what I understand of that area right there, it's a complex with apartment building, I mean, it's an office building next to a hotel.

HARRIS: Sixteen stories is what I'm hearing.

COUWELS: There's a new area that's been kind of -- it's an area in transition from older homes and older hotels that have been upgraded with new condos and flats in that particular area, as you can see here in these aerial scenes. It's next to the building in the lower portion of this live shot that that is the Sheridan Hotel.

Next to it, as you can see, as cars are going by, that is Interstate 4, I-4, that runs across from Tampa, again, on to Daytona Beach, across the center of the state of Florida. And right now they are shutting down that area as they try to clear the area around that, the office building.

HARRIS: OK. And we've -- something else I want to share with you, and, John, stay on the line with us. The Orlando Fire Department spokeswoman, her name is Vickie Robles, is saying the shooter has not -- repeat, again, has not -- been taken into custody, so we have a shooter very much at large at this point. And Robles is going on to add, "We don't know who they are."

So, John, my understanding is that this is a 16-story office building. And this call came in to dispatch, Orlando Fire Department dispatch, at about 11:30, so better than an hour ago, 12:39 eastern time at this moment. And the report was of a shooting at this office building, the Gateway Center, multiple victim victims.

And, John, what's your understanding on the number of victims? Initially, we heard eight, as many as eight, and then a subsequent report suggesting that the number may be a bit less than that.

COUWELS: Well, I'd say we're not really sure exactly. And I think as General Honore said yesterday during the reports in Texas, the reports in the beginning always seem to be incorrect. And they're always adjusted after the fact, but the situations are fluid in numbers when there's different agencies involved that are trying to assess the situation.

And the fact that the building is being -- you know, has probably been evacuated and that people are searching the building. It's still too early to say exactly. No definite numbers have been released by authorities.

HARRIS: And no way to know at this point how many offices are actually in that 16-story office building, but you can see people clearing out of the immediate area, as police and firefighters and ambulances rush to that scene, cordon off that area, get the people out of the immediate way and out of the immediate vicinity of the building in question here, the Gateway Center.

So, you've got a cordon going up around that building right now. Again, we're learning that the shooter, or shooters, have not been taken into custody, so we have a very active scene with a shooter who is still very much at large. So, you've got a manhunt situation.

And we also understand, John, that for a period of time here, that emergency personnel could not get into the building because they had to be absolutely sure that it was secure.

COUWELS: Right. And in that particular complex, in that area, as I said, there's the -- the hotel is there along with the office building, the parking garage, and across the street there's also a -- like a children's museum complex for day trips for children to go to. They have different displays in there. That's also in the general two-block area around there. And it is somewhat isolated from the part of downtown with the interstate on one side, the lake on the other, and then the major local highway, Colonial Drive, that runs alongside it that is separated, because the area right alongside it is -- as I said earlier, is in transition. As you can see from our affiliate WKMG, that I-4 eastbound has been shut down as this situation and incident is under way.

HARRIS: Let's be clear here, then, John, what you're describing is a situation, as you take a look at the Google Earth mapping here, you're talking about a situation where there are a number of buildings in this mile to two-mile radius that you would think, in some way, shape, or form, certainly the buildings immediately around the Gateway Center would have to be secured as well.

COUWELS: Yes. The only building really adjacent to it would be the Sheridan Hotel, which is -- which is very much adjacent to and I believe they share the same parking garage.

HARRIS: OK.

COUWELS: But what's good is this one building -- this little complex here is very isolated from the downtown area, so it would be very simple to cordon off this area without affecting the entire city area around the Gateway Center. And these other buildings down are, like, two blocks over where the children's museum or the complex around it would be easily to isolate.

Also along that area is the Chamber of Commerce. As you can see right here, this building, where people are going in and out of with the little windows, that is the children's museum. And people are walking towards that area, which seems to be that's the point of where they're evacuating people out to.

HARRIS: All right, now, that's a -- that's a good bit of news there, John, because if you're talking about an area of two blocks, that is -- you know, sometimes we get into these situations with these breaking news events, and you see the big helicopter shot and you see all of the activity, and you think in many cases it's a big area that's impacted.

So, it's great that you can put some boundaries and some parameters on it for us. Even as you mention that, it's important to note that the shooter or shooters are still very much at large. But at least it sounds like that this is a manageable area to cordon off, the immediate area, the Sheridan Hotel that you mentioned and the two blocks most impacted by this area and closest to the gateway center.

So, let's do this, let's sort of recap where we are right now. Live pictures now. And we've got a number of close highways, as you can see here. We've got a number of affiliates with choppers up in the air right now. So we are switching back and forth from a number of shots here to give you the best perspective that we can on what is going on right now.

Our thanks to our affiliate WESH, our affiliate WFTB. And I believe I saw some pictures from our affiliate WKMG as well.

So, we're looking principally at the Gateway Center here in Orlando, Florida, at the 1000 block in Legion Place. And in a wider shot, you'll see it's very near Lake Ivanhoe in Orlando. At about 11:30, better than an hour ago now, a call came in to the dispatchers with the Orlando Fire Department, and units were sent scrambling to a call of a shooting with multiple victims on the fourth floor of this Gateway Center. Probably a number of businesses in this building. It is 16 stories tall, after all.

And a number of ambulances responded, dozens of police cars. For a while the rescue effort, the police effort, the law enforcement effort, couldn't get under way, because everyone had to be absolutely sure that the building was secure. Folks were then efforted out of that, hustled out of that building. There is a Sheridan Hotel close by. There is a two-block radius that we understand has been secured as well.

John Couwels, our all-platform journalist, mentioned that there is a children's museum close by as well. Our best information now is that the area has been secured. But we will certainly double-check that. We will continue to obviously follow these pictures, developments in this story, and bring you the latest as we get it.

A quick break, here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: At about 11:30, better than an hour ago now, a call came in to the dispatchers with the Orlando Fire Department, and units were sent scrambling to a call of a shooting with multiple victims on the fourth floor of this Gateway Center. Probably a number of businesses in this building. It is 16 stories tall, after all.

And a number of ambulances responded, dozens of police cars. And for a while the rescue effort, the police effort, the law enforcement effort, couldn't get under way, because everyone had to be absolutely sure that the building was secure.

Folks were then escorted out of that, hustled out of that building. There is a Sheridan Hotel close by. There is a two-block radius that we understand has been secured as well. John Couwels, our all-platform journalist mentioned that there is a children's museum close by as well.

Our best information now is that the area has been secured, but we will certainly double-check that. We will continue to obviously follow these pictures, developments in this story, and bring you the latest as we get it. A quick break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: All right. We are getting the latest information that we can for you on this situation in Orlando, Florida. And we're talking about a shooting at an office building there, the Gateway Center in particular here. So, let's weave in the pictures as we're getting them, the aerial views of this, from a number of affiliate helicopters in the area for us. And our thanks, again, to our affiliates WESH, WFTV and WKMG for supplying the aerials from their helicopters, their news choppers.

We want to get a bit of perspective on what it is like on the ground for emergency personnel responding to this particular scene.

Matt Sloane is on the line with us. He is a medical producer for us here at CNN. He is also an EMT.

And, Matt, you've been following this story as it's been breaking over the last hour or so, and certainly for us in certainly the last half hour, maybe 35 minutes or so.

Can you describe what it is like for someone in the role of an EMT, who arrives on a scene like this, where you're not sure -- you can't go in right away to the building and do your job because you're not sure immediately that the building has been secured. So, talk us through the early moments of a scene like this when there has been a shooting.

MATT SLOANE, CNN MEDICAL PRODUCER (via telephone): Sure, absolutely, Tony. You're absolutely correct in that, you know, medical personnel can't enter the building until the police department makes sure the scene is safe. Especially in a case like this when the shooter is still on the loose. You don't want to have any more victims than you're already dealing with.

The first thing that you do when you walk into a scene like this is just take an assessment. How many patients are there? If any of them can get up and walk out, tell them to get up and walk out. Obviously those people are still breathing OK. You know, they don't -- they don't need as much medical attention as folks who can't get up and walk out their own. Then you go in, and you know, see if there are other folks that you can help right on the scene, get them, you know, into a -- what they call a green tag, somebody who can get up and walk out.

So, if you can do anything quickly there to get them out, great. Then you want to -- you know, you also have folks paying attention to what they call the red-tag people. The most severe injuries, you got to treat on scene, get into an ambulance, get into a helicopter and get off the scene.

Tony?

HARRIS: And this is interesting, because -- maybe you can clear this up, or at least give us a better understanding, as you understand this term. Trauma red, I think we know what trauma means, I think we understand red, the significance of that color. But we're understanding from our affiliates who are reporting that four of the eight who have been shot are described as trauma red.

What does that say to you, Matt? SLOANE: Well, there are four categories in trauma triage. There's green, yellow, red, and black. Obviously, I don't think I have to explain what the black means.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

SLOANE: Obviously, the deceased patient. Green are the ones that can get up and walk out on their own, as we talked about. The yellow are folks that need a little bit of help to get out, and the red are the folks that need a lot of help. And those are the ones you're going to be transporting to the hospital or to a helicopter as quickly as you can. But, you know, that's the basic breakdown.

Trauma red, you know, it's a very serious situation. Those folks might not be breathing on their own. They might be bleeding significantly. They're going to need the most help.

HARRIS: So you understand, Matt, that you're talking about, when you get to a scene like this, you understand that you're talking about shooting victims.

SLOANE: Correct.

HARRIS: You're not sure initially whether you're going to the fourth floor or the eighth floor. What do you pack up? What do you load up? And do you jump on an elevator, or do you take the stairs?

SLOANE: It depends, Tony, it depends on what floor they're on there. There is a lot of gear to bring up with you.

HARRIS: Yes.

SLOANE: And the stairs are going to be difficult. But in most cases like this, you know, you sort of need to bring a little bit of everything with you. You're definitely going to want your oxygen, your airway management bag. That's got, you know, an oxygen tank and some airways in there, endotracheal tubes, that kind of thing.

You're also going to want to take a heart monitor, defibrillator. Oftentimes, if somebody is in a cardiac arrest situation from trauma, it can be very difficult to get them back right there on scene, so you're going to want to get them out as quickly as you can. And, again, it all depends on how safe the scene is.

If you're still in, you know, what they call a hot area, you know, if the police department is still a little bit concerned, you're going to want to get those folks out there as quickly as you can.

One other thing, you know, that's of a major concern here, well, two, actually, I'd say one is bleeding. The other one is sort of spinal injuries. You know, there's a lot of force when somebody's shot with a gun. You know, they can fall backwards and hit their heads.

HARRIS: Yes. SLOANE: You also want to be sure that you're being careful of those kinds of things. But, again, even that kind of treatment, you hurry that up if the scene is still unsafe.

HARRIS: Boy. Matt, if you would, I don't think we have to clear the line, but if we -- if we lose you, stay close because we're going to want your expertise in the rest of this hour. And I'm sure Kyra is going to want to talk to you in the 1:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

Matt Sloane is a CNN medical producer and an EMT.

Matt, thanks.

Let's get a quick reset here. We are moments away from talking to one of our CNN photojournalists, Rick Blackburn, who is on the scene.

Rick is good?

Great.

Hey, Rick, if you would, describe the scene you initially responded to, and then give us a sense of what the scene is like right now.

Rick Blackburn, can you hear me?

Rick, are you there?

All right, guys, let me just sort of do a reset, and the minute we get Rick, let me know, and we'll get back to him.

So here's where we are. At about 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Orlando fire received a call of a shooting, with multiple victims, at the Gateway Center. The Gateway Center is at 1000 Legion place. And in a wider shot, we've been able to see Lake Ivanhoe there in Orlando.

We have -- John Couwels is still available to us. OK, we'll get to John in just a second.

A couple of our affiliates, WESH and WFTV reporting that four of the eight shooting victims are described as trauma red, and that is -- nothing beyond that in terms of their condition.

John Couwels is with us now. He is one of our APJs, our all- platform journalists.

And, John, if you would, describe that area for our viewers again. And what other buildings are in that sort of two-block radius to the Gateway Center that necessarily would have needed to be secured?

COUWELS: Generally right adjacent to the building, there is a Sheridan Hotel, and also there is some type of a -- the commerce, the Orlando Chamber of Commerce is down the street and also the Children's Type of Museum or center is across the street from it. We don't know exactly.

I would imagine with the suspect lost, or not been identified yet and found in the building, they're evacuating, and the assistant police chief said in a press conference on the street that they're continuing to evacuate the buildings in the area. The evacuation is not complete. And that the victims in the building were found on multiple floors. And as you had said, four of them had been considered in a critical trauma alert.

HARRIS: Yes.

COUWELS (via telephone): That they transported, eight of those individuals to area hospitals.

HARRIS: OK, John. That's some new information for us, that the victims could actually be on multiple floors. Thank you for that.

And very quickly, obviously, we're going to continue to follow this story. Kyra Phillips and her team will pick up the coverage of this shooting situation. Multiple victims in Orlando, Florida. But, first, a quick break here on the CNN NEWSROOM.

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