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Remembering Massacre Victims; Concerned Parent Issues Call for Action; Profile of a Killer; Parents Struggle with Tragedy; Neighbors Talk about Suspect; School Shooting Revives Gun Debate

Aired December 16, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon reporting live from Newtown, Connecticut, two days after a gunman went on a rampage at an elementary school. Throughout the day we'll bring you details on the victims and on the investigation and there are some other big stories that are breaking today as well.

Our Deborah Feyerick will help us get through that. She will get through the headlines for us and she's back in Atlanta. Hello, Deb. We'll see you in just a moment.

But first a mass shooting that has cut short the lives of 26 people, 20 of them children, an incomprehensible crime that has left this community and the entire nation in a state of shock.

In Newtown, and surrounding towns, makeshift memorials are being set up and vigils are being held for the victims. It is an overwhelming outpouring of grief, sadness and support for the families who have lost loved ones in Friday's massacre. There was this emotional gathering about 30 miles away from Newtown in Stratford.

One hundred and fifty people attended a candlelight vigil in Newtown last night. Many of them were sobbing as the names of the victims were read out loud. President Barack Obama will try to comfort the victims' families today. He is scheduled to arrive in Newtown in just a couple of hours.

He is going to meet with families and first responders and then tonight he'll speak at an interfaith vigil. We're going to bring that service to you live here on CNN in its entirety, 7:00 p.m. Eastern will speak. We'll have it here on CNN.

Now to the latest on the investigation, CNN's Alison Kosik joins us now with new information from police -- Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I am standing, Don, in the neighborhood where the gunman, Adam Lanza, lived with his mother, Nancy Lanza, who he state police say killed before he went on that massacre at the school.

Now we're not sure yet if this area has been closed down, as a crime scene, we certainly have not seen any activity here since yesterday afternoon. You know, the focus really seems to be on the school at this point. We're learning new details, even from the governor of Connecticut, Dan Malloy.

He confirmed what our sources had already been telling us, that this gunman literally blasted, he shot his way inside the school despite the fact that this school had security in place.

That you had to be buzzed in as of 9:30 to get into this school because the doors were locked including security cameras inside the school as well, but once again, we're learning that he literally shot his way into the school.

From state police, we're also learning that they discovered four weapons at the school, they were found at the school. Three were in the classroom, another one was found at the crime scene.

And an additional three weapons are sources say, were found in the home where Adam shared with his mother, Nancy. As for other details about the victims, this becomes very heartbreaking when you hear these details come out.

We're learning that all of the victims died from multiple gunshot wounds. Some of these little kids, 6 and 7 years old, were shot anywhere from three to 11 times. We're also learning that the gunman shot inside the school, inside a section of the school, just two classrooms and the hallway.

And from this news conference that we listened to, a little while ago, Don, we also learned that the question was, will these kids return, will the children return to this school now that what's happened there.

And the way that question was answered was, it's too early to say whether or not that would happen. But it looks like possibly that kids will be transported to another school in the area.

And that they're hoping, they're really hoping, that they keep these kids together and you can only understand why. You want to keep these kids together who have been through such a traumatic, horrible experience -- Don.

LEMON: Don't quote me on that. I think I had a guest on earlier, Alison. I don't know if I have the right school district. I think she said they're going to be transferred to Monroe school district or something like that. I think that appears to be in the works, but again, don't quote me. We will check on that.

I also understand that you talked to a man whose children used to go to Sandy Hook Elementary School and he is trying to mobilize his neighbors to take action to prevent these kinds of tragedies from happening to anyone, not just kids.

KOSIK: Yes, his name is Lee Shull. You know, he was talking to me earlier, how do you really, you know, make sense of this? How do you move forward after this? He says, you know, some people grieve and he said what he wants to do is take action.

So what he's tried to do today is get as many people together, in fact he's in his meeting right now. He got a meeting together with people who lived in Newtown to try to figure out what to do. His ultimate goal is to try to make change happen to try to figure out what happened here.

Why it happened and to try to make change whether it's gun laws or trying to figure out how to change the moral fabric of this country. He has certainly gotten people together today, and listen to why he's doing this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE SHULL, CONCERNED PARENT: We're trying to get the word out for this country. That we thought this was a safe community but in any community, whether it's a proliferation of guns and people with mental health issues, possibly, this can happen anywhere. We need to start here and take this event and learn from it and we need it to grow across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Lee Shull lives in this neighborhood where the gunman lived. He said he's feeling it even in his home even though he's never met the gunman before. He said his daughter, who went to the school, was at the school in that classroom where all of those children were gunned down.

He said three other girls who share a dance studio with one of his daughters, they have been killed. You see, you see how this community is so connected and why someone like Lee Shull wants to come out and do something to feel like he's trying to help the process along.

You know, as this community tries to heal from something that feels like it's going to be impossible to heal from -- Don.

LEMON: Yes. A lot of people have said to me, some people who were at the school. Others who just know people say at this point they feel helpless. And so you know, he wants to do something to help out so he doesn't feel helpless. I think it's a normal, natural feeling in this situation. Thank you, Alison. We'll get back to you a little bit later on throughout the hour.

And for many people, especially the families of the victims, you know the big question is why. Why did a gunman allegedly kill his mother, and then go to a school and kill innocent children and adults?

I want to bring in John Navarro, who is in Florida right now. He is a profiler for the FBI. He is an expert of figuring out why people commit such heinous acts.

Joe, we don't have any letters left behind. We don't know a motive. As a profiler, I wonder where you begin when someone, I mean, quite honestly, may have taken many of the answers to his grave.

JOE NAVARRO, FORMER FBI SENIOR PROFILER: That's the unfortunate thing is we may not have all the answers. One of the things that we've learned over the years is these individuals don't act just on impulse. This is usually something that's been going on for a while.

There is some planning. There's the acquisition of the weapons. There's oftentimes a lot of wound collecting where they focus on social slights, things that have been done to them. They nurture these things and then they use that to, to sort of potentiate them, so when they act out, they act out violently.

A lot of these individuals do give off ques. They do leave behind in social media some indicators. Oftentimes people we talk to say, boy, there was something quirky, odd or somebody should have been looking at this individual.

But, you know, no one lives with a camera behind them all the time. So it's often very difficult to detect.

LEMON: Yes, but Joe, you know, I know a lot of quirky and odd people. Some people may say that I am quirky and odd. I mean, there is -- there's a difference between quirky and odd, and going into a schoolhouse and you know, gunning people down, especially children. It's always -- it seems to always be young men in their 20s. What's -- what's up with that?

NAVARRO: Well, there are a lot of theories that say this is a testosterone issue. We don't have girls going out and doing mass, mass killings. That testosterone fosters this, but obviously not everybody becomes a killer.

Because, you know, testosterone flows in their veins. These are people that are not professionals. But you know, when we listen to people say well, they act quirky or odd or so forth, these are people that are not professionals.

I think if professionals looked at these individuals, they would say there's actually something here this individual is harboring a lot of grief or they are thinking about using violence to correct a situation and so forth. And that's the unfortunate thing --

LEMON: Hi, Joe, can I jump in and ask you this because, you know, we always say they're harboring grief. They're doing this. Most people who harbor grief is someone who's lost a number of people. Both my dad, my father, my stepdad, my grandmother, people harbor grief, you don't tell people about it. So no one knows, you sort of keep it on the inside. So how can you profile that?

NAVARRO: Well, and that's the problem. You know, the Secret Service looked at it in 2004 and found that there is no template. There are some people though, that do collect these wounds, that they do nurture this grief. That they do nurture these social slights.

They build on them and use them. The problem is it's very difficult to detect these individuals. Most of us don't sit around and debrief our children. And that's why, you know, ten years on, since Columbine High School, there's really no template for being able to dissect this.

Other than we have to observe and then when we sense that there's issues. We have to try to get children some help.

LEMON: Yes, you bring up a very good point. I think that's maybe of the solutions there. When you say most of us don't sit around and debrief our children. Maybe we should every day.

After school, how was your day, what did you do, how are you feeling and in the morning, same thing. That may be part of the solution. Thank you, Joe Navarro, we appreciate it.

There's some developing news coming out of Washington to tell you about. Has House Speaker John Boehner come up with a proposal? The president and Democrats can accept to avoid the fiscal cliff? We've got the details for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A lot going on here in Newtown, of course, but we want to head back to CNN Headquarters in Atlanta and to my colleague, Deborah Feyerick for a look at some of the other news making headlines right now. Hi, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there, Don. Thanks so much.

Well, a deal could be closer to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. A source tells CNN that House Speaker John Boehner has agreed or offered to raise rates on people making more than a million dollars that would be an exchange for cuts.

The White House still holding firm to its $250,000 threshold, unless the deals is reached by January 1st, practically everyone will be hit with a tax increase.

It appears that President Obama has tapped Massachusetts Senator, John Kerry, to be his next secretary of state. A source says the president may make the announcement later this week.

Kerry narrowly lost the presidency in 2004 to President George W. Bush. He is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and he's also a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.

Well, in California, a frightening incident for shoppers at a mall parking lot, Newport Beach. That is what you're hearing. It is gunfire, a man in the parking lot firing 50 shots in the air yesterday.

Stores filled with holiday shoppers quickly locked their doors, no one was hit, but one person suffered minor injuries trying to get out of the area. The suspect is in custody. Police have not given a reason for the shooting.

And let's go back to Don Lemon who's live in Newtown, Connecticut. Don, you know, one thing I was listening to your interview with the profiler. What's so incredible about the alleged shooter is he's like a ghost.

You know, after Columbine, we had a huge sort of bio on who these two kids were. After the movie shooting, the one that you covered so extensively, we knew a sense of who that person was. But in this particular case, this alleged shooter, Adam Lanza, he's like a ghost. Nobody knows really anything about him.

LEMON: Nothing about him. Some things you may not know as you heard the profiler say. They don't have information on people who harbor grief and resentment because they don't really talk about it that much.

Deb, before I move on. I want to thank you for what you said coming out of those two ladies who were here because I'm not a parent. I'm an uncle and a great uncle, that's not the same as being a parent.

And this must be really tough for parents around the country, especially with school-aged children right now.

FEYERICK: It's so difficult. Because there's something about a child, they are just -- you know, when a child turns two it effectively doubles their lifespan on the earth.

There's so much learning and there's so much growing that goes on each and every year. That it's just, you can't even imagine it. I once remember hearing something that was so powerful.

That an oak tree and a rose both live the same amount, the lifetime that they are supposed to live and that's the only way that I can look at it, which is you know, the oak tree, which may be 94 years old and a child that's 6 -- it's the lifetime that's set for them. I suppose.

LEMON: Well, Deb Feyerick, thank you for that. We appreciate it and our thoughts and prayers are with not only the people here, but all the moms and dads around the country who are horrified by this. Deb, stick around, we'll get back to you in Atlanta shortly.

The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, they thrust the small town of Newtown into the national spotlight. We're going to take a closer look at this Connecticut town coping with extraordinary grief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Newtown is a close-knit community. So the grief of this school shooting is affecting everyone. As CNN's Khung Lah shows us, parents are struggling to make sense of it all to themselves and to their kids.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA FERRARO, PARENT: It's so sad how quickly all of that can be taken away from you in a heartbeat.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Grief has settled in for the parents.

FERRARO: It's just so senseless.

LAH: Rather than do nothing, Laura Ferraro can at least lay flowers and be grateful that her own children don't seem to understand. A luxury of the very young that most don't have. A small community they all seem to know a victim some, directly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We feel something unusual. They didn't respond on the phone calls or messages, two words.

LAH: Trying to cope and connect, signs are everywhere in the town center. This one marked each lost victim counting up to 27 including the shooter's mother. Another reminded it wasn't just children who were lost. Mandy Ives is thinking of the principal, her 9-year-old son was a student at the school.

MANDY IVES, PARENT: We moved here in the middle of the school year. She was so kind to my son.

LAH: David Keane's 5-year-old daughter Alexis went to preschool with the children of Sandy Hook Elementary.

DAVID KEANE, PARENT: I'm afraid to even look it and recognize and see the names of my little ones' playmates.

LAH: Keane sent his daughter to a different elementary school. A stroke of fate on a day when parents look for answers where there are none.

KEANE: Just heart wrenching right now. It's not easy to swallow what's going on in my backyard.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Newtown, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Yesterday, I took a walk through this town and this town of 27,000 people, all of them are still trying to process the horror of what happened just down the road.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Right behind me that's the road that leads up to the school where this happened. It's been blocked off. You can see the sign here right across the street on the porch it said God bless Sandy Hook. That just about says it all.

Right here in the middle of the square, 26 candles for all of the victims in the tragedy right here at the times square and up the street, a church where the victims are being memorialized.

So this is one of the intimate little squares here in Sandy Hook. You can see the little quaint stores, beautiful little stores and then come this way. You can see just the media, and people have taken this square over.

When I talk to people here, they say, there's never this many people, there are never this many people who come to this town on a Saturday and Sunday to see how intimate and how beautiful this little town is, look, a creek that runs right through it. The people of this small town probably never dreamed that their town would be the focus of such pain and anguish and sorrow. This is the Newtown United Methodist Church and this is where a lot of media are camp out. They give preschool classes ages two to six.

Sadly some of the -- some of the ages of the kids had died. There's the church behind me. It's been opened now for 24 hours. It will be open for 24 fours for as long as they need it. Some of the members of that church died and anyone who wants to come by and pay their respects to the people who died. Anyone who needs help from this church, they can come here and get it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: For more information on how you can help those affected by the shooting, you can go to cnn.com/impact. That's a live makeshift memorial there, a vigil for the people who lost their lives. This one is not far from where I am.

You see the police car right there on the hill. That's the school. That's the road that leads to the school here and there are 26 candles for every person who died inside of that school.

You're looking at a square it Newtown, Connecticut, live pictures right now. Trying to make sense of a massacre, we're going to look at the quiet, affluent neighborhood of sandy look and talk with people who knew the young man who is accused of doing all this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And we'll be going back to Don Lemon in Newtown, Connecticut. In just about several hours, President Obama is scheduled to arrive there in Newtown. He'll meet with families of the 26 victims killed in Friday's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The president will also speak at an interfaith vigil tonight. We'll be bringing you that service live at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. We're following the latest developments on the shooting investigation. Here's what we know right now.

Connecticut Governor, Dan Malloy, says the 20-year-old suspect shot his way into the school. We've also learned that all 20 of the children killed inside were shot multiple times. All of them were 6 and 7 years old.

Investigators are still processing the crime scene, physically and forensically. Police say they expect all questions surrounding the case will ultimately be answered because they have found certain evidence.

Medical examiner's office is starting to release the bodies of the 26 victims back to their families and funerals are expected to be held this week.

The suspected gunman's father, Peter Lanza, is expressing condolences to the victim's families. He released a statement saying quote, we're in a state of disbelief. Trying to find whatever answers we can. We, too, are asking why. We've cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so we're saddened, but struggling to make sense of what has transpired.

We're going to go to Don Lemon. He is in Newtown, and Don, so much going on. So difficult, even for the father to have to put in context that allegedly his son is the one who caused so much grief and so much pain for all of these families, targeting an elementary school.

LEMON: Yes, it's unbelievable. It's really unbearable to think about, Deb, a son apparently getting guns from his own home and going on a killing rampage. Our Brian Todd who went out and spoke with some people who know the shooting suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: His motive for this unspeakable act is still not clear. Law enforcement officials say. And in digging for details about shooter Adam Lanza and his family, accounts emerge that are still confusing, sometimes conflicting.

A neighbor who knew him in recent years describes Lanza as troubled, but listen to this account from a young man who knew him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was just a kid.

TODD (on camera): Just a kid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a kid.

TODD: Never anti-social?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Adam, no.

TODD: Trouble-maker?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, definitely not.

TODD: Noticeable? Did he just kind of blend into the background?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, nothing that would warrant any of this.

TODD: Ryan Kraft says he babysat Adam Lanza about 10 years ago when Lanza was 10 and Kraft was 15. He describes Lanza as focused, quiet, introverted. He never saw evidence of violence, Kraft says. But says Lanza did throw the occasional temper tantrum.

RYAN KRAFT, BABYSITTER FOR ADAM LANZA: Just general stuff like you would have to put him to bed and he wouldn't like that or we had to stop watching TV, and he wouldn't like that. Normal stuff that kids do, but I guess at 10 years old, kids get out of that phase, but that wasn't the case for Adam.

TODD: Kraft was only a year older than Adam Lanza's older brother, Ryan. He says their mother told him to let Ryan do whatever he wanted. But as for Adam --

KRAFT: What I really remember clearly is that Nancy always asked me to always be with him in the room no matter what like don't go to the bathroom, don't ever leave him without supervision.

TODD: Kraft says Adam had a contentious relationship with his mother, Nancy. She had split from the boy's father, Peter Lanza, who is described by the job networking web site LinkedIn as tax director and vice president at GE Energy Financial Services.

But Kraft says Nancy Lanza was an engaged mother, always setting up play dates with her sons and taking part in neighborhood activities. Neighbors and friends say Nancy Lanza enjoyed gardening and had taken time off from her job in finance.

GINA MCDADE, LANZA NEIGHBOR: Just like normal anybody else in this neighborhood. You know, decorate the house, the house was always pristine and, I mean, she was just like any other housewife.

TODD (on camera): But like her son, there are gaps in Nancy Lanza's story that still need to be filled in. She owned the weapons that Adam Lanza used in the killings, including a semiautomatic rival according to a law enforcement source and it's not clear why she purchased them. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Still so much to learn. Well, there is other news as well in Washington. House Speaker John Boehner has agreed to raise taxes on the rich to avert the fiscal cliff.

A source tells CNN that Boehner has offered to raise tax rates on people making more than $1 million in exchange for entitlement cuts. The White House is still holding to its $250,000 threshold. Unless a deal is reached by January 1st, practically everyone, 98 percent of Americans will be hit with a tax increase.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood declares a narrow victory in the first round of hotly contested constitutional referendum. This is the only first weekend of voting, the rest of the country will vote next weekend. Election monitor report some claims of voter intimidation, as well as early poll closings.

Former South African President, Nelson Mandala is recovering in a hospital in Pretoria. The 94-year-old Nobel Laureate had gall stones removed yesterday. That's according to a statement from President Jacob Zoma's office. Mandela was hospitalized last weekend for a lung infection. He's been keeping a low profile for years and is hailed as a hero of democracy in South Africa.

Well, a message of hope in the wake of unspeakable heartbreak. The father of one of the children killed in Connecticut offers as message of love and reconciliation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FEYERICK: Fox Television has pulled episodes of their popular comedies "Family Guy" and "American Dad" that were supposed to air tonight out of respect for the school shooting victims.

Tom Cruise was supposed to be in Pittsburgh last night for the preview of his new movie "Jack Reacher," but the studio canceled the event because of the shooting in Connecticut. The film begins with a scene involving a sniper attack.

And today, the NFL teams playing in eight different games, they're all planning to do some kind of remembrance. We now go back to Don Lemon who is in Newtown, Connecticut -- Don.

LEMON: As well they should do some type of remembrance. Thank you very much, Deb. Last night friends and mourners gathered in Stratford, Connecticut to remember Sandy Hook Elementary Teacher, Victoria Soto.

You can see several people in the crowd were wearing green. That was Victoria's favorite color. The first grade teacher was killed on Friday morning. She died trying to protect her students. Victoria Soto was 27 years old.

Emilie Parker was 6 years old, she is another victim of the tragedy and her father spoke publicly last night. He is the only parent to come forward publicly it talk about their terrible loss, because he wants everyone to know how special his little girl was.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT PARKER, DAUGHTER EMILIE WAS KILLED IN SHOOTING: I would really like to offer our deepest condolences to all of the families directly affected by the shooting. It's a horrific tragedy and we want everybody to know that our hearts and prayers go out to them.

This includes the family of the shooter. I can't imagine how hard this experience must be for you. And I want you to know that our family and our love and our support goes out to you as well.

My daughter, Emilie, would be one of the first ones to be standing and giving her love and support to all those victims because that's the type of person that she is. Not because of any parenting that my wife and I could have done, but because those are the gifts that were given to you by her heavenly father.

I have two really good friends at home who have set up a Facebook page to help raise money for Emilie. And when I've gotten on that and seen the number of people who have commented and expressed their condolences, it's been quite overwhelming.

As the deep pain begins to settle into our hearts, we find comfort reflecting on the incredible person that Emilie was. And how many lives that she was able to touch in her short time here on earth. Emilie was bright, creative and very loving.

Emilie was always willing to try new things other than food. She loved to use her talents to touch the lives of everyone she came in contact with. She was an exceptional artist and she always carried around her markers and pencils so she never missed an opportunity to draw a picture or make a card for those around her.

I can't count the number of times Emilie noticed someone feeling sad or frustrated and would rush to find a piece of paper to draw them a picture or to write them an encouraging note. Emilie's card-making was expressed beautifully this last October when she placed a very special card that she had made into the casket with her grandpa, who also just recently died of a tragic accident.

Emilie was a mentor to her two little sisters in delighting in teaching them how to read, dance and find the simple joys in life. Emilie's laughter was infectious and all those who had the pleasure to meet her would agree that this world is a better place because she has been in it she was their best friend.

They were born within three years of each other, so by law, they're very close. She was teaching my middle daughter to read. She would help my youngest daughter learn how to make things, show her how to do crafts. They looked up to her. And they looked to her when, when they needed comfort.

Usually that's, that is saved for a mom or a dad. But it was sweet to see the times when one of them or fall or get their feelings hurt, how they would run to Emilie to get support and hugs and kisses. She was the type of person that could just light up a room.

She -- she always had something kind to say about anybody. And her -- her love and the strength that she gave us and the example that she showed us is remarkable. She is an incredible person and I'm so blessed to be her dad.

I was leaving to work and she woke up before I left. And I've actually been teaching her Portuguese. So our last conversation was in Portuguese. She told me good morning. And asked how I was doing and I said that I was doing well and she said that she loved me and I gave her a kiss and I was out the door.

Free agency is given to all of us to act and choose to do whatever we want and God can't take that away from us. And I know that that's something that he was given and that's what he chose to do with it. And I know that God can't take that away. I'm not mad.

Because I have my agency to make sure that I use this event to do what I can, to do whatever I can, to want to make sure that my family and my wife and my daughters are taken care of. And that if there's anything that I can do to help anybody at anytime, anywhere, that I would be willing to do that.

As we move on from what happened here, what happened to so many people, let it not turn into something that defines us. But something that inspires us to be better, to be more compassionate and more humble people.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Emilie and her family moved her to Newtown from Utah earlier this year and she will be laid to rest in Utah. You know, this shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary is raising lots of questions, including how far the second amendment extends the rights to bear arms. We'll take a closer look after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The shooting here in Newtown is reviving debate over gun control and the second amendment to the constitution. Most people think they know what it says. That it just says, you have the right to bear arms.

Here is the actual text. It says, "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Deb, that's the actual text there.

FEYERICK: That's it. And that's why when you hear people talk about gun control, they say we respect the second amendment, but when it comes to the more military weapons that is where it gets a little bit trickier.

This tragedy will once again fuel the debate over a right to bear arms, how much regulation should there be, regarding the accessibility of guns. We want to bring in our CNN contributor, former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes.

Tom, no one is talking about removing the right to bear arms. But there are 310 million non-military weapons in the United States. That is more than one for every single American.

First of all, is it even possible to try to limit the weapons that are out there -- how do you even do that?

TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Deborah. Well, it would be possible. It would be, have to be done over a long period of time. But when you look at the right to bear arms, you know, we're really looking at an issue that's on the continuum where you might have a single-shot pistol on the one end of the continuum and nuclear weapons on the other.

So the right of a citizen to possess arms, does that mean they can go out and obtain nuclear weapons and automatic weapons and tanks and firepower, aircraft carriers? No. The government says that at some point, we're going to cut you off and you can't have a more powerful weapon than what the government says.

But the argument now is at what point on the continuum to do we make the limitation, do we say you can have pistols, shotguns and single- shot rifles? But you cannot have an assault rifle, a fully automatic weapon. We're really debating at what point do we say enough is enough, you don't need to have firepower beyond the certain point on the continuum.

Another point constitutionally for me is when second amendment was passed as part of the Bill of Rights. You didn't have a lot of difference between the firepower of a militia and local farmers with their muskets and let's say the U.S. government at the time or the British government before them who had basically muskets and cannons and not much more than that.

Again, the ability of the population to have some kind of a parody to fend off tyranny, they wouldn't be able to do it even as we won the revolutionary war with muskets and cannons. But today, are the citizens going to prevent the tyranny of the United States government with even this Bushmaster or these pistols when the government has got nukes?

I don't think so. Times have changed in 250 years and it really is time to mike an assessment of what is reasonable under the second amendment for people to be able to protect themselves. But not have such a proliferation of weapons that they repeatedly fall in the hands of mentally disturbed people who commit these acts, with far too much frequency any more.

LEMON: As were you saying that, Tom, you took the words right out of my mouth. That was in the constitution, when they put that in the constitution. Muskets, pea shooters, no one thought about all of these guns. They probably had no idea what these extended magazines that kill people at random just a matter of moments.

And so it's really the interpretation of that because it seems, just looking at it, common scenically, it says, you know, it appears that a government becomes a tyranny. The people should have a way to rise up against the government not go out and hunt people down because you can get a weapon.

FUENTES: No, and it's not going to happen anymore. If you have a local militia that says, and we've had some, as the FBI has had many cases of this. If you have a local militia that's decided to take on the United States government, they wouldn't even be able to take on a small contingent of Navy SEALs.

Much less the rest of the government with nuclear weapons and stealth fighters and bombers and cruise missiles, the array of weaponry that this government possesses and most developed governments possess.

There's too way any group of citizens can put together enough of their Bushmasters and Glocks and Sig Sauers to take on a government any more.

LEMON: Tom Fuentes, thank you very much.

FUENTES: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: In times of tragedy, remembering moments of goodness. As a nation grieves, we're going to look at stories of inspiration.

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LEMON: We wanted to end this hour with a reminder, an important reminder, after all we have seen this weekend, that people can be good, and acts of kindness are everywhere.

We want to you remember this -- just last month, this New York City police officer made news by offering a homeless man in Times Square a pair of boots on a cold night or this -- a Tennessee boy who helped his brother in a wheelchair compete in a triathlon, helping him achieve his dream to cross a finish line.

Or the football team at one Arizona high school who protected this freshman with special needs from bullies. And just this weekend, there's a Texas cop who wrapped $100 bill in a traffic ticket he gave to one struggling dad.

Just some of the encouraging moments of humanity we have seen this year. It's important to keep in mind there's still good in the world even when tragic things happen.

What could prompt one to carry out such horrific acts? Many questions will never be answered about the suspected shooter and his troubles. We're going to talk with an expert on criminal behavior and the patents that can cause a person to snap. Erin Burnett joins us, next.

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