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Based on Police Info: Parents Think Gunman is 22-Years-Old Elliot Rodger; Six People: Gunmen Killed in College Town Rampage

Aired May 24, 2014 - 17:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for Don Lemon. Police, the sheriff calling it a mass murder. Six people killed, now we have the name of the alleged shooter. Elliot Rodger, 22-years-old. That is an according to an attorney for the Rodger family near Santa Barbara, California. We don't know too much about Rodger, but he has apparently recorded several YouTube videos. Here's a short portion of one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIOT RODGER, SHOOTING SUSPECT: Tomorrow is the day of retribution. The day in which I will have my revenge against humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Chilling to watch. Police still talking to witnesses and collecting evidence. People who saw what happened say that the shooter opened fire from behind the wheel of his car that he was driving. He shot people at several different locations. There was a fire fight with sheriff's deputies. The gunman dead as well.

CNN's Kyung Lah in Isla Vista, California right now. And Kyung, we now have the family, the family confirming that the young man's name is Elliot Rodger. What else are you learning about him?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of the people who either saw the black BMW or heard the gunshots, all the people who lived in the area that you see behind me. Most of them have already seen those videos that you're talking about. His name has been going around here all day. The amazing thing, though, is that no one had at least, no one had spoken to, has heard of him, or had seen him anywhere until this incident happened. And this incident, they all described, the people we've spoken to all describe it as a horrifying moment.

It was Friday night. A lot of students, many from the community college, as well as UCSB all in these streets. You can see that the yellow tape goes all the way back over my shoulder there. Nine active crime scenes. Police still trying to piece it all together. And at the end, when the BMW crashed, listen to what this man says he saw as police ended it all with this gunman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAHANGIR SIDDIQUI, WITNESS: We heard a loud crash and about, you know, close to 30 rounds of gunfire, and I looked outside and I saw the BMW had crashed into parked cars on the street. I saw one cop rush to the car. The policeman cleared out the car. And then like very soon after, more sport car showed up, policemen showed up with their rifles. They cleared the scene. I saw the driver get pulled out.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Did you see the driver? How did he look?

SIDDIQUI: From what I remember when I saw the driver get pulled out of the car, he looked very hurt. I mean, to me, he was either unconscious or already dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And Siddiqui says, he also saw a man who appeared to have been a bicyclist who the driver of the BMW, the gunman struck. That bicyclist appeared to be very hurt as well, Deb. So you know, it's really has been a very difficult day. People just simply trying to understand, you know, what may have driven this man, even with those videos out there, it is simply perplexing -- Deb.

FEYERICK: And looking at some of the videos, Kyung, I know that you've also looked at those videos, it's interesting because he wanted to target sorority girls. All these girls who he believed had allegedly rebuffed him by not dating him, by not showing him any love. Were any of those involved in this, possibly members of a sorority, any of the victims?

LAH: Well, we can tell you is that the very first place he chose to go to hurt some people was a sorority. And we went to that sorority. They didn't want to speak with us, but there were two people who were hurt outside the sorority. We do not know if these people were, in fact, connected to the sorority, but we know that the very first place that he chose to start this rampage was a sorority here on campus.

FEYERICK: And you have to wonder if anybody saw this video of what he was talking about doing. Is there any suggestion -- you said nobody knew who this guy was, but is there any suggestion that somebody somewhere saw this video and alerted authorities at all?

LAH: If you look at when these videos were posted, specifically on that YouTube account, most of them were posted yesterday. The most alarming ones, the frightening ones were posted yesterday. There are other ones where he talks about his general social life, but they're not alarming like the ones that were posted yesterday. But even that, that is chilling to a lot of people here at the campus, that they could have been living in cyber space for some time before this rampage began and no one saw it, or alerted the authorities.

FEYERICK: Yes. And that's what's so scary. All right, Kyung Lah, we're going to be coming back to you in just a little while. Clearly investigators are going to be looking into all of that, and they are right now, as we assess the new information about the alleged gunman. We do want to go to Washington, where officials are keeping a close eye on the investigation.

CNN Justice Reporter Evan Perez standing by. Evan, now that investigators have these tapes, or have been looking at them, analyzing them, clearly they must have already spoken to the family now that they've got this. What do you know?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, that's right, Deb. That's one of the things that they're doing. They're reaching out to the family members. Obviously the Santa Barbara police are in charge of the investigation. Federal law enforcement is there to assist them. We know that one of the main things they're doing is to help figure out where the gun came from. Whether or not this was something that went into his planning. How soon, how long ago did he obtain this firearm?

So far, what we know is nothing really big has popped up in the search of the background of this suspect and his weapons purchase. So it's not something that necessarily would have tipped off anybody. We don't know of any records that would have prevented him from buying a gun.

Obviously California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. And obviously, there's nothing here that would have stopped him from buying a firearm. So, one of the things now they're trying to do is go through some of these videos that Kyung Lah was just describing. I mean, it's obviously very disturbing. Even though some of these only got posted yesterday. You know, there had to be something that someone might have noticed about this gunman, about this suspect that might have raised some concern, perhaps. We do know that he complained of his loneliness. He said that he was rebuffed by women. And so that is perhaps one of his motivations for doing this. This is obviously something that's going to keep investigators busy for some time to come -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Right. And stay right there, because I want to bring in Jeff Gardere who's sitting with me here on set. And Jeff, I want to ask you, in terms of the psychosis behind posting these warning videos essentially, this I am the master of the universe and I'm going to do this and I'm going to get revenge, what does it tell you about the psychology of this young man? Just from a clinical perspective?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, this was a person who obviously had narcissist qualities. It was all about him. He's a person who didn't have -- I would say much significance in the world or didn't feel that he had it. A lot of people didn't know who he was. He felt that he had been isolated, that people rebuffed him at all times, and I think a lot of this spoke to his own personality issues. Nice-looking kid. So to say that, you know, women were turned off to him all the time, obviously there was something that he must have been doing that was putting people off, and it's not just young women, I'm sure of that.

FEYERICK: Right.

GARDERE: But just not having friends at all. FEYERICK: Yes, there's a little bit of a creepy radar going off there. And you're right. Absent sound, looks like a normal kid. Looks like a happy kid. Certainly, he's got a black BMW. That could be, you know, sort of a key for some people. But the moment you hear him speak, it really becomes extremely disturbing. Evan, is there any indication that this young man was on any radar, in terms of either the shares department, or in terms of local police or in terms of any federal law enforcement, or was he able to stay under the radar?

PEREZ: Well, you know, it doesn't appear that he showed up on anyone's radar. That's what's remarkable. I mean, you're talking about someone who clearly had some wealth. He grew up in a very wealthy community outside just in the Los Angeles suburbs from what we know. He posted some videos where he's going through areas that obviously he was very familiar with and comfortable with in Montecito. One of the most wealthy parts of the country, frankly. And so he moved with ease in these areas, and yet apparently had very little in the way of friends and certainly said he had no girlfriend, had never really had one. So it is something that's remarkable, that you know, he was able to do all of this and never be noticed by anyone, and certainly didn't get any -- didn't come to the attention of law enforcement until obviously the first reports of these shootings last night at 9:30 p.m. -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes. And Jeff, what about you. We've seen it in other cases where gunmen will leave a manifesto, they leave something behind so that they're memorialized. We saw it with the UVA shooting.

GARDERE: Yes.

FEYERICK: When the man sent an entire manifesto to a television station and that worked. What are they trying to do? Is this their way of not only memorializing the horror of what they've done, but also giving an insight into why?

GARDERE: An insight into why. That's part of their delusion of grandeur. That they're going to let the world know exactly who they are, why they did what they did, because they are so amazing. He called himself a God at one point. He's going to show all the little people that he actually is the big guy, even though they treated him like the little person. This person was cold and calculating. Had been thinking about this quite some time. Don't know this individual. My heart goes out to all the victims. Even his family. But I will tell you, I would bet you this is a person -- and I've seen this many times before, brooding, always depressed, silent, always angry, something always tipping them off, always feels slighted, and that's what we've seen as part of the profile of these mass shooters where the resentment just grows and grows and grows until they explode.

FEYERICK: Until they explode.

GARDERE: And they want the world to know about it, too.

FEYERICK: Well, that's exactly right. And you also just have to wonder whether they think, oh, as soon as the world understands why I've done this, well then they're going to understand that it was completely justified. Jeff Gardere, we're going to have you stay here. Evan Perez in Washington, Kyung Lah, everybody standing by. We're going to hear from two more eyewitnesses to the shooting coming up straight away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: The college town of Isla Vista is reeling right now after the rampage last night. At least, six people and the gunman dead, from police information. The family of 22-year-old Elliot Rodger believe that he was the shooter.

Farah Reiz and Skylar Serge living nearby. They saw a girl who was graced by a shop, they joined me now. Farah, Skylar, first of all, this young lady. What happened? What did you see?

SKYLAR SERGE, WITNESS TO SHOOTING: I was up from my nap at 9:30 to hear four bullets go off. I grabbed my roommate and we locked the front door. And outside of my window, I could see a girl with her bike thrown on the floor might be bleeding. And some members from 7- Eleven came out and grabbed her, pulled her closer to the store front as we hear more bullets go off, and not so sure what's going on thinking it's fire crackers.

FARAH REIZ, WITNESS TO SHOOTING: And then we hear a bunch of pop saying, "get inside, get inside, close your windows." And you see like bunch of pedestrians just running towards homes and trying to get shelter.

SERGE: The 7-Eleven member, he grabbed his -- and he wrapped it around the girl who was hurting and to stop the bleeding, and she seemed to be OK, paramedics shortly grabbed her after and she was brought on a stretcher.

FEYERICK: So, I mean, it really sounds like first of all, these people from 7-Eleven were heroes. But also, there was a great feel of pandemonium once the deputies arrived on scene telling everybody that this was an active shooting situation. Nobody knew what was going on. Does that sound right, Sarah?

REIZ: Yes, that's right. We don't know what was going on. And we sat by his bedside table. Because in our window, you can see anything. And you see a black car like swerving and going straight towards Del Playa. And you hear the tire marks and then you see a bunch of cops like with their guns out chasing the car, just yelling at everyone walking around to get inside and take shelter.

FEYERICK: So, were the car, the black car that we believe the gunman was driving, was it at a regular speed, was he peeling down the street? How would you describe what it looked like?

REIZ: He was peeling down the street.

FEYERICK: He was. So, he was trying to get away at this point.

REIZ: It was going really fast.

FEYERICK: OK.

REIZ: I mean, I can't say it was a BMW. I don't know if it was a BMW, we just saw a really -- it was a four-door small black car, and it was -- we heard the tire screeching because it made a really fast left turn, and then you just see a bunch of cops chasing after it.

FEYERICK: And were they on foot or were they also in their vehicles? Was this a car chase?

REIZ: They were on foot first. And then we both saw it -- like three cop cars going straight towards Del Playa, where the black car was going.

FEYERICK: OK. So clearly, they knew exactly who they were looking for. Did you hear the police officers while they were telling everybody to get inside to seek shelter, were they also firing back at that vehicle as far as you either heard or witnessed?

SERGE: It seemed like they were firing back. We weren't sure who was firing, but we heard one go off, then the other. And we weren't sure if there was more than one shooter or if it were police firing.

REIZ: We just saw guns drawn. And we don't really know who shot first or who was shooting. We just saw a bunch of bullets going off.

FEYERICK: OK, so you saw the one girl. Did you see others who were hurt or others who were hit once the scene seemed to quiet down and the paramedics arrived?

REIZ: We only saw the young lady.

FEYERICK: OK. And do you know who this young girl is? Or you just saw her for the first time?

REIZ: We saw her for the first time. She was on her bike.

FEYERICK: OK.

SERGE: She was young, she had thrown her bike down.

FEYERICK: Was she -- I know this may sound crazy, we're just trying to get a sense of the fear that categorized that night. Was she crying? Was she screaming, what was her demeanor, having effectively been shot by this gunman?

SERGE: She was hysterical. She looked down and wasn't sure if it was blood running down her leg or if it was water. She had a spilled water bottle that was right next to her. I think she was just very confused.

REIZ: She was traumatized. You could tell she was freaking out. She was shaking and like Skylar and I, we didn't know what to do. We're just like watching. And we're about to leave. And so, we saw the 7- Eleven clerks go and help her and take her into their 7-Eleven store. But you can tell she was freaking out and it's just really a traumatizing scene. KELLY: Well, there's no question. And just very quickly, are you preparing for finals right now? Are you in school? What's going on with you?

SERGE: UCSB, actually we have finals in two weeks.

FEYERICK: OK.

REIZ: Santa Barbara Community College, they just finished school.

FEYERICK: All right. Well, good luck to you both. Skylar Serge, Farah Reiz, thank you so much for sharing what you witnessed with us and with all of the folks here at CNN and our viewers. Thank you.

And clinical and forensic psychologist Jeff Gardere with me here in New York. We are going to talk over what the witnesses have shared. What we know about the alleged gunman, that is coming up straight away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: The gunman in last night's California shooting spree is being described, perhaps no surprise, as mentally disturbed and possibly bent on retribution. An attorney told reporters based on what police have told the family, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger believed to be the gunman. Police have not released any kind of motive just yet, but have alluded to a YouTube video recorded by the suspected shooter, right before the rampage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODGER: Tomorrow is the day of retribution. The day in which I will have my revenge against humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Clinical and forensic psychologist Jeff Gardere is back with me. And Jeff, I want to get to this, because according to the family attorney, Alan Shifman, who said that yes that the family believed that yes, the gunman is their son. On the record, he said that the family saw those videos and were so concerned that they did go to authorities, they did go to police, so they did the right thing.

GARDERE: What happened?

FEYERICK: The disconnect. What happened?

GARDERE: Well, we don't know what happened right now. One can only imagine this family knows that their child is very disturbed. Probably there's a history of some sort. Perhaps was getting some mental health help. Let's only hope. Maybe he resisted it. But the bottom line is that they're saying they want to the police because they knew he was a danger to others. Possibly a danger to himself. It's not surprising that nothing happened because we see this happen every single day, where parents pull their hair out literally because they cannot get their kids hospitalized because they're not deemed either by law enforcement -- I don't know what this situation is, let me put that out there. Either by law enforcement or the medical community that they are enough of a danger to themselves or others to be hospitalized. So, again, we don't know what really happened.

FEYERICK: Right.

GARDERE: But it sounds like there is a disconnect here. Something fell through the safety net that's supposed to be there.

FEYERICK: And it's so interesting, because I'm just thinking of the underwear bomber and his father went to authority and said, there's something going on with my son, it's not right. But usually you don't go to police, you don't go to the authorities the first time, unless there's some sort of a history of mental illness. Unless there's some sort of a pattern of behavior that's so off the charts. So what is that telling us? The fact that the family didn't hesitate, but they went to the police.

GARDERE: It may tell us -- again, we don't know, but I've seen these sorts of situations. You cannot get your child hospitalized. You can't get the proper medical psychiatric, psychological care, so you go to the police because that is the technique that you use in order to get your child to actually get hospitalized, to get admitted. That's the shortcut. Parents don't want to do this, but they find that's the only recourse that they may have.

FEYERICK: Let's talk about medication. So, for example, if this young man did have some sort of mental illness, is there a possibility -- there's something about the way he's speaking. It's sort of stilted and he's thinking. Is there any suggestion that perhaps given that behavior, that he may have been on some sort of medication?

GARDERE: Well, we do know that the psychotropic do have serious, serious side effects. And that's why many patients are not compliant especially young people. The side effects are sometimes much worse than the actual psychiatric symptoms. I think perhaps what we've seen in some cases, we see the black box warnings. In other words, it's put on the labels of the anti-depressants that you have to be careful of suicidal thoughts. Suicidal ideations. Reason being, we're not quite sure, someone being so young, what the interaction of the drug and the physiology is. The other part of that, the anti-depressants tend to bring up your energy, your physical energy first before bringing up your actual mental energy, making you much better psychologically. So you have more physical power and therefore may act out in a much more inappropriate way.

FEYERICK: All right. And we're going to keep you here for a couple more minutes. Actually, who am I kidding? We're going to keep you here for much longer.

GARDERE: OK.

FEYERICK: But we do want to also go into the fact after a while, about whether in fact this young man knew he was going to die. Also, after this break, we're going to talk to our law enforcement expert about how this crime played out. It's coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: It's our breaking news right now. Police calling it mass murder near Santa Barbara, California, in a college town. Now we've learned that the family of a 22-year-old man, a student at a community college, named Elliot Rodger, believe that, in fact, he is the one who killed six people last night in a shooting spree. Elliot Rodger also dead. Not clear whether he turned the gun on himself or whether it was return fire. Witnesses are telling their stories. The gunman driving in his car, shooting from the driver's side window. Police found him in that car with a bullet wound. They do not know if he killed himself, or whether he was killed by return fire from those deputies. The sheriff's office is going through a video, multiple videos that the alleged gunman made where he says he's going to get revenge on women who he believes rejected him. Again, the family of 22-year-old Elliot Rodger believe that, in fact, yes, he was the shooter.

Here's how police responded last night.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: White male.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: Respond for multiple gunshot victims in front of the I.V. Deli.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: According to a witness, there was a dark-colored BMW, one occupant, a male wearing a white shirt, who was firing in the (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: Eleven responding.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: We need a second ambulance for another gunshot wound at 6553 Pardall, I.V. Deli Mart, Code three.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: Copy, another ambulance at 6553 Pardall, I.V. Deli.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: Might be another, another gunshot to the chest.

(END AUDIO FEED)

FEYERICK: Seven people are dead, including the gunman. Another seven in the hospital after this madman sprayed bullet over a California college town. Police are indeed calling it premeditated and mass murder. The gunman shot out the window of his BMW before crashing his car. He died of a gunshot wound to the head. Not clear whether he killed himself or whether it was return fire.

And retired police officer, Lou Palumbo joins me now.

And, Lou, so much to talk about. One thing I'm curious about, if this young man was intent on killing people, why not walk down the street and do it? Why stay in the safety of his car? What does that suggest to you?

LOU PALUMBO, RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT: Well, the first thing you just mentioned was the safety of his vehicle, number one. The other component is it gave him mobility. Another factor is it made it that much more difficult for the police to intercept him as he continued on this killing spree. So there are a number of denominators that existed as to why he chose a vehicle to do this. It was rather clever. It also created, by the way, Deborah, a very, very large crime scene.

FEYERICK: It's interesting, because by doing that -- exactly. We're talking about nine crime scenes. Effectively, it was one brutal rampage, but clearly because of the scope and the length of where he began firing. The FBI is helping with forensics. You've got ATF also involved. Do you think, though, this young man based on the experience you've had, do you think it was clear in his own mind that he knew at the end of this he was going to be dead?

PALUMBO: Yes, I think that most of these individuals that engage in these types of shootings realize that the end case scenario is that they meet their own demise. I think maybe the exception to that, if I may, are the two individuals involved in the Boston Marathon bombing. I thought these two individuals had a little bit of grandiose attached to their mentality. And I don't think they had intended on meeting their demise. But I think an individual like this consistent with the individual in aurora and all of these shopping malls and so on and so forth, I think they all realize at the end of the day, that they will not exist, and I think they go into it with that mentality.

FEYERICK: Lou, stand by for us.

The family of 22-year-old Elliot Rodger say that based on what police have discussed with them, they do believe that Elliot Rodger is the shooter. This was confirmed to us at CNN by a spokesman for the family. He offered this very brief statement to reporters. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN SHIFMAN, SPOKESMAN FOR FAMILY OF ALLEGED GUNMAN: The Rodger family offers their deepest compassion and sympathy to the families involved in this terrible tragedy. We are experiencing the most inconceivable pain and our hearts go out to everybody involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, much more on this breaking news story still to come at this hour.

We want to go to Jeff Gardere first, though.

When we hear about all of this and you think about this young man's demeanor -- we've also got Lou Palumbo who is standing by. We've got a lot of people standing by. But when you think of what's happening here, did this young man, given that he describes this annihilation, this humanity, and how he's been betrayed by it and nobody would love him, did he think that maybe somehow he was going to get out of this alive and that's why he sort of stayed in the car?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: I don't think so. I think his rage, his feelings of rejection, hating the world, pointing to them as being the cause of all of his issues, not taking responsibility. All of that was the explosion in his mind. And I'm convinced as Lou is that either he was going to meet his end by suicide by cop or by his own hand. He was following the formula pretty much that the other mass shooters had. His wrinkle is a little bit different. He wanted to be out there, but the way he wanted to do it was in this moving car. He wanted to do it a little bit different than the other mass shooters.

FEYERICK: And, Lou, what we're hearing now from the attorney also is that it does appear that the family did reach out to authorities, because when they saw the video of him saying that he wanted to exact retribution, that they knew that it was serious. How do you process that?

PALUMBO: Well, from a position of the family, I mean, I think they're probably devastated. They're probably in shock, to put it mildly. The one thing I do want to mention, Deborah, about this individual, if I can speak to his psyche, I think that he was at that point where suicide was going to be his choice. And I think part of these actions were to inflict pain and suffering the same way he felt pain and suffering had been inflicted upon himself. As far as processing how the family will manage this is going to be very difficult, as well as for the community.

I am very familiar with Santa Barbara. I've worked there a number of times. I've had an interaction with the Santa Barbara Police Department, the county sheriff's office. Very, very good agencies. I think they're all left reeling. They deal with a lot of day-to-day conventional narcotics problem, no surprise. They have conventional crime that they deal with. Burglary, car break-ins, but when you start looking at shootings of this type, it leaves you all in a position -- like just trying to absorb this and how you go forward from here, how you heel is a bit problematic.

FEYERICK: There's no question about that.

Jeff, yes or no, very quickly, do you think this may have been a way for him to get back at his parents too?

GARDERE: I bet you his parents were having a hard time with him for a long time. This is a way to punish the parents, who are part of the outer world, who you think have also wronged you, too.

FEYERICK: There's no question. Watching this video, he says, if I can't have you, referring to the sorority girls and everybody who has snubbed him for his whole life, I will destroy you. And then there's a small sardonic laugh, and you realize that you are inside the mind of a madman.

Lou Palumbo, Jeff Gardere, thank you for now. Stay with us, we're going to be talking to you about this a little bit later coming up.

And much more on this breaking news story still to come this hour.

But next, we are going to take you to other stories making news today, including raging wildfires in Arizona, which appear, sadly, to be getting much worse.

And a regular face here on CNN, her name used in a lawsuit against first round NFL draft pick, Johnny Manziel. Only problem, the lawsuit was a hoax and it was filed by someone else. Samantha Schacher joins us to talk about what happened and how she found out about it straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Ahead, we've got the very latest from the scene of that mass shooting in California.

But first, let's take a quick look at some other stories that we're also watching right now for you.

Three people were killed and another seriously injured in a shooting today at a Jewish museum in Belgium. The shooter still at large. Belgium's interior minister says the attack may have been a hate crime. The nation's terror threat level was raised and it is highest in locations that are frequented by the Jewish community.

Ukraine's prime minister had a defiant message for Ukrainians on the eve of national elections. We are going to the polls, was the message. Voters will be choosing a president to lead their country, a successor to their ousted pro-Moscow president. Bloody clashes in eastern Ukraine this week have raised questions of whether pro-Russian forces are trying to disrupt the election, a move that the U.S. and its European allies could trigger even tougher sanctions on Moscow.

Pope Francis's Holy Land trip started on a high note today as large crowds greeted the Catholic leader in Jordan. Francis urged everyone to put aside grievances and divisions. His trip has been billed as a Pilgrimage for Prayer with roots in faith, not politics. He'll also stop in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. This Holy Land trip is the first for Pope Francis as leader of the Roman Catholic Church and just the fourth for any pontiff in the modern era.

Dry conditions, high wind, and tough terrain could mean wildfires in Arizona will be getting worse this holiday week. 10,000 acres between Flagstaff and Sedona already have been scorched. The hot, dry, windy weather isn't going to let up. Nearly 1,000 firefighters and three air tankers are fighting the fire, which is only 5 percent contained.

It's the kind of story that fits the narrative of famous athletes accused of misconduct. The type of story that goes viral in the blink of an eye. It was supposedly a formal legal complaint filed against football star, Johnny Manziel, by HLN TV host, Samantha Schacher. Here's the problem. It's a complete and total hoax. So where did it come from and how did it get into the court system?

Samantha Schacher joins me to talk about it. She is the co-host of "Dr. Drew on Call." We're also joined by Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, Brian Claypool.

Samantha, first of all, I want to hear your side of the story. How does this even happen?

SAMANTHA SCHACHER, HLN HOST & CO-HOST, DR. DREW ON CALL: Yeah, I don't know. You can imagine how shocked I was yesterday morning to wake up to a lawsuit that I did not file, an outrageous one, at that, and then have all the media circus surrounding it. And I understand why people thought it was funny. I mean, the details were quite creative, but there's nothing funny about someone trying to attempt to smear someone's name, their reputation, hurt their career. I felt terrible for Johnny Manziel. I've never met him. That's on the record. But he didn't deserve that. And it was upsetting for me. You know, I worked really hard to get to where I am today, and I didn't want anyone to think that I was affiliated with this. I didn't want my name associated with that type of a headline. I'm usually the one reporting this. And the reaction on Twitter, for the most part, most people saw it for what it was, a hoax. But there were people that were rather mean, and believed it. And there were threats. And I'm just ready for it to be done. Onward and upward.

But I think the more important issue here is how does this happen? How can anyone seemingly just file a bogus frivolous lawsuit and make a mockery of our legal system? And I think it really underscores the issue, the flaw in some of our court systems. It needs to be addressed.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHACHER: Yeah, and perhaps Brian knows the answer to that.

FEYERICK: Exactly.

So, Brian, this fake lawsuit, first of all, riddled with typos and mistakes. Somehow it managed to get in the federal court system. My question is, why weren't any red flags raised, and should somebody be held accountable.

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Deborah, unfortunately, our legal system is like a lawless terrain. People can file whatever they want. They can cheat and lie during litigation. And sometimes we can't stop that. But in this instance, we have two problems. First of all, who is this creep that's using the justice system as a personal playground to humiliate Samantha, humiliate and degrade Johnny Manziel? Secondly, the federal court system should be vetting these filings. I do federal court work in Los Angeles, Deborah. And I will tell you that unless you properly allege in your lawsuit what's called jurisdiction, in other words, Samantha lives in a certain state. Manziel lives in a certain state and the amount in controversy exceeds $50,000. If that's not in the face of a lawsuit, the intake division at this federal courthouse should have thrown that lawsuit back out. So clearly, there is a flaw in the system.

FEYERICK: And also, the fact that it became public so quickly. You immediately said this was a fake. That's another part of this. The fact that it was being done to get attention. You immediately called it a fake. Johnny Manziel's agent did the same, tweeting, "This joke lawsuit is obviously 1,000,000 percent fake. Embarrassing I have to read this after reading this nonsense."

First of all, Samantha, have you thought about this? Is this possibly somebody you know or somebody who's trying to get back at you?

SCHACHER: You know, I don't think so. We believe we know who it is, and I don't even want to give that person the platform. But I feel like it's almost someone that may have a vendetta against Manziel. I mean, I'm nobody, I don't know why -- I guess unless it's somebody that watches HLN and "Dr. Drew on Call" at 9:00. But I can't imagine why I was dragged into this. But I guess only time will tell. I do hope they catch this person and that there's some justice.

FEYERICK: And, Samantha, look, a lot of people -- we're sort of dodging the issue about what was filed and what was said on your defense. Everybody's going to be going to the website to find out. So in your own words, what was the phony bogus charge in general terms, if you don't mind? Just so our audience knows.

SCHACHER: You mean, some of the details within the lawsuit?

FEYERICK: Yeah. Yeah.

SCHACHER: Oh, my gosh.

FEYERICK: What are you comfortable saying?

SCHACHER: I'm comfortable saying all of it, but I guess everything from the pictures that he would apparently send this Samantha Schacher of his privates inside a hot dog. I mean, come on. And then him doing something similar on the Disney ride, "It's a Small World," which is one of my all-time favorite rides.

FEYERICK: Mine, too.

SCHACHER: It's just -- and like Brian said, and you did as well, it's riddled with typos and it has the address to the CNN/HLN address in Atlanta. So someone did think about the details, thinking OK, she's working on HLN, here's the address in Atlanta. But it's absolutely ridiculous.

FEYERICK: Right.

OK, Brian, very quickly, you know, yes or no, can anybody file a lawsuit if they so choose without any sort of identification that in fact they're the ones filing it. You call it lawless terrain. Is that pretty much the size of it?

CLAYPOOL: This is really serious. I think we need to look at the legal ramifications of this to stop a copycat from doing this again. First of all, Samantha has a civil lawsuit against this clown for misappropriation of her name. Johnny Manziel has a defamation case against this idiot for filing this, and he can prove a defamation case, even though he's a public figure, because this person acted with actual malice. And lastly -- (CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: Absolutely.

CLAYPOOL: -- the district attorney -- the district attorney where this guy lives, they need to find him and prosecute him for impersonation.

FEYERICK: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

CLAYPOOL: That will stop this from happening again.

FEYERICK: Exactly, as an example.

All right, Samantha Schacher, Brian Claypool, thank you.

And, Samantha, we're glad you came on to --

SCHACHER: Thank you.

FEYERICK: -- set the record straight to everyone.

Thanks so much, everyone. Appreciate it.

And back to our coverage of breaking news in California. We're learning new information about the young man killing six and injuring several others. We'll show you part of the video message that he left behind, part of many of them. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: For the nearly 12,000 people around Washington, D.C., who are homeless, finding their own place to stay may seem like a solution to all of their problems. The many people who lift themselves out of homelessness face another challenge in ending the cycle of poverty. And that is turning a house into a home. That's where this week's "CNN Hero," Mark Burgle, steps in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are emotional right now. I'm excited. I'm so glad things are starting to turn around. It's been five years. Me and my kids had nowhere to go. We just had to go from place to place. We slept in abandoned cars. We moved in here with nothing. I see my children on the floor going to bed, it hurts me.

OK. High. MARK BURGLE, CNN HERO: There is no stability and no dignity when you live in apartments that have nothing in them.

So how this works, OK, anything it is that you want here, you put your sticker on and that's what you guys will take home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

BURGLE: Once we get the homes furnished, they have a chance to take a breath and start to create a different life.

We pick up furniture and other home goods from people that have more than they need and we distribute them free of charge to people who have nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like this table. As a family, we can sit down and we can just eat. Got something to sit on, something to lay on.

Now, we have it back.

Now, my kids can pursue their dreams.

BURGLE: This is a good start, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, it is.

BURGLE: I help people to find the hope that was missing from their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Love you. Good night.

BURGLE: And the opportunity they did not know was before them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: What a great idea. A great story.

Every week we honor a new "CNN Hero" and an every-day person doing extraordinary things to help others. And of course, if you know someone who, like Mark, deserves this recognition, go to CNNheroes.com now. Tell us all about them. We want to know who they are.

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