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Attack on Military Bases in U.S.; White House Reaction to Attacks; Pentagon Reaction to Attacks; Sen. Bob Corker Talks Military Security; New Details on Military Shooter; 2 Military Targets Had Little Security; James Holmes Found Guilty in Movie Theater Murders; Friend Says Abdulazeez Visited Middle East; Muslim Community Condemns Attack; Investigation Continues on Flight MH17; New Video of MH17 Aftermath; Plane Crash Victim Talks Survival. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired July 16, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:14] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.
We're following breaking news in Tennessee. Shootings at two U.S. military installations in Chattanooga are being investigated as possible acts of terror in what the mayor calls a nightmare. Four Marines were killed, at least three other people wounded when a gunman with an A.K.-47 style weapon at a military recruitment office and then a Navy Reserve center all within 30 minutes. Police killed the suspected shooter, 24-year-old Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez. Abdulazeez was born in Kuwait and had Jordanian citizenship. He was naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently traveled to the Middle East. But he was not in any of the U.S. data bases of suspected terrorists.
And FBI special agent in charge of the investigation says his team's work is just beginning.
U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the nation Thursday, sending his condolences to the families, he also promised a very thorough, prompt investigation.
Witnesses say there were so many bullets fired they lost count. A source tells us Youssuf Abdulazeez had three rounds of clips, which helped him to keep police at bay for sometime.
CNN's Victor Blackwell has more on how the attack played out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the aftermath of 24-year-old gunman Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez's rampage. He targeted U.S. military personnel at two locations. This is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ATTORNEY: This is a threat to the United States. These service members served their country with pride and they have been the victims of these shootings. BLACKWELL: Shortly before 11:00 a.m., Abdulazeez drove up to a
military recruitment center in Chattanooga, pulled out a high-powered weapon and fired at witnesses.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS (voice-over): I seen the dry, in a drop top, powered rifle, it was not simultaneously. But it was pow, pow, pow, and he was just firing shots right over here into the Air Force office. And I mean -- I don't even know how many shots he fired but it was a lot.
BLACKWELL: The suspect then headed to a nearby naval reserve area. There he opened fire killing three, and wounding others including a policeman and a military serviceman. He was engaged by authorities and now is dead, ending a 30-minute incident.
FRED FLETCHER, CHIEF, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, POLICE DEPARTMENT: What we do know is somebody brazenly attacked the service members.
BLACKWELL: Tonight, authorities are doing a thorough forensics of the suspect's car hoping to find evidence or clues.
It is believed that he acted alone. FBI and ATF are actively investigating and have declared it a federal crime scene.
A former recruit is devastated to see the aftermath.
UNIDENTIFIED FORMER RECRUIT: That door, with bullet holes all over it, was the door that I walked through in 2009 to join the military. And it hurts me.
(on camera): BLACKWELL: And you know, one of the things that both the media and investigators are hoping to find in situations like this is video. Possibly surveillance video. Well, we have learned from the property manager at the Lee Highway location where the recruitment center is that there is one surveillance camera that points at the parking lot right next to the recruitment center. And we're told that the FBI has been in contact to try to get that video. That is if the video was recorded. No confirmation that it was.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: President Barack Obama is calling the killings heartbreaking.
Our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, has more from the White House reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Obama vowed the FBI will conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into the shootings in Tennessee that left four Marines dead. Just as he returned from a trip to Oklahoma, the president rushed into the Oval Office for a statement to the country about the attack. He said he received a briefing from FBI director James Comey. The president said this appeared to be the work of a lone gunman, but that it is too early to say what the motive was behind the shootings. He added that the Pentagon and other facilities run by the Defense Department are being vigilant as the investigators sort out what happened.
And the president expressed his sympathies to the families of the fallen Marines. Here is what he had to say.
OBAMA: My main message is the deepest sympathies to the American people, to the four Marines that have been killed. It is a heartbreaking circumstance for these individuals who have served our country with great valor, to be -- to be killed in this fashion. And although the families are still in the process of being contacted I want them to know that I speak for the American people. In expressing our deepest condolences and knowing that they have their -- they have our full support as they try to overcome the grief that is involved here.
[02:05:46] ACOSTA: The president stressed that because this was an attack on a military facility he wants his administration to have all of the information necessary to make an assessment about any motives. In the meantime, he is asking the entire country to pray for the Marines and their families.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: The names of the victims have not been released at this time until their families are notified.
CNN correspondent, Barbara Starr, has more on what is next for the military.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Marine Corps reaching out for the families, the four Marines killed by the gunman in Tennessee. The procedures will be the same as if they fell in battle in Iraq or Afghanistan. There will be a liaison to help them through this process of tragedy and grieving. But also the military is looking at security at places like recruit centers and support places, the kinds of facilities that were attacked in Tennessee, these are not highly secured areas. They are open, they want to invite young Americans to come in, sit down and talk about having a military career. The military has a lot of secure facilities but essentially the United States military lives and works in towns and cities across the country. They do not want to have to wall themselves off from that. But certainly this attack continuing to raise questions about whether security such as it ISIS, is sufficient.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Earlier, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, from Tennessee, spoke with CNN. We asked him whether or not U.S. military installations, like the ones targeted in Chattanooga, need better security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BOB CORKER, (R), TENNESSEE: I understand that part of the regulations that occur at the Pentagon is that facilities like this on the inside do not allow the people inside to have weapons. That is a decision that -- and a regulation that is put forth by the chain of command at the Pentagon itself. So my guess is that this is an issue that definitely is going to be looked at. If you look at what happened in the shopping center, a recruiting center where there is absolutely no security, it appears that the shooter drove by with a weapon and didn't even go into the facility. But -- and I don't know what can be done in a situation like that. I'm not sure whether the -- the guard post was manned at the naval facility. I don't know. But obviously, with this type of issue occurring there is no question that I'm sure that the House and Senate will look into what is occurring. But the specific steps should be taken at the Pentagon to try to deal with the security of our men and women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: I spoke earlier about this story with Christian Whiton, a former State Department senior advisor. He's also the author of "Smart Power: Between Diplomacy and War."
Here's that interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIAN WHITON, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SENIOR ADVISOR & AUTHOR: The suspects like this, the perpetrators like this are going to be hard to track to identify before they act. There were other indications. He emigrated from Kuwait. He had Jordanian citizenship. His father, at one point, was on a terrorist watch list. He tweeted about how to bring Islam to the world. None of it would necessarily lead to a certainty that you had committed a terrorist act. So we find ourselves in a world where we're not going to be able to identify these people necessarily before they act.
ALLEN: Exactly. Let's look at the reported blog post that he blogged. Just July 13th, he wrote that, "Life is short and bitter." And he went on to say, "Muslims should not let the opportunity to submit to Allah pass you by." Also in his high school yearbook, he wrote, "My name causes national security alerts. What does yours do?" So he is having fun with that in high school. And now just a couple of weeks, writing this on a blog. What does that say to you?
[02:10:15] WHITON: Right, of course, and none of this looks good in retrospect. It looks like this is in fact a jihadist attack. The problem is you don't know if this is a person just having fun in a yearbook or extremely, dangerous violent behavior. To me what it says of course is instead of trying to defend every site within the West we need to be on the offensive. We need to take the fight to is, if in fact he was inspired by is. Because we're never going to profile or way or harden all the targets to defend strikes like this.
ALLEN: And also it's the end of Ramadan. Did this seem to you that it perhaps linked up to is since it was asking for attacks during Ramadan?
WHITON: I think so because it fits a pattern, to target military targets that are not well armed or defended. If you think about the British soldier who was beheaded in 2013, last year a Canadian soldier guarding a monument murdered going back to 2009 in the United States, a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas, where people were shot, the Ft. Hood Texas attack. It fits a pattern of jihadists targeting military sites.
ALLEN: What will be interesting to you that we might learn about him?
WHITON: Well, it will be interesting if we confirm he was an Islamist and this was jihad, which I think is likely. What his particular affinity was, and in the West, to frankly do a better job of targeting is. We have military leaders saying we're making progress. It doesn't look that way if you observe the battlefield and observe the position of ISIS this year.
The presidential candidate, Scott Walker, said we should fight them over there and take the fight to them before they bring it to us. So perhaps they resolve to do better against ISIS.
ALLEN: Former State Department senior adviser, Christian Whiton, thank you for your expertise and your time.
WHITON: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: We have heard from a number of people who knew Abdulazeez. Most of them say they were stunned when they heard their friend identified as the suspect in these deadly shootings.
A former classmate said Abdulazeez was always happy and smiling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN WAGNER, FORMER CLASSMATE OF GUNMAN (voice-over): He -- he always fit in. He had a big group of friends. He was never treated like an outcast. He was pretty popular, really, always a real funny guy. Always had a witty comment to add. Was, you know, just like everyone else has said, you know, the all-American kid. He had a better grade than me in bible history class. And he always, always had like a smile on his face. He never seemed like the type of kid that would do something this heinous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: More on the Tennessee shooting, including a look back at other attacks on military recruitment sites in the U.S. as we push on here. Back in just a moment.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [02:17:31] ANDY BERKE, MAYOR, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE: To think about this afternoon, I came back to the Police Service Center with Chief Fletcher and walked up to see a woman who was at the scene. Telling the chief about the heroic deeds that one of her fellow officers did to help her and to save another one of our officers. I'm going to think about another officer who was at the scene, who engaged the criminal, telling us about how the training that he had received helped make sure that the actions didn't have greater effect. And I'm going to think about another officer who is truly my friend who as I hugged him and said good job, shook just a little bit. This is the reality of what happened in our city today and the tremendous work of our law enforcement officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee, there giving praise to first responders in the deadly shooting attack on those two U.S. military sites.
Well, the FBI is investigating the shooter's motive.
As CNN's Brian Todd reports, it is clear the two centers had little security.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning new details now about the two centers that were targeted in this attack. The first place hit is a military recruiting center in a strip mall, which is shared by all four branches of the U.S. military. That store front was riddled with bullets. You can see the images there, but nobody was killed.
Now, on the second attack that was about seven miles from the first place this is what is known as an operational support center run by the U.S. Navy. It provides training and readiness support for the Navy and Marine, mostly for reservists. All four Marines killed were at that facility.
Now, on the security of this place, a Navy official we spoke to said these facilities typically have gates and barriers. And it is clear from these images this place had a fence from the gunman's car -- from the images of the gunman's car we can see that it appears that the gunman may have possibly breached that fence with his car. This Navy official could not tell us if this security cameras, if there are security cameras at this facility. The official is also not sure if this place had armed security personnel at the time of the attack. But he did say, quote, "You cannot just walk into these places." He said these buildings are usually marked with signage.
[02:20:10] Now, on the other places, as far as the security details on this other place, this military recruiting center, not nearly as secure. A spokesperson for the U.S. Army recruiting command says these are often store front facilities. Sometimes they're in malls. He said there are no barriers, no gates. He says according to U.S. policy, weapons are not prohibited on those premises. And as you can see there it says no weapons allowed. Now a conservative group which supports military members, called move America forward, this group has been calling for recruiting security for many years.
Here's what the army spokesman, Brian Lepley, had to say about that.
BRIAN LEPLEY, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN: Army recruiting center is the Army in the community. If young men and women want to come and talk to us, we need a nice open area for them to come and do that. We need a welcoming area. You know, barricades and barriers built like a fortress is not really a welcoming atmosphere.
TODD: He did say that they're looking into the security at recruiting facilities and we'll see if this policy changes.
Now, there is a history of attacks at recruiting centers in attacks just like this, in 2009, a man named Akim Mohammed opened fire in Little Rock, Arkansas, killing one soldier and wounding another. He pled guilty and is serving a life sentence. Elsewhere, at a recruiting station in Times Square in the heart of Manhattan, no one was injured when a bomb went off. That case was not solved. There was surveillance video of the bomber riding a bicycle approaching the recruiting center. Just to give you an idea of how open these places are. Also in 2010, there was a series of drive by shootings often in middle of the night at recruiting stations in Washington, D.C. A Marine service person was arrested for that and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Just giving you an idea of how open and accessible these recruiting centers are.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: I will talk with a Muslim leader in this country a little bit later in the hour about what happened.
Well, a jury in the U.S. state of Colorado has found James Holmes guilty of multiple counts of murder after he opened fire inside a crowded movie theater killing 12 people. Holmes had no visible reaction when the verdict was read Thursday afternoon. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity to the attack in 2012. The 27-year-old could now be sentenced to death. 70 people were wounded in the shooting, one of the worst shootings ever in American history.
One survivor who was shot in the head said he felt relieved after the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I didn't have any expectations coming into this because I didn't want to disappoint myself. But my body shuddered, I just felt flush with so much relief.
I'm here on behalf for those who were not able to be here and those who were taken away that night. So I have to be here and support others who are a part of this, as well. I did it for me but I also did it for them. We're a family now, we all went through something crazy together and we have to support each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The jury faced one key question in the trial, was James Holmes' movie massacre an act of murder or madness?
Our Ana Cabrera examines how the jurors reached an answer after 12 hours of deliberation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN KING, PROSECUTOR: At that time, did you have any doubt that you would end up killing a lot of people?
JAMES HOLMES, FOUND GUILTY OF MULTIPLE MURDERS: No.
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Holmes never denied being the killer. In fact, he admitted in a videotape mental evaluation that he wanted to kill as many as possible.
HOLMES: Well, the dead can't be repaired or come back to life or be -- normal.
CABRERA: A packed theater full of innocent victims. A father and mother, an aspiring sports caster, even a 6-year-old little girl.
11 weeks of emotional testimony from more than 50 witnesses and testimony, including thousands of pieces of evidence, brought to a close almost three years after the movie murder massacre.
KING: Look at the evidence and hold this man accountable.
CABRERA: The prosecution argued it was cold-blooded murder at the hands of the 24-year-old neuroscience graduate student, a man of high intelligence who just dropped out of school and lost his first love.
KING: He said I hate everybody.
CABRERA: A killer who detailed in a notebook his plan of attack months in the making.
UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: The evidence is clear that he could not control his thoughts, that he could not control his actions, and he could not control his perceptions.
[01:25:04] CABRERA: Public Defender Dan King tried to convince jurors James Holmes was insane, overcome by severe mental illness, driven by a delusional belief that killing would increase his self worth.
KING: Well, that is not logical, no, it's not. It's psychotic.
CABRERA: Jurors also heard from more than 69 survivors, including Ashley Moser, left paralyzed after the shooting. She lost a pregnancy and her young daughter, Veronica.
ASHLEY MOSER, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I was told that she had passed away.
CABRERA: Haunting, heart-wrenching stories likely lingering with the jury of nine women and three men.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Ana Cabrera reporting for us from Colorado.
A 16-year-old girl is the lone survivor of a deadly plane crash and she is speaking out for the first time to CNN. Her incredible story coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:59:27]ALLEN: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. We want to bring you the latest on our top stories.
Right now, a nightmare unfolded in the state of Tennessee leaving three people dead and others wounded. They shot the gunman down after the two military sites were attacked in Chattanooga.
The FBI special agent in charge explained the path the shooter took.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED REINHOLD, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: As far as we can tell, at this point -- again, it's preliminary -- is he started his shooting over at the recruitment center on Lee Highway, moved from there. We do not believe he exited his vehicle at the Lee Highway. We believe he shot from inside the vehicle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The victims of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 are being remembered a year after the jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine. Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Abbott held a service. Memorials are being held in Ukraine, the Netherlands and Russia. All 298 people on board were killed.
Just hours from now, Germany's parliament is expected to vote on Greece's bailout deal. Germany is expected to approve the agreement. Finland already has. On Thursday, Greece's parliament passed new reforms required to receive the bailout and rescue the country's economy.
Law enforcement officials tell CNN the suspected gunman in Friday's shooting in Chattanooga was born in Kuwait and had Jordanian citizenship. But officials say his name has never appeared on any terror watch list.
A friend said that Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez visited the Middle East several years ago, allegedly, to teach, but was vague on where he went. CNN has not been able to confirm his story with other sources.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: His demeanor, there was absolutely nothing to me that would show me he was upset. He went back home two years ago. I asked his mom and said, where is he, they said he moved back home. I saw him a couple of times when he visited.
Now, I am not one to speculate, but what happens overseas and the environments I don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: when was he overseas and when was he --
UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: You would have to ask his family about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You say he went overseas for two years?
UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: A year or two ago when he went back, I think after he graduated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Went back where?
UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: Jordan, Yemen, I'm not sure which one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're sure he was in the Middle East?
UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: That is what I was told. That is what I was told. That is what I went by.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever talk to him about the Middle East?
UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: I asked him what he is doing, he said he is teaching kids and wrestling. He is doing everything OK. He said, I'm doing well, I'm doing good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what year are we talking about?
UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: You mean when I talked to him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do you think he was in the Middle East? About what time period?
UNIDENTIFIED FRIEND OF ABDULAZEEZ: I'm telling you when I talked to his dad, a year or two ago is when he went back. I saw him several times when he came back here. So in the last two years, I'm sure he was overseas somewhere, you know?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: The Muslim community has condemned the attacks. The Muslim Public Affairs Council released a statement, reading, in part, "Regardless of the intentions or motives behind the act, the attacks are cowardly and despicable."
Salam al-Marayati, the president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, joins me now by phone from Los Angeles, California.
Thank you for joining us.
Can you elaborate on your reaction to what has happened to Chattanooga?
SALAM AL-MARAYATI, PRESIDENT, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL (voice- over): Well, what happened is not human. It's criminal. It's barbaric. And I don't think it really deserves anyone to give any theory to why such a despicable act happened. We as one billion Muslims worldwide are ready to celebrate the end of Ramadan which taught us peace and forgiveness and mercy, and yet one person has taken away that message. And unfortunately, giving an image of being barbaric by his acts.
ALLEN: And is, however, had called for attacks during Ramadan. And they certainly happened. Why do you think it is, in particular, that they wanted to see acts during this time?
AL-MARAYATI: ISIS is a mafia. And their only message is a message of violence. And they want to terrorize people with this image that they will do anything gruesome. And they themselves are cowardly. And despicable. And so they exploit these situations. And this is what we all have to be aware of. There will be groups who will exploit the situation to support the violent extremism. And unfortunately, there will be groups here in America as well who will exploit this, as well, as wicked opportunities. We have to be unified to defeat terrorism.
ALLEN: And I want to ask you, Salam, he reportedly wrote in his blog, life is short and Muslims should let the opportunity to -- should not let the opportunity to submit to Allah pass you by. How would you characterize what he was trying to say?
[02:35:18] AL-MARAYATI: That is rather cryptic. I don't think it really means anything. You could say that it means that he is just reflecting. I have no idea. But what he did, what his actions demonstrated today, I would be very worried if I were in his shoes while he reaches his creator. I just want to also take a moment to pay tribute to the Marines who were killed. They were the ones defending freedom. They were the ones defending us. They were the ones that represented what it means to sacrifice ones self for the cause of god and the cause of humanity. So I think we should all be siding with those who represent what is virtuous in our society, not barbaric.
ALLEN: Salam, all the things you say about blasting like what has happened, why aren't voices like yours doing more perhaps to thwart this? We know the P.R. machine that ISIS has out there. What more can Muslims do to try to counter the brainwashing that is going on?
AL-MARAYATI: You know, first of all, these situations are obviously rare. And they're not respective of a community. It's one individual. There is crime unfortunately, I mean, there was the case of a conviction of a murderer in Colorado. You're going to have situations like this. And I think while American-Muslims are -- I think we are trying to ramp up our voice. I think we also have to tell the public that they have to understand that these are aberrations, and that the moderate voices should be given the space in public affairs. Not the extremist voices.
ALLEN: All right, well, we thank you for your time. We know that police do say they thwarted alleged attacks over the July holiday. So there have been more reports of possible attacks.
AL-MARAYATI: Yeah, just on that point, I want to add that it is American Muslims that are in partnership with the law enforcement that helped to thwart these attacks.
ALLEN: Yes, true.
OK, we thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: Salam Al-Marayati, thank you so much.
We'll have more news right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:59] ALLEN: Mourners in Ukraine have been gathering on the steps of the Dutch embassy in Kiev to honor the memory of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight 17. The plane was shot over a year ago in eastern Ukraine killing everybody on board. Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Abbott led a service in memory of the 298 passengers. And there will be a ceremony in Amsterdam.
One year on into the investigation as to what happened on the flight is still ongoing. All but two remains of the victims have been identified, and those are unlikely to be identified.
We get more now from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When 298 souls fell from the sky --
(GUNFIRE)
PATON WALSH: -- they landed in the utter chaos of a war. That rages even now.
(EXPLOSION)
PATON WALSH: As in the fields the bodies were slowly gruesomely gathered and made a long journey back to Holland, questions mounted, and now a year later, still remain.
The Dutch prosecutor tells CNN they want access to the key cell phone mosques by this site to establish the whereabouts of, quote, "persons of interest" at the time of the attack. The most likely that the missile surfaced near the area from eastern Ukraine.
Now, a memorial stands, with children's' toys and a poem that begins, "Stop and pray, feel the minutes run."
Dutch police say they have recovered all the remains from here that they can.
For Peter, the brother of Alex, that is one of the hardest parts of the news. Alex's body will never be found, although those of his wife, Edith, and his son, Robert, were. His daughters didn't leave with him for a holiday in Kuala Lumpur, and still now they don't want to talk. Instead, they buried them without closure.
(on camera): You want your brother to come back if there comes a plane with remains of victims?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hope your brother will be there. It wasn't, but we didn't know that at the time. But you want to be there because you want -- to hope that your brother will come home. He didn't. It is very difficult. It's -- I can't understand very well how it is possible that just two people are finished. Blown away. I -- it's beyond me. I -- I can't understand it.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Incomprehension, too, from Russia, who backed the separatists of what Holland says might be a war crime.
"We certainly deem it unacceptable for anybody to assume they have the monopoly on the truth before the investigation finishes, sadly, distorting facts until an investigation continue to persist."
Dutch prosecutors say they will bring a prosecution. But arrest a suspect, put them in jail, that is yet another tough question that has still no answer.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Well, we have stunning new video just released that appears to show the aftermath of the Malaysia Airlines flight 17 crash in eastern Ukraine a year ago, that was obtained. They say that pro-Russian separatists filmed the video as they realized the jetliner was actually a commercial airline. You hear several man, including one thought to be a unit commander, speaking Russian and Ukrainian and can see the others rummaging through the debris.
Here is part of the footage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:46:09] ALLEN: CNN has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the video, but Julie Bishop, Australia's minister of foreign affairs, calls it disgusting and says it is consistent with the information about pro-Russian rebels being involved with the shooting of the plane. News Corp, Australia, the company tht released the video has been turned over to investigators.
Next here, the coverage on the shooting at the two U.S. military centers. More on what we know about the shooter and his past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:50:29] ALLEN: Now to an incredible story of survival. 16-year- old, Autumn Veatch, was in the plane with her family when they crashed into the side of a mountain in Washington State Saturday. The teen was the only one to make it out alive.
And now, for the first time, she is speaking about what happened to our Sara Sidner.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AUTUMN VEATCH, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: All the windows, you couldn't see a single thing, it was all white. And GPS was not really working and I was kind of freaking out because I was scared. And I thought they will sort it out, I'll be OK. I'm still panicking, freaking out. People started yelling, freaking out, like turn the GPS back on and such. And then Leland said that he was just going to go up, like that they would just like try to fly up because they were in the mountains. He was like we're going to crash in the side of the mountain. I can't see anything that was going on. He started to go up, it was all white, then all trees and then it was all fire. And I mean, I was kind of hunched down, so the impact itself didn't really hurt me. But the fire did.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did you think at some point, I'm not going to make it? I'm going to die?
VEATCH: I was certain I was going to die the second day. I was living outside -- like the morning after, I tried to sleep the morning after, I was certain I would die of hypothermia because I was freezing.
SIDNER: Once you were down on the ground, the plane had crashed and was on fire, what did you do then and what did you see behind you?
VEATCH: I got out. My face got burned and like my hair and face was burning and stuff. My immediate response was to go and try to help them out because they were alive. They were alive. They were both screaming. And like there was no way I could get to grandmother, because she was on the far side. And there was nothing I could do. But I assumed if I got grandpa out first, maybe he could do it. But there was -- like a small person, I'm a small person, and there was a point I was trying to pull him out. It is just like -- it was just not happening.
SIDNER: You must have been so incredibly stressed out, scared, sad. How did you go forward from that point?
VEATCH: I just -- my instinct was to just go down hill. So I started to go down hill. I was obviously, stressed, crying, really, to be alone in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere.
SIDNER: The sheriff said you going down instead of up, that is what saved you. What gave you that instinct? Was it something in the back of your head?
VEATCH: Yes, actually, the shows I used to watch with my dad, I always remember going down hill and finding bodies of water, because water always leads to civilization. So as soon as I heard a stream -- I thought just try to find water. I followed the tiny stream. I was kind of walking in it and just following it. And it just grew into a river and I followed it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Unbelievable story of how she walked away from that crash.
Tornadoes tore through the Midwestern United States late thursday evening.
Our Derek Van Dam is on top of it -- Derek?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Natalie, that is right. In fact, these tornadoes ripping from Iowa to Illinois. These strong super cells moving in an easterly direction. This Monmouth area here, this is where a multi-formed vortex tornado formed. You can see the tornado in the far distance there, also some lightning flashes. And the first responders in this region had to go door-to-door checking for injuries. But the Illinois Police Department said there were no significant injuries even though there was significant amounts of damage to this very small town. No traffic in our or out of the town at the moment. The national weather service has to go back and assess the damage to determine the exact strength of the tornado. But any time we get these multiple vortices inside the wedge of the tornado we can have the strong winds that the tornadoes can produce. We're talking 100, 150 miles an hour, even more with some of those vortices. And fortunately in Chicago, the outer weather, today being severe, now we look to the Sioux Falls area and Minneapolis, we have the possibility of damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.
I want to quickly isolate you on the Tropical Storm Nangka. Late thursday evening, this happened local time. The significant problem going forward with this is the extreme amounts of rainfall we witnessed. Over 700 meters of rain, Natalie. This is very mountainous terrain, that means landslides and mudslides are certainly a possibility.
[02:56:11] ALLEN: All right, thank you, Derek. We'll see you next hour.
VAN DAM: Thanks, Natalie.
ALLEN: You have been watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen.
George Howell joins me for another hour right after this. Please stay with us.
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