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Louisiana Theater Shooting. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 24, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:04]

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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: What does Auma Obama, what does she mean for you?

MAURICE OTIENO, SAUTI KUU MENTEE: Auma. Auma is like a mother to me. She has also -- she has also inspired me.

AUMA OBAMA, HALF-SISTER OF PRESIDENT OBAMA: There is a saying that used to go around, you know, you give people fish.

And then the saying changed within the development world, you teach them how to fish. And what I say, no, don't give people fish. Don't teach them how to fish. Ask them if they eat fish.

And that's what we do at Sauti Kuu. We ask the people, what do you need to improve your lives, to make your lives livable, to make your lives such that you don't run away from what you already have, that you see your potential?

One needs to know that these young people are able and can do a lot with their lives. They just need the support.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Oh, what a special place. Auma Obama, thank you so much. And thank you, Mama Sarah, to their 93-year-old grandmother, who, by the way, we have just learned, now that President Obama has landed in Nairobi, I'm being told they are all sitting down and eating a meal in Nairobi.

Please make sure you check out all three parts of my exclusive interview, my time in Kenya, this phenomenal trip to the Obama ancestral village. It is all online. Go to CNN.com.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BALDWIN: All right. Let's continue on, hour two here.

Breaking news on CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Just a heads up, we're waiting for another news conference, not in Lafayette, Louisiana, but rather in Phenix City, Alabama, because that's where the gunman in last night's movie theater shooting once lived. We are watching for that. We will take it there live.

But, first, I want to begin with the most important part of this story this hour, the victims, Mayci Breaux, 21 years of age, a student at Louisiana State University-Eunice, the other, 33-year-old Jillian Johnson, designer and performer. Here, Johnson is playing in a band on the ukelele just six days ago.

Police in Louisiana say this man, 59-year-old John Russel Houser, shot and killed them as he walked inside that Grand 14 theater in Lafayette right around 7:30 last evening. Nine others were wounded in that rampage. As many as 300 others just ran for their lives. Police say Houser fired at least 13 rounds.

In fact, I just spoke to the superintendent, the state trooper who told me he actually went outside, reloaded, came back in and took his own life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CRAFT, LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, POLICE CHIEF: We know he had at least one additional magazine, which he dropped in the lobby. He reinserted, reloaded, and returned back into the theater, at which point we think he fired one additional round and that was into himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In fact, want to take you now to that news conference that just began here in Phenix City, Alabama, where this man once lived.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

HEATH TAYLOR, RUSSELL COUNTY, ALABAMA, SHERIFF: ... FBI Columbus office, who is also assisting in this case.

We have offered our assistance in any way that we can, investigating anything that they need on this end in Alabama or anywhere around us here. This is an ongoing case and I hope you understand that it is still early. So we will be focusing today on strictly Mr. Houser's involvement with my department here, the sheriff's office in the time frame that he lived here in Phenix City.

As best we can tell, Mr. Houser lived at 1101 32nd Street off and on from '05 until 2014. And he also had a residence in Columbus. Him and his family are mainly from Columbus, Georgia. He did move over here with his wife and lived at that address off and on.

During the time that he was here in 10/23 of '05, there was a domestic violence complaint against Mr. Houser that was never prosecuted for, but the complaint was filed with the police department here. In '06, Mr. Houser applied for a concealed carry permit with my office here. That permit was denied.

The reason for the denial was, we had the report of domestic violence against him. And in '89 or '90, he was arrested for an arson case in Columbus, Georgia. So, at the time he applied for his permit, he had the arson arrest in his history and as well as the domestic violence report.

[15:05:10]

In '07, he reported a stolen vehicle with Phenix City Police Department. About 30 days later, my office recovered that stolen vehicle out in the county and was returned to him through the Phenix City police department.

From that point, we didn't have any involvement, other than some complaints where he was actually the complainant, up until 2014. In 2014, our office served an unlawful detainer on him on an eviction process. At that point, that was at the address of 1101 32nd Street.

And at that point, he left the residence, but he went back and actually did some damage, some vandalism to that address. And a report was made by the owner at that time about the damage. There was no warrant signed again by the victim. And so he was not arrested in that charge. He was just listed as the offender.

At that point, we don't show any address that he lived here. From that point on, everything from what we see is when he started kind of moving around and staying from one place to another. That's really all of the involvement that our office has with Mr. Houser.

There are some other involvements in Columbus. There are some other things that he did in Columbus. I understand that he was active politically over there in the Columbus area. I understand that he actually ran for public office a time or two in Columbus. None of that occurred here in Phenix City.

I will open it up for questions. Understand, please, that this is an early investigation and there is some information that may or may not be able to be released.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: It wasn't an arrest. Let's make sure we're clear. It was only a report made with the police department. He was never arrested for that domestic violence. So make sure we understand it was a report and the report detailed what occurred, but he was never arrested.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: Yes. We're looking at it. The laws today are certainly different than what they were in '05. And it looks like that in '05 there was never a follow-up by the victim to sign a warrant.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: We did not. The Columbus -- Phenix City Police Department did.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: What was the violence -- what was the damage in 2014 to the property?

TAYLOR: There was several damages. He -- according to the report, there was concrete poured down the plumbing pipes. There was a lot of damage to the gas pipes coming into the home. There was a significant amount of damage to the home.

QUESTION: Do you know of any history of mental illness that he had?

TAYLOR: I can tell you that we believe that he was being seen in '08 and '09 for mental illness here. And we have no idea about that mental illness record, the medical records, as you know, were sealed and we don't know what he was being treated for.

QUESTION: So that didn't play any role in denying the permit?

TAYLOR: No, the denial of his concealed permit was simply the domestic violence report from '05, about a year prior to him applying for the permit, and the arson arrest that he had in early '90.

QUESTION: One more question. You said he lived off and on (OFF-MIKE) Did he own that home?

TAYLOR: The best we can tell, the home was bought by the Housers probably around I'm thinking '11, 2011. It's still -- was in their name. It was foreclosed on. And the owner who bought it out of foreclosure is who had him evicted, and then at the point that he got evicted, he went back and did the damage.

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QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) booby traps? (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: Well, certainly, I think the gas issue was what they were talking about with the booby traps. I think that was dangerous and could have been extremely dangerous.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: There was not. Actually, the case -- to my understanding, that case was dismissed at grand jury.

Any other questions?

QUESTION: Does that mean it was leaking out, that there was actually gas in the house? (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: You know, my understanding is that he had done something to the gas line coming into the fireplace. There was a gas fireplace.

QUESTION: Yes.

TAYLOR: And that he had tampered with that, so that if you were to have turned it on, it would have been blowing fire out. So it was certainly maybe being considered a booby trap, like you said.

QUESTION: OK. TAYLOR: Any other questions?

QUESTION: Sir, yes, people are wondering why, with such an extensive rap sheet, this individual was not either in jail or in some sort of institution getting help. Can you explain how he continued to get off?

TAYLOR: Well, I mean, when you say an extensive rap sheet, he's never been arrested in Phenix City, Alabama, or Russell County.

The things he got arrested for were in Columbus, and that case was dismissed. I just think that, oftentimes, victims, for whatever reason, don't want to follow through with prosecution. If it's misdemeanors, there are certain restrictions on police making that case. Certainly, whoever investigated it didn't find it enough to do -- follow through with a warrant.

I can't speak to that as far as that goes. And the mental health side, you know, there's cuts being made all over about mental health. And that's what is so scary for us in law enforcement and should be scary for the community, is, you know, the states and the cuts that are being made as far as mental health around the state is allowing a lot of these people that should not be walking around to be out in the community.

And, you know, that's a scary scenario that we're dealing with every day. And it's a financial decision that people way above my grade are making to close mental health facilities.

QUESTION: Were there any warrants out for his arrest out as of yesterday? Were there any warrants for his arrest at that time?

TAYLOR: To my knowledge, no, sir. I'm not aware of any outstanding warrant for him, period.

QUESTION: He's never been in your jail, right?

TAYLOR: He's never been in the Russell County Jail at all.

QUESTION: Do you have any idea why he was in Lafayette?

TAYLOR: I don't. I'm sure that that's something that may come out later in the investigation with those -- with the P.D. there, but we had no idea at this point.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: We have not. I understand that they have been reached out to and they have been spoke to, but not by us.

QUESTION: Are they still in this area?

TAYLOR: I don't think so.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) As far as Russell County is concerned, he was not on your radar as somebody who was, A, violent or, B, mentally ill? TAYLOR: No, sir.

He actually did most of his activism for non-taxes and things like that in Columbus. And he was born in -- I say born. He was raised in Columbus. His family's from Columbus.

He did, however, live over here. He did apply for a pistol permit and was denied. But his main time that he spent in this area was really in Columbus, Georgia.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: Not to my knowledge.

Any other questions?

QUESTION: Who filed the domestic violence (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: His wife.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TAYLOR: At this point, I didn't see anything in his record that really would have stopped him.

[15:15:03]

Well, I say that -- I shouldn't say that. I do see that, in '8 and '9, he was treated for mental illness. That should have stopped him from buying a weapon.

QUESTION: Why was he denied the pistol permit?

TAYLOR: Because of his arrest for arson and report of domestic violence against him from '05.

Anything else, guys, ladies? Thank you so much.

All right. Thank you all so much.

BALDWIN: All right. So that was the sheriff there in Russell County, Alabama. This is where the gunman from the movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, apparently had lived for some period of time, also had lived, as they mentioned, in Columbus, Georgia. And specifically he was going into the detail that he was denied this concealed carry permit, which he had asked for, simply because of his record, because of the report that the then wife had filed of domestic violence and also the fact that in the past he had been arrested for some arson case, so just bits and pieces filling in this mosaic of questions regarding this man.

Let me bring in CNN's Alexandra Field. She has been doing some digging and listening to this news conference along with me.

What has jumped out to you among all of this? ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Interesting to hear the sheriff

say that there was certainly no outstanding warrant for this man's arrest, there was nothing that would tip law enforcement's hand that he was plotting or planning anything to this effect, but this was somebody who had been on law enforcement's radar for various infractions.

BALDWIN: For years.

FIELD: In both of the places he had lived, both in Alabama and in Georgia and that in 2008-2009 they come to learn that he was being treated for mental illness.

But you heard the sheriff tick through the infractions in Alabama, the domestic violence complaint that was never prosecuted, the concealed carry permit that he applied for and was denied because of that and another arson arrest. That case was later dismissed, we understand.

And then there was the eviction. He was on their radar once again because he returned to the property that he was evicted from in Alabama and did some of the vandalism that you heard the sheriff talking about. At the same time, you heard the sheriff alluding to certain activities that would have put him on law enforcement's radar in Columbus, Georgia.

We know he's most likely referring to the protective order that was filed by Houser's family back in 2008. Brooke, at the time, the family stated to the court that he had a history of mental health issues, manic depression and/or bipolar disorder.

His wife went so far as to remove the guns and the weapons from their home because she said she was worried about his volatile mental state. And that was when they had him involuntarily committed to a mental health facility. The sheriff was not able to answer the most pressing question here. Why was he in Lafayette? What had brought him to that community?

We know that he was a drifter, that he didn't seem to have a permanent address since that eviction just a year ago, but what would have brought him to Lafayette and what would have motivated this shooting? Was there a belief system that he was guided by, some sort of perverse ideology that he was adhering to?

We have been looking through his social media to try and understand some of what he may have thought. Police have not identified a motive. What we do know is he was politically active. The sheriff has said that, that he had perhaps even run for local office of some sort in Columbus, Georgia, and his online activity does seem to reflect that.

We don't see any posts beyond 2013, but prior to that he was very active on a political forum, posting hundreds of messages on a variety of topics, immigration, women's rights, et cetera. And he does write some things about himself on that forum that are worth looking at right now. He says he has no political affiliation, but he goes on to say that he

believes the U.S. will be "Mad Max" in fewer than five years. And that clearly seems to be a reference to the post-apocalyptic film series. He also goes on to says under the category marked family, "No family safe in U.S. environment."

It was own his family who said that he has suffered from mental health issues, the police not providing any speculation about motive here.

BALDWIN: OK. Alex Field, thank you.

So much of this a mystery. It's still early going, not even 24 hours. We will be getting another news conference from law enforcement in Lafayette, Louisiana, in about less than three hours from now.

Coming up next, I will talk to a local reporter in Lafayette who knows two of the survivors of the shootings. She actually just spoke with them about what exactly they saw, what happened.

Stay with me. You're watching CNN's special live coverage.

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BALDWIN: People from the Lafayette, Louisiana, area say they are not at all used to dealing with kind of violence.

Joining me now, Kris Wartelle, a reporter for the local paper there, "The Daily Advertiser."

Chris, thank you so much for joining me. I understand you know personally two of these survivors. Can you tell me how they are doing?

KRIS WARTELLE, "THE DAILY ADVERTISER": Yes.

As far as we know, they are doing fine. I just spoke with the son of Bo Ramsay. He's one of the victims of the shooting. His wife, Gerry Ramsay, was also injured in the shooting. Their son, Bo Ramsay, who is 86 years old, suffered multiple wounds. He was shot in the hand, the torso and the leg, but he's expected to make a full recovery.

His wife, Gerry, was shot in the hand and she is also expected to be fine and they are both recovering presently. What the son tells me is this is nothing short of a miracle that his father was able to survive this. Apparently, they were sitting close to the front of the theater, down in the lower rows and the shooter was up very near the top.

So how -- they are still mystified and shocked. They don't know how he was able to even get into the theater, why he did this, but they are tonight and today thanking all of the community for their prayers and thoughts. Foremost, they would like to extend their condolences to the victims who were shot and killed in this tragedy. They also want to let the other victims know who are recovering that all of their thoughts and prayers are with them and I think the entire community is feeling that way today.

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BALDWIN: You know, Kris, obviously our thoughts with Lafayette as well.

I have to ask because I keep hearing from all of these different officials all these stories and, sadly, in cases like these, these tragic, tragic cases, you have these stories of heroism, you have the teacher who jumped in front of the other teacher and then went on to pull the fire alarm or the hospital worker who happened to be at the theater with his wife and they personally took one of the gunshot victims to the hospital.

Can you tell me other stories like that?

WARTELLE: There are stories that our reporters are working on as we speak. Every minute, we're getting reports of things just like you described.

But what I can tell you about this community, I have been a reporter here and living in this community for more than 30 years and we have never experienced anything like this. Most of the disasters and things that happen here are natural disasters. We have dealt with our share of tragedies. We have had hurricanes hit this area. We have had people in situations that are dangerous.

But we have never experienced anything like this. Where I'm standing right now, it's considered the safest, if not one of the safest, the safest areas in town. Everybody knows someone who was in that theater last night. Everybody is either related to them, friends with them, knows them, is a neighbor.

This is not a big city where you might not know these victims. We all know these victims. We all know families of these victims. All of our children go to this theater all the time during the summer. It's one of the main things to do it's and considered one of the safest area in the whole town. To say it doesn't happen here, that's not just a cliche phrase that our leaders are using. That's the absolute truth and we live that every day and right now we are rocked to the core.

BALDWIN: Our hearts and thoughts and prayers with you all. Kris Wartelle, local paper, "The Daily Advertiser," thank you so much for coming on.

WARTELLE: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, when you think of movies, listen, we all go to the movies. Should something change? Should something drastically change when it comes to security at these theaters? We will talk live with someone who carries his firearm when he goes to the movies -- his take coming up.

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