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Deadly Movie Theater Shooting; Clinton Facing Possible Criminal Probe; Obama Heads to Kenya. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 24, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:19] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. Three dead, seven injured in a late night movie theater shooting. New information on that attack begins right now.

Good morning. And welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, July 24th, 4:00 a.m. in the East.

We begin this breaking news, these developments: a gunman opening fire inside a crowded movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, killing two people, wounding at least seven others, before taking his own life. The bomb squad on the scene overnight detonating a suspicious package in the shooter's vehicle.

About 100 people were inside the Grand Theatre 16 multiplex for a screening of the comedy "Trainwreck" when shots rang out.

Witnesses describe a surreal, chaotic scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't expect it at first. I saw people running out. Maybe they were caught watching a movie they were not supposed to. Then the next thing I see is a lady full of blood in her dress, and then there's a gun. I said (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Oh, I'm sorry.

Then I just ran. And she was telling me go. The people she was with, they were telling me go. They were looking at me. Everyone was running and I was just sitting there. I had no idea what's going on. I thought it was great (ph). I didn't even understand what's happening at the moment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Buying popcorn at the concession stand when the whole group of people, teenagers mainly, running out telling everybody to run for their life. I thought it was teenagers playing like a little prank, you know? Then, I see a whole another bigger group coming out screaming the same thing.

And my reaction was -- and we saw a lady with blood all over her leg. I just grabbed my child and we just all ran.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whenever a bunch of girls started screaming and they came out of the movie theater saying that someone got shot.

REPORTER: And after that, what did you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't know what happened yet. So, then, we -- the guards or something came and told everybody to get out and we ran outside. And they had a lady right there and she's on a dress and there was blood everywhere. That's when I realized what was going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Police described the suspect as a 58-year-old white male who acted alone. They say he appeared to be firing a handgun randomly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CRAFT, LAFAYETTE POLICE CHIEF: We know the identity of shooter. We are not releasing it at this time. We are right in the middle of the vehicles. We don't want to affect the integrity or the investigators' ability to do their jobs or ability to get information on the shooter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So, four officers -- four police officers who entered the theater found the gunman dead.

Governor Bobby Jindal describing the tragedy as a, quote, "awful night for Louisiana and the United States."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: It's both shocking and frustrating and horrified at the same time. You are both saddened and frustrated and angry. You read about these incidents across our country, you don't think it will happen in Louisiana. You don't think it will happen in Lafayette.

I got three young kids. They go to movies all the time. It's summer break. It's something we do routinely. And it's something you don't think twice about as a parent. You don't think when your child goes to a movie they could be in harm's way.

This was a regular Thursday night. When this evening started, it was a regular Thursday night for a lot of families. A lot of them were just -- the teachers, one last movie before they go back to school. So, for a lot of families, this was last outing before school starts in just several days, in a couple of weeks. You never think that this could be a scene of a horrific shooting.

So, I was angry and upset at the same time. It shouldn't happen in our country anywhere. You certainly don't expect it to happen in your back yard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Just last week, mass murderer James Holmes was found guilty of killing 12 and wounding 70 others inside an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. Now that it's happened again, a lot of people are wondering if movie theaters are safe.

I want to bring in CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter.

Brian, this is a place where people are focused on something else, it is dark, they're relaxed and their guard is down, and then something like this happens.

Should movie theaters -- are movie theaters are assessing the need for better security?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Statistically, when you are in a theater, you are safe statistically. When you see something like this, you wonder about the precautions that are taken, because you're right, when you sit down in a theater, it is a place of innocence. That's one of the reasons why this is especially shattering when you see something like this happened.

Theaters are a place where you have to feel safe in order to relax and enjoy what you are seeing on the big screen.

[04:05:02] In this case, I think we will see the theater owners, the big chains take some of the same steps they took in the wake of the Aurora massacre. That is more guards, more bag checks in some cases, more checks of doors to make sure the doors are locked or opened depending on whether they should be.

But those precautions were taken after Aurora pretty quietly. They weren't publicized. They weren't promoted. I was hoping the same thing will happen in this case.

ROMANS: I recently went to a film, on a front door, which is a tiny decal that said "no firearms please". That was a very subtle and I don't know how successful that little sign is.

What about bag checks? What about, you know, like when you go to the airport -- could we ever see something like that?

STELTER: Well, it's hard to imagine and it is sad to imagine, the idea of metal detectors or bag scanner when you go to the movies. The movies -- there is something about how free apparent freewheeling a movie theater experience is.

And may be what's notable in the wake of Aurora is how much didn't change. You know, there are lawsuits pending against Cinemark. That's the movie theater chain where the shooting happened in 2012.

This movie theater was owned by Southern Theaters. We haven't heard from the theater yet. I have been trying to reach them overnight and haven't been successful. They have not had anything to say yet.

Perhaps families of victims could try to sue that company in the future. But, you know, suits against Cinemark have not gone forward yet. They have not succeeded yet. Maybe they will weigh down the road. But it goes to show the long and arduous process that might involve.

ROMANS: The film was 7:30 p.m. showing of "Trainwreck." That's the Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow film. Amy Schumer, they're both responding overnight.

STELTER: Yes. Amy Schumer really quickly went on to theater, wanted to say something. She wrote that my heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana.

We haven't heard from other people involved in the movie yet. But I think it's worth nothing that Judd Apatow, who's the director of "Trainwreck", has been outspoken about his feelings about gun control in the past. He actually headlined a gun violence prevention event back in February in Hollywood. He spoke out there. He was very -- he had powerful remarks about how we cannot let this continue to go on in the country.

So, I have a feeling we will hear something from him in hours to come. Obviously, if you are involved in the movie, the movie happened to be playing when the shooting happened. You don't want to politicize it.

But Judd Apatow has a strong feeling about the topic, as do many others. I think we'll hear about it.

To your point about the no gun signs in front of the theater. This theater also had a policy of no guns, even if you have a conceal carry permit. You weren't allowed to bring them into the theater. That will add some to the discussion that will happen, about whether if people had had guns to protect themselves, whether fewer people would have been injured here.

ROMANS: The president of the United States has privately and publicly talked about his frustration with shootings in this country, mass shootings, both in his hometown of Chicago, but also -- look, a school, a church, a movie theater, in these public places.

Let's listen to what the president said. This is before the shooting. But the president has expressed frustration. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The one area where I feel that I have been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings.

And, you know, if you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it's less than 100. If you look at the number have been killed by gun violence, it's in the tens of thousands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Newtown, of course, really affected the president. Things don't ever change. We kind of -- it's -- I saw a headline, you know, shock, suffer, repeat. We go through this over and over. But nothing really changes.

STELTER: A predictable and tragic rhythm to each of these events. You can almost predict where we are going every hour after a story like this.

I saw someone on Twitter who said fill in the blanks. You fill in each blank with where it happened and how many died or injured.

It's notable the way the president spoke in that interview, because he was speaking to the BBC. He was speaking to a British news outlet. He was speaking to outside observers of the United States.

So many outside observers look at the U.S. and shake their heads and wonder, why this country has this unique history with the guns, this unique story and present with guns. And you can hear the president be more reflective in that interview than he usually is. Maybe because he is speaking to an international outlet that sometimes looks at the U.S. and wonders why there's nothing change.

ROMANS: So, just to recap, everybody, if you are just tuning in, 58-year-old man is dead, the shooter is dead. There are three of these wounded people we're told are in very serious condition, seven wounded, two killed. We don't have a motive yet. The people are not releasing.

This happened again in a movie theater, and that's what a public place, a place of sanctuary, a place of entertainment, I guess.

[04:10:07] It's not like a church, but it's a place where people are -- are really helpless when you think about it.

STELTER: It's like a church in one way. You sit with a bunch of strangers and you get together for something that's going to remove you from your normal life.

We associate movie theaters with entertainment and escapism and joy and fun. And that's why I think it's uniquely scary, uniquely frightening to think about someone coming into a theater and starting to open fire.

ROMANS: All right. Brian Stelter, thank you so much for that. We're going to continue to follow all morning. We'll talk to you again very soon about this as these developments unfold.

We are following the latest in the Louisiana movie shooting all morning.

But, first, breaking overnight, a criminal investigation could soon be launched of Hillary Clinton's handling of emails during her time as secretary of state. Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. We are following the breaking news from Lafayette, Louisiana. Three dead, including the gunman, in a shooting at a movie theater Thursday night. Seven others wounded. We're told three of those are in a very, very serious condition.

Police say the shooter, a 58-year-old white male opened fire inside the crowded theater before turning the gun on himself.

This happened during the screening of the film "Trainwreck." The film's star, Amy Schumer tweeted, "My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana."

Witnesses described a scene of chaos, horror. We're also hearing some stories of bravery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAIGE BEARB, WITNESS (via telephone): We heard them screaming before the alarm went off. We didn't know what was going on. And the lady sitting, asked if we had a weapon to protect ourselves because of a shooting. And I said, no, and I said how did she know? She was like her friend was at the door and they were not letting her in.

She said I can't deal with this. I'm leaving. So, I stepped down and went to see if I can hear or see anything. I can just hear people screaming.

[04:15:00] So, the alarm went off. We took off running outside. And as I'm running outside, I see people bleeding on the leg or shot and I thought wow.

JINDAL: Out of tonight's tragedy, you are beginning to hear stories of heroism and self sacrifice. A couple of the teachers at a move together. One of the literally jumped on top of the other, may have saved a life, and literally took a bullet that could have hit the second teacher in the head, the second teacher was injured, was shot, but not life threatening. She's one of the ones being discharged.

Despite being injured, the second teacher was able to pull a fire alarm and help to save other lives. When you think about it, two friends together, one jumps in the way of the other to save the other's life. The other one, even she's shot, pulls the fire alarm and saves other people's lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The seven people injured in the shootings are said to range from their late teens to their 60s.

The Louisiana shooting eerily reminiscent of the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting three years ago. The sentencing for the gunman in that case, James Holmes, resumes this morning. Jurors on Thursday agreed prosecutors approved the aggravating factors necessary to make Holmes eligible for the death penalty. Holmes was convicted of killing 12 and wounding 70. The defense claims Holmes was legally insane. They have argued for a life sentence.

Confirmation from the authorities in Texas over the cause of Sandra Bland's death is hanging. Prosecutors say preliminary autopsy results revealed Bland committed suicide in her jail cell and showed no evidence of a violent struggle. They say the Illinois woman also had 30 marks on her arm consistent with cutting. Bland was found dead in her cell three days after her arrest following a traffic stop.

Breaking overnight: Hillary Clinton facing a possible criminal investigation. Two State Department inspectors general asking the Justice Department to open a case to find out whether Clinton mishandled sensitive government information on a private e-mail account she used when she was secretary of state. The Democratic front runner denies having any classified information in that account. But those inspectors have already determined the account contained hundreds of potentially classified e-mails.

Things didn't go as planned when Donald Trump got to the Texas/Mexico border. The GOP front runner was invited to visit Thursday by the Border Patrol Union, but uninvited him at the last minute. Trump forged ahead anyway, fielding questions about his plans for the nation's 11 undocumented immigrants and whether a wall should be built along the border with Mexico. He also addressed whether he plans to run as a third party candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm a Republican. I'm conservative. I'm running.

I'm in first place by a lot, it seems, according to all the polls. I want to run as Republican. I think I'll get the nomination. We will see soon enough, but I think I'll get the nomination.

The best way to win is for me to get the nomination and run probably against Hillary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Trump insisted a wall is needed to protect some parts of the border with Mexico. He did not offer a specific plan for immigration reform, telling reporters a secure border is the first priority, says he'll build that wall, he will get it done and he will make Mexico pay for it.

Let's get an early start in your money. Alison Kosik is here.

The Dow drops another 119 points yesterday. That's three days in a row. What's going on?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: It did. It's all about earnings, Christine.

The Dow is back in negative territory for the year. That's after yesterday's losses. So, those lousy earnings coming from American Express and 3M, those are some of the earnings report that weighed on the index.

And those disappointing corporate report cards outweigh positive jobs news. We found out that first time claims for unemployment benefits are at the lowest level in 42 years. But as we begin the morning, we are seeing U.S. futures up slightly right now.

And good news from Amazon could help turn stocks around today as well. Shares jumped more than 17 percent after-hours. The online retail giant posted a surprise profit of $92 million versus a loss a year ago.

Now, Amazon famously tends to lose money because it invests money in its future and its future products. And this is a company that's actually made some profits in the past, but it's also had long periods of losses.

Now, the after hours jump in stock price, Christine, means Amazon is worth more than Walmart. And keep in mind, this is a temporary thing, but at least right now, they take that crown.

ROMANS: That's interesting, the most valuable retailer.

All right. Thank you for that, Alison.

We are following the latest on the Louisiana movie theater shooting all morning long. Three dead. Seven injured. What police are now saying, ahead.

Plus, President Obama arriving in Kenya today. We are live Nairobi, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:23:01] ROMANS: All right. The latest on the breaking news from the shooting at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. Two people killed. Seven others wounded.

The 58-year-old shooter taking his own life. We don't know a motive right now. Police are withholding the gunman's name.

But here's what we know about him so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAFT: He does have a criminal history. It looks like it's pretty old. Nothing recent we found thus far.

But one of the things we have to do is make sure that the person we are looking at is positively identified as the person whose identity we found. So, that's going to take some time. I know there's a lot of speculation right now on social media and we ask, please don't put out any information that could put our officers in harm's way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The wounded victims range in age from their late teens to their 60s. One patient has been released and one in surgery and not doing well. In fact, three of those people who were shot have serious gunshot injuries.

All right. At this hour, President Obama on his way to Kenya, his father's homeland. He arrives this afternoon, but he will not be visiting his father's ancestral village because of logistical and security issues. The president will meet privately with his relatives.

There is more to this visit than just a man in search of his roots. Kenya is a country facing many challenges.

I want to bring in CNN's Nima Elbagir live from Nairobi this morning.

Good morning.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Well, I just want to give a sense of the excitement here. I want to you show you this. This is one of the many souvenir issues put out by Kenyan newspapers this morning. It says welcome to the son of Kenya.

Expectations are through the roof. Of course, a lot of that is emotional. The first sitting U.S. president and many see as one of their own.

But there are also expectations about the deals, the agreements that are going to be made. What Kenya will walk away with?

[04:25:01] You have the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, the commitment to encourage that. But, of course, at the heart of this is going to be the hope that there will be greater collaboration on the regional security threat. Kenya is part of the fight against the al Qaeda linked group al Shabaab.

But there's also concern about young Kenyan traveling to Syria to fight along ISIS. And President Obama has been speaking about how the Global Entrepreneurship Summit plays back into that that this visit with greater commercial ties plays into the security plan he has for the region. The hope is that they can provide options for young men to help them resist the radicalization effort of the militant groups that are breeding in the region.

We're expecting the president to touch down at about 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. And, you know, I tell you, people have been telling us some people can't sleep. They really are looking forward to lining these streets and giving them a warm welcome, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nima Elbagir for us this morning in Nairobi, thank you for that. We know you will follow all of the developments as the president gets that trip underway.

We are following developments here on the Louisiana movie theater shooting. Here's what we know: three dead, seven injured. Witnesses sharing their stories, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ROMANS: Breaking news this morning. Three dead. Seven injured in a movie theater shooting. New information on the attack right now.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. Thirty minutes past the hour.

Breaking news this morning: a gunman opening fire inside this crowded movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, killing two and wounding at least seven others, three critically, before taking his own life. Now, the bomb squad on the scene detonating a suspicious package in the shooter's vehicle.