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10 Killed at Umpqua College in Roseburg, Oregon; Obama Expresses Frustration over Gun Control; Shooting Reignites Gun Control Debate; Hurricane Joaquin Strengthening. Aired 1:30-2a ET

Aired October 02, 2015 - 01:30   ET

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

[01:00:12] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You are watching breaking news coverage here on CNN. I am Isha Sesay in Los Angeles.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Vause in Roseburg, Oregon, and we begin this hour with disturbing new details about the mass shooting here on the campus of Umpqua Community College.

The father of one of the wounded students says the gunman was targeting Christians. He says his daughter told him the gunman walked into her classroom, shot her teacher point blank. He then ordered students to stand up if they were Christians and he then shot them. When it was all over 10 were dead, seven others wounded.

Police say the shooter was 26 years old, carrying body armor with enough ammunition for a prolonged gunfight. He was killed in a shootout with police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HANLIN, DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON, SHERIFF: Let me be very clear. I will not name the shooter. I will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act. Media will get the name confirmed in time. But you will never hear me mention his name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Live now to Kyung Lah who is at the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield.

And, Kyung, you were hearing some harrowing accounts from those who survived this mass shooting here.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is coming from the father and the brother of a woman who was inside this classroom. An 18-year- old student, Anna Boylan, she was in her fourth day of community college. She was in the classroom. She says the gunman came in firing, aiming first for the professor. Here's what her father heard from his daughter just before she was about to go into surgery here at this hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACY BOYLAN, FATHER OF ANA BOYLAN: The gentleman was systematically --

LAH: And he came in, right?

BOYLAN: He came in, and there were gunfire immediately and scattered the room, got everyone's attention. He -- from what I understood, what she said is he shot the professor point blank, right? One shot killed him, took him right out of it. And others had been injured. And then he -- this man had enough time. I don't know how much time elapsed before he was able to stand there and start asking people one by one what their religion was.

Are you a Christian? He would ask them. And if you're a Christian, stand up. And they would stand up. And he said, good, because you're a Christian, you're going to see God in just about one second. And then he shot and killed them. And he kept going down the line doing this to people.

And how much time do you need? You know. And she said he had a handgun, that it wasn't a big rifle, assault rifle or anything like this. This was a single handgun that he had enough ammunition and enough time to drop the magazine out of it, put another one in and continue his thing. How -- how does he have that much time at a facility? I mean --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dad, you're --

BOYLAN: Yes, it's OK. I don't understand that. How he could have that much time to kill that many people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And that's Stacy Boylan, the father of Anna Boylan who was inside the classroom as the shooting happened.

We want to be very clear, we don't know exactly why this gunman was asking that question. Simply that he was asking the students that question.

He also stopped in front of Anna, she had already been shot. She was on the ground, he pointed at her and said, blond woman get up, and when she didn't move, she played dead, he simply passed her over. That is why her father says she survived.

It is a harrowing tale, John, and we expect that we'll start to hear more of these tales trickling out especially as these students, the ones who were injured get treated here at this hospitals -- John.

VAUSE: And Kyung, you mentioned that she was shot in the back, she's undergoing surgery. There are horrific wounds that these people have suffered, and this is a small community. How are they coping obviously with something they've never had to deal with before.

LAH: You know this is a very, very small community. I'm about an hour north from where you're standing and even from here they know that across this area these tight communities exist. One example that we've seen at the hospitals is that the hospitals have been saying that there are blood drives, that they need blood, and people are coming out and saying that they want to offer anything that they can.

We spoke to the father, who says -- and we should say that Anna is out of surgery, that she is doing well, that she has sensation in her legs and her family is feeling quite optimistic about her prognosis.

[01:05:10] But they've gotten flowers sent here to the hospital. There have been pizza deliveries. So they are trying to do their very best to take care of one another.

VAUSE: OK. Kyung, thank you for that report. We appreciate you being live with us at this hour.

Hannah Miles is a freshman at the Umpqua Community College here. She is -- first week of school here right now and she spoke to our affiliate KOIN about hearing the gunshots ringing out in the classroom right next door.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNAH MILES, UCC STUDENT: It was in the middle of class, I was taking notes, and then all of a sudden there was, like, this loud pop, and the only way I can describe is it sounded like a ruler smacking against a chalk board, so I didn't really think it was like a gunshot because it didn't really sound like it, but it made everyone jump. We all jumped and my teacher, Miss Harris, she is like, she's like whoa, she's like, you know, because we didn't know what was going on, and then we went back to taking notes. It all happened so very fast.

One of my classmates from the back had said, why don't you go over and see if they're all right and my teacher, Miss Harris, she's like, I'm not going to go open the door, I'll knock, and she went over and she knocked on the door, and she yelled at the door, she said, hey, is everyone OK over there? And then as soon as she said that multiple shots were fired. And when she turned and she looked at the classroom the look on her face was horrifying.

And that's when I knew something was wrong. And she looked at us, and it was just -- I don't know, it's hard to explain. And when she looked at us, she said we have to get out now. And one of my other classmates jumped out and he's like, everybody out, come on, let's go. And we just immediately began running. And still didn't know really what was going on but I knew the look and the fear on my teacher's face that it was serious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Now many in this small community gathered at a public park not far from here. They were grieving for those who were killed, praying for those who survived. This is a candlelit vigil that lasted through quite a few hours. Many people just simply didn't want to leave, it seems. They just stayed there and just wanted to come together after such a horrific event in this small town of about 22,000 people.

Well, for more on how this event will be impacting on this part of the United States, this town of Roseburg, Rick Francona who we normally talk to about horrific events overseas in Syria and the Middle East, but you live not far from here. You know this area, you know these people, and when you hear about these events happening here now, what do you think?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It was shock. I drove over today and I walked around town, talked to some people, I was at fair grounds where the families were being reunited. And I was struck by the sense of shock, awe, but not defeat, resilience and a sense of strength as these people knew they were going to get through this. But it was certainly unexpected. People that live in this part of the country, in this part of the state don't expect these kind of activities. We expect this happening in the big cities. But not here.

VAUSE: This is a rural part of the United States. This is where a lot of people have guns. It's part of the culture. People there hugging -- you see a lot of NRA bumper stickers as you drive in. So, you know, guns are a regular part of life. But if you saw someone on campus with guns, would that be a red flag? Would people be concerned about that?

FRANCONA: It would be alarming because the gun is quasi-gun free area. But it is a college campus. You don't expect to see people walking around with weapons. And the threat level, even the guards at the campus were unarmed because the threat level in this part of the country was never assessed to be that high. We don't expect that kind of activity in Roseburg.

VAUSE: Yes. And we're learning more about the gunman apparently from what we're hearing from the relatives of those who survived. He went through -- he asks if there were Christians to stand up, then shot them. That, for this community, must be mind-boggling that someone would actually do that.

FRANCONA: Unheard of. Totally out of character. No one would even suspect that. And your thoughts they go, where would you learn something like that? Is it outside events? Is it the world events that we see today? Is it the Internet bringing the world right here to our doorstep? It's just unheard of.

VAUSE: A lot of things said about essentially these kind of facilities, these campuses, these educational facilities being very soft targets because they're meant to be, I guess, open to the rest of the world.

FRANCONA: Exactly.

VAUSE: So how do you secure something like this?

FRANCONA: Well, this campus would be tough to secure the way it was built. As you said, it was built to be open. It's in a circle, there are no gates, no walls, walkways go through intersected, so it would be almost impossible to secure.

This is like other facilities in the United States. Why do people go after soft targets because they're soft, malls. No one goes after airports anymore because they're hardened. [01:10:06] VAUSE: Which is why I think, what, the numbers are 47

shootings on school campuses this year.

FRANCONA: Schools are a target.

VAUSE: Yes.

FRANCONA: That's just the way life is in 21st century America.

VAUSE: Does it get to a point now where things just simply have to change for campuses and for students and for, you know, people in education?

FRANCONA: If I had to guess, John, I would say Roseburg has changed forever but Roseburg will not change forever. They will do what they have to do to get through this. They will make the changes they think they need to but Roseburg will always be the community that it is.

VAUSE: We'll get the names of the victims in the next couple of days. We'll find out a lot more about who they were, many of them were students starting out in their lives.

FRANCONA: Right.

VAUSE: There are a lot of difficult days to come.

FRANCONA: Absolutely, but as we're seeing in the town tonight, everybody is rallying around the family. Not only of the victims of the survivors, but the rest of the community. This community is coming together because this campus was an integral part of this community. And the mourning will include all of the people.

VAUSE: OK. Great. Good to have you with us. Sad, very sad day. But we appreciate your insights. Thank you so much.

Well, Isha, once again it is a small rural town. People are sort of wandering around in shock in many parts, still trying to work out how this could happen here, as Rick was saying, many people come here to try to escape the kind of violence that they see in other parts of the United States -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes, and as Rick was saying it's going to take them a very long time to get over this and to heal.

John Vause, we appreciate it. And our thanks of course to Rick Francona. Much appreciated.

Well, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed deep anger and frustration at yet another mass shooting in America. On Thursday Mr. Obama said thoughts and prayers are no longer enough, and he's calling for more gun control legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As I said just a few months ago and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America, next week, or a couple of months from now.

We don't yet know why this individual did what he did. And it's fair to say that anybody who does this has a sickness in their minds. Regardless of what they think their motivations may be. But we are not the only country on earth that has people with mental illnesses, or want to do harm to other people. We are the only advanced country on earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.

Earlier this year I answered a question in an interview by saying 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 later that day there was a mass shooting in a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. That day.

Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation and the aftermath of it would become numb to this. We've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charleston.

It cannot be this easy for someone who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Impassioned was there from the president. We'll be airing Mr. Obama's full address next hour right here on CNN. So stay with us for that.

Plus the latest on the investigation at the gunman's apartment. We'll take you live to where he lived.

[01:15:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN's continuing coverage of a deadly college shooting in the United States. I'm John Vause in Roseburg, Oregon.

This is what we know right now. Law enforcement sources tell CNN the gunman was a 26-year-old man. He died after a gunfight with police on the campus of Umpqua Community College but not before he shot and killed 10 people and wounded seven others. The father of a wounded victim says the gunman targeted Christians. He says his daughter told him he asked students one by one if they were Christians before shooting them. And earlier we heard from a student who was a witness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was actually in the building, or in the classroom right next door to where the scene -- where the shooter supposedly shot, you know, some students. And I was, you know, just in class and I heard a popping noise, almost like a balloon popping with -- you know, when you have too much air.

[01:20:07] So I knew something wasn't right. And so I get down. All of the students in the classroom got down underneath the tables. And a lady went to go see, one of my fellow classmates went to go see what was going on, and she opened the door, and unfortunately the gunman shot her. And I don't know, as of right now, what her situation is right now, but then we locked the door, turned off the lights and we, you know, just -- we were all pretty much in panic mode right there. We called 911 and called our parents, our loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Live now to Sara Sidner who is outside the gunman's apartment in Winchester.

And Sara, we know that entire apartment block is being sealed off. What else have you learned?

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have just been talking to a neighbor. A lot of folks have left because this has been cordoned off by police. The FBI, the ATF, as well as the sheriff's department has been out here. A large number of law enforcement agencies out here trying to and going through and trying to get evidence here.

They will not confirm whether or not this is indeed the apartment. But some of the neighbors, we showed them a picture of Harper Mercer and it turns out indeed they said that's the guy that we have been seeing walking around this complex.

We have just talked to a neighbor a few seconds ago who has come out to say that they believe that his relative, potentially his mother lived in the same building, that she was in tears, I mean bawling today and basically telling people to mind their own business when they asked what was going on. That is after police started showing up here. They came in with bulletproof red vests, they brought dogs with them. Some of them had helmets on at some point.

Then the scene has calmed down a bit. They've been able to get inside of that apartment but we have not seen them take anything out at this point in time. We do know they are still here. They are still looking at the scene. They are still talking to folks here. But certainly this area is rattled. They're surprised. They say that Mercer was quiet, that he didn't really say much, they would see him sometimes short of shuffling around, wearing dark glasses.

But that he wasn't a gregarious person. That he was a very quiet person who stayed to himself. And every now and then they said they would see him with a woman. Now we're hearing from a neighbor who lives in the same building that they do believe that it is his mother and that she was visibly upset today after the shootings happened -- John. VAUSE: So we're learning a lot more obviously now about the gunman

but we still have no idea about a motive. We don't know why he chose this community college. Do you know what his links may have been to the campus here? Why he chose to come here and kill so many people?

SIDNER: No, there have been a lot of people trying to figure that very question out. Why did he pick this community college? Did he have any links to the college? And that answer has not come at least to us at this point in time. A lot of people will say that this is the only community college in this county. It is truly a part of this community. People from the ages of 20 all the way to 70 years old go to this college.

It's a commuter college. You don't live on campus. You come from outside and drive in to take part in the educational experience there. And people, you know, loved having it here because it is the only college that is available for the 100,000 people who live in and around the county. So the question remains, why this college, why that classroom, why those students. No one knows at this point in time.

And of course everyone is trying to figure that out. Also this community trying to figure out how to go forward and heal after such a tragedy. Everyone here seems to know somebody who was affected by the shooting -- John.

VAUSE: OK, Sara, thank you. Sara Sidner live this hour outside the apartment which is believed to be the apartment of the gunman.

And Isha, of course that question of why, the motive, eventually we'll find out in the days, maybe weeks to come, but we will find out exactly why this gunman decided to come here and kill so many people earlier today -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes. Indeed. That is indeed the task at hand for authorities. Thank you, John.

Well, for more on the deadly shooting I'm joined by former FBI lead negotiator Chris Voss as we try and piece all of this together, to John's point.

[01:25:01] Chris, one of the victim's fathers -- one victim's father, I should say, rather, spoke to our Kyung Lah and said that the shooter asked individuals about their religion before shooting them. We don't want to overstate that, we don't why the question was asked, but I do want to put it to you and get your immediate thoughts on that. What did you make of it?

CHRIS VOSS, FORMER FBI LEAD INTERNATIONAL KIDNAPPING NEGOTIATOR: Well, the act besides asking a question, the act itself there's a lot of rage here, there's a lot of anger, there's a lot of judgment. Now exactly why he is asking that question there are a number of possibilities. I'd want to hear several more things. You know, immediately the thing that springs to everyone's mind was that he might have been Muslim. But that's not only it. I mean, he may have been a disaffected Christian. He may have been atheist how is in his view he's angry at God or

people that worship God. There's anger here. You need a lot more information before you start jumping to these conclusions. This does back up that this tends to look like a very judgmental sort of action and asking that sort of question is a very judge and jury type of approach, so another indication that in his own mind he had a rational plan for this, what he thought was rational, and then he thought this through.

SESAY: Again, to say for our viewers that authorities don't know his motive as of yet. We know how as they try and gain some insight into this individual that they've already started speaking to friends and family. Talk to me about how those interviews are approached because of course for the friends and families of the shooter, they are feeling a host of emotions.

VOSS: Right. Well, they're feeling horrified. They're actually feeling guilty because this developed under their nose. They will feel themselves. And they did nothing about it. So there's going to be a tremendous amount of trauma throughout his immediate social circle of people who didn't see this coming. So law enforcement interviewers are going to have to be very gentle with these people.

And it's to say, because in my early days in law enforcement I didn't know how to do this and I learned from great cops that I got to see. It's in instances like this that law enforcement actually does a phenomenal job, and we see how good law enforcement in this country is. They will approach the people in his circle very gently. They'll actually physically make it a point to try and stay at an eye level below them. They want to make them feel safe and secure, and that way is the quickest way to get them to share their inner thoughts and inner bits of information that they might know about him.

SESAY: You said that they'll be feeling guilty. In these situations, from what we know of these mass shootings, do they come with warning signs?

VOSS: Well, there are warning signs. But how can you correlate the warning signs and know for sure what to look for? What might jump out at me as a professional law enforcement officer is normal behavior. And in most cases we human beings are going to want to think the best of people around us and give them the benefit of the doubt, and we might not see how the patterns line up. And so after the fact they're going to -- these people are going to feel very guilty about not seeing these patterns.

SESAY: Chris Voss, we certainly appreciate you spending time with us this evening and sharing your insight and perspective. Thank you so much.

VOSS: Thanks for having me on.

SESAY: Thank you.

Now we're going to bring you the latest on the Oregon school shooting including more on U.S. President Barack Obama's angry reaction right after a very quick break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATE BROWN, OREGON: Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are holding the community of Douglas County in our hearts today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:03] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RITA CAVIN, INTERIM PRESIDENT, UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Today was the saddest day in the history of the college, the college celebrated its 50th anniversary recently and this is a tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're following breaking news, 10 people killed in Roseburg, Oregon. Gunman, 26-year-old male, is also dead.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Law enforcement sources have told CNN he had body armor and enough ammunition for a prolonged gun fight. The father of one wounded student says the gunman asked the students in her class to stand up if they were Christians and then he shot them. Authorities say the gunman was killed in a shootout with police.

SESAY: U.S. President Barack Obama voiced his sadness and anger in a news conference and reiterated his frustration at the failure of Congress to pass new gun control measures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope and pray that I don't have to come out again during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances, but based on my experience as president, I can't guarantee that. And that's terrible to say. And it can change. May god bless the memories of those who were killed today, may he bring comfort to their families, and courage to the injured as they fight their way back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Thursday morning at Umpqua College began like any other day on campus and then there was a flood of 9-1-1 calls from campus. We will bring you President Obama's full remarks in the next hour. We'll you bring you those comments so you can get a sense of president's frustration felt by his inability to gain some gun policy here. And we're going to bring those to you in the next couple minutes.

In the meantime, we want to bring you some insight into how this day unfolded. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: 10:38 a.m., Thursday morning the first calls come into authorities.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

DISPATCHER: Active shooter, UCC, 11:40, College Road.

Somebody is out of sight in one of the doors, heading through the doors.

We do have one female that has been shot at this time.

(END AUDIO FEED)

SESAY: Within minutes, law enforcement is on the scene.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Exchanging shots with him. He's in a classroom.

DISPATCHER: Gun shots. Exchanging gunshots with male in a classroom on the southeast side of Snyder Hall.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Confirming. He has a long gun.

(END AUDIO FEED)

SESAY: We now know the shooter is a 26 years old male believed to have had four guns according to law enforcement official.

[01:35:08] UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: I heard a loud bang, couple girls sprinting away from the building, and I heard screaming. I looked out and saw the people running and said to the teacher, we need to get out of here right now.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Dispatch as many ambulances as possible, we have upwards of 20 victims.

(END AUDIO FEED)

SESAY: And police are able to stop the gunman.

JOHN HANLIN, SHERIFF, DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Officers immediately responded to the college, and upon arriving there, they located the shooter in one of the buildings. Officers engaged that suspect. There was an exchange of gunfire. The shooter is deceased.

SESAY: In the aftermath of the massacre, law enforcement are searching for any warning signs.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SESAY: Well, our breaking news coverage of mass shooting on college campus in Oregon continues after a quick break. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: More now on our breaking news from the U.S. state of Oregon where 10 people at a community college in the town of Roseburg are dead after a gunman attacked the campus Thursday morning. Police say seven others were wounded. The shooter was a 26-year-old man who was killed in a shootout with police. Federal and local law enforcement are searching for a motive.

The advocacy group, Every Town for Gun Safety, using data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control, estimate an average 88 Americans are killed with guns each day and cites a study calculated the average U.S. gun murder rate more than 20 times that of other developed nations.

Well, the recent CNN/ORC poll show Americans don't think stricter gun control measures would have much impact on keeping guns out of the wrong hands. The survey showing 58 percent of Americans don't believe stronger back ground checks will prevent criminals from buying guns. 42 percent said they would.

Gun control is a politically charged issues here in the United States and Republican presidential candidates are reacting to the mass shooting. One of them, Ben Carson, told a radio interviewer the greatest focus should be on the person behind the gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:40:55] DR. BEN CARSON, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & RETIRED NEUROSURGEON: Obviously, there's going to be those who will be calling for gun control but that happens every time we have one of these incidents. Obviously, that's not the issue. The issue is the mentality of these people and we need to be looking at the mentality of these individuals and seeing if there are any early warning clues to gather to help us as a society to identify these people ahead of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: But gun control advocates say addressing mental health is only half the problem.

I spoke with Andy Father, the father of Alison Parker, the Virginia news reporter who was shot and killed on live television less than two months ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY PARKER, DAUGHTER KILLED BY GUN VIOLENCE: If you have universal back ground checks, if you close loopholes will you save lives, it's proven in state that's have tighter gun controls there's less violence and it is certainly the people as you always hear from people like that, their argument is guns don't kill people, people kill people, again, that's a flawed argument and it's only half right. But anything that you can do to prevent tragedy and violence, you have to do, it's like seatbelts, you wear a seatbelt in your car and that's not necessarily going to prevent you from losing your life in a horrific accident but it's going to help certainly and it might save your life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, gun control advocates in the U.S. will argue today's disaster could have been avoided, but others will say gun control laws are nearly impossible to change in Washington.

Our CNN panel weighed in with Don Lemon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The president said that we should politicize this, are you surprised he said that?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Not at this point. I would have been surprised if he would have said it a few years ago. This say second term president at the end of his second term who clearly feels strongly about this. I think what you saw the president do this afternoon is telling people who care about gun violence have to become single issue voters the way those who support NRA are single issue voters. In your for gun control he said when you make a decision to elect somebody expect your elected officials to reflect your views. It was a very direct plea to people because he's been unable to do anything in Congress. By the way, that includes a bunch of his own Democrats who are from pro-gun state, southern Democrats who have abandoned him on this issue.

LEMON: Gloria, that's my question. Is there anything that can be done with the gun lobby strong as it is? And as you say, Democrats, people from his own party, are saying, no, we don't want gun laws to change or any more restrictions, are the president's hands tied with this matter?

BORGER: Dan knows this better than I do. Count me skeptical right now. He has Republican control of Congress, when you look at the polling, two-thirds of Republicans believe gun laws are just fine the way they are. You know, I think it's a huge uphill battle for the president. The question that I have is what is he going to do now substantively and what will he propose legislatively.

LEMON: In other words -- I heard you say the words "ring hollow."

Dan, talk about that. It's a huge challenge.

DAN PFEIFFER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Gloria is exactly right. What the president was saying today is if you care about this issue you have to be as active and vocal as the NRA. Because right now even though basic steps like back ground checks they have been overall in this country but members of Congress are more afraid of the NRA than they are of public opinion. That has to change. I'm sure the president will talk about this. My hope is Democratic candidates talk about it. Until we show people you can win by running aggressive by for additional gun safety laws, we won't get any progress. So it has to happen on the campaign trail before we get something done.

[01:45:25] LEMON: Phil, weigh in on this. What realistically can the president do?

PHILIP BUMP, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Realistically, I don't know if there's anything he can do.

LEMON: It's a stark reality.

BUMP: Frankly, it's not even stark any more. We seen this in Newtown in 2013 president said go out and vote. Polls showed gun opponents are more likely to vote against candidates, NRA is a very powerful force. And --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Is it really just the NRA or is it beyond that? Or is it Americans saying I like my gun laws the way they are.

BUMP: Yes, I think that's part of it.

PFEIFFER: NRA is a big piece of it but back ground checks, 98 percent support, hard to get 98 percent support of anything.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Gloria, go ahead. I have to get to a break.

BORGER: Our polls show the public is skeptical if you expand back ground checks it will necessarily keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill or criminals, so the public overall is mixed on this. But when you go party by party, it's not. So I think it's a very difficulty political fight.

LEMON: I know we have to go, but I think it's important to read this. This is Mike Huckabee after the president's speech. It says, "Obama quickly politicized this tragedy to advance his liberal anti-gun agenda. For this president to make a political pronouncement is, at best, premature, and, at worst, ignorantly inflammatory. Obama can shamelessly try and exploit any tragedy he wants, but it's clear that gun-free zones are sitting-duck zones. His passion is grossly misplaced into destroying the Second Amendment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Our thanks to Don Lemon there and his CNN panel

We will have much more from Oregon ahead this hour.

But another story we're following, Hurricane Joaquin is gaining strength and its next possible target, the U.S., is getting ready.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:51:27] KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hello, everyone. I'm

CNN Meteorologist Karen Maginnis. We're closely monitoring this major hurricane, category 4, Hurricane Joaquin. It's just been situated across the Bahamas, lingering to the West about four to five miles an hour. We think over the next 24 hours this will start to make its move, hopefully, to the north.

So let's go ahead and show you the broad view as to what's going on. This has been impacting the Bahamas for quite some time but will make its way toward the north. But there's another component, an area of low pressure over the Carolinas, this is going to produce unprecedented rainfall. Our computer models are all over the place suggesting we will still watch this move out into the Atlantic Ocean but several models are bringing it into the mid-Atlantic as we go into the next 48 to 72 hours. There's about three computer models suggesting this.

What can we expect? Let's go ahead and tell you what the impact is going to be. About 80 million people could be impacted. We will see historic flash flooding from this area of low pressure that will develop along the Carolinas. 10 to 15 inches of rainfall in places like Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and coastal sections of North Carolina, but all the way up towards New Jersey where the government says be prepared and be aware of what the situation is going to be calling for over the next four to five days. But we'll keep you updated, and we'll be here in the CNN Weather Center to keep you updated.

Isha, John, back to you guys.

SESAY: Very much appreciate the updates, Karen. Thank you.

Want to update our viewers on the deadly shooting in Oregon now.

VAUSE: Yeah, the father of one of the wounded victims says his daughter told him how the gunman walked into the classroom, shot her professor and asked the students to stand up if they were Christians and then shot them. Police have not stated a clear motive. 10 died in the attack. Seven others were wounded. Police say the 26-year-old gunman had body armor and a lot of ammunition. He is now dead, it's not clear if he took his own life or if he was in fact shot by police.

I have been seeing these shootings since columbine and they are depressingly familiar. You can hear the frustration in the voice of the president along with a lot of anger.

SESAY: Yes, John, as you said, the president did not hold back. A little bit earlier, the president lamenting that mass shootings have become routine in the United States and blasted those who oppose more gun legislation.

Thursday's news conference marks the 15th time he's addressed gun violence. Here's a look at what he has had to say after each deadly incident.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: We've endured too many tragedies like this too many times.

We come together filled with sorrow for the 13 Americans we lost, with gratitude for the lives they led and the determination we honor them we carry on.

I've come here tonight as an American who like all Americans to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow.

[01:55:15] And the federal government stands ready to do whatever's necessary to bring whoever's responsible for this heinous crime to justice.

All of us are heartbroken and I offer my thoughts and prayers, from not only Michelle and myself but as the country as a whole.

Each time we hear the news, I act not only like a president but as a parent. I will do everything in my power as president to help.

The lives that were taken from us were unique. The memories their loved ones carry are unique, and they will carry them and endure long after the news cameras are gone.

Any shooting is troubling. Obviously, this reopened the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago.

The country has to do soul search being this. This is becoming the norm and we take it for granted in ways that as a parent are terrifying to me.

The good news is I'm confident that the outpouring of unite and strength and fellowship and love across Charleston today indicates the degree to which those old vestiges of hatred can be over come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: At the top of the hour, we will run President Barack Obama's full comments on this latest mass shooting. Stay with CNN for that.

You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isha Sesay, in Los Angeles.

SESAY: I'm John Vause, in Roseburg, Oregon.

A lot more of our continuing coverage after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)