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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Police: Shooter Prepared For Prolonged Gunfight; Obama Shaken By Oregon Campus Massage; Hurricane Joaquin Preparations; Ten Killed In Oregon College Shooting. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 02, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Police say he showed up at Umpqua Community College heavily armed with body armor. According to the father of a wounded student, the gunman opened fire as soon as he entered the classroom. He asked some of his victims about their religion during this killing spree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACY BOYLAN, SHOOTING VICTIM'S FATHER: 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. One shot and killed him, took him right out of it.
Others had been injured and then this man had enough time -- I don't think how many 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.
If you're Christian, stand up. They would stand up. Good, because you're Christian, you will see God in just about one second and shot and killed them. He kept going down the line doing this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: We spoke to a lot of people overnight describing the chaos on the campus when the shooting started. Many people very confused as to what was going on. One student described what happened when they heard the gunshots. The teacher checked on a nearby classroom to make sure everything was OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANNAH MILES, UCC STUDENT: She knocked on the door. She yelled through the door and said is everyone OK over there. As soon as she said that, multiple shots were fired. When she turned and looked at the classroom, the look on her face was horrifying.
That's when I knew something was wrong. She looked at us and it was just I don't know. It's hard to explain. When she looked at us, she said we have to get out now. One of my other classmates jumped up and said let's go.
We immediately began running. Didn't know what was going on, but I knew the look and fear on my teacher's face that it was serious. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: We were finding out more about the shooter and some of the recent blog posts. The suspect was prepared for a long gun fight. He had four weapons when he arrived on campus.
Investigators also confirm he lived near Roseburg and wrote online about recent mass murders. Focusing on the attention it brought to the gunman.
In one passage, "A man known by no one is now known by everyone. His face splashed across every screen, his name across the lips of every person on the planet, all in the course of one day. Seems the more people you kill, the more you are in the limelight.
That passage, he is writing about the man who recently killed two reporters in Virginia. In California, the gunman's father spoke briefly to reporters. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IAN MERCER, GUNMAN'S FATHER: I don't want to answer any questions right now. Obviously it's been a devastating day. It's devastating for me and my family. All I ask, I know you are here to do your job, all I ask is please respect our privacy. So far you have done that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any surprise at all?
MERCER: Shocked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Let's go to Winchester, Oregon and bring in CNN's Sara Sidner. She is outside the apartment where neighbors say the shooter lived. Sara, what are you learning this morning about it?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have been talking to a couple of neighbors who had seen him. We showed them a picture of the law enforcement showed us of the shooter. They said yes, that is the person we have seen at the apartment complex for the last six months. They are not sure when he moved in.
What I can tell you is that they say he had been very quiet and he was kind of to himself. He did not engage a lot with people. They did see him about. Some people talked to him now and then. He very much stuck to himself. They did notice something different today.
They noticed a woman who was crying, who was visibly upset. A few hours after the shooting happened. One of the neighbors said they wept up to her and tried to ask her what was wrong. She said none of your business.
We apologize. We are getting sprayed by some of the sprinklers here. She talked about the fact that she saw this woman just so visibly upset. She believes that that is the shooter's mother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was bawling. She looked really upset. I mean, I can't blame her. This is insane. My heart goes out to her and all the people there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: That was Brenda Hart. She lives in the building here. Close to where the shooter lived. He lives on the second floor in apartment number 12. We have been watching as police have gone in and out of the apartment. They cordoned off the area initially.
[05:35:06] There was a SWAT team that first came here. They were crouching in the bushes according to witnesses and neighbors. They were wearing their full gear. Concerned about what they may find in the apartment whether it could have been booby trapped or a threat to them or other neighbors.
What police have not said and not confirm and whether or not they believe this is where the shooter lives. Neighbors said they are fairly certain that this is indeed where he has been living.
We were also told by some of the neighbors there have been things taken out of the apartment. They were asked to leave themselves. We saw some items removed. The ATF, FBI and the sheriff's department have been here investigates the scene here.
ROMANS: Sara, do we know what connection, if any, the shooter had to the college or the victims?
SIDNER: We don't at this point. That is the big question that everyone is trying to figure out. You know, just down the street here, close is an elementary school. A school he could have gone into. Instead, he chose to go to a school more than a mile away to the community college here that services the county, the only one in the entire county.
No one can quite figure out what exactly the link is there, if there is any link, the reason why he decided to go into the classroom and into the school and do this horrible thing. What we can tell you is we talked to students about what they heard and what they saw when he started shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard one gunshot and then I looked over outside and people were running away from the building. I knew exactly what happened. I said we have to get out of here. There are people running. We need to go. The second and third gunshots happened.
By that time, I was out the door. I was one of the first people out. So there were people scattered around campus. I would tell them you need to get out. Follow me if you need to. There's been a shooting. People are injured and some killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: That was Sarah Cobb. She was a brand new student at the college. She said all of them had been there just four days before all this happened. She described what happened afterwards when the buses came eventually to pick those students who had not been injured, but who had witnessed something.
They were all bussed in to the fairgrounds about seven miles from the college. The FBI came and talked to them as well. She said it was a pretty chaotic scene because parents knew that is where they were to go to hook up with students not knowing if their child had been necessarily shot or not and not knowing the status and health of their child or teacher.
She said it was a chaotic scene and hugging and talking to one another. People were bringing snacks. It was difficult to see people so distressed. This community is going through hell right now. That is the best way to describe it. The entire community is in mourning -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Sara Sidner for us this morning. Thank you, Sara.
BERMAN: President Obama responded last night. People who have known the president for a long time and worked with him for a long time say this is as angry as they have ever seen him. This is the 15th time the president has addressed the nation after a gun related massacre. He challenged the American people and the news media to help strengthen the nation's gun laws.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 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. We've become numb to this.
We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora and after Charleston. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people get their hands on a gun.
And what is routine is the response of any of those who want common sense legislation. Right now, I can imagine the press release is being cranked out. We need more guns, they'll argue.
Fewer gun safety laws. Does anybody really believe that? There are scores of responsible gun owners in this country. They know that's not true.
[05:40:04] What's also routine is that somebody somewhere will comment and say Obama politicized this issue.
Well, this is something we should politicize. It is relevant to our common life together to the body politic. I would ask news organizations because I won't put these facts forward. Have news organizations tally up the number of Americans who have been killed through terrorist attacks over the last decade and the number of Americans who have been killed by gun violence.
And post those side by side on your news reports. This won't be information coming from me. It will be coming from you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right, here is one take on those numbers. Between 2004 and 2013, 360,000 Americans died from gun violence on U.S. soil, all kinds of gun violence. During the same timeframe, 313 Americans were killed by acts of terrorism.
And again, people who know the president for a long time. I was talking to Dan Pfeiffer. He said this is as angry as he has seen the president period.
Other White House people who talk to over the years will tell you the biggest regret the president has is not accomplishing more himself and he blames others too, but himself on the issue of gun violence.
ROMANS: People around the president said they thought that Sandy Hook three years ago almost now would have been some kind of turning point in American culture. There is something different about America. These things just happened. Nothing changed. You had multiple shootings since then. We will follow the latest on the campus tragedy all morning long.
First, Hurricane Joaquin gaining strength, shifting course. We are tracking all of the possibilities for this very dangerous storm next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:45:32]
BERMAN: Hurricane Joaquin battering the Bahamas. Right now it's a Category 4 storm, sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. State and local officials all along the east coast are preparing for the worst this morning, a possible direct hit from the powerful hurricane. Although the latest forecast suggests that Joaquin may stay out to the Atlantic and miss the east coast.
Let's get more on the track from meteorologist, Karen Maginnis -- Karen.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, Hurricane Joaquin has changed very little over the last 12 to 24 hours. We think beyond this time period movement will be more towards the north. Right now, 130-mile-an-hour winds with gusting up to 160.
This is going to be a rough prediction. But what happens as we go into the next three to five days, we think that turn will happen more toward the north and according to the National Hurricane Center, it keeps it well out in the Atlantic. There are about two dozen computer models. Several of them actually take this hurricane towards the mid-Atlantic after about the next 72 hours. There are strong comparisons with what happened with Hurricane Sandy in 2012 that claimed almost 300 lives.
It was well out into the Atlantic and then moved in towards that New England coast. You can see some of the computer models, most of them keeping it offshore. We will see soaking rains in the southeast thanks to the stubborn area of low pressure, but all eyes closely monitoring what happens with this. Back to you, guys.
ROMANS: All right, Karen, thank you for that. We know you will watch that for us. It's 47 minutes past the hour. The gun control debate raging in the wake of a campus massacre. Presidential candidates now sounding off and one outright criticizing President Obama.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:50:59]
ROMANS: Presidential candidates taking a pause from campaigning to offer support in the wake of the Oregon campus massacre. Jeb Bush was the first to respond on Twitter saying he is praying for Umpqua Community College and the victims and families impacted by the tragedy.
Donald Trump tweeted, "My warmest condolences to the families of the horrible Roseburg, Oregon shootings." Trump also telling the "Washington Post," it's happening more and more. I just don't remember years back, I just don't remember these things happening. Certainly not with this kind of frequency."
John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, and George Pataki all tweeting condolences as well. Huckabee goes a step further criticizing President Obama saying, "With few facts Obama is quick to admittedly politicize this tragedy to advance his liberal anti-gun agenda. Gun violence is a problem in this country, but it is not the fault of second amendment, but it's the fault of evil people doing evil things."
Ben Carson in a radio interview said the focus needs to be preventing unstable people from getting their hands on guns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, obviously, there will be those who will be calling for gun control, but you know 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 the individuals and seeing if there are any early warning clues that we can gather that will help us as a society identify these people ahead of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Hillary Clinton expressing anger and disbelief and addressing the gun issue as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm sick about it and I feel an absolute urgency for this country to start being sensible about keeping guns away from people who should not have them. I will try to do everything I can as president to raise up an equally large and vocal group to prove to be a counter balance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Clinton's Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders also weighe in tweeting, "We need sensible gun control legislation, which prevent guns from being used by people who should not have them."
BERMAN: New information this morning about the security on campus where the shooting took place. We will have that information coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:57:08]
BERMAN: Ten people killed in Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. That massacre happening on the community college campus yesterday. The recently retired president of the college says the school discussed hiring an armed security guard during the past year, but ultimately decided against it.
Says it is because officials felt the area was safe and armed officer might change the feel and culture on the campus that was designated a gun free zone. This is CNN military analyst, Rick Francona. He lives in the area. He believes a discussion needs to take place about school security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: There has been a lot of discussion today about the gun free zone. Was it not? Oregon law is very tricky. Technically they cannot prevent you from bringing a gun on campus, but they can prevent you from bringing it into a building to technically it's a gun-free zone.
And they had unarmed guard so this is going to bring out a reassessment of the security in this area because everybody thought this was a safe area. The guards were more of watch to make sure things was OK. No one realized we would have a gun battle on campus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: We are still waiting for the names of the people who were killed. Authorities will release those today. There is new information about the gunman in that campus shooting. "NEW DAY" picks up our continuing coverage right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: There's a shooter. There's a shooter.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Confirmed report he has a long gun.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: She opened the door and gunman shot her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Multiple shots were fired. The look on her face is horrifying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you're a Christian, you will see God in one second and he shot and killed them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was terrified. I have never been more terrified for my life ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once we got out of the building, people running in every direction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me be clear. I will not name the shooter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has to have some connection to the school.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Somehow this has become routine. We have become numb to this.
CLINTON: We have got to get the political will to do everything we can to keep people safe.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY, but it's max all too familiar of too many other, another school in America victimized by a deranged shooter.
This time it is Umpqua Community College in Oregon. That's the site of ten murders, at least seven others wounded. An outraged President Obama you just heard him admonishing the nation for not fighting gun violence.
But today we will report on how much is involved in these shootings and how little has been done.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So investigators once again trying to figure out why this 26-year-old shooter went on a rampage. Were there warning signs missed? What about the reports he targeted Christian students?
We are also learning more about the precious victims' lives taken. We have the story covered as CNN can. Let's begin with CNN's Anna Cabrera live for us in Roseburg, Oregon. What's have you learned, Anna?
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Alisyn and Chris.
