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San Bernardino County Supervisors and Doctors Speak on the Terror Attack. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 07, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:33:18] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: We're waiting now on a live news conference from San Bernardino with the very latest on last week's attack.

Meanwhile, lots of new details are coming into us about the shooters, Tashfeen Malik and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook. Take a look here -- this photo just coming in to CNN. It's a new photo of them entering the United States through Chicago's O'Hare Airport. That was back in July of 2014.

I want to bring in CNN's Dan Simon. He is live for us in San Bernardino with more. So what can we expect to hear at this press conference, Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT : Well hi -- `Pamela. We're going to be hearing from -- we're going to be hearing from government workers as well as from folks who worked at the medical center, from doctors. They're really going to set the stage, I think, for county workers to actually return back to work.

We know, of course, they've not worked since the incident took place. We know that certain workers are reporting back to their place of employment some time today, or perhaps they -- let's see, it's 7:30 here local time. They will probably in just about an hour and a half.

We know that people who are part of Syed Farook's division, the people who worked most closely with him, will not be returning to work today. They're going to be going back to work some time next week.

I'm going to go ahead and put my ear piece back in so I can hear you now -- Pamela. But in terms of the overall investigation, I think one of the central questions that investigators are going to be having today and throughout the week is how these people became radicalized. Was there a turning point that ultimately led to this shooting in this particular building, at this particular time?

We're gaining a little bit more insight into Syed Farook. And that really comes from his father.

[10:35:01] He did an interview with the Italian newspaper "La Stampa", and what he said was really interesting. He said that his son, Syed Farook, shared the ideology of al Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. I mean that is pretty significant. That shows that he -- within his core, he believed in this idea of killing Americans. And the fact that the father did not report that is certainly going to raise some questions -- Pamela.

BROWN: Right. Because I know just from talking to law enforcement officials, Dan, they say look, we need family and friends to help us. If they see signs of radicalization, please speak up. In this case, I think that question is being raised.

Dan Simon -- thank you very much.

The shooting also reigniting the gun control debate. Up next, we talk to a former Republican congressman who wrote a letter saying, quote, "Doing nothing is no longer an acceptable solution." We'll be right back.

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[10:40:18] BROWN: During a rare prime time address from the Oval Office, President Obama called on Congress to enforce tighter gun control following that brutal San Bernardino shooting.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Congress should act to make sure no one on a no-fly list is able to buy a gun. What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terror suspect to buy a semi-automatic weapon? This is a matter of national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Sen. Rand Paul says not so fast. Listen to what he told CNN's Alisyn Camerota earlier today.

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SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we're going to take away second amendment member privileges, nobody wants somebody who's a terrorist to have a gun, myself included.

But there has to be process. One of the reasons there has to be a process is, you know, Ted Kennedy was on the watch list, so was Cat Stevens. It was a mistake, but would you want to take away their constitutional rights over a mistake?

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BROWN: Ok. And we're going to be talking to Republican Congressman Jay Dickey about all of those comments in just a moment.

But we want go to San Bernardino. There's a press conference under way right now.

We're waiting for county leaders there to speak, as county workers go back to work today although those who are in the division of Syed Farook, the gunman in this massacre, those employees will not be going back to work today. We understand that the rest will. So, let's listen in to hear what they have to say.

JAMES RAMOS, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: I want to thank you all for showing up here today. Today, myself, I'm James Ramos, chairman of the San Bernardino County board of supervisors.

We called this conference today to share with you what the San Bernardino County family has done and what we're dealing with during this horrific time. We want to make sure that people understand that our hearts are heavy during this time, but yet we must move forward. And today we are opening up San Bernardino County back to business.

But we are sad and angry about the events that took place, still searching for answers as to why. There is much to be done in the coming days and weeks. And our focus today is supporting the victims and their families, doing all that we can to ensure the safety of our employees, carrying out our public service and mission during this time.

We want to thank the first responders, law enforcement family, fire, and the federal agencies for coming together in a unified approach that has helped San Bernardino County continue to move forward. We also are asking for your continued prayers for the families and the victims and especially for our EHS family that has been drastically affected by this horrific event.

Standing with me today is the board of supervisors, because we stand united, together, as your leaders to see San Bernardino County move forward.

At this time, I would like to introduce the vice chairman, Supervisor Lovingood.

ROBERT LOVINGOOD, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Well, good morning. As I stand here, I don't think any of us, and you yourselves could ever imagine the horrific loss of a number of coworkers in the event that's occurred.

Our responsibility is great. And our responsibility is great to the employees. The safety and the security of our employees are foremost in our mind. As we move forward this next week, you will see increased security at all of our facilities, reassuring those that are going to continue on providing services to our constituents and citizens as they need to. That will not halt us. That will not slow us down.

[10:44:56] Today as we open back up, I think we all know the challenges, but we're here for the employees. We're here for our directors. We're here for the public safety.

If we take a minute and we look at San Bernardino County's public safety and their reaction, they provided over 60 percent of the services from the sheriff's department under John McMahon. The efforts were seamless, the efforts were immediate, but it's still tragic in the end what we've lost.

Understanding our environmental health will be forever impacted and changed with the directors and members. We appreciate the fact as we move forward we will be there for their support and we understand their needs.

Thank you for coming today. I'm going to introduce Supervisor Josie Gonzalez.

JOSIE GONZALEZ, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: We stand here this morning as testimony to the fact that no December 2nd anywhere, no act of terrorism anywhere, will succumb, will invest fear, will provide any kind of an end to the hard work, to the dedication of every single San Bernardino county employee.

All of us in San Bernardino County are one family. And we stand together and united. We know that our county employees are valuable and that we have a mission together to come as a strong community and be able to supersede any act of terrorism.

Most of our county employees make their job a career. We have families. We have couples. We have children. We have grandparents. We have all kinds of families working in San Bernardino County. We attend each other's weddings, birthdays, special events, no different than we celebrate holidays together.

There are many, many opportunities by which our good county employees will be able to come together as we begin today to move forward.

As you know, we immediately established a counseling hot line for our county employees. Counseling centers have been established for our employees to speak with trained counselors, and all managers have been asked to look for signs of distress among their employees and ensure that they get the help they need.

And I say once again, we stand united. We believe in each other. And we shall overcome.

I now introduce to you San Bernardino County supervisor for the second district, Supervisor Janice Rutherford.

JANICE RUTHERFORD, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Thank you -- Josie.

The purpose of terrorism is to make ordinary people afraid to do the ordinary things that make up their lives. Last Wednesday was an ordinary day in San Bernardino County. It was a day when a group of our employees were gathered to celebrate their accomplishments of the last year and to get some training about how to do their jobs even better.

These were dedicated public servants. They weren't politicians. They weren't celebrities. They weren't law enforcement officers. They weren't soldiers. But they became the front line in a battle against terrorists.

To honor them, to express our gratitude for their unimaginable sacrifice, we have to fight to maintain that ordinary. We can't be afraid of our lives, of our community, of our neighbors, of our coworkers. We have to have the strength to continue.

Our employees are going back to work today, because while they are ordinary people, they are also extraordinary people, who are overcoming their fear and returning to the dedicated public service that they give every single day.

We stand with them to tell the terrorists, you may not have our fear. You may not have our liberty. And you may not have our love. Those are the things that make us different and distinct.

[10:49:59] That love for each other is what will give us the hope and the strength and the resilience to embrace the ordinary again. And to let all of our employees give their extraordinary public service.

Chairman Ramos -- not Chairman Ramos. Supervisor Curt Hagman, Fourth District.

CURT HAGMAN, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Morning, everyone. On midday in December 2nd, in the reports that were coming out of the active shooter, you saw the incredible heroic response of our first responders. Initially the sheriff's department, our county probation, obviously the local agencies, the federal agencies, and our medical team, our county fire and our doctors behind us.

When they showed up at the first site and saw what was going on, they took their own lives and put it at risk to go respond to those who are injured and to go help evacuate people from the buildings.

We are very proud of them. We think they did a heroic job. We have several here today to tell you some of their stories that they had to deal with on the medical side on that day of December 2nd. So, with that, Mr. Chairman.

RAMOS: Well, thank you. Thank you to the San Bernardino County board of supervisors. As we all stand united with our family here in San Bernardino County, our family of law enforcement, our family of the different workers that have been affected by this. We stand united for one common cause and that's to let our employees know that we stand with you and we care for you.

Also we want to bring up Dr. Gnanadev who's the chairman, and he will bring up with him some doctors that were on the front lines of these areas so he could say a few words. Dr. Gnanadev.

DR. DEV GNANADEV, ARROWHEAD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Thank you. My name is Dev Gnanedev. I'm chief of surgery at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. And my entire career I spent right there, 35 years.

We have seen several disasters, but this is one of the most horrific ones we encountered. And our hearts really go out to the victims.

What really bothers me most is that none of the 14 who perished had a chance. If they made it to one -- either of the two trauma centers, your county San Bernardino County had two wonderful trauma centers -- that is, Arrowhead Regional Medical Centers and Loma Linda University Medical Center. If they made it to at least we would have done whatever it takes. That's what really bothers me most.

I can assure you, I can tell you that all the victims who made it to both hospitals and the minor injuries who made it to the other hospitals did really well. And they're all stable. Many of them went home.

I do want to thank one entity because in this tough time where we could mobilize multiple trauma teams to handle, we needed -- we meaning our teams need protection. And I really want to thank the Sheriff's Department for providing us that as these victims were brought in. Thank you.

DR. MICHAEL NEEKI, ARROWHEAD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Good morning. I'm Dr. Michael Neeki. I'm part of the group called California Emergency Physician under the local leadership of Dr. Rodney Borger. Some of my privileges in this county, I'm a chief medical officer for Department of Probation under leadership of Chief Brown and Deputy Owen, which were essential on that day.

And also I work at Arrowhead Region Medical Center emergency room and trauma care under title of director of clinical research and tactical medicine.

First of all, my thoughts and prayers go to the families and the victims of this event. They are the heroes. In our dictionary in the United States, heroes are the ones that pay the ultimate price, and they paid it to defend our democracy.

I'm here because I came for democracy. And it's sad to see that you come miles from across the world and see something like that happen here, in a country that respects everybody and gives it equal opportunity.

[10:54:53] I'm sure you want to ask about the event and my involvement at the day. I was actually second physician, backup for trauma emergency when the call went out. I've had volunteer commitment to local law enforcement in the past six years. I started with Rialto (ph) Police Department under leadership of former Chief Clint (ph) with his invitation and support of Chief Ferrer (ph) and now acting chief Captain Dianda (ph). And then I joined in 2012 inland valley special (inaudible) forces SWAT Team and continued that. It's a combination of forces from police departments from city of Colton, Rialto and Fontana.

They're my brothers in law and I'm committed to them. I've been serving this team since 2012. And I usually -- the biggest thing that you need to do is commit and my record shows I respond to these calls 99 percent of the time whether it is in early morning. And that's thanks to my partner Dr. (inaudible).

The day of the event was same thing. I had a responsibility in emergency room. One of the deals that we have with a small group is if I have the support, I can leave the department and go to the field and offer my services in the field. Whether to treat the -- you know, just follow the doctrines of physicians who are sworn to give the service to anybody who's wounded, whether is a foe or friend.

The day of the event, the call went out for active shooter. Took me about five minutes to find Dr. Singh and give my phone to him and responsibility. Dr. Carol Lee (ph), Dr. Ewing (h) were the other leaders back there. Once I made sure that the ward nurses, trauma nurses and our county employees, we work as a family at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Without that family environment, I cannot do this.

So, once I made sure that the patient care is not compromised, at the same time I received a page from my local SWAT team about the deployment. I took a couple of my residents who were on the rotation to encourage the next generation of physicians to do what I do.

As you know, we are not young forever. At some point somebody else has to take over my responsibilities. So, we took off with my car and that's a learning lesson for me. It took me about 25 minutes to get through the blockades, traffic and the issues that you have to deal with to get to the scene of the incident.

The two elements that helped me was the fact that I'm chief medical officer for department of probation, so Deputy Owen and Deputy Reese got me to a point, and the deputies -- the probation officers in the field, directed me to the triage center.

At the time I got to the triage center, the last of the two patients were loaded into the hospital and the scene was converting to hostage rescue, because we thought that the -- one of the shooters is still in the large building adjacent to the event center. So the fire was backing up to the command.

So I also want to thank tremendously my EMS brothers and sisters in the field, from various fire departments and all the law enforcement agencies. At that point I didn't need to pull out my ER. I had my handgun, I left it in the car. Took my bag with my two residents and I noticed that my command is also arriving with armored vehicle.

Knowing that my residents didn't have a tactical training, I throw them into armored vehicle at the end gave them some -- my fellow brothers gave them some protection gear. And we entered the hot zone.

My deputy commander, Lieutenant Billy Green from Fontana PD, introduced me to the scene commander and notified them that we have three physicians at the scene if it's needed. And then I joined my team to enter our responsibilities, which is basically clearing the second floor of the building.

Once we finished that and got some other people who were still trapped in the office, we were debriefing when we received the call that the two assailants are coming back to the scene almost. At that point we were deployed toward the incident where the shooting happened. [10:59:55] I was in a second armored vehicle. Being a physician,

they don't want me to get hurt, so I'm -- they're willing to take bullets for me and I'm willing to take bullets for them. This is the commitment that I have