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Special Coverage of Orlando Terror Attack; How Muslim Social Views Matter; Learning More About the Victims; President Obama to Visit Thursday to Pay Respects; Trump Talks Radical Islamism; New Details Emerging About the Shooter. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired June 14, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00] AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone and welcome to our viewers around the world, I'm Amara Walker in Los Angeles.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Vause, live in Orlando, Florida. This is our special live coverage of the terror attack here in Orlando.
President Barak Obama will come here on Thursday to pay his respects to the victims families. That word comes as we are seeing video from inside the Pulse Nightclub, as the gunfire began early Sunday morning.
The woman you saw there was one of the 49 people killed, 25 year old Amanda Alvera (ph), recorded what would become her final moments. Other details continue to emerge about the shooter. The Orlando Sentinel reports club regulars saw him there at least a dozen times before the shooting. And according to the Los Angeles Times, there are reports the gunmen used a gay dating app.
Jessica Schneider is following this development, she joins us now live. So Jessica, what more do we know about the shooters apparent trip to this nightclub, many trips it seems before the night of the shooting.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. As you mentioned a lot of different pieces that are coming together here. We're learning more about the gunmen and his movements. This may have not have been the first time he was at Pulse Nightclub. We know, all of this unfolded around 2 o'clock in the morning on Sunday. But what we're learning it's being reported by the Orlando Sentinel, which is the newspaper right here in Orlando. We're learning that at least four different people who were regulars at Pulse Nightclub, they're saying that they saw this gunman several times in the months and the weeks leading up to this horrific shooting.
Of course, this piece of information will guide investigators. They will be able to figure out whether or not the gunman was there for his own personal reasons, or if he was looking into the nightclub to try to plot his movements and to effectuate this awful attack that occurred early Sunday morning. John?
VAUSE: And Jessica, what about investigators and their search for further clues looking at all of the electronic devices that Omar Mateen had. What have they since learned?
SNYDER: Yes. The electronic data is definitely crucial. We learned that investigators have actually picked up on some cell phone data. We're learning that from law enforcement sources. And the cell phone data, has told them that the gunman was actually at a Walt Disney World property in the hours before this attack. They're telling us that on Saturday, the gunman was actually at a resort called Disney Springs, it used to be called Downtown Disney. It's an entertainment and shopping and dinning complex within that massive Walt Disney World complex.
Now law enforcement officials do believe that the gunman there at Disney Springs alone. And they're using some of that information to fill in the timeline as to exactly where and when he was at certain locations in the hours before that attack. You know, they're also searching some of the electronic data, their looking into what he had searched, in the months leading up to this attack. They're finding that he searched a lot of ISIS propaganda, including those ISIS beheading videos.
And they're also finding traces of searches as to videos relating to Anwar al-Awlaki, of course the was the American mom that went to Yemen and then was killed in a 2011 drone strike. So, interesting though on Monday, FBI Director James Comey did say that the gunman in this case was at least radicalized in part online So we're seeing that develop as we're seeing more information from law enforcement. John.
VAUSE: Jessica Schneider with the very latest, thank you.
CNN's Fareed Zakaria spoke about the attacks earlier on Monday. He described how social views within the Muslim community could have played into all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Muslim communities are very socially conservative and there is a, you know, in a way that maybe 30 or 40 years ago was true in many Christian communities. There is a lot of homophobia, there's a great deal of suspicion, there's a great deal of discrimination and more than anything else, there is an enormous amount of oppression. Now in addition to that, you have this kind of radical Islamic ideology which ramps this up 100 fold. The radical Islamic ideology is homophobia, I should say hates gays but it's also misogynistic. It hates people of other religions. And so all of that is, you know, the operating, the kind of ecosystem in which somebody like this is breathing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Rasha Mubarak is Orlando's Regional Coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations here in Florida, she joins me now. Rasha, thank you so much for being with us.
RASHS MUBARAK, ORLANDO REGIONAL COORDINATOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN- ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Thank you so much for having me. VAUSE: Often after the days after a shooting like this there is a
backlash against the Muslim community. Have you experienced anything so far for the last 24 hours or so?
MUBARAK: I personally have not.
VAUSE: Have you heard of anything?
MUBARAK: I have. I've heard that some of the mosques have received some death threats and some of international backlash and while it's a fear and concern for the Muslim community, we are trying to focus on the families and the victims right now. Just being there mourning as a Floridian and just being there for the community and their families.
VAUSE: A lot of focus now is on Islam and views towards homosexuality. A lot of religions have an issue, where they condemn homosexuality, the Pope though takes a view, condemn the sin that loved the sinner. But it's not quite the same is it in Islam? I mean, how would you describe it?
MUBARAK: I mean, I wouldn't see why it's not the same. I think that in Islam, a sin is a sin and that's to be judged by God and our creator and not to be judged by his creators. I think that's what Islam teaches us. They actually say, asma ul husna, that's between him and their god. And in Islam, we actually teach reclusion and tolerance and to love each single person.
VAUSE: The only thing I can say, of the seven countries that impose the death penalty for homosexuality, they are now Muslim countries. So, in part they are not as tolerant as the you would like obviously.
MUBARAK: Right. But there's a difference between the religion Islam and people that call themselves Muslim, or Muslim governments, that's not true Islam.
VAUSE: OK. There are some reports that Mateen went to this Pulse Nightclub maybe at least a dozen times and earlier Erin Burnett actually spoke to Mateen's ex-wife about the possibility that he may be gay. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SITORA YUSUFIY, SUSPECT'S EX-WIFE: He very much enjoyed going to clubs and the nightlife. And there was a lot of pictures of him. So, you know, I feel like it's a side of him or a part of him that he lived but probably didn't want everybody to know about.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT": Do you think he was gay?
YUSUFIY: I don't know. He never personally or you know, physically made any indication while we were together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Is it possible, one of the theories out there now, is that maybe the shooting rampage was a result of just one man struggling with his religion and his sexuality.
MUBARAK: It's an option. I can't really say. There's a lot of options out there but it's definitely something that might very well be possible. And I can't say if that's true or not. It sounds like he struggled with a lot of issues and mental issues for that matter. And struggled within himself.
VAUSE: It's very difficult to put him into one particular category that's for certain. So a family friend who had known Mateen since he was a child, he goes to the same mosque. He told CNN that he's worried that others at that mosque may be radicalized. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BODAR BAKHT, FAMILY FRIEND OF SHOOTER: Yes I do worry, very much. And from now on I will be keeping an eye on your youth, talking to them more effectively. I feel the people who talk more, they are more easy to understand because you know what they're saying, where they're coming from. And if you hear something bad, then you can always report it. But if people who are quiet, those are the ones who are - -
BURNETT: Like Omar.
BAKHT: Like Omar, he was very quiet. They are the people who are dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Do you have similar concerns, especially for young men, who are often second generation from a Muslim country, who are growing up here in the United States? Because they are the ones who often are facing this kind of radicalization.
MUBARAK: I think I have general concern for humanity. And any kind of walks of life and extremists in any religion, I mean we've seen the whole planned parenthood shooting. That was done in extreme views of a faith. So yes, I'm fearful of any kind of extremism or radicalism in any faith or community.
VAUSE: How do you explain to people out there? Because whenever something like this happens, we hear from Muslim leaders that we have to separate ISIS from Islam. And we have to separate ISIS from Muslims because ISIS does not represent Islam. But people just hear ISIS carrying out these attacks in the name of Islam. How do you manage to get that word out there?
MUBARAK: I mean, it's the responsibility of the Islamic community. It's our media, it's our elected officials, the community follows the lead. I think that, candidates that are running for President, local elections, it's they're soul responsibilities too, to kind of create, not just a safe environment for Muslims but for our national security. Because having any kind of negative rhetoric is actually going to put our national security at risk. Our country in danger, and it's doing a disservice to all American's across the country. VAUSE: Yes.
MUBARAK: So we do all have to work together and do the love work together.
VAUSE: Rasha, thanks for coming in.
MUBARAK: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Well officials in Orlando have named the last victim who died in the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub. Geraldo L. Ortiz Jimenez is the 49th person identified by police and we're learning more about other victims, among them Luis Vielma. He worked at Universal here in Orlando. Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling is mourning his death on twitter. She wrote, Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal. He was 22 years old. I can't stop crying and then she added #love is love, #Orlandolove.
In downtown Orlando, people gathered for a vigil Monday night to commemorate the victims of this terrible event. CNN's Jake Tapper has more on the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Saturday night was going to be a night of friendship and fun for Pulse clientele such as 34 year old Edward Sotomoyer Jr. and 25 year old Amanda Alear capturing these moments on social media. Not knowing those posts would be their last. They are just two of the 49 victims killed in the terrorist rampage. For survivors, horrifying recollections remain all too vivid.
SURVIVOR: People were running, glasses are getting dropped and then you know, people passing me, I'm getting covered in blood from other people.
SURVIVOR: It went with the beat almost, until you heard just too many shots. So it was just like bang, bang, bang.
SURVIVOR: There were about 20 or 30 people are trying to push themselves through a very small cabinet looking door.
TAPPER: Luis Berbano (ph) escaped with his friend, never looking back at the murderer coming towards them.
BERBANO (PH): I didn't even want to look back. I didn't, why, to look at them that would be the last thing that I see in my face. The last memory that I have that's not something that I want to remember.
TAPPER: Club goers hid from the terrorist, in restrooms and dressing rooms, huddling together, hoping to survive.
NINA JUSTICE: He said he was going to die and he loved me. That's the last thing I heard.
TAPPER: Just after 2 am, Nina Justice received these texts from her son Eddie. Mommy, I love you. In club, they shooting. Trapped in the bathroom. Calling them now she wrote back. Then messages from Eddie kept coming. He has us and he's in here with us and then, I'm going to die. Eddie's mother spoke to news crews as she waited outside for her son.
JUSTICE: I think something happened.
TAPPER: Eddie Justice did not make it out alive. The murdered range in age from 19 to 50. Retail workers, accountants, bartenders, journalists, students, bright futures extinguished, in a hate filled terrorist attack.
UNKNOWN: You stole a lot of people away from their families.
TAPPER: Some club goers were luckier, shot but saved. Because of the fast work of others.
JOSH MCGILL: On the way to the hospital, the officer had him lay on top of me and I had to bear hug him.
TAPPER: Nursing student Josh McGill helped a man with multiple gunshot wounds outside the club. Telling him what he needed to hear, to stay calm.
MCGILL: I promise you, God's got this. You'll be OK. And I was mainly scared, I was like, please don't make me break my promise.
TAPPER: As of now, that man is alive. And the promise to overcome lives on as well.
UNKNOWN: We're standing up and we're fighting. That's all we can do. (inaudible).
TAPPER: Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well terror is now the big topic among the U.S. Presidential candidates. Coming up, the stunning insinuations Donald Trump is making about President Obama.
Also ahead, Trump attacks Hillary Clinton for not saying the words radical Islam just moments after she says the words radical Islam on CNN. Mike Gliven (ph) says the words don't matter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everybody, I'm John Vause, live in Orlando. You're watching CNN's special coverage of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. All 49 victims have now been identified. Federal investigators are following out more than 100 leads to try and figure out what motivated a gunman to open fire inside a gay nightclub here early Sunday morning.
Four regulars at the Pulse nightclub have told the Orlando Sentinel, the shooter had been at that club several times before the shooting. Let's go back to Amara Walker in Los Angeles with more on the political implications of the shooting.
WALKER: Thanks so much, John. Yes, this massacre is pushing the issue of terrorism back into the U.S. Presidential race on Monday. Both presumptive nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump weighed in on the shooting reflecting major differences on terrorism and immigration. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Inflammatory, anti-Muslim rhetoric and threatening to ban the families and friends of Muslim Americans as well as millions of Muslim business people and tourists from entering our country hurts the vast majority of Muslims who love freedom and hate terror.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTAIL NOMINEE: We can not continue to allow thousands upon thousands of people to pour into our country, many of whom have the same thought process as this savage killer. Many of the principles of radical Islam are incompatible with western values and institutions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Al right. Joining me here in L.A. is James Lacy, the author of "Taxifornia" and a Trump supporter and also Democratic Strategist, Matthew Littman here in studio. Thanks to both of you gentlemen for joining me. So let's talk a little bit more about Trump and him doubling down on the Muslim bet. I want to start with you James, because when you look at this case in Orlando. This shooter was born in New York, not in Afghanistan, his parents are from Afghanistan. So, how would a ban on Muslims have prevented this shooting.
JAMES LACY, AUTHOR, "TAXIFORNIA": Well I think a more fundamental question is how could someone be on the terrorist watch list and then end up getting these weapons to be able to kill 49 people. Do you know if this Administration had kept this guy on the terrorist watch list, there'd be 49 more people alive today. And it's just like the situation with the Surniaf brothers in Boston, where you had 14 people killed and 245 maimed and those brothers were referred - -
WALKER: Right. And we can talk about that terror gap and the gun control issue. But again my question to you is, Trump has been pushing this band of Muslim entering the United States.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: How would a Muslim ban prevented this terror attack from happening?
LACY: He's pushing getting tough. And if we were tough, and you see it's not just the question of a ban on potential terrorists coming into the United States. And you know, there's so much misinformation on this. It's not intended to be a ban on Muslims. It's intended to be a temporary ban on immigration until we can figure things out.
WALKER: Even if Donald Trump, did, let's say as President had passed this ban on immigrants as well. In general, this man was not an immigrant. He was born and raised in the United States.
(CROSSTALK)
LACY: I'm trying to come back and answer the question. And that's what you're asking me, isn't a question is about immigration. What you're asking me, you want me to answer it as if it's a question about immigration. It's a question about getting tough on domestic terrorists. And what we need to do is make certain when we have someone on a terrorist watch list that we don't just take them off the list and allow them to be able to buy these weapons that kill people. You know, we need to get tough, the policies of this Administration have been wrong. They've resulted in massive deaths, massive people maimed like in Boston. And I think that when you look at the Syrian policy for example, I'll just say this briefly. Here you have the Administration that got the Syrian policy wrong, right? They got it wrong. Trying to intervene in Syria and now we have Hillary Clinton welcoming with open arms all these Syrian immigrants to come into the United States - -
WALKER: With a thorough vetting process mind you.
LACY: It's not a thorough vetting process.
WALKER: It takes about 18 to 24 months.
LACY: Your own network has reported that there are ISIS people that are infiltrating into those ranks. The reality is that we need to have a tougher policy domestically. And we really need to get an immigration policy and it's not going to come with Hillary Clinton, because that Administration has, you know, 15 different shootings across the nation, huge bombings, people hurt, it's been terrible.
WALKER: Matt, want to chime in on this?
MATTHEW LITTMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well I mean, not answering the question really about the Muslim ban in the United States which is absolutely absurd. We've had shootings since Newtown, where 30 kids were killed, in Newtown. We've had almost 2,000 shootings, we had four people getting killed in a house in New Mexico just today and this goes on and on and on.
LACY: Yes. 3,000 people were killed on 9/11.
LITTMAN: Yes, that's right.
LACY: By Muslim terrorists.
LITTMAN: OK. And this goes on and on. Were the people in Newtown killed by Muslim terrorists?
LACY: No. And you know the people that were killed in Oklahoma City were killed by a domestic terrorist, a white supremacist so, and that was terrible. And he didn't do it with an assault weapon. He did it with fertilizer.
LITTMAN: OK. I'm not sure what the relevance is of that, but OK. So we have this problem with these AR-15 weapons in the country. Everybody seems to know we have this problem but the Congress does not have the will, certain members of Congress to do anything about it. As for the Muslim ban, Donald Trump's foreign policy stuff, as we all know, and we have an international audience. It's absolutely crazy. One of his ideas was just to have ISIS fight Syria, fight Assad and the winner takes Syria. That was one of Donald Trump's ideas. Another one is to let Saudi Arabia have nuclear weapons, you know another one is to let Japan get nuclear weapons, South Korea get nuclear weapons. This stuff is just absolutely crazy.
(CROSSTALK)
LITTMAN: I do feel bad for the international audience. As an American citizen I think a lot of people in America are frightened about what Donald Trump means and I know people around the world are too and - -
LACY: I'm apologizing. They should be more frightened by your misstatements of Trump's position.
WALKER: Let's talk a little bit more about, you know, the term radical Islam. Because Trump has criticized the Obama Administration and Hillary Clinton for not using the term radical Islam and Clinton has refused to use that wording in the past, saying she doesn't want to paint this as war against one religion. But I want to play a sound bite for you, here's Hillary Clinton speaking to CNN this morning on New Day. And here's what she had to say why she's now willing to use the term radical Islam.
CLINTON: And I have clearly said that we face terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people. And you know whether you call it radical jihadism or radical Islamism, I think they mean the same thing. I'm happy to say either, so what I won't do because I think it is dangerous for efforts to defeat this threat, is to demonize and demagogue and you know, declare war on an entire religion. That plays right into ISIS' hands.
WALKER: And you know, it was also interesting to hear Hillary Clinton call out Middle Eastern allies and also countries in the Middle East in having, allowing citizens to fund extremism. But Matthew, I want to ask you about the Democrats and do you think that they have been a little too politically correct when it comes to talking about extremism and the problem in America. And that has painted Democrats as possibly not being strong enough on terrorism.
LITTMAN: Oh no. As a matter of fact, George W. Bush didn't want to say these same things, use those terms about people are of the Islamic faith. That's not the issue at all. And as we all know, Barak Obama has been very tough on terrorism. He's done a very good job. We've killed so many terrorists over the years and I give credit to the Administration for fighting hard against terrorism. That's not the issue here, the issue here is Hillary's policies versus Donald Trump's policies. Donald Trump's policies are extraordinarily dangerous, let's keep in mind that about 60 percent of the American people say they would be very embarrassed that Donald Trump was their President. LACY: But you know 66 percent of the American people say that the
country's headed in the wrong direction. And I can't imagine that Hillary Clinton is going to change any of those outlooks, because she's part of this Administration. I mean, she developed the Libyan policy that resulted in the disaster of Benghazi. She was involved in the policy that resulted in the disaster of Syria, that's resulted in all of this terrible immigration problems that we have. And you know, when it comes down to an issue of trust, you know, who are you going to trust? Are you going to trust Donald Trump, who speaks the truth, who isn't politically correct or are you going to trust Hillary Clinton who's taken $10 million from the Saudi government for their foundation.
(CROSSTALK)
LITTMAN: Politifact, which is this neutral political, talks about the facts when people speak, says that Donald Trump lies about one out of five statements in his speeches. You know the media, Donald Trump is starting to, he's now banning the Washington Post because he's afraid of the media telling the truth about him. When Donald Trump spoke today, I think that one of the articles in the website box had nine biggest lies in Donald Trump's speech.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: We have to leave it here gentlemen, we're out of time. But when you talk about not speaking truths, we did vet that the speech that Donald Trump gave today and he did mentioned that. Hillary Clinton is trying to abolish the 2nd Amendment, that's not true. She's just trying to get stricter gun control. He also mentioned that the gunman was born in Afghanistan.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: Matthew Littman and James Lacy, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: We'll see you guy in an hour. We'll continue this in an hour. Thank you much gentlemen. Al right, we're going to take a short break from here. We're going to take you inside the Pulse Nightclub when we return. Where the gunmen held SWAT teams at bay for three terrifying hours. How he was able to carry out the deadliest mass shooting the U.S. has ever seen. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:31:00] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You are watching CNN's special live coverage of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
I'm John Vause, live in Orlando, where it's 12:30 on a Tuesday morning.
All 49 people killed in the shooting rampage inside a gay nightclub have now been identified. 53 others were wounded. The FBI says the gunman was on a terror watch list, but investigators did not believe he was a credible threat. They think he was self- radicalized online.
And the U.S. president, Mr. Obama, will travel here Thursday to pay respects to the victims.
The shooting has also renewed the gun control debate in the U.S. The NRA, the National Rifle Association, put this out on Twitter.
"Gun laws don't deter terrorists."
We are learning more about what happened during that terrifying three- hour long standoff inside "The Pulse" nightclub.
Men and women who just minutes before had been out, enjoying a saturday night evening now trapped inside a building with a heavily- armed gunman. Some hid in the bathroom. They were praying. Others were texting, calling friends and family telling them they loved them.
CNN's Tom Foreman reports the horror began almost as soon as the gunman walked in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): John, we're still trying to piece together all the details. But we believe the gunman parked on the back side of the club. Roughly where I am right now.
Here's a little bit of the layout here. There's a patio bar down here. This is the main room with the main bar. And then there's another longer room with another bar and performance area down there and some dressing rooms and rest rooms.
By 02:02, police say, the man was inside the club. About 320 patrons were on hand. We have an old publicity photo in here that shows what it would look like on a crowded night. And this was crowded even though it was close to closing time.
This is where we believe the shooting began. 20 to 30 shots at least according to eyewitnesses. People screaming, trying to run. Then police say the man tried to exit the bar, but he was met by an armed security guard, a police officer working there.
Two other officers who also responded to the shooting. They began trading gunfire with the shooter. He went back into the club. But this time he went to the long narrow room on the end.
Again, an old publicity photo showing how crowded that might be. And we know that people were having trouble getting out through a little doorway down there.
There were so many people, so much panic. So other people tried to hide in these rest rooms and this dressing room on the end.
This is where we have heard all those accounts from eyewitnesses and even victims, talking about him roaming in these rooms, then being trapped there, texting trying to get help. Him shooting people while they were in there.
The police kept trying to talk to him on the phone. And in the end, they said by 5:00, something had to change.
So they set off two explosives to try to distract him for a moment. It was an armored vehicle. They punched those five holes in the wall that you see there.
And I want you to particularly note the one in the middle, the long thin one there, because that's this one back in the wall.
And police point out that when the hostages came out, the gunman also tried to come out.
You see the bullet holes all around that wall. That's where the full force of the police met him trying to escape from this building. And they shot and killed him ending these three hours of terror inside this club.
John?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Tom Foreman, thank you.
Well, joining us now for more on this, a special -- a retired special FBI agent Steve Moore in Los Angeles. He's also a CNN contributor.
And here in Orlando, Cedric Alexander. A CNN law enforcement analyst. He also is the public safety director at the Decatur County in Georgia.
So there had been pictures now starting to emerge inside that nightclub. We understand that the gunman, he was cool and calm when he made those three 911 calls. There's also some reports he was laughing at one point.
What does this tell you about the gunman? Is this typical?
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, clearly, John, that's part of his pathology. You know, clearly, this was without exception a very disturbed individual. Someone who were totally detached from any sensitivity, emotions towards other human beings.
[00:35:10] And I think what we're going to see as this investigation continues and once we learn more about who Mr. Mateen was, I think it will crystallize, become clearer to us. But this was clearly a very disturbed individual in spite of the fact that there are hateful individual towards this community as well.
VAUSE: And, Steve, we learned today that the vast majority of the people who died in the shooting that were killed in the opening stages of what would end up being a three-hour long ordeal. Is that typical of these kind of mass shootings? STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: No. What's typical of them, John, is that there's a first salvo. And when they come in contact with the first officer with a gun, rapid action tactics are employed. And the person is tracked down until they are eliminated, until they have no more capability to fire.
In this case, the officers traded gunfire with him. And I cannot imagine how they must have felt going up against an assault rifle with pistols. My hats off to them.
But he managed to get back in. And nobody came back in inside of it, inside of the club. And that's when a whole raft of other people were shot. That's the problematic part of this.
VAUSE: Instead we've also learning now that possibly Mateen was scouting out another location. He had been at Disney World earlier in the day.
ALEXANDER: Right. Well, not surprising. And he probably was very planful, clearly very planful in this attack from what we know and what we are hearing as reports are coming in to us from the FBI.
But here is someone who was inside the club, left, came back. And so I'm not surprised of the fact that he probably had some preconceived thoughts and ideas as to how he was going to carry out the attack here that night and how he was going to potentially carry out other attacks as well.
VAUSE: Yes. We've also found out that he tried to buy level three body armor.
What is level three body armor?
ALEXANDER: Well, that's very high-grade, protective body armor. And, typically, you will see that worn by your specialized such as what you saw the other night, your tactical units.
Fortunately, it was not sold to him. And I think that's something that we have to make sure we give a great deal of attention to as well, because had he been in that body armor, he would have been able to stay in that fight a lot longer.
But, fortunately, police was able to engage him very early on and engage him with sidearm weapons as opposed to rifles, which he had inside of that club. So they were very courageous as your guest just stated. Those officers did a tremendous job.
S.W.A.T. was notified. He was re-engaged again. And at some point, he was neutralized. But the police did an exceptional job in showing a great deal of heroism and bravery during that assault.
VAUSE: And I want to keep with this body armor issue, Steve. Because as a retired special agent with the FBI, Steve, if someone goes out to buy body armor, shouldn't that be something kind of red flag especially if they didn't -- you know, we've said this again, especially being investigated by the FBI over a period of time? MOORE: Usually, if you are going to go out to buy body armor, especially level three body armor, the seller, the merchant is going to want to see your law enforcement I.D. Because the average person doesn't have much need for level three armor.
So, yes, I think that's already in place. But it needs to be -- and it worked in this case. They wouldn't sell it to him. But that needs to be reinforced.
VAUSE: Steve, a lot has been made about the fact that, you know, Mateen was under investigation by the FBI, yet he was able to go out and buy semi-automatic weapons.
But the other side of the argument for the FBI, you know, the agency is already criticized by civil liberty groups for being too aggressive when it comes to some of its investigations.
So how do you walk this fine line?
MOORE: It's tough. I mean, the (INAUDIBLE) would have trouble with this, because what happens is you have one side where we want to protect things. As the director said today, we're looking for a needle in a haystack. But not only are we looking for the needle, we're looking for a piece of hay that could become a needle.
So you can't just say, I looked at this guy, nothing came up. I can't tell you that he is violent. And then you want to say, well, we're not going to let you travel, we're not going to let you own a gun, might not even let you vote. That's not how America works.
So when we make a determination like that and that person years later then becomes violent, there's always looking back and saying, how did you miss it? Well, there was nothing to miss. He wasn't violent three years ago.
VAUSE: Yes. And just speak over the point.
[00:40:00] ALEXANDER: Yes. And I want to jump in on this. It's important that, too, John, we recognize that the FBI works within a certain legal parameter in which they have. And they are becoming criticized as to, well, if you knew about him sometime back --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Why didn't you do more?
ALEXANDER: Right. But the fact of the matter is, I know, we know, that they do very exhaustive investigations. They are very thorough. But they still have to work within the limits of the law.
So I think there are probably some legislation -- some further legislation that could be enacted and giving them more parameter to do what they need to do. But before we start criticizing what they do, we really need to know everything that took place, but take upon consideration very importantly of the fact that we all have limitations in terms of what we're able to do. VAUSE: Hindsight is 20/20.
ALEXANDER: Always, 20/20.
VAUSE: Cedric Alexander here in Orlando and Steve Moore in Los Angeles, thank you both for being with us and for your insights as well.
We'll take a short break here.
When we come back, people from around the world are showing their support for the LGBT community. We'll have a conversation about the challenges gays and lesbians are facing and whether candlelight vigils are in fact enough.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.
U.S. President Barack Obama will be here in Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects to the 49 people who were killed in the early hours of the morning in Sunday's horrific attack at "The Pulse" nightclub.
They have now all been identified. Many were young, in their early 20s or 30s. Just starting out their adult lives.
[00:45:05] The City of Orlando has posted their names to a Web site after notifying their families. The gunman also wounded 53 people. Many were shot more than once. And they have undergone multiple surgeries.
Well, Sarah Kate Ellis is CEO of GLADD. It's the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. She joins me here now.
Sarah Kate, thank you for being here.
If you go back and look at Mateen's past, he held homophobic views for many, many years. He was radicalized maybe just a few years ago.
Are we reporting the story in the wrong way?
SARAH KATE ELLIS, CEO, GLAAD: It's -- I'm glad you bring that up, because I think that what we really have to lead with on these stories is that there was an attack on the LGBT community.
And then further to that is that what fuelled that attack was hate and discrimination. Whether or not it was radicalized here or out of this country is beside the fact.
The fact is that the culture in this country that perpetuates hate and discrimination against the LGBT community exists here. And that's what he was living in. He's an American. On American soil this happened. And I think that's really, really important. And we keep trying to push it outside of our own borders. And it happened here.
And I also think that what's really important is if you look at how this country has behaved in even just this past year, with over 100 anti-LGBT bills that were put forth, not necessarily passed, but that's hate and discrimination. That's building a culture that perpetuates this.
VAUSE: Even this morning, the gunman's father posted this onto Facebook. "God will punish those involved in homosexuality. It's not an issue that humans should deal with."
Were you surprised that that would turn up 24 hours after what his son did?
ELLIS: It's devastating. This whole thing is devastating. And then to have continued hate and discrimination pushed out there is worse.
When we as a community, as an LGBT community, as American citizens are coming together to heal, to cry, to embrace each other and to -- this is where -- our community is about love and acceptance.
VAUSE: Looking into that ISIS, which is -- he did this, he pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS, Al-Baghdadi.
ISIS is known to throw gay men off buildings. But there's also a lot of intolerance in other religions.
Just this morning, a pastor from Arizona used some incredible vile and foul language to praise what happened here in this nightclub.
And there's also the lieutenant governor of Texas. He posted a tweet which he has since deleted. But this is what it read.
"Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." That's coming from the lieutenant governor of Texas.
ELLIS: Right. And that's to the point where this is in America. This is happening in America. This hate and discrimination is being perpetuated here in the United States of America. This happened to American LGBT people here in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
So that is the narrative, that is the important narrative to get out here. And that's the only way we solve this problem is by looking at where is this hate and discrimination coming from?
Who at the top of this country is perpetuating that and letting this happen and continue to happen so that somebody feels that it's OK and they are justified in murdering in cold blood 49 people and injuring 53.
VAUSE: Very quickly, it's Pride month.
ELLIS: Yes.
VAUSE: Normally, a celebration. Normally, a good time. Now security is being increased at Pride events around the country.
How has all of this changed Pride? How does this take on a new dimension? ELLIS: Pride was always a celebration of who we are and also a demonstration around the acts of violence that our community has been feeling for decades.
And so I think we march for the same reasons this year as we have always marched. I think our convictions will be much stronger. And we need it more than ever. We need to come together as a community and march.
And so whereas the beefed up security, I hope that's more of a temporary thing than a long-term, because we get to the root of the problem, which is the culture that we have created in this country.
VAUSE: OK. Well, Sarah Kate Ellison, thank you -- Kate Ellis, forgive me. Thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate it very much.
ELLIS: Thank you very much.
VAUSE: Thank you. We'll take a short break here.
When we come back, we are learning more about the Orlando gunman from his family. Why some find his father's comments very troubling.
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[00:52:07] WALKER: Welcome back, everyone, to CNN's special coverage of the mass shooting at "The Pulse" nightclub.
Nemat Sadat joining me now here in Los Angeles. He is an Afghan- American LGBT rights activist. I really appreciate you making the time to join us this morning.
I want to first get your take on this, because you are gay and you used to be a Muslim, right?
And, you know, we're hearing these reports, one from the "Orlando Sentinel," that several patrons had seen the shooter frequent this nightclub several times.
"L.A. Times" reporting that the gunman was on a gay dating app.
What do you make of all this? Do you think that possibly the shooter was gay and was feeling repressed and acted out?
NEMAT SADAT, AFGHAN-AMERICAN LGBT RIGHTS ACTIVIST: It's a possibility. I mean, I don't want to speculate, because I don't have more information as the conjecture. But I will have to say my own experience coming out, coincidentally, also being originally from Afghanistan being the first person from my community nation to come out in public when I was a professor of political science at the American University of Afghanistan.
I received a lot of death threats there. And also when I left and I officially came out publicly after I mobilized a gay movement, and the death threats continued. And it kind of wane down, because it has been a couple years since then.
But I would say it's constant that you see where in the Afghan community, in the Muslim community, it's not tolerated at all to be homosexual because under Sharia Law, the only solution to gays is extermination.
And even here in the United States, one of the lowest acceptance of LGBT rights comes from the Muslim-American community. So it's not enough for the community to condemn the attack, they need to condemn the culture of Islam and the actual laws that justify within the religious text that says that these people must be killed.
WALKER: So how was it for you personally, especially to come out to your family?
SADAT: It was very hard. I was abandoned by most of my family considering the fact -- and even considering the fact that my family is one of the most liberal and progressive.
You know, they've lived more years here in the United States and the West than they have in Afghanistan. But they won't tolerate it. Because if they accept me, then they will be outcasts. I brought shame and dishonour to the culture.
So if it is true that, you know, Omar Mateen was in fact gay, he didn't have an outlet to come out, because his father was a supporter of the Taliban. And I can only imagine that his extended family had similar views because it is a collective system where everybody has this belief and the same mentality.
WALKER: You mentioned the gunman's father. He issued a statement about his son on Facebook. And he said he didn't know why his son had hate in his heart.
But he also spoke about the issue of homosexuality. And this is what he said, "The issue of homosexuality, something that those who do it, or accountable before God and it is not up to human beings to punish them."
What are your thoughts and what he had to say? Double speak here a little bit?
SADAT: Yes, it's a double speak. And that's very common for even for organizations like the Islamic Society of North American, Council of American Relations.
[00:55:00] Even the imam in Orlando, Florida, who basically, inside the mosque, when he's holding masses, he said, the only solution to gays is to kill them.
And so they give one speak for that. But when they come to the American public, they are like, oh, they talk -- whenever an attack happens, they also talk about Islamophobia.
Well, you can't talk about Islamophobia when LGBT people and other ethnic religious, racial and gender minorities are being persecuted with impunity.
So this is going back to what your original question about the internal homophobia. If in fact, you know, Omar Mateen was a closet homosexual, there was no outlet for him. It was easier for him sadly enough to take out 49 people and injured 50 others than to do what I did because I had faced real hardships, you know, living in homeless shelters and enduring much threats -- on going. I'm living in hiding.
WALKER: I wish we had more time with you. Nemat Sadat, really, thank you for coming in. You have such a powerful story and a strong message. We appreciate you taking the time. Thank you and good luck.
SADAT: Yes. I'm actually writing a story, a gay romance. So I hope that can be a solution to kind of promote a culture of love within the Afghan and Muslim community.
WALKER: Well, we appreciate you sharing your story with us. Thank you so much. And we're going to take a short break. You are watching CNN's "Breaking News" coverage. I'm Amara Walker.
VAUSE: More right after this.
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