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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Alligator Snatches Boy at Disney Resort; Orlando Gunman's Wife: He Spoke of Jihad; Obama Unleashes Tirade Against Trump; Trump Lashes Out At Clinton and Obama. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 15, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman, live in Orlando this morning. It is Wednesday, June 15th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

Breaking news this morning happening not far from here at Walt Disney World.

[05:00:04] A two-year-old boy was attacked by an alligator, dragged into the water. His parent tried to save him, but to no avail. That boy is still missing. They've been searching for hours at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. But it's very, very difficult right now, because it's still dark.

CNN's Martin Savidge is near the scene right now.

Martin, what's the very latest?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, we're in the staging areas area, by the lagoon. This has been playing out the last seven hours, it began in the evening when a 911 call came in from the Grand Floridian, and it was to say that it was feared that a child had been taken from the water's edge. Now, according to authorities, it was a two-year-old, part of a family of four that is visiting from Nebraska. And the two-year-old was right at the water when a Florida seven-foot alligator came from the lagoon and grab the child. The father a few feet away, dove in immediately, wrestled with the alligator, the mother went into the water to try to find child as well. It turned into a horrific scene.

They have at least five-to-seven boats that have been out there all night. They've had helicopters up in the air, using bright search light. It's extremely dark in that area. And on top of that now, they've got a dive team that's brought in.

But quite frankly, the hope has been fading over the hours, John, and daylight is going to be the greatest assist they got. It's still some time off. We expect to get a briefing in the not too distant future of where things stand -- John.

BERMAN: You need the daylight to continue that search. And, Martin, I know you heard from law enforcement there. They've never seen anything like it. I can't recall anything like this happening at Walt Disney World. Thank you very much, Martin, for that report.

We do have more breaking news at this hour right now, dealing with a massacre here in Orlando, at the Pulse nightclub. I'm standing in front of the Orlando Regional Medical Center right now, where there are 27 people inside this building recovering from their injuries. Three nights ago, a gunman murdered 49 people, injured 53 more inside the Pulse nightclub, a gay nightclub.

Now, officials are focusing on whether anyone else knew. We did get new information, law enforcement tells CNN the shooter had told his wife he wanted to carry out a jihadist attack. Now, wife also told authorities she and her husband visited the Pulse nightclub and Disney springs earlier this month. Separate investigators say they think these visits were to pace possible location, possible targets t. Wife told the FBI she tried to talk him out of doing anything violent. Did not notice she says about his specific plans to attack the nightclub or any specific plans.

CNN asked the gunman's father whether he thought the wife might have been involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Can we just ask one question related to the news that's breaking? It is that Noor Salman is cooperation and that she has told police, the FBI, that she personally went on a trip to Orlando and brought your son to that club?

SEDDIQUE MATEEN, ORLANDO GUNMAN'S FATHER: I don't know anything. I wait until they talk to her.

REPORTER: It appears she could be charged with a crime.

MATEEN: I don't know. I can't say anything.

REPORTER: Do you think that your daughter-in-law helped your son commit this crime?

MATEEN: I don't think so.

REPORTER: Is she an accomplice?

MATEEN: I -- we'll wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, the FBI does not believe the wife was a co-conspirator in this attack. But investigators are looking into reports that he visited gay chat rooms, gay ho whether she knew about the plans and failed to call police. There is also information this morning about the personal life. There is information he used gay hookup aps and patronized the gay club he ended up attacking. The wife has new details about their relationship.

Joining me is Nick Valencia. NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Just how familiar was Omar Mateen with the LBGT community here in Orlando? Well, this morning, there are people claiming that Mateen, himself, was gay. The FBI is interviewing people that claim that they met Omar Mateen online on gay hookup apps, this as his ex-wife tells CNN she believes he was leading a double life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SITORA YUSUFIY, EX-WIFE OF ORLANDO SHOOTER: He did have a different side of him that he could not open up to his father about, the fact that he liked to go to nightclubs, the fact that he liked to drink. These were not things that were welcome in his family's structure at all, and especially any indication of homosexuality.

In the Islam religion, homosexuality is not that tolerated.

[05:05:04] And especially when somebody's a political figure as prominent as his father was, it is especially, really looked down upon and disgraced and could shame the entire family.

It doesn't surprise me that he might be gay. And it doesn't surprise me that he was leading two totally different lives and was in such deep conflict within himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Investigators continue go over the items they seized from Mateen's homes, things like laptop, computers, cell phone, all digital related media, this as they focus in on his widow. They want to know exactly what she knew and when she knew it. Did she know he planned this coordinated attack here at the Pulse nightclub? She said she knew her husband had plans to carry out a jihadist-style attack but claims she did not know specifics about that attack.

We are also learning this morning that Mateen may have been planning this for weeks, casing out the Pulse nightclub as well as several other locations here in Orlando -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Nick Valencia, a lot of new information there.

Let's try to figure out how it all pieces together now as part of this investigation.

Joining us is Cedric Leighton, a military analyst, former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Colonel, thanks so much for being with us.

You just heard Nick's reporting right there. They are looking at the wife. They are looking at the wife to find out exactly how much she knew. She knew he perhaps wanted to carry out violent jihadist attacks. She did not know she climbs he was going to attack this nightclub, finding out if she is telling the truth there, that will be complicated. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's right, John. It's

going to be incredibly complicated. And one of the big things to note here is the fact that she went with him to many of the places that he was apparently casing. And so, if he's checking them out for purposes of committing violent acts, it does make you wonder what, in fact, she knew. If he told her, hey, I need go in here for something to get a piece of business done or an errand or one tipping, if she knew specifically or suspected what he was doing, it would have been incumbent on her to tell law enforcement about what he was planning, what he was doing and what she knew about those plans.

So, this will be very interesting for investigators to piece together. She obviously has to cooperate with them if she's going to have, in essence, be able save her skin and save the remnants of her life at this point.

BERMAN: She is said to be cooperating right now. Again, investigators tell CNN they don't believe the co-conspirator, at least they don't believe that yet. That's what they're looking into.

The killer's cell phone is a crucial piece of evidence right now. We know it was recovered from the scene. We also know they are able get information off of it. Tracing back whatever communication he had, perhaps with the wife, perhaps with other people, perhaps what website he surfed, what jihadist propaganda he may have accessed, that will be very, very interesting for officials.

LEIGHTON: That's right. Because the cell phone will show where he was and at which time of day, what -- you know, in some cases, even what he was possibly doing or could lead people into that particular part of the investigation. Cell phone data in and of itself can also point to motivations, exactly what someone was up to.

For example, he was alleged to have been using some of the social hookup apps that the LBGT community uses. If he, in fact, made contact with people an pet people and worked with them or did things with them, then that also becomes a part of the investigation and could then lead into the theory of the double life he may have been leading. If, in fact, he was doing that, that points to one particular thing of a tormented psychology that we're dealing with here.

In the other case, if he was just using these apps, to, in essence, case the social network, then it becomes a very different structure that we are looking at and a different type of mentality. If that case, it would be more of a sinister killing machine in essence going in there for the purpose of solely gathering information and wrecking some kind of vengeance or proposed vengeance against these people.

BERMAN: At a minimum, it gives you new sources, new areas to investigate, new witnesses perhaps to talk to, and that's what they're doing right now.

Cedric Leighton, thanks so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet, John. BERMAN: All right. The massacre here in Orlando, it is a major part

of the presidential race right now.

[05:10:02] President Obama, Hillary Clinton, they say that Donald Trump, that his plans to address terrorism would destroy American values. Donald Trump has already fired back. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. An intense search under way right now at a Disney World Hotel, trying to find a two-year-old boy dragged into a lagoon by an alligator. Police now say it is unlikely they will find that child alive, visiting with his family from Nebraska. It has been an unimaginable few days in Orlando.

First, Christina Grimmie, a popular singer from the NBC talent show "The Voice," she was gunned down after her concert Friday night. She died a few hours later.

We are just learned that Sunday's nightclub heater is scouted out a Disney venue ahead of the attack on the club. Police say the shooter visited the Disney entertainment and shopping complex known as Disney Springs at the beginning of June. That's during this year's gay days celebrations.

[05:15:03] So what will this mean for tourism in the area? You know, more than 63 million people visited Orlando in 2014, making it the most visited destination in America. Fifty-two million visit the Disney world complex each year, 52 million people.

Disney operates four theme parks, 27 resort hotels in Orlando. All this is happening just as Disney gets ready to open its highly anticipated Shanghai location, a half a world away tomorrow.

A political firestorm heating up in the wake of the Orlando massacre, Donald Trump accusing President Obama and Hillary Clinton of being weak and ineffective in the fight against terrorism. The presumptive Republican nominee insinuating the president is somehow sympathetic to Islamic extremists as he renews his call for a ban on Muslim immigrants. The president reacting by calling Trump dangerous, Clinton accused her Republican rival of destroy American values.

CNN politics reporter Eugene Scott live from Washington this morning to talk about all of this. You know, kind of a remarkable day yesterday. The appearances of the president, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the wake of the Orlando shooting.

I want to start with a clip of sound of the president but I think kind of captures his tone and his demeanor. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We now have proposals from the presumptive nominee for president of the United States to bar all Muslims from immigrating to America. Where does this stop?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Do you think the president was feeding the fire here for Donald Trump or do you think that he was ending it?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, I think what he was trying to do was just bring some facts into this situation and the thought, the hope is that if we can look at the fact of it, we can actually learn how to respond to it appropriately. One of the big concerns about Mr. Trump re-introducing the desire for a ban following the Orlando massacre is that the shooter's American born some how that's directly related to what it is that he hopes will solve the problem isn't very clear and I think the president tried to make that obvious by presenting facts that push up against the narrative.

ROMANS: Let's listen to a little bit of Trump's response later in the afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And I watched President Obama today, and I was more angry at me than he was at the shooter! And many people said that.

(BOOS)

One of the folks on television said, boy, has Trump gotten under his skin? But he was more angry, and a lot of people have said this. The level of anger, that's the kind of anger he should have for the shooter and these killers that shouldn't be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now, it's not clear that Donald Trump is speaking for his entire party here, quite frankly, because Paul Ryan, the speaker of the house also rebuking Donald Trump on his immigration proposal, his Muslim ban proposal. In fact, you sort of look at Donald Trump's statements in the wake of Orlando, he's actually broadening his Muslim ban saying we should look at the region of the world, and look at visitors and immigration from there.

Listen to what Paul Ryan said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I do not think a Muslim ban is in our country's interest. I do not think it is reflective party, but as a country. I think the smarter way to go in all respects is to have a security test, not a religious test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You know, it's interesting to me, as if Donald Trump has defined what the topic will be over the next 140-some days, right? I mean, really, everyone is responding to Donald Trump and his policies here. SCOTT: Yes, very much so. I mean, if there is anger from either

President Obama or Ryan, I think it's rooted primarily in disappointment. I think you have two leaders who really are hoping to find solution to this issue and they don't believe that a ban based on their research and their security advisers is the best solution and believe me the fact that it can actually end up hurting this country more than anything else.

So, their response I think was definitely rooted in the fact that they think it's a distraction and a problematic one more than anything else and they wanted to make that clear to the American people.

ROMANS: All right. Eugene Scott, we'll talk a little about polls. We'll talk about Hillary Clinton's response to the Muslim ban as well. It is clearly, when we talk to you in the few minutes, but it is clearly, it is the centerpiece of Donald Trump's -- Donald Trump's candidacy, no question.

All right. Eugene, thank you. We'll talk to you in a couple minutes. Thanks.

SCOTT: Thank you.

ROMANS: New stories of survival of those who escaped the gay club massacre. Their emotional words, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:24:14] BERMAN: New memorials overnight honoring the victims of the attacks here in Orlando. This is the University of Central Florida. You can see students, faculty, staff filling every floor of the student union. They are raising their lights as the name of the victims are read aloud. Too many names, very, very powerful ceremony. This was followed by a moment of silence.

That as we are learning more details about the three hours inside that nightclub, as the gunman shot and then reloaded and fired again.

Survivor Samuel Maldonado told me about his horrifying experience. He was crouching under a table. He became separated from his husband, junior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMUEL MALDONADO, PULSE MASSACRE SURVIVOR: Sometimes you don't think about yourself, the first thing you think about your kids, you're not going to see them no more, Junior, is he OK?

[05:25:07] Because when I saw him got out, yes, he was -- he had blood on his clothing. So sometimes you go oh, my God, he got hit, but I was finally able to see him, you know, he was OK.

But it's hard. It was hard. The most thing was just seeing all these bodies, just there in the middle, because sometimes I don't know what made me do, but instead of running and just going to, but I was still running, but I was still looking toward that door and just see him, the way he was just shooting. On the ground, just literally, these people, they were already on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Survivor Jeannette McCoy said she watched in horror as the gunman shot her friend -- shot him five times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNETTE MCCOY, PULSE MASSACRE SURVIVOR: There's so many mixed emotions from anger to frustration to sorrow. For me, it's the people who were in their bleeding to death. The question of why -- why am I here? And why they're not?

REPORTER: You think about that a lot?

MCCOY: It plays. It plays in my head every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All the survivors dealing with so many emotions. Of course, she survived, so did her friend, Angel Cologne, he's actually here at the regional center behind me, he is recovering. He was shot five times, three times in the leg, which shattered when it was trampled in all the chaos and shot twice more, much later during the three-hour standoff, he came back and shot people again, he was hit in the hand and the hip. But he is recovering here along with 27 other patients.

There is other breaking news this morning. A two-year-old boy was dragged into the water by an alligator at Walt Disney World. We are live with breaking details on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)