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Investigation into Las Vegas Shooting; Las Vegas Shooter's Background; Medical Centers Respond to Victims; White House Daily Briefing. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 02, 2017 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:29] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin and you're watching CNN's special live coverage of a sickening tragedy. The deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Here's what we know. That 58 people have been killed, 515 others have been injured. And as of 10:00 last night in Las Vegas, the sound of the country music that united all of these people was silenced and replaced with gun fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It was 10:00 p.m. local time. The headliner on stage was Jason Aldean. He was performing in front of a crowd of about 22,000 people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival when the shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, smashed through a window, right there, and started firing from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, killing himself before officers stormed his hotel room.

It was there in his hotel room where police found evidence of premeditated mass murder. A stockpile of weapons, at least ten rifles, to start to explain this barrage of unrelenting gunfire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get down!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember just getting around this cop car and just hearing bullets just whizzing and just like bouncing, like -- oh, like on the ground nearby and these girls were, like, just screaming and crying and they were just, like, covered in blood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I put the baby on the ground and got on top of her. And when we heard a little break, we ran to the bleachers that were just behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't know he had that vantage point. And seeing all these corpses around me and every time it -- you know, spot of cover, I just -- I just -- I can't imagine what the actual number is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Again, the number of dead at this moment sits at 58 in a festival-turned-warzone And now the staging ground for body recovery and identification.

The president of the United States today calling the shooting an act of pure evil and saying he will travel to Las Vegas on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our unity cannot be shattered by evil. Our bonds cannot be broken by violence. And though we feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizen, it is our love that defines us today and always will forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go straight to Dan Simon, who's live for us in Las Vegas.

And, Dan, the question, are police any closer to answering the question why?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't think so, Brooke.

Here we are a little more than 12 hours since this happened, and I think everyone is still trying to process what took place.

I'm on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. You can see the Mandalay Bay behind me off in the distance. Much of this famed boulevard is still blocked off.

I can tell you that authorities are finished going through the actual hotel room. They're finished going through the 32nd floor. And right now the focus is on the venue itself where those 22,000 people were enjoying that concert last night. We're told that police are still processing that scene, and, of course, they have the grim task of removing all the bodies.

Another thing we learned from the sheriff is that housekeeping staff had been through that room, hotel staff had been through that room, and they didn't see anything amiss. There was nothing to indicate that a shooting like this was imminent. Of course, we're talking about a hotel casino. You're talking about hundreds of surveillance cameras at the Mandalay Bay. That is something that investigators will have to pore through, go through some of that video, see if they can glean any information.

[14:05:05] At this point, still no motive. We're told that the shooter is a lone wolf. That's how he's been described. Police did describe someone as a person of interest, the shooter's girlfriend. Her name is 62-year-old Mary Lou Danley. She apparently holds an Australian passport. She was out of the country when this shooting occurred. Police have made contact with her, and, of course, when she gets back to the United States, they're going to want to interrogate here and find out everything she knows, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Dan Simon, please keep us updated on the investigation side of all of this.

As for where this killer is from, his home is in Mesquite, about 80 miles away from Las Vegas. That is now being searched for clues.

Meantime, we're learning more about the gunman's background from his brother who talked to reporters just a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC PADDOCK, LAS VEGAS SHOOTER'S BROTHER: We're trying to understand what's wrong, what happened. We have no more idea what happened now than we had an hour ago. I'm -- we're still just completely befuddled, dumbstruck.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

PADDOCK: As I told him, the last time I communicated with my brother was about -- well, when did we get power back? Five days after the storm. OK? He texted me and said, how's mom? I texted him back. I mean I -- look --

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) your mom right now? Does she (INAUDIBLE) what happened?

PADDOCK: My mom knows what happened, yes. We all found out when our phones started ringing with the cops at 1:00 this morning or something. It had nothing to do with any political organization, religious organization, no white supremacists, nothing as far as I know, and I've only known him for 57 years.

QUESTION: Your father was a bank robber?

PADDOCK: That's correct.

I mean here -- we're all proud. My father was on the top ten list for a while. His name's Benjamin Hodkins (Ph) Paddock I believe is his name. I didn't -- I didn't know him. We didn't know him. There's no -- he was in jail and broken out of jail --

QUESTION: Does he have a -- like a history at all of being (INAUDIBLE)?

PADDOCK: He doesn't even have parking tickets! He has no criminal record. He has no record of any affiliations. He has nothing.

QUESTION: What about mental illness?

PADDOCK: That I know of.

QUESTION: Does he have a history of mental illness?

PADDOCK: Absolutely not. Do they --

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) --

PADDOCK: As far as I know. Once again, nothing like that. He was a wealthy guy. And he liked to play video poker. He went on cruises. He -- he sent his mother cookies from -- I mean, big, huge, crazy boxes of cookies and stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Shimon Prokupecz, CNN crime and justice reporter, for more on the shooter.

You know, in listening to the brother, we have just bits and pieces. You know, we know at one point he had a pilot's license. As we heard the brother say, the dad was on the FBI's most wanted list for a time. What else do you know?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes. So all of these facts, Brooke, you know, are out there now. I think the Nevada -- the local sheriff there has been pretty forthcoming in terms of what they know.

There's really a lot I think they don't know and some of the sources that both Evan Perez and I have been talking to, our crime and justice correspondent here, you know, they really are still trying to dig through this man's past, trying to learn more about him, because really the key for them right now is motive. What sort of brought him to this point? What led him to do this shooting? And that's really still unknown by authorities.

He did have a girlfriend, as Dan said -- as Dan Simon just said a short time ago, who is out of the country. She's in the Philippines. They've talked to her. We don't know what authorities learned from her. But certainly they -- by talking to her, they may be able to get a window into some time -- the time period leading up to this to see what he was thinking, what was going through his mind.

There's a lot that's just not known. He seemingly had a pretty good life, as his brother said. You know, he had some money. He owned some property. He was living in different locations around the Nevada area. Police are now at these -- at perhaps as many as three homes searching, going through those homes, going through whatever they may be able to find to try and piece this together.

The other thing here, Brooke, as the police said earlier, when they did the search of the hotel room, they did not find anything derogatory. They didn't find anything derogatory at one of the homes they searched. You know, sometimes you see a note --

BALDWIN: You mean like paraphernalia or manifestos or something like that.

PROKUPECZ: Yes, exactly.

BALDWIN: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: That's -- exactly. There was no manifesto. There were no notes left behind. So they are still trying to sort this out. And it's really -- you know, and everyone that we've been talking to, everyone is sort of puzzled by this one right now because there's just no motive. And I think that's going to be the key for authorities here right now.

BALDWIN: It makes no sense. It makes no sense. This kind of bloodshed will never make sense.

Shimon, thank you. Keep digging, keep asking those important questions.

PROKUPECZ: Sure.

BALDWIN: Let's talk, though, about those who were there in attendance in what was supposed to be this amazing music festival. Joseph Ostunio was there. He was able to escape. I understand his friend did actually get hit -- got shot.

[14:10:10] So, Joseph, thank you so much for joining me.

I cannot even begin to imagine what your last, you know, 12 hours, 24 hours have been like. And we'll get to what you saw and heard in just a moment.

But, first, just, can you tell me about your friend and how is she doing?

JOSEPH OSTUNIO, FRIEND WAS SHOT DURING CONCERT: She's doing OK. She's in stable condition at UMC Medical Center. She's going to be all right.

BALDWIN: Where did the -- thank goodness. Where did the bullet hit her? Were they able to get it out?

OSTUNIO: Unfortunately, they're not going to be able to get the bullet out of her. She's going to have to live with it. It -- she got shot in her right shoulder, kind of in the back area, though. More -- yes.

BALDWIN: Joseph, my sincerest apologies. We've got to go to the White House. We'll come back to you momentarily.

[14:10:59] SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: (In progress) -- Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands where massive storm recovery efforts are ongoing.

The president will be flying to Puerto Rico tomorrow to view the devastation, and he will assure the people there that we are with them 100 percent, today and for the long haul.

Puerto Ricans have shown incredible resilience, and we are fully committed to helping them rebuild their lives.

Last night, thousands of our fellow citizens endured what the president has rightly called an act of pure evil in Las Vegas. The president has ordered our flags to half-staff, and to further honor those lost in the attack, we will hold a moment of silence on the South Lawn this afternoon at 2:45 Eastern Time.

The president will visit Las Vegas on Wednesday to grieve with the friends and family of the victims, to offer his support to those recovering from their wounds, and to thank the courageous first responders.

In the coming days, this attack will directly impact communities all over our country, whose residents were visiting the entertainment capital of the world to attend a concert.

One man, 29-year-old Sonny Melton, had traveled from Tennessee to Las Vegas for the concert with his wife, Heather. When the bullets began raining down from above, Sonny shielded her from danger, selflessly giving up his life to save hers. They've been married for just over a year.

Others risked their own lives to save people that they had never met.

Mike McGarry of Philadelphia laid on top of students at the concert to protect them from the gunfire. "They're 23 -- 20. I'm 53," he said, "and I've lived a good life."

Lindsay Padgett and her fiance, Mike -- Mike Jay, fled for cover during the attack, and immediately returned to the scene with their pickup truck to help transport the wounded to nearby hospitals.

Gail Davis, who was attending the concert with her husband, said she owes her life to a brave police officer, who instinctively served as a human shield, protecting her from harm.

Sadly, multiple police officers, both on-duty and off-duty, were among those killed or injured.

But what these people did for each other says far more about who we are as Americans than the cowardly acts of a killer ever could. The Gospel of John reminds us that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend. The memory of those who displayed the ultimate expression of love in the midst of an unimaginable act of hate will never fade. Their examples will serve as an eternal reminder that the American spirit cannot and will not ever be broken. In the days ahead, we will grieve as a nation, we will honor the memory of those lost as a nation, and we will come together, united as one nation, under God and indivisible.

And with that, I'll take your questions.

QUESTION: Can you tell us a little bit about how the president first learned about it, and your engagement with him, his own personal reaction to (inaudible)?

He also said in the Oval he might spend more than a day in Las Vegas. Was he referring to a couple of days there?

SANDERS: We're still finalizing the details of the travel that'll take place. We know for sure that he'll be there on Wednesday, and beyond that, we'll keep you guys posted as his arrangements are -- are finalized.

In terms of activity this morning, the president was briefed early this morning by General Kelly. And has been updated regularly and constantly throughout the day, and will continue to, as new information is provided by law enforcement officials.

QUESTION: Have you had a chance to talk to him about his own -- how he dealt with this?

SANDERS: I -- I -- I have seen him today. And I -- I think he, like most of America, is saddened. And certainly his heart and compassion goes out to those that were affected.

Jeff (ph)?

QUESTION: Sarah, many times, when these horrible massacres occur, it leads to questions about gun control. Has this particular massacre made the president think he needs to do more about pursuing tighter gun laws, such as background checks, to prevent massacres like this from happening again?

SANDERS: Look, this is an unspeakable tragedy.

Today is a day for consoling the survivors, and mourning those we lost. Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with all of those individuals.

This is -- there's a time and place for a political debate, but now is the time to unite as a country.

There is currently an open and ongoing law enforcement investigation. A motive is yet to be determined. And it would be premature for us to discuss policy when we don't fully know all the facts, or what took place last night.

Jeff (ph)?

QUESTION: To follow on that, Sarah, though, do you believe that -- or does the president believe that this is a moment, that this is a time when this should not be a political discussion; it should be a policy discussion? Does he believe that he could bring something new to the gun debate that has been, you know, I guess (ph) locked in typical politics for so many years?

SANDERS: I think today is more, again, like I said, a day of reflection, a day of mourning, a day of gratefulness for those that were saved.

And I think that there will be, certainly, time for that policy discussion to take place. But that's not the place that we're in at this moment.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: But certainly, I think that there's a time for that to take -- to happen. QUESTION: Can I just follow?

Before he was elected president in -- some 15 or 16 years ago, he did have a different view on guns than he had during the campaign. Does he believe that this is something that he could lead a bipartisan effort on at some point? And at what point would that be appropriate?

SANDERS: I think that's something that we can talk about in the coming days, and see what that looks like moving forward.

I think one of the things that we don't want to do is try to create laws that won't create -- or stop these types of things from happening.

I think, if you look to Chicago, where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes last year, they have the strictest gun laws in the country. That certainly hasn't helped there.

So I think we have to -- when that time comes for those conversations to take place, then I think we need to look at things that may actually have that real impact.

Matthew?

QUESTION: Thanks, Sarah.

On Puerto Rico, can you tell us a little bit about the president's aims for his visit tomorrow? And do you expect any tension, given some of his comments over the weekend?

SANDERS: We have several stops that we'll put out later this afternoon, in terms of the specifics of that trip.

We are going to be spending significant time there in Puerto Rico, meeting both with first responders, as well as the storm survivors. And we'll, again, put out the details of that exact schedule later today.

QUESTION: And some of his comments over the weekend, like that folks down there wanted everything done for them; do you expect that to come up in any of his conversations?

SANDERS: I expect the focus to be on the recovery efforts, which we're fully committed to. The top priority for the federal government is certainly to protect the lives and the safety of those affect -- in affected areas, and provide life-sustaining services as we work together to rebuild their lives.

That's going to be the focus, not just in the conversations tomorrow, but certainly the focus that we've had since this began.

Cecilia?

QUESTION: Let me just pick up on that. Who exactly wants everything done for them? He said "they."

SANDERS: I haven't talked to him specifically about a defined (ph) of who "they" might be.

Again, the federal government is doing everything within our powers and capabilities to first focus on the life-sustaining and life-saving measures, as well as on the rebuilding process.

We've got over 12,000 federal staff on the ground. 64 hospitals out of 67 are partially or fully operational; 14 are now back on the electrical grid. 45 percent of customers in Puerto Rico have access to drinking water. Eight commercial airports are operational. 65 percent of gas stations are open. All of these things are things that we're continuing to push, continuing to move forward, and will (ph) be part of that effort.

John (ph)?

QUESTION: Can I just talk to (ph) today's tragedy really quickly, if I may?

Does the president believe that what happened amounts to an act of domestic terrorism?

SANDERS: Again, we're still in a fact-finding mission. This is an ongoing investigation, and it would be premature to weigh in on something like that before we have any more facts. And we'll leave that to local law enforcement to work with; also, the federal law enforcement to make those determinations.

John (ph)?

QUESTION: Over the weekend (inaudible) the president was very sharply critical of Carmen Yulin Cruz, who's the mayor of San Juan.

QUESTION: Other than her comments on Friday morning, where she criticized Elaine Duke for saying this was a good news story in terms of DHS getting supplies out to areas that were needed. What was she doing that prompted such criticism from the president?

SANDERS: Look, right now, our focus is to bring the mayor into the coordination efforts. This administration, as well as other members on the ground, have reached out to her. We hope that she will join with us in those efforts and be part of things. She's been invited to participate in the events tomorrow as well, and we hope that those conversations will happen, and we can all work together to move forward.

Ashley (ph)?

QUESTION: Has Tom Price reimbursed the government yet for his seat on those flights? And if not, is there a specific deadline when you (inaudible) expect him to do so?

SANDERS: I'm not sure on the timeframe for that, or whether or not it's already taken place, but we'll certainly keep you posted on that.

Jordan (ph)?

QUESTION: Thank you, Sarah.

Given what the president said about Secretary of State Tillerson's outreach to North Korea over the weekend, does the President still have confidence in him as Secretary of State?

SANDERS: He does. Yes.

QUESTION: And has he (ph) spoken to him since those -- since he sent out out those tweets?

SANDERS: I believe so. I'll have to verify.

John?

QUESTION: Thanks a lot, Sarah.

It's a very sad day in this country, as you mentioned at the top. As the president said in his remarks, he said that when he goes out to Las Vegas, he's going to meet with first responders, and in addition to that, families of the victims that were impacted by this. What's the message to each of those groups when he goes out there?

SANDERS: Look, I think it's very simple to say that his goal is simply to be there, to show the support of people from around the country and to stand united in not only this act of evil, but against all acts of evil. And I think that was clear in the president's remarks today, and something certainly that you'll see from his visit on Wednesday.

Jessica?

QUESTION: Sarah, thank you.

And following up on the tweets about the DPRK over the weekend. The President tweeted, "Save your energy, Rex. We'll do what has to be done." So is it the stated position of the White House that you're trying to get back to talks, or have you given up?

SANDERS: No, this is -- we've been clear that now is not the time to talk. The only conversations that have taken place, or that would, would be on bringing back Americans who have been detained like that -- with Otto. Those were the type of conversations that this administration was willing to have. Beyond that, there will be no conversations with North Korea at this time.

There are three Americans still detained in North Korea.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... lines of communication with Pyongyang. That's what you're primarily using it for? You're not using it to try to get...

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: That would be the only reason for us to have conversations with them at this time. Alex (ph)?

QUESTION: (Inaudible) president believe diplomacy, then, is not worth pursuing in North Korea?

SANDERS: There's a difference between talking and putting diplomatic pressure. We still strongly support putting diplomatic pressure on North Korea, which we're continuing to do. But now is not the time simply to have conversations with North Korea. We've encouraged all of our allies and partners to do more. And we're going to continue to keep all options on the table when it comes to that.

Steven (ph)?

QUESTION: (Inaudible) today as well, he talked about how now is not the time to get into a gun-control debate or to talk about policy. After the Orlando shooting, the president, that day, was out on Twitter talking about policy. He was talking about his travel ban.

So when, for example, Senator Chris Murphy says it's time for Congress to get off it's ass and do something, does the president agree?

SANDERS: I actually agree with them that Congress should get up and do something. I'm not sure that it's specific to that, but I think Congress has had several months of doing very little, and we'd like to see some actual legislation come through.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (Inaudible) what would the president like to see Congress do is the question I want to get at.

SANDERS: Again, we haven't had the moment to have a deep dive on the policy part of that. We've been focused on the fact that we had a severe tragedy in our country, and this is a day of mourning, a time of bringing our country together, and that's been the focus from the administration this morning.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... from Orlando, though, Sarah, when, at that day, he was talking about the travel ban, saying he didn't want congratulations, essentially. Why is this something (ph) that...

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: I think (ph) there's a difference between being a candidate and being the president.

QUESTION: Thanks, Sarah. I do want to ask, because, before last night's massacre, a bill was advancing through the House -- Republicans cleared it through the House Committee on Natural Resources -- that would, among other things, make it easier for people to buy silencers.

Hillary Clinton tweeted about it this morning. She said that -- imagine the deaths in Las Vegas, if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make easier to get. Does the White House have a position on -- on this particular piece of legislation?

SANDERS: Again, I haven't spoken with the president about that specific issue. But I don't think that that is something that would have changed.

Again, I think, before we start trying to talk about the preventions of what took place last night, we need to know more facts. And, right now, we're simply not at that point.

It's very easy for Mrs. Clinton to criticize and to come out, but I think we need to remember, the only person with blood on their hands is that of the shooter. And this isn't a time for us to go after individuals or organizations. I think that we can have those policy conversations, but today is not that day. Louise (ph).

QUESTION: Sarah, are there any policy prescriptions (ph) that the president considers to be out of bounds on the policy debate that will happen in the next few weeks? Could you articulate a little bit what his position on gun control is?

SANDERS: The president's been clear that he's a strong supporter of the second amendment. And I don't have anything further at this point. I'll take one more question, Fred (ph).

QUESTION: Thanks, Sarah. Yeah (ph), a couple questions.

One, ahead of the trip to North Dakota (ph) Puerto Rico, Mark (ph) -- wanted to ask about the bill in Congress, the McCain-Lee Act, which would give a permanent exemption to Puerto Rico from the Jones Act.

Would administration consider either a permanent repeal of the Jones Act or at least an exemption, permanent, for Puerto Rico at some point (ph)?

SANDERS: I don't think that's something that's necessary at this time. If we deemed that it was, we could have that discussion then. But -- certainly something that we don't feel like is necessary today. So I wouldn't imagine that would be something needed.

QUESTION: Also, on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (ph) -- I'm sorry -- there's been some attacks among senators, some in the media, on her religious beliefs. Does the White House have some concerns about that?

SANDERS: We certainly support religious freedom, and would ask that Congress also support that, as well.

As you all know, we've got a moment of silence taking place on the South Lawn here momentarily, and so, with that, I'll close. And just, again, I think we ask collectively that everyone across the country keep the people, both in Las Vegas and in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in our prayers.

Thanks. [14:26:21] BALDWIN: All right, Sarah Sanders there briefing the White House press pool at the White House today on an incredibly sad day for this country. Even she, off the top, was pretty emotional. Got a little choked up just even talking about this country and talking about the tragedy that happened in Las Vegas where 58 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured.

A couple of the headlines.

She was specific in saying that the president was briefed this morning, early this morning, by the chief of staff, General Kelly. That he's been saddened. And there were questions already, you know, pointing out in cases like these, you know, the conversation turns to gun control. She said, stop, that conversation is too premature. Let's have the policy debate down the road.

And then just to put a button on that, just reminding everyone, the president is heading to Puerto Rico tomorrow. He'll be in Las Vegas Wednesday. To Puerto Rico tomorrow. And the tweet -- one of his tweets over the weekend, the whole, they want everything done for them, who is the "they"? She wouldn't say. She says the focus is on recovery efforts.

So with that, let's go back to Las Vegas. Joseph Ostunio is standing by. He was at the concert with a friend and he was just -- Joseph, thank you so much for your patience. We just needed to go to the White House, as things go, and this is live television.

OSTUNIO: (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: Appreciate you standing by. Can you hear me, Joseph?

I think that's a no.

Shall we go to -- let's go to Stephanie Elam first and we'll get Joseph ready to roll.

Stephanie Elam is standing by at I believe one of the medical centers, if it's not the trauma one.

And, I mean, listen, this is what people -- this is -- you know, doctors and nurses are prepared. They run drills. But the hundreds of people that they have received has to have been overwhelming.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I just spoke to a couple of surgeons, including the chairman of the surgery department here at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. And, you're right, it is the only level one trauma center in the state.

But they said that they do train for this and at no time did they feel like they were overwhelmed by the 104 people that came through their doors last night. Some through ambulances, some through taxis, some in private vehicles, all coming here to get the care that they needed. They said that they -- they activated their phone tree and they got all of their doctors, and of their anesthesiologists, all the nurses, all of the support staff here ready to help out all of those people. And they said they were able to do what they needed to do.

The first thing was stopping the cycle of death, saving those people whose lives they could save. That was the first thing that they did. And then they're saying that some more patients here who are going to see more surgeries.

But just to give you an idea of what that means. They said more than 30 patients were treated in that level one trauma here. They also said eight patients were taken to the operating room and 12 patients remain in critical condition at this time. And they said that, you know, they're always worried about the patients in critical condition and whether or not their conditions are going to change. And that is just this one operation here, which is the biggest one, but they're saying they felt the support of the other hospitals in the region, Brooke, as well, which took other patients. Now, some of those patients may have turned out to be more than they could handle at that facility and they've been brought here to the University Medical Center.

And then the other thing that's really been happening here in the community is people turning out for blood donations. They have three opened up across the city. One just opened up down the street here from the University Medical Center. They are working with the United Blood Service to get people's donations. People were already lining up before the doors opened and they're saying they can take that blood and take it right over to the trauma center once it's processed and help out the people that need it. So that's something that's been happening here.

And, really, just a phenomenal response. The way the city has it operating, like many cities, they were able to alert the hospitals that these -- that this large number of casualties was going to come to the hospital and because of that they were prepared and they were able to save as many lives as they could, Brooke.

[14:30:08] BALDWIN: Amazing. Stephanie, thank you so much. I'm glad you reiterated the point, they need blood. Please, donate blood if you're in the area. And specifically if you have