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FBI Questions Gunman's Girlfriend; Trump Visits Las Vegas; Survivor Speaks about Shooting; Police Reaction to Shooter; Massacre Victim Shares Story. Aired 2-2:30p ET
Aired October 04, 2017 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Marilou Danley, the shooter's girlfriend, and at this point in time she may be the only person who can shed any light on how a 60-something gambler and real estate investor with no criminal history came to commit the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Danley is back from a trip to her native Philippines, where her sisters believe she was sent by this gunman so she wouldn't interfere in her boyfriend's plans for mass murder. So we'll bring you any news of what comes out of that interview as soon as we get it.
Meantime, President Trump will be visiting Las Vegas. He's now there meeting with first responders and survivors. This as police have now released body camera video that captures the panic and the chaos as officers worked frantically just to get people to safety and to find the gunman. We're going to play you just a piece of this. But just warning you, it's tough to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That just hit my head.
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go that way. Go that way. Go that way.
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, they're shooting right at us, guys. Everybody stay down. Stay down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's it at?
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: North of Mandalay Bay. It's coming out of a window.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: In case you missed it, this is the moment when these officers on the ground realized that the gunshots were coming from high up above on the 32nd floor at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
We are also getting new video showing the widespread confusion in front of that stage. People running in different directions, but not knowing at all where or what they should be running from.
So let's begin with Brian Todd. Brian Todd has spent the morning in this shooter's hometown. He's now back in Las Vegas.
But, Brain, as we mentioned, you know, the FBI is questioning the shooter's girlfriend right now. And, obviously, one of the key questions, did she have any idea of any of this?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is really the key question, Brooke. And how much detail does she know? We're getting word that they are questioning here, probably as we speak, at the FBI's field office in Los Angeles. That coming from a law enforcement official. Marilou Daley, this girlfriend, arrived in Los Angeles from the Philippines overnight. You know, it is hard to overstate how important she is to this investigation. How she might be able to speak to his motive, to his movements in the weeks and months leading up to the attack, and, of course, to his accumulation of weapons.
But we are getting varying accounts of how much she did know of the attack beforehand and maybe his mindset leading up to the attack. Her sisters spoke to a CNN affiliate from Australia. The sisters are in the Philippines, and that's where they spoke to our affiliate. And they spoke to the question of how much she might have known beforehand. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She didn't even know that she was going to the Philippines until Steve said, oh, Marilou, I found you a cheap ticket to the Philippines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marilou Daley is my sister. She's a good person and gentle soul. A mother, a grandmother, a sister, a friend. And I know that she don't know anything as well, like us. She was sent away. She was sent away so that she will be not there to interfere of what he's planning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: And another part of that interview, one of the sisters said that they believe that the shooter, Stephen Paddock, bought a ticket to, quote, send her away because they believe he was planning the attack and wanted to get her out of the country.
So, again, that's a claim from her family. What she really knew about his motive is still yet to be determined. And that's what investigators are getting at, at this hour.
We can also tell you that a brother of Marilou Daley spoke to another news outlet and said that she told him that she has a, quote, clean conscience about what happened. So it could be that Marilou Daley is going to claim, Brooke, that she knew nothing of this attack. But, look, we have information from law enforcement sources that say
that Stephen Paddock accumulated weapons over the course of 20 years. They recovered at least 47 guns from three different locations connected to this shooting, including the hotel room and two properties he owned, one in Mesquite and one near Reno. One property she lived with him at that property. How she might not have known, at least about his accumulation of weapons, is pretty astounding here.
But, you know, again, they're going to try to piece together as much detail as they can from their interview with Marilou Daley.
BALDWIN: Yes. Living with him, with all those guns, how she couldn't have known anything, that's part of what some of these investigators want to get to.
Brian Todd, thank you so much for that.
TODD: Yes.
BALDWIN: And, Anderson, to you in Las Vegas.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Brooke, thanks very much.
We -- there's so much that we are learning, obviously, in the last several hours, in the last several days. As we learn more about the investigation, President Trump is learning more about the 58 people who lost their lives in this shooting, the survivors who are still recovering from their injuries, some still fighting for their lives.
[14:05:12] The president and the first lady, Melania Trump, have been meeting with patients and doctors today at the University Medical Center, a the trauma center. And Jim Acosta is there live.
Jim, talk about what the president and the first lady have been doing.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson, they arrived here within the last hour to start meeting with those patients, the survivors here at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas. A trauma center that was basically turned into a battlefield hospital after the mass shooting a couple of days ago.
What we can tell you, Anderson, a little bit of an update here. We've been told that we do expect to see some kind of video from inside the hospital here of the president and the first lady meeting with patients and doctors, medical personnel here. We're not sure what that's going to entail. But we do expect to see that within the next several minutes. When we get that, we'll bring that to you.
That is a change from what we had heard earlier in the day, Anderson. Earlier in the day we were told this was going to be closed press, that they were keeping this completely under wraps. And then, in the last 30 minutes or so, we got an update indicating that there is going to be some kind of press availability going on inside this hospital. So you're going to see the president and the first lady inside this hospital I think within the hour. And then after that, he is going to be heading over to meet with law
enforcement personnel here in Las Vegas, some of the first responders that really ran into the line of fire on Sunday night when this mass shooting was unfolding. The president expected to thank them for their service. And, keep in mind, there were law enforcement personnel who were killed in this tragedy. And so all of that heaviness is really weighing over the city right now, over the president's visit.
Keep in mind, when the president landed here earlier this morning here in Las Vegas, he landed, as you know, Anderson, very close to the scene of this mass shooting. Planes land at the international airport here in Las Vegas right by the Mandalay Bay Casino. And so while we don't know yet whether the president will make a specific stop at that site, at that crime scene later on today, he came very close to it when he landed here. He'll come very close again when he leaves here later on today, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Jim Acosta, appreciate that.
My next guest is also a survivor of Sunday's shooting, but he's speaking with me for one sole purpose, to ensure that the love of his life and best friend, his partner, will never be forgotten. Cameron Robinson was just 28 years old. His partner, Bobby Eardley, was by Cameron's side on Sunday night. And Bobby's here with me now.
Thank you so much for being with us.
First of all, how are you and your kids holding up?
BOBBY EARDLEY, PARTNER CAMERON ROBINSON KILLED IN VEGAS SHOOTING: It's all just kind of a fog right now. And I feel pretty numb. So just kind of on autopilot, making sure his mom got here safely and his sister got here safely. They're both from out of state. So my kids, my oldest daughter, Brooklyn (ph), is taking it pretty hard. And the boys are young enough that -- they know that he's not around anymore, but the processing of it is (INAUDIBLE).
COOPER: Tell me about Cameron.
EARDLEY: Cameron -- I just can't say enough amazing things about that man. He's such an example to everyone that he ever came in contact in his life. He had such a rough background and -- where he came from, and so many trials and tribulations in his life. But he always, always strived to be better. And he never stopped. And he built such an amazing life for himself. And I found out from --
COOPER: I heard your mom say that he could make anybody laugh.
EARDLEY: Absolutely.
COOPER: Like you could be down, you'd be having a tough time and he could bring you around.
EARDLEY: Absolutely. Absolutely. And when I came out four years ago, I didn't know how it was all going to go with my family. I knew that they were accepting and everything. But it took someone as special as Cameron to be able to open eyes for everyone and just learn love and acceptance. And I'm so grateful for him for that and for an example that he was for not only me but my family and my kids. And he was just such a strong, strong person and --
COOPER: When did you know he was the one?
EARDLEY: I would say right away. Like we met online and we chatted for a week, and then met in person. I came down here to meet him in person. And it was just -- the connection was too much to not like --
COOPER: And he worked here in Las Vegas. You're in Utah. He would drive every day 100 miles back and forth.
EARDLEY: Yes, he -- he wanted -- his home was in Utah when he moved in with me and he wanted to be there, but his job and work and employees are so amazing that it was something he couldn't give up. So he was determined to make that work. And he drove back and forth four days a week, every day.
COOPER: When -- were you able to -- I mean I don't know if you want to talk about what happened that night. You don't have to if you don't want to. But what do you want to say?
[14:10:07] EARDLEY: I just -- I just want to make sure that he knew that he wasn't alone in those moments. And I held him and talked to him the whole time. And I know he wasn't the only victim. And I know that so many other people are going through exactly what I'm going through. And my heart goes out to every single one of them.
And I really want to just make sure that the heroes of the situation are also noticed because when we were driving to the hospital, we were all just loaded into the back of a truck and there was -- Cameron that was unconscious and another gentleman that was unconscious. And there was a few other people in the back of the truck as well. And two gentlemen did CPR on both of those men the whole entire time to the hospital. And it was just so incredible to see that drive and that determination and just the will to help and --
COOPER: Strangers. Complete strangers.
EARDLEY: Complete strangers. And I didn't get their name. And I don't even know their face. And I just feel awful that I can't meet them and thank them for everything that they did, as well as everybody else that helped so much, but --
COOPER: It is incredible how, you know, in the worst times, sometimes the best comes out and strangers reach out and --
EARDLEY: Right.
COOPER: To try to save other strangers.
EARDLEY: Right. And I don't think even us or the heroes that were there realize what they were doing. It just happens. And it's an incredible gift. And it's something I'm very thankful for because it meant a lot to me in those moments. COOPER: I know you've set up a Go Fund Me page to help pay funeral
expenses.
EARDLEY: Yes, my --
COOPER: I hope -- I hope you sense all the -- and the people who are thinking about you and praying for you and all those who lost their lives here.
EARDLEY: Yes. Thank you.
Yes, my friend Valerie Alves (ph) set that up. And it's more or less just to cover any expenses of -- and make sure his mom and his sister and his family members are taken care of. And just to help wherever needed. And the outpour has been incredible. I haven't checked it today, but I know as of yesterday it was like $18,000. And just -- it's just so heartwarming to know that there's people out there like that that --
COOPER: Do you know when you'll be able to get him back?
EARDLEY: They're hoping today. They hadn't released him from the investigation yesterday. So they were telling us that he should be released to the mortuary today. And so -- but we're going to be going down there to make plans anyways. So we're just hoping that he will be there that we can see him again.
COOPER: You want to see him again?
EARDLEY: I want to. I need to. Because I didn't get to see him after he went into the hospital. And I have to for the closure.
COOPER: Is there anything else you want people to know about him?
EARDLEY: I just think with the example that he was, I want everybody to know that no matter what you're going through or any hardship or anything, he was proof that you can overcome it. And not only overcome it, but be so much better than what you even thought. Like he just had such a drive and determination to always better his life, and he did such an amazing job of that. (INAUDIBLE) what he grew up with and addition and stuff that he dealt with.
COOPER: He was living the life finally that he wanted to live.
EARDLEY: Absolutely. And he lived it to the fullest. And it was never enough. He wanted more. And he deserved more. He had so many goals and dreams.
COOPER: I'm so sorry for your loss.
EARDLEY: Thank you very much.
COOPER: We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:18:06] COOPER: We're back with the latest on the investigation here in Las Vegas. This hour, the gunman's girlfriend, as we've been telling you, is being questioned by the FBI. She is in Los Angeles after her sisters say that the gunman had sent her to the Philippines while he committed the mass murder.
Now, meantime, the Las Vegas Police have just released body camera video showing police as they try to find the gunman. I should say a small amount of the body camera video that actually exists. Here's some of what they've released.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back!
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get down.
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back.
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you are. There's multiple (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) up there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I want to bring in CNN's Martin Savidge, also former FBI special agent, worked for more than 20 years with the FBI and former head of security for the Venetian Resort, David Shepherd.
David, I just want to start with you. There's been such a sea change in how active shooters are dealt with by law enforcement after Columbine. The old way was, wait, secure a perimeter, wait for the SWAT team to show up. It's now most police forces are retraining their police, that every police officer knows how to respond to an active shooter, and it's neutralize the gunman right away, that's the top priority.
I thought it was really interesting that we learned last night that this shooter as really only shooting for nine to 11 minutes before officers were able to find the room. And once they actually had an interaction with him, and he shot a security officer for the hotel, he had stopped shooting and it became a barricade situation, which is why, in this case, they waited for SWAT.
DAVID SHEPHERD, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Correct. So you have right now a lot of different shootings. We started changing how we respond to active shootings based on -- SWAT teams came into existence in 1972 after the Munich Olympics. So before that it was a matter of, how are we going to get in to stop somebody. Even with that, we can't wait for SWAT all the time because we saw what happened in California at the McDonald's where so many people were killed at McDonald's. They were waiting for SWAT.
[14:20:04] COOPER: And most of the killings take place in the first, I understand, six minutes or so of an active shooter situation.
SHEPHERD: It depends on what they're trying to do.
COOPER: Right.
SHEPHERD: But police response usually is three to five minutes they get there. But if not under the circumstances you have here. This is only the second high-altitude shooting. The first one was in Texas.
COOPER: Right.
SHEPHERD: The University of Texas in 1966.
COOPER: There was a clock tower there.
SHEPHERD: At the clock tower. He stabbed his mother, killed his wife, stabbed her, then started up there with multiple guns and shooting down on people. We really haven't had one since this.
COOPER: Yes.
SHEPHERD: So we've had 51-year-old to figure out how we have to now look at getting at higher altitudes.
COOPER: You know, Martin, I keep putting myself in the position of law enforcement who were here, you know, trying to figure out where the shots were coming from. I mean I was in a shootout in South Africa where there were people shooting from buildings. You don't know if you're running into a bullet or if you're running away from a bullet. So, I mean, not only as a civilian do you not know which direction to go to, I mean, do you hunker in place, do you hide in place, or do you run? Because you can just as easily run into a gunshot as you can be running away from one. MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. I think that
body cam video is just so significant because it really does take you there. And I think there are 67 body cameras that they're now trying to go through.
But, you're right, you know, having both of us been in war zones, you know that gunfire in an urban environment, it ricochets as far as the noise. And so trying to ascertain, especially in the dark, and especially you may not be thinking of somebody firing up high. So the noise is coming from all directions around you, which really can give this illusion that, oh, my gosh, the gunman's over here, it's over here, when, in fact, the gunman may be behind and elevated, as we know, in the case here.
So it caused a tremendous amount of confusion. And the same is true for law enforcement. They're worried about the public that's in harm's way. They want to get them out of harm's way. At the same time, somebody else is trying to identify, where is that shooter?
COOPER: And that's the thing we saw in that police camera video. And, again, that's just a small amount of video. Where police not only were trying to deal with where is the gunman, finding the gunman, but also with civilians who are running around and they're having to direct people, no, don't run in this direction. People were running toward the hotel. They were saying, no, run this way. I mean I -- it just -- kudos to law informant. You just get a sense of how difficult their job is.
SHEPHERD: Because you're looking at this particular shooting. Most of the shootings are within seven to twelve feet. You have the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, in the movie theater. You have the Pulse Nightclub, are all short distances. So when we're looking for a shooter, usually we're looking on the ground, towards something -- even a drive-by or something from here. We're not really looking up. So you have to see the muzzle flash here to know somebody's shooting from up there.
SAVIDGE: Nine to 11 minutes also. I mean when you look at the ammunition that he had, the number of clips, there's photographs where you see them all stacked up, and these were extended clips, stacked up like cordwood. I mean he could quickly reload and reacquire and fire again. So the method that he had, the way he had obviously manipulated his weapons, the way he was shooting, this was a man who was bent on the highest body count he could possibly (INAUDIBLE).
COOPER: It does also show you the benefit of the change of tactics, of the importance of -- even if you're not a SWAT officer, getting police officers to try to confront the person as quickly as possible because, again, we don't know what was going through this person's mind or why he stopped shooting into the crowd, but perhaps he stopped shooting because he had engaged with law enforcement close up. He shot a security officer. And that changed his focus. And after that, that was his focus as opposed to -- I mean if he had continued shooting into this crowd, he still could have, you know, shot a lot more people.
SHEPHERD: Right. Totally true. He had the cameras outside to make sure he saw how people were coming in. Here's what I have to do. Is he going to ambush them? Is he going to do something to them? That was (INAUDIBLE) right off the bat (INAUDIBLE) going to do. So any SWAT team or any team going in, that's the first thing you have to worry about, getting shot at right off the bat as soon as you go in.
COOPER: Yes. David Shepherd, Martin Savidge, thank you so much. Appreciate it. A lot to learn still in the hours and days and even weeks ahead.
Coming up next, we're going to talk to a radio DJ who survived Sunday's massacre.
Plus, how the country music community is reacting to what happened here, weighing in on conversations over gun control. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:28:15] BALDWIN: We're back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Country music star Jason Aldean has now officially canceled his shows for the next week, quote, out of respect for the victims of the Las Vegas massacre. He was the one performing on stage when the gunshots erupted Saturday night. And it was Aldean's exit from the stage that signaled to many in the crowd that this wasn't fireworks, this was something much, much worse.
That was the case for my next guest, who is obviously so thankful she survived. She's Katie Toupal. She's a country music DJ, who's now back home in Minneapolis.
Katie, it's so nice to have you on. But I'm so sorry about the circumstances. I mean just experiencing and surviving the unthinkable. How are you holding up?
KATIE TOUPAL, MASSACRE SURVIVOR: I'm OK. I think as I've had time to process it now, I'm just kind of feeling guilty. But I'm glad to be home. I'm thankful that I made it and my friends are all safe too. So, I'm OK.
BALDWIN: Why -- why the guilt?
TOUPAL: I feel -- there was a girl -- the one that I keep sticking with is there's a girl, she was laying on the ground. She had been shot in the stomach. And she was by herself. And people were just running to get out of their around her and I just feel like maybe I wanted to stay with her so she wasn't alone until help came. I feel guilty that my friends were there. They wanted to go home earlier in the night. They were tired. But Jason Aldean is my favorite artist. And they were only staying for me. I feel bad that they experienced that for me. Like they didn't want to be there. They only stayed and saw that for me. And I just feel guilty that I made it and so many didn't. So that's where the struggle is right now.
[14:29:57] BALDWIN: Sure. I think a lot of people that I'm talking to feel the same way. And I think for a lot of these people that they are eventually talking to professionals.
On the Jason Aldean piece, so had you ever met him? I mean you finally got to meet him at the meet and greet before the show, right?
TOUPAL: Right.
