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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

11 Dead In Southern California Bar Mass Shooting; President Trump Fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Richard Neal Poised To Chair House Ways And Means Committee. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 08, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY, QUEENS, NEW YORK: Most importantly, are there any more planned attacks? Was the shooter, who we now know is down -- anybody else involved with them -- accomplices, people that provided material support or inspiration or any type of aid?

Police are going through video surveillance cameras. I'm guessing a nightclub like that was probably loaded with surveillance cameras.

They want to determine how he got there. Did he get there in a vehicle?

Does that vehicle have any of the plans in it or any type of manifesto or screed in it? Does it have any explosive devices -- any other weapons -- anything they can track back to a potential conspiracy? That's first and foremost.

Once they rule that out, now they can move toward the investigation and find out what caused this person -- whatever grievance it was -- whatever trigger event caused him to show up there last night and take innocent lives -- and determine how to get in front of the next one.

That's where we're at right now. There's nothing we can do right now, unfortunately, to bring back innocent lost lives. How do we prevent the next one?

ROMANS: Whether it's worshipping or going to a grocery store or going out for yoga, going to listen to country music. This is just the last two weeks.

GAGLIANO: You mean living.

ROMANS: Yes --

GAGLIANO: Yes.

ROMANS: -- living.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Part of the investigation, James, mentioned is now the FBI's joint terrorism task force. They have been dispatched to the scene. James Gagliano spent 25 years with the Bureau. Stick around for us as we reset our breaking news.

Multiple fatalities in a mass shooting incident at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. That is northwest of Los Angeles.

At 5:31 eastern time, information still coming in at this hour. Here's what we know.

The first call came into police at 11:20 California time. The attacker forced his way into the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks.

This is a huge country and western dance bar, and even live music venue, extraordinarily popular with young Pepperdine students. There were more than 20 in the bar at the time of the shooting. Also, Cal Lutheran students were in the bar at the time of the shooting.

An official on scene saying there were at least 11 victims. We do know the shooter, himself, is among those killed. The full list of people's conditions, though -- those 11 shot -- not yet known.

ROMANS: One witness told CNN affiliate KABC that a gunman walked up, shot a security guard, entered the bar, set off a smoke bomb, and started shooting.

An eyewitness we spoke with earlier -- a young man named Holden Harrah -- described the gunman as wearing a black trench coach, with a beard and glasses.

A few more words about the bar. The Borderline dance floor, alone, 2,500 square feet. There are pool tables, there is a bar, there is food.

Officials say hundreds of people were inside when the gunman began shooting.

BRIGGS: All right. Let's bring in CNN's Nick Watt who is on the scene. Nick, good morning to you.

Two thirty-two there in Thousand Oaks. What are you learning?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, the bar was pretty busy when this gunman walked in. It was college country night that began at 9:00. The first calls came into law enforcement about 11:20 that shots had been fired.

We're told that the bar wasn't packed. It was getting busier.

Now, I just spoke to one eyewitness who said he heard shots. He immediately hid under the pool table with some other people.

There was then a break in the shooting. He thinks that perhaps the gunman was reloading.

And in those moments a number of students managed to throw some bar stools through the windows, smashing the windows of the club and managed to escape. Other people we spoke to say they managed to get out through the kitchen, through the loading dock.

But as you say, 11 people were either injured or killed in this and we do believe that the shooter is among those fatalities.

A very fluid situation right now but we are told by local officials that they do not believe there is any ongoing threat. As we mentioned, the shooter believed to be perhaps among those killed.

I mean, other eyewitnesses describe a scene of panic. Many people we've spoken to have described that the gunman of average build was wearing dark clothing, perhaps some kind of hood, perhaps some kind of hat.

And another young man I just spoke to described the gun as a handgun -- a short-barreled handgun.

That is what we know right now here on the scene in Thousand Oaks.

ROMANS: Yes, Nick, and some of those early accounts from eyewitnesses can be contradictory, frankly, sometimes because people are just terrified getting out of the --

WATT: Yes.

ROMANS: -- building.

Thanks so much for that.

Let's listen to Holden Harrah. He's somebody who watched -- he saw the young woman just inside the door who worked for the club -- he saw her be shot by the gunman.

Let's listen to Holden Harrah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLDEN HARRAH, EYEWITNESS TO MASS BAR SHOOTING: One of the worst tragic events that has ever happened in a very long time.

ROMANS: Tell me -- tell me, Holden, what you saw, what you were doing. You were dancing?

HARRAH: Well, no, I was on the opposite side of the bar and I was just with a few friends. And, you know, I go there every week and I've been coming there for about six months. And, you know, just a place to out and hang out with our friends and just have fun as young adults.

[05:35:12] And, unfortunately, what happened tonight and what I actually saw with my two eyes was a gentleman who walked into the front door and shot the girl that was right behind the counter.

And I just -- I see the girl every single time I'm there and just -- I don't know her name but it's someone to make small contact with and to say hi here and there. We started getting really familiar and serious with each other. And the first two gunshots just hit her and I don't know if she's alive.

BRIGGS: We are so sorry, Holden. We know how difficult this must be. Can't imagine what it was like to be inside that bar at the time.

Did you see the shooter? Did you make anything out?

HARRAH: Yes, I saw -- I saw -- I saw a gentleman wearing like a black like trench-looking coat. He had a beard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: That was young Holden Harrah who was at the Borderline Bar and Grill at the time of the shooting. He is a student of nearby Moorpark College -- a very nearby college.

There were several colleges in the area, including Cal State Channel Islands. We've also mentioned Cal Lutheran. Students from that college were in the bar at the time. And more than 20 young Pepperdine students were in the bar at the time of the shooting.

A freshman dorm actually takes a bus down to Thousand Oaks for this night --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- on Wednesdays, in part, because students 18 and up are allowed in on that country music night.

ROMANS: So, James Gagliano, let's talk a little bit about where they go from here because we now know that there's a fatality. We don't know the gunman. There could be other fatalities among those 11 injured, we know.

What are they doing right now? They're raiding his car, they're finding his house to try to identify who this person is.

GAGLIANO: So, law enforcement is a Herculean task here. And again, first and foremost, make sure that there's nobody else involved, this wasn't a conspiracy, and that there aren't going to be a series of events that are going to follow this. That's first and foremost.

After they establish that's not the case, then they want to build the case against this person.

Now, this person is deceased. We're not going to take him to trial. There's not an opportunity to speak to them.

But we live in an age, the 21st century, right, where there is so much of a digital footprint there that they're going to do everything they can to determine how he got there.

Did he take his own vehicle? Did he Uber or take a Lyft? Where'd he come from? Did he take public transportation? And then, try to take this back to wherever this person lived. Once they're there, find out what caused them to do this. Was this somebody with just emotional problems -- emotionally disturbed? Was it somebody that had a grievance against that particular club -- somebody who was in that club?

Or does that person have some perverted ideology that they were hewing to? And if that's the case, were they directed to do this? Were they inspired to do it?

There's a lot of putting the case together. Even though obviously, he's deceased, we can't bring him to trial. We need to find out what the causality is. What made this person snap and do the unthinkable.

Why, people say? Why is the motive so important? So we can try to get in front of the next one.

BRIGGS: All right. James Gagliano, a retired supervisory agent with the FBI -- spent 25 years with the Bureau, our CNN law enforcement analyst. Thank you for being here on yet another difficult morning in this country. James, thank you.

ROMANS: We're going to hit a quick break here and come back. There's going to be a live press conference with more information from authorities. We'll bring that to you live in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:42:51] BRIGGS: All right, back now with the latest on our breaking news from Thousand Oaks, California.

A mass shooting inside the Borderline Bar and Grill, a country music -- a college country music night -- and multiple fatalities -- 11 injured. Among those fatalities is the shooter, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

ROMANS: That's right. We know at least 11 hurt. We know there are fatalities.

We're waiting there for a live news conference with more details on exactly what happened there at the Borderline. We'll bring them to you when it happens.

BRIGGS: Again, if you're just now joining us, just an update out.

There were several colleges involved in this college country night. Pepperdine had more than 20 students there. Cal Lutheran had multiple students there, as did Moorpark College and perhaps, CSU Channel Islands which is also nearby.

We'll update you with this news conference as we get it.

But turning to politics now, a massive story also yesterday. As "The Washington Post" puts it this morning, it's "not surprising, but it's still shocking." In a move that seems aimed squarely at asserting control of the Russia investigation, President Trump abruptly firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions less than 24 hours after the polls closed from the midterm elections.

The forced resignation ends a tumultuous tenure for one of the president's earliest and most loyal surrogates.

ROMANS: That's right. Sessions has been in the White House doghouse since he recused himself from the Mueller investigation last year.

The firing came a day after the GOP kept hold of the Senate in the midterms -- worth noting since the Senate will have to confirm a replacement for Sessions.

Trump was asked at a combative news conference whether he wants to end the Russia probe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I could fire everybody right now. But I don't want to stop it --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about the --

TRUMP: -- because politically, I don't like stopping it. But you're right, I could end it right now. I could say that investigation is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The president did not immediately name a permanent replacement for Sessions, but his choice for acting attorney general already raising eyebrows. Matthew Whitaker, who was Sessions' own chief of staff, has publicly criticized the Mueller probe. He's there on your right.

Democratic leaders already calling for Whitaker to recuse himself. A source close to the president says the idea of Whitaker ending the Russia probe is not an option for now.

[05:45:08] CNN's Jessica Schneider has more from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, Jeff Sessions' resignation, it unfolded in true Trump fashion.

Now, despite having coined the phrase "you're fired" on that hit show "THE APPRENTICE," President Trump actually had his chief of staff John Kelly do the dirty work.

It was just before the president's scheduled press conference around 11:30 Wednesday morning when Chief of Staff Kelly talked to Jeff Sessions and told him the president wanted his resignation that day. And when Jeff Sessions asked to stay on until at least the end of the week, John Kelly said no.

About two hours later, Sessions sent that letter and it said, quote, "Mr. President, at your request, I am submitting my resignation."

Now, later that night, Jeff Sessions departed the Justice Department to widespread applause.

And now, Matthew Whitaker is the acting attorney general and Whitaker is already facing backlash from Democrats set to take over the House. And really, that's because Whitaker will now be overseeing the special counsel's Russia probe despite speaking out extensively against it before he became Jeff Sessions' chief of staff last October.

So we are told that in making those media appearances, Whitaker was encouraged to speak forcefully to get the president's attention. Of course, he did just that.

Whitaker will now be acting attorney general, and if his past comments are any indication, he could hamper Mueller's probe by really cutting off the cash -- Dave and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Jessica. Thank you for that.

In one of those media appearances Jessica just mentioned, Whitaker told CNN in 2017, he believed Robert Mueller's investigation could be neutralized without having to fire his special counsel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW WHITAKER, THEN-CHIEF OF STAFF, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment and that the attorney general doesn't fire Bob Mueller but he just reduces the budget so low that his investigation grinds to absolutely -- almost a halt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: In a CNN op-ed written last year, Whitaker argued Mueller was quote "dangerously close to crossing a red line by looking into the president's finances."

In a statement last night, he vowed to lead a fair Justice Department with high ethical standards.

BRIGGS: You may want to remember the name Richard Neal. With Democrats about to take control of the House, the Massachusetts congressman expected to chair the influential House Ways and Means Committee. That means he's the guy who would ask to see President Trump's tax returns.

ROMANS: Neal tells CNN's Lauren Fox he hopes the president will release them voluntarily but he does not sound hopeful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. RICHARD NEAL (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Even if the request is made, I don't expect that that afternoon we're going to see those tax forms. So I think that do what we have to do to and then see where the road takes us and the path that we travel.

If there's a protracted legal fight, which I suspect that that may well end up where it rests, then we need to get on to the other issues.

Yes -- I mean, I don't think that the opening position of the most prominent committee in Congress ought to be weighed down by one dispute that we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president's refusal to disclose his personal tax records is unprecedented in the modern presidency.

BRIGGS: It's about to get even uglier if you look at that warning sign yesterday.

All right, an update on our breaking news from Thousand Oaks, California. Multiple fatalities at the Borderline Bar and Grill. A gunman is among the fatalities -- 11 wounded.

We are awaiting, as you can see, a press conference from the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. We will bring you that after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:53:08] ROMANS: We are awaiting an update from the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. It looks like it's going to begin her momentarily.

There's been a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- to provide you with the latest information on this incident.

I want to introduce, on my left, Sheriff Geoff Dean -- excuse me. He's the sheriff of Ventura County. The name is spelled G-E-O-F-F. The last name is spelled D-E-A-N.

On my right is Ryan Young. He's a special agent in charge of the Los Angeles field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His name is spelled R-Y-A-N. Last name is Y-O-U-N-G.

Also on my right is L.D. Maples. He's the chief of the coastal division of the California Highway Patrol. The first name is spelled L-D. The last name, Maples, M-A-P-L-E-S.

So right now, I'm going to hand it over to Sheriff Dean to give you the latest. SHERIFF GEOFF DEAN, VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, VENTURA, CALIFORNIA: Good morning. You're all experienced reporters and you understand this is a dynamic, ongoing investigation and a tragic, tragic situation.

So I'll go through the details. I'll share with you everything I have and we'll answer all the questions you may have. Our partners from the FBI and Highway Patrol also will answer any additional questions you might have.

Tonight at 11:20 p.m., the sheriff's 911 received multiple calls of shots being fired at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks. Our first sheriff's unit arrived on scene three minutes later. There was also two highway patrol officers on scene who had been on a local traffic stop and heard the traffic and responded right away.

[05:55:01] Approximately three minutes later, a highway patrol officer and a sheriff's sergeant made entry into the Borderline because they heard shots being fired and felt there might be additional victims inside.

Upon going through the front door, the sheriff's sergeant was struck multiple times with gunfire. The highway patrol officer stepped back and secured the perimeter until additional units arrived, and he rescued the sheriff's sergeant out of the line of gunfire.

When additional units arrived, including SWAT personnel, agencies from the Oxnard Police Department, the Simi Valley Police Department, the Ventura Police Department, and additional officers from highway patrol, they made entry into the Borderline Bar and Grill.

They found 11 victims that had been killed. The suspect, who we believe is -- was the only suspect was dead inside, and there were multiple other victims of different levels of injury inside that were rescued from the scene and taken to local hospitals.

In addition to the victims inside -- and the numbers are upwards of 10 to 12 -- additional victims with minor injuries fled the scene on their own and took themselves to local hospitals.

We have not identified the suspect yet. Our partners from the FBI were on scene almost immediately to help us with the identification process and with crime scene processing. We have no idea if there's a terrorism link to this event or not.

As you know, these are ongoing investigations and that information will come out as soon as we're able to determine exactly who the suspect was and what motive he might have had for this horrific event.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

DEAN: Well, Sgt. Helus died at the -- the sergeant passed away at the hospital about an hour ago.

I only mentioned it might be terrorists because that's where we all go these days when we have multiple shootings like this and there's no reason for it and we have this horrific death. I have nothing to lead me to believe or the FBI that there is any terrorism link here but we certainly will look at that option.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

DEAN: I'm sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were there any devices inside?

DEAN: What do you mean by devices?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard reports that there was -- people there were smoke bombs that were going off.

DEAN: There's some initial reports that a smoke bomb might have been used. We have not heard anything yet.

We actually have -- we have called in our bomb team to go in through and we have a couple of bomb dogs here that are checking the area. But we haven't found any other explosive device or confirmation that there was a smoke device.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does that make you think if there was a smoke bomb?

DEAN: Well, hindsight and speculation's pretty easy. You would think if someone throws a smoke device that it was certainly more of a planned attack and not something spontaneous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us about the sergeant? How long was he on the force (INAUDIBLE)?

DEAN: Sergeant Helus was on the force for 29 years. He was looking to retire in the next year or so. He was a Moorpark resident and is survived by his wife and his son.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is his name?

DEAN: Ron Helus -- H-E-L-U-S.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, Thousand Oaks doesn't seem --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of weapon was it?

DEAN: Well, you know, the question is Thousand Oaks is a safe community. What do I make of this?

I make that it's a horrific incident. It's part of the horrors that are happening in our country and everywhere. And I think it's impossible to put any logic or any sense to the senseless.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did the suspect die? Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff, was the suspect shot down by officers or did he take his own life? Do you know what happened?

DEAN: Well, when the officers made entry the suspect was already deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

DEAN: There are 11 victims. I will not count the suspect as a victim. The suspect and then, Sgt. Helus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, 11 victims or 12?

DEAN: Eleven victims, the suspect -- 12 -- and Sgt. Helus makes 13.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

DEAN: No, we have not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about the weapon? Was it a semiautomatic weapon?

DEAN: We have not found any type of assault rifle inside the location. The only weapon we have found that we believe was used was a handgun. But it's still early on and we --