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Campus Shooting Survivor Speaks Out; Former College President Speaks Out On Massacre. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 02, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

SHERIFF JOHN HANLIN, DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON: -- waste the time today or any time in the real near future having the firearm debate.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Sheriff, look, no one is going to fault you for that. Take care of your community. Take care of that scene and do what you can for the families. No one can ask for more than that.

I will tell you that you should weigh in on this. It matters. It matters every time. The problem is the conversation ends too soon. What direction it should go, we have to leave that to the collective.

But it's certainly a conversation to have, the earlier we have it the better, because it gives us an opportunity to do something more. I respect your position on it. Take care of your community. Let us know how we can help, sir.

HANLIN: Thank you.

CUOMO: All right, Sheriff, appreciate it -- Mich.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: That community of Roseburg, Oregon shaken to its core by this shooting. What happened inside that school during the shooting? We'll hear from a survivor, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:02]

PEREIRA: Yes, we are continuing to follow this breaking news, terrible news out of Oregon. That massacre on the campus of Umpqua College, the community college there in Roseburg, Oregon. Let's give you what we know at this point.

Nine people killed by a gunman, at least nine others wounded. The shooter was also killed. Police investigator say the 26-year-old shooter came to the school, he was heavily armed. He had three handguns, a long gun and had with him body armor and enough ammunition for what they say could have been a prolonged fight.

President Obama says the country has become numb to mass shootings that have become somewhat routine. He's calling for a change to gun laws -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Michaela, we want to go now because we are joined by Cassandra Welding. She witnessed the shooting. She was in the classroom right next door. Cassandra, thank you so much for being on with us. We know it's been a long night for you. It's only 4:30 your time. How are you doing?

CASSANDRA WELDING, WITNESS TO COLLEGE SHOOTING: Yes. I'm not doing so good. I've been better, obviously.

CAMEROTA: Cassandra, what happened?

WELDING: Haven't slept since --

CAMEROTA: Tell us about when you were in your classroom and what you first saw and heard.

WELDING: It was just a normal day. All my classmates and I were just on the computer lab, on the computers, right next door in Snyder 16. And we were doing our work and our teacher was just talking to us about what we were going to do today, how we were going to -- what was the plan for the day.

And then my teacher actually left to go get some papers and then within 5 seconds later, we heard -- I heard a -- all my classmates and I heard a really loud noise. It sounded like a book being dropped or a table that fell down.

So we all jumped, didn't know what it was. We asked this guy in our classroom. He said maybe it's a gunshot. He said if it's a gunshot, it's going to echo. It was honestly pretty loud.

So then this classmate of mine went out to the door and she stepped outside to go see the next classroom right next door and she -- when she came back in, the shooter shot her in the arm, the left arm, and the lower abdomen and she collapsed in front of the doorway.

So then the doorway is open and her friend over there, we pull -- she pulls the door open, locks it, turned off the lights and then she's trying to do CPR on her friend as we're all in panic mode at that point.

CAMEROTA: My God, Cassandra. Do you know what happened to that classmate that was shot? Did she live?

WELDING: Last I heard she wasn't, but I don't know if that's correct or not.

CAMEROTA: So you hear an incredibly loud noise. You don't know if it's a balloon popping or a desk collapsing, one of your classmates gets up and she herself is shot by the gunman. Another classmate locks your door. What happens in your classroom? Did you all take cover? What happened next?

WELDING: Well, you know as a teacher -- I told you the teacher wasn't there. So we pretty much had to take control as students. We came together. We took control, barricaded into the right corner of the classroom and called 911 immediately.

I tried to get 911 on the phone and the line was busy. I called repeatedly. They said are you calling from the Umpqua Community College shooting? I said, yes, I am. There's a woman shot in our classroom, can you please hurry.

I called my mom right away and I was just in panic. And I called my mom to tell her there's a shooting. She didn't understand me at first. I said mom, there's a shooting at school. I was just in complete shock.

CAMEROTA: And you were on the phone with your mother as all of the next events unfolded. You stayed on the phone with your mother. Tell me what that conversation was like.

WELDING: You know, I tried to talk to her. It was just really hard. I was overwhelmed and terrified for my life at that point. I was saying a love you a lot to her. She was saying it back. It was an emotional time for both of us. My dad was also there, too. It was emotional for all of us at that point.

CAMEROTA: Were you telling your mother what you were hearing and seeing and was she telling you what to do?

WELDING: She said to barricade the door, barricade the doors and get down on the ground, and you know, I'm on the ground and I'm just afraid to get up. So we didn't barricade the door that he was -- you can't enter from inside the door. I was listening to what she was telling me to do. She was saying you're going to be OK. You're going to be OK. I was so terrified.

CAMEROTA: Cassandra, could you hear the gunman saying anything, Cassandra?

WELDING: I couldn't hear him say anything. There's a crack underneath the door. I saw footsteps and shadows it looked like. That's what I saw. I honestly did not hear anything. I think I was too far away or I wasn't paying -- I was listening to the shots after shots after shots.

[07:40:11] CAMEROTA: Cassandra, the scene that you're describing is so terrifying that even I am having a physical reaction just imagining what it was like for you. How did you and your classmates stay quiet while all of this was happening and hiding in your classroom?

WELDING: We tried to stay as quiet as we could. I was on the phone with my mom. I told her to talk to me. The gunman is either next door or somewhere nearby. And I was worried for all my classmates and my life. It was just horrific.

CAMEROTA: How did you all know when it was safe to come out?

WELDING: Then I saw police -- I saw like a SWAT person. They said they were yelling get down, get down to the shooter and then I heard a couple more shots and I'm assuming they shot him and then they tried -- they tried to come into our classroom.

The door was locked. We opened the door frantically. They said the shooter is down, you're safe. Stay in here. We need your information, your name, number, phone number, address or what you saw or witnessed.

CAMEROTA: Cassandra, do you know this gunman?

WELDING: No. I have never seen him in my entire life or my three years at UCC or anywhere in Roseburg.

CAMEROTA: Cassandra, we are so sorry that this happened to you and your classmates. We're so sorry for your loss. Thank you for telling us about everything you endured yesterday. Thanks so much for being on.

WELDING: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: That poor young woman and all her classmates. How many times have we seen faces like hers, blank and numb with the shock of what they had to find a way to endure and how savvy people are coming now that they have gotten familiar with the fact that this could happen and how they respond.

The big question still remains why, why did this 26-year-old person do this? We'll speak with the former president of the school about the impact and the need for change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:46:13]

PEREIRA: The massacre on the campus of Umpqua Community College is ravaging that small community of Roseburg, Oregon. Nine were killed. Nine others at least were wounded.

Joining us now is a man who feels this incident so terribly deeply, Joe Olson is the former president of Umpqua Community College. In fact, sir, I understand you just retired. But you feel very, very connected to this school. You say you love this school. It's where your heart is. Your heart must be torn in two this morning.

JOE OLSON, FORMER PRESIDENT, UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Well, Michaela, that's correct. And you know, it's difficult to put into words how I feel. I'm very emotional about my role in this community. I love this community. There are no words to express what this has done to this community.

PEREIRA: There are no words. I'm sure because I think we're all struggling with this. We as journalists have covered this kind of story of mass shootings all too many times. I know there are too many communities and too many people just like you standing there trying to make sense of this.

I know last night there was a vigil. You were there, I understand. Is that the sense you get from everyone in Roseburg, they're just struggling to understand why and why Roseburg?

OLSON: Well, you know, I was there at the vigil last night and one of the things that took me back, if you will, in terms of emotions, is how many people were there. There were hundreds of people there. The sentiments were pretty much the same. People were still in shock.

PEREIRA: I bet.

OLSON: And we're struggling, as so many other communities have done, as you mentioned.

PEREIRA: Right.

OLSON: We've covered this way too often. I wonder when this country will come to grips with the issues about guns and weapons and how people seem to take them, to take out their own anger and cause so much harm and so much danger and so much pain to the communities that we're in.

PEREIRA: I understand that that was a real moment of debate on your campus last year. We know you have security personnel on your campus. But that there was a debate, a heated, a tough debate about whether to arm the security personnel on the campus of Umpqua Community College and the school opted to not do that. Give us a little insight. Do you think there are many regretting that now?

OLSON: You know, I can't speak to that, whether or not people regret it. It was my decision to begin the debate, because on campus we try and have an environment where people can express their own opinion. It was absolutely, you know, split right down the middle, 50/50.

PEREIRA: Interesting.

OLSON: In terms of whether or not we should have armed security officers or whether we should have unarmed security officers. It was my decision, based upon, you know, the input that I took from faculty and staff and students to not have armed security.

PEREIRA: How do you feel about that decision now?

OLSON: I think it was the right decision. You know, when a shooter comes to a campus, if you will, he or she is going to do whatever amount of damage or carnage they can do in the first 3 to 5 minutes.

[07:50:14] So whether or not there's an armed security person there or not, really I don't think prevents that person from doing what they intend to do.

PEREIRA: Joe Olson, we know that horrible, horrible incident happened in some 10 minutes of terror. It is forever, forever going to change the lives of so many in your community and around our nation. We stand with you in Roseburg today, sir, thanks for joining us.

OLSON: Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinions.

PEREIRA: Chris, we stand with Roseburg. We stand with all the other communities, Newtown, you've talked about it, all the communities that have been affected. CUOMO: Question becomes what does it mean when you stand with them? That matters today and it matters even more so in the days to come. The question is what happens then?

This campus this man was president of was one point a quiet little community, the next it was this. We have a witness to the massacre in our next hour of NEW DAY. Hear what it's like to live through one of these. Get that urgency as to why we have to stop it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:13]

CAMEROTA: We are learning more about the gunman behind the shooting spree at that Oregon College. We'll get all of the details what happened from a witness straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: There's a shooter. There's a shooter.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Confirmed report he has a long gun.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: She opened the door and gunman shot her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Multiple shots were fired. The look on her face is horrifying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you're a Christian, you will see God in one second and he shot and killed them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was terrified. I have never been more terrified for my life ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once we got out of the building, people running in every direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me be clear. I will not name the shooter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has to have some connection to the school.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Somehow this has become routine. We have become numb to this.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got to get the political will to do everything we can to keep people safe.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. But we are dealing with something all too familiar. A small town in Oregon now in the national spotlight mourning nine victims.