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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Suspect Arrested in Washington Ricin Scare; Possible Boston Suspect Seen on Video
Aired April 17, 2013 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Erin, thanks very much.
Good evening, everyone. As Erin said, we do have breaking news tonight on two fronts.
Late word from two federal law enforcement officials that there is an arrest in connection, as Erin said, with the poison letters sent to the president and a U.S. senator. New developments as well in the bombing case to tell you about. And obviously, it has been a rollercoaster day for people here, emotionally, and in terms of the facts of the story, it is not over yet.
A short time ago, the FBI, again, postponed a news briefing that was originally pushed back from the 5:00 hour. It was supposed to be then at the top of the 8:00 hour. We don't know why this has been pushed back. We hope to learn more throughout the hour.
First, though, we want to check in with Joe Johns, who is on the deadly poison letter arrest.
Joe, you have some news on the arrest. What are you hearing, what is the latest?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, this is an individual from Tupelo, Mississippi, we're told, the home state of Senator Roger Wicker. Actually, his hometown, as well. He is one of the people who got one of the mailings. We know of two suspicious letters, a lot of confusion at the United States Capitol today.
Mail delivery to the Capitol has been stopped, while authorities try to figure all of it out. Of the suspicious letters that were field tested and initially deemed positive, one was addressed to the White House. Another, an earlier letter, as I said, was addressed to Senator Wicker. These are only field tests, false-positives are known to occur.
According to law enforcement authorities, Anderson, both of the letters were detected at an off-site facility. Authorities say there was a message contained in the letters. That message said, "To see a wrong and not expose it is to become a silent partner to its continuance."
Both letters, we're told, signed "I'm KC and I approve this message." The letters, of course, have been sent to labs for testing. Federal authorities point out that there had been ricin false- positives in the past -- Anderson.
COOPER: Joe, last night we were told that one of the letters was addressed from Memphis, Tennessee, postmark from Memphis, Tennessee. Obviously, no return address on that letter. Do we know how authorities were able to zero in on this particular suspect so quickly? Was it -- somebody who had sent letters in the past but were somehow known to them?
JOHNS: Anderson, it's not at all clear right now, at least to us. We do know that throughout this day, authorities had suggested to some of us off the record that they may have been closing in on a suspect. So it's been clear to us for a while now that they were looking at someone, why and how we haven't been able to determine just yet.
COOPER: Joe, I appreciate all the update.
Now let's go to the bombing investigation here. It has been quite a day, as my colleagues, John King and Susan Candiotti, also Drew Griffin know. Let's start with Drew at the hotel ballroom, just upstairs from us where the FBI has again delayed a press briefing.
Drew, all day no press briefing. Was supposed to be this afternoon at 5:00, kept getting pushed back and then they said at 8:00. Now we're being told likely not going to happen tonight. Do we know why?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: We know absolutely nothing. We've been waiting all day for this, as you said. And just a few minutes ago, Steve McDonald with the Boston Fire Department came out and announced that there will be no press conference here. That they're vacating this hotel. There won't be anymore news conferences at this hotel, and he had no idea when the next news conference will be.
He was just the messenger. He had no explanation as to what was going on or why or why there wasn't going to be any kind of news conference at all. So we're just kind of left with speculating on what that means. Are they so close they don't need the public's help? Are they too far away that they don't have the information they want to give to the public?
Anderson, we just don't know.
COOPER: Yes. Or they're just so busy they don't have time to do it, which, frankly, I think for most people in this town would be just fine, as long as it means the investigation is moving forward.
John, let's talk about obviously the up and down day that occurred. Obviously, major miscommunication, a number of sources saying a suspect had been arrested. First of all, what happened? What are you hearing on the latest first of all? JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what I'm hearing on the latest is that they do believe they made significant progress today based on video analysis that started late last night into the evening and overnight. The bulk of it, I'm told, came from surveillance cameras at the Lord and Taylor Department Store, so they have supplementary evidence that came from video provided by a Boston television station. And then they're going through even additional video.
And I'm told they are very, very settled on the fact that they have identified somebody, making a placement at the second explosion site which is directly across the street from the Lord and Taylor.
That -- they were confident about this morning. And then they enhanced that video where they said they had a very good facial on a potential suspect in the investigation. From there, there was some miscommunication, and frankly, there was misreporting. We were told by a federal official, told our Fran Townsend, an arrest had been made. I received word from a Boston law enforcement official similar to that effect. Several other news organizations reported that. One reported that the suspect had been brought to the federal courthouse here in Boston.
This information coming from at least, in our case, I know at CNN, sources that have been trustworthy and reliable in the past. But clearly, clearly, they were not in this case. And we reported that information and were responsible for that. Personally responsible for everything I say on television. You're only as good as your sources. But so the question is why.
Something was afoot today. There are clearly was a breakthrough, but some officials clearly got out ahead of themselves because we have Governor Patrick standing nearby. You know, he says there's -- one of the questions was, is this a semantics breakdown, is somebody being questioned or is somebody in custody but had not been arrested, and what we are told tonight is no. That none of those things are true.
That yes, they believe they have identified at least one lead suspect, placing at the second site with video analysis. But based on what we're being told now, both publicly and my sources privately, no one in custody. No one being questioned and no one in sort of the Never Never Land where police sometimes bring you and have a conversation with you. We'll go from that. And the fact that we've had no briefing all day is rather curious.
COOPER: And so again, just to be absolutely clear, because I think the word "identified somebody", they don't -- they have no identity of the -- this person. They have a picture. Is that -- is that --
KING: That's a question. That's a question. There was confidence voiced by investigators, they clearly have a picture that they have enhanced and that they have somebody who they believe delivered that backpack to the second explosive site there. Whether they have taken it to the next step and they actually know the individual by name, by location, that is information I don't know at this point. No one has said that.
I was told that they are very confident. They have identified the placement, the drop of the second explosion, explosive device. But from there, our -- we're just waiting to hear more from investigators.
COOPER: Susan Candiotti, obviously a lot of focus on pictures and videos. Authorities are still poring over those. What are you hearing?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, remember, Anderson, throughout the day yesterday, we were showing a photograph of an object of some kind and it was in front of one of the barricades and this was before the blast. And we were trying to piece together what was that. Could that have been the device. Well, tonight we have a brand-new photograph that was taken about an hour before that. These photographs provided to us by a man who was -- whose wife was running in the marathon, and he was watching her.
And that's when he snapped this photograph. The difference being that an hour earlier, that same object, who knows what it was, was inside that barricade. Not outside, like that earlier photo that we saw provided to us by a local television station here. So the question, of course, is could that have been the bomb device. We don't have the answer for that tonight. But it's interesting to note, the movement of that object. However, we want to try to explain that at this point.
COOPER: And that object was on that -- in that spot, moved albeit, but over the course of at least an hour.
CANDIOTTI: That's right. Exactly. So now no idea from our sources in checking with them, the meaning behind this. We don't know whether that's it.
COOPER: So, again, a big believer in putting out there what we do not know. We do not know the meaning of this -- of this object. We don't know if it is a bag that is germane to the investigation in any way. We don't know if this was the bag because there had been reports about a black nylon bag. In the photograph, it doesn't -- this one does not appear to be a black nylon bag.
CANDIOTTI: Yes. It doesn't look dark. It just doesn't look dark in color.
COOPER: Right.
CANDIOTTI: But who knows, it may very well be one of the many, many thousands of photographs that they're looking at.
COOPER: Right.
CANDIOTTI: And checking more closely.
COOPER: In terms of where this investigation goes, obviously they are still -- or from what you're hearing, are they still poring over photographs? I mean, there must be so many photographs to go through, and if they have whittled down a time frame or believe they have, you know -- whether a person that they want to talk to, they then I would imagine have to go through, again, all the videos and photographs with that person in mind.
KING: Well, clearly, with what they say and the mayor of Boston confirmed this to me is breakthrough based on the Lord and Taylor video of somebody at the second site making what they believe to be the dropping of the device. That obviously helps them with the timing of when the device was dropped. They know when the explosion took place. And so then you have a better clue in the hours and hours and frames and frames of all the video that you have from all these surveillance cameras, that you have from the television stations, that the public is turning in, whether it's video or still photos. You have a better sense of what time frame you're looking at.
Will they continue that, of course they will. I think one of the curious things is no public word today. There are different strategies investigators can use. If they have pictures of an individual that they want to talk to, even as a person of interest, maybe not sure that it's a suspect, you do see sometimes in investigations those things are released to the public and they say try to help us.
Clearly, they have not done that today. As to why, that's one of the questions you have for investigators. Does that mean that they -- they have a better -- they don't need the help? That's one -- but we don't know. Why wouldn't they do that? There have been in the past some of these things distributed among law enforcement officials.
I spoke to a Justice Department official a short time ago who said that based on the knowledge of that one source in Washington who is very involved in the investigation, they were not aware of any distribution to law enforcement agencies, you know, saying be on the look out for this person or do you recognize this person. But, again, the briefing was scheduled for 1:00, moved to 5:00. Then moved to 8:00. Now we believe it won't happen at all tonight. Why? We don't know.
COOPER: All right. From everything you're understanding, though, this -- this movement in the case is something that occurred in the evening hours to today that there has been a change since the last press conference because the last press conference, there was a lot of talk, you know, that they were still reaching out for photographs, reaching out for the public's help. It's in the last 24 hours that this change has occurred.
KING: Well, we're having this conversation last night, we were saying that sources had a very good idea of what had happened, what was in the bombs, how the bomb was constructed, when it happened, the forensics, they were very proud of their progress in assembling that part of it. The how and what, they were frankly stymied at that point about the who.
Overnight, they did say because of the Lord and Taylor video and then some supplementary video that they were very optimistic that they were making progress on the who front including what I'm told is a very clear picture of somebody making what they believe to be the drop of that second explosive device, at the second site, which is just near Ring Road, essentially right across from the Lord and Taylor.
Now we have that confidence, and clearly the tone of the investigators became more optimistic today. The mayor of Boston was quite optimistic in a public interview with me, but he said, you know, until the FBI is willing to go public with this, we have to keep -- hold our breath. But clearly the tone had changed. But now tonight we're still waiting for information.
COOPER: All right. John King, I appreciate all your reporting. Susan Candiotti, as well.
There are a lot of moving parts, obviously, to this -- to this investigation. If you've been watching this coverage throughout the day you know how up and down this has been.
Joining me now is a very busy man, he's about to come here, the governor of Massachusetts, Governor Deval -- Governor Deval Patrick, who's just getting coming in -- coming in now. We're just getting his mike on.
We did, as I said, anticipate a press conference at the top of the -- at the top of the 8:00 hour. But, again, that was -- that was unexpectedly stopped.
GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Hi, Anderson.
COOPER: Governor, how are you? Thank you very much for being here.
PATRICK: Sorry for the technical difficulty here.
COOPER: No problems, no problem, it's live television.
PATRICK: Yes.
COOPER: There is a lot, obviously, going on in this investigation. There is a lot you probably cannot talk about or do not want to publicly talk about, so I'm not going to press you. But I just do want to ask, is there anything about the investigation that you can tell people that you want people to know.
PATRICK: I can tell you that -- and everyone that it's a thorough investigation, it's very methodical, and they make progress every hour and every day. But it's going to take time. You know, this is a -- this is a crime scene that's several blocks, and they're going through it quarter-inch and square-inch by square-inch. And building a case and following the evidence. And that does take time.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: How difficult --
PATRICK: So everybody's patience is -- COOPER: How difficult is it when you have 30 different agencies, the joint terrorism task force, all this people trying to work together with this enormous crime scene?
PATRICK: Well, you know, it would be -- you used the -- you used the operative term there working together. There are -- there are a lot of agencies, every conceivable law enforcement asset at the federal, state and local level. But they are working in harmony and collaborating under the leadership of the FBI and it's making a difference.
COOPER: Have you ever seen a case like this in terms of the complexity of it, the complexity of the crime scene, the myriad -- the multitude of photographs and evidence?
PATRICK: I think -- I think they're probably all different. I mean my experience as a prosecutor is old. It goes back 20 years. And when we did the attacks on black churches and synagogues in the -- in the south, at that time it was the largest federal criminal investigation in history. We didn't have some of the -- some of the investigative tools that are used today in terms of videotape and so forth.
But in the sense that they were sifting through ash for clues, this is like that. It is very painstaking and it's -- painstaking, it's -- painstaking, it takes very small steps and it's going to take time. So we ask for people's patience and understanding.
COOPER: Have you actually gone down to the scene since the bombing?
PATRICK: It's been a crime scene, so no.
COOPER: You haven't?
PATRICK: They haven't wanted people -- wanted people walking around.
COOPER: Tell me a little bit about this city and what you have seen in the seconds, the minutes, the hours after these bombings. Because, I mean -- I've talked to many runners, I've talked to many first responders. And it just -- it is amazing the amount of people who ran toward the blast.
PATRICK: Isn't it?
COOPER: Taking off their shirts.
PATRICK: Right.
COOPER: Tying tourniquets, runners taking off their shirts after running 26 miles.
PATRICK: So, you know, there have been so many of those kinds of acts of kindness and grace in the immediate aftermath and since. You know, there were stories of people along the race route further up after they stopped the race who came out of their homes and brought runners in to recover from the running, to help them understand what had happened, to connect them with their -- with their families.
There have been incredible acts of sort of ultra professionalism by medical professionals in each of the hospitals. And I visited - I visited with them. Quiet acts of real kindness. And I appreciate your acknowledging that and others acknowledging that and telling those stories, because that's part of our healing, as well.
COOPER: Yes. I mean, you know, there is horror and hate and then in the wake of that, there is compassion and there's kindness. And we have seen --
(CROSSTALK)
PATRICK: In some ways it brings out the best in us.
COOPER: Yes.
PATRICK: Yes.
COOPER: You also, I know, you knew -- you know the Richard family.
PATRICK: I do.
COOPER: Martin Richard, 8 years old, one of the three lives lost in the blast.
PATRICK: That's true.
COOPER: Everybody who I've talked to in the Dorchester neighborhood says they were -- they are a pillar of the community.
PATRICK: They are.
COOPER: And that -- and that when people think of them, they think of the Richards as a unit.
PATRICK: Yes.
COOPER: Like all the individuals as one unit. It is a devastating loss.
PATRICK: Well, you know, Bill and Denise have been -- the mom and dad, have been active in my campaigns, and I spoke to Bill first yesterday. I had a chance to visit with them today in the hospital. But when I spoke with him yesterday he reminded me of a photograph he'd taken of Martin when he was 2 or 3 years old holding a campaign sign for me.
So, you know, that whole family -- and that whole community is shattered. But it is a community. And in the sense that we in this city and in this state are a community. And we understand that part of that is turning to each other rather than on each other. And as I say, that's a part of how we heal. COOPER: Yes. Governor, I appreciate for taking the time.
PATRICK: Thank you.
COOPER: Thank you. I wish you the best.
PATRICK: (INAUDIBLE).
COOPER: Thank you.
PATRICK: Take care.
COOPER: Governor Deval Patrick.
Let us know what you think about where this investigation is, what you have been seeing. You can follow me on Twitter @andersoncooper.
Looking now at live photos from a memorial gathering nearby, the corner of Boylston and Berkeley, just a few blocks from the bombing site. A makeshift memorial, the kind we've seen spring up so often over the last several years. But each time the emotions are fresh. The emotions are real. And raw. People just wanting to do something. Place a memento, place flowers, pause and remember, even for just a few moments. A few seconds, paying their respects.
No doubt that will grow in the -- in the days ahead. Just ahead as Governor Patrick said, when terror came to Boston on Monday, Boston showed what it is made of. This city is standing tall. Heroes were made. Not one asked them -- no one asked them to step up to put themselves in danger, but they did. They just did what came naturally to them.
Coming up, the lives they saved.
Also ahead, more on tonight's breaking news on the ricin investigation, the dramatic hours leading up to the arrest of a suspect. We'll be right back. Live from Boston.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Updating our breaking news, an arrest in the ricin case. Now recapping two letters. One sent to U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, the other to President Obama, each containing the same writing, the same cryptic phrase, each apparently tainted with the deadly toxic known as ricin.
Now both now being tested in the army's biowarfare research lab at Ft. Diedrich in Maryland. Joe Johns is joining us and chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash, she's joining us, as well.
Dana, you've been talking to your sources, getting a little more information on how all this went down. What have you learned?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I've learned from a law enforcement official here that they have been actually tracking the man who was arrested for some time, because he had been sending letters to Senator Wicker. This is not the first time. It had been going on for a while. So I'm told that they gave the information that they had -- that they collected. They collected a record on this individual to the FBI, and the FBI was able then to go down to Tupelo, Mississippi, to make this arrest of this individual today.
And, again, this is -- this man was arrested in the case of sending what they still believe to be at least initial positive tests of ricin, letters to Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi and also we learned today President Obama.
Neither of those letters, of course, got to either individual. They were both found at offsite locations where the mail is initially sorted.
COOPER: So clearly -- so they knew this guy. They had been following him before, or at least aware of his presence.
BASH: Exactly.
COOPER: And that's how they were able to move so quickly.
BASH: So quickly. I mean, you know, when you think about it -- it was -- we just found out about this 24 hours ago or so, and that's exactly right. They had -- already had a record built up of him. They had been following him, they have been monitoring the correspondence that he was sending to Senator Wicker and that's why they were able to find him and give the information to the FBI and move so fast. That's exactly right.
COOPER: Joe, in terms of the investigation, where do we stand as to whether or not this is, in fact, the ricin?
JOHNS: They don't have conclusive results, Anderson. The way this works is you do a field test, if you get a hit positive, you send it off to a lab such as Ft. Diedrich in Maryland. And then they do more careful tests. And as soon as they find out anything conclusive, they release that information. Of course, that information is very much wanted on Capitol Hill, and in other places to find out how serious this is, even though the letter actually didn't get to the Capitol.
So the point is, they're -- they don't have a conclusive test yet. They don't have conclusive information. It could be 24, it could be 48 hours. One source told me today, it could take as long as a week to make absolutely certain whether this stuff is ricin or not -- Anderson.
COOPER: And Dana, is mail still halted -- I know mail had temporarily been halted to the Capitol.
BASH: It is. And they're not going to get mail again until Monday. This is something that was -- was -- members of the Senate and their staff was informed about this by the Senate sergeant-at-arms earlier today. I just want to -- as I'm talking to you, I just got on my e-mail, Anderson, another notice that the Senate sergeant-at-arms sent out to the entire Senate complex. And in it, it was just talking about a lot of the events that have happened. And it included in here something that we'd heard rumblings of but this is now confirmed that yesterday a man with a gun was captured on the east front of the capitol.
A man with a gun was captured on the east front of the capitol. And the reason this is in this notice is because it's listing that, of course, this ricin event and some other suspicious packages that made parts of the capitol complex in lockdown today as a whole bunch of things that showed that the capitol police is on these events. But also to make people -- remind people that they need to be aware of their surroundings and to really be vigilant, not just with the mail that they get, but everything around them.
COOPER: Yes. Dana, appreciate that. Joe Johns, as well.
Well, joining me now is 360 MD Sanjay Gupta.
Last night we talked about trauma surgery. Tonight it is ricin poisoning. If it's not one thing, it's another. What should we know about ricin? I mean it's something that occurs in nature. But I mean, how is it made?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, we hear about castor oil and that's something that's been around for a long time. You've taken this from a particular type of plant. And this is a protein from that plant. So you're right. It's something that does occur in nature. But it's very hard to, quote, unquote, weaponize. The last time we talked about something like this quite a bit was with anthrax, which is also difficult to weaponize.
Just to give you an idea, you're talking about trying to make it into spores or particles, I should say, the size of something that would come out of an asthma inhaler or something. It's just hard to do. I mean, this is a sophisticated process. And even if you make the particles that small, they will stick to each other in an envelope unless you coat them. So again, that's more than you need to know. But the point is, this is -- this is not a rudimentary process.
COOPER: People watch the show "Breaking Bad" will no doubt have heard of ricin because Walter White manufacturers it on that. He's obviously --
GUPTA: He's a chemist.
COOPER: He is a chemist.
GUPTA: Yes. That's right.
COOPER: But how unstable a property is it? I mean, how dangerous is it to handle it to -- I mean, and how does it actually kill somebody or hurt somebody?
GUPTA: If you inhale it, if you ingest it, those are the two most common ways. So inhaling it again means sort of getting -- it can take a very small amount. We're talking about 1/1000 of a graham, for example.
COOPER: Wow.
GUPTA: But again it has to be the size that actually can reach some of the small airways in your lungs. If you put it in your hands and get on your fingers, it will start to be denature or become unstable. And it can be heated and also become unstable. But the idea of someone touching an envelope for example, and then touching their tongue, and become poison that way, it can happen but it's unlikely.
It would almost be more of a situation of someone actually licking the envelope to seal it shut. That would be more of a risk to them.
COOPER: And then is it possible for it to spread to other envelopes? I mean if it's in -- if it's in a bin of mail or something like that?
GUPTA: It can. It certainly can. But when it starts -- when human hands start touching it, that's what renters get a little bit more unstable and as you disseminate it more and more, again it takes very small amounts to be poisonous or to be a problem, but it would be unlikely for it to spread that way.
I will tell you that it's something that we've known about for some time. And the way that ricin works, unlike anthrax, which is a bacteria that causes -- that has spores, ricin actually gets into cells and kills the cells directly. In fact, it was one time thought of something that could be used to treat cancer, that's how effective it is in killing cells. But in the ways that we're describing, I just think it's unlikely to cause significant problems.
COOPER: Right. All right. Sanjay, appreciate the reporting on that. Good to know.
Coming up, so many people sustained serious, life-changing injuries in the bombing. I'm going to speak with a woman whose two brothers each lost legs. A man who just left the hospital last night with hearing and vision loss after getting shrapnel taken out of his head.
Also ahead, there's so many amazing, inspiring stories of heroism as I talked to the governor about in the face of the chaos and the trauma. And first responders, ordinary citizen, we're going to take a look at some of those stories, the kind that really restore your faith in humanity. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: New video, another perspective, another angle on the destruction at the finish line. The attack in Boston has not broken the spirit of this city. Not by a long shot. But there is no denying for so many people their lives have been changed forever.
The kind of injuries that many are now trying to recover from are hard to imagine. Caitlin Norden's two brothers each lost a leg in the bombing. She joins me here along with Steve Byrne who is also injured and just left the hospital last night.
Caitlin and Steve, thank you so much for being with us. First of all, how are your brothers doing?
CAITLIN NORDEN, TWO BROTHERS EACH LOST A LEG IN ATTACK: They're hanging in there.
COOPER: You weren't there, you had come down --
NORDEN: I was working in Boston Fenway.
COOPER: Where were they in relation to the blast?
NORDEN: They were at the second bomb, like right on top of it.
COOPER: Goodness. And Steve, how are you doing? You just left the hospital last night.
STEVE BYRNE, INJURED IN ATTACK: Glad to be out and compared to how my friends are, it's -- as bad as it is, I can't complain. I was six inches away from being the same way as them, losing limbs and stuff like that.
I just was fortunate enough to have the mailbox take most of the impact from the lower half of my body and the rest of the shrapnel, anything above the height of the mailbox is what caught in the face, neck.
COOPER: So where were you -- this is in relation to the first explosion.
BYRNE: We were at the second, yes, and there was -- right where you see the picture where they show the backpack and mailbox, that's exactly where we were.
COOPER: So you were -- if you're facing the mailbox, you're to the right of it.
BYRNE: Just to the left of it. They were to the right of it and that's why they suffered --
COOPER: So the shrapnel that hit you is shrapnel that came over the mailbox?
BYRNE: BBs, nails, you know, my friend had 70 nails in his leg.
COOPER: Seventy nails.
BYRNE: Seventy nails and I had BBs, still one in my neck the doctors couldn't take out because it's too close to the nerves that control my vision. Most of them in my face came out due to the surgery and stuff like that, and just burns, burnt the clothes right off of us.
COOPER: Your clothes were actually burned off.
BYRNE: Burned off of us, just indescribable.
COOPER: Do you remember the blast?
BYRNE: I remember everything about it.
COOPER: Really?
BYRNE: Yes.
COOPER: Can you walk me through? What stands out?
BYRNE: The first explosion went off, just down the block from us and --
COOPER: Did you know something was wrong then?
BYRNE: We knew it wasn't something to do with the marathon and we were ready to get going and get out of there. And our friend, Jared, said let's get the girls over the fence and just as he said that is when the explosion hit. It blew me over the fence into the street and stuff.
COOPER: It actually carried you over.
BYRNE: It carried me over, and the force and the heat and the burn from the chemicals in the bomb were just -- had me on fire and everyone else. And as I came through, just in the days of what was going on, just looking for my friends and stuff like that, and -- it's -- it was just absolute chaos. I saw things that, you know -- I wish I didn't see. People losing limbs and just stuff -- it was bad.
COOPER: Could you hear anything after the explosion -- I talked to some people who said they couldn't hear anything. They could see people's lips moving --
BYRNE: It was like in the movie "The Town" when the flash grenade went off and all you could hear is that high-pitch noise. That's all it was and it's like it was in slow-motion, just seeing what was going on.
But half the people ran away and the other half of the people ran to help. So it was -- it was amazing to see the amount of people that stood by to help us out and just -- it was catastrophic, just to know what was going on and not knowing where anyone I came with -- four out of my five friends lost their limbs.
COOPER: Four out of your five friends.
BYRNE: Yes. We're all very close friends. Her two brothers, I know the family well and they're like brothers to me. I love them to death and I just -- I wish the best to everybody. Our friend, Mark, he lost both of his legs most likely --
NORDEN: No, one. BYRNE: Borderline with that and just pray to god he pulls through and just -- having a great day, and waiting to see our friend cross the finish line and then all of a sudden just it turned in a flash.
COOPER: Do you know how long your brother is going to have to be in the hospital for?
NORDEN: One of my brothers is, like, coherent now and talking. He's off the ventilator. The other one is not.
COOPER: He is still on a ventilator.
NORDEN: Yes. So he's actually in surgery right now.
COOPER: And they're in separate hospitals.
NORDEN: One is at Beth Israel and one at Brigham and Women's.
COOPER: I understand your brothers keep asking about each other.
NORDEN: That's all they're asking.
COOPER: How is your family doing?
NORDEN: Surprisingly, my mom is holding up and she is a trouper, because I don't know, I couldn't do it. So -- going back and forth and she wants to be at one and wants to be at the other. And she is doing it, though so --
COOPER: Caitlin, I'm so sorry for what your family is going through. Please give our best wishes. And glad you're doing OK.
BYRNE: Appreciate it. Thank you very much.
COOPER: Sorry to hear about all of your friends.
BYRNE: Just hoping that everyone sticks by everybody for the bills. We're all self-employed and no one -- there's just -- everyone is concerned with the medical bills. And that's -- phenomenal that people are willing to step up and help us with that.
But people forget, too, that our friend, Jared, is a carpenter, both his hands are incinerated. He can't go to work. The bills keep coming in and stuff and people don't realize that. It's not just the hospitals. It's everyday life that doesn't stop.
COOPER: So how is that working? Are you paying your own hospital bills or is there -- how does that work right now?
BYRNE: We've heard numerous things from people that, you know, so-and-so will help pay or this will help pay or there's foundations for this. Fundraisers have been set up for us for everybody affected, not just us, but to help with the medical bills.
COOPER: Especially with those who have lost limbs. I mean, I was talking to a guy with prosthetic devices today. Those can cost $50,000.
NORDEN: People are reaching out, though.
COOPER: They are.
NORDEN: Yes. They have been -- yes. It's -- support is tremendous.
COOPER: Yes.
BYRNE: We're just hoping that, you know, the mayor, the governor, President Obama, that they don't less us as citizens down, the United States of America. We're hard-working people, and in a time of need with a terrorist act on American soil, we're just really hoping our country steps up for us and that they're there and not one person affected by this catastrophic event has to deal with the burdens of financial problems afterward.
COOPER: Yes.
BYRNE: Not to mention with the physical things they have to live their life with now.
COOPER: Sure. We're going to put all of the information on our web site for how people can help and obviously that's going to get more sorted out in the days ahead. So we're going to continue on that, keep on updating that web site.
BYRNE: Excellent. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
COOPER: Careful. Stay strong.
NORDEN: Thanks.
COOPER: Incredible, Caitlin Norden and Steve Byrne. Authorities say they have made significant progress in the Boston terror investigation. There is a lot they are not sharing, obviously.
The question is how much closer are they tonight to cracking the case or where are they on the case coming out? We'll give you the latest information that we have.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: As we reported at the top of the hour, the FBI cancelled the news briefing tonight on the terror investigation after postponing it earlier in the day.
Also, new pictures tonight from a slightly different angle and time than this one of the second blast, they showed the suspicious package in question in a different location moved from the other photograph.
The question is, as we continue to look at these new photos what are they telling investigators, are they significant? We frankly do not know the answer to that question. Digging deeper now with CNN analysts, Juliette Kayyem and Tom Fuentes, Juliette is a former Massachusetts homeland security director and Tom is a former FBI assistant director with extensive experience, obviously, investigating terror attacks like this one.
Juliet, first of all, what do you make of where things stand now and what happened?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN ANALYST: Well, there have been a lot of cancelled press conferences. So that doesn't happen for nothing. So you have to assume that there are discussions between the Boston police and the FBI about what they can go forward with.
And so that is basically what's happening. So we just have to wait to see what the comfort level is in terms of what they know and sharing with the public. And people have to understand, they don't hide things because they don't want you to know.
There is an ongoing investigation and there may be someone that they have targeted, that they need to get. And so part of this is just the natural delays of any investigation and we have to be patient. I think it's --
COOPER: Reporters like news conferences, but citizens want justice. And I think that's important.
KAYYEM: The differing motivations. So every federal, state and local agency had been in these rooms, wants the same thing, which is for justice to be served and for someone to be found. But their motivations may be a little bit different. So Boston is, you know, the victimized city, the Boston police want to get someone.
The FBI may be looking more forward towards the prosecution and preserving evidence. There are just different motivations. One is not good and one is not bad. It's just that's why you have different government agencies coming together to try to get this person.
I think the delays mean, or I know the delays mean that there are advances in the investigation. How far advanced is something that we'll just wait for and what we all want to do is ruin -- we don't want to ruin the investigation.
COOPER: And Tom Fuentes, obviously the public is in a bit of a holding pattern, waiting for authorities to kind of share what information they can share. And I think people are very understanding, that there are some things that can be shared and some things that cannot be shared.
Where -- where do you think the law enforcement will come out in terms of releasing the information, releasing whatever pictures they have to try to enlist the public's help? Because yesterday they were very clear about appealing to the public for help, for information. Where do you think they are now?
TOM FUENTES, CNN ANALYST: Well, I think, Anderson, yesterday they made that appeal for help, and then in the interim got help, and now they're trying to go through a ton of information, looking at the videos, hearing all of the reports they've got, interviews now with witnesses and especially as some of the people that were being treated in the hospital, now have been treated and can now make statements about what they saw when they were standing next to or in front of the bomb or behind the bomb.
So now they're getting really information of value that they can act on. And that makes it harder, actually, for the commanders to take time out to go into a meeting for an hour, have a big discussion, who is going to say what, how much should we give, how much should we release to help the public know what's going on.
But at the same time, not release information that jeopardizes the strategy and potential success of identifying and apprehending subjects in this case. So I think that -- I don't know, a personal observation on my part is it might be time for the commanders to designate some information officers to come out and maybe do a periodic briefing of just basic things.
And not have to tie them up personally for several hours because these take a long time to prepare for. And they're just frankly too busy and there are too many urgent decisions that need to be made to keep tying them up doing these press conferences.
COOPER: Tom, I keep coming back to the Olympic Park bombing, which you were deeply involved with. They had -- because of Richard Jewels' ability to actually spot the device, call over law enforcement, they actually had trained officers who looked at the device, got eyes on it before it explode and had were able to evacuate the area to some degree.
Is the difference this time -- and that investigation still took months, as we have talked about, even though they got eyes on the device before it exploded. The difference this time around is the preponderance of cell phone cameras, the huge number of pictures and photographs of this area. That is clearly the instrumental part of this case right now.
FUENTES: Yes, that is one difference. The second is that that bombing took place at about 1:10, 1:15 a.m. the main camera was actually on CNN headquarters, pointing down into Centennial Park, but it was still dark. And once the smoke goes out, it's very difficult to see what's going on.
And there's not as many -- the cameras didn't have the resolution that you have now on your personal smartphones and smaller cameras. And the fact that it was daylight, which makes the photography that much easier and higher resolution for the amateur photographers, as wells security cameras and media cameras.
So that's one aspect. And secondly, in this case, they've had to take a couple days to find the debris and reconstruct the bomb, determine they had pressure cooker or another metal container, what kind of wiring, other aspects of the bomb, the shrapnel, the nails.
In the case of Centennial Park, Richard Jewel recognized a Georgia Bureau of Investigation and an FBI bomb tech walking nearby and brought them over. They actually looked at the bomb, made the decision to save lives and get everybody down the hill. And they got everybody but one.
COOPER: And they did that -- very successfully. Juliet, appreciate you being on and Tom, as well. We've got to take a quick break.
Firefighters coming out, talking about what they saw and did to help people, they were there when the bombs exploded. I talked to them earlier today, and why they say the Boston marathon is going to be back stronger than ever, and they want to be there next year. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We have seen so many acts of bravery here. We want to show you just a few of those stories now. Here's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Right after the first explosion, before the smoke even clears, it happens. First responders at the Boston marathon rush to help others. They run towards the explosions, not away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's got to be people hurt out there.
KAYE: Emergency personnel jump the fences, trying to reach the victims, blood everywhere, limbs gone. Lives ruined. Untold numbers of volunteers rush in to help the first responders. We may never know all of their names and stories.
We only know they selflessly jump in to help save lives and ease the pain of the wounded in any way they can. Dr. Vivek Shah had just crossed the finish line when the bombs went off.
DR. VIVEK SHAH, EYEWITNESS: I was running and was only 30 seconds away from me and there were already first responders there helping people.
KAYE: Look at this video. See the woman unable to walk and the young girl struggling to carry her on her back? Moments later, former New England Patriots' offensive lineman, Joe Andruzzi, who was watching the race from the finish line, rushes over and picks her up, carrying her to safety.
Marathon runners still far from the finish line are held back after the blasts. Once word spreads about the explosions, many continue their run, this time, heading to the hospital to donate blood.
There are so many volunteers the Red Cross has to turn them away sending this tweet. Thanks to the generosity of volunteer blood donors, there is currently enough blood on the shelves to meet demand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So many runners who took off their shirts to make makeshift tourniquets. Firefighters from the Cambridge Fire Department and the Beverly Fire Department said they had never seen anything like what happened on Monday. The finish line turned into a war zone. I spoke with some of them today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I mean, you've all been on fire department and rescue squads for a long time. How does it compare?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing like it. The carnage, the destruction, to watch it, it was literally like a war zone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been a paramedic for 15-plus years on top of being a firefighter and used to dealing with one patient, maybe multiple trauma for that one patient. But there were several, 30 or 40 at a time, major trauma.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know where to go? What to do?
TODD KOEN, FIREFIGHTER, CAMBRIDGE FIREHOUSE: Training. Training taught us. We all collected. Got our bearings, we spread out. Darren, he went off like a jet. He looked like -- in the "Back to the Future 2" planes chasing after him. I said, are you good, he said I'm good. He went right underneath the fence and went right to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you first see?
DARRYN DEGRACE, FIREFIGHTER, CAMBRIDGE FIREHOUSE: The first thing was just standing in a pool of blood when I came from under the fence and you kind of just look around to assess what is going on and who needs help. So I just -- wherever you could, just started applying tourniquets and bandages, whatever ones you could. Luckily someone else was out there and they brought in medical bags so we could make some sort of tourniquets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard runners were taking off their shirts for tourniquets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything, people were -- anybody that was probably in the medical field or police, fire, off duty, people were just flocking to that. Runners taking their shirts off, applying them as tourniquets, Boston fire, EMS and police did a great job, unbelievable job.
KOEN: Our city does a great job with -- ever since 9/11 of training us with mass triage. We've been doing multiple drills over and over again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about for you? What was it like being there?
MATTHEW MCDONALD, FIREFIGHTER, CAMBRIDGE FIREHOUSE: The training helped. The training helped 100 percent. They give you a checklist of things to do and it kept you focused, kept you on your mission. What needed to be accomplished, whatever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a particular person or particular moment that stays with any of you?
KOEN: We had the Lieutenant Haines and I were giving each other a hug at the corner of Newberry and Exiter. And then we saw that man with the shrapnel that came out of nowhere and his back was riddled with shrapnel of some sort of and he was on Newberry street, the next street over. He was just walking wounded, basically.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there time even to think about it, you know, as a citizen, as a human being or is it just the training kicks in?
KOEN: You shut down and go to work. Did you guys think about anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A terrorist bombing --
COOPER: Not until 9:00 that night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's surreal. You don't process it.
DEGRACE: Not until you watch it on the news afterwards. You hear everybody talking about it and it's -- you realize, that you were just there.
KOEN: Usually after a marathon, we go out and have a beer and burger and great day. Nice night. First year in 27 years that I was not able to go have a burger afterwards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to go back.
KOEN: Every one of us will be back next year, every one of us. If they'll have us, we'll be there. And that's why our sector runs very smoothly because of the crew that I bring in.
COOPER: Why is that so important for you to be back there next year?
KOEN: Because it's our thing. It's my thing. I've been doing it for 27 years. The Exiter Street and Boylston Street have been mine for almost 22 years. I've been doing medals before that.
LT. CHRIS HAYNES, CAMBRIDGE FIREHOUSE: We're not going to let something like that stop. You're not going to let a terrorist act, foreign or domestic, something like that. We're Americans, we're going to step up and step right back into it. You know what I mean?
We can't let them -- that's them winning if we don't get back into it. You know what I mean? I would hope the marathon goes on next year and all of the events in the future from here in Boston go on. We're not going to let them win. You know, simple as that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Lieutenant Chris Haynes said there is a sentiment echoed by everybody in this city. Nobody is going to let whoever did this win. They're going run this race next year. They're going to be back there next year and the year after that and the year after that. Boston is strong and Boston stands tall. We'll be right back.
