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Don Lemon Tonight
Law Enforcement Puzzled with Shooter's Motive; City of Lights Turned into City Mourning. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired October 02, 2017 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
[22:00:00] ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN: We'll continue bringing you the stories from Puerto Rico in the days ahead, of course, they so badly need to be told for as long as it takes in the program.
However, we want to end this hour where we began with the fallen in Las Vegas. Just moments ago, we learned two more names. Bailey Schweitzer, just 20 years old. She graduated from Centennial High School in Bakers Field, California where she was a cheerleader and played volleyball.
Family friend who watched Bailey grow up said she had a heart for people.
Jennifer Topaz Irvine was from San Diego where she practiced law. A colleague shared this image of her Facebook, a Facebook with the caption a "tragic loss of a kind, generous and beautiful lady. She will be greatly missed." Jennifer Topaz Irvine being remembered in San Diego tonight.
Time to hand things over to Don Lemon in Las Vegas. CNN Tonight starts right now.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Anderson, thank you very much. Our breaking news of course, this worst massacre in modern American history. We're going to take you now to the press conference happening. Let's listen in.
TODD FASULO, ASSISTANT SHERIFF, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE: I want to emphasize we believe Paddock is solely responsible for this heinous act. We are aware of the rumors outside of the media and also on social media that there was more than one assailant.
We have no information or evidence to support that theory or that rumor. We believe it was only one shooter and that was Stephen Paddock.
We are doing a thorough investigation and only want to provide what is accurate to you. We will only give information that we have vetted and know to be true. I will not be speaking and answering questions on issues that we do not have the facts yet.
The latest estimate on the number of injured still stands at 527, which the sheriff put out earlier this afternoon. We have 59 that are deceased. Our homicide detectives are working around the clock to process the
scene as soon as they possibly can. We understand that there are personal belongings that people need to retrieve from all of the locations. Once we come close to clearing that scene, we will provide more information for how people can get their belongings.
And we are coordinating that with the local hotels and with the venue so that people can get their belongings back. The family resource center will play a role in that task.
We want people to know that the center is up and running at the Las Vegas convention center and we are asking families and friends who live in Las Vegas to physically go to that center, which is located at the convention center.
The hotline number has changed due to some technical difficulties. That new number is 1-800-536-9488. Again, that is 1-800-536-9488. The number that we gave out previously is no longer in use.
However, if you are a local person from Las Vegas and are looking for a loved one, please go down to the family resource center in person. That is the best way to get assistance.
I also want to comment on some steps that MGM Resorts has taken. They are coordinating rooms at no cost at the Bellagio for families that are coming into town. They are also coordinating travel through Southwest Airlines. They are coordinating crisis counselors for people that worked as vendors, employees and guests, and the American Red Cross has been given space over at Circus, Circus to establish a headquarters for the local community until they get some national assets in.
We have had an overwhelming turnout of people standing in line to donate blood at the United Blood Services and at UMC, but they cannot take any more people right now. We are asking that you not go down there until at least tomorrow afternoon if not the next day.
They have enough supply to last them for the foreseeable future. People are also donating food in large amounts. While the gesture is appreciated, metro does not have the ability to coordinate delivery or distribution, and we're asking that if you are going to donate food, do so with either bottled water or sealed food to the Red Cross at 1771 east Flamingo.
There have been a remarkable amount of support from our community. We have been asked by concerned individuals from near and far asking how they can help. At this time the Go Fund Me page set up for the victims by Commissioner Sisolak and Sheriff Lombardo is the best mechanism to show your support to the victims.
We do not anticipate having any further updates tonight. When we do have further updates tomorrow, we will send out a press release notifying you that we will be giving more information.
These past 20 hours have been trying and we know we have a long way to go. [22:05:00] I'm proud of the courage and resiliency displayed by all
our first responders on this event.
I also want to appeal to you and the public and the media. We know of no known threats in our Las Vegas area. If we did know of anything that could harm the safety and security of our citizens, we would tell you that and our department would act upon that.
Please allow our department the ability to do what they do the best, investigate crime and keep you safe. With that I will turn it over to Commissioner Sisolak, who has a few words.
STEVE SISOLAK, COMMISSIONER, CLARK COUNTY: I just have a few words I'd like to say. Again, I've had several of these today and it's been a long, long day for a lot of us. But I just left Mr. Jim -- I have a special thank you to two groups that we had our first responders, obviously our medical personnel responded.
But for the fact of the great work done by the men and women of metro and the security at Mandalay Bay, we would have lost hundreds if not thousands of more lives. I mean, they were able to triangulate and locate that room and get people in there and saved countless lives.
And for that we will be eternally grateful for the work that you did. And in conjunction with MGM. We did set up with the sheriff a Go Fund Me campaign and I appreciate Todd saying something.
As when I walked in here we have received in excess of 30,000 donations exceeding $2.2 million. When we started it we set the goal at $500,000. We got to a $100,000 and one individual called and said I will get you to your goal. And he donated $400,000. That individual was anonymous until now.
He is -- said that we could release his name. It was Stephen Cloobeck donated $400,000 to support this community. We ask you all to support our community. And again, I'd like to ask you next time you see one of our first responders, whether it be metro, fire, or what have you, tell them thank you because we owe them an eternal debt of gratitude for what they did. And I've got some other figures. Congressman Titus. I know they have few words to say.
DINA TITUS,(D) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: Well, thank you very much. This horrendous act of evil happened right in the heart of district one, which I am honored to represent. The whole day has revolved around that act. It's been police briefings and talking with the FBI, visiting hospitals, all the things that kind of are associated with an act of war.
But we also heard stories of individual heroism, people helping others through the gate, over the fence, shielding their bodies, standing in line for blood. Those are the kind of stories that we need to focus on.
It's so appropriate that we've ended the day with an ecumenical church service on the strip where we gathered to grieve for the fallen, to thank our wonderful first responders who have done so much in coordination with each other and just to hold hands with family and friends, to cry and to recommit ourselves to do all that we can so that this never happens again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has been a long day as you can imagine for everybody here, and like my colleagues and everyone here in southern Nevada have to thank the first responders, our law enforcement, the medical community here, our EMTs, everybody who ran into the face of danger to save lives.
Many lives that families now are concerned about those who have been injured, families now who are dealing with loss of loved ones, I too had a niece there last night at the event. She was one of the lucky ones who made it home, but there are many who are still injured and who did not.
And now it is time for all of our community to come together to bring comfort and relief to these families. I know for all of us this week is going to be about those families, those who have been injured and how we can do everything in this community to continue to support them as well as supporting the ongoing investigation that needs to take place independent, let them do their job.
There will be plenty of time to second-guess. There will be plenty of time to play politics, but right now is the time to come together as a community and support and comfort one another.
[2:09:57] MARK HUTCHISON, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA: Good evening. I'm Mark Hutchison, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Nevada. And on behalf of the State of Nevada I want to thank everyone who has already been thanked repeatedly today and we're going to continue to thank them over and over again.
Everyone who ran towards the bullets when everybody else was running away from the bullets. Those who met the victims at the hospitals. I spent most of my day at the hospitals and as a matter of fact, I just came from Sunrise. Sunrise took care of 214 of the victims and performed over 90 emergency surgeries.
Just extraordinary efforts on behalf of our medical community. They handled this tragedy with competence and character. And we're very, very proud of them, as Nevadans. I told you last time that UMC and Spring Valley both performed admirably. I spent some time as well. If you arrived at any of those facilities alive or continue to be alive, I confirm that again this afternoon.
It's just the best of the Nevada spirit. The best of our community. Las Vegas has been my home, born and raised here. Raised six children here. And what we've seen today at the close of this day is the best and in the highest traditions of Las Vegans and Nevadans and Americans.
You've heard story after story when you meet these victims about their guardian angels who were at that tragic site who carried them out of harm's way or found the vehicles and took them to the hospital. It's just inspiring in a day that has been depressing and dark, it's inspiring to see what Americans do for each other. And so to all of those who have helped today, I say God bless you and
we'll get through this together with our faith in God and the American and the Nevadan spirit that we have. Thank you.
FASULO: I'll take a small number of questions and then we'll end it for tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff, you mentioned 23 guns. Are they all rifles and how do we explain the difference (Inaudible)?
FASULO: Well, like the sheriff explained earlier today and as I explained moments ago, our information as the investigation continues can change. We put out the information that we have at that moment in time and sometimes those numbers will change. But there are 23 firearms at Mandalay Bay and 19 out of his house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's like in the investigation is it a homicide investigation? Are detectives involved? Is this case putting a strain on your manpower?
FASULO: So I can tell you that it's a homicide investigation, and homicide is investigating that specific aspect of the crime. We have every resource available on our agency working, and I can assure you that the sheriff has made a point that we have resources, both in the neighborhoods and around the community, as well as the Las Vegas strip and downtown, that has not diminished. It actually has increased. Hold on. One at a time because -- pardon me?
(OFF-MIC)
FASULO: I have not personally gone through the entire list of victims, so I can't answer that question for you right now. Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The majority of people involved and trained about themselves and what to do when gunfire happens. If last night Jason Aldean had managed to say to the crowd take cover before he ran off stage, do you think he could have saved lives?
FASULO: I don't know. I wasn't there. I don't know what Jason Aldean was thinking when he was on the stage. I do know that a common thing is when people hear gunfire they run for cover, right. That's a natural human instinct. I don't know what he said before he left the stage, but the investigation will bring that out.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long did Paddock shoot for? Was it continuous or did he stop? I mean, how long do you think the shooting actually lasted?
FASULO: We are still putting that timeline together. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff, can you give us a timeline of his movements? When did he shoot the security guard and did he continue shooting out of the window after he shot the security guard?
FASULO: I know he shot the one security guard up on the 32nd floor, but I don't know if he continued to shoot after that or not. Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us his movements 24, 48, 72 hours prior to the shooting.
FASULO: That's what our detectives and our partners are working on right now. It will be some time before we were able to give you that in a chronological order and with an amount of confidence that it's accurate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you any progress at all on his motives? There were reports that he was sending money to the Philippines.
FASULO: Like I said earlier, we're hunting down and tracing down every single clue that we can get in his background. Until we confirm all of those things that are floating around out in the media and in social media, I can't comment on that.
(CROSSTALK)
[22:15:08] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two questions. Any timetable for when you're going to get those hard drives opened up in Mesquite? Second question, did he specifically request that hotel room at Mandalay Bay?
FASULO: No, we don't have a specific timeline.
(OFF-MIC)
FASULO: I don't know that yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he have a computer in the room?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did receive -- we did see several pieces of media about a computer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you examined it? Does it give you anything about motive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's ongoing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One other question. After the raid in Reno, can you tell us anything about what was taken there? Were there any weapons, explosives, computers or clues to give us something about motive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing that I can speak of and that scene is still being resolved as we speak.
FASULO: Let me -- let me emphasize something to you that might help. I know that you are all very eager to find out exactly what his motive was or what was going through his head or what he was doing up to two weeks ago.
I promise you the sheriff will provide that information when we have confirmed it. It doesn't make sense for us to put out information that is not accurate and isn't timely and reliable. So please have some patience with our agency and our partners to get you that information. I promise you we will provide it to you when the time comes. Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us how he got that many guns into the hotel?
FASULO: What was your question, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time exactly did his room get breached?
FASULO: I don't have -- do you guys have that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I imagine someone must have that.
FASULO: We have a time log of everything that we to, and that's what the detectives will be putting together as part of their investigation is from start to finish and including that entire timeline. So we'll probably have more information on that probably tomorrow. So I'm going to take two more questions and then we're going to be done for the night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family resource center, is that just for families who are looking for loved ones or is that where they go if they need help?
FASULO: They can go there for help and resources, OK. If they're looking for a loved one or a friend and they're in town they need to go there. It's at the convention center. Or the one that are coming in they can go there as well, they also have that 800 number that they can call ahead of time if tey need to find out a piece of information. In the back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Specifically about that search warrant, the additional one that you guys executed today. You were originally saying northern Nevada. Can you now confirm that that was in Reno?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FASULO: Yes.
(OFF-MIC)
FASULO: No, but I can tell you that that's part of our investigation of determining just that. Obviously every hotel has video. I'm sure that we're going back and reviewing every ounce of that, so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any more guns in the investigation? Is that possible that that number will go up even farther?
FASULO: I would say that in the areas that we've been so far, I would say no, but until we're done with the investigation, I'm not going to marry to that number. OK. Last one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the hotel?
FASULO: Not other than what the sheriff put out today at 4 o'clock or 3 o'clock.
We've got all the guns out of the suite, the two rooms from which (Inaudible).
FASULO: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're confident that you have all the guns.
FASULO: I'm confident in the number that I gave you of what we have recoverd. All right. That's it. Thank you.
LEMON: All right. Officials are here in Las Vegas holding a press conference, a briefing finishing up right there. A number of things came out of it, again, they're looking for -- they believe it's just one shooter now.
They're saying there is no threat. They don't believe that there's any threat to Las Vegas right now. One shooter, of course the shooter is deceased. Fifty nine people dead, 527 injured. People -- their personal belongings are still on that site and they're trying to work as fast as they can to get them their personal belongings.
But here is the interesting thing that came out of that. The number of guns that they found at his home inside the Mandalay Bay and that room on the 32nd, it's now gone up to 42. Twenty three at Mandalay Bay, 19 in his home.
And also announcing that someone gave $400,000, a Stephen Cloobeck, who is a chairman and CEO of Diamond resorts.
I want to turn now to some law enforcement experts to talk about what we just heard in that press conference. John Iannarelli is a retired FBI special agent, and CNN law enforcement analyst, Art Roderick, a former assistant director of the U.S. Marshal's Office. Thank you both, gentlemen, for joining me. John, what did you think of the press conference? What did you get out of that press conference?
[22:19:58] JOHN IANNARELLI, RETIRED FBI NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: Obviously law enforcement is working very hard. There's a lot of information. We have a huge crime scene here, a lot of evidence to collect. A lot of interviews to be done. They need to talk to everybody who ever worked or knew this guy.
They're letting us know now it's going to take time. We're not going to have answers tomorrow or probably not going to have answers next week.
LEMON: They seem pretty resolute. Because reporters are asking questions and digging and doing what they do but they're saying we have to investigate this. Give us time to investigate it. Well, you know, 42 guns to most people that sounds like a lot. Is that unusual if you're a collector?
ART RODERICK, LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, CNN: It's not unusual. I mean, I've executed a lot of search warrants at homes and come across that many weapons or even more. People that collect guns have that many types of weapons. It's just not that unusual. And I know that sounds kind of shocking, but it's not that unusual for somebody to own 40, 50 or 60 guns if they're a gun collector.
LEMON: Yes. So, CNN spoke to the brother earlier and he talked about his gun ownership. We'll play that and then we'll talk about it. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC PADDOCK, STEPHEN PADDOCK'S BROTHER: He's not an avid gun guy at all. The fact that he had those kinds of weapons is just -- where the hell did he get automatic weapons? He's not -- he has no military background or anything like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's his brother. Has no military background. He has no clue. This one is -- it is -- it's surprising. There's no clue. There's nothing in his history that would show, that would lead to this. What's going on here? What do you think?
RODERICK: The profile for this individual is unique. When we usually see this type of incident occurring, I mean, usually there's something in his background that will point to it. Now, we haven't found it yet. We're still not -- you know, there still could be something there.
It just seems odd to me that a 64-year-old individual would do this. This was some heavy duty planning on his part to get this done and then not leave a note behind or a message with his girlfriend who I know is coming back to the states. I mean, it just seems odd that we haven't come across anything yet, nothing on social media. None of that stuff.
LEMON: John, do you think they'll find something.
IANNARELLI: They're absolutely going to find something. And while he didn't leave a written note, that's one of the things the FBI is going to do in forensics. They're going to look at his computer, any sort of tablet or mobile device he had pull up everything he ever did including everything he deleted as well. Retrieval of that and see what the history was.
LEMON: But that's going to, again, take some time and people specifically asked about computers. Is that usually where the information comes from?
IANNARELLI: That's what we've seen historically, whether the Gabby Gifford shooting or other major events we've had. There's always a written record because today that's how people communicate.
RODERICK: Right.
LEMON: What's interesting is the shooter's father was on the FBI's most wanted list. Could have something to do that he's convicted bank robber when he was just 16 years old. Did he want to somehow repeat his father's history? RODERICK: You know, when you look at -- when you look at the
interview with the brother, I mean, it sounds like they never really had much contact with the father. He was in jail most of his life. I think even the brother said he was born while they were on the run or something.
So there didn't seem to be a heck of a lot of contact, you know, between the father and the family. But did it have any bearing on this? It doesn't seem to. I mean, he's got no criminal history, he's got no background that would point to doing something like this.
LEMON: Yes. So we're digging into the shooter's history to try to figure out and his background to try to figure out exactly what's going on. Also investigators obviously doing it as well.
I appreciate you gentlemen joining me. Stick around. We'll need you throughout the next couple of hours here on CNN.
When we come back b much more of our breaking news live here from Las Vegas. What we're learning about Stephen Paddock the 64-year-old shooter who killed at least 59 people and wounded 527 here in Las Vegas. The clues investigators are uncovering tonight. We'll be right back live.
[22:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're back now live here in Las Vegas, the site of the worst mass shooting in modern American history. It happened at the Mandalay Bay which is right over my shoulder right behind me at a country music concert attended by 22,000 people.
I want to bring in now Krystal Goddard and Amy McCaslin, two young women who were at that concert last night and hid under a table with a good Samaritan who may have saved their lives. Thank you so much for joining us this evening.
As I understand we'll talk about the good Samaritan who may have saved your lives, but sadly we're hearing that you just learned that your friend didn't make it.
KYSTAL GODDARD, LAS VEGAS SHOOTING SURVIVOR: We were with a group of about 12 people and there was one person in our group that I learned recently did not make it, so sending love and prayers to his friends and family and the ones that are close to us.
LEMON: Yes. Your friend's boyfriend, you said.
GODDARD: Yes.
LEMON: Do you know how she's doing.
GODDARD: I haven't spoken to her today. I think we're all going to see each other later tonight.
LEMON: I know it's tough to go through this, but what happened? You said that you were saved by a good Samaritan, Amy. What happened? AMY MCCASLIN, LAS VEGAS SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Well, we actually heard
the popping sounds. We thought it was maybe fireworks and Jason Aldean actually continued to play, but then the second round went off and then he stopped playing and ran off stage and that's when we knew it was all so serious.
We tried to take cover as quickly as possible. We noticed a lot of people running and just -- that just didn't feel like the right move at the time based on our location. I had a strong feeling that we would be safe if we just jumped over a table and actually hid under a table for quite a period of time. It felt like 15 minutes where we continued to hear the shooting as he continued to reload.
A gentleman, I don't know his name, I don't -- can't barely remember what he looked like, but he completely covered me. He covered my face. He said I've got you, and it's just truly incredible, a stranger, you know, jumping over me to protect me and held her hand and I held his hand and us all together, we stood strong together.
So, I think that was what was so amazing about the whole experience that as a little community under this table we sat there together, quietly and calmly.
LEMON: How many people under that table?
MCCASLIN: I don't remember how long the table was. It probably was like a normally 8 foot long table and it actually had a banner that was covering it over the front. The Mandalay Bay was facing directly toward us. We had no idea where the shooter was coming from.
We thought or I thought it was multiple shooters. I thought they were on the ground, on the grounds at the festival because of how loud it was. It was so incredibly loud as people can see from the videos and they can hear from the audio.
[22:30:10] Amazed that the gun, the gunshots made it from all the way up, you know, on the 32nd floor of a hotel.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: To where you were.
MCCASLIN: I thought they were right outside.
LEMON: Yes.
MCCASLIN: So we were just quiet and hung tight.
LEMON: The people I've spoken to today said they had no idea. They thought it was a multiple gunmen and they thought he was -- people were saying he's coming. They didn't know.
MCCASLIN: Right.
LEMON: So, and what happened next? When did you realize that you could get from under the table?
KYSTAL GODDARD, LAS VEGAS SHOOTING SURVIVOR: We were under the table for I guess it seemed maybe 10, 15 minutes until we were sure that the gunfire had stopped. It was quiet for quite a while. It is kind of a blur, but we heard some people come over and say that -- to get out and to go and to run.
We had taken our shoes off so that we could run faster so we didn't trip or anything like that. So, as soon as the curtain was lifted and people were telling us to run, we just -- we just got up and we just ran.
LEMON: Did you know -- you had no idea who this man was, right?
MCCASLIN: I have no idea who he was. I know that I was next to a woman who got shot in the neck. I looked at her. I was trained as an EMT when I was an EMT five years back now, so I wanted to make sure she was OK and I looked at her neck. I could -- obviously there was a lot of blood, but she was -- she seemed OK. It didn't hit her artery.
She was with a gentleman, maybe her husband, and so she's super lucky. I think it was just a graze, you know. And then the gentleman who was kind of guarding us and protecting us, he said that he had been shot in his rear end area and that there was a lot of blood. And I just told him, you can't leave yet. You have to stay. You have to be quiet. We have to just stay together until help comes.
Help is on its way. We didn't know what that was going to happen. But he stood still and he talked to us and he continued talking until a woman with kind of short blond hair popped underneath the table and said everyone is OK. You're safe now. And he was the first person to get taken out to triage, I'm assuming.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So you don't know how he's doing.
MCCASLIN: I don't know how he's doing. He's been in my thoughts all day.
LEMON: Yes.
MCCASLIN: He's a true -- truly amazing person for just trying to protect the whole -- under the whole table area where we were.
LEMON: There were so many heroes. I've heard story after story about people who were saving -- they were carrying people on ladders and whatever they could find, using jackets and shirts to stop the bleeding as tourniquets, to stop the bleeding.
How did that kick in? Did some sort of instinct kick in just for you to run or to start helping other people? Because there was some chaos.
(CROSSTALK)
GODDARD: I don't know.
LEMON: Again, you don't know which way to run. GODDARD: You don't really know what's happening. All I remember is
being under the table and I had -- I was facing the wall and Amy was facing away from me and so I had her legs in my arms and she was holding the other gentleman's hand and I was laying on top of another girl. We were all kind of smooched together.
But I just remember saying that it was going to be OK. That we were going to be OK. And we just needed to stay and be quiet, that everything is going to be fine as long as we stayed there. I truly did feel like we were going to be OK. I don't know if that's sort some sort of protection mechanism. But I thought we were going to be fine and I was trying to make sure that everybody was calm.
LEMON: How far did you have to run? Because some people said they were run -- they felt like they were in a maze. They would going -- they were going to a fence.
MCCASLIN: We did go underground for a second. We went under, we actually started running barefoot as she said because we were wearing like our heels. We didn't want to fall and twist an ankle and then cause injury. So we took our shoes off, left them there.
We started running towards the closest building we could see to take cover. We were kind of shuffled underground a bit to the Hooters hotel. I immediately knew that that was not a good location for us to be. We didn't want to get stuck there.
A lot of people ended up getting stuck on lockdown at a lot of convention centers and different hotels until it was deemed safe. I actually called co-workers to come and pick us up and we just continued to walk/run as fast as we could. We had cuts on our feet. Towards them, towards Koval Lane and then that's where my co-workers picked us up and took us to safety, which we're extremely grateful for.
LEMON: If you're looking at the -- if you're at the venue, where was the stage in relation to where this happened?
MCCASLIN: We were right next to actually the, like the camera, the camera man, kind of right in the center to the right. So Mandalay Bay is here. The stage is here. And then there was a camera man to the left.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So the shooting is coming from this way.
[22:34:59] MCCASLIN: The shootings are coming here, we have no idea about that, though. We don't know where the shootings are coming from.
LEMON: Right.
MCCASLIN: All we can hear is about a hundred rounds unloading, nonstop and then it's like a pattern of silence. Some people trying to make a run for it and others staying and hiding. So we were right in the center. LEMON: You both visited the fire station tonight.
MCCASLIN: We did.
LEMON: How was that?
MCCASLIN: Incredible. I think the whole community has truly come together. The city is amazing. It's a small, tight-knit community of people. People have just been standing in line all day to give blood. We decided for a different route, we decided to go purchase hygiene kits and just food, like nonperishable food items to donate to the fire station.
LEMON: Thank you.
GODDARD: Yes, thank you.
LEMON: We're glad you're OK. Thank you. Sorry to hear about your friend.
MCCASLIN: Thank you.
LEMON: You guys take care.
GODDARD: Thank you.
LEMON: When we come right back, what happened inside the Mandalay Bay hotel room with Stephen Paddock as he carried out his plan. We're going to talk about everything we know about the stock pile of weapons and how he massacred so many people. We'll be right back live from Las Vegas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:39:57] LEMON: Police say they recovered 23 guns from the Las Vegas hotel room of mass shooter Stephen Paddock and another 19 guns were found at his Mesquite, Nevada home.
Let's discuss all of this. We're going to take you inside the room and talk about the guns and his cache of weapons and all of it. CNN law enforcement analyst, James Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent. Also with us tonight, Chris Swecker, former FBI assistant director for the criminal investigative division, and Jim Maxwell, a retired FBI special agent.
Gentlemen, good evening. Thank you for joining us. Jim, I want to play the 911 call when officers discovered gunfire, the gunfire is coming from the 32nd floor of the hotel. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm inside the Mandalay Bay on the 31st floor. I can hear the automatic fire coming from one floor ahead. One floor above us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be advised, it is automatic fire, fully automatic fire from the elevated position. Take cover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Why 32 floors above? Why shoot from 32 floors above?
JIM MAXWELL, RETIRED SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: He's showing -- he's trying to get a tactical advantage. He's going to place himself from as far away as he possibly can and still be effective. He's broken out two windows which tells me that he's trying to create two intersecting fields of fire.
I've looked at the diagram that was published by the New York Times today online and you can see that he's facing -- he's covering down on both sides of the audience it looks like from his vantage point. So, tactically this was well thought out as far as where to start this attack and to attack from the position of advantage.
LEMON: As we flew in today, James, we could see the windows blown out of the hotel, and one is sort of on the side. One is in the front. And, you...
(CROSSTALK)
MAXWELL: Right.
LEMON: Your estimation was that he had two -- this is for James Gagliano, that he had two different sites. He was shooting from both sites, setting up with a tripod over the...
(CROSSTALK)
JAMES GAGLIANO, LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, CNN: It was almost as if he was setting a classic ambush site. And the area where the concertgoers were done, it was a veritable killing field. What made this so difficult for the folks, we teach this with active shooters with civilians. First thing to do is to run if you can get out of there.
LEMON: Right.
GAGLIANO: Second thing if you have to hide, you know, if you could put yourself, secret yourself someplace where you've got some cover. Third, fight is the last resort and then go and tell. That's what we tell them to do. For those concertgoers, and they were down below now.
Now we're talking about a 400 yard distance from where the shooter was shooting down into them. Not many of them down there knew where they were coming from. From what I understand unless you were on the stage and you could see the bullets impacting into the floor, you had no idea where it was coming. So some people instead of running outside of the kill zone probably inadvertently turned and ran back into the kill zone.
LEMON: Yes. So you said he set up two positions.
GAGLIANO: Yes.
LEMON: And that's why the delay and when people said there was a delay.
GAGLIANO: What we surmise. Now certainly the crime scene experts and the local law enforcement folks that are going over that room right now with a fine toothcomb for any type of intelligence they can harvest and evidence are going to determine all of that.
But from what it looks like at first glance is two separate positions and almost that break that fragment pause in between could have been him firing one weapon until he either emptied it or until the barrel got too hot and jammed.
LEMON: Right.
GAGLIANO: And then going to the second position and picking up from there.
LEMON: Chris Swecker, I want to bring in here but I want to play the video from today's massacre for you and we have to warn our viewers that the sights and sounds are disturbing and then we'll talk about it. Here it is.
Chris, what does that audio tell you about the weapons used in this massacre?
CHRIS SWECKER, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: It's highly likely, in fact, almost a certainty that it was a fully automatic weapon. I think there was one media outlet that broke it down into a time sequence and deducted that there were 10 rounds per second. That's 600 hounds a minute.
They fired for at least 10 minutes. It sounds like that could be as many as 6,000 rounds fired. With 600 or so casualties. That's a pretty good hit ratio shall we say because of the crowd, obviously.
LEMON: So the shooter checked into this hotel, the Mandalay Bay Hotel days ago and officials said they found 23 weapons in the hotel room, Chris, including a handgun, multiple rifles, some had scopes on them. What does that tell you about his preparations?
SWECKER: A good amount of preparation, especially for somebody that at least for all accounts has no military experience. So he's obviously familiar with guns, knows how to get his hands on long weapons, the type of weapons that would be accurate or at least the outside accuracy range for an AR or an AK is about 500 yards.
[22:44:59] Knows how to set up firing positions. Probably move some furniture around. Set up two firing positions that we know of. Probably as it was appointed out was moving from weapon to weapon as it overheated or ran out of ammunition and came fully prepared, probably studied the concert for a day or two, as I understand it was a three day concert so he probably spent some time up there studying the patterns, the crowd patterns and that sort of thing.
I mean, it was a surprisingly sound tactical plan if this were a military operation, which it wasn't. And you count the casualties, it approaches the casualty count for Fallujah too. I mean, even in Iraq they didn't see that kind of casualties in one day.
LEMON: Yes. Unbelievable. Gentlemen, thank you. I appreciate your expertise. We're learning so much more tonight about the people who lost their lives in this -- in last night's tragedy.
Sonny Melton was a registered nurse in Paris, Tennessee. His wife Heather Melton was an orthopedic surgeon survived the shooting. Special education teacher Sandra Casey also died in the massacre. She taught at Manhattan Beach middle school in California for the past nine years.
Also from Manhattan Beach, police department employee Rachel Parker. She was 33.
We'll be right back.
[22:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're back now live from Las Vegas. Our breaking news, the Las Vegas massacres now the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. At least 59 people dead, more than 500 wounded.
I want to bring in now Captain Mark Kelly, retired astronaut and husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. She survived a mass shooting that left her seriously wounded.
Good evening, Mr. Kelly. So good to have you on to talk about this. I wish we could have spoken under better circumstances. But you and your wife, Congresswoman Giffords, you spoke about it earlier today. Let's listen and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: The nation's counting on you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What was your reaction and Gabby's reaction to this horrible news out of Las Vegas?
MARK KELLY, CO-FOUNDER, AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE SOLUTIONS: Well, it's the same as it always is that it's not again. I mean, it's the same reaction that I had after and Gabby had after 20 first graders and kindergarteners killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
LEMON: Yes. You have a list that includes the movie club shooting, the nightclub shooting, a baseball field and the elementary school, and we're now adding a music festival.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: You know, and the sad thing, Don, is that, there's folks out there that would want us to believe that this is normal. And people should understand that this is not normal, and it's not inevitable that we live and continue to live in a country with 25 times the death rate from gun violence than any other country like us. We can make changes to prevent these things from happening.
LEMON: Yes. So if you read some of the comments today through social media and some people speaking out saying -- and I'm just getting your reaction -- this is not the time to talk about gun control or gun laws. What do you say to that?
KELLY: I used to say that, too. I used to it frequently. But when you're in a situation that Gabby and I are in where we're trying to get Congress and people whe we elect to office to, you know, move forward with some positive change, you know you get tired of saying that. And you really do. It wears you out.
And when we have 50 plus, 59 Americans killed, over 500 others shot in a single event, I mean, if not now, when? You know, thoughts and prayers are important. I was glad to hear that from the president. But what I would really like to hear from the president and Congress is what is their plan to make sure that things don't happen, you know, like this over and over and over again.
LEMON: You know, I've heard you say before that this didn't use to happen.
KELLY: That's true. I mean, when I was a kid, I think I'm a little bit older than you, but when we were kids, we didn't see as many mass shootings. In the 1970s, we did have a high death rate from gun violence. But mass shootings have really picked up especially in the last decade. And they've picked up for a reason.
I mean, we make it an incredibly easy for Americans, especially people that shouldn't have access to the most powerful weapons; we make it very easy for them to get them. And, you know, inevitably when more people have more guns in more places we have a higher death rate from gun violence. That's clear. And the places that have stronger laws, there's less gun violence. So the laws do matter. And that's what Congress and this president should focus on.
LEMON: Mark Kelly, thanks so much. We wish you the best. And give our regards to your wife. Thank you for coming on.
KELLY: Thanks for having me on, Don. I appreciate it.
LEMON: When we come back, I'm going to speak a congressman from Nevada and get his reaction to this massacre in Las Vegas. We'll be right back.
[22:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Tonight, Las Vegas is a city trying to come to grips with a massacre that killed at least 59 people with more than 500 wounded.
Let's discuss more now. Joining me is Congressman Ruben Kihuen, a Nevada democrat. Thank you for joining us. Several things I want to talk to you about. Number one, you said your brother works at the hotel. You had a bit of
a scare last night because you thought he was working and didn't hear from him for a while.
RUBEN KIHUEN, (D) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: That's right.
LEMON: Yes.
KIHUEN: It was about 10.30 p.m. last night. As soon as I heard about the shooting I thought about my brother because he works at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. He usually works Sunday nights.
LEMON: Yes.
KIHUEN: So I sent him a text message, tried calling him, there was no answer. Thankfully, about 45 minutes he replied back saying I'm OK.
LEMON: He was at a ball game.
KIHUEN: And I was happy obviously because he was safe but I know that 59 families today didn't get that call.
LEMON: Yes. And others who are -- at least 500 and others who are injured. You represent Mesquite, and that's where Paddock lived. Was he on anybody's radar?
KIHUEN: You know, I spoke to the Mesquite mayor, Mayor Litman, and he said that nobody knew who he was. He had just moved there. And you know, Mesquite is a very small town. Everybody knows each other, a very close-knit but nobody knew who he was, and so, it's a mystery where this man came from. They still haven't found the motive yet.
LEMON: Even his neighbors didn't really know him?
KIHUEN: Not really. No. According to the mayor most of the neighborhood didn't know who he was, didn't really interact with him. And so, this whole, this person, a mysterious person to a lot of people even in Mesquite where he was living.
LEMON: I know you've been out and about today visiting several places in and also hearing stories. But describe the sort of acts of heroism that took place here.
[23:00:02] KIHUEN: You know, I hope something good comes out of all this, is all the acts of heroism of all the people who fought to save lives.
