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Colorado Theater Shootings; The Suspect, James Holmes, is in Custody; President Obama Arrived in Aurora, Colorado Today

Aired July 22, 2012 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A troubling picture of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes is beginning to develop. The manager of a gun range is now coming forward saying his contact with Holmes was weird and even bizarre in his words. CNN's Drew Griffin is tracking that part of the story.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: James Holmes applied online on June 25th to join a private gun range called the Lead Valley Range in Byers, Colorado. That would be about a half hour drive from where he was living. The owner there Glenn Rotkovich called back and got a message on James Holmes's message machine --

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Holmes applied online on June 25th to join a private gun range called a Lead Valley Range out in buyers Colorado. That would be about a half hour drive from where he was living.

And the owner there, Glenn Rotkovich, called back and got a message on James Holmes message machine that he described as very weird, almost like the person leaving the message was drunk. He told us quote, "guttural, freakish, baby drunk, just weird, and bizarre," a deep forced guttural forced voice that was on reportedly James Holmes message machine.

And perked Rotkovich so much that he said to his staff this guy doesn't get anywhere near our range until I meet him personally. He told one of our producers that he didn't know if this guy was an idiot or what was happening. But it was only after the killing that his staff went back and remembered the name matched this guy who had applied online and they found out that yes, this is indeed the guy who applied online to join their gun range and had this very, very odd message machine at his home.

So, it's just bits and pieces but we now know that James Holmes was at least trying or attempting to get to a gun range to practice perhaps with the guns that he was using allegedly to kill all of these people.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Drew Griffin reporting from Denver. Tomorrow morning this crime moves to the court. Suspect James Holmes makes his initial court appearance.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is following this story for us from Aurora, Colorado. And what are the expectations, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it will be his first court appearance and the judge in this case is allowing a camera inside the courtroom. So, it will be the first glimpse that anyone has gotten of James Holmes since he was taken into custody in the early hours of Friday morning.

In the meantime investigators continue to do their work. They have wrapped up most of their work here. We are just now across the street from the apartment. The windows to his apartment smashed out by bomb technician crews that have been working here through most of the day on Friday and Saturday, as well. So, all of that evidence, much -- many of the belongings inside his home have already been taken away. You can imagine investigators are combing through that look before with more evidence to the extent that James Holmes will say anything in court. It is probably not likely as probably these addition court appearances are very quick, very brief. We will see if there is any indication as to whether or not he has a defense attorney yet or if one is being appointed for him. And that is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning mountain time, 11:30 Eastern -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera. Thanks so much. Keep us posted. Of course, we will be covering that and presenting live coverage we can on that court appearance tomorrow.

All right, the youngest victim of this massacre was a 6-year-old girl who loved school and loved playing dress-up. Veronica Moser-Sullivan was at the batman movie with her mom. Her mother, Ashley Moser, was critically wounded in the shooting. Veronica great aunt says the little girl just learned to swim and was quote, "excited about life." Veronica was an only child. Her mother remains hospitalized.

Some wounded in the theater that night are describing in vivid detail how they narrowly escaped death.

CNN's Kyung Lah joins us now, live from Aurora where they are preparing for a vigil as well this evening. I imagine people coming together will find comfort as best they can.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They going to try to. We are going to see all levels of the state actually try to come together. We are going to see the governor here, the mayor, the victims, first responders, family members trying to take the first step, Fredricka, of healing.

But what we are also seeing and we are hearing from the people who actually survived this shooting is extraordinary tales of heroism. And we met one man, a man who took three different bullets, three different fragments; three different guns are in his body, Pierce O'Ferrill. And he says he is a religious man. He believes there must be a higher power because he has living - he has lived to talk about it and that he says he came within just inches of the gunman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERCE O'FERRILL, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I felt him literally standing right above me. I mean, his boot couldn't have been no more than six inches away from my head.

LAH: He was six inches from you?

O'FERRILL: I mean, he was standing right above me and just kind a stun and --.

LAH: Are you angry at him?

O'FERRILL: No, not at all, because I already forgive him in my heart. I can honestly say I can sit across the table from him and look him in the eye and just talk to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And it's really just extraordinary to hear that message of forgiveness that he says he has. He shared that with his minister. And today at his church, we saw the minister sharing that message of forgiveness with the members of the congregation, O'Ferrill intern helping his community to try to begin the long process of healing. So, we are already, Fredricka, starting to hear the victims trying to help everyone else begin that process -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kyung Lah. Thanks so much. Of course that vigil taking place later on this evening. I appreciate that Kyung Lah in Aurora.

Well, earlier today, I talked with Aurora's mayor about how his community will heal from this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE HOGAN, MAYOR, AURORA, COLORADO: We will have to live with this literally forever. And hopefully over the coming days and weeks and months, you know, we will all feel better about where it is.

But you know Aurora, Colorado prior to Friday was a diverse, blue collar safe community. We are listed on the FBI's list of ten most safe cities above a population of 250,000. So this is just not normal for Aurora. But we know we'll have to live with it and we'll just have to move forward. We will have to take this tragedy. First we'll deal with the families and the survivors. But then we will have to take this tragedy and figure out how to move forward. As I said earlier we will. We will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Mayor Steve Hogan of Aurora.

A teenager who survived Friday's massacre is talking about the shock of being shot in the face. Mckayla Hicks described her injuries with amazing calmness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCKAYLA HICKS, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Just like shattered my gums, knocked out a tooth, moved this tooth and then just landed down here in my chin. Pretty good souvenir I got, I think. But it's weird feeling it. Like just real shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Doctors say they are leaving the bullet in Mckayla's chin because removing it could cause even more damage.

So, right now, more than a dozen victims from the shooting remain hospitalized. Eight are in critical condition.

Joining me on the phone right now is Dr. Frank Lansville, an emergency room physician at the Medical Center of Aurora.

Doctor, glad you can be with us. I know you are very busy. So, how are the patients doing at your hospital? I understand there are seven remaining at your hospital right now receiving treatment.

DOCTOR FRANK LANSVILLE, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN, MEDICAL CENTER OF AURORA (via phone): That is correct. Seven are still in the hospital. Four are in the intensive care unit. Two are in critical condition, but all are stable and improving.

WHITFIELD: And how are they doing mentally? Are any of these patients expressing anything to you or other medical providers there about their state of mind?

LANSVILLE: I think a lot of them are starting to feel some of the stress and anxiety from what had occurred to them. But I think that they are all doing quite well. They have a lot of support around them, their families. And so, hopefully over the next couple of days they will continue to show improvement.

WHITFIELD: And the greatest challenges for you as medical providers and the greatest challenges for the patients?

LANSVILLE: You know, I think the emotional toil that this is going to take on people is going to be something that will start surfacing over the next couple of days. We, as physicians and nurses and staff members here certainly this is something we do but certainly not on this scale. And we are hoping that they will come forward if they have any needs from us, but at the same time, certainly looking at these patients, hoping that they're supported not only by their family members but the community in general.

WHITFIELD: Doctor Frank Lansville, thanks so much, the Medical Center of Aurora. We wish you all the best.

LANSVILLE: Thank you. WHITFIELD: Are you a friend or a family member of one of the victims from that shooting? We invite you to share your remembrances at CNN.com/ireport. Post photos of your loved ones or tell us about vigil that you have attended.

All right, overseas. Heavy shelling in two key Syrian cities as rebels gain ground in Damascus and Aleppo. We'll bring you more details on the situation there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, now to some international stories to share with you.

Three Americans are dead after an Afghan policeman been opened fire at a training center in Western Afghanistan. The victims are believed to be police trainers. The shooter was also killed.

In Norway, a moment of silence to mark the one year anniversary of the worst massacre there since World War II. Seventy seven people were killed when a man went on a rampage with bombs and guns he admits to the killing and he is on trial.

And in Bulgaria, police have been alerted to the possibility of a second suspect in a suicide bomb attack. Five Israeli tourists and their bus driver were killed last week. Investigators say they are now looking at the possibility that the suicide bomber may have had help.

And in Syria, there has been intense fighting and shelling in Aleppo and Damascus today with rebels saying they have also ceased a border gate between Syria and Turkey. President Bashar Al-Assad made his second appearance today on state TV since the bombing killed members of his inner circle.

Ralitsa Vassileva, joining me now, of CNN International with more on this. Rebels are gaining some ground but at the same time the government is not letting up. Might this however be kind of a tipping point in this conflict?

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If they are able to seize both Damascus and Aleppo where we are seeing the fears is fighting this week, yes. But at this point, what we see is that the rebels are definitely gaining momentum. They have gained confidence. They are better organized. They have really managed to take the fight to the regime's door step, Damascus and Aleppo, the strong holds of the regime so they are able to take those then it surely will be a tipping point. But at this point they really, really have gained in momentum and confidence.

WHITFIELD: What does this mean that there has been a military hospital under fire? What is the condition and the state there? How does that measure in this whole conflict?

VASSILEVA: Well, as you know, we have been telling our viewers this is very hard to send in correspondents. Our correspondents have not been able to get in, however, British correspondent, the channel four got in and he was taken by the regime to this military hospital. You see there, the machine gun mess there. You see earlier, there were witnesses who are saying that helicopters we used to dislodge rebels which the regime denies it.

But, while he was there at the hospital, a fight broke out. And it came under attack just as they were about to bury more than 50 soldiers who died in battle. So, that gives you a sense with little pieces of information from here and there that the regime is losing a lot of soldiers.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And it sounds like citizens are getting bolder, too. If it is not, you know, launching arsenal, new arsenal, homemade bombs, et cetera, but now the kind of a symbolism, people's frustration is being played out by people hitting the statues of President Bashar Al-Assad.

VASSILEVA: -- which is the economic life line of the regime, Aleppo to the north of Damascus, also a stronghold of the regime. Three million people live there. And so we saw these pictures of people.

WHITFIELD: That is the ultimate insult.

VASSILEVA: An ultimate insult to use your shoes. This is the father, the late father of the president Bashar Al-Assad.

WHITFIELD: I see. All right. Thanks so much Ralitsa Vassileva for bringing that to us. The conflict only seems to bubble up even more as opposed to seeming like it is coming to resolution.

VASSILEVA: Lots of setback on the diplomatic front. It doesn't seem that it is going to go anywhere. And today, there were reports that the U.S. and other friends of Syria people are looking to organize themselves outside the U.N. where they haven't been able to gain any tractions, so.

WHITFIELD: Incredible.

VASSILEVA: And you can see the intensification of the fighting while it is happening. Half a world away in New York they are trying to come up with something. The Arab league is meeting at an emergency meeting just as we speak trying to come up with a plan, but obviously, nothing. Nothing is working, 16 months now into this conflict it is only getting worse and more deadly.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks for keeping us posted. Appreciate that, Ralitsa.

All right, the NCAA says it will punish Penn State's football program like never before. The announcement comes on the same day the iconic statue of Joe Paterno came down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Paterno legacy takes another huge hit. And let's talk about with the Olympics starting this week as well.

NPR sports correspondent Mike Pesca is back for some smart sports talk. Good to see you.

All right, let's get straight to the latest on Penn State's football program. The iconic statue coming down as a result of the scathing independent report, the statue of Joe Paterno and now the NCAA apparently is going to have a press conference tomorrow, right, Monday. And they are claiming that they will be imposing some unprecedented penalties against Penn State. Are they talking death penalty or what else is considered as, you know, a real punishing blow to Penn State?

MIKE PESCA, NPR SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the word unprecedented would mean we are not talking death penalty because a death penalty of course has been mitted out. And they have also set or at least some of the people reported and said it won't be the death penalty.

Now, I don't think there is a bigger misnomer in sports than death penalty because SMU football got it in '85. But check the schedule, there, they played last year. They will play next year. The death penalty really is a one year total cessation of all football activity. And it is just seen as very harsh. And it is seen as it set the SMU program back longer I think than they had intended.

I think maybe a good precedent to look for is what happened with the Baylor men's basketball program. There was a murder. One of the members of the team actually murdered a teammate. And the coach was involved in a cover up, perhaps not directly of the murder but giving away scholarships. It was a total mess, a total fiasco and very unmoral. And what they did with Baylor was they said the only games you will be playing next year are against conference opponents. This essentially took away half the schedule and a whole bunch of post season play and a whole bunch of scholarships and something like that or even harsher. Maybe bowls for a number of years, may be in the offing for Penn State. So, no literal death penalty but everyone is thinking this is going to be a harsh, harsh penalty.

WHITFIELD: Wow. But in your view, you think the program, the athletic program -- football program will go on but just with new restrictions in place such as, you know, no bowl games or, you know conference games like you just mentioned?

PESCA: There needed to be something harsh to make a statement. And maybe even Penn State could add to that to make a statement of their owned.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, let's witch to Olympic games, opening ceremonies on Friday. And of course, everyone is looking forward to watching swimming, track and field, gymnastics. Those are kinds of the mark events. But you say, wait a minute. Don't overlook some other events where there are serious American contenders with could medal.

PESCA: Right. So, I want to talk about Americans who might or probably will medal. Everybody knows both medal is basketball team and Phelps and (INAUDIBLE) in the pool. They are great. But none really talks about the women's eight on rowing. This is the biggest boat in rowing. And I got to tell you, the Americans dominate this sport. Some countries put their best rower in a single or doubles boat but the United States says we have a collection. We probably have ten or 12 of the best female rowers in the world. Let's put eight of them in the same boat. And they have been obliterating the competition.

And the composition of the women in the boat is just so impressive. You know Graduates of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Ithaca, Stanford.

WHITFIELD: Georgetown.

PESCA: Yes. Yes. I always joke that if standardized tests were part of it we would win gold two times over.

A couple of other events, and you know, the women, the U.S. women because of title nine that can't be ignore, have a real advantage. There is an e-mail fencer, she does the saber. Her name is Mariel Sugunish (ph). She has won a couple of gold medals and an absolute favorite to win in a saber. It is a tough event to watch. You never know who touches who so watch the lights. But Mariel could be a winner.

And there's another great American and I will give you this one because she will probably medal if she does medal early on. Her name is Kim Rodey (ph). She shoots skeet. So, she could medal in I think five straight Olympic. She is as good in her sport as just about anyone in the world is at their sport. And if she does win in skeet medal, that will be in the first weekend.

WHITFIELD: Wow. You could have some serious staying power in that sport.

PESCA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You probably peak as you mature.

PESCA: Yes. And well, one thing that happened to her is she used to shoot trap shooting and they eliminated it and now she shoots skeet. So, to people who are familiar with the sport though, like what's the big deal, the way he says it is, it is like as if she were a diver and now told her hey, to do the butterfly. It is in a pool but it is a lot different.

WHITFIELD: Yes, a whole different discipline.

OK, meantime, I know you look at your "New York Times" given that you are in New York and I know you look at the sports section. And when we talk about Olympians let's talk about the 1948 Olympians who were showcased here. You know, we are talking about a return to London after more than 60 years. And if you just check now, this is Frank Haven. Have you check out page four there is a familiar face. That's my dad, Mal Whitfield, '48 track and field Olympian. And he and Bill Smith and Harry Marcoplos, and Alice Coachman, all being showcased in this beautiful photo diary and gallery. Isn't that remarkable? Did you check this out, Mike?

PESCA: It is marvelous, right? Like marvelous Mal, your dad. His time stood for a long, long time. He was dominant at that middle of this time like I'm telling you.

WHITFIELD: No, I like it. Keep telling me.

PESCA: I also have at home, I never told you this, thick biographies, auto biography. It can stop a clock. But he did a lot of great things internationally afterwards. That is the great thing about the Olympics. It is not just, oh no, I'm done. I got to find a job, maybe pedal to real estate. It propels a lot of these people into greatness.

WHITFIELD: And particularly, it is, you know, spectacular about the men and women and they really do say the golden years and, you know, you heard Tom (INAUDIBLE) say the greatest generation. They were because a lot of their Olympic hopes were nearly dashed because of World War II. And then, they hung in there and many of them who peaked at 17 and 18 had to wait until their early 20s in order to be in the '48 games. And my dad along with many other Olympians will make the trip to London, kind a full circle London, and I got to chance to be with my dada's escort one more time. So, it is going to be a really great trip to the Olympic Games this year.

PESCA: Awesome.

WHITFIELD: I know. Good talking to you, Mike. We will talk some more about Olympic stuff as the days go on.

PESCA: I will talk to you from London.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Mike. Appreciate it.

And we'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Alex Sullivan worked at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora and planned to ring in he is 27th birthday with a special screening of "the dark Knight Rises." His relative described him as a gentle giant. He was funny, witty, smart with a big loving heart. He and his wife were expected to celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Sunday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Alex Sullivan's uncle says that he was full of joy and never had a chip on his shoulder. Just before the movie started, he tweet td that this was going to be his best birthday ever.

A memorial service for the 12 people killed in the rampage starts in just three hours. President Barack Obama is just arriving, Air Force landing at Buckley air force base in Aurora, Colorado. He landed moments ago. You can see right there in the tap images. The president will be meeting with the victims face to face and in private. Meeting their families and getting updates on the investigation, as well. He will not be attending the prayer vigil.

CNN NEWSROOM with Don Lemon will be coming up in just under 30 minutes. Don, now joining us right there outside of the site of the shooting, the movie theater. A lot is going on this evening. But bottom line, it is going to take an awful lot of time for the healing, the wound is very deep, still very fresh.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is, Fred. And just being in this community and walking around and speaking to people it seems surreal, and to see that the movie theater over my shoulder.

I spoke with folks, some of the people yesterday here as we have been covering this, some of the people who were in the theater when the gunman went on the rampage. When they said they don't want to look at it. It pains to even look at the theater and come back to the site where that shooting happened.

So, we will here, Fred, and we are going to be talking about the president's visit and also speaking with officials here and talking quite frankly a little politics, gun control rearing its head right now as this controversy is unfolding.

WHITFIELD: All right Don. Thanks so much. And I know you are getting ready for your show in about 30 minutes and you also have a prime time special at 8:00.

Meantime, let's take a look at live pictures right now of the Air Force One landing there at Buckley air force base just outside of Aurora. And then, he will be making his way to various locations there in Aurora to meet personally with a lot of the victims.

So Don, you know I spoke earlier with the mayor of Aurora. And I spoke with the state representative all of whom expressed -- they are very pleased at the president is going to come and offer his support and his comfort and really thought it is the right thing that he will do it in a much more intimate setting as opposed to in a very sizable, of what's expected, a very sizable prayer vigil.

LEMON: Yes. And you know, at first they weren't sure if the president was going to make any public remarks. But you know, he is going to meet with the family members and meet with the some of the victims. And then, really, we'll have to see how it plays out when he is here.

But yes, Fred, you are right. Some people at first were saying it was political that the president was coming here and then, now back tracking saying of course he is the president of the United States. He should be here offering comfort to the family and victims, as well. Many of whom are still in the hospital.

One of them I spoke to yesterday, Fred. Just before you came to me here, you were talking about Sallie Sullivan, Alex Sullivan. He was one of 11 people from the red robin restaurant who went to the theater to celebrate his birthday. And Christina Blache who is an airman, a senior airman in the air force was with him. And she works with him. She was shot in the leg. And I spoke with her in the hospital yesterday.

Listen to what she told me about being in that theater and about being in a war zone and how she compared the two.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE BLACHE, SHOOTING VICTIM: This was worse because I had to sit there and watch like my friends and people that we were just laughing and joking with five minutes prior, never saw it coming. They didn't sign up for that. They didn't sign up to be shot that night. You know what I mean? If you are in the military you sign up for it, singing up possibly risking you life, whereas, these people were going to a movie to enjoy themselves to spend time with family or friends. They didn't sign up to be shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And as we now look at Air Force One at Buckley Air Force Base, Fredricka, some of the people who are in the hospital, of course, won't get to meet the president but he is going to meet with some of them. He won't be able to talk to all of them. But we will be here watching and we will be reporting it to you.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Something tells me a lot of the victims in the hospital who are unable to leave to go to the vigil will be watching and they will feel that they have a place there and so many hearts are being extended to them as they continue to heal.

All right, Don Lemon. We'll be checking with you in less than 30 minutes from now in Aurora. Again, those live pictures of Air Force One there, touching down in Aurora. Thanks so much, Don.

All right, that shooting taking place during the screening of the new batman movie, "the Dark Knight Rises." Let's hear why movie executives are now holding off on releasing the weekend box office receipts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's take you straight to Aurora, Colorado. Live pictures now of the Air Force One and there is the president of the United States emerging and now going on the stairs as he makes his way to Aurora, Colorado offering comfort to the many victims there, and being greeted, of course, by a number of dignitaries on the ground including military support being that this Air Force One arrives at Buckley Air Force base there, just outside of Aurora.

So, the president is there to meet one-on-one in private with a number of the victims, family members and officials there in Aurora just a couple of days after the tragic massacre at that movie theater.

There is a prayer vigil scheduled for later on this evening but the president elected not to attend that feeling it would be a lot more personal to have private meetings, instead, with the people in Aurora.

We talked to a number of people from the mayor of Aurora, Steve Hogan to a state representative, all expressing that they are very pleased at the president has made a way there and showing his leadership there in a place so terribly torn by tragedy that unfolded in the early morning hours of Friday.

And of course, we will continue to watch the developments there, out of Aurora. And of course, when we learn of what kinds of words the president has chosen to convey to the victims, to the family members and officials, et cetera, will be able to bring that to you.

We will be having a special prime time this evening report at 8:00. We will have complete coverage of the vigil and the president's visit. And we'll keep you posted on all of that there from Aurora, Colorado.

All right, as friends and family and members of victims of the Colorado shooting mourn the loss of their loved ones, Warner Brothers now, the company behind "the Dark Knight Rises" has decided not to report box office figures today.

The company released the statement explaining why saying quote, "out of respect for the victims and their families, Warner Brothers Pictures will not be reporting box office numbers for "the Dark Knight Rises" throughout the weekend. Box office numbers will be released on Monday," end quote.

Our Kareen Wynter is live from Los Angeles. So Kareen, explain why we know the statement says they want to be a lot more empathetic and sympathetic to the victims. But why is this, I guess cause for concern that maybe their request has not been honored?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this would have been in poor taste to release those numbers this weekend. And we saw the studio taking those steps to even cancel the big Paris premiere where the stars moved to Paris to promote their movie on Friday. They nixed that.

And so, you know people behind the scenes, you can imagine the intense discussions that took place among executives and it would be in poor taste to talk numbers in a time of tremendous loss.

Now, some people aren't honoring that. Those numbers have been leaked. But again, Warner Brothers is taking that unprecedented step to not release the numbers.

WHITFIELD: So why even Monday? I mean, that still seems rather soon if Warner Brothers has made the decision that throughout the weekend they wouldn't release the numbers. But why is it important even to acknowledge that Monday would be the best opportunity to do so?

WYNTER: Well, Sundays are usually estimates. Those are the days that, you know, box office receipts usually come out. And Mondays are the actual numbers. And you know, because of the studios haven't been saying specifically why they are taking the steps. They did say that they will release them tomorrow. So, we will have to see how that plays out. But there have been other studios that have been falling suit. It is not just Warner Brothers is in honoring those who lost so many in the tragedy, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kareen Wynter. Thanks so much joining us from California from Los Angeles right there.

All right, meantime also in California, lots of concerns being expressed about Michael Jackson's mother. Apparently she was reported missing. Katherine Jackson's whereabouts became the focus of a family feud and a police report. We will have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Matthew McQuinn's family agonized for hours before they found out he was killed in the Aurora movie theater shooting. He was at the movie with his girlfriend and her brother. Witnesses say he died while trying to shield his girlfriend from the barrage of bullets from suspected gunman, James Holmes. To make matters worse for this girlfriend, the hospital wouldn't confirm his condition to her because she was not related.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Matthew McQuinn was just 27-years-old. His girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, was shot in the knee and is expected to make a full recovery.

The whole country is mourning the loss of 12 innocent lives in the Colorado shooting and the chief topic of conversation on the Sunday morning talk shows was gun laws.

Let's listen to the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: What I hear from you is that you would be open to people who wanted to suggest a gun law or something that might prevent this sort of thing.

GOV. JOHN HCKENLOOPER (D), COLORADO: I haven't looked at anything. But it's -- again, this person if there were no assault weapons available or no this or no that, this guy is going to find something. He is going to know how to create a bomb. I mean, who knows where his mind would have gone. Clearly, a very intelligent individual however twisted.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D) CALIFORNIA: I believe that a revolver, a rifle, a shot gun isn't going to do the damage. It's the big clips. It is 100 rounds. Why do you need this? You don't need it for hunting. Most states have limits on the number of bullets you can have on a clip. You don't need it for self defense. Why do you need it? Why do we make it available?

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R), WISCONSIN: This is really not an issue of guns. It is really an issue of freedom. I swore an oath to defend the constitution. And part of that constitution is the second amendment which guarantees the right to bear arms.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: The Supreme Court said, excuse me. That yes, we have the second amendment and the right to bear guns but reasonable restrictions are constitutional. And I think the Congress passed reasonable restrictions but to not enforce them is just ridiculous.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The killer in Norway was in a country that had very strict gun control laws and he was still able to acquire the necessary mains to initiate and carry out a mass slaughter. I think we need to look at everything if everything should be looked at. But to think that somehow gun control is or increased gun control is the answer in my view that would have to be proved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. There seems to be some confusion about the whereabouts of Michael Jackson's mother, Catherine. A nephew reported Catherine Jackson missing late Saturday night after her grandchildren were unable to get in-touch with her for a week. But then, Jermaine Jackson tweeted mother is fine but is resting up in Arizona on orders of a doctor, not us.

It took 400 tons of explosives for the grand palace hotel to come crashing down in New Orleans this morning. It was in floated to make room for a new hospital. Officials say the demolition went smoothly after they bus 130 people away from the site for safety reasons.

All right, we are getting for a week ahead including a look at financial reports to keep an eye on.

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WHITFIELD: The accused gunman 24-year-old James Holmes will make his first court appearance tomorrow. Those who knew him described a quiet, academically-gifted student who kept to himself. Well, someone bearing no resemblance to the person police say who open fire in a packed theater.

CNN's Dan Simon has more.

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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The face seemed familiar. Then he remembered.

David Casper owns a San Diego pawnshop and recalls Holmes looking at some guns a few months ago.

DAVID CASPER, PAWNSHOP OWNER: To find out that he used firearms in the commission of his crime and that he had been in here looking at firearms is kind of a little bit unsettling.

SIMON: A few miles away in the middle class neighborhood where Holmes grew up, a portrait is e merging. Not of someone who was violent or had an intense interest in weapons, but a quiet, intellectually astute young man.

TIM WHITE, CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE: Obviously, he had the intellectual capacity to be successful at anything he wanted to do.

SIMON: Out of the 21,000 students at the University of California Riverside, Holmes was among the very brightest, according to the school's chancellor. Admitted on an academic scholarship, he graduated in 2010, with a degree in neuroscience, considered one of the most challenging scientific curricula.

WHITE: It's one of our most rigorous majors and it leads to careers in medicine, in science, in research, in a whole host of allied health areas.

SIMON: Holmes appeared to come from a stable family. His father, seen here, understandably distressed, is a manager at a software company. His mother, a nurse.

LISA DAMIANI, FAMILY ATTORNEY: It's very, very sad day. They are, you know, they're working with and communicating with authorities and that's all we can say.

SIMON: Julie Adams is among those who gathered near the family's house. Her son played on the same high school soccer team as Holmes.

JULIE ADAMS, NEIGHBOR: It's a quiet neighborhood. It's a neighborhood that people move to because the Poway unified school district is probably one of the top school districts in the nation, and that's why people move to this community.

SIMON: At this point, we haven't discovered anything in his upbringing that points to a troubled individual.

Holmes spent one of his college summers here, working as a camp counselor to underprivileged children. He was responsible for the care and guidance of approximately ten kids. We're told there were no incidents and nothing happened out of the ordinary during his time here.

Few answers for those looking to understand how this academically gifted young man could now be accused of being a violent killer.

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WHITFIELD: And later on this evening, Don Lemon will be reporting live from Aurora, Colorado. He will be covering the president's visit as well as tonight's planned vigil.

All right. So how's the housing recovery coming along across the country? We will learn much more in the next few days and a big weak for Main Street and Wall Street with reports of home values and the new home sales and homes under contract are due out this week.

I spoke with Todd Schoenberger about all of that last hour.

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TODD SCHOENBERGER, MARKET ANALYST: A tremendous amount going on because Americans want to know are the housing values going up or continuing to go lower? We will find out Tuesday.

Plus, we have a critical housing report on new home sales, so, are the people actually buying the homes? So we are looking for some type of uptick and hopefully that will continue throughout the summer. This is a big report card coming out this week.

WHITFIELD: OK. And major news, potentially on earnings reports as well?

SCHOENBERGER: That's right. Because Apple releases their earning report on Tuesday, and everybody wants to know how many iPads they sold, but also how many iphones they actually sold because the iphone 5 is rolling out this fall. So, you had that and you have the facebook earnings release coming out Thursday at 4:00. This is their first earnings report since the company went public and as you know, Fredricka, it was not a great IPO. So, well, that remains to be seen how things turned out for them.

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WHITFIELD: And then on Thursday, we will see if there was fallout for users after facebook disastrous debut on the stock market.

All right, today is the last Sunday before the Olympics begin. The best of the best facing off against each other, a lot of them are professional athletes and not amateur. So why are so many up in arms?

CNN columnist Bob Greene is surprised that most people are not. He explains the argument.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB GREENE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: For a change in the Olympic rules that were so huge, the sort of astonishing thing is how it was greeted by the public, and in the long run with a yawn. The sacrosanct rule of the Olympics is that amateurs could compete, professionals couldn't.

If an athlete was found who have taken money for playing his sport or accepted a commercial endorsement, he was out cold, vanished.

So in the 1980s with the move to allow the professionals into the Olympics was growing the public thought it was no big deal. They knew that the athletes were paid and that was accepted. The reason for all of this was television, and the international Olympic committee in the television age realized it was enormous amounts of money to be made from the worldwide broadcast. But to maximize the viewership, what was needed was the biggest and the most famous names in sports which was often the professionals.

The epitome of this was the 1992 dream team of American NBA players who went to Barcelona know in knowing that they were going the win, and they did by almost 44 points a game. But there was a downside to this. Remember the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, the "do you believe in miracles" team? This is was sort of the converse. When you are that good, when you are that professional and talented, the world tends to root against you and the miracle comes from the other teams.

Now, if anyone wanted to go back to the supposedly pristine days of competition for competition's sake, there is a very easy way to do it. Get rid of the marketers, get rid of the promoters, all of the international Olympic committee would have to do is to add one sentence to the Olympic charter, the Olympic games shall not be televised. Right.

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WHITFIELD: And you can read Bob's columns and other great opinions on that issue of the shape of the world at CNN.com/opinion.

All right. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Don Lemon reporting live from Aurora, Colorado.

Have a great week.

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