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New Info on Navy Yard Shooter; Shotgun Bought Recently and Legally; Shooterr Allegedly Heard Voices, Had Gun Arrests

Aired September 17, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Thanks very much for joining CNN's special live coverage of the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. We now know the names of all 12 people shot to death. The mother of one Navy veteran killed spoke to our Detroit affiliate WDIV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA ARNOLD, MOTHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM: It's not real. It just -- it's not possible. It's not possible that they shot him for just no reason. He loved his country. He loved the Navy. He loved flying. He was just a happy person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Within the last hour, the FBI held a news conference here in Washington confirming that the shooter, Aaron Alexis, entered the compound with just one weapon and fired at officers, who ultimately shot him to death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE PARLAVE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE, D.C. FBI FIELD OFFICE: At this time, we believe that Mr. Alexis entered Building 197 at the Navy Yard with a shotgun.

We do not have any information at this time that he had an AR-15 in his possession. We also believe Mr. Alexis may have gained access to a handgun once inside the facility and after he began shooting.

CATHY LANIER, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA POLICE CHIEF: We had officers who heroically went into a building witnessing multiple casualties and continued to pursue and engage a gunman who was determined to kill as many people as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He was 34 years old, once served in the U.S. Navy Reserves. His past contains multiple incidents of bad behavior, both on duty and out of uniform.

Let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd. Brian, his family says he actually Alexis actually heard voices.

What do we know about his mental condition? BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is what family members have told us, Wolf, that he heard voices, that some of this was connected to his experience in New York City after 9/11.

We also know from our correspondent Pamela Brown that he visited VA hospitals on at least a couple of occasions. Those could have been connected to mental health issues. We know, of course, of his arrest record. He had two arrests for gun violations. He was never convicted, two arrests for gun violations and one arrest for disorderly conduct.

According to our Barbara Starr, he had eight incidents in the Navy of misconduct. You put all this together, and then we, my team and I have been looking into the process of him getting a security clearance. He would have had -- according to experts we have interviewed -- and these experts are two attorneys who have helped hundreds of people get government security clearances. They have told us that a private company, a private contractor does background checks for the Office of Personnel Management.

That's the massive government office that handles all personnel. The private contractor does that background check for the Office of Personnel Management. They then take it, they fact-check it, and they turn it over to the Department of Defense. And there are offices within the Department of Defense that would make the final adjudication as to whether that person gets a final security clearance.

You have three entities, a private contractor, Office of Personnel Management, and then certain offices at the Department of Defense, that would have had to have picked up, flagged these incidents in the shooter's past. According to at least one of our experts, they should have made the decision not to give him that secret security clearance.

We're digging into all of this. We're checking into who should have done what, maybe try to find specific divisions within these offices. We do have the name of a security contractor who does a lot of work for the Office of Personnel Management. We're not going to say that name right now because we're trying to find out from them whether they actually checked into his background. But we're looking into all of this.

We're told these of these government entities again, again, the private contractor who works for the Office of Personnel Management, that office, and the Department of Defense, should have flagged all of these incidents. You're talking about three arrests, eight incidents of misconduct in the Navy and the mental health incidents.

They should have flagged these. According to one attorney we spoke with, someone dropped the ball. They should not, not have given him a secret security clearance.

BLITZER: Yes, let's hope some people learn lessons from this. Brian, thanks very much.

The shootings at the Navy Yard have left so many people wondering about security. Now we're learning that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering a worldwide review of security measures at all U.S. military installations.

Let's bring in our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

Barbara, what will they be looking for at these bases?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I think it's exactly what everyone would expect and hope the Defense Department would do. They are going to look at physical access, physical security measures.

First up, they want to take a quick look and make sure everyone's doing their job appropriately at the checkpoints, at the gates, at various places on installations where there are security personnel. Is everything being done correctly? Second, are the requirements right? Is everything being done that should be done? Are there new requirements, new technologies, new procedures that should be put into place?

Tough question, Wolf. These installations often house thousands of people that come and go every day to work. It is not practical, well understood, for them to stop and search every vehicle, every person. People couldn't get to work.

So there is by every measure a huge amount of trust put into the people that have access to these bases that they are not criminals. But that gets us to the second part that Brian was talking about. What Hagel needs to figure out now, top officials say, is how to look at this very issue of security clearances.

What are the standards, procedures, and practices by which people get security clearances in the first place? Do changes need to be made in that? -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What do we know about these eight incidences of misconduct that he was accused of doing while serving in the Navy Reserves? Because I'm told from my sources there are relatively minor incidents. But there are much more serious ones as well. Have they told us what these eight incidents involved?

STARR: Sure, Wolf. Pentagon officials are saying it involves things, as you say, relatively minor, but still taken quite seriously by the military, insubordination, being absent without leave, that sort of thing, one incident of drunkenness, we're told. So all of these things taken seriously, but not rising to the level inside the military that they would have taken him to court-martial, that they would have convicted him of wrongdoing.

He was, shall we say, admonished. They call it nonjudicial punishment. He was reprimanded. We don't know exactly what he got, but reprimanded. Not enough to outright dismiss him from the military, and because he was never convicted, as Brian said, of those gun charges in the civilian sector, they couldn't use that as evidence against him. He wound up getting an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy. An ideal situation? Certainly not. But it appears to be they decided they didn't want him in the military anymore and this was a way to get him out. There was no basis for giving him anything less. That's what we're told.

BLITZER: Because when I spoke to Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Democrat, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he said that he wanted to take a much closer look why he did get an honorable discharge, despite those eight incidences of misconduct, if you will, because an honorable discharge clearly helped him get the security clearances, helped him get that contracting job and certainly helped him get into this Navy Yard, this Naval base here in Washington. He wants to take a much closer look at the procedures in the Navy.

We will have more on this part of the story coming up later in THE SITUATION ROOM. We will speak with a Navy commander as well. Barbara, thank you.

The far-flung investigation into the Navy Yard shooter extends to New York City, where he lived as recently as 2004, to Seattle, Washington, to Ft. Worth, Texas, his last known place of permanent residence. Here in Washington, the FBI removed items from a hotel where Aaron Alexis spent at least two days prior to the shooting, sharing accommodations with other Navy Yard contractors.

Our law enforcement analyst, Mike Brooks, is joining us now.

Mike, does the fact that the shooter is dead clearly change the nature of the crime investigation because you can't question him about what his motive might have been?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: That's absolutely right, Wolf. That's why the FBI yesterday was asking anyone, go to our Web site, FBI.gov, take a look at his picture. If you have seen him, if you had any contact with him, give us a call at 1-800-CALL-FBI because they want to find out exactly what his movements were leading up to this shooting.

We know that he was here in Washington since August 25. The hotel, the Residence Inn on E Street Southwest, just a short distance from here, he was there for just a number of days.

BLITZER: We heard the U.S. attorney say that investigators are still looking into the possibility of whether or not Alexis had any assistance, either deliberate or unwitting. Is that merely going according to the book, or have you heard any suggestion that there might have been some sort of collaborator, witting or unwitting?

BROOKS: No, not as of right now. But, you know, one of the things as an investigator, what I would want to do if I was assigned to this case, Wolf, would be to go to these different hotels. We know he stayed at numerous hotels. Try to get the video surveillance, because they would probably keep it for about a month. Get that video surveillance. Who was he with? Was he -- when he -- inside the hotel, outside the hotel? Did he meet with anyone? I think that's why the FBI was asking for the assistance of the public to say, look, if you saw this guy, call us. And then from there, they can ask questions. Did you ever see him with anyone? Where would he frequent? All these are part of the investigation on finding out what made this guy tick, Wolf.

BLITZER: Mike Brooks, thanks very much. Lots to investigate right now. Multiple agencies doing it.

Today, we also know the names of all of the victims killed in the shooting. We're going to tell you about their lives. Also, we're learning some truly remarkable stories of survival.

This is CNN's special live coverage. We will continue right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLISON HOFFMAN, WITNESS: I knew it didn't look like a fire drill because everyone was terrified-looking. So we just immediately started being confused and scared and shaking and then he took a little short route through the parking garage. We thankfully got out really quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're learning more about the 12 people who lost their lives Monday in the mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. They were civilians, they were contractors simply doing their jobs, but for reasons we may never really know, their lives were cut short by a former Navy reservist with a gun.

Each victim now has been identified, 59-year-old Michael Arnold, 53- year-old Sylvia Frasier, 62-year-old Kathy Gaarde, 46-year-old Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 73-year-old John Roger Johnson, 50-year-old Frank Kohler, 61-year-old Vishnu Pandit, 51-year-old Arthur Daniels, 51- year-old Mary Francis Knight, 58-year-old Gerald L. Read, 54-year-old Martin Bodrog, 52-year-old Richard Michael Ridgell.

President Obama has ordered flags to remain at half-staff until sunset on Friday. This morning, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other military officials laid a wreath at the Navy Memorial in honor of those killed.

Amazing stories of survival are also coming out of Washington right now as those who lived through Monday's shooting rampage relive the terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY DADE, CONTRACTOR: We heard some more rapid fire. Then it got quiet again. Then we heard some activity, like I said, outside the door. And, again, we didn't know who was running up and down the hallway. So we just hunkered down and just waited. We saw blood -- blood spots on the ground. Don't know who it was.

PATRICIA WARD, WITNESS: I'm terrified. I'm stressed. I'm tired, you know, just listening to the ringing of gunshots and ambulances and fire trucks and helicopters. I have never experienced this before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of our employees close by heard the word shooter. And there's another employee who is some sort of an agent, not a first-responder, but who literally stood up on a desk, in fact making himself a target, but was shouting that there was a shooter on the floor and that -- for everybody to take cover and find a secure location or take cover.

And I ended up with 18 of my fellow employees in a conference room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Coming up, as we learn more about the shooter, CNN's Don Lemon is standing by to join us. He has an eye-opening perspective on mental illness in the African-American community. You will want to hear what he has to say.

Also, developing right now, police frantically looking for this 14- year-old girl. Two men kidnapped her when their demands weren't met during a home invasion.

And remarkable video of a capsized cruise liner now sitting upright.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More on the mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., in just a moment.

But, first, let's check some of the other stories developing now. In Georgia, the FBI has joined the search for a 14-year-old girl kidnapped during a home invasion. Ayvani Hope Perez is described as 4'9'', about 93 pounds. It happened just south of Atlanta in the town of Ellenwood. Police released these sketches of the two suspects. They say the men forced their way into the home in the middle of the night, demanding money and jewelry. When they couldn't get either, they grabbed the girl and fled in a gray Dodge sedan.

The Costa Concordia cruise ship is finally sitting upright after 20 months ago running aground off the Italian coast. This time-lapse shows the massive salvage operation under way. It looks fast here, but righting the ship took, what, 19 hours in an unprecedented and painstaking process that involved huge police cables and steel tanks. The 114,000-ton vessel was rolled off the rocks. The sides of the ship will now be repaired, allowing the ship to be towed away and dismantled; 32 people died in that disaster.

And the Dow continues its stellar September. Take a look at this, the Big Board up right now 37 points or so, that despite a meeting today by the Federal Reserve policy-making committee. It's discussing whether to scale back buying bonds and securities, which could have an impact on the stock market.

Up next, we will have much more of the coverage of the mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. We're taking a closer look at President Obama's response and if this latest tragedy could impact his push for tighter gun control. And we're also getting new details right now about how -- about where and how the shooter bought the gun.

You're watching CNN's special live coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWANDA WARE-BROWN, WITNESS: Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. The next thing I heard was five more shots. The captain that was in the office said, come on, ma'am, let's go. He just grabbed me by the arm, and we took off down the side steps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is CNN's special live coverage of the investigation into the Navy Yard shooting here in the nation's capital.

We have some new information on the deadly situation, the deadly chaos that unfolded. Within the past hour or so, the chief of police here in Washington said the mass killer, Aaron Alexis, shot it out with law enforcement officials for more than half-an-hour. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANIER: There was multiple engagements with the suspect with multiple different agencies before the final shots were fired. And I would say that there was a pretty good period of time with multiple engagements before that. So, I can't give you the exact time.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Was it more than a half-an-hour from start to finish?

LANIER: Yes, I would say it's more than a half-an-hour from start to finish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: As is often the case, those who knew the shooter say they're shocked that he could commit mass murder.

The warning signs included, though, at least two arrests for gun- related offenses and according to friends a preoccupation with violent video games.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL RITROVATO, FRIEND OF SHOOTER: He didn't come out of his room much. Like I said, he played a lot of the online games where there was shooting all the time. And we were joking about that sometimes because there were like -- well, his computer screen was lifelike, it was big and it was like, wow, it's like he's shooting people a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go to CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, and he's joining us on the phone right now. He's joining us from Lorton, Virginia. That's just outside Washington, D.C.

I understand, Chris, you have got some new details on the shotgun that he purchased there?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf.

We have now confirmed from officials that he did buy the shotgun in the last few weeks at least, so it was relatively recently from this store Sharpshooters, which is located in Lorton, Virginia. It's a combination gun shop and target firing range as well.

We're told that Aaron Alexis had a valid driver's license and the gun shop did the full required background check. The official said it's the same that is done when somebody buys a weapon of any sort here. He indicated that there was nothing in that background check to stop the sale of the shotgun to Alexis.

Remember at first we had heard some reports that perhaps he had bought an AR-15, a rifle, a high-powered rifle, that's been used in a spate of recent mass shootings, but that's not the case. The gun that he bought was a shotgun. The source also says the FBI visited the store once since the shooting yesterday morning and that the store is cooperating with the investigation.

But you have to say it looks by all accounts that he legally purchased this gun. He had an out-of-state driver's license, but that is not a detriment to purchasing a shotgun. If you have an out-of-state driver's license that is valid, you can go into a state like Virginia and you can buy a shotgun.

And unlike, say, a handgun, which may have to be shipped back to your state of origin, a shotgun is something that you could walk out of the store with, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, I know the rules -- the gun control rules in Virginia a lot more lax than they are here in Washington, D.C., and a lot of people simply drive of the District of Columbia, go to Northern Virginia, where you are in Lorton, Virginia, for example, and buy a weapon, buy a gun, a shotgun or whatever that would be very, very difficult if not impossible to get in Washington, D.C.

All right, Chris, I know you're working the story. We will get back to you with more. Chris Lawrence breaking that news here on CNN.