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California Shooting Spree; Active Investigation Underway in Isla Vista

Aired May 24, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And hopefully, if anything, we can learn from something like this, if all those things are indeed the case, how to identify those things before a person snaps and does something like this.

Jeff Gardere, thank you so much, in New York.

GARDERE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And of course we have much more straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. And it all begins right now.

All right. Hello again, everyone, I am Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories we are following in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Again, this breaking story, some 12 hours after the fact. Isla Vista, a small college town in southern California, it remains in shock this morning there after a gunman opened fire from his car, shooting people in nine different areas over just a matter of blocks. Six people were killed and seven others were wounded.

Authorities say deputies exchanged fire -- gunfire with the suspect after arriving on the scene there. The suspect fled in his vehicle, but police caught up with him, exchanging fire again for the second time. The suspect again driving off and then crashing into a parked car. The gunman was found dead inside that vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. Still unclear whether he killed himself or was shot in that exchange of gunfire with the deputies.

So we're following every angle of this investigation in these early stages now.

Justice correspondent Evan Perez is digging into details from Washington, checking with his sources.

So, Evan, what is the latest that you've learned on this investigation?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you know, as federal officials get involved here, they're really going to be doing some of the work to try to first of all trace the handgun that was found on the scene. They're also going to be taking a look at this video that the sheriff's office at the press conference at 2:00 a.m. this morning mentioned something that they believed was related to this crime. Now the video that we're talking about, we're not showing it on air, we're waiting to hear more from the police, until they've established that it indeed is the suspect, but in the video we can describe a little about it. He discusses that he is looking for some retribution, that he has been rebuffed by women, and that he is lonely. Somehow this may or may not be exactly why he did this, but this is obviously something that the authorities are now focused on because it might provide some kind of explanation.

It also to the police, it basically establishes that he had some premeditation, that he planned this out before he went on this rampage over four or five blocks there in Isla Vista -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Evan, because there are multiple crime scene locations, nine shootings, that's why federal authorities would be involved with local authorities there because simply it is, you know, very intense, a large investigation?

PEREZ: Well, yes. I mean, this is a community that probably doesn't see anything like this very often. Santa Barbara is a very -- is not a very big police department, and Isla Vista certainly isn't, so the sheriff's office there is probably going to be looking for some help. They mentioned that the state crime lab, the California Department of Justice crime lab was going to be involved in helping them do this.

This is obviously somewhere where there's a lot of experience sadly to say from -- on the part of law enforcement, federal law enforcement, and so they can do a lot of the help here, too -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Evan Perez, thank you so much. We'll talk more about the investigation being carried out on the local level as well as federal. Thanks so much.

So police they are investigating written and video evidence indicating that the killings were premeditated.

Our Kyung Lah joining us live now from Isla Vista where it is just past 10:00 in the morning there. And again, investigators still on the scene. It's been many hours but it's still an active crime scene, right?

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And we should say active crime scenes because they have nine places they're looking at. This is one of them. You can see the vehicle here. A lot of police tape throughout this entire community. What they're looking at is trying to pick up all of the bullets that had been (INAUDIBLE) sprayed through the streets here in Isla Vista. You can see that there -- it is a little hard to see, some of those orange markings, those are some of the bullet casings that they picked up here. There were 12 that were picked up here.

You can see that there is a broken window. Witnesses here tell us the black BMW struck people and then the driver was shooting at people as he was moving through the street. So this is one scene. As you scan this area, there are other scenes, they're all taped off. A total of nine. We walked up and down through parts of them, Fredricka, the areas that we could get to. And what we see at every single one of them is something very similar to this.

Officers trying to collect all the evidence, trying to put all the pieces together. This is a very large area that they're looking at. Even though this is a condensed geographical area, they have a large number of bullets, a lot of street to go over, a lot of people to interview. They are still in the process, Fredricka, of interviewing witnesses -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so we're talking about, you know, the distance, you gave us a perspective, we're talking about, what, roughly a four-block area, is that the right number?

LAH: It's a little hard to tell because we had to maneuver our way through several different streets. It seems to me to be about a six- block area square. So it is a little difficult to tell, but there are a lot of people involved. Everywhere you go, it's like this, you can see students who are just starting to wake up, they're trying to talk to some of their friends.

You see a lot of groups like this, trying to figure out exactly what motivated someone who was their age, someone who presumably some of them knew, trying to figure out why he would do this on a Friday night when he knew so many people would be out here on the street.

WHITFIELD: And while we know many of the people in the hospital are University of California Santa Barbara students, do we know that he, this gunman, attended that same university and know the number of the people?

LAH: We don't know. We don't know. We have spoken to a couple of the people here. We should point out that there is a community college here as well as the UCSB that we've been referring to. So it's a bit of a mixed community. We've spoken to a lot of college community kids. They are living here as well. But it is very much a mixed population.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, Kyung Lah, thank you so much, get back to us as you learn more about this gunman and the investigation. Appreciate it.

So nine crime shooting locations and the suspect now dead. How will investigators try to piece together exactly what happened in this small town and what happened prior to? I'll ask a former police detective next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAYLA BERGMAN, UC-SANTA BARBARA STUDENT: All of a sudden we heard, like, five really loud gunshots. And originally I thought that it was, like, fireworks or something because it was just so loud, and we're kind of used to these, like, loud noises around here. I mean, all of a sudden, a bunch of people from outside just started running into the store.

DERRICK POE, SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE STUDENT: When people started running in and getting down, and like, huddling in corners, then that's when I was like this is real.

MIKE HASSAN, DELI OWNER: I still don't believe this has happened. I did see it in front of me, but I don't believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUMMER YOUNG, WITNESS: I was walking right down here down the street, I was walking over to Chase Bank, and then the car passed right by me and my friend, barely missed her, and then hit the guy right behind us, like literally from the street to the sidewalk. And then we went to see if he was OK, and then right after that saw the car run down here, and he was just firing out shots. And we just ran inside the nearest restaurant and waited until it calmed down.

It was really hectic. A lot of people were just running. I've never seen it before ever. We were walking down the street and we heard like -- they sounded like fireworks. It didn't sound like a gunshot honestly and that's why I was just like what are people doing, like, because people get really stupid out here sometimes, and I just thought it was like fireworks or something. But by the time we got across the street, you know, it was actual gunshots. Like we heard him come right down here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Moments of terror being described there from one student living in that Isla Vista, California, neighborhood.

In all seven people, including the suspected gunman, are dead and another seven injured in what police say was a premeditated mass killing. They say the gunman opened fire as he drove through the town, as you heard that eyewitness describing. There's now active investigation at nine separate crime scenes, covering a matter of blocks there right there in Isla Vista.

Let's bring in HLN law enforcement analyst and former D.C. police detective Mike Brooks.

All right. So this investigation is still very intense, active crime scene. We're hearing many investigators say the difference is it's daylight now, you can see things that you couldn't necessarily see last night moments after the shooting took place.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right. Especially, you know, shell casings, these kind of things, and as Kyung Lah says, it is maybe a six square block area crime scene with nine separate and distinct crime scenes. You know, so you've got a number of different departments also working together there, including the University of California police, they're assisting and cooperating with the Santa Barbara County sheriff. In fact University of California Santa Barbara, they're current, they put out about an hour ago, they put out a statement. And this is all about the shooting, "The university is closely monitoring the details that are emerging about the shootings Friday night in the neighboring community of Isla Vista. The UC Police Department is working closely with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office in support of the ongoing investigation. We have been notified that several of our students were taken to local hospitals last night, but we do not have any additional information at this time. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those affected.

"The university has been making counseling services available for students throughout the night and has set up emergency housing for displaced students. The university is also setting up a call center for parents and students with questions. And we'll be updating our site throughout the day."

So, you know, We heard that's part of the crime scene was an apartment area, so there probably are students as the statement says that have been displaced and cannot go back to their apartment.

WHITFIELD: Right.

BROOKS: So it's just so such a big scene. But that's why you have all the different law enforcement agencies that are working together to put together this and because we know that there was an officer involved shooting, so that's also almost like a separate investigation that kind of winds throughout this investigation because he did confront the police and sheriff's deputies confronted him at least two times. One time about six minutes after the initial call to the 911 center. And then about three minutes after that.

And that's when the exchange of gunfire, the deputies approached, they found him dead of a gunshot wound to the head, we don't know again if it was self-inflicted or if it was from rounds the deputies fired at him.

WHITFIELD: And it's interesting because this is just miles away from University of California Santa Barbara campus. But we heard our Kyung Lah said this is a college town.

BROOKS: Right.

WHITFIELD: It's not the only, you know, college environment in town. There's a community college there, too, so there are a number of people who have been impacted, whether it be, you know, students from UC Santa Barbara or otherwise.

BROOKS: Right.

WHITFIELD: And still being investigated, whether this gunman was a college student himself or had interacted with any of these college students on a regular basis to explain why this area, why this corner, why would this take place.

BROOKS: And I think -- I think the investigators probably know that now through some of the writings that they were talking about, that the sheriff was talking about in his press briefing, and this video statement, this video evidence that they have.

WHITFIELD: They're continuing to still examine.

BROOKS: Yes. They're continuing to still examine, but the sheriff, it sounds to me that he believes that this could be the gunman. You know, they know his name, they're not putting his name out there, but it was apparently, the video was titled "Retribution."

WHITFIELD: And then of course investigators are going to be reaching out to the family members, friends, anyone who may have had interaction with this person, looking at, re-examining any kind of surveillance video to see if there was anything to indicate how this plan was going to be acted out.

BROOKS: Exactly. And how long was this person planning on doing this. And I can guarantee you, no matter where this person lives, they are there right now with a search warrant going through everything that he has in that house and also the big question is how did he get that gun. Was it purchased by somebody else, did a relative, a friend give it to him. Did he purchase it legally possibly there in California. These are all questions that remain unanswered.

WHITFIELD: OK. Very intense investigation. Multi layered, in fact.

BROOKS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Mike Brooks, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

BROOKS: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So when this gunman opened fire, people naturally started running once they figured out that was gunfire, no, it's not fireworks. We'll hear from two people who witnessed this terrifying moment in one minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. We are following this breaking news out of southern California. The sheriff in Santa Barbara County says a gunman went on a shooting spree near the campus of UC Santa Barbara, killing six people, and wounding seven others.

Robert Johnson was at one of the shooting scenes when the man opened fire. Johnson talked with CNN earlier about what he saw and heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT JOHNSON, EYEWITNESS: I was standing on a street corner. I had heard I guess what sounded I now know to be gunshots, but at that time I thought maybe they were fireworks or firecrackers going off which isn't uncommon occurrence here. And then I was standing on the street corner and this black BMW turned through the intersection and goes down away from me, and about maybe two seconds later I heard a pop, and at first I remember looking at the car and thinking it had backfired, which I remember thinking was strange because it was such a new car, and then it happened again.

And by this time it had reached -- it was right outside of a restaurant convenience store called Ivy Deli Mart, and there were maybe a group of six, seven, eight people eating out in front of it, and it just stopped right in front of it and open fire up on the group.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Robert, did he -- it seem to be targeting anybody or did it just seem very random, the shooting?

JOHNSON: It all happened very quickly but I think that this happened to be the largest group on the street.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: So you think he was just aiming for the group there?

JOHNSON: Yes, I think it was a just target because it was the largest group in the area.

BLACKWELL: What was the response from the crowds there? I mean, was there screaming, did they start running? What did you see and hear from the people who were standing on the corner?

JOHNSON: I saw the people that were fired upon immediately they all jumped up. Many tried to run into the building. I don't recall hearing any screaming. Then it was at that point where I turned and ran the opposite direction.

PAUL: So can you help us understand what it's like there right now as you all -- I don't even know if people have gone to bed after a situation like that. Again, we're so glad that you're safe, but how are you feeling?

JOHNSON: Yes.

PAUL: How are people around you?

JOHNSON: I think there's just a lot of confusion going on. I think even shortly after this whole ordeal had ended, I think a lot of people still didn't realize the magnitude of the situation because I won't -- it hadn't been as much contained, but it had only been around like a quarter of the Isla Vista area.

BLACKWELL: Robert, you said that you saw this suspect shoot into a crowd. Were any of those people shot on that corner or did he miss all of them?

JOHNSON: I can't say. I wasn't close enough to see. Let me correct you. They weren't on the corner, I was on the corner, and I was looking down the street.

BLACKWELL: OK.

PAUL: OK. Mike, you have a question.

BROOKS: Robert, could you see if the gunman was by himself or if he had anyone else with him, and did he get out of the car or did he stay in the car when he fired on this group?

JOHNSON: I could not see into the vehicle. The windows were heavily tinted. But no one exited the vehicle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That was Robert Johnson, an eyewitness.

We also heard from another eyewitness, Daniel Slovinsky. And he told CNN's Christi Paul that most people didn't even realize just how bad the situation was in the midst of so much confusion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL SLOVINSKY, SHOOTING WITNESS I heard some pops. But I just assumed that it was fireworks like most other people. So contrary to what you might expect, there wasn't a whole lot of chaos immediately. I didn't hear any screaming. A few people were running, most other people didn't know why. It wasn't really until police started yelling at people to get inside that we had realized that something big went down. But even then, people didn't really know what.

So I think Robert is really right when he said that there's just a lot of confusion rather than panic. I didn't even -- sorry, go ahead.

PAUL: No, go ahead.

SLOVINSKY: I didn't really figure out exactly what happened until I started talking with some of the eyewitnesses myself, such as Robert.

PAUL: OK. So you were talking to Robert. What were you saying and what did you see, I guess, once things started to clear up and you were getting a picture of maybe how many people had been shot or how expansive this crime scene is?

SLOVINSKY: Well, yes, the first thing we were trying to figure out is how many people were injured and, you know, what exactly was going on with this suspect. And it seemed at the time that there were only maybe four at max possible deaths, so it was a huge shock to us when the police announced that there were seven.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, we'll hear directly from the sheriff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BILL BROWN, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: This incident appears to be a mass murder situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: His deputies exchanged gunfire with the suspect to prevent the situation from getting even worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: All right. Back to our breaking news now. A deadly shooting spree in southern California. Police said a gunman drove through the college town of Isla Vista Friday night, killing six people and wounding seven others near the campus of UC Santa Barbara, in what the sheriff describes as a premeditated mass murder.

The deadly violence lasted roughly 10 minutes. But during that time police say the man opened fire at nine separate locations. The gunman later crashed his car, and then was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Police say they aren't sure if that fatal gunshot came from the suspect's own gun or if it was a result of the firefight with police.

Our Kyung Lah joins us now live from Isla Vista.

So, Kyung, what more are you learning and seeing there?

LAH: This is the second scene that we are at. The first one actually started about half a block away from where we are, and you can see that officers here are still actively trying to collect evidence. People, mainly students, are waking up. And this is what they're waking up to. There is police tape all over this neighborhood. It is up and down several different blocks. You can see that there's a whole section that's cordoned off.

In this particular area, the second crime scene, there was one person who was hit by the black BMW. There was one person who was shot by the person who was inside that black BMW. Then we saw officers pick up at least 12 different bullet casings from the ground. You can see that there are some orange spots over there, and then if you look over here to the window, that window has also been shot out.

So this is just one, Fredricka, of a number of crime scenes. This is something that we've seen as we walked through this area. Very similar throughout this entire area. And you can talk to the students here, they'll also tell you that they're completely shell shocked. That this was a normal Friday night for most of them, about 9:30. The streets weren't completely packed yet. An hour and a half later it would have been much busier.

So they were all preparing to have a great night out when the vehicle started driving through and randomly shooting people -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Kyung, as we look behind you, we can see some people are on their balconies or, you know, looking out the windows. You see the parked police cars, you mentioned the shell casings that investigators are picking up. But what other kind of activity that you're able to see, you know, from investigators? Are they interviewing people? Are there any other things that they seem to be, you know, uncovering in that, you know, radius of blocks?

LAH: They are talking to other students. And the other thing that we saw at the end of all of this was the vehicle is still there, and you can see that the front of the black BMW has been smashed out, and officers are canvassing the area, especially right where that BMW landed, talking to people to see if anyone knew him. They're trying to really get at what happened, but then also the big question of why. They just don't know why yet. And we've talked to a number of students here, many of them did not know him -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Kyung Lah, appreciate that from Isla Vista there, still an active crime scene.

And we understand later on today, 4:00 Pacific, 7:00 Eastern Time, will be another press conference involving the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department.

Well, earlier, this is what the sheriff had to say about all that they've learned in the last few hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: This incident appears to be a mass murder situation. The timeline as we've been able to put it together thus far is as follows. At 9:27 p.m., the Sheriff's Dispatch Center received calls of multiple gunshots being fired in the Isla Vista area. We had deputies in the area on foot who also heard a number of shots being fired. The deputies began responding in the direction of the gunshots and immediately found several victims who were suffering from gunshot wounds.

As they were performing first aid on those victims, they were also receiving suspect information and a vehicle description. As this was occurring, additional shots were fired and calls were received by the sheriff's dispatch from several areas in Isla Vista. During this initial stage, both the suspect and suspect vehicle descriptions were broadcast to those law enforcement personnel who were in the area.

At 9:33 p.m., six minutes after the initial call was received, the suspect engaged a group of responding deputies with gunfire. The deputies returned fire and the suspect fled in his vehicle. Seconds later, the suspect was again spotted by another deputy. Another exchange of gunfire occurred at that time. The suspect fled down Del Playa, and eventually crashed into a parked vehicle.

The deputies approached the crashed vehicle and determined that the suspect within that vehicle was dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. A handgun was recovered from within that vehicle. Although we have preliminarily identified the suspect, we are not releasing the suspect's name until a positive identification can be made. Currently the sheriff's office is not looking for any additional suspects. We believe the suspect acted alone.

This is still a very active investigation, and as you can imagine, a very chaotic series of crime scenes. It is still in the very early phases of the investigation. We've identified nine separate crime scenes within the area and multiple victims who were either shot or injured as a result of -- apparently as a result of the suspect's actions.

Seven victims are in area hospitals being treated for gunshot wounds or for traumatic injuries. At least one of those victims has undergone surgery for life-threatening injuries. We currently have seven confirmed dead. That includes the suspect and six victims. We are in the process of identifying those victims and notifying their next of kin.

We have obtained and we are currently analyzing both written and videotaped evidence that suggests that this atrocity was a premeditated mass murder. The sheriff's office is currently interviewing multiple witnesses to these crimes, and we are asking for the public's assistance. If there's anyone who has not yet been spoken to by law enforcement authorities, we would ask if you have information about this crime, or series of crimes, if you would contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office tip line at 805-681- 4171.

And I would like to acknowledge and thank those allied agencies who are currently assisting us in this investigation. In addition to patrol and investigative personnel from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, we are being assisted by the UC Santa Barbara Police Department, by the California Highway Patrol, by the Santa Barbara Police Department, by the district attorney investigators, by the California State Parks Law Enforcement personnel, and by criminalists from the Department of Justice crime lab.

I know that this information that I'm giving you at this point is somewhat preliminary. We are going to work diligently to get you more information in detail, including the identity of the suspect and victims. The next press conference is going to be scheduled for 4:00 p.m. today at a location to be determined. We will notify you through our regular processes of where that press conference will be held.

Two things that I just want to say in closing. The first is I want to commend the deputy sheriffs who engaged very resolutely this suspect very shortly after we were notified of this incident. There's no question in my mind at this point that their resolute actions and valor in doing so very well may have prevented further loss of life and injury. I also want to let the families of the victims know that our hearts go out to them at this tragic time, and we will be doing all that we can in the -- in the near future to try to identify the actual circumstances, the complete background information and so forth, about this horrific series of events that occurred this evening.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. You're listening to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown. Of course, another press conference as he mentioned, 4:00 Pacific Time.

All right. Coming up. So how will students and others cope after the deadly shooting spree in this beach side California town.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We are continuing to follow the breaking news out of California, a shooting spree in the college town of Isla Vista. Police say a gunman drove his car through several streets, opening fire at people as he went. Six people in the end were killed. Seven wounded. The gunman was found dead in his car. One witness who saw the rampage up close broke down as she described that terrifying scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIENNA SCHWARTZ, SHOT AT BY GUNMAN: And then he, like, lifted up like a little blast pistol, and -- and like, I just thought it was like an air soft gun or something. So I was like -- I was like, hey, what's up? Then I turned around and I started walking the other way, and -- he shot, and I felt, I just felt the wind like past right by my face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So how does a community cope with such tragedy? We're talking about people who live in Isla Vista and the entire college community nearby. The University of California Santa Barbara issued this statement today, saying, quote, "Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those affected. The university has been making counseling services available for students throughout the night and has set up emergency housing for displaced students. The university is also setting up a call center for parents and students with questions," end quote.

But again, the shooting not taking place on the campus but this is a college community, Isla Vista being not far from the campus of University of California Santa Barbara.

So clinical and forensic psychologist Jeff Gardere back with me now out of New York.

So the university is providing counseling, but will that be enough especially for those students who do go to school on that campus miles away?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL AND FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes, in the short run it will be absolutely what is needed and I hope any neighboring schools also has this kind of counseling set up, because yes, we know that the people directly involved who may have lost a friend or family member and certainly the people who witness some of these shootings will have post-traumatic stress disorder. And this is where they'll have nightmares and recollections and flashbacks and anxiety and depression. It is a very stressful disorder to have.

But I believe, Fredricka, the whole community has been effected because this is an idyllic setting, they're not used to this sort of thing, again my knowledge, and therefore everyone needs to communicate and talk about what this feels like. For the students just waking up and seeing the different crime scenes and the police tape and the blocks that are, you know, that are closed, all of this adds to the trauma that we believe that they will be experiencing.

WHITFIELD: So certainly this trauma being felt in the short term but then also in the long term to what degree?

GARDERE: Well, I think in the long term people who haven't gotten the short-term counseling are going to be the ones who suffer more. PTSD is very insidious in that people feel, well, I can handle that. Yes, even though it was traumatic, I can get through this, but you do need the counseling. And I believe this school, University of California, as well as the neighboring schools at this point should do educational sessions also on how to talk about what has happened and the fact that this is not a safe world any more.

This is a new normal. A lot of us watch CNN and look at this and we say oh, another shooting, but to actually experience it and to be in that particular area, that's something completely different. And therefore they need to get ongoing counseling and education as to the world in which they live and how they can cope with the stressors as the years roll by.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And certainly they're making an impact and has already to a large degree.

Jeff Gardere, thank you so much.

GARDERE: Sure.

WHITFIELD: And we'll have much more on that deadly mass shooting in Southern California in just a few minutes.

Also coming up, some of the day's other top stories, including Pope Francis' historic whirlwind trip throughout the holy land.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're following breaking news out of California today of a mass shooting on the streets of a college town. Investigators say a gunman opened fire killing six people. We're digging into the latest details on that. But first we want to bring you some other stories making headlines today.

There has been gun violence in Belgium. And this is an active police investigation as well. Three people killed, another wounded in a shooting at the Jewish Museum of Belgium. Authorities say someone pulled up in a car, walked inside and simply started shooting. The gunman left and police are now looking for that suspect.

Belgium's Interior minister says the circumstances could suggest an anti-Semitic attack. Belgium has just raised its terror alert level now.

And it's one of the most highly anticipated papal trips in recent history. Pope Francis is on a whirlwind three-day tour throughout the holy land. Over the next few days he will shake hands with religious and political leaders in three cities, celebrate two Catholic masses, and deliver at least 13 speeches and homilies.

A short time ago, the Pope visited the Jordan River, where many Christians believe Jesus was baptized. It kicked off his trip this morning in Amman, Jordan, meeting with King Abdullah II at the royal palace.

Jordan is a mostly Muslim nation but thousands packed the city's International Stadium to hear the Pope say Saturday mass.

And tomorrow, Pope Francis leaves Jordan and heads by helicopter to Bethlehem.

Back here in the U.S., wildfires are burning their way across parts of northern Arizona. The numbers tell the story. 8500 acres scorched already and the fire is only 5 percent contained. Nearly 1,000 firefighters have been trying to slow the spread of flames from Flagstaff to Sedona. Hundreds of homes and businesses have already been evacuated.

Jennifer Gray joins me now with a look at the conditions out there.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is so dry, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Frightening.

GRAY: We have 76 percent of the state in severe drought, 80 percent in extreme, very dry conditions, and this is going to last throughout the next several days at least. Humidity very, very low, 32 percent, in Flagstaff, and it's expected to drop a little but as we go through the evening hours, and then 33 by 7:00. We're going to see winds also remain a problem as well.

A little bit on the gusty side, 19 mile-per-hour winds right around tomorrow morning, and then could be gusting up to 20 at times. So we are going to see quite a bit of wind involved in this as well. Seventy degrees currently right in Sedona right now. Humidity at 21 percent. Wind speed only about six miles per hour. No wind gusts, like I mentioned before, that is expected to pick up just a little bit as we go through the next 24 to 48 hours.

As we go through the next several days, temperatures are expected to warm up. Mid-90s by Tuesday. No rain in the forecast whatsoever. Only a 20 percent today and tomorrow. Most of the showers are in New Mexico today, and they should say well to the east of the area. Unfortunately, not getting any relief anytime soon.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. OK. People have to be really careful with conditions like that.

GRAY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Jennifer Gray. Appreciate it.

All right. We'll get back to today's big story in a moment. The deadly shooting in California. Investigators have an enormous task now. They have to figure out what that motive was behind this rampage. An investigator who has worked on mass shootings gives his perspective, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A college town in California is on edge today after a deadly shooting spree. Investigators say a gunman opened fire from his car killing six people last night in Isla Vista near the University of California Santa Barbara campus. The gunman is also dead, though it's not clear if it was self-inflicted.

The sheriff's office is trying to figure out a motive now today and we're expecting more details at a news conference, 7:00 Eastern Time, 4:00 Pacific.

Earlier I spoke about where the investigation goes now with Rich Mariano. He is a retired assistant director with the ATF, who served as on-scene commander for the deadly massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, and he explained what's likely happening in California today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH MARIANO, RETIRED ASSISTANT ATF DIRECTOR: Well, right now daylight tells a whole new story, and in the several hours that have taken place, it gives the investigators the opportunity to slow down the pace. To examine the ballistic evidence and to also conduct a thorough, very comprehensive investigation to everything this offender was involved in. Specifically looking at, like I said, the ballistic evidence, where the shots were fired from. How many magazines did he carry? With the semiautomatic weapon.

To discuss and have conversations with his friends or relatives, interview the witnesses, they all tell a story. Looking at the social network. The search of the car. All his personal belongings. The local video from ATM machines, convenience store, restaurants and bars.

It's almost a story within itself that each one of these pieces contains a different frame to tell the story from the perspective of what actually happened. And then there's the whole --

WHITFIELD: And in large part --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Sorry. In large part is it to figure out the motive, primarily, or is it also trying to try and confirm or make sure that there aren't other people that may have been complicit and involved with him?

MARIANO: Yes. Absolutely. They want to look at the social media aspect then they want to look at the video to see if there's anybody with him on the street, anybody in the car. There are some witnesses who said there were two people in there. Others, you know, can't confirm if it was one or two, but it's also to corroborate whatever they have. You know, there's some mention by the sheriff's office that they have some admissions from this individual. This is going to corroborate all that.

It's going to put together a good investigation, and I think they're on the right path bringing in the government and bringing in some subject matter experts to the table. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks to Rich Mariano.

Still, we have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, and it all starts right now.