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Erin Burnett Outfront
New York on High Alert After Sydney Hostage Crisis; Two Hostages, Gunman Killed After 16-Hour; Gunman Kills 6, Massive Manhunt Under Way; NYC Alert After Sydney Attack
Aired December 15, 2014 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news. New York City on high alert tonight after a gunman pledging allegiance to ISIS holds 17 people hostage for 16 hours. A lone wolf targeting a popular store in the major city. Could it happen in the U.S.?
Plus, a massive manhunt tonight for a Pennsylvania gunman who was suspected of killing six people today, seriously wounding another. And Bill Cosby's wife Camille breaking her silence tonight. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening to all of you. I'm Erin Burnett and we begin OUTFRONT tonight with the breaking news. Deadly siege. Terror strikes at the heart of a major city and it could have been New York, Los Angeles or London but on this day, it was Sydney, Australia. A 16-hour hostage siege, a lone gunman holding 17 people inside a chocolate shop. The tenth stand-off ending in the early morning hours as commandos hearing gunfire inside the shop, stormed in, killing the gunman and ending the siege but not before two of the hostages were killed. The Lindt Chocolate Shop is located in the center of Sydney's financial district just steps from parliament and the American Consulate. Many of the people in the shop and this morning, it was a Monday morning were there for their morning coffee, shoppers and office workers in a pedestrian mall at the height of the Christmas shopping season. The Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke to his stunned countrymen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY ABBOTT, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: There is nothing more Australian than dropping in at the local cafe for a morning coffee and it is tragic beyond words that people going about their everyday business should have been caught up in such a horrific incident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Throughout the day and night, hostages could be seen with their hands pressed to the shop window. Some did escape midway through the siege. Others used cell phones to make calls and post to social media. I'm going to have more on that in a moment. But developing late tonight, New York City is now on a higher state of alert. The New York Deputy Police Commissioner John Miller said officers have been redeployed in response to the Sydney siege.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN MILLER, NEW YORK DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: To increase police presence at the Empire State building, the financial district, as you know, this target in Sydney was in the heart of their financial district, Columbus Circle, other high profile locations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Anna Coren is OUTFRONT tonight in Sydney, Australia. And Anna, what more do we know about the siege?
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Erin, firstly, a very sad and somber day here in Sydney and right across Australia as people are learning that two of the 17 hostages were killed during a siege that lasted almost 17 hours. A 34-year-old man and a 38-year- old mother of three. We're getting confirmation of that. Now, the lone gunman, a man by the name of Man Haron Monis, he is 50 years old, he was killed by commandos and police. He was acting alone and people really feeling a sense of anger after learning that he fled Iran back in 1995. And the Australian government then granted him political asylum. But let's recap the events.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COREN (voice-over): Heavily armed Australian police and Special Forces stormed a Sydney cafe firing their weapons and tossing in flash grenades. Police shot and killed the lone gunman, ending a terrifying nearly 17-hour siege.
COMMISSIONER ANDREW SCIPIONE, NSW POLICE: They believed that at that time if they didn't enter there would have been many more lives lost.
COREN: Two hostages were killed. Four hostages and a policeman were hospitalized. The stand-off began just before 10 a.m. on Monday in Sydney. The gunman later identified as Man Haron Monis, a self- starred Muslim cleric, walked into the Lindt Chocolate Shop and Cafe taking 17 people hostage. Some could be seen with their hands pressed to the shop window. Others holding up a black flag with the Arabic writing, "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God." Hundreds of police including snipers surrounded the building. Early Monday afternoon the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott addressed the nation.
ABBOTT: This is a very disturbing incident. I can understand the concerns and anxieties of the Australian people at a time like this. Our thoughts and prayers must above all go out to the individuals who are caught up in this.
COREN: Several hours into the stand-off, five hostages escaped. Some running out of fire exit and into the arms of police officers, that appeared to enraged the gunman who could be seen screaming at the remaining hostages. Throughout the siege, hostages used their cellphones, one spoke to a radio reporter.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They're dealing with a lunatic. And they're dealing with a person who is making --
COREN: The gunman forced hostages to read his demands on camera and post them on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: To contact the brother via live web somehow and he will release five hostages. We don't understand why his demands haven't been met yet.
COREN: After 2:00 on Tuesday morning, a second group of hostages ran out of the cafe. Some with their hands in the air. After a few minutes of quiet, gun fire is heard coming from the shop. Believed to come from the gunman. At that point, police and commandos barged in, guns blazing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Now, it is the first time Australia has really experienced a terror-related attack here on home soil and people are truly grieving. Many have walked past with flowers. They are laying, you know, their breaths just close by setting up a memorial. And of course, the Australian flag is flying at half-mast. There is a real feeling Erin that Australia has somehow lost its innocence today.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Anna Coren. It certainly changed the way the world sees going about daily activities. Tonight, Australia's Prime Minister warning there are more lone wolves out there walking the streets of Sydney. Officials though working to stop them before they attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBOTT: Tragically there are people in our community ready to engage in politically motivated violence. The events in Martin Place also show that we are ready to deal with these people professionally and with the full force of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT tonight, Clover Moore, she's the mayor of Sydney. And Mayor Moore, it is good to have you with us. I know that this is a horrible and somber day for and you for Sydney. I must ask you, our Anna Coren was just reporting. We now know the very tragic news that a 38-year-old woman, mother of three children is dead. A 35-year-old man is dead. Two of the hostages. Do you know at this time whether they were killed by the gunman or whether they were killed during the raid by perhaps friendly fire?
CLOVER MOORE, LORD MAYOR OF SYDNEY: Look, I think the 34-year-old man was killed by the gunman. I think that was the catalyst for the police going in. But all that is being investigated. And once that investigation, that critical investigation is taking place, then all that information will be revealed by the police.
BURNETT: What do you know at this time, Mayor, about the gunman and his motives?
MOORE: Look, what I want to stress is that the city of Sydney is a very diverse, we have 200 nationalities living in our city. Very harmonious. Very inclusive in the city. And this is a one of isolated event by a man with a violent back ground. So it is not linked to any other group. And so we are treating it as a one of isolated event that does not change who we are in Sydney. Welcoming inclusive community.
BURNETT: All right. Mayor Clover, thank you so much. I very much appreciate your time of course on this afternoon as I know it is in Sydney now.
Now the man who says he shot and killed Osama bin Laden, the former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill. Good to have you with us. I really appreciate your time tonight, Robert. You're obviously highly trained in hostage rescue. You've been through this many times. You've done a lot more than the Bin Laden raid. You also successfully rescued Captain Phillips from Somali pirates. When you looked at what happened in Sydney and you heard what the mayor just said, actually we just got that information now but it was the gunman shooting one hostage that prompted, the commandos to actually go in. It seems unclear how the 38-year-old mother of three died. When you looked at the video of the raid, was it done the way you would have done it?
ROBERT O'NEILL, FORMER NAVY SEAL: It is very difficult to do. First of all, thank you for having me, Erin. I appreciate it. It is difficult for me to say how I would have done it based on one video because that's one position looking at, you know, at one group of guys. It appears pretty obvious that something happened and needed to be responded to very quickly. And it looks to me as if the police officers and the Special Forces, they responded correctly. It is hard to say what I would have done. But I worked with a lot of those guys, and I'm sure they done the right thing.
BURNETT: And when you think about the time that went by. I mean, it is in the center of the financial district of one of the major cities in this world. It was a 16-hour siege. How did they make the decision to go in? And obviously, you know, as we just learned, the mayor was saying, that was the catalyst, which was that the 34-year- old man was shot.
O'NEILL: Well, what they have been doing is they did have the objective surrounded. The building surrounded so they had that element there and I'm assuming what they were trying to do was negotiate with the hostage taker. There's a lot of options that are going on. I'm sure different methods of entry. Different styles they wanted to do. I'm sure they were narrowing it down to the best possible ways to rescue. But I'm sure that first on their mind was to end it without gunfire and taking the hostage taker alive. And it just appears based on what we saw with the grenades being thrown in, they briefed controlled chaos that something happened that needed their reaction, they reacted I'm sure it was according to what they wanted.
BURNETT: And they win obviously, so those flash bangs and we could see all that sort of bursting out of the windows in the shop. You know, Robert, we've seen this animation so many times but I want to play it again. This is the raid, your raid. The raid that got Bin Laden. You were of course at the center of it. What is the difference between what we're seeing on the screen here, which is you're going up the stairs and shooting Bin Laden and what we're seeing in Sydney? Which is harder?
O'NEILL: Well, the difference there is that there are people inside that are innocent, that were taken hostage. So, once something that happens, the bad guy or that person inside had the ability to start shooting them which is what may have been what happened tonight. On the raid that we did in Abbottabad, Pakistan, we had time on our side, so to speak. We could be careful, you know, doing different things, going around different corners, entering different rooms. But on a hostage rescue situation like this, once there is gun fire the most immediate thing is to save the innocent hostages and that does include getting the hostage rescued team in between the bullets. So, it's a different environment where speed becomes of the essence once the cast takes off.
BURNETT: And now we've seen something like this, which is sort of hard for many of us to comprehend. That you would see attacks on, you know, this is a chocolate shop. These are people going for a morning coffee, people going shopping for Christmas. You know, a 38-year-old mother of three is dead today. It appears it was a lone wolf attack. Could it happen here?
O'NEILL: Well, there is no doubt that it could happen here. And it could be anybody that looks at social media and becomes radicalized by the stuff that ISIS is spewing. Or in this case what it looks to me as someone just mentally ill and can claim to something. But yes, this can definitely happen here. And this is a point where all of us around the world need to be vigilant and realized that just because we don't believe in the bad guys doesn't mean the bad guys aren't trying to kill us because we don't believe exactly what they believe. So, yes, it can happen here and people just needed to be aware of it. And then report it if they see it.
BURNETT: All right. Robert, thank you so much. I really appreciate having you on. Thank you.
O'NEILL: Thank you, Erin.
BURNETT: Next, police were actually well acquainted with the gunman in today's hostage situation. Was he a crazed loner or part of a broader plot?
And more breaking news in Pennsylvania tonight, a major manhunt is underway at this hour for a man who was suspected of killing six people today.
Plus, terror striking a cafe in the busiest part of a major city. So, how could it happen here?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news tonight, Special Forces and police stormed a Sydney cafe where a lone gunman held 17 hostages. Two hostages and the gunman were killed in the raid. We now know one of them was a 34- year-old man and one of them, a 38-year-old mother of three. It was a crisis that paralyzed the city for more than 16 hours. And we are now learning more tonight about the gunman. He was a self-proclaimed Muslim cleric with a long well-known history of violence and extremism. Alexandra Field is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Man Haron Monis, a self-styled cleric called Sheikh Haron dubbed the fake sheikh by Australian media. He had the attention of the press, the authorities and social media audience even before he took 17 people hostage at gunpoint inside a Sydney chocolate shop.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He has been clearly identified all through these last few hours as he paces his way back and forth in front of the four plate glass windows.
FIELD: Before a deadly stand-off that lasted more than 16 hours, the Iranian refugee living in Australia, publicly protested the death of Afghan civilians.
ABBOT: He had a long history of violent crime. Infatuation with extremism and mental instability.
FIELD: His personal website shows a picture of dead children. Under it a claim that, quote, "this is in evidence for the terrorism of America and its allies, including Australia. The result of their air strikes. Monis plead guilty last year to writing offensive letters to the families of Australian service members calling them Hitler's soldiers according to Australian media.
MAN HARON MONIS, SELF-PROCLAIMED SHEIKH: This pen is my gun and these words are my bullets.
FIELD: Dressed in chains, he later demonstrated on a street corner claiming he was tortured in prison for his political letters. Claims New South Wales police have not commented on. Monis has been out on bail charged with accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. Last April, he was arrested for sex crime against seven women reaching as far back as 2002. Police said he had claimed to be a sexual healer. His website describes Monis as the victim of a political vendetta and likens him to WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange who has claimed sex crimes he's been accused of were politically driven. Online the Iranian national says, he is not part of any organization or party. But he appears to embrace a radical Sunni extremist theology in his postings. In one post, he claims allegiance to ISIS with whom Iran has also waged war. Authorities call him a lone wolf with no direct connection to any group.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Alex, it's pretty incredible when you think about his history that they knew who he was and this still could have happen. What do you know about when Monis left Iran, why he was in Australia to begin with?
FIELD: Well, certainly Erin, authorities were familiar with him. What we're learning tonight is a report from Iranian media which said that he's fled the country back in 1995 when he was being pursued for committing fraud. He then went to Australia where he was given political asylum. What we still don't know is why he targeted this chocolate shop or what motivated this attack.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Alexandra. Pretty stunning just when you hear all about it that she puts it together.
Joining me now, Philip Mudd, our counterterrorism analyst, a former CIA counterterrorism official. And Patrick Skinner, director of Special Projects for the Soupon Group and a former CIA case officer.
Okay, I'm glad to have both of you with us to give some real perspective on this. So, as Alex just reported, the gunman in this case was well known to law enforcement. I mean, just a few of the thing she mentioned. Seven incidences of alleged sexual assault, a role in the murder of his ex-wife. He also online had pledged allegiance to ISIS. They knew him. And it wasn't just that he was pledging allegiance to ISIS. They knew that this guy had, according to them done horrible things. Why was not he under closer watch?
PHILIP MUDD, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CIA COUNTERTERRORISM CENTER: Look, there are thousands of people. Forget about Australia. There's thousands of people across America who are like this and we're seeing a change in the world of terrorism. Evidenced by what we saw in Sydney to me that today is really troubling that tells you how concerning this is. Let me tell you what I mean. Thirteen years ago, we had an al Qaeda organization that we didn't understand well but we could target. We knew where it was in the travel areas of Pakistan. We could run human sources in. Today we're not only dealing with lone wolves. Thousands of them, for example, who are across America. I would say in American cities. I saw it every day at the FBI. But increasingly think about Ottawa, think about that hatchet attack in New York and think about Sydney. We're dealing with lone lunatics. If you're trying to get me to predict as an analyst what we're going to see tomorrow from terror suspects for a mentally deranged, I'm going to tell you that's not predictable. And that's the problem I'm seeing in the past months. Not only lone wolves but lone lunatics.
BURNETT: And Patrick (INAUDIBLE) especially on folks as looking could be thousands, when you're talking about it in the United States?
PATRICK SKINNER, FORMER CIA CASE OFFICER: Yes, I usually tend to downplay a lot of threats but the problem, Phil is exactly right. That it is completely unpredictable. And it seems like ISIS is now the one banner that mentally disturbed people can rally behind. And there's no rhyme or reason. ISIS is basically outsourced their external operations and as part of their foot soldiers, they're usually mentally disturbed people.
BURNETT: All right. So Monis made his demands by forcing hostages to actually post things on social media. So, I mention at the time of the program that people were on their phones. And a lot of people thought, well, why would this guy let them have their phones? Now, maybe that was a mistake and he just planned it poorly. But he actually tried to use to it his advantage. He had them e-mail out saying, let me just play one hostage he had get on the phone and make a call and make a claim. And here's what the hostage did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: For the media to inform the other brothers, not to explode the other two bombs which are also in the city. There are four bombs altogether.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, Phil, what do you make of that? He obviously made that person call the police and say that.
MUDD: Sure. This was not an accident. They regard that as the Islamic extremists that were facing as a perfectly legitimate way to talk to the world. Remember the beheadings videos we seen out of Syria. What these people are trying to do is to say, look, I'm not responsible for my actions. The U.S. and others have entered places like Iraq and Syria. They're bombing our people. If you just stop, we can allow this not to happen. What they're trying to do is engage in a dialogue that makes them appear to be the same ones. You leave our area, you leave Iraq, Syria, you give me an Islamic flag in the case of Sydney, Australia. And these people won't get hurt. They're trying to make themselves and the people who are the rational participants in a dialogue.
BURNETT: Patrick, what about what we have seen thus far though in the United States is a relative success in these attacks not happening? You see in it Ottawa, you see it in Sydney, you saw it in Belgium. And these went back to the United States, as ISIS sees it. War on the United States. But it hasn't happened in the United States.
SKINNER: Yes. We've been very, very lucky. One of attacks have failed but I think they don't care about failure. Old al Qaeda wanted to do spectacular attacks. I think the new troubling paradigm is the fact that they don't care. They just want to paralyze a city with fear which they managed to do it today. And so, all it takes is an attempt form them. And they're going to try to use propaganda, they're outsourced it and this guy didn't even bring his own flag.
BURNETT: No, he didn't. He called and demanded a flag. Now, Phil, when you look at what you're hearing out of New York tonight which is obviously they are increasing their threat level, increase their police present at land marks, financial districts, major centers. Will that work? Will that be enough? If someone is intent on doing this?
MUDD: Well, let me be blunt, Erin. This tell me less about terrorism than it does about American political culture and American security in 2014. When I was at the agency and then at the bureau, we have a lot of tolerance in this country for gang crime. We have a lot of tolerance for cartels in Texas cities, New Mexico, California, we do not have tolerance for one insane person who claims he is affiliated with ISIS to undertake an attack. John Miller is my friend. That is the counterterrorism coordinator at the NYPD. I would do exactly the same thing he did. But I think this is more about them, the NYPD having to respond. Because people have zero tolerance for this in the United States.
BURNETT: They do have zero tolerance. Patrick, if this would have happened, things would change.
SKINNER: Yes, and that's the disturbing part is they know that. That six people were killed in Pennsylvania today and the only reason why people didn't freak out was because he didn't have a flag. And so, all it takes is somebody to hold up traffic tomorrow with a an ISIS banner and they've succeeded in doing what they want.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thanks very much to both of you. And you just mention that story, is a major breaking story were following tonight. There were six people murdered today and others seriously wounded near Philadelphia. The suspected gunman in this case is on the loose tonight. They are desperately trying to search him down. We have the latest on that manhunt wide, next.
And Bill Cosby's wife Camille breaking her silence tonight. And what she had to say at least shocked me. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, a massive manhunt underway in Pennsylvania. Bradley William Stone is suspected of killing six people today, seriously wounding another. He is on the loose right now in Pennsylvania. Police say, he may be dress in the military fatigues. He is considered armed and dangerous.
Susan Candiotti is OUTFRONT. And Susan, do police have any idea exactly where he might be? Where they should be looking?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, no one knows where he is right now and he is considered dangerous. After all, suspected of killing six all related to him in some way. He spares his own children but authorities say, not others. A law enforcement source appears, says this appears to be a domestic dispute. It started in the middle of the night. Montgomery County near Philadelphia. Authorities allege Bradley Stone goes on a shooting spree. 3:30 in the morning, he kills three people. His ex-wife's sister, her husband, and their 14-year-old daughter. Their 17-year-old son is seriously wounded. 4:25, he kills his former mother-in-law and her elderly mom. About a half-hour later, he allegedly kills his ex-wife. They filed for divorce in 2009. An ongoing custody battle for their two daughters. He takes his daughters from the murder scene. A neighbor sees him leave. The two girls are in their pajamas. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIGHBOR OF SHOOTING SUSPECT: I heard gunshots and I heard the kids yelling, "mommy, no, no, mommy, no," and he just said, "let's go, we have to go." I heard him say, "let's go, we have to get in the car." And I asked him if everything okay. And I saw the kids and the kids' father exiting the house. And they didn't have any coats on or anything. They just had their pajamas on. And he just said, "we have to go." He was like, "she's hurt. She's hurt pretty bad. We have to leave." And he just got in the car and sped off.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: He takes the girls to a neighbor. She lives about 20 miles away. They are safe. But their dad, he's not been seen again -- Erin.
BURNETT: It's just horrific to contemplate and, of course, as you say, he just saved those two girls.
What more do you know about him? What his background is?
CANDIOTTI: Well, Bradley William Stone, 35 years old. He's an ex- Marine reservist, served about three months in Iraq back in 2008. He left the reserves in the 2011.
The D.A. says he uses a cane or a walker but he may not need them. They found Stone's car and his cell phone already, so it's not clear how he's getting around or where he may be hiding -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Susan.
And joining me now, our law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes, along with retired NYPD director Harry Houck.
All right. Good to have you both with us.
Tom, let me start with you.
The suspect, served in the marines, a few months in Iraq back in 2008, came off active duty. He was a reservist. He has evaded police so far today successfully.
What does this say to you about his capability?
TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCMENT ANALYST: Well, obviously, he is extremely dangerous. And when you shoot and kill six people, that would indicate that you're armed and dangerous. He's taken out practically all of his in-laws. And the only person that escaped this was his ex-wife's fiance. And apparently, he wasn't with her at the time when he usually is with her.
So, he may be in the process of hunting that individual down for a vendetta. We don't know. We don't know if he's suicidal.
You know, we have questions. You know, I would be questioning his mental health. I'd like to know more about his military record. What happened that he was only in Iraq three months? We don't normally send people over there and bring them right back.
BURNETT: Right.
FUENTES: So, it makes you wonder what was going on? What is his military record reflect? Did it reflect mental illness? You shouldn't kill six people like this. You've got mental problems.
Did he have them before he went in the military or is he suffering from post-traumatic shock? We don't know. BURNETT: We don't know.
And, Harry, we also know, you just heard Susan report, that he was known to walk with a cane or a walker. But then she said, of course, we don't know if he needs them, which is an important caveat because this is a guy who killed six people and is on the run. He is obviously getting around.
HARRY HOUCK, FORMER NYPD POLICE OFFICER: Well, he is definitely getting around pretty good, because it appears that he might be on foot. Now, we don't know if he had hijacked another car. He is driving out of the area there. Or is he still in that area? Have the police cordoned off the whole area and see if there is a possibility that he might be in that area? Or is he after other family members, or at other family members' houses --
BURNETT: And we don't know at this point whether this turn into a broader -- I mean, they are saying he is arm and dangerous. He's being hunted.
HOUCK: Right, exactly. Things like this turn out, I have a funny feeling this guy is going to kill himself. That's how we're going to find his body.
BURNETT: You think that might happen.
HOUCK: Yes, I think that's what's going to happen, because he knows he's not going to get away with it. The police are going to track him down soon. We'll probably know by morning.
BURNETT: Tom, how far do you think he could have gotten at this point? Obviously, the other key piece of information is that he doesn't have his cell phone, which could have been something done on purpose, because you can usually track people on their cell phones. Obviously, it could have been accidental.
FUENTES: Well, we don't know if this was spontaneous act of anger on his part, or has he had been planning this for a while? He could have bought another cell phone.
BURNETT: Right.
FUENTES: You can buy to a store and buy a phone that can't be tracked. So, he could have made cash withdrawals so he doesn't need more money that way. He could have had another car that he uses. We don't know that.
The other fear I would have, and I would agree Harry completely, the expectation is that he is suicidal and probably won't last the night. The hope is that he doesn't do a home invasion to seek shelter because it's cold outside.
BURNETT: Right.
FUENTES: Or do a carjacking where he injures somebody else. And if and when the police do corner him, that -- if he is going to do, that he has already done it and doesn't take police officers with him in the process.
BURNETT: Right, because, Harry, obviously, the hope right now is that he doesn't kill some civilian. He could kill somebody else.
What are the challenges of finding someone like this? You're saying perhaps he's on foot. Think about the last one of these. It took months.
HOUCK: Right. Apparently, it's so hard to find a guy like this because we don't have the cell phone. We can't track him. We can't track the vehicle.
Now, if he hijacked the car, we'll find out soon. Somebody will make a police report that somebody is missing. If he is in the house, somebody's house, did he break into somebody's house and stay there overnight? We're going to find out something like that within the next couple hours.
I think basically here, he is going to come to the conclusion, this is what I did. There is no way I'm getting out of this. I don't think this guy is going to and walk into a precinct and surrender. I think he's going to probably wind up killing himself.
BURNETT: And, Tom, what do you make of the fact that he did not kill his own children?
FUENTES: Well, that is interesting. As I mentioned, he kills all of his in-laws and he's been in a bitter divorce apparently and battles with his ex-wife that he has just ended those battles today. As far as his own children, at least that's one hopeful sign that he was protecting them. And it also may mean that he has enough family ties that maybe he'll go to a parent or a sibling or someone else that is a relative on his side of the family to seek help, to either get financial assistance or some other help in this.
And, of course, in a normal fugitive investigation, whether it's the police, the marshals, the FBI, any organization, that's kind of the standard fugitive 101, is to track down every member of the family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, co-workers that a person might turn to for assistance.
BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to both of you. I appreciate your time tonight.
And next, 17 Australians held hostage by a gunman in a cafe. Is this a blueprint for lone wolf terror attacks and could it happen in the U.S.? We have a special report on that.
Plus, Camille Cosby breaking her silence tonight, in her own words, and we'll tell you what they are.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news: we now have the first picture of Katrina Dawson. She is one of two hostages who were killed during 16-hour stand-off between a self-proclaimed cleric and police in Sydney, Australia.
As you look at Katrina Dawson, we'll tell you what we know about her. She was 38 years old. She was a lawyer and she was the mother of three children.
In New York City, police are on higher alert, increasing police presence at major landmarks and across the city in direct response to the attacks in Sydney. This is latest in a string of lone wolf terror attacks in major world cities this year, and officials now fear it could happen in the United States.
Deborah Feyerick is OUTFRONT here in New York City.
And, Deb, you're in one of the places where police say today they have specifically increased security as a result of what happened in Sydney.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. They deployed resources to potential threat areas. We're here at Columbus Circle, and you can see some of the police car here. There was a heavier police presence just a couple minutes ago.
Because it is Christmas time, because there are so many additional people, the NYPD wants to make sure they've got all the bases covered. That's why they had people down at the financial district, as well as even Lindt shops in heavily traveled areas because they want to make sure if anything happen, that they are very close and able to respond. It is also a great deterrence to these lone wolf attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are throwing something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMLALE: They are. They are throwing something into the doorway.
FEYERICK (voice-over): The attack at a Sydney cafe not far from Australia's famed opera house is the latest carried out this year. Either in the name of ISIS or the Islamic extremism, a stark reminder that lone wolf attacks can happen anywhere, anytime.
What the attackers have in common is they're often self-radicalized men, the majority recent converts, the majority with criminal histories, and sometimes mental problems -- acting on their own, striking soft targets, easy to attack: a cafe, a museum, a national monument.
(on camera): How do you process what we are seeing?
MITCH SILBER, K2INTELLIGENCE: There's an acronym for it, DIY, sort of do-it-yourself jihad, where individuals are taking it upon themselves, whether they live in London, or New York, or Ottawa, or Sydney, to go out and commit an act of terrorism on their own.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Among the most dramatic recently, in October, a wannabe Syrian jihad fighter strikes Canadian parliament and soldiers at a Canadian war monument. In Quebec, another man targets soldiers at a shopping center. In the U.S. in September, an Oklahoma business is targeted when a recent Islamic convert beheads a female co-worker.
SILBER: For a lot of them, a group like ISIS or al Qaeda provides a heroic identity with a cause that's bigger than just sort of being a loser on their own.
FEYERICK: The shooting by a former ISIS fighter at the Jewish Museum in Belgium in May and beheading a British soldier in London by two converts were also identified as lone wolf attacks, what experts like Mitch Silber of K2Intelligence call spontaneous jihad, with major propaganda value.
SILBER: The lesson is even people who are low functioning, if they're inspired by a group like ISIS, they, too, can be deadly.
FEYERICK: In September, ISIS called on supporters to attack wherever, using whatever.
In Sydney, because of the strange shape of the gunman's black vest, authorities worried he may be wearing explosives. Yet, for the most part, weapons chosen have been relatively commonplace -- a gun, a car, an axe -- easy to get, easy to strike, and without meaningful intelligence, hard to prevent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And that's why the NYPD has mobilized one of its detectives from Singapore to Sydney to work with both federal and local police there to see exactly who this person was. Whether there may be any suggestion that he has any contacts within the United States, and more importantly, to see exactly how this played out so they can learn from the attack, from the hostage-taking, and discover ways to either prevent it or certainly to respond in a way that programs they wouldn't have before -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Deb, thank you very much.
And next, Camille Cosby speaking out tonight. She has a message for Bill Cosby's accusers. She's very direct about it and we'll tell you about it next.
And Jeanne Moos with a rather different sort of dog rescue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: And now, let's check in with Anderson with a look at what's coming up in the next hour in "AC360" -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Erin. Yes, we have a two-hour special actually edition tonight of "360", starting the top of the hour. Much more obviously on the breaking news out of Sydney. We'll speak with the former Navy SEAL Jonathan Quilliam about the tactics used to end hostage stand-offs. What led to the final firefight, we're going to put that to a former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss. And more on the gunman himself who pledged allegiance to ISIS. I'll speak about radicalization and how to fight it with Maajid Nawaz, who used to be an extremist himself but is now the director of the counter-extremist group called Quilliam Foundation.
Plus, former Vice President Cheney on the record, calling the Senate's torture report "full of crap". Tonight, my conversation with someone who is in the room when interrogations were taking place, and basically thinks about the same with the vice president's stance. Ali Soufan, former FBI supervisory special agent joins me.
All that and more at the top of the hour, Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Anderson. Looking forward to seeing the whole show.
And breaking news now, the wife of Bill Cosby is coming to her husband's defense in a shocking new statement that was just released. According to the statement, Camille Cosby questions the credibility of the more than 20 women who say they were drugged and/or raped by her husband.
Here's part of what Camille wrote, "A different man has been portrayed in the media over the last two months. It is the portrait of a man I do not know. It is also a portrait painted by individuals and organizations who many in the media have given a pass. There appears to be no vetting of my husband's accusers before stories are published or aired. An acquisition is published and immediately goes viral.
Camille then compares the acquisitions very specifically to the story of an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, writing about the controversy of a "Rolling Stone" article. She says, quote, "The story was heart breaking but ultimately appeared to be untrue. Many in the media were quick to link that story, the stories about my husband, until that story unwound."
Attorney Lisa Bloom is OUTFRONT tonight.
Lisa, good to have you with me.
I want to make sure our viewers understand. You are now representing Janice Dickinson, who is accusing Bill Cosby of rape. Your mother Gloria Allred, of course, representing some of the Cosby accusers.
LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY: Yes.
BURNETT: When you hear what Camille had to say, what do you hear? Is there a part of you that says perhaps Camille is right?
BLOOM: Well, of course journalists have a responsibility to vet stories and get all sides of the story. And that was really the criticism in the "Rolling Stone"/UVA case. But how ironic here that Bill Cosby himself has refused to sit for an interview, has refused to answer question. So, how can journalists get both sides if he refuses to do that, and instead puts his wife out there? Although he hasn't spoken, he's now putting her out there to make a statement on his behalf. BURNETT: You know, it's an interesting point that you make. One
question I have for you given you are representing Janice Dickinson, as one of the accusers. So, one thing that stands out to everybody is that these women's stories all are similar, right? That they have all a story about some sort of a drug in their drink, and some people see that as a sign that it is overwhelming, it clearly happened, these stories all match up. Others say, well, once a person says it story, it's easy to mimic it or copy it. So, the fact they're all the same may not be something that indicates it really happened.
How have you come to the conclusion that it did?
BLOOM: Well, I don't think that the fact that the stories are similar means that they are necessarily true or that they are false. That's just one factor to take into account. You have to sit with one of the accusers and really hear her story to determine whether you think she's credible. It's up to a court if a matter goes to court to make the ultimate conclusion as to who is telling the truth.
From where I sit, one of the important things is that a woman's testimony is evidence. So many women in rape cases are told, you don't have any evidence. The police can't go forward. No one is going to represent you.
But, in fact, a woman's testimony is evidence. That's what so many women didn't understand until now.
BURNETT: Now, at the end of her statement, Camille asks a question, all right? I'll just read it to you. I know you've seen it, but I want to read it our viewers. She writes, "None of us will ever want to be in a position of attacking a victim, but the question should be asked, who is the victim?"
Now, when you hear that, I mean, obviously, perhaps she could be referring to just the general situation, which is that Bill Cosby is famous and hasn't had a chance to respond to what is going on. But do you think she truly believes in her husband? She's known him for a long time. She's known him intimately. Everybody that believes the accuser says, well, she knew it was going on and knew it was happening.
Did she, perhaps, not?
BLOOM: Well, I don't think we could know the answer to that. If, indeed, Bill Cosby committed half of the crimes he's accused of, he's a very serious serial rapist. Can his wife know? I mean, we asked this in other cases as well.
I think it's possible to hide things from your wife. I haven't heard of any stories so far where Camille Cosby is accused of knowing anything, witnessing anything, accused of any wrongdoing. You know, Bill Cosby was travelling a great deal. He was on the road. Many of these stories happened when she was not around. So, I don't want to blame her. I'm not about blaming women, unless there's some evidence.
Camille Cosby may be a victim just like many other women appear to have been of Bill Cosby.
BURNETT: Hmm. All right. Lisa Bloom, thank you very much. Good to see you.
BLOOM: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, Jeanne Moos with Obie and his transformation into a pin-up pup.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: We have all done it, tossed the dog some food off your plate. I mean, come on, the little guys really want it.
One family took it a little too far. Here's Jeanne Moos and the lovable dog who had a heck of a lot to lose.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you go from this to this, you deserve your own calendar.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here he is. I just pulled him out of bet.
MOOS: Meet Obie. Actually you probably met him back in 2012. That's when he was famously fat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have a bossom.
MOOS: It's never a good sign when you are introduced with the word whopping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A whopping 77 pounds.
MOOS: Yet, now, he's a calendar pin-up boy with a beach body. Mr. August, Mr. September.
How did Obie get here from being so obese you could hear his belly drag? And to wear a vest to protect it, he looked like a beached walrus instead of dachshund.
Loving, but elderly owners overfed him human food. Nora Vanatta, a veterinary tech, took custody, put Obie on a weight loss, dry food diet and the pounds melted off. About a pound a week for a year.
Nora remembers the milestones.
NORA VANATTA, OBIE'S OWNER: The first time he ran. The first time he lifted his leg to pea.
MOOS: After losing 40 pounds, he had so much excess skin --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did a modified tummy tuck, yes.
MOOS: -- they had to remove 2 1/2 pounds of tissue. And now --
(on camera): He just looks sleek, slim and svelte.
(voice-over): He's maintained 23 pounds for a year.
Obie's $25 2015 calendar sounds like a Hallmark card. Every once in awhile, a dog enters your life and changes everything.
(on camera): Dog owners could use inspiration. Over half, 52 percent of U.S. dogs are overweight or obese.
(voice-over): Obie isn't into exercise. He eats half a cup of regular, dry dog food twice a day.
VANATTA: I remember the first time he could scratch his face with his back leg.
MOOS: Mr. March is a wiener dog with buns he can be proud of.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
VANATTA: OK, you can go back to bed, silly.
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: He's so sweet. You know, we all have moments like that. When you are not pregnant and you can see your feet. He can scratch his face with his back feet. Pretty incredible.
All right. Thanks so much for joining us.
Tomorrow, an OUTFRONT investigation to the UVA rape allegations. We learn much more about the woman at the center of that story. We're going to meet her friends. They're going to tell us their story. And we have found out, it is very, very different than Jackie's.
That's a special OUTFRONT investigation tomorrow. Don't miss it on the ground from UVA.
And be sure to set your DVR to record OUTFRONT so you can watch us anytime.
"AC360" begins right now.
