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Erin Burnett Outfront

Hegseth Hits Campaign Trail Amid Iran War To Attack Trump Foe; 3 Killed In San Diego Mosque Shooting, 2 Teen Suspects Found Dead. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired May 18, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:23]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, the defense secretary hitting the campaign trail in the middle of a war. Hegseth doing Trump's bidding to take down a fellow Republican as Trump creates a $1.8 billion slush fund.

Plus, breaking news, a deadly shooting at the largest mosque in San Diego. Three killed, two teenage suspects also dead. As we're learning, hate speech was scrawled on one of the weapons from police, and were expecting a live press conference in just a couple moments here that we will bring you live.

And running for cover. Our Nick Paton Walsh on the ground in Ukraine, literally dodging the Russian drones on the front lines there as Ukrainian forces are making major gains in this war.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett on this Monday.

And OUTFRONT tonight, the defense secretary hits the campaign trail. On day 80 of Trump's war with Iran, Pete Hegseth spent his day campaigning for a candidate in Kentucky. Hegseth says he was acting in his personal capacity, not as the defense chief. But of course, that is an absurd statement from a sitting defense secretary, in any scenario, including in the midst of a war.

And Hegseth went to slam a fellow Republican that Trump is trying to defeat, Congressman Thomas Massie on the eve of this crucial primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: At some point, constant obstruction is not leadership, it's just commentary. It's obstruction. Thomas Massie has acted like his job is to stand apart from the movement that President Trump leads, instead of strengthening it. When President Trump needs backup, Massie wants to debate process. You can send a warrior, or you can send an obstructionist. He needs to bolster our ranks, not obstructionism. He has enough obstruction from Democrats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Obviously, all political and us an hour and all those things again, sitting defense secretary during a war. It is important to point out, by the way, when it comes to policy, the Congressman Massie votes with his party easily a majority of the time. But Trump is fuming because Massie took a stand on three specific things. He was a yes on releasing the Epstein files; no on the Big, Beautiful Bill because it added trillions to the national debt, something conservatives don't like to do; and no on the war with Iran.

And for Trump, it all became deeply personal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm in the Oval Office and we're in a fight against the worst congressman in the history of our country. His name is Thomas Massie. He's from Kentucky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And Trump has spent a lot of time focused on Massie, a lot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They don't have these people like Massie, who's just a terrible congressman.

We have guys like Tom Massie in Congress. He's terrible. He's just terrible, terrible person.

Massie is a complete and total disaster.

Stupid Tom Massie.

Thomas Massie, there's something wrong with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Well, former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called Trump out, writing, quote, MAGA has become a cult.

And Massie is an interesting case because, again, he has voted with Trump again and again and again. Frankly, he just stood by conservative principles on something like debt and morals. So is he alone?

Well, listen to one C-SPAN caller who claims to have voted for Trump three times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: But now I regret my support for him, and I should have known better. He's making it plain as day. He's a con man, a liar, doesn't keep his promises. He's in office all for himself, and he doesn't even try to hide his corruption anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Well, that's a stunning statement. And it comes as Trump has settled with the IRS and is part of an extraordinarily unusual settlement, has established a $1.8 billion fund. So what is this fund for in this settlement? Well, it is to compensate people like Trump who claim that they were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration.

So who made this decision to give this $1.8 billion to people like Trump? Well, the two page legal document was signed by the Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche. Of course, before he was that, he was Trump's personal attorney.

And that's not the only taxpayer money at stake tonight. There's also the ballroom. You know, Trump wants $1 billion of taxpayer money to pay for that, but that money is now in jeopardy. The senate parliamentarian nixed the idea.

But on this one. Okay, you heard that c-span caller a moment ago, right on this one, the ballroom, there are Trump believers who are framing the issue of the ballroom as a religious issue and an issue of God.

[19:05:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC METAXAS, HOST, THE ERIC METAXAS SHOW: It's hard to believe that it would take two centuries for the Lord to raise up a great man, to bring that ballroom, finally, to stand where it needs to stand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The speaker there is an evangelical radio host and speaker.

Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT live in Kentucky, where Thomas Massie just held his last event before the polls open.

And, Jeff, I know you just spoke with Thomas Massie. What did you talk about

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, Congressman Massie did just wrap up his final event here, and it's in his home county. And he said, people don't bully me. It's not what we do. Those are some of the final words here being sent into the hours before the election tomorrow.

The congressman realizes he's in the fight of his political life. There is no question about that. But we asked him specifically about the secretary of defense campaigning right here in Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I think I'm going to win, actually. I think that's why theyre panicked. Look, why would the president post on social media 10 times in 24 hours? Why would the secretary of war come to Kentucky?

If they thought they had this in the bag, they wouldn't be buying -- Miriam Adelson wouldn't be buying another $3 million of ads this past weekend. And theyre creating stuff with A.I. They're just making trash claims.

These are the signs of a desperate campaign. They're desperate because theyre in with both feet, and they've pushed in all their chips. When they lose this, it's going to be cataclysmic for the -- for the establishment in D.C.

(END VIDOE CLIP)

ZELENY: Now, look, that is no surprise that the congressman is speaking with optimism there. There is also realism setting in his supporters realize that just the overwhelming amount of spending here, Erin. It's just extraordinary, more than $30 million in television ads and radio ads. It is just hard to really capture that. It's the most expensive primary race ever. You cannot escape these advertisements.

So the question is, this race has been nationalized. That's the view of President Trump. But as we've been talking to Kentucky voters, they say they are actually making a decision between a congressman they like and a president they like as well. So going into the polls tomorrow, there was high early voting turnout over the weekend. It is a close race, there's no doubt about it.

But again, Congressman Massie said we won't be bullied. Of course, we'll see what happens tomorrow, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much.

And look, just extraordinary, $30 million, $35 million, okay, in a primary like this. You'd ordinarily spend zero because the guy votes with the president, the president. But it's extraordinary. It's incredible.

And everyone's here with me.

Lulu -- I mean, and to the extent that you bring the secretary of defense, who, by the way, calls himself the secretary of war, Thomas Massie calls him secretary of war, just to make the point that he is with president in many ways. In the middle of a war, he goes to Kentucky to stump on the eve of the primary.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. And he didn't only stump on the eve of the primary. He first went to bestow medals. He participated in a ceremony where people re-enlisted. It was all the pomp and ceremony of the secretary of defense.

And then he uses that as a backdrop to go and then campaign against Thomas Massie. I mean, this is unprecedented. You know, we keep our civilian heads of the DOD that way for a reason. They are supposed to be in their capacity as nonpartisan as they possibly can, because being the head of the military is a sacred trust. It is not supposed to be political. So the very idea that he is doing this in the middle of a war, but

doing this at all is really another norm that has been completely broken.

BURNETT: You know, and, Bakari, you had those awards, those purple hearts that were awarded, but it is in the context of the fact that Trump, when it comes to his base, that's where Jeff Zeleny said, right. People are choosing between a congressman they like and a president that they like.

You look at Tennessee, look at Cassidy, right? When it comes to these primary Republican on Republican violence, Trump is winning.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And that's okay. And I think many Democrats say continue this because it's apparent that the Republican Party is still very much Donald Trump's party. What Republicans in Washington, D.C., understand, however, is that his numbers are underwater. His approval rating is as low as it's ever been. The economy is not where he promised it would be. The cost of eggs, the cost of gas, all of those things, inflation rising.

People are seeing that. People were talking about America first, and we're at war on many different fronts. They're not understanding the reason why.

You have slush funds. You have a lack of ethics. And the irony in this is that Thomas Massie is, is light years more conservative than Donald Trump. This isn't a question of whether or not, they there is a conservative member, a Reagan type conservative, a George W. Bush type conservative. This isn't that anymore. This is a conversation about someone who had a modicum of dignity and respect in Thomas Massie, somebody who had ethics and morals in Thomas Massie, and Donald Trump, who runs an operation of retribution.

[19:10:00]

BURNETT: So, Gretchen, when Thomas Massie tells Jeff Zeleny theyre fighting against him because they're panicked in the final hours do you see that as sort of bluster and what you would say before an election? Or do you think, he says that sort of bolstered by data and a feel?

GRETCHEN CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: No, I think both sides are panicked. Lets be clear, Pete Hegseth -- unless Kentucky polling show that suddenly he's like this important popular figure in the Republican side of things, I'm not sure why you would send him there other than Donald Trump believes that he looks telegenic, so he thinks that maybe voters will come out simply because of that. And that's what Donald Trump likes. That's the first thing.

Second of all, I think Pete Hegseth is going to run for president. So I think that's the other reason that he's there.

Number three, one of the most important things that's not being discussed here is that these primaries that Donald Trump has been victorious in over the last few weeks have been primary voters. These are die hard MAGA supporters, in many cases where independents are not allowed to vote in these primaries, where you have the majority of the American public sitting somewhere in the middle.

But I do believe this is the most important election that we've seen over the last couple of weeks, because Massie has been the biggest fighter against Trump. And I think that that whoever wins this one, that's going to be a sign of what may be to come.

BURNETT: I mean, can we just $35 million on something that ordinarily would have had a zero next to it?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, the amount of money that is being dropped into these races is completely crazy. I mean, I have to tell you, if there is one thing that people tell me over and over again, regular people, is that they would like to see changed, is the amount of money that is being dropped in. And also by just dark money people who, you know, were seeing that AIPAC dropping in money, all these different interest groups coming into these races and trying to influence them. And, and a lot of people look at this and say, is that democracy? Is that really what we are actually barreling towards when we have all this money coming into these races like that?

BURNETT: AIPAC, of course, Israeli, American, Israeli PAC. So, okay, you mentioned the slush fund. So just in the context of this, the fund that came out today, while Pete Hegseth is in Kentucky, is a $1.776 billion fund somehow, you know, 250 anniversary. I just want to put all the decimals there because I feel like it's important.

Okay, so theyre going to -- it's going to be going to people January 6th, rioters who are pardoned, even people like Trump, right? People that Trump says were just unfairly, politically prosecuted by Biden. He is -- it could be in that list.

And then he said this about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's been very well-received. I have to tell you, I know very little about it. I wasn't involved in the whole creation of it, and the negotiation. But this is reimbursing people that were horribly treated, horribly treated. It's anti-weaponization fund. They've been weaponized. They've been, in some cases, imprisoned wrongly.

They paid legal fees that they didn't have. They've gone bankrupt. Their lives have been destroyed, and they turn out to be right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I mean --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: For someone who doesn't know much about it, he seems to have a pretty good read on where that money is going and to whom.

SELLERS: The problem is that this is taxpayer dollars. This is going to people who we witnessed assault police officers who we witnessed run through the halls of the United States Congress with Confederate flags, who we witnessed put their feet up on Nancy Pelosi's desk while they were rummaging through it. I mean, even our new homeland security chief was hiding. They were chanting, kill the vice president of the United States of America.

These are -- the people that and the illegality of it is just it makes your head hurt because Donald Trump and others knew they could not go through a normal legal process. They knew a judge would laugh them out of the courtroom. And so, the party of law and order and justice had to circumvent justice so that they could create this, you know, insurrection, white supremacy, reparations fund, which is a fascinating thing that people are going to sit back and be like, those.

BURNETT: The 1776 fund -- I mean, that's the whole point, right? Is that that's what patriotism is. Is that what they did on that day? I mean, I think that lesson is and so.

CARLSON: And so many of those J6-ers have been accused and convicted of other crimes since they were pardoned. That's number one.

Number two, Donald Trump is avenging all of this anger against his own enemies. So, will there be now a slush fund for all of those people coming down the pike?

And number three, the judge was going to rule on this lawsuit that he had against the IRS this week. And that's why you suddenly have now this settlement of sorts that comes out, because they probably knew that the judge was not going to allow this case to go forward.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But the real issue is we actually don't know who is entitled to this money, because this is a completely made up thing.

CARLSON: Totally.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is something that has been completely invented because Donald Trump, you know, had this lawsuit for billions of dollars. Unbelievable, unprecedented taxpayer money that was supposed to go into his pocket. And now this money is going to go to -- we don't know whom and who is going to oversee it and who has a say for that. I mean, it is in every single way something that is a -- out, absolutely egregious.

[19:15:05]

BURNETT: Yet -- and yet when that the evangelical radio host. Okay, it was hard to believe it would take two centuries for the lord to raise up a great man to bring that ballroom finally to stand where it needs to stand. That was said in seriousness at the National Mall to MAGA supporters. Obviously, you're diehard if you're going to the National Mall. But who cheered him?

CARLSON: I've been at events with Eric Metaxas before, over the years. I mean, yeah, I mean, as a Christian, there's probably a lot that we agree upon.

However, there's nothing about building a ballroom that has anything to do with being a Christian. I mean, so we've seen this with this administration, especially in this second term of this administration, where they are confounding what religion really is with what the goals are. And the ballroom has nothing to do with being a Christian.

SELLERS: And you just hit the nail on the head. This was -- I was going to chime in and say that what were seeing right now is this, this collision between true Christianity and this Christian nationalism, which are not the same thing. And when you get people who are idolizing and espousing these views about $1 billion ballroom that has these gold emblems all on it, while you have people who are Black, White, Democrat, Republican, and others who have to make decisions about whether or not they get their prescription drugs or pay their utility bills, who are really suffering. And you turned a blind eye to that, then you are seeing what Christian nationalism is.

Franklin Graham was talking about the fact that this country is morally declining, and I would agree with him. However, those calls are coming from inside the house. I mean, you have the tie back into what we just talked about. You have the president going after Thomas Massie because he wanted to release the Epstein files.

This isn't Christianity. This is an abomination. This is Christian nationalism. And more Christian folks need to get out of church on Sundays and start talking about this on Monday through Saturday.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you all very much.

Yes. Days I didn't think would happen where you'd have to be saying that building the ballroom isn't -- doesn't have anything to do with Christian, but, okay. Thank you all very much.

And next, the breaking news, we are standing by for that press conference I mentioned at the beginning of the program, after that deadly shooting at the largest mosque in San Diego where three people were killed. Two suspects also dead as police step up security at mosques now across the United States.

And Iran emboldened. Wait until you see this. Iranian television personalities now brandishing assault rifles before the cameras, one even firing on live TV as Trump reverses course again.

And Elon Musk tonight suffering a major defeat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:09]

BURNETT: Breaking news, we've got some new details coming in about the deadly shooting at the largest mosque in San Diego tonight. Three killed, two suspects also dead of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Now, officials say that there was hate speech scrawled on one of the weapons used in the shooting. And now police departments across the country are increasing security at mosques and other houses of worship.

Kyung Lah is there. She's on the ground OUTFRONT in San Diego. And, Kyung, just as we were watching this all unfold, the mass police

presence there, so much concern. And then, of course, sadly and tragically, multiple lives lost. What more are you learning about what happened?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you is that as were driving up here, you are seeing parents picking up children. And we're talking about really small children, preschool age, kids, kindergarten age, kids. And the parents have this look, as you said, Erin, of palpable fear. There is a lot of concern here, especially when they hear those words that this could be a hate crime.

As far as the information that we're trying to gather right now, I'm going to kind of walk you through this crowd. You can see that there's a really large contingent of press here. And then over there in the center, what we are expecting to hear from very, very soon is the latest update from the FBI, from the police, the local police here, as well as religious leaders.

And I just also want to have you pivot this way, Greg. This is where the mosque is. We're actually quite close to the mosque. And when I've been talking to people who know this mosque, who have grown up here, I talked to one man who went to kindergarten at the school, inside that mosque. He said that it's really -- even though this is the largest place, this feels like a very small community.

And so let's take a look at this community. Where did all of this unfold? And then if you try not to trip here this is Claremont Mesa. It's a neighborhood here in San Diego and it's a community I actually know quite well. This is a blended community known primarily back in the day when I lived here in San Diego as a predominantly Asian American community, but it's really become very diverse.

But you can see these houses. This is a normal middle class community. So to see parents walking with their kids, it's not unusual. So how did this unfold from that mosque that you saw all of this unfolded here in this neighborhood? And then the, the, the two suspects, from what we understand and have been able to piece together so far, somehow made it into that neighborhood just several blocks away.

So we don't know if they were traveling by foot or by car. It's very hard to piece this together right now, but that is what we are hoping to learn, Erin, as we figure out just a few more details the big question, let's start with the victims. Three men -- at this point, there's a lot of people saying, there's probably people they know at the mosque.

[19:25:05]

They don't know at this point if they're educators or there has been a convenience store that was in there. There are a lot of people who use this community center as a place, not just of worship, but of community. So they don't know who those three people are. And then the larger question is, who is the 17 year old? And the 19 year old man?

And at this point, they just don't know yet. We're waiting to hear the very latest, and we are anticipating, Erin, that this information could be coming very soon as this press conference is expected to start any minute now. I mean, we're running about 25 minutes late. Authorities said that they thought it was going to happen at 7:00 Eastern. I can see some officers kind of gathering near the mix, but it does look like theyre being held up for some reason.

BURNETT: So, yes, I mean, I guess the question is what, I know we're waiting to take that as well, live.

Kyung, you know, I mentioned one of the things we knew that so far police had released that there was hate speech scrawled on one of the weapons, but it sounds like other than the general age of the suspects and that they died by self-inflicted wounds, that we don't know much more at this point.

LAH: We don't know much more, and we don't know the landscaper who the San Diego police officer, the police chief mentioned in the last news briefing what the landscaper had had to do with this, if anything at all, or just happened to be there. Thankfully, that landscaper not seriously injured there was a miss.

But yes, I mean, it's all of this. Who are these people? What was the motive? And its really important for the parents who are picking up their kids. And by now, most of the kids have left the school. They have started to clear everybody out of here.

And that's really the big question is, you know what and why.

BURNETT: All right. Kyung, thank you. Please stay with us.

I know you're -- you know, you're sort of there with others trying to get that press conference live. But keep us honest. And I'm going to keep bringing you in here as long as I can before they start speaking.

I just want to also add Greg Ehrie to the conversation, former FBI special agent in charge of the Newark field office. And he was also an FBI domestic terror operations section chief.

So, Greg, you know, when you just listen to the latest that Kyung is reporting there on the ground, talking about the community and the mosque and the role it served, the very, you know, incredibly young age of the children inside.

Sources are saying all we know is that that there was this hate speech crawled on one scrawled on one of the weapons and that the suspects were teenagers, late teenagers, 17 and 19, perhaps is the -- is the ages were being given. We'll see if we get an update in just a couple of moments.

But what does this say to you so far?

GREG EHRIE, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Well, you know, Erin, more questions than answers right now is very, very early in the investigation. And as the reporter was saying before this, were asking the right questions. What's the motivation? What happened when they entered? These are the things that investigators will pick apart and build a timeline and say, what exactly caused this?

But right now, even the ages of the shooters are in question, and I'm sure there are people on their way to the house to talk to the families, talk to the relatives, the neighbors. Why did this happen? What was this motivation for this tragic event?

BURNETT: And we do understand a firearm was taken from one of the suspects' parents homes, right? So such that we know it right now, we don't know details about who they are, but we know that. You know, unfortunately, we in horrible tragedies in this country, guns being obtained in the home is not something that's unusual, but what questions do you have from that?

EHRIE: You know, again, what led them to perpetrate this attack? And at the home was the firearm secured? Was this something that could have been prevented?

I am very, very interested in the age of these two shooters. The alleged age of them, 17 and 19. How do you get radicalized so quickly to commit a mass shooting? Where they familiar with this area? Had they been in that mosque before?

Again, a lot of questions here that the investigators are delving into as we speak.

BURNETT: Right. I know, obviously, the law enforcement presence, as we said, was, was simply overwhelming and perhaps able to save many, many lives.

All right, Greg Ehrie, thank you very much.

And as I said, Kyung is there on the ground. So the minute that she gets the census press conference is going to start, were going to go there live. But they are running about a half an hour behind, and we don't know what's causing those delays. But perhaps that will mean we do get some more significant information here when they begin speaking. So we'll go there live.

In the meantime, we'll take a break. But next we do have this breaking news of this video out of Iran and its state television. But you see television personalities holding a site, assault rifles there. They're shooting, as Trump backs down from what he claims was a planned strike here in these next hours.

Plus, terrifying video from Ukraine, where our Nick Paton Walsh is on the ground running for cover as Russian drones were overhead, him and his team.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:34:13]

BURNETT: Tonight, displays of defiance on Iranian state media as several television personalities brandish assault rifles before the cameras, one even firing his rifle on live TV, which comes as President Trump, after claiming to have delayed a planned military attack on Iran that he says was happening tomorrow, now says he has advised the military to prepare for a, quote, full, large scale assault of Iran on a moments notice. If Iran can't agree to a deal that's acceptable to the U.S.

OUTFRONT now, Siamak Namazi is an Iranian American who was wrongfully detained for eight years inside Iran's Evin prison. And I'm very grateful to talk to you again, Siamak.

So when we see this defiance on Iranian state TV right there putting out this, you know, showing that they've got the rifles and firing them in one case, and you had the military and showing Iranians how to use guns at a public booth, that they were making sure they put out on media outlets over the weekend.

[19:35:11]

I guess the question for you, though, Siamak, amidst all of this, and this is the propaganda, of course, but has Trump's war actually pushed more Iranians to rally around the regime in a new way?

SIAMAK NAMAZI, IRANIAN AMERICAN WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED FOR 8 YEARS IN IRAN: Hi, Erin. It's a pleasure to be on your program. Thank you for having me.

And it's even a bigger pleasure that I don't have to watch Iranian TV from a cell anymore. So I've missed the gunshots display that you mentioned.

To your question, I think that while the world is concentrated on missiles, nuclear programs, the Strait of Hormuz, what's going on is that the Iranian regime has been very careful about crushing its own people and their aspirations. And if there's a renewed strike on Iran, one of the concerns of the regime will have is, and that they don't want to risk is the people rising up potentially, depending on the size of the attack?

So theyre making it very clear that that won't be tolerated. I think while Iran wants or the people in charge of that regime, want to show the U.S. that they can stomach a continued war, they also want to tell the people of Iran, and we know about 80, 85 percent of them are very much against the regime not to dream of coming into the streets again.

So whether it's shooting guns in the on TV or the displays, as you said, that theyre they have their supporters camping out in the streets really, some sort of block party almost ongoing, and the dismantling of the guns and teaching them how to use an AK 47. This is an aerial campaign against Iran.

So it's really, I think, aimed more the Iranian people. And final point is to remind you that executions in Iran and imprisonments have really skyrocketed, since this war, amnesty just came out with, I think 80 percent of the executions of -- the recorded executions of 2025 and close to the 12-day world war in Iran, over 2,100 of them. So, and the Iranian police chief said 6,500 people have been arrested since the war. That gives you an idea of the scale of the repression going on. BURNETT: It does. And you are right. It is not something that gets

talked about enough. You know, the context here is also that the supreme leader, the new supreme leader, of course, Siamak, has not been seen. And we know from now reporting that more on the extent of his injuries, right. It's been 71 days, but the extent of the injuries face, arm, torso, leg.

You know, he's isolated. It's human couriers. So, no one's around him. Even with any kind of a cell phone. And that he is very much the only communication comes from the IRGC.

What are -- what is your sense of his standing right now?

NAMAZI: Look, you make a great point. No one has really seen them. There's very few reports of sitting in. And basically he hasn't been brought into public. So everything we would say is based purely on speculation.

What we do know is the people around him. I should mention that, probably his mentor, a person called Hossein Tayeb, who used to head the IRGC intelligence, was the person who arrested me and some other American hostages and put us in a dungeon. So I'm very familiar with their thinking.

What we know is that we have today in Iran, a more hardliner regime than we had three months ago and that we can largely see the current supreme leader, Khamenei, the son Mojtaba Khamenei really having two groups of people around him. I would say the maximalist hardliners, the type that will come and shoot rifles on TVs and also the pragmatic hardliners and those the pragmatic hardliners are the folks that would be more inclined towards making a deal. But we just have types of hardliners in Iran right now surrounding the supreme leader.

BURNETT: Yeah. As you point out, just types of hardliners is not that some are and some aren't. Siamak, I appreciate your time and thank you very much for taking the time to talk.

And we have been following this breaking news out of San Diego with the deadly shooting at a mosque. And officials are giving an update right now. It's just started. Let's listen in.

CHIEF SCOTT WAHL, SAN DIEGO POLICE: Because of the horrific actions of today. This is a city's and a community's absolute worst nightmare, as a free society.

[19:40:05]

I appreciate all of your patience a free society. I appreciate all of your patience as we try to work through and piece this scene back together again. I have some updated information that I want to make sure everybody has. At about 9:42 this morning, we received a call of a runaway juvenile.

After speaking with the mom, mom began to piece together bits and pieces of information over an extended period of time. The information that she was gathering and conveying to us began to elevate the threat level that we were perceiving with this information. She believed her son was suicidal. And she began to share information that several of her weapons were missing. Her vehicle was missing, in addition to her son.

She also said that she was. Her son was with a companion and that they were dressed in camo and that is not consistent with what we would typically see from somebody that is suicidal. That began to trigger a larger threat assessment picture.

Our threat management unit began to take the tips and leads that we had and utilize the technology we have available to us. Our license plate readers was at the top of that list. We began to have -- we noted that there were hits with the vehicle down in Fashion Valley. We dispatched officers into the area of the mall, as a possible location that was a threat. We also gathered information that one of the individuals was associated in some form or fashion with Madison high school. We alerted school, school, police department, and we dispatched officers into the area of Madison high school.

While we were gathering this information and we were trying to zero in on where these individuals were at, we received the call at approximately 11:43 that there was an active shooter at the Islamic center. Officers were in the area still talking with mom, trying to piece together where they might be, the locations that she felt that they would be at. And that was just a few blocks away. Those officers, once they heard what was happening at the Islamic center, immediately dispatched themselves to the mosque.

And just to recap what we talked about earlier, when officers arrived on scene, they came across in some form or fashion three deceased individuals, victims one was a security guard at the center.

REPORTER: Was he the big guy?

WAHL: We'll get some questions in just a minute, sir. Thank you.

Because of what the officers were encountering and because we know that this is a large gathering facility with kids, with adults, with community members from throughout our county, officers immediately began to enter the facility, utilizing our active shooter protocol, looking for a suspect or two. At the same time, and in about the same time as they were making entry and searching through the facility room by room, we got -- we received calls of a vehicle a couple blocks away that was shooting at a landscaper.

The landscaper is going to be okay, but we are still investigating that scene. It appears he may have been shot in the helmet that deflected and saved his life, but that is not confirmed at this point. A couple blocks away from there, we also received a call where a community member, reported our two suspects in a vehicle.

[19:45:02]

And it appeared they had gunshot wounds. And upon our arrival, we determined they were deceased. We are in the process of serving search warrants that will continue tonight and on into the days ahead. We're going to continue following any leads and any information that comes forward as we're all focused on figuring out how this happened and what could we have done to prevent it.

I will end by saying it's not a cliche. If you see something, if you hear something, if you know something that is an integral part of preventing things like this from happening, and it's an integral part for us to be able to take that information, utilize the tools that we have to try to prevent something like this from happening.

So with that, I'm going to bring up Mark Remily from the FBI to discuss a little bit more information.

MARK REMILY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Thank you all for coming. Thank you, Chief.

My name is Mark Remily. I am the special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego field office.

As was reported earlier, three adults have lost their lives in today's senseless act of violence. We also know the two teenage subjects responsible are also deceased. The FBI has determined to uncover all the facts associated with this incident and learn why the shooting occurred at the Islamic center of San Diego. Here's what we know at this time after our preliminary assessment and working closely with our law enforcement partners to gather evidence.

Victim specialists deployed to the reunification center at 4125 Hathaway in San Diego. We're also having additional victim services personnel deployed from our headquarters in Washington, D.C., to assist with the families that have been impacted. Our bomb techs have cleared the vehicle associated with the subjects.

We are in the process of interviewing family and friends of the subjects and evidence -- tech evidence response teams are gathering all the evidence from the scene for review. We will process everything as quickly, but as meticulously as we can.

We, again, thank you for your patience as we work through the scene the FBI stands with the communities we serve, and our hearts weigh heavy for those killed and everyone who was subjected to this violence today shooting incidents like this, not only impact those within the immediate vicinity, but everyone in the community also feels the effects. We will continue to coordinate with our law enforcement partners and work closely with them for as long as it takes, until we understand what happened, we will leave no stone unturned.

We thank the public for your continued cooperation as we continue to work through this active investigation. We ask that you send photos, videos or any visual evidence or information you may have to FBI.gov/IslamicCenterofSanDiegoShooting.

As I mentioned earlier, no piece of information is too small. Everything helps us gather all the relevant evidence. We need to better understand why this horrific incident occurred. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to the mayor for some comments

MAYOR TODD GLORIA (D), SAN DIEGO: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Direct result of your leadership, your leadership, our Muslim brothers and sisters have been talking to you for how long. You have to fucking listen to them, Todd. Just like you did with ICE. Full of ICE, full of Zionist propaganda. And you'll keep doing it as long as it lines your fucking pockets, won't it?

Show something, worse approval rating than a fascist dictator with shit in his hands.

MAYOR TODD GLORIA (D), SAN DIEGO: Today, our city was shaken by a violent act of hate. Here at the Islamic center of San Diego. And my heart is with every person that is impacted by this horrific tragedy. No one in our city should live in fear because of their identity, their faith, or their place of learning.

I'm grateful to the San Diego Police Department, our San Diego Fire Rescue Department, and our partners at the local, state and federal level, all of whom showed up here to help with this investigation and this response and help to bring this threat to an end.

[19:50:06]

This tragedy is particularly hurtful to our Muslim community as it comes together. At the start of the Dhul-Hijjah, one of Islam's holiest periods leading up to the Hajj and Eid al-Adha, a time of deep faith, reflection and unity.

Hate has no home in San Diego. Islamophobia has no home in San Diego, an attack on any San Diegan is an attack on all San Diegans, and we will not stand for it in America's finest city.

Let there be no misunderstanding for anyone who would seek to bring this kind of violence to this city, you will be met with the full force of our law enforcement partnerships. Anyone who seeks to do harm here will understand the response will be swift, and you will be brought to justice.

In the meantime, I want to assure San Diegans, in particular, our Muslim brothers and sisters, the San Diego police department will be guarding all of our local houses of worship with additional presence to ensure your safety during this very, very tragic time. We'll be guarding other houses of worship and making sure that we anticipate and try and prevent the very worst.

We didn't meet that mark today, but I have deep gratitude to the security officer who was here, whose actions and heroism undoubtedly saved lives. And I'm grateful to every law enforcement individual who ran toward this call to help bring these people to justice.

My prayers and my thoughts and our whole hearts community is with the Islamic center of San Diego and all Muslim San Diegans.

With that, I'll turn it back to our chief. WAHL: Before I open up to questions, we're a little over five hours

outside of this incident. Understand the complexity of and the dynamics of a situation like this, and the emotions that are without a doubt, behind everything that's going on.

Much of what else there is to answer is, is currently being investigated, and I cannot go into some of those details, but I will do my best to try to make sure that you guys have the information you need moving forward. So with that, I will open up to some questions.

Yes, sir.

REPORTER: Earlier that.

WAHL: Hang on -- Trevor, go ahead.

REPORTER: -- sources. You say that there were anti-Islamic writings about inside the vehicle you talked about how you see things for the mother if any of that information be indicative of how he might be targeting the Islamic center.

WAHL: Yeah. We are we are actively investigating this as a hate crime. There are details and information that that we are investigating is to exactly what those -- what the hate speech or hate words were that were conveyed, some of that is going to have to take more time to develop further to see where that information is coming from.

But yes, it's being investigated as a, as a hate crime at this point. There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved.

REPORTER: That was found inside that hate was involved.

WAHL: Involved. I'll leave it at that for now. Yes.

REPORTER: What about the security guard? We had heard earlier reports that he engaged with these guys in some gunfire. Is that true?

WAHL: We're -- it's still preliminary. We're still looking into that. We do believe the security guard, was able to help at least minimize the situation to the front area of the mosque. Until we know more. I don't want to speculate, but at this point, I think it's fair to say his actions were heroic. And undoubtedly he saved lives today.

Yes, ma'am?

REPORTER: Suicide note.

WAHL: I don't have details, but yes, the call came in as a runaway, and then it kind of elevated as mom began to kind of piece together what she was finding with her son being missing. She came -- she realized that she was missing weapons, multiple weapons. Her vehicle was missing.

There are details that she, she was beginning to develop a bigger picture as to what she was dealing with, was conveying that to our folks. And we were trying to put that together and get out in front of this as quickly as we could.

REPORTER: And did she find a suicide note there?

WAHL: She found some note left by him. What that note looks like, what? That note says, I'm not going to disclose right now.

Yes, sir?

REPORTER: Sir, can you say where those warrants issued for?

WAHL: Search warrants that were going to be serving? I'm not going to put that information out right now. No.

REPORTER: Can you release the name of the victim?

WAHL: Some of that information were -- that's what we're actively looking and investigating right now. Obviously, we have a lot of questions is what led up to this moment. And that will -- that will be ongoing in this investigation as we move forward.

REPORTER: How far is that a teenager in --

WAHL: I'm sorry?

REPORTER: How far the teenager --

WAHL: I'm not sure at this point.

REPORTER: Are you able to share more about the other victims?

WAHL: We have -- we -- we've just basically notified family of those victims. We are not going to put out their identity right now. We will -- we will put that information out here in the days ahead. But, for now, we're not -- we're not putting that information out. We're trying to protect kind of what we have.

There's more work to be done, and we want to make sure that were preserving some of that for the moment. Yes, ma'am.

REPORTER: Specific identifying information that you tell us anything about their roles in the Islamic center.

WAHL: I'm going to let imam answer that type of question. I don't know for sure. I don't know for sure.

REPORTER: Anything more about the relationship between his under 17 and 19, the suspects.

WAHL: Seventeen and in 18? Yeah, I think it's 18. And then I need to correct that. I think I put out earlier it was 19, I believe it's 18.

REPORTER: Thank you. Do we know the relationship between the two?

WAHL: No.

REPORTER: They both were at the high school. Both are students at the high school.

WAHL: Unknown at least one, but unknown about the other one.

REPORTER: Is it true that in the past, the Islamic center has also received different threats in the sub prime, hate from around the country? They are on alert.

WAHL: It -- just in general. Well, I think it's fair to say that that all religious facilities across this country, around the world in today's world are well aware of the risks of -- that are associated. It's an -- it's an unfortunate reality of the world we live in today. But I would say absolutely. Everybody feels that, that insecurity.

REPORTER: Investigation, these relief materials anti-Islamic, anti- immigrant. Can you share anything more about it?

WAHL: Well, first, let me make sure I'm clear. There was no specific threat, especially no specific threat to the Islamic Center. It was just general hate kind of speech that I think covered a wide gamut.

I don't want to go into any of the specifics at this point. Again, we are still actively investigating this as we speak. But it was more generalized.

In some form or capacity. He was associated with the school as a student, exactly what that capacity is. We're not sure of just yet.

So the question is, was there a specific threat to the high school? There was no specific threat to any facility or any place with what we knew. There was generalized hate rhetoric and speech.

Mom believed that her son was suicidal, but the additional bits of information led us to believe that there was a bigger threat picture here that we needed to consider. One person that suicidal is not going to take three weapons from a location. Those little bits of information were significant and important. That triggered a much bigger threat assessment that began to bring additional investigators in to utilize the technology that we have available to try to get out in front of what we feared would be coming.

But there was no specific threat to this center or any religious facility or any school or any mall in any way. I want to make sure that's clear. We don't -- we don't get that wrong.

REPORTER: You spoke about the landscaper shot at is that confirmed that these shootings are related, or is that something you're still investigating?

WAHL: We're still investigating, but yes, we do believe that's all associated with the larger picture of today's events. It's not -- they're not -- they're not separate.

REPORTER: The names of --

WAHL: Sir, go ahead.

REPORTER: So, chief, I just want to know what they do.