Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Orlando Hit By Worst Terror Attack Since 9/11; Investigating the Orlando Shooter; President Obama Calls Orlando Attack an Act of Terror; Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 13, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:32:31] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son is unaccounted for right now. So I don't know if he's still in the club, if he's dead or if he's shot in here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Our breaking news this morning, 50 people killed, 53 more injured in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. A gunman storming into the Orlando gay club, three hours of terror before he was killed. During those attacks, he pauses to call 911 and claim ties to ISIS.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans here in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman live in Orlando. I want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. And it was exactly 24 hours ago behind me right now. You can see the Pulse nightclub right there. 24 hours ago, this was a hostage standoff. The killer had yet to be taken down in what was the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since September 11th. The deadliest mass shooting on U.S. soil ever. 50 people were killed, 53 people hospitalized. A full one-third of the people inside that club behind me were either killed or wounded. One-third of the people inside. Just a horrifying scene unfolded into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just one after another after another after another. And it could have lasted a whole song. I mean, because after everybody was out, people were -- the shooting were still going. And the cops were yelling go, go, clear the area, clear the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People were running everywhere and, you know, gunshots were going off and people were ducking. And people were falling. I hid behind a palm tree, actually, like a palm tree, and it was going off like one after another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Overnight, FBI agents searched the gunman's home trying to piece together what might have led to this attack. We're covering this story from all angles this morning. I want to

begin with CNN's Boris Sanchez. He, too -- this is a huge crime scene, first of all.

Let me explain to people, Boris. This is a huge crime scene. I'm at one end of it. And you are, you know, I think, a half mile away at a completely different end of an area all blocked off this morning because there is so much work to be done. What's the latest, Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it is a massive crime scene. You can imagine yesterday it was even bigger. There were hundreds of law enforcement officers covering all of this area and it was chaotic.

[04:35:04] We're getting a closer -- a clearer picture, I should say, of the timeline of how all of this broke down. It was about 2:00 a.m. when there was a confrontation between the gunman and an off-duty police officer who was working security outside of the nightclub. The gunman was able to get inside of the nightclub with an assault rifle and a handgun. The police officer was unable to stop him and very quickly things descended from there.

A witness tells us that he heard loud popping sounds inside the club and he couldn't tell if it was part of the show or something more nefarious. And he said he realized that something terrible was happening when people around him started dropping and falling to the ground. He himself dove down to the ground. He was very fortunate to get out by crawling out of the nightclub.

We're also learning about similar stories of survival. One woman that was hiding in a bathroom who used the bodies of victims to disguise herself from the shooter.

We're also learning that some performers were able to dramatically escape the club through an air conditioning vent as police officers removed an air conditioner to try to help them escape.

In that three-hour window between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. when the shooter was inside with these hostages, at one point he called 911 and he declared his allegiance to ISIS. He also referred to the Boston marathon brothers at that point. And it was right around 5:00 a.m., as we were out here on the street reporting about the hostage situation that we heard a loud explosion. It turned out to be that Orlando Police had set off a distractionary explosion to get inside the club.

Here is a taste of what that sounded like yesterday morning.

All of that unfolding just a few blocks from us where witnesses were looking for their friends and family members who were trying to find out if their loved ones were OK. It was an extremely dramatic scene and then finally we heard from police that the shooter was killed in the exchange of gunfire once they were finally able to get inside with that piece of equipment that tore down a wall. Sadly, it was too late to help those that were already affected by the shooter -- John.

BERMAN: So much activity here. Boris Sanchez, thanks so much for your reporting.

A couple of new developments just this morning, authorities tell us they found a third gun in the car. He had rented a vehicle and parked it outside the Pulse nightclub. They found a third gun, a revolver, in his car.

The second new development this morning is that people who lived near Omar Mateen in Fort Pierce, they have been allowed to go back to their homes this morning. This as authorities continue to search his home. They are looking for any clues as to a possible motive about why he did this and any possible connection to ISIS or other terror groups.

Authorities are speaking to people who knew Mateen. Obviously his family. The family claims he was not particularly religious. His ex- wife says that he had beaten her in the past over the years and she believes he suffered from undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SITORA YUSUFIY, GUNMAN'S EX-WIFE: Instability, emotional instability, sickness. Mentally -- he was mentally unstable and mentally ill. That's the only explanation that I can give. And he was obviously disturbed deeply and traumatized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The latest on the investigation right now and information about the gunman, let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The shooting suspect, Omar Mateen, was on the FBI's radar at least twice, but the FBI says both times their interviews with him were inconclusive. According to the FBI, they first became aware of Mateen in 2013 when he made inflammatory comments to co-workers, alleging possible terrorist ties. Then in 2014, he came to their attention again because FBI Official Ronald Hopper says Mateen had been in contact with a man named Moner Abu- Salha.

Abu-Salha, according to our terrorism analysts, traveled from Florida to Syria. He received training, traveled back to the United States, then went back to Syria and staged a suicide bombing against Syrian forces, killing more than 30 people. That attack occurred in May of 2014, but analysts say Abu-Salha did that on behalf of an al Qaeda- affiliated group, not ISIS.

As we've been reporting, according to U.S. law enforcement officials, Omar Mateen called 911 more than 20 minutes into the Orlando attack to pledge allegiance to ISIS and he mentioned the Boston bombers as well.

Now again, as far as the investigations into Mateen are concerned, the FBI says the interviews with him turned out to be inconclusive. Also, on a possible motive, as we've been reporting, U.S. officials telling CNN investigators have talked to Mateen's family who indicated that he had expressed anti-gay feelings in the past. Mateen worked as a security guard for a private firm called G4S Secure Solutions for almost nine years. Also we spoke to two people who knew Omar Mateen at two different

schools in the Port St. Lucie area, Martin County High School and Spectrum Junior Senior High School in Stuart, Florida.

[04:40:05] Both of those schoolmates told us Mateen's mental state seemed to change after September 11th. They both said that Mateen said out loud that Osama bin Laden was his uncle. It's not clear if he was saying it in a serious vein or whether anyone took him seriously. They did tell us that he got brushback from his classmates when he said that. However, another classmate at Spectrum Junior Senior High School told us Mateen was not someone who stood out to possibly do something like this.

Back to you.

BERMAN: All right, Brian, thanks so much.

Joining us now here in Orlando to explain the investigation and what comes next, CNN analyst Arthur Roderick, former assistant director of the U.S. Marshals' office.

Art, I want to start from the back here and work forward. What we know about this gunman. What we know is he went into that nightclub behind us and he was able to either kill or wound one-third of the people inside. He killed 50 people, wounded 53 people. Seems like someone who knew what he was doing.

ARTHUR RODERICK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, he was a security guard. So he had somewhat of a license to carry here in the state of Florida. He was trained on weapons. And an AR-15 type weapons. It's a very, very deadly weapon. It is a semiautomatic version of the M-16 that the military uses the same type of round. A two-two-three round. And that round was specifically made to create as much tissue damage in the human body as possible.

So another words, that round would enter and hit your -- enter your arm and hit your bone and travel up or down and then exit out. So it creates a lot of tissue damage. And to be able to shoot that many people in that period of time sad to say it is not that difficult. All he had to do was -- we don't know yet if he had 20 or 30-round clips. But with 100 people being shot, you would have to think he fired at least 180, 200 rounds to --

ROMANS: OK. As you can see we've lost our signal there down in Orlando with John and our guest there.

The names of those killed in the attack on the Pulse nightclub are slowly trickling out here as officials identify the dead and inform their families. So far of the 50 people killed, the names of fewer than half have been released to authorities. That leaves many friends and family members still in the dark. Wondering if their loved one might be injured, but still alive. Meanwhile, others can now only grieve.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son hasn't been heard from. I don't know if he was left in the club. If he got shot or if he's being worked on here. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came here to, like, donate blood, hoping like nothing happened to him. And I just received news from my girlfriend that, you know, you know, my friend and her cousin just passed away in this terror attack. That's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Less than half have been identified. Investigators tell the scene of walking through the nightclub and phones are ringing as mothers, fathers and friends are trying to find out if their loved ones can answer.

All right. The Orlando killer linked to ISIS? Was he or was he a lone wolf inspired by terror group? New information this morning, we got that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:47:45] BERMAN: All right, John Berman back live in Orlando with Art Roderick, CNN law enforcement analyst, former assistant director of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Art, we're talking about the investigation and one of the cliches in U.S. anti-terror operations inside the U.S. is if you see something, say something. That happened here with this shooter. In 2013, coworkers said he'd been saying strange things like he was supportive of terror groups and the FBI questioned him twice in 2013. In 2014, they questioned him because of his connections to a man who ended up being the first U.S. suicide bomber, Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, right there again, they saw no obvious connection to the man, but this killer here who killed 50 people behind us was known to the FBI. So what happened between 2014 and now?

RODERICK: Well, what you got is -- and we heard Jim -- Mr. Comey testify to this before on the Hill that they have approximately 800 open investigations on possible individuals that have terrorists links. Now when you fan that out and widen it out to that particular individual having five or six associates, you're talking thousands of individuals. Now the FBI was pretty clear when they came out initially and said, yes, he was on our radar, we interviewed him three times, but they came up with inconclusive information. So in their eyes, they got to close it and move on to the next individually. But unfortunately when you multiply that type of group out, you are talking thousands and thousands of people.

BERMAN: Because you are allowed free speech in the United States.

RODERICK: Correct.

BERMAN: When does it go from free speech to active threat?

RODERICK: And that's the key here. When does it go from free speech to active threat? That is very difficult to say. Obviously at some point, you know, probably the purchase of the weapons might have been a triggering effect. But he legally purchased those weapons. There was nothing --

BERMAN: He was a security guard.

RODERICK: Exactly. He was a security guard.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: He could have gotten it in his daily job.

RODERICK: And I'm -- it wouldn't surprise me that when they -- this third gun that they found, it could be very well his work pistol. So, you know, it's hard to say. I mean that's the big loophole in this whole purchase of weapons, is the mental health issue.

BERMAN: What's the most important part of the investigation right now? Now they're going over this electronic contacts, trying to see if he was directed by anyone or perhaps any assistance from anyone or if anyone else knew anything here.

[04:50:08] RODERICK: That's the key part . Was he directed or was he just inspired? Who had he been communicating with? What were saying to one another? Was he being directed to do any of this? And I think based on what they found in the apartment, the communications devices whether it's a Playstation 4 or his home computer, they should be able to, if there is anybody else out there. And the FBI is pretty sure right now that this was a lone wolf type scenario.

BERMAN: You do get that sense.

RODERICK: Right.

BERMAN: That they're like nervous about security. We've been unfortunately near crime scenes all over the world with much greater anxiety.

RODERICK: Exactly. Right.

BERMAN: Than there is -- that there is to be sure right here. One of the anomalies here in this was that he called in 911 halfway through the shooting to pledge -- you know, pledge loyalty to ISIS and also paused in the middle of the killing.

RODERICK: Right.

BERMAN: This could have been zealotry, this could have been pure narcissism. What does it tell you?

RODERICK: It is very bizarre. I mean, who calls in in the middle of a shooting spree and calls 911 and pledges allegiance? That whole issue is -- if he wanted mass casualties, he would have just kept shooting. It sounds like he had enough ammunition on him. He had enough magazines to keep reloading but he didn't. He stopped for about 20 minutes. Actually engaged the law enforcement there and then made his phone call. The whole scenario was very bizarre. And I think this is going to come down to, is this more of a hate crime as opposed to terrorism? Either way I know it doesn't make any difference to hundred victims.

BERMAN: That's right, 50 killed, 53 wounded this morning.

RODERICK: Yes.

BERMAN: Only half -- not even half of those killed have been identified this morning.

RODERICK: Right.

BERMAN: They are trying to reach the families and everyone involved here. This is so sad.

Art Roderick, thanks for being with us, helping us understand what's going on here.

RODERICK: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: President Obama is calling the Orlando nightclub shooting an act of terror and also an act of hate. He gave a brief statement to the nation Sunday afternoon. The president called the shooting especially heartbreaking for the LGBT community. And he once again called for to stricter limits on access to firearms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Although it's still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage and in resolve to defend our people.

This is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation is an attack on all of us. And on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country. And no act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That was the president speaking in the press room yesterday.

The Orlando massacre here already front and center in the U.S. presidential campaign. Donald Trump called President Obama weak on terror and demanded his resignation. Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump for having, as she said, no real plans to keep the U.S. safe.

We're going to speak to Hillary Clinton live on "NEW DAY" in the 7:00 hour. Donald Trump is going to be on "NEW DAY" in the 8:00 hour. They will weigh in on what happened here.

Obviously we are thinking of the victims of this tragedy. Again, not even half of those killed have been identified. So much more information needed here by everyone involved. That as there are different concerns around the country about LGBT events possibly being targeted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:58:03] ROMANS: The producers of the Tony Awards decided to go on with the show last night in New York. The NYPD tripling its security presence outside the Beacon Theater using an abundance of caution in the wake of that Orlando terrorist attack. Several streets in the neighborhood were shutdown with dozens of officers conducting I.D. checks on drivers and show guests.

The producers of "Hamilton" decided to drop the musket props from one scene from their performance because the actors felt uncomfortable. And host James Corden opened the show with a tribute to the Orlando victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CORDEN, TONY AWARDS HOST: Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this atrocity. All we can say is you are not on your own. Your tragedy is our tragedy. Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality and gender is equal, is embraced and is loved. Hate will never win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Tony Award organizers decided last night's show or dedicated last night's show to those directly affected by the nightclub tragedy.

New Yorkers are gathering at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan's West Village to remember the victims of the Orlando attack. The inn has served as a backdrop for countless chapters of the gay rights movement. In 1969, a violent clash between members of the LGBT community and police at the Stonewall led to a wave of equal rights demonstration. Cards, letters, flowers, they are all being left along the inn's red brick facade.

Authorities in Los Angeles trying to figure out why an Indiana man was heading to a gay pride festival with an arsenal of weapons. Police say they arrested James Wesley Howell after finding three assault rifles, high capacity magazines, and explosive materials inside his car. Now at first, officials inaccurately reported Howell said he wanted to harm the L.A. Pride festival. Turns out the 20-year-old stated he was heading to the event but did not explain why.

All right. EARLY START continues right now.