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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Orlando Hit By Worst Terror Attack Since 9/11; Gunman Pledged Allegiance To ISIS; Investigating The Orlando Shooter; Was Orlando Gunman Self-Radicalized? Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 13, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, EARLY START continues right now.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went to the bathroom and when I came out, the guy was shooting. They shot my nephew in the head. That`s what I want to find out.

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ROMANS: The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, 50 people dead, 53 more are injured when a gunman stormed into an Orlando gay club. Three hours of terror. The attacker killed by police. He paused briefly to call 911 to tell police he has ties to ISIS.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I`m Christine Romans in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I`m John Berman live in Orlando this morning. It is Monday, June 13th. We want to welcome all of our viewers here in the United States and all around the world.

It was exactly 24 hours ago where this horrifying event came to an end behind me at the Pulse Nightclub here just after 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The gunman after three hours of sheer terror, he was finally killed.

But not before 50 other innocent people were killed, 53 more injured. That gunman went into the building pledging allegiance to ISIS and firing.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was one after another after another after another. It could have lasted a whole song. After everybody was out, the shootings were still going. Cops were yelling. Clear the area.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Overnight, FBI agents were at the gunman`s home. They still are there. They are trying to sort out and piece together what led to this attack, the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. The deadliest mass shooting on U.S. soil ever.

We are covering every angle of this story this morning. I want to begin with CNN`s Boris Sanchez. He, too, is here at this huge crime scene across the way a bit. Boris, what are you learning this morning?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. We are getting a clearer picture of the timeline. How all of this unfolded. How a night at one of Orlando`s most popular clubs turned into sheer terror.

It all started at 2:00 a.m., the shooter had an encounter with an off- duty police officer outside the club and the officer tried to stop him from getting in. The shooter got passed him. He got inside with an assault rifle and a handgun.

And immediately it became a hostage situation. A witness I talked to told me that he heard loud popping inside the club and he couldn`t tell if it was music or something worse. He said he realized it was something nefarious when people around him started falling to the ground.

He himself threw himself on the ground and crawled out of the club. He was fortunate to make it out and just like him, we are learning about other stories of survival. There is one report of a woman who snuck inside the bathroom.

She was hiding under the bodies of victims trying to disguise herself so that the shooter wouldn`t see her. We are also learning that some performers in the club were able to sneak out through air conditioning vents when police officers removed an air conditioner.

At about 5:00 a.m., about 24 hours ago, all of this came to a head when police decided to move into the club. We were actually out here reporting live during the hostage situation. We heard a loud explosion followed by what can be described as a cacophony of sounds.

I want to play for you what that sounded like yesterday.

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SANCHEZ: You can imagine what hearing that was like for the many survivors that were still out on the streets and family members trying to find out what happened to their loved ones. It was truly a chaotic scene.

As officers entered the club, the shooter returned fire, he shot one police officer. It him in the helmet. Fortunately, that police officer survived and they were able to take out the shooter. So he was killed shortly after 5:00 a.m.

As we are learning more about him, we are also hoping to find out more about those that were killed inside the club. The list of names that officials have released keeps growing.

But I want to remind everyone about this, more than half of the people killed, we still don`t know their identity. So there are families out there still in desperate need of information about their loved one. You can`t imagine the despair that they`re going through right now -- John.

BERMAN: It has to be so incredibly difficult. Boris, again 24 hours after this came to an end, this is not over for the families of those who were inside the nightclub.

[05:05:09]It is not over for the community. By that, I mean, the city of Orlando and specifically the gay community here in this city also. They will be dealing with this for some time. They are strong and will continue to be strong going forward.

Boris Sanchez, thanks so much for the reporting. Again, as our hearts and our minds are truly with the victims here and the families of those still trying to find out more information about their loved ones.

Investigators are trying to piece together whatever information they can find about the gunman. They are searching for clues about what led up to this event. Any possible connections to ISIS or other terror groups.

He did pledge allegiance to ISIS. Authorities are speaking to people who knew him including his family. They claim he was not particularly religious. His ex-wife who said he had been abusive also says that she believes he suffered from undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

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SITORA YUSUFIY, GUNMAN`S EX-WIFE: Emotional instability. Sickness. Mentally unstable and mentally ill. That`s the only explanation I can give. He was obviously disturbed. Deeply and traumatized.

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BERMAN: Let`s get the latest on the investigation right now. Let`s bring in justice correspondent, Pamela Brown.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. We have learned that the gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen had been on the FBI`s radar several years ago. In fact, in 2013, the FBI had opened up an investigation into him after his coworkers came to the bureau and said he made inflammatory remarks that made them believe that he was tied to terrorism.

Ultimately, the FBI did not find any wrongdoing, could not substantiate those remarks that his colleagues said he made. The FBI closed that case.

Then the next year, the FBI interviewed him for a third time in a separate investigation that he was not the subject of. The FBI wanted to see if he had close ties to an American suicide bomber. Ultimately the FBI said that it didn`t find that they had a substantive relationship and so the FBI closed that investigation. So after that, essentially the bureau moved on.

And of course, the big question is whether anything was missed. The bureau has been speaking to family members of the gunman, his ex-wife. What they seem to focus on is the notion he had anti-gay views.

In fact, just recently, the father says that he was upset during an incident in Miami where he saw two men kissing. So it was very evident to them that he had anti-gay sentiment.

At this point, investigators are looking at the possibility of this being a hybrid of whether this is a hate crime or he was targeting the gay community combined with international terrorism.

We know he made that 911 call where he said he pledged allegiance to ISIS. Still a lot to uncover in the investigation which is still very early on. Back to you.

BERMAN: All right, Pamela Brown, thank you so much. Joining me right here in Orlando to talk about the investigation and what information we know and don`t know, CNN law enforcement analyst, Arthur Roderick, former assistant director of the U.S. Marshall Service.

You know, Art, Pamela said something really interesting there. He said the shooter had been on the FBI`s radar in 2013 and 2014. Do you ever completely fall off the radar? They questioned him in 2013. They questioned him again in 2014.

When they conclude those investigations, do they wipe their hands and then never think of them again?

ARTHUR RODERICK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, they don`t rip up the list. They keep that information. That information is put in the file. Because they were quick to come out, if you notice, very early on, once he had said his name on the 911 call. They were able to determine, yes, we have interviewed this individual before. The interviews dealt with 2013 and 2014. They were inconclusive at that point.

BERMAN: If you follow social media, you see there this big debate. Is this Islamic terror or anti-gay hate crime? It could very well be both.

RODERICK: It could very well be both. I mean, they are both terrorism crimes. Whether it`s domestic or whether it`s international driven is the key here. I mean, this looks to be like a hate crime, but then he gets on the 911 call and not only pledges allegiance to ISIS, but also references the Tsarnaev brothers, who were the bombers of the Boston marathon.

That obviously started a whole flurry of issues around the country which caused a phone call yesterday afternoon with major city police chiefs looking at what they can do for security in their cities because this is gay pride month and they don`t want this to be a copycat situation where somebody else does something to others.

BERMAN: No, they are very concerned about (inaudible). They are not concerned about this attack being directly linked to possible others. They do think this man acted alone. They don`t believe there is an immediate risk in the city, but they are concerned nationwide as you say it is pride month.

[05:10:04]It`s also Ramadan, which is a month that many terrorists have called for people who follow them to do attacks. Just clear on one point, ISIS hates gays. ISIS goes out of its way to target gays in their video. You know, this is something that is part of their hatred.

RODERICK: Absolutely. We have seen the videos that occurred in the Middle East with them throwing individuals off the roof. Horrendous videos. They are not mutually exclusive here. If it`s a hate crime or if it`s terrorism, these two come together very nicely for ISIS.

BERMAN: They are going over the phones. They are going over whatever electronic records they can find right now. They`ve been at the home of the killer, which is not too far from here in Port Pierce (ph) looking through his belongings and whatnot. What are they looking for inside those electronic, you know, devices?

RODERICK: They want to see who he has been communicating with over the past couple months. What triggered him at this particular point in time? Was it actually because this is pride month or is it because Ramadan is coming up or was he directed by somebody to actually do this?

What triggered him to go out and purchase those weapons a couple weeks ago or within the past couple weeks and then come over -- drive over here and commit this horrific crime?

I think he may have done some surveillance here at some point to determine that 2:00 a.m. would be a good time to go in when the place was packed and loud and it would take a while before anybody would put two and two together and say, my gosh --

BERMAN: There are reports here in the local media that he cased other nightclubs also and chosen this one. This is very popular. Pulse is a very, very popular here on Saturday night here. Over 300 people inside that club. One item of curiosity. He went in shooting at 2:00. It wasn`t until 5:00 that the SWAT teams went in to take him out. Why the pause do you think?

RODERICK: That is a big question. Why the pause? If this was a straight terrorism event and he is pledging allegiance to ISIS and he believes in the ISIS ideology then he would just keep shooting until he was taken out himself.

At this particular point, he stopped and called 911 and pledged allegiance to ISIS. Huddled people into two different areas of the nightclub and then had some conversation with law enforcement, which to me is very unique in this type of situation. BERMAN: Again, investigators right now at his home. They are still

very much working this crime scene to find out what they can. Art Roderick, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

Obviously, we`re talking about the shooter and what he did. But our hearts and minds are with the victims here. The names of those would were killed are only starting to trickle out. It is happening very, very slowly. Fewer than half have been identified. The families are being notified.

So far of the 50 people killed, again, about 22 right now, that leaves so many friends and family members still in the dark wondering if their loved ones may be dead or alive or injured. Still this entire community is grieving.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son hasn`t been heard from. So 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 donate blood. Hoping nothing happened to him. I just received news from my girlfriend that my friend and her cousin just passed away in this terror attack. That`s it.

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BERMAN: Information is so important, but always difficult to get it. All right. Was this an inspired attack or a directed attack? One of the key questions here in Orlando this morning. We are getting some new information and new details that`s next.

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BERMAN: John Berman live in Orlando this morning. This morning, law enforcement are examining the electronic devices that belonged to the Orlando gunman. They want to determine whether he was self- radicalized or directed by some kind of terror group like ISIS. He pledged loyalty to ISIS.

But as of now, there`s been no direct claim of responsibility by ISIS or any other terror group. CNN`s Nic Robertson is tracking the latest for us from London this morning. So no claim of responsibility from ISIS yet though some supporters, obviously, glorifying in these horrible events.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That is typical of ISIS supporters. They want to do this and resonating for them and potentially, we don`t know it at the moment, but potentially here as well for the attacker that the leader of ISIS a few weeks ago called for attacks during Ramadan.

Ramadan started just last week. He called for a month of hurt in the U.S. and Europe. He said that the smallest attack that you can do there in their heartland will be bigger than any attack that we can do here meaning in Iraq and Syria.

So there is clearly been a call by ISIS for this and you certainly get the impression that while this may not be directed by ISIS. They may not have told him what to do or when to do it, there is a background or inspirational effort here.

And when you look at the attack, this isn`t adrenaline fueled event, 20 minutes in, he stops to make that 911 call and claims connection to ISIS. This seems to indicate some level of pre-planning.

And perhaps an indication that he hasn`t left a message somewhere as other attackers have done saying that this is being done in the name of ISIS. Why?

Because he knows he is under the scrutiny of the FBI at least three times before he made himself believed that he is still being watched by them in some ways. So this does indicate a degree of planning.

[05:20:06]But that doesn`t necessarily mean that it was directed. So it is going to be a social media communications connections and conversations he has been having and who he has been talking to him in his local community that are going to perhaps provide offices with other clues at this stage -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Nic Robertson for us on the investigation this morning on those connections about how closely ISIS was involved or was it just an inspiration. Nic, thank you so much.

President Obama spoke out about the Orlando massacre. We will discuss what he had to say. That`s next.

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ROMANS: It`s 25 minutes past the hour. President Obama is calling the Orlando nightclub shooting an act of terror and act of hate. In a brief statement to the nation on Sunday afternoon, the president called the shooting especially heartbreaking for the LGBT community. He once again called for stricter limits on access to firearms.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Although it is still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. As Americans, we are united in grief and 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 quality and dignity that define us as a country. No act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.

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ROMANS: The Orlando massacre already generating controversy on the campaign trail. We`ll talk to Hillary Clinton live on "NEW DAY" in the 7:00 hour and Donald Trump joins us live in the 8:00 hour.

The worst mass shooting in U.S. history, 50 dead, fewer than half of them right now have been identified. Family members are desperate to hear if their loved ones are OK. We go back to John Berman live in Orlando next.

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