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9 Killed in 'Hate Crime' Church Massacre; Police Release New Photos of Escaped Killers. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 18, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Chris Cuomo is picking up our breaking news right now -- Chris.

[05:58:14] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much. We're following the manhunt for this shooter in South Carolina. A church was the target. Right now, there's a presser going on with the latest information. Let's check in with it.

GREGORY MULLEN, CHARLESTON POLICE CHIEF: ... get this information out as broadly as possible. As I said earlier this evening, this is a very dangerous and extremely dangerous individual. We need the public's assistance to identify him as quickly as possible.

We've got copies of this flyer for you, and we're also going to be e- mailing it to you electronically. And as we said, please help us get this out as quickly as possible. The investigation is ongoing. We will be back here at 7 a.m. to provide more details about the investigation.

At this time, we just wanted to get this out as quickly as we could and ask you to help us to get this out broadly so we can identify this individual and arrest him before he hurts someone else either in the city or someone else in the general area. So if you have any specific questions about the suspect that we're looking for, I'll be happy to answer those at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MULLEN: Yes. It was at the location of the shooting. That's correct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What else can you provide about the suspect?

MULLEN: He is a white male. He's a younger white male. We're estimating between 21 and 25 years of age. He's approximately 5'9" in height. And as you will see, he has on a very distinctive Sweatshirt that has markings. And I will point out that also the vehicle that you'll see has a distinctive front license plate. So again, hopefully these things will help us to identify this individual.

And our people, our investigators are standing by. One of the things that we have been able to do in the past couple of hours is set up a 1-800 number for any leads that could come into this task force. That will be 1-800-CALL-FBI. And the number is also listed there. There are operators standing by to take any information that would be provided. And what we're asking is regardless of how small people think the information they have might be, we want them to call us. We have investigative teams prepared to go out to follow every lead that is sent in to this hotline number. And that's what we need at this point.

We need information. We've got a good starting point here. We've got a good suspect, and what we need now is to get the assistance of the community. If they've seen his car, if they see this individual, we do not want them to approach this person. We want them to call 911 and allow us and our partners to address this situation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he in the Charleston area?

MULLEN: We have no reason to believe he's not in the Charleston area. He could be outside. And we're disseminating this information broadly across all of our law enforcement partners, not only in the Charleston region but also on the East Coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any motive?

MULLEN: Well, as I said earlier, that -- we believe this is a hate crime. That's how we're investigating it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MULLEN: That's part of the investigation. And we'll talk about that later.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) right now you can tell us?

MULLEN: We have investigators in various locations. We'll talk more about that at 7.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MULLEN: We'll talk more about that at 7.

Anything about the suspect or the suspect vehicle? OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you contacted other local law enforcement? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) interstate?

MULLEN: We have a broad way of communicating, not just to the region, but also to law-enforcement agencies throughout the United States. That communication process is in place. The same information that you have has been broadcast to law enforcement at the local, state and federal level all across the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MULLEN: Well, obviously, at this point we want everyone to be vigilant. We want them to see, if they see anything that is suspicious, we want them to call us.

And right now, we've got teams of investigators. We have uniformed officers. We have FBI agents, SWEAT (ph) agents all over the city and along with our local law enforcement partners. So we'll be looking for this individual and for this car just like everyone else. This is an all-hands-on-deck effort with the community as well as law enforcement. And I think with that effort, we'll find this person quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MULLEN: What I'm telling you, when people go out, they should be vigilant. They should be aware of their surroundings. And if they see anything suspicious, they should call law enforcement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the rewards?

MULLEN: We'll announce that at 7 a.m.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What type of make and model is the car (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

MULLEN: I'm not going to give a make and model, because at this point we're not 100 percent sure, and that would be inappropriate. We just want people to look at this vehicle and if they see one and if it matches that description, to call law enforcement.

Thank you very much. We'll be back at 7 a.m.

CUOMO: All right. So that is the chief of police, Greg Mullen. He is doing this in stages. At 7 a.m., they say they'll be back -- that's Eastern Time -- to give more details about what happened inside this historic church in South Carolina.

We do know that at about 8 or so local time last night there was a Bible study going on. And the gunman that they're putting this flier out for right now walked in and opened fire. He's described as approximately in his 20s. You see what he looks like. You see what he is wearing. They believe he is a slender build. He was driving this car, they believe, a four-door. Underneath. Dark-colored or black. Supposedly, that's a distinct license plate. You can't tell that from the flyer. And they're looking for help. They believe he's still in the Charleston area.

There are also reports that nine people were killed. One was left alive, reportedly because this gunman wanted someone to tell what had happened.

Let's check in with Nick Valencia. He is on the scene in South Carolina. What else can you do to fill in our understanding right now, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just heard from the Charleston city police chief, Greg Mullen, who filled us in, that this is a very active manhunt, all hands on deck.

He says this casts a very wide net across the city of Charleston and beyond. Right now they say they have no reason to believe that he is outside, the suspect is outside the Charleston area, but they're not taking any chances, Chris. [06:10:02] They describe this individual as dangerous, extremely

dangerous. They're also appealing to the public, asking for their help, saying if you have any tips, if you saw anything, to call 911. They say that this suspect, they believe, acted alone. They say he's 5'9", slender build, a white male. And that they are investigating this as a hate crime, Chris.

They said that they are involved with federal investigators, as well as local investigators, and including one of those victims here. We just heard that. He just got that confirmed just a short time ago. The pastor of this local church, also a state representative, Clementa Pinckney, described as a giant in the community, was killed. Let's take a look back at how all this unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): Breaking overnight, an unspeakable tragedy, unfolding inside one of the nation's oldest African-American churches, the gunman still at large entering the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, around 9 p.m., during a Bible study session, opening fire, killing nine; an unknown number of injured at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several victims regarding that active shooter, give me at least four medic units, three supervisors on that call, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All units responding 110 Calhoun Street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you please send out an EMS command page advising of an active shooter, multiple people down.

VALENCIA: Officials describing him as a clean-shaven white male, 21 years of age, with sandy blonde hair.

MULLEN: And I can assure you that we are going to do everything in our power to find this individual, to lock him up and to make sure that he does not hurt anyone else.

VALENCIA: The victims have not yet been identified. The motive remains clear, but many believe the shooting was a hate crime.

JOSEPH P. RILEY JR., MAYOR OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: This is a most unspeakable and heartbreaking tragedy. The only reason someone could walk into church and shoot people praying is out of hate. The only reason. That is the most dastardly act one can possibly imagine, and we will bring that person to justice as soon as possible.

VALENCIA: Steps from the crime scene, a prayer circle forms as members of this tight-knit community try to grapple with this senseless crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need some answers. Can we have some of your holy spirit.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CUOMO: The whole community brought together looking for answers on this one. Joining Nick Valencia is "Washington Post" national political reporter, Robert Costa. He was in Charleston last night, covering the presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton was there. Jeb Bush was supposed to come, and then this happened.

Now, so let's forget about the politics. Robert, what can you tell us about -- and Nick, too, if you know the information -- of why this church? We've all been there before. It has a big place in the community. It's also relevant politically. Tell us about the church and what was going on there last night, Robert.

ROBERT COSTA, "WASHINGTON POST": This is the heart of the faith community here in Charleston, South Carolina. The African-American community in this city considers it a historic spot, the heart of their worship. And this is a place where Martin Luther King has come through.

And I saw them grieving last night, just a block away at the Embassy Suites. And this is a strike to them. This is not just a place on the corner. This is their central gathering place, and it's a very important site.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Nick, my...

VALENCIA: Chris, I just spoke to another state representative...

CAMEROTA: Go ahead.

VALENCIA: I'm sorry, Alisyn. I just spoke to another state representative, Marlon Kimpson. He said he was with State Representative Clementa Pinckney just hours before the shooting. I interviewed him as we got on the scene, just about an hour ago. The state representative Kimpson was telling me that there was a Bible study session. They were also debating the budget here last night here, the state House representative saying -- the state representative Kimpson saying it was so important for this pastor, Pinckney, to show up, that he left that budget session early in order to show up here. And that's when that tragedy unfolded.

CAMEROTA: Nick, you were...

VALENCIA: Chris and Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Nick, you were telling us that, you know, that pastor is also a state senator. He's considered a pillar of the community. What do we know about the other victims?

VALENCIA: Well, we don't know about much. Just one name has been floated out and that of the state senator. There are at least eight other victims in this shooting right now. Very little information is being leased about their identities.

But we are expecting another press conference to be held later this morning. We'll, perhaps -- we will be given more information about the identities of the victims and perhaps why this senseless tragedy unfolded. Really unspeakable here.

As Robert was talking about, this is one of the pillars of the community here. This is a -- a sight where the oldest, one of the largest wildly known black churches in the United States, not just here in Charleston. Unspeakable tragedy here, Robert.

COSTA: It's been fascinating to follow this all night. Because what you see behind us is the church about a block away. And these streets were blocked off for hours. They were looking for the killer with a K-9 unit. They had police cars without their lights on so they could try to look down alleyways.

[06:10:12] Now these streets have been opened up. The day has started here in Charleston, the sun has risen, and the search has gone to the outskirts of the city, according to police officers I've spoken with. They're still searching for him. They have the description out there, the photo now, but we're still not sure where he is, according to law enforcement, or why he did this.

MICHAEL PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Again, to recap, a gentleman -- recapping what we know. This picture you're seeing there in front of you is a sandy-haired young man in his 20s who walked into Emanuel AME last night during a prayer service, said to have sat down in the room for a moment before opening fire, killing nine people. Eight of them died there. One of them died later.

Nick, can you give us an update on the others that were injured? Because we understand there were a number of casualties?

VALENCIA: There were a number of casualties, Michaela, and we wish we had more information about those that were there, but we understand there were at least a handful of people there when this -- when this happened. You know, we're working towards trying to find out more information. Robert, I don't know if you have anything else that you could offer, but we're trying to dig into those details right now.

CUOMO: One thing that we do know, Robert...

COSTA: ... details on the scene.

CUOMO: Robert, one thing we do know that is driving a lot of the interest in this hate crime is that, supposedly, the reports are -- and I want to know if you've heard the same -- that one of the survivors may have intentionally left alive by the gunman. And there's language being communicated that the gunman said he wanted them to tell what had happened here. Are you hearing that, as well?

COSTA: What I have heard is that the Embassy Suites where they have been grieving for hours. People who have spoken with witnesses and members of the church have said that the killer lingered for a few minutes when he came into the church, then opened fire. He did say a few things. I'm not sure what he has said. Still reporting that out.

CAMEROTA: OK. Let's talk about what we know about him, because we're seeing his picture on the right-hand side of the screen. That's from, obviously, surveillance video, I assume, at the church of him entering. They haven't said much, just that the believe he's in his 20s, as we said, blonde hair. But there is a picture of the car that was, we are told, his car. A black four-door sedan with what they say is a distinctive license plate.

What more did you hear from the sources there about who this might be or where they're looking?

CUOMO: Nick.

COSTA: What we've heard is that this is someone with sandy blonde hair. He's about 21 years old, and he fled immediately. And they've been searching the whole city. They're now looking at the outskirts of the city. They're continuing to find footage.

I just spoke with a few Charleston County law enforcement officials, and they told me they're getting hundreds of tips about where this person could be. And so they say the process is moving rapidly, and it's moving pretty successfully, though they have yet to find it.

CUOMO: And we're seeing that from the press conference that we just heard of a moment ago from the police chief, Gregory Mullen, as well as the mayor, Joseph Wylie Jr.

They're asking for the public's assistance, pleading for their help right now. Anything and all information is welcome. You're encouraged, if you know anything, to call 911 here. This community is still reeling from this tragedy. A Bible study session happening last night at about 8 p.m., 9 p.m., when the shooter, as Robert would say, walked into first AME Church, lingered for just a bit, and then opened fire. Perhaps leaving one person alive to -- to talk about what he -- what he allegedly did.

CAMEROTA: And...

COSTA: One quick thing to note. This city is a city in peace right now. There are over 50 AME pastors, walking around these city blocks, trying to get people together. It's a fascinating thing to watch. There's no -- there are prayer groups and pastors walking around. That's what it's like right now on the streets.

CUOMO: We have a picture of this guy also, Mick? You don't see the weapon. This is him walking in. You know, we're used to hearing about, you know, long guns in these situations; you know, repetitive firing and automatic weapons. We don't see that on him there in terms of what he brought in with him. That's obviously going to raise questions for investigators about whether or not there was a weapon inside.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You can't tell what he's doing, but if he had a long gun, you would see it.

PEREIRA: I'm curious, Nick, what are you seeing on the ground there. Because obviously, you've talked about the -- the church community coming out, the state leaders coming out. Obviously, this is a great time of mourning. These are their neighbors, their friends, their colleagues, their peers.

But I also want to know about the logistics of what's happening there. The schools that may still have students going to those final days of school classroom time. Do we know if there's going to be keeping kids home from school? Do we know if there's going to be blockades? What's the logistics like there around the church?

VALENCIA: We don't know that but what you can see behind Robert and I is that police have cornered this crime scene off. We're just -- that steeple right there, Michaela, Alisyn and Chris, that's the site of the shooting right there, just about 200, 300 yards away from where we are. Police have cornered this off. This is still a very active crime scene. Robert was talking about earlier that this was actually shut off and now just recently opened up.

[06:15:12] We got here about an hour and a half ago and have been talking to local residents. Some asking us for information, asking us what we had seen and what we know. Right now, still some of the community not really understanding what took place and what transpired here.

But we are seeing not only representatives from the state representatives here, the house of representatives but also local faith-based leaders walking through these streets, trying to talk to people and trying to work through exactly -- exactly what happened. This is a very fluid situation, Robert.

COSTA: And Nick, I'm sure, knows that around midnight last night, you had reporters on this corner and passersby congregating on Calhoun Street. And then at the Courtyard Marriott behind us, there was a bomb threat in the general area. And police pushed the crowd in the reporter's back another block. And then you have the 1 a.m. press conference where Mullen first made a statement, the mayor first made a statement.

So it was a lot of chaos last night. The bomb threat that was seen to not then be a real threat. And then you have police searching the immediate area for hours. And now it's kind of calmed down. Streets are opened. We'll see how it unfolds.

CAMEROTA: Robert, I wanted to ask you, or Nick, I want to ask you again about these -- these pictures of the suspect that they have put out. Because these are clean screen grabs. People in this community will know who that is. He has a distinctive haircut. And they talked about how he was -- the police said that he was wearing a distinctive Sweatshirt. Obviously, he could have already lost that. But they look at his car, and they described it as a distinctive license plate. Did they explain to you at the presser what it says on his Sweatshirt, on that left-side corner, or what the license plate says?

VALENCIA: You know, those details were not giving at the press conference, but they did mention that that was a distinctive Sweater. So no doubt some defining characteristics for this suspect that is still on the loose, Robert. I don't know if you can add any other details to that. COSTA: Well, we've pieced together details. They have not shared the

specifics about what's on his Sweatshirt. But even having the screen graph, that's an advance on what we had two or three hours ago as reporters, as members of the community di.

CUOMO: Right. And you were right to link that bomb scare they had earlier. Because the FBI is now involved in this investigation, as you probably know there. The details, we're going to wait. There's going to be another press conference coming out, 7 a.m. local time there, Eastern Time.

And the initial reports were they were worried about a sequence of attacks. Obviously, there's going to be a concern about why this was done. They believe it was targeting this group. That's why they're calling it a hate crime.

The open question right now for investigators is whether or not this was a motivated act of terrorism by either, you know, a right fringe group or who would have been involved in this. That's the FBI's role here, Robert. In terms of the context of why last night, why here, we know the church is historically significant in that community as a prominent black church. But what was going on politically there that had people coming down?

COSTA: Well, we had Secretary Clinton, running for president. She was here in South Carolina in North Charleston last night. And Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, entered the race Monday in Miami. He was scheduled to be in the city. Actually, at the same site as the press conference just now from the police chief where Jeb Bush was going to have a town hall with veterans. He's canceled that event because of what's happened.

But you're right, Chris, the FBI is here, and Chief Mullen told us last night that they're here because of one is it looks like a hate crime, and they're calling it a hate crime. But two of nine people are dead. Because of the scope of the murder and the scope of the killing. That's why the FBI is immediately getting involved. And the chief said he has reinforcements coming in from Washington today.

CUOMO: Nick, in terms of how they're going to phase through the investigation, there're obviously putting out details about this event for another 40 minutes or so because of the urgency of putting out the pictures of this man out there in terms of the urgency to find him. In terms of what you think they know at this point, how fresh is the reporting?

VALENCIA: Well, I'm sure they have a lot more than they're leading on. I'm sure they have a lot more details than they're putting out. But let's make one thing clear, Chris: They are investigating this as a hate crime. They believe that this group was targeted, a group of individuals that were -- they were praying, putting on a Bible study session, you know, talking about religion here. This is one of the oldest, largest black churches in the country. And for somebody to do this, you know, I was talking to State Representative Marlon Kimpson. I asked him why would somebody do this? And he said, "You can speculate to this unspeakable, unthinkable tragedy, but it is something that the community is just coming to grips with right now" -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Nick, you and Robert stay on the scene, if you can, Robert, for us and see what you can figure out. Obviously, whoever did this, this young man, we'll put his picture up again. I had to know what was going on in that church. Obviously, it wasn't a typical service today, but Bible study very common, especially if you know that community on a Wednesday night. So we're going to check back with you in just a second. But we have other news this morning, as well.

CAMEROTA: We will get back to all that breaking news in South Carolina. But we also are following developments, and there are some, on the manhunt for those two escaped prisoners from that New York prison. And it is now day 13 of the search, and authorities are releasing new photos of Richard Matt and David Sweat, showing what they might look like after nearly two weeks on the run.

CNN's Alexandra Field is live for us in Dannemora, New York, with the latest on that manhunt. Alexandra, what do we know?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Alisyn. We are now hearing from Lyle Mitchell's attorney. Lyle Mitchell is the husband of Joyce Mitchell. His attorney says that he had no role in the escape and no knowledge of it. He says he's been left reeling by the allegations against his wife, that he is confused right now but he has he has now met with investigators for a second time, spending three hours with them. He hasn't been charged with anything, but he is answering questions as police continue their search for two men who have been missing for 13 days now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to pursue every lead, and we are going to locate these individuals.

FIELD (voice-over): This morning the search area in upstate New York expands and shifts, following more than 1,400 leads. Officials hoping these age progression mug shots help capture fugitives Richard Matt and David Sweat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are concentrating our efforts, not only in this vicinity, but throughout the nation and beyond.

FIELD: According to officials, before Matt broke out of prison, he made a painting of Joyce Mitchell's children, the female prison employee accused of helping the inmates escape. She then gave it to her husband Lyle as a wedding anniversary present only two months ago.

All the while, officials say, Joyce was having a sexual relationship with 49-year-old Richard Matt, dating as far back as 2013. Investigators have also subpoenaed Mitchell's cell-phone records. Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie says she used it to speak with Matt's daughter at least once.

ANDREW WYLIE, CLINTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: One of the items that she was discussing, at least that she advised us, the purpose of that was to discuss some paintings that Matt wanted to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you anything about the escape plans?

FIELD: A source close to the investigation says Lyle Mitchell had no knowledge of his wife's affair. Officials say there's no evidence Lyle knew about the prisoners' escape plan before it happened, and that it was only after Matt and Sweat broke out that Joyce Mitchell warned her husband the men also had been plotting to kill him. She's pleaded not guilty to charges related to the escape.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And with two convicted killers managing to break out of Clinton Correctional Facility, you cannot help but wonder what life has been life has been like for the inmates inside that prison over the last two weeks.

We are now learning from a source with knowledge of the facility that the prison's honor block has been shut down and converted to regular cells. The honor block is the unit that Sweat and Matt were housed in. It afforded special privileges to inmates who have gone years without disciplinary action -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: I can imagine things can be changing there for sure. Alexandra, thank you so much. We'll have much more on the manhunt that continues there where Alexandra is, and also the manhunt that is underway right now in South Carolina.

We'll have more for you on the situation that killed nine people. A gunman killed nine people in South Carolina. Police are tracking him right now. We'll have the latest for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a white male at large, approximately 21 years old, sandy blonde hair. He obviously is extremely dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:27:28] PEREIRA: To our breaking news. Nine people shot and killed in what police are calling a hate crime. An historic South Carolina church. Right now, police are in pursuit of this gunman. This image is being released of the suspect.

I want to bring in law enforcement security analyst Matthew Horace; also Joseph Giacalone, a former detective sergeant for the NYPD, now a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Gentlemen, really good to have you here. Sorry under these circumstances, but we know you two have both been on the ground in scenarios like this.

Joseph, we'll start with you. Right now, what has law enforcement been doing? We've seen this image. We've seen an image of a car. What is the priority this second, as they lay out the logistics of how to find this gunman?

JOSEPH GIACALONE, FORMER DETECTIVE SERGEANT, NYPD: OK. What you're going to be doing is surrounding the area, looking for additional video, surveillance cameras from the area, whether it's a bank camera, a gas station, whatever, maybe, anything that can get the front and back license plate, anything that would identify the car: markings, dents, those kind of things. And then try to couple that up with some cell phone records and some Internet records. And we're going to see how that plays out as a big part of this investigation.

CAMEROTA: Matthew, if we can look more closely at this picture, this is really instrumental, obviously. It's so helpful when law enforcement has a picture that they can go on. And this is a good one in terms of its clarity.

However, his hair is peculiar, and some people have suggested that maybe he's wearing a wig. And his nose looks a little bit peculiar, sort of discolored. What do you, as a law enforcement, what do you see when for clues when you look at this picture?

MATTHEW HORACE, LAW ENFORCEMENT/SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I see the same thing you do, but I also see that there's a unique initial on one of the sides of his shirt. I'm sure that's been blown up for law enforcement. I'm sure they're using that as a tool to help them find a suspect in this case.

CAMEROTA: But that says, like, maybe he worked somewhere or maybe he shopped somewhere.

HORACE: It could be a job. It could be a school. It could be an association. And that might be a critical clue in this case.

CUOMO: yes, I mean, obviously, the game of speculation is one they have to play more than we do. We do know that, from law enforcement sources, that they're trying to get group identifiers here.

Matthew, in your experience with the ATF, when you're looking at an individual, the assumption could be solo actor, you know, somebody who's just a depraved individual who went in there, wanted to do something terrible, perhaps targeting this black church.

But as you start to fan out and try to see if it's part of an organization, why would they think that, and how would they try to develop connections?

HORACE: Well, it's a part of the investigation. You're always going to want to find out if this person is affiliated with any particular group. But keep in mind, the majority of active shooter incidents in the United States between 2000 and 2013 were perpetrated by sole individuals and, in most cases, by most ca male. So we don't know if they're going to be working backwards to try to figure this out as the days and weeks come ahead.

The most significant point to this investigation right now is to find this individual and make sure that this can't and doesn't happen again.

PEREIRA: Yes, that's the concern. This is an individual that they consider armed and dangerous and is out there. We don't know if there's a plan to perpetrate other acts. And that is a concern, obviously.