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Witnesses: Sound Of Gunfire, Screams Filled Nightclub; Police Begin Identifying Victims Of Nightclub Massacre; Suspect With Arsenal Arrested Before L.A. Pride Parade; Did Orlando Terrorist Become Self- Radicalized?; Tony Awards Pay Tribute To Orlando Victims; Fifty Dead, 53 Injured In Orlando Terror Attack; Is Congress To Blame For Inaction On Gun Control? Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired June 13, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): -- terrorist opened fire. Eyewitnesses describe the horror and chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was turning around to grab alcohol. He got shot three times. He heard chaos, heard consistent semiautomatic shooting and said it would not stop.

CAMEROTA: Some able to escape by running out the back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had jumped through the back patio fence. My roommates ran and while we were running I heard the gunshots.

CAMEROTA: Others like Eddie Justice sent chilling texts to his mother begging for help. He's coming. I'm going to die. Police confirming this morning that Justice is among the dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shooting back and forth.

CAMEROTA: Seven minutes into the attack, club management posted this message on Facebook. Everyone, get out of Pulse, and keep running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then about 2:12 I got a phone call from my daughter saying she was hit and bleeding in her arm and was going to pass out.

CAMEROTA: Twenty minutes into the carnage, police say the terrorist made a call to 911 pledging allegiance to ISIS and mentioning the Boston marathon bombers. With dozens of club goers still in the club, police began negotiating with the terrorist leading to a tense three- hour standoff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They started, like, doing this, crawling. So there's no place to be safe in that place.

CAMEROTA: One survivor hiding in the bathroom covered herself with dead bodies. Around 5:00 a.m., police make the decision to storm the club with an armed vehicle and SWAT team members in hopes of saving lives. One of the officers shot at by the terrorist lucky to be alive because of his Kevlar helmet. The terrorist killed in the gun fight with police. Outside victims laying on the street, others carried away by friends as families rushed to the club.

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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Find out if your son's OK, it's horrible. I don't wish this on anybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You know, for all of this appetite to get to the big questions about who this was and what does the investigation yield, you have to remember, this is just beginning. Those parents you just saw on your screen, there are so many like them. There's so much unknown about who was killed inside. Who's in the hospitals right now?

Families and loved ones are racing around to figure out if, where are the people they're still looking for? So right now we want to get to not just remembering the dead but also all of the open questions about who was hurt and where are they?

CNN's Victor Blackwell is live now at Orlando Regional Medical Center where some of the injured are being treated, and as you know, Victor, there's so many open questions about where is my son? Where is my daughter? Where is my friend?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Chris, we've discussed this in the context of being the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, but we also have to look at this in the context of this being more than 100 individual tragedies.

You've got the 53 people who are injured, many of those have been brought here to Orlando Regional Medical Center, and then 50 killed, and the city of Orlando has started to release some of those names.

Twenty two of the names of those killed, almost half now, have been released, and we're starting to see faces. The faces of 23-year-old Stanley Almodovar III, Amanda Alvear, 25 years old, Mercedes Marisol Flores, 26 years old, Enrique Rios, 25 years old.

We are starting to see some of the faces and hear their stories. Now, Florida Governor Rick Scott called this attack on our nation and many agree with that and the nation responded with vigils in Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Denver, even in front of the White House, and outside of the U.S. borders as far away as Melbourne, Australia, the world standing in solidarity with Orlando.

Of course, vigils here in Orlando. And I tell you what else we saw in this city, there was a call made to help the victims of this tragedy who are still fighting for their lives with blood donations. Hundreds of people, according to some estimates more than 1,000 people stood in line to donate blood. Now, let me give you some context. It was 94 degrees in Orlando yesterday. Heat index of 98. So what did the businesses do?

Well, secondary, tertiary expressions of solidarity, they came out with water and food, and Alisyn, as I toss it back to you, we spoke with officials here at the medical center and they say that they have not yet planned a news conference.

But they hope to offer some clarity later this morning by releasing the conditions of those still here and if any of those 53 people were brought to this area, to these hospitals, have yet been released -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Victor, we know you'll bring us all of the updates soon as you have them from there. Thank you for that.

At the same time that the news was breaking about the attack here, there was another chilling arrest. This Indiana man was arrested on his way to the Gay Pride Festival in Los Angeles. He's facing weapons and explosive charges.

Police say that suspect had an arsenal inside his car, and investigators are trying to figure out what his motives may have been.

[06:35:08]CNN's Kyung Lah is live in Los Angeles with more. What have you learned, Kyung?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very alarming timing, because it was, as you pointed out, Alisyn, just hours as the Orlando shooting was unfolding. Police say that they got a call of a prowler and then stopped James Howell (ph) in his white Acura.

And inside his Acura, they found three assault rifles. They found ammunition, high-powered ammunition, a rifle scope, a gas canister, a black vest with a security badge and a five-gallon bucket with chemicals capable of making a bomb.

So police officers certainly very concerned, especially when he said where he was heading. He said that he was going to head to the Gay Pride Festival. The parade happening on Sunday morning.

At this point, they do not have a motive for him and he has a perplexing profile. He has a criminal history in Indiana. They don't why he came here. The criminal history does involve a lover's quarrel with his male boyfriend where he brandished a weapon threatening that boyfriend.

So police at this point still working on the motivation, but certainly a very concerning case and very dubious timing -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Kyung, thank you very much. Obviously, as you say there at the end, dubious timing. Right now investigators say no connection to what happened here in Orlando, but it's still very early. They don't even know who was inside let alone what the connections are.

So in the wake of what happened here at this club behind us, there are a lot of questions about what do you do in the face of terrorism? Before to stop lone wolves, to stop people thinking about it, and then once you are in the moment? There a lot of sensitivity about calling these attackers Islamist extremists. Why? We'll give you answers, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:30]

CAMEROTA: Police say the Orlando terrorist pledged allegiance to ISIS, and referenced the Boston marathon bombers in a 911 call during the massacre. Did he become self-radicalized, and what warning signs were missed?

Joining us now, a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, and senior correspondent for religiondispatches.org, Haroon Moghul. Haroon, thanks so much for being here. What's the feeling in the Muslim community after something like this happens?

HAROON MOGHUL, INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND UNDERSTANDING: You get everything you hear with anyone else who's in America in Florida, anger, frustration, fear, but I think there's a deeper sense for a lot of Muslims, of failure.

That we've spent a lot of time and a lot of energy trying to fight this ideology and then one guy comes along and does something horrific, and despicable, and then sets the narrative back, and that's the frustration that we're really feeling.

CAMEROTA: You said that you spent a lot of time and energy fighting it. You've certainly talked about it a lot, but there is a helplessness, a helpless feeling all of us feel. In the Muslim community is there more that can be done somehow to weed out or fight this extremism?

MOGHUL: Sure. I think there's a few things. I mean, one is, if you look at any community, right, it's a group of people and there are leaders, shapers, movers, thinkers, they move them in one way or another.

And what we've seen unfortunately with some of the homophobia, the anti-Semitism and racism is you push people in one direction and the people who are already kind on the edge, they fall off.

So I know that the shooter, his father mentioned he saw two gay men kissing in Miami and that set him off. But I mean, realistically, that's not what set him off, obviously a lot of things happened before that to get him to a point where he was considering this kind of mass murder.

So I think a lot of the concern is how do we shift that conversation to a point where we don't have people falling off the edge? CAMEROTA: There are reports that he began going to his mosque more regularly, began going three or four times. He was solitary, would sit more alone. He became sort of more antisocial. He was in his mosque two days before this happened. Are these warning signs? Are things that imams are missing? Is there something they should do in terms of outreach?

MOGHUL: Well, I think that actually the warning signs, a history of violence and abuse. His own family members seemed to think he wasn't exactly the greatest person in the world, and that, to me is obviously a sign of concern.

People who do radicalize, they convert to what they call ISIS Islam, where you know, they might be involved in Islam, but they are never involved in Muslim communities and they never share their plans with anyone, which is part of the frustration.

How do you know that the person who is sitting next to you in a mosque might actually have these kinds of intentions?

CAMEROTA: Look, what's the answer? I know that you've been looking for solutions because I know that just talking about it is starting to feel not only old just sort of impotent. So what is the answer here from where you stand?

MOGHUL: Well, I mean, obviously, something absolutely terrible happened yesterday and we're focused on that, but we also shouldn't forget that we are actually defeating ISIS. They're losing territory. The full force of fighters have gone down markedly. We are blowing up their cash stock piles, right. They are losing so --

CAMEROTA: But that doesn't seem to matter when they can kill 50 people here. As long as you have a lone wolf then it doesn't matter that their territory is being reduced.

MOGHUL: Sure. Well, you have to defeat the ideology. It's a slow process. We didn't get here overnight and unfortunately we are not going to get to that point overnight either.

I would say that when you have these kind of warning signs, we mentioned the story about the man in Indiana. How are people able to amass this quantity of weaponry when there are already warning signs of violence?

I think that should be a part of the conversation along with the ideology and the recruitment and all these other things.

CAMEROTA: But I know that you also believe that there needs to be more money invested from the Muslim community into what?

MOGHUL: Into changing the narrative, I mean, the problem we have in the Muslim community is the overall and a majority of us reject this stuff and we condemn this stuff. But we don't actually build institutions that can actually change the narrative on the ground.

I would like to see is programs for young Muslims, especially men at a vulnerable age that kind of involve them in something that makes them feel empowered and connected to do something positive for the wider world.

Whether it's here in the United States or internationally, to try to gradually change the narrative and basically take the air out of the extremist narrative.

CAMEROTA: And is that possible? Are those programs being talked about?

MOGHUL: I think after events like this, and more and more people are talking about it and realizing that more needs to be done and the conversations I've heard in Muslim communities in the last 24 hours about extremism, homophobia, intolerance are actually really heartening. And we might not see those, but they're happening and an important move in the right direction.

CAMEROTA: All right, thank you very much for all the information. Always great to talk to you. We appreciate you being here.

Ahead, we are awaiting a live news conference from the FBI. They'll give us an update on the investigation in less than an hour.

[06:45:01]Also, how the Tony Awards producers decided that the show must go on last night and how they paid tribute to the victims of this Orlando terror attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- it's a place where every race, creed, sexuality, and gender is equal, is embraced, and is loved. Hate will never win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CORDEN, HOST, "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this atrocity. All we can say is, you are not on your own right now. 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)

CAMEROTA: That was the Tony Awards host James Corden opening last night's show with a message of solidarity for Orlando. In the great Broadway tradition, the show did go on and it was dedicated to those impacted by this mass shooting.

We want to bring in CNN's senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter. He was in the house last night. He joins us now.

So Brian, was there thought that they would cancel the show or postpone it or that was never considered?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: There was some talk about that briefly this time yesterday in the early after hours after the attack, but this is Broadway's biggest night. The decision was made to go on with the show.

It was a celebration of culture and in some ways, Alisyn, culture was attacked in Orlando. Of course, striking a gay nightclub during a Latin night there, and on Broadway, onstage last night, we heard many remembrances, including as you showed from James Corden who said hate will never win, but then quickly added, together we must make sure of that.

We also heard from "Hamilton" star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and of course, "Hamilton" winning most of the awards last night. He performed a sonnet that in many ways was a tribute to the victims.

He said when senseless acts of tragedy strike they remind us that nothing is here, nothing is promised, not for one day. Some of the other winners also acknowledged, and urging Orlando to stay strong.

[06:50:05]And there were also silver ribbons worn by many of the nominees and the awardees as another remembrance for the victims.

CAMEROTA: That's a powerful message, Brian. I'm so glad that the show did go on, because it shows that life -- that strength and life and love still happen, but was the mood much more somber because of all of this?

STELTER: It certainly was a bit subdued especially on the red carpet. The nominees, the stars that were there, even without being asked at some point wanted to talk about what happened in Orlando because, of course, it has been felt all across the country in ways I think will continue to reverberate for days to come.

CAMEROTA: All right, Brian, thanks so much for that update and showing the clips from the Tony's last night. We are awaiting a live update right now from law enforcement that's at the top of the hour. They will bring us the latest on the terror attack investigation.

But first, who is to blame for the terrorist massacre in Orlando? Coming up, we will talk to a U.S. senator who is pointing the finger at his own colleagues in Congress. He'll explain that, as we remember the victims of this attack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Look, I wish this weren't the case, but we've seen too many of these. Right? There are some common questions, investigatively, was this someone who is connected to a terror organization? Is this just a murder? Is it a hate crime?

And, then, of course, there are questions about, well, what was used? And once again we're talking about long guns and we're talking about handguns and access. And that debate is happening again, but in a little different way. We have Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy. Now, as you remember, he was the senator then congressman from the district of Sandy Hook and the massacre there.

Murphy had some very harsh words for his fellow lawmakers in the wake of what happened here in Orlando saying in a statement, quote, "Congress has become complicit in these murders by its total unconscionable deafening silence.

This doesn't have to happen, but this epidemic will continue without end if Congress continues to sit on its hands and do nothing again."

[06:55:07]We have Senator Murphy joining us now. Very important conversation to have. Obviously timing, Senator, is also relevant to you. You believed it was important to get out early.

But first, a message for you not just to your constituents but to all who are watching this. This was the first time we've dealt with this scale of a targeted attack on gays, and this is the largest community of Latinos we've ever seen targeted in a single murderous incident before. What is your message about that?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: Well, my message is one of hope that we don't come out of this episode being torn apart. There are going to be a lot of people who are going to try to use this moment to divide us. And this is a moment where you have to come together.

Unfortunately, we know the epic scale of this devastation in Connecticut, and in the end, I think that Newtown, Connecticut, defined not by those 5 minutes of violence inside Sandy Hook, but how we came together afterwards to support those victims, and my hope is that the same thing happens in Orlando.

That the gay community, the Latino community, the Muslim community, all come together to support these victims. There's going to be a lot of important public policy questions in Washington, but the most important thing we can do right now is make sure that the nature of this incident.

And the frankly, some of the things that are being said in the political sphere, don't break this community apart at a critical time.

CUOMO: What law would have made this different? Obviously you're jumping on inaction in Congress for a reason, but what could have stopped, under the laws as accepted right now by the Supreme Court what could have stopped this man from getting the weapon that he used to murder all of these people?

MURPHY: Well, first of all, I think there's always a trap in which people want one law to have stopped the most recent episode, the most recent mass shooting. The fact there are different laws in place that would have addressed many of these incidents.

In this case, we don't know all the fact and are trying to discover whether indeed this individual was on the terror watch list or had been on it. What we know is that he used a very powerful assault weapon that prior to the expiration of the assault weapon ban had been illegal in this country.

And what we know in Sandy Hook is that that weapon resulted in 20 little kids being shot and 20 little kids being killed. I just don't any reason why those weapons should be legal. There is a lot of people in law enforcement that agree, but there is a broad scope of laws in this country that we have to look at.

CUOMO: Senator -- what I'm saying is, look, I get the emotional response. Right? We spend too much time at this incidents and the familiarity is sickening, from community to community, you get all the same questions.

But whether it's an AR-15 or M-4, a long gun or a short gun, there are so many different semiautomatic weapons that allow the same yield for any murderer, that the idea that, well, there's a legal change we could make, I don't -- I'm asking you to show me what it is.

The assault weapons ban was what it was. You have now a whole field of weapons. An individual right bound by the Supreme Court, what could you do legally that would have made a difference here versus taking the steps that you can to address these lone wolf threats, to address the terror and deal with that side of it, mental health, maybe when and if it's relevant.

But is the focus on guns something that's going to really create anything other than political tension?

MURPHY: Well, I mean, first of all, let's accept that the second amendment right to bear arms is not a right to bear any and all weapons, and Justice Scalia himself said that. That bans on particular weapons, military-style weapons, are certainly appropriate.

But you are right that it would be a mistake for any of us to try to suggest that this incident and what we know so far is just an issue about guns, or just an issue about terrorism, or just an issue about mental illness.

It appears from what we know that this was an absolutely terrible concoction of all three. That means that our discussion in Washington, yes, has to be about our gun laws but also has to be about recognizing that ISIS is trying to weaponize those who live on the fringes of society.

Those who are mentally ill and may be prone to radicalization and yes, this is also about mental health. So I think that it's a mistake for any of us to try to drill down to one policy area.

But it is not a coincidence that since the expiration of the assault weapons ban we have seen more than half of the mass shootings in this country's history, and half of those mass shootings use these type of weapons. So I think that has to be part of the discussion here.

CUOMO: Senator, thank you very much for bringing up the issue. This debate is only starting now. In fact, we have a lot of pressures and things that are urgent right now that will come before that discussion, but as it continues, we'll have it, and thank you for being a part of it.

MURPHY: Thanks a lot.

CUOMO: All right. There is a lot of news and developing information. Remember, we still don't know who was in this club over my shoulder right now. So let's get right to the latest.