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Piers Morgan Live

Stories of Heroism and Survival; Survivors of Oklahoma Tornado Tell Stories

Aired May 22, 2013 - 21:00   ET

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

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: This is PIERS MORGAN LIVE. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Breaking news tonight on the Boston bombing suspect. We'll get to that in a moment. But first stunning, never-before-seen video of the moment the deadly twister touched town in Moore, Oklahoma. Just listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Moore area. If you're in the south --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. Absolutely terrible. I cannot believe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got to go, got to go. Go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Absolutely extraordinary video there.

Plus an update on a story you heard here last night. The teacher who was impaled as she protected her students from a tornado then found out her insurance may not cover her hospital bills. She's back with me tonight with a good ending to that story.

Also my primetime exclusive. You've seen the photo, now meet the hero family who become the face of a brave community.

Plus a truly shocking terror attack in London and a chilling threat from a knife-wielding man with blood on his hands and a machete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We swear by the Almighty Allah, we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone. We must fight them as they fight us. And an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: And our breaking news tonight. Boston marathon bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, participated in a gruesome triple murder two years ago along with another man who was killed today during a confrontation with the FBI as they investigated him. We'll have the full story tonight. A lot to get to tonight but I want to begin of course with the most dramatic rescue to come out of the twister zone possibly. Juan Olivo lives about a mile away from Plaza Towers Elementary School, who went looking for survivors as soon as the storm passed. And this remarkable moment was all captured on camera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over here, over here. Hey. Hey, here. Where are you at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where -- we're going to get you. We're going to get you. Hey. Hey. Give me a hand. There's somebody in here. There's somebody in here.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Calling for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got help. Help is right here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Really amazing. And joining me now is the rescuer, Juan Olivo, and his friend, Jerrel Brewer, another tornado survivor.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining me. Juan, this is a remarkable piece of video and a remarkable story. Tell me about what happened to you personally. You survived the tornado, then what?

JUAN OLIVO, RESCUED MAN FROM RUBBLE: I was actually in the south side of Oklahoma City when I'd seen the tornado. But once I figured out where it was heading, my sister lives in that neighborhood, in front of Moore Athletics, as well as Jerrel. So I rushed over there and I seen that my sister was OK, so I immediately rushed to Jerrel's house, which it was wiped out completely.

As I was walking, I found Jerrel. We took about 20 steps to the east, and we saw -- we heard the man yelling for help. So me and Jerrel ran over there and that's when we started doing the search for the man which we found underneath all of the debris in his tub.

MORGAN: And Jerrel, we could obviously hear there, the man crying out. What condition was he in when you were able to physically get to him?

JERREL BREWER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: He had a couple of ribs broken. He was pretty shaken up, as you can imagine. But like I say, he had a couple of rib broken, but he was pretty OK.

MORGAN: And Juan, I mean, it's an extraordinary tale of survival. You had to pull a lot of stuff off this guy. He was well embedded under the wreckage. Tell me about that aspect.

OLIVO: Yes, he was underneath all the debris. He was -- I mean, he was in there. But I mean, as soon as I yelled for help, nobody second-guessed. Everybody took off running. We had at least 10 to 15 people helping us take all the debris off of him. MORGAN: And Jerrel, who is this man, do you know?

BREWER: No, I don't. No. Like Juan said, my house was totally wiped out in the storm, and as I checked to make sure all my family was OK, I ran down to the Plaza Tower Elementary, and that's when I saw Juan, and we -- you know, we went and -- like I said, my brothers and I were already there and Juan found us and we went and -- grabbed the man yelling. He's a stranger to me and hoping one day I'll meet him.

MORGAN: Juan, I know that you sent this in as a CNN iReporter, and it was great, quick thinking on your part. It's a really extraordinary piece of video, and I thank you so much for joining me tonight with Jerrel to tell me about it.

BREWER: OK.

MORGAN: Now a remarkable update to a story we first brought you last night, the hero teacher also from Briarwood Elementary who was impaled while she protected her students from the twister. Then she found out her insurance may not cover the hospital bill.

I was shocked when she told me that. But I'm happy to say after seeing her on this show, her insurance company contacted her to say they will be covering all her hotel -- hotel, hospital expenses. Though it was a hotel. Great news and Suzanne Haley is back with me now exclusively.

Suzanne, what a great ending to a miserable couple of days for you.

SUZANNE HALEY, HERO TEACHER IMPALED PROTECTING STUDENTS: It is, it is a good feeling to know that things are going to be taken care of the way they should.

MORGAN: And this came as a result of the show last night and us covering your story and me talking to you. A very emotional interview and you revealed this pretty shocking piece of information that you weren't going to be covered. And I know from my own Twitter feed blowing up with fury from people, they were very upset on your behalf. And the insurance company contacted you. Tell me, tell me what happened.

HALEY: They did. I received a call at 9:30 last night. And I was reassured that in events like this that the insurance would be covering the expenses that are going to be incurred for my stay for surgery for the -- any additional rehab that I'm going to endure from this injury. And gave me her personal cell phone in case I had any -- had any problems, questions. And she as well has called me today to check on me, as well.

MORGAN: Well, that's terrific. And do you know if they're extending the same principle to other people who may have been in your position? HALEY: I believe so. I believe that, you know, in this, you know, situation you don't have a choice. You know, you don't get to say, hey, my insurance isn't going to cover that hospital bill. You need to take me, you know, 25 miles out of the way. When it's an emergency, it's an emergency, and you've just got to get where you've got to get. And they took me to the closest place that they could. There's no way I could have traveled in my condition in the back of a truck, you know, to the nearest participating hospital in my plan. So --

MORGAN: Well, it's a terrific ending to a horrible incident for you. And we talked last night also about your strange souvenir, which is the desk leg which missed your leg.

HALEY: Yes.

MORGAN: It's a remarkable picture that we showed last night. Truly horrific. And -- but the good news is, you're going to make a full recovery within about three months, you told me. And you have, I believe, got your souvenir with you.

HALEY: Yes, I do.

MORGAN: Can we see it?

HALEY: Yes. Give me just a second. Let's see if I can make my way.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: This is one of the more surreal moments of television I've ever been involved in, I have to say, as you go to get your piercing desk leg.

(LAUGHTER)

HALEY: It's just a definite different choice of managing to get around. And I'm doing it very craftily.

MORGAN: You take as long as you need.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry. She's not allowed to get out of bed.

HALEY: OK, now I'm in trouble.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: Oh, dear. How bad have we landed you in it?

HALEY: OK. So this is the piece that -- it would have been like this, attached to the top of the desk.

MORGAN: Yes.

HALEY: Down in through my calf. MORGAN: Wow.

HALEY: As well as the bottom piece has been cut off. Is it set right there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes, they set it off right there.

MORGAN: And it -- sorry. Are you one of the medical team? I'm sorry. I don't know your name.

ALAIN: No, I'm -- I'm one of her best friends that's been with her the whole time that she's --

MORGAN: And what's your -- what's your name?

ALAIN: My name is Michelle Alain.

MORGAN: Michelle, I mean, when you see that terrible thing in your hands, it's pretty extraordinary that it went through Suzanne's leg and that she's going to make a full perfect recovery.

ALAIN: I talked to the doctor this morning and he said the miracle was there were no arteries cut.

MORGAN: Right.

ALAIN: It went through a tissue, and her muscles -- I'm sorry, I ran from the hallway. She wasn't supposed to get out of bed.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: I mean, the whole thing, I have to say, looking at it this close, I'm so glad we did this, because it gives the viewers and me an extraordinary insight just to how thick that is, that piece of metal. Because we couldn't really see that from the picture. ALAN: Oh, yes.

MORGAN: It's absolutely enormous.

HALEY: It's definitely making my leg hurt looking at it.

MORGAN: Yes. Absolutely amazing. Well, Suzanne, look. I'm so thrilled for you that you're going to make a great recovery. I'm thrilled you've got the insurance and I'm just happy that we could play a small part in that. And I look forward to talking to you again perhaps when you're back home and rebuilding your life.

HALEY: Very well.

ALAIN: Thanks, Piers.

MORGAN: Quite remarkable.

You can go on our Web site for more information on the Suzanne Haley Support Trust. In the moments after the tornado struck, the scene outside Briarwood Elementary School was one of utter chaos, crying children, desperate teachers, frantic parents, it was heartbreaking to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's really hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, where is she?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's out? She's out? OK. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: One of the most unforgettable images to come out of that tragic scene is this one, Steve and LaDonna Cobb rescuing their daughter Jordan. It's the shot that went around the world and joining me now in a primetime exclusive to tell the story behind the photo are the Cobb family, mom, LaDonna, dad Steve and daughters Sydney, Jordan and Erin.

Welcome to all of you. I'm so glad to see you all looking so well tonight. It was one of those pictures where the moment you saw it, it summed everything up and everyone was wondering, who are you and how are you.

So LaDonna, let me start with you. How are you all doing as a family?

LADONNA COBB, HERO MOM IN ICONIC PHOTO: We are doing wonderful. And we're lucky to be alive. And our hearts go out to those that weren't as fortunate. But we'll heal. We're here. That's what's most important.

MORGAN: And just tow me through what happened because I understand, you were a teacher at the school but you had a day off, you were going house-hunting with Steve and then you thought we're going to go to the school and just check the kids are OK because of the tornado. Tell me what happened then.

L. COBB: We were actually going to close on our new house. And we got the alert for the tornado. And so we said we're going to run to the school and get the girls. And we got there, and I saw my pre-K class lined up where they're supposed to be. And I couldn't leave them. And Steve was saying, come on, we have to get the girls, we have to go. And I -- I couldn't leave my -- all the other kids.

And so we ended up being there. And he came around the corner yelling, "You've got to come see what's headed towards Erin's class." And I came around the corner and saw the tornado coming right to her class. And we knocked on the door, and ran in, and him and I and the teacher just jumped on top of the kids, and rode it out there. MORGAN: And Jordan, let me talk to you. Because we all were very worried about you. You're in your dad's arms, and we didn't know what had happened to you. What was it like for you, Jordan, to actually experience a tornado that big?

JORDAN COBB, HERO FAMILY SURVIVED TORNADO: It was just --

MORGAN: Yes, go ahead, Jordan.

J. COBB: It was just crazy. It was just crazy. Like, I was in my classroom, and when our school alarm went off, like that's when I knew that the -- there was a tornado coming. It was coming. And I saw the portables, like, just -- the metal just came off, and I was fine until the roof came off. And I started freaking out. And it was just crazy.

MORGAN: Unbelievable. And Steve, we saw you, obviously, cradling Jordan coming away from the scene. It must have been a terrifying experience for you and the family. Did you fear at one stage that you may not all come out alive?

STEVE COBB, HERO DAD IN ICONIC PHOTO: Well, before, you know -- before the tornado hit, I could tell by just looking at it from how close it was that this is not the kind of tornado or storm that you want to be above ground for. Usually want to be below ground for that size of a tornado. And I had my doubts. I was truly fearful. I didn't -- I didn't think we were going to live.

I thought, you know, it was just going to flatten everything out, and we would probably, you know -- we would die. But, you know, somehow or another everyone survived. There was, you know, a few injuries. My wife had injuries, I had injuries. But I mean, for that size of a tornado not to take lives like it did, I mean, I know there was other places that it did.

But for everyone in our school to make it out alive, and to go through that, to be in a building that's basically being blown apart by a tornado and having all that debris on top of you, and, you know, watching all that chaos afterwards is, you know -- it was -- it was crazy. It was amazing. It was surreal. It was -- I'm just glad we made it out alive and very thankful that we did so. Because --

MORGAN: Yes.

STEVE COBB: Could very well have went the other way.

MORGAN: Really a miraculous escape. And LaDonna, we've had so much teachers in the last few days I've been talking to who have been really heroic, and you're another one to stay there look after not just your children but other people's children. Your little babies, as you put it, at the school. Was true act of great courage. And to you and Steve, I pass on everyone's grateful thanks. And just delighted you and the family are all okay.

And good to see you, Jordan, as well. We were all worried about you. So that's great. And your sisters. I suggest you go and have some ice cream or something.

JORDAN: Thank you.

MORGAN: Good to see you all. Thank you very much.

LADONNA COBB: Thank you very much.

STEVE COBB: Thank you.

MORGAN: You're welcome.

And I want to turn to another story we brought you exclusively last night. The Jenkins' family frantic search for their grandparents. Missing ever since the twister hit. We asked for your help and help came in. via tip this morning. And now Thomas and Claudia Foutch have been found. Their delighted granddaughter, Cassandra Jenkins, joins me now on the phone.

Cassandra, I'm so thrilled for you, because you were so upset last night, so worried, so fearful that they may be dead. And they're alive. Tell me about how you found out the news.

CASSANDRA JENKINS, MISSING GRANDPARENTS FOUND (on the phone): Well, I mean, because of the power of the social media and your CNN broadcast viewers, within hours, we were able to locate the vehicle. I'm proud to say that my grandparents are now home, they are safe. They are comfortable. And I just want to thank you and your viewers so much. Without you, this never would have --

MORGAN: And it really was Cassandra, a case, somebody had notice wanted the details of the car we put out and they had some pictures. And they saw the car in the picture and posted it on Facebook, right?

JENKINS: Yes, they were taking random pictures of the storm debris, and things, and inside one of these pictures she happened to notice the vehicle that we had described. And she immediately contacted me on Facebook. And within hours we found them.

MORGAN: Fantastic end to this story. And Cassandra, I'm so happy for you and your grandparents and your whole family. Thank you for telling me about this, and just thrilled that we could help.

JENKINS: Thank you so much.

MORGAN: Absolute pleasure.

When we come back, the governor of Oklahoma with the latest on the effort to rebuild in tornado-ravaged Moore.

And later, a brutal, horrible terror attack on a London street in broad daylight. A soldier macheted to death. The whole shocking scene caught on camera, including the attacker's chilling statement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MURDER SUSPECT: I apologize that women had to witness this today. But in our land, our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government! They don't care about you!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN: This Sunday, President Obama will travel to Moore to see first-hand the destruction from the massive tornado. The recovery process is just beginning, though, and it will take years for this tight-knit community to rebuild. But it will.

And joining me now is Oklahoma governor, Mary Fallin, and Congressman Tom Cole, who lives just blocks from the hardest hit area. Thank you so much to both of you joining me.

Governor, if I may start with you, tell me exactly where we are at the moment with the state of the recovery operation.

GOV. MARY FALLIN (R), OKLAHOMA: We are beginning the recovery operations. There's a lot of debris removal going on throughout the public areas of the street. I was just visiting with the fire chief. He told me they're about to get to the point where they can go to some of their other duties and let FEMA take control and some other emergency personnel take control of some of the operations here as far as a disaster clean-up.

You see a lot of utility crews that are out here. There was a lot of construction trucks. You're seeing people walking down the street pulling some wagons, going back into their homes to get their prized possessions. And there's a lot of people coming in and out of the shelters, signing up for FEMA relief. I hear we have about 1,500 people that have registered now with FEMA. And you're seeing people just coming for necessary services to figure out where they're going to go for shelter.

MORGAN: We now know that of the 24 pleased to have died, including 10 children, seven of the children who died were killed at Plaza Towers. But according to the Moore police chief today, of six missing people, all have been accounted for, five of them alive. Is that your understanding, Congressman?

REP. TOM COLE (R), OKLAHOMA: Yes, it is. Although, you know, you're always very careful with numbers in a situation like that. And we obviously have -- we had an earlier mistake, although one you're happy to get because it lowered the death toll. But they're really working hard to try and get this right. And trying to make sure we're getting out accurate information.

MORGAN: And Governor, you're a wife and a mother, and I know you've had to spend time with some of the poor families who lost their loved ones and children. It must have been an extremely heart-rending experience for you.

FALLIN: It was. Probably my worst moment was the first night I got to the school, the Plaza Towers about 11:30 at night and it was muddy and wet and there was a lot of debris and it was dark because there was no electricity. But when I drove up to the school and saw basically a flat building, a bunch of debris there, my heart -- I almost lost my breath. Seeing that as a mother to think about how parents had dropped their kids off at school that morning, and then by 3:00, there was some loss of life at that facility. And it was just really heartbreaking.

MORGAN: Awful. Congressman, there is a big issue, obviously, now about what people can do with further tornados, particularly in Tornado Alley, to try and protect themselves. There was an interesting piece today on CNN involving people from Joplin who have had their houses rebuilt and have now got secure areas in those houses. Costing maybe -- I think I heard $4,000 to so.

It does seem to me to be quite a strain that someone in Moore, for example, there would still be schools after two big tornadoes in the last 14 years that don't have these kind of secure units of a type we're looking at onscreen now. Why is that, and what will happen in light of what's happened here?

COLE: Well, most of the newer schools actually do have safe rooms in them that are added automatically. Plaza Towers is a much older facility, almost 50 years old. We have a lot of safe rooms. Actually, Oklahoma has been honestly the leader; the first of those programs were proposed and developed here. And we continue to push ahead.

Now I think there's going to be a healthy discussion about going back and retrofitting schools. I know that discussion has already begun at the state level. And it's also, you know, a federal issue, as well. We have programs and we probably haven't funded them as well as -- in retrospect, we should have.

Again, this was an unusual occurrence, people did the right thing. It was the safest building in the immediate area by far. But there's no question, we look back and we wish we would have done more and made it safer.

So, Oklahomans usually learn some hard lessons and move ahead. We have learned a lot of lessons. We're sadly, awfully good at dealing with these situations and responding. And I suspect this will be another lesson learned and we'll move ahead.

MORGAN: Well, I wish you both all the best in the continuing recovery operation. Thank you very much for joining me, Governor Fallin and Congressman Cole. Thank you.

COLE: Thank you.

MORGAN: Joining me now is a woman helping families rebuild their lives in the wake of the tornado. Jeanne-Aimee De Marrais is a team leader of Save the Children's Oklahoma response team. Also, Christie Freeman, is a tornado survivor. Jeanne-Aimee De Marrais, obviously a huge operation here. Many children sadly have lost their lives in this tornado. But some, including the family who were with you, were the lucky ones who managed to come through it. What has it been like on the ground there?

JEANNE-AIMEE DE MARRAIS, TEAM LEADER, SAVE THE CHILDREN: It's -- thank you, Piers. It's been very difficult for families here who have lost homes, who have lost loved ones. But the recovery process has started, and Save The Children is committed to being here to support the long- term recovery of children in the community.

MORGAN: And Christie, you're a mom. You're with your son, I believe, and your granddaughter. But your apartment, the roof fell in. You haven't been able to go back yet. What are you doing for accommodations for your family?

CHRISTIE FREEMAN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Well, thank the Lord, OU is supplying housing here for us. We were able to get a small apartment dorm here so our family could have shelter. They're feeding us, supplying food for us. And they even gave us clothes. They're just taking care of the needs, because without them, I don't know where we would be. I don't know where we would be doing.

MORGAN: Well, it's great that you got out alive. It's great you're okay. It's great you being on the show tonight. Thank you very much.

And continue good work, Jeanne-Aimee, with the Save The Children. It's a terrific organization, and I applaud you and your team.

DE MARRAIS: Thank you very much, Piers.

FREEMAN: Thank you.

MORGAN: Coming next, an incredible story from the ruins in Moore. After days of searching, a family finally reunited with a very treasured dog. And I'll tell you why. They all join us live, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Tonight an incredible story of survival from the rubble in Moore, Oklahoma. When the tornado hit, RJ Hansen was at work, but his dog Phoebe was at home. RJ feared the worse. A tornado destroyed his house and there was no sign of Phoebe. But that's not where the story ends.

With me now is RJ, his daughter Lindsey and her boyfriend, Jeremiah. I'll come to you first, RJ. I want to put into context for viewers why it was so important that you found your dog Phoebe. Tell me the back story to Phoebe and who Phoebe belonged to originally.

RJ. HANSEN, MOORE, OKLAHOMA RESIDENT: Phoebe was my older sister Thaus' (ph) dog. She had had her for a couple years. And toward the end of 2011, Thaus was diagnosed with cancer. And they tried to treat her for it, and finally treatment didn't work. It was terminal. And she died in -- at the end of March last year.

And so my wife and I took Phoebe in. And she's just really become a part of our whole family, my dad and my brother and sisters. She's kind of a substitute for Thaus now. So it was really important to all of us if we could find her. And we had just about given up hope.

MORGAN: I was going to say, you searched and you searched and you searched in every possible place. The house was obviously devastated. And there was just no sign of Phoebe. And then the next day, Jeremiah, let me bring you back in. You went back -- I think a few of you went back. But you were the one that eventually found Phoebe. Tell me how that happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, me and my girlfriend had gotten a lift to the neighborhood by one of the FBI agents -- I don't know his name, thank you -- to tarp up some stuff. And when we got there, it just didn't feel right just tarping up and leaving. So we searched for about three hours. And I finally found her in the kitchen, basically underneath the fridge, in a corner, scared.

MORGAN: And this -- this rubble that we're looking at -- I wanted to say, RJ, we're looking at rubble on our screen right now. That is the rubble of your home. That is where Phoebe was found. I mean, really miraculous. What was your reaction, RJ, when you realized that Phoebe had survived after you had given up all hope?

HANSEN: I was -- I had gone to Norman yesterday morning while Lindsey and Jeremiah were out there. And on the way home, it was raining real hard and Lindsey called me. And I wondered what she could possibly want right now. And she was -- she was crying.

LINDSEY HANSEN, MOORE, OKLAHOMA RESIDENT: And I told him that I had found Phoebe.

MORGAN: She said "we found Phoebe. Jeremiah found Phoebe." And I asked where, and she said she was in the -- buried in the kitchen, under all that rubble. And I just couldn't believe it, because I was afraid she was buried under there, and she was dead. So it was just -- it was the best moment any of us have had since Monday afternoon when this all happened.

And as soon as I got home, I texted everyone in my family and told me and everybody is just -- it was just wonderful.

MORGAN: It sounds to me, RJ, that somebody was looking down on you, and taking care of you.

HANSEN: I think that's a nice way to look at it.

MORGAN: I'm so happy for you.

HANSEN: Definitely.

MORGAN: -- and for your family. It's a wonderful story of survival against all the odds. Phoebe sounds like a pretty special dog to me. Let's take another look at Phoebe, who managed to come out of that rubble. There she is. Wonderful dog. RJ, I'm so pleased that everything ended up well for you. Thank you so much for joining me.

HANSEN: OK, thank you so much.

MORGAN: Great story.

And another great story of a real-life hero in the twister zone is Abby Larsen, who runs a daycare center called a Step Above Learning Center. She cares for children as young as seven weeks old. And when the tornado hit, she knew she had moments to save them.

Abby Larsen is being hailed a hero tonight. She joins me along with Amanda White, who was at the daycare center with her two children. Abby, remarkable story, this, again of survival. There have been so many of them. We have told some of them tonight. But tell me how you felt when this tornado crashed into your center.

ABBY LARSEN, STEP ABOVE LEARNING CENTER: It was devastating. Absolutely devastating. When we got done and we opened our eyes, it was just horrific what we saw. Three or four feet from us, we saw a horse standing, alive.

MORGAN: I wanted to ask you about this, because this is truly unbelievable. There was a horse that was alive on the roof, I believe -- or the battered roof of your center. But you believe that it must have traveled through the air for up to 40 or 50 acres, is that right?

LARSEN: I don't know how far it came. But it was in the middle of our building.

MORGAN: And could only have come from a substantial distance away.

LARSEN: Right.

MORGAN: What did you think when you saw this horse, standing there alive?

LARSEN: Honestly, I just quickly saw it, and my mission was to get the kids out and to look to assess what injuries we had.

MORGAN: And let's turn to the children, because you had 13 who remained at the daycare center with you, including a six-week-old baby boy. How are they all doing?

LARSEN: They're all doing well. They have all been released from the hospital. Carson right here, he stayed overnight. He had a --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: he had a bruised lung.

LARSEN: This is his mom, Casey. He's six. He rode it out with us. His mom works at a school in Norman and had grabbed him from school and was on her way to pick up Carson, whenever it got really close. So she took cover with us.

MORGAN: And Abby, I understand you suffered some injuries yourself. What happened to you?

LARSEN: I have a cracked rib and some stitches on my back. It's amazing that we all made it out. I don't care about any injuries on me. The kids are OK. And all my teachers are OK. And we will get open again to provide our care for the kids and the families.

MORGAN: And Amanda, you were there too riding out the storm with Abby. A terrifying experience. How are you feeling about it all?

AMANDA WHITE, MOTHER WHO WAS WITH CHILDREN WHEN TORNADO HIT: I am still shaken up. I just cannot get over that I made it in time, because I had just left. I work in Norman. And I had just left school, because I knew Carson was still at the center. And I wanted to be with him.

My oldest son, Casey right here, and I, we drove as fast as we could to get there. And as soon as we got in there, I made sure that we were singing songs. The teachers, they were reading books to the children. They were singing with the children. And I'm just amazed that we are still here, . Being able to be here on TV.

MORGAN: And it's terrific you all got away, all the kids are fine. One final question to you, Amanda, that I asked Abby. When you saw that horse, I'm sorry to keep coming back to this -- but this horse may have been flown, literally, through the air by this tornado for up to 40 to 50 acres. It is a truly remarkable story. What did you think?

WHITE: It was -- it was amazing. Because I even saw another one standing. I looked around, and there was just a horse standing in the -- just in the yard. And the horse that was in the -- on top of the building. It was just amazing.

LARSEN: Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

MORGAN: Amazing, amazing, amazing. Well, listen, Abby and Amanda and all of you there, so glad you made it out. Thank you so much for joining me.

HANSEN: The only reason we made it out is all these staff members. They are awesome teachers, and they knew exactly what to do.

MORGAN: So many heroic teachers in the last 48 hours. I salute all of you. You're a courageous bunch.

HANSEN: Yes, sir.

MORGAN: Thank you very much on behalf of all of the families and parents who will be, I'm sure, incredibly grateful to you.

Thank you.

HANSEN: Thank you.

MORGAN: Coming up next, rebuilding when you've lost everything. I'll talk to a man who knows all about this. He has helped communities ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. I'll ask him what lessons he has learned for the people of Oklahoma.

But coming next, terror in broad daylight, a British soldier macheted to death in the middle of the street. One of the suspects says at the scene -- stays at the scene to tell the world why he did it. Quite horrific. That's coming next.

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MORGAN: Tonight, stunning new details from London on a barbaric act of terror. Two men attacked a soldier, nearly beheading him. One of the suspects walked to a camera, and his hands soaked with blood, clutching a machete, tells the world exactly what he did. We're going to show that video right now. I must warn you, it is extremely graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We swear by the all mighty, Allah, we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone. We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I apologize that women had to witness this today. But in our land, our women have to see the same.

You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don't care with about you. You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start bossing our guys? Do you think the politicians are going to die? No, it's going to be the average guy like you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: A short time later, he and the other suspect were shot and wounded by police. They're now in custody.

Meanwhile in this country, police say the Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was involved in a 2011 triple homicide. And authorities say another man who participated in this crime was killed during a confrontation with the FBI investigating him today.

With me now is Bill Gavin, the former FBI assistant director. He's now with Guardsmark, a security firm. And from London, at the scene of this appalling terror attack today, CNN contributor Paul Cruickshank.

Paul, let me start with you in London. I have lived in London for much of the last 25 years. I have never seen anything quite as grotesque as what I watched this afternoon, with one of these two killers proudly boasting on national television about what he had done. Tell me what we know about this.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Piers, it's really quite horrific what happened here earlier today. And from the eyewitness accounts, from the video you just played, it does seem that this was an Islamist terrorist attack, the first fatal Islamist terrorist attack in the U.K. since the London bombings in July 2005.

And in the UK, there is some track record for these sorts of plots targeting soldiers. In 2006, there was a plot in Birmingham to behead a Muslim British soldier over there. There have obviously been plots in the United States, as well, targeting soldiers. We saw in Ft. Hood in 2009 a plot by Nadal Hasan, 13 American soldiers killed then.

So there has been a track record of this. Al Qaeda leaders around the world, including Anwar al Awlaki, have been encouraging this over the years. So this may well be an al Qaeda inspired type of event. MORGAN: Absolutely appalling incident. And Bill Gavin, a dramatic development in this ongoing case of the Boston bombers. This involves a third person that the FBI we're talking to. His name is Ibrahim Todashev. He was linked to Tamerlan Tsarnaev. They had a connection between the two of them. And was being investigated by the FBI when today there was an incident which ended with him being killed. Tell me what we know about this.

BILL GAVIN, GUARDSMARK INC.: Basically, what we know at this point, Piers, is that they had linked Todashev and the brothers to the triple murder that occurred in Waltham, Massachusetts on the anniversary -- the tenth anniversary of 9/11. They went down to interview him with some local police and with the Boston police.

And I guess he became extremely upset. To the best of my knowledge at this point, he pulled a knife and he stabbed an FBI agent, who has had medical treatment and stitches. And during that confrontation, he was shot and killed.

One thing I want to point out here, Piers, that might be of some interest: I hope there's not a paradigm shift with some of the brutal and horrible things these folks are doing. But that triple homicide, the people were brutally carved and hacked and their heads were almost cut off. And now in London, we have the same kind of murder.

It just doesn't make sense. I hope there's no connection. But I hope that's not a new way of going after -- the terrorism folks going after innocent people in our society.

MORGAN: It's a very pertinent point, because they have all been using the same kind of rhetoric, as well. The killer we saw on camera in London there talking in a very similar way to the way that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had talked when he scrawled in his hand-written words his mission statement on that boat where he was found. The 7-7 bombers, I remember in London, using similar language. It is a pattern now of random and yet possibly connected al Qaeda-style groups.

GAVIN: I couldn't agree with you more. And again, it just makes it so much more difficult for law enforcement authorities and intelligence authorities to keep track of these people. You are walking down the street. You're an innocent soldier, and all of a sudden you get jumped and hacked to death with a machete or whatever they used. It was just -- it's just terrible.

And I see the parallel with what happened to the three people in Waltham, Massachusetts. It's not a good sign for any of us.

MORGAN: It's awful. Bill Gavin and Paul Cruickshank in London, thank you both very much indeed.

Coming up next, the cost of rebuilding after a natural disaster. What will it take to help hundreds of people devastated by the Oklahoma tornado? I'll ask a man who has been instrumental in helping in the recovery after Superstorm Sandy and the 9/11. Howard Lutnik will be in the chair with me.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our thoughts and prayers remain with the wonderful people of Oklahoma. They have suffered mightily this week. And while the road ahead will be long, their country will be with them every single step of the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: President Obama tonight vowing to help the victims in Oklahoma. He has many people reaching out to help them. Among them, of course, as always, is Howard Lutnik. His life changed forever on 9/11; 659 of his employees died in that terror attacks. Since then, the Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald has reached out to communities across the world, helping to raise millions and millions of dollars for those in need, including 10 million dollars to assist the families devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

Now he's helping the victims of the Oklahoma tornado too. And Howard is with me in the chair. Howard, great to see you again. You just told me -- we're going to make some news here -- that you're going to be making a big donation on behalf of your company and the fund- raising you do to the Oklahoma fund. Tell me about this.

HOWARD LUTNIK, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, CANTOR FITZGERALD: So for Hurricane Sandy -- when Hurricane Sandy ripped through New York, we felt we had to help these families. And what we learned on 9/11 was not to be paternal. But really the best way to help these families is put money in the parent's hand, put money in mom's hand and let her figure out how to take care of her kids.

So -- for Hurricane Sandy, we gave 10 million dollars, 1,000 dollars a family, 10,000 families. So we have committed two million dollars. We're going to get all those volunteers. My wife and my sister have collected all of their friends. And all these volunteers are going to fly out to Oklahoma. And we're going to pick some schools with kids, 2,000 families, give them 1,000 dollars.

MORGAN: Fantastic. And what you were saying is -- I like this sort of non-paternal thing, in the sense that the families will know better how to spend that money. If they want to buy one of their kids a toy to make them feel better, that's fine.

LUTNIK: Exactly. Because I learned this on September 11th. So we were having our anniversary, right? And so I called -- this was the first memorial we were having, on October 1st after September 11th. I called this young lady and asked her would she speak at a memorial. She said, Howard, I can't, I'm going to Disney. This -- she lost her husband. She's got two young kids.

So I was floored. I said, how could you go to Disney? She said, Howard, I've been crying for three weeks straight. My kids have to have a happy life, so I'm going to suck it up and I'm go to Disney. And then right then you realize these people are so extraordinary. Parents and moms are the most extraordinary people alive. So you give them the tools to do what they think is best. And if they think it's a toy, or they think it's bedroom furniture, let them decide.

MORGAN: And Howard, just finally, you lost a loved one and many loved colleagues and associates on that terrible day, 9/11. The people who have lost loved ones in Oklahoma, particularly ones who have lost their kids and so on, what is the best advice that you've learned, maybe for yourself, that you could offer them?

LUTNIK: Well, the most valuable thing you have in the world is your memory. The people you've lost, they live. And they will live deeply inside of you. And speak about them always. Speak about them often. Keep them alive in your heart, because that's extraordinary.

I mean, if you mention to me someone who I lost on 9/11, I'm going to think of their face and it's going to make me smile. Everyone will find happiness again. It's just not now. It's just not now.

MORGAN: Howard, it's great to see you again. You do an amazing job with this kind of thing. I really do applaud you for it. And it's always good to see you back on the show.

LUTNIK: Great to see you, Piers.

MORGAN: Howard Lutnik, great guy. And that's all for us tonight. Anderson Cooper will start in a few moments.

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