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CNN Sunday Morning

Police Have Disabled Booby Traps; Penn State Removing Joe Paterno's Statue

Aired July 22, 2012 - 08:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It's 8:00 on the East Coast and 6:00 a.m. here in Aurora, Colorado, where this small town and the entire country are united in shock and grief.

Joyful and excited fans had packed a movie theater here for what they thought would be a night of fun, but for 12 people, it will be the last night of their lives.

Over the next weeks and months, we will hear more about suspected shooter James Holmes. Tomorrow, he will make a court appearance, likely the first of many. You'll hear his name over and over and usually, it is the suspected killer that gets most of the attention. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold from Columbine, Seung-Hui Cho from Virginia Tech, Anders Breivik from Norway. In fact, today is one year anniversary of that mass killing.

But the names we should be hearing are the names of those of the victims. We're going to start this morning remembering those who lost their lives Friday morning as told by the people they left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID JACKSON, MATT MCQUINN'S STEPFATHER: It's not surprising to me that his first thought would be her. I mean, that is what a man does, he protects his loved ones. I'm very proud of him. We are going to miss him.

BOB SCHWAB, ALEX SULLIVAN'S UNCLE: Just a great kid. Talented kid. Very talented. A lot of gifts -- make people laugh, always make people smile. A gentle giant is the way we looked at him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sweetest smile you've ever seen. And she got prettier as she drew older. In the blink of an eye, something happens and completely changes everyone's life, forever.

ZENNY ZAKOVICH, SHOOTING VICTIM'S AUNT: She was a great kid. She was just finding herself. She would never harm anybody. She didn't deserve to die this way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a wonderful young man. What a terrible, terrible loss this is for anyone who knew him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was blessed only for 25 years, but I was blessed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: The latest now on the investigation and a search for a motive in the case. Police here in Aurora say that they have removed all hazards from James Holmes' apartment and some of the evacuated neighbors were actually allowed to return home last night, but not before police carefully detonated some of those explosives.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

KAYE: One neighbor said she nearly entered the apartment early Friday morning when loud techno music started blaring, she tried yelling to Holmes and noticed the door was unlocked but didn't open it. That may have saved Christine Fonzi's (ph) life. She now knows that the music was set to a timer to play while the suspected was at the movie theater. Police say, had she entered that apartment, she likely would have died.

Jim Spellman is near the apartment complex where Holmes lived this morning.

Jim, we are hearing details of what was found inside this apartment. An elaborate trap apparently, the jars filled with liquid, some gun powder. Tell us a little bit more about what was inside.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Police here described the first trip wire right at the front door as being designed to kill the first person that entered it. And then throughout the rest of the apartment, more trip wires including devices described as aerial shells similar to what are used in fireworks that are sort of tubes about the diameter of a golf ball that have black powder or some propellant explosive in it to shoot shrapnel out to anybody who trip those.

They use water to disrupt those things. And also devices described as improvised incendiary devices that had accelerants such as gasoline that would cause a fire as well the propulsive, explosive kind of type things.

And it's really good for the investigators, as you said, as they search for a motive and try to put this case together. Excellent for them that they didn't have the whole thing blow up or start fires that may have destroyed the valuable resources in there like perhaps a computer or perhaps notebooks, things like that that can help them to piece the case together.

KAYE: And what about his neighbors? What are they saying about him? Did he leave the apartment much or was he a bit of a recluse like we often hear in these cases?

SPELLMAN: Well, Ms. Fonzi, the woman that lives right below him, who almost open that door, she told me that they only saw him occasionally. He always had a backpack on and he just mostly seemed to tend to his studies, then if he wasn't doing that, staying in his apartment. But I did speak with a man a couple of days ago who had beers with him just Tuesday night at a neighborhood bar here and said he ran into him at that bar four or five times, but he definitely seems to be kind of an enigmatic character, we haven't been able to find people from his classes that had much to say about him. And even the people he did ran into, like the man who hung out with him at the bar Tuesday night said he didn't say much and leave much of an impression, but seemed like a quiet and slightly nerdy guy, definitely an enigmatic character, as they try to piece together how he had this dual lives of student on one hand and putting together this horrible plot on the other.

KAYE: Yes, trying to make sense of it and trying to make sense of him as well.

Jim Spellman, thank you very much. We'll check back with you in just a bit.

And coming up in a few minutes, a bomb expert is joining us to talk to us about what could have happened inside that apartment. We'll also get details on what those explosives are all about.

As the nation mourns the tragedy, President Obama will be here later today to offer his condolences and support. He is expected to meet with the injured and the families of those killed.

That picture you there is the president with Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan after the shooting. He's also going to meet with him and other city officials. But the president won't be attending a vigil the city is planning in Aurora for tonight.

We've seen mourners leaving flowers near the theater and holding their own vigil, but the one tonight will be the city's first official memorial ceremony for the victims of Friday's massacre. It's scheduled for 8:30 Eastern tonight in front of Aurora City Hall. Colorado's governor and Aurora's mayor are planning on speaking there.

For one of the 12 killed, today would have marked his first wedding anniversary. Alex Sullivan, who also worked at the theater, was shot in the head. He decided to celebrate his 27th anniversary by attending the premier of "Dark Knight Rises."

A friend and coworker who was there with him spoke to CNN's Don Lemon. She was also wounded in the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE BLACHE, SHOOTING VICTIM: I actually didn't even know what was going on for like the first three minutes that happened. I thought it was kind of like movie theater antics, you know, when there's midnight movie premieres that kind of sometimes put on shows, or you know, like, how people dressed in costumes and come around and what not.

I honestly thought that might be what is going to on because it was in the middle of a movie scene where they were fighting and the thing that was thrown kind of like you could literally count to five and then this like bomb went off. That was like two things in front of me, two rows. Then all of the sudden, you hear, pop, pop, pop, just gun fire and that is when it hit me. Oh, my God, this is actually happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And to learn more about the people who died, you can read their tributes by their loved ones by visiting CNN.com/ColoradoVictims.

Another story that we are following: CNN has learned of new fallout of the Penn State scandal. Authorities are on site this morning at Penn State prepping to bring down Joe Paterno's statue. Employees have begun to place fencing around the statue and a tarp.

State College and university police are on the scene right now. Some students have also gathered. We'll bring you more information as it comes in.

Back now to our coverage on the Colorado shooting.

Bomb technicians have cleared the apartment of James Holmes making their way through dangerous bombs and trip wires. A look at what the evidence means for the shooting suspect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back to Aurora, Colorado.

It was a little over 48 hours ago that the nation first heard of the news of the Colorado shooting massacre. And, finally, this morning, residents here in Aurora are waking up knowing that the threat is over. Bomb technicians have cleared the apartment of shooting suspect James Holmes. Inside were pipe bombs, trip wires and plenty of ammunition, and lots and lots of it.

Just before noon yesterday, officers shouted fire in the hole and then this --

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

KAYE: A controlled detonation as they called it of the last rigged explosion.

Joining me now retired FBI agent, Ray Lopez, an expert in dealing with exactly this type of situation.

Good morning, Ray. Thank you for joining us.

I want you to listen to this statement by Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF DAN OATES, AURORA, COLORADO POLICE: I have personally never seen anything like what the pictures show us what is in there. I'm a layman when it comes to the bomb stuff. I see an awful lot of wires, trip wires, jars full of ammunition, and jars full of liquid, some things that look like mortar rounds. We have a lot of challenges to get in there safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: We don't yet know, of course, all of the details of Holmes' apartment. But police say they found 30 explosive devices. I mean, this apartment was just 800 square feet. How unusual do you think it is for someone to rig an apartment, a home like this?

RAY LOPEZ, RETIRED FBI AGENT: Well, it is very unusual. I don't think that, you know, this may have been one of the first times that I can remember that someone has actually done this outside of other instances in the case of people who produce narcotics or other illegal substances in their homes or drug dealers in the past who have booby trapped their stash or their money or their drugs or other information where they would booby trap in the case of just trying to give them a warning of law enforcement showed up to go out the backdoor, to burn everything and leave the house kind of anti-forensics.

But this is the first time in the U.S. that has been rigged to blow up, especially targeting the first responders or anyone who opened up the front door.

KAYE: Yes. Police say that the traps actually may have been a deliberate move to, quote, "attack" whoever may have opened up the door of his apartment.

They say that he actually designed this to kill. But could he have possibly also been looking to destroy evidence?

LOPEZ: Well, I think it's a -- you know, in the case of the bomber and the suspect in this case, it's kind of a win-win for him, irregardless of who opens the door, he does two things, he gets rid of the individual who could be a witness to this and at the same time destroy the evidence that's in there forensically and it can't be used against him later on down the road.

KAYE: Right. Yesterday, I want to share with you that we saw the bomb technicians shooting explosives brought from the apartment. What exactly were they doing here? Why was that so significant?

LOPEZ: Well, those are -- those are controlled destruction of the explosives and the incendiary materials. You only really need a small, you know, literally ounce amounts of the originals for core purposes. You only need to take small samples to the laboratory which is critical to identify what these substances are.

The rest of it is a danger, because we don't know the state of the chemicals. And -- so, between the hazmat officers and the bomb technicians, they get together. They pull the samples that they need to properly using forensic techniques to identify where they were, who confiscated them and took them into custody and then small samples provided to the laboratory and the remaining mixtures have to be destroyed properly for the safety of the public.

KAYE: Just one thing very quickly, I wanted to ask you about that they said they found sort of a homemade brand of napalm. I mean, how deadly could this have been if he had succeeded?

LOPEZ: Again, it could be very deadly. In the sense of not only to the humans, but more importantly, but also to the property, and again, some of these mixtures are unknown. Some of them are provided from some of the darker Web sites online, and there is really no validation or testing. This is somebody's idea of something they may believe worked or saw work one time, and they put it out on the Internet as fact and some people sadly take it out and try to use these things, and they don't really know what the mixture is themselves.

KAYE: Well, certainly not. Thank you, Agent Lopez. Appreciate your insight this morning.

LOPEZ: Thank you.

KAYE: James Holmes hasn't formally been charged. But he is scheduled to make his first court appearance tomorrow. The 24-year- old former doctoral student is being held in solitary confinement under suicide watch at the Arapahoe detention center. Police still don't have a motive for Friday's massacre.

All this violence and horrible stories about what happened inside of the theater, and how do you explain this to your children when they ask about it? We'll get some tips from a psychologist in just a moment when we return live from Aurora, Colorado.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Many of the victims were young, under 30 years old. One was a 6-year-old girl. Her mother was also critically wounded in the shooting.

By now your own children may have caught some of the news of the tragic shooting, and they may be asking you a whole lot of questions. So, how do you explain this violence to them?

Psychologist Erik Fisher joins me now from Atlanta.

Erik, good morning. Thanks for joining us this morning.

ERIK FISHER, PSYCHOLOGIST: Thanks for having me.

KAYE: So, I guess a lot of parents are wondering how do you speak to your kids about a horrific event like this without scaring them? What do you say?

FISHER: This is a tough event because first of all, you have to ask, should your kids be viewing news events about events that are tragic and horrific. You know, below the age 8 to 10 years old, kids see the world very literally. Things are big and close. Meaning that thing that happen in Colorado could feel like it's next door. They could have a Colorado street or a Colorado shopping mall or something like -- you know, that they don't understand where these events are, and also how big they seem to them, because the world seems very small.

So, talking to them about these things can be very tricky. You want to understand their age. You want to understand their development, their maturity, and again, you want to hear how -- what language are your kids using if they are talking about it.

So, sometimes, asking them what they know is the best place to start.

KAYE: And Erik, if all children mature differently, I mean, how do parents know if they should be shielding their kids from violence or talking honestly about it, because I talk to a lot of the parents and they say I don't let my kids watch the news. So, what is the answer?

FISHER: Well, the thing that you have to look at, too, is not only are we looking at what they are seeing on the news. We have to look at what they are seeing on television, in video games, in their cartoons, and average hour of kid's TV has 20 to 25 acts of violence in it. And this rate of violent acts is up every year it seems.

So we have to realize that our kids aren't just seeing this acts on the news, but again, as we have to see, it is in the movie theaters, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And for much more of my guests and stories, you can go to CNN.com/Randi to find out more.

So, this morning, CNN has learned of new fallout from the Penn State scandal. Authorities are on site this morning at Penn State prepping to bring down Joe Paterno's statue. Employees have begun to place fencing around the statue and a tarp.

State College and university police are on the scene right now. Some students have also gathered there as well.

Joining me on the phone is CNN contributor Sara Ganim.

Sara, good morning.

What do we know about how this came about and why now? Why this morning?

SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): Well, the president of Penn State gave a series of interviews last week where he said he was going to be making this decision very soon. And he did put out a statement early this morning. He said, you know, contrary to the original purpose of the statue, this has become a symbol of division, and really has become over the last couple of days, there was a plane flying overhead threatening to take down the statue if Penn State didn't.

But there was also a lot of support, there were lines of people lining up to get their picture with the Joe Paterno statue in the last couple of days of out of fear that it might not be there of them to take a photo with it anymore in the future. So, it's really become a very divisive issue, because Joe Paterno and his legacy have become a very divisive issue on campus.

KAYE: And what is the scene there this morning? Because even when all of this news began to break about Jerry Sandusky, there were a lot of supporters even going to see him at his home, to see Paterno at his home.

GANIM: Right. You know, I think that this started very early in the morning and probably a move by the president to keep it as calm as possible in that area. There's a heavy police presence, and there's a temporary fence and a tarp that you can't really see what is going on, but you can tell that there is jackhammering, because it's very loud, and you can tell that there is a forklift with kind of stabilizing the statue that will eventually probably be taken away.

Now, we don't know where the statue is going to go. The statement from the president just said that it is becoming a divisive issue, and it has become a symbol of to some that it could become a recurring wound is the phrase that he used to the victims of the sexual abuse everywhere. And he was afraid that that would become is what the statue is known for.

But he doesn't say what he's going to do with the statue. There are several museums on campus, including a sports museum inside the stadium. I think it's very likely that it could end up in one of those places eventually. Right now, I believe it is going somewhere, where it will be safe.

But just another note, there is a lot of Paterno on campus, because at one point Penn State and Joe Paterno were synonymous, and this is not the only symbol of him on campus. The library which he and his wife, sue, have donated a lot of money to will keep his name.

KAYE: All right. Sara Ganim, appreciate your reporting this morning and thank you for the update there from Penn State.

Other stories that we're following:

Some startling information in the disappearance of two Iowa girls. Authorities now believe that the two young cousins are alive. We'll bring you up-to-date.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WESTHOVEN: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Jennifer Westhoven. We're going to get back to Randi Kaye in Colorado in a moment.

But, first, a look at some of the other stories we are watching today for you. Among the stories we're following:

Some hope in new information in the story of two little girls missing in Iowa. Ten-year-old Lyric Cook and her 8-year-old cousin Elizabeth Collins disappeared on July 13th, when they went for a bike ride. Their bikes were found in nearby lake, but nothing else turned up in the search of the lake. Now the authorities believe that the girls are alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDY BREAULT, FBI SPOKESMAN: We believe that these girls are alive, and we are not discouraged by the passage of time since their disappearance. We are urging anyone with information to come forward, any information as insignificant as it may seem could be vital to this information investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTHOVEN: In Syria, fierce fighting between President Bashar al Assad's forces and rebels is being reported in Syria's two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. As the rest of the country has experienced heavy fighting, these two cities have been under a veneer of normality, but now, the army's elite division backed by helicopters has reportedly launched an all-out assault, although that's a claim they have been quick to deny.

At the same time, more signs of a power shift from Assad's regime. Two more army generals have defected, fleeing to neighboring Turkey.

Twenty thousand of the world's leading experts on HIV and AIDS are gathering in Washington starting today for the International AIDS Conference -- what a change since the biennial conference was last held in the United States 22 years ago. More than 3,000 studies will be presented in an effort to end the epidemic, which is now in the third decade.

Relief on the streets of Los Angeles now that a man is in custody after allegedly stabbing three homeless people. Courtney Anthony Robinson also known as David Ben Keys was arrested Friday night after calling 911 to turn himself in.

It's a question that you might have asked yourself already: how could God let senseless acts of violence like the Aurora, Colorado, massacre happen? Well, Randi Kaye has that conversation with a rabbi and a reverend, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: 9/11, Columbine, Aurora -- in times like these around the world some find comfort in the faith, but disasters can also challenge one's long held beliefs, raising the difficult age-old question, how could God let this happen?

Rabbi Joe Black joining -- is joining me now for today's "Faces of Faith". RABBI JOE BLACK, TEMPLE EMANUEL: Good morning.

KAYE: So a lot of people during this time they wonder how can God let this happen. What do you say to them when they ask that question?

BLACK: There is no answer to that question. I think you have to listen when people are talking. A question like that -- people are in crisis at times like this so we need to give them an opportunity to answer their questions.

KAYE: Do you find that --

BLACK: Ask the questions. Yes.

KAYE: Right. Do you find that in a case like this, people just question or do they actually let go of their belief in God?

BLACK: I think it depends on -- on what it is they are looking for. I think we -- last Friday night our sanctuary was filled with people after we heard about this tragedy and people came to see other people and to be together to ask those kinds of questions, but also to find comfort in community. You know, when people think of God as someone who -- who causes something like this to happen I don't think God ever would cause that. I think what happens is that we find God in the response to tragedy and not so much in the tragedy, itself.

KAYE: And was your congregation touched by this?

BLACK: We had a -- we didn't have anyone, thank God, directly harmed physically. We did have people in the theater who are related to members of my congregation, yes.

KAYE: What do you say to those though who do give up on God.

BLACK: Right.

KAYE: In a case like this and say, why do I believe?

BLACK: Sure. Well, I think I would ask the question of what is it that -- I mean, when someone is in crisis, you don't -- you don't answer a question like that, you just let them ask the question. And then the question is what is the God that they are not believing in look like. You know what is it -- is it a God who controls our daily lives and is it a God who is a puppet, is it a God who says you have to be at this place at this time.

And to -- someone who thinks that that's their God concept I would say the God that you don't believe in is probably the same God that I don't believe in. I think we find God not in the tragedy, but in how we respond to tragedy.

KAYE: Do you ever find that a tragedy like this can actually help one find faith?

BLACK: Sometimes. I mean it can go either way. The real issue is when we come together as a community to ask these questions and that it's in that that we find God, in -- in the holiness that brings us together in the way that you also find God in those who did courageous acts. We are just now learning about people who risked their lives who actually died to save others. I would find God in those acts of heroism, and in the first responders in -- in the heroes who were there for other people; in the response that we have of absolute rejection of this kind of evil -- that's where we find God.

KAYE: Just like this entire community here, I'm sure your congregation is -- in a bit of -- of shock.

BLACK: Absolutely, we are.

KAYE: I mean it's terrible what's happened here. How do you comfort them? What do you -- what do you say, what should -- what do you want to say to the community?

BLACK: I think there's all kinds of ways that we can find comfort. We can find comfort in the scripture, in the Psalms; the Psalms are text that help us look back and feel the pain of others. King David said, "God, where are you? Why have you abandoned me?" That is a universal feeling so it's another, A, we're not alone historically; B, that we have a community that allows us to find comfort.

I think we're going to see people in churches and synagogues for the next several weeks coming to find answers or just to ask questions, I think both of those are -- there may not be answers, there are no answers, but there are certainly questions that allow us to find comfort in one another.

KAYE: I'm curious what kind of questions you've actually been getting from your congregants.

BLACK: I think questions how could God allow this happen? Those are -- that's the simple question. We all are -- I'm asking that question. And it's a normal question. I don't -- as I said, I don't think God causes something like this.

There is a lot of work that's been done in theology for example after the Holocaust, and -- and say where was God in the Holocaust, and you say, and there is no answer. One rabbi -- well, many people have said God is present in those who risk their lives to resist, those who hid people, those who took risks in order to bring holiness into the world, that's for me at least, and that's the -- it's the only consolation I can find is in those who truly are trying to do good in this world, this people out there that's around us here.

KAYE: The memorial.

BLACK: There's a memorial that we see, people are saying, we're not going to allow this to define us. The God that we care about is a caring and a good God who comforts us. And that's to me at least all we can do.

But the question is a real question, and I don't think it's a bad question, it's a -- it's part of who we are.

KAYE: Certainly is. Rabbi, thank you very much.

BLACK: Thank you very much.

KAYE: For coming on this show this morning. I appreciate that.

BLACK: Ok, sure.

KAYE: Reverend Gil Caldwell joins me next for more on keeping one's faith during a crisis like this. He experienced horror firsthand 13 years ago during Columbine when two teenagers massacred 12 students and a teacher here in Colorado.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We continue now looking at the difficult crisis of faith that some feel in times like these asking how God could let a senseless act like the Aurora, Colorado massacre happen.

Reverend Gilbert Caldwell joins me now. Good morning, Reverend. Thank you for joining our discussion. As a former pastor in Denver during the Columbine school shooting in 1999, you must have advised parishioners on how to handle their thoughts and their feelings about God during that time. What is your answer when people ask how acts of violence can happen, and how God allows that to happen?

REV. GILBERT CALDWELL, FORMER COLORADO PASTOR DURING COLUMBINE: You know, it's an important question. And I share the Rabbi's views that it's in asking questions that in fact one digs deeper into one's spiritual reality. My experience at Park Hill United Methodist Church as pastor, it became very personal, because our business manager had a teacher -- had a daughter who taught at Columbine and when we got the news, we of course -- I offered to drive her down there. And what a trip that was, a mother not knowing what had happened to her daughter and obviously, we found ourselves talking about the meaning of all this.

Fortunately, she found out by a phone call that her daughter was safe, but as we simply went to the place where parents were waiting, what an experience it was as I watched parents simply wondering if their children were alive.

I think the whole matter of faith is to recognize that God is not a puppeteer, but rather one I think that the omnipresence of God that, of course, we find in Psalm 139 the whole idea that regardless of where we go, God is there.

And for me particularly I -- this simple words from Psalm 23, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for God you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

So I guess I would begin by simply saying that in the awareness of the presence of God wherever in good times and times not so good and the legitimacy, the spiritual legitimacy of raising questions are wrestling with God, that the Rabbi could say more about this. But the whole idea of Jacob wrestling with the angel and some have suggested that in the Jewish tradition that in fact what it is -- what it means to be a person of faith.

KAYE: But when people ask where God was during a time like this, during a massacre like this, what is your answer? What do you tell them?

CALDWELL: Well first, one has to be careful with -- with uttering cliches but -- but one of the responses that I have found to be powerful in our Christian tradition when in fact a parent who was asking a pastor this whole question of where was God when my son died. The pastor responded -- some would say it's simplistic -- God was in the same place then as God was when his own son died.

This -- this whole idea of God being present in our suffering and of course within the Christian tradition believing in fact that the whole life and then death of Jesus Christ recognizes the presence of God in the midst of trouble.

I use the words of Frederick Douglas when he suggests that if there is no struggle, there is no progress. I say to people that in the midst of the anger and of course, there was a wonderful book title "Good Grief" that simply talks about the stages of grief. There will be anger, there will be questioning, there will be despondency, but then of course, going through those processes, one in fact comes out on the other end, one must do the kinds of things that are important -- reading, quiet, listening to music, et cetera, et cetera -- have all been helpful I think as I've talked to people as I have experienced grief in my own life.

KAYE: And is it possible to learn a lesson in a time like this? I mean we are always searching for answers, but is there something that we can take away?

CALDWELL: Well, I think that there is. And I think again, we heard from the Rabbi, this whole sense of community, the amazing way that the ER people responded. There are some words that a person wrote following 9/11 that I think are applicable for what happened in Aurora.

May I share those if we have time? Is that all right?

For our first person who wrote these words simply talking about after the destruction of the Twin Towers, this is what she said. "As the soot and dirt and ash rained down, we became one color. As we carried each other down the stairs of the burning building, we became one class. As we lit candles of waiting in hope, we became one generation. As the firefighters and the police officers fought their way into the inferno, we became one gender. As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength, we became one faith. As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement we spoke one language. As we gave our blood in lines a mile long, we became one body. As we mourned the great loss, we became one family. As we cried tears of grief and loss, we became one soul. As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heroes, we became one people. We are one color, one class, one generation, one gender, one faith, one language, one body, one family, one soul, one people. We are the power of one. We are united. We are America."

These words were written by a woman whose name is Cheryl Sawyer who was a professor at the University of Houston. It just seems to me those words came to mind as I responded to, of course, what happened in Aurora; as I of course, was sensitive to simply the aftermath of Columbine.

And I guess this whole idea that we are family --

KAYE: Yes. Reverend, thank you. Those words were very moving, and we appreciate your sharing your time and that with us this morning. Thank you very much.

CALDWELL: Thank you.

KAYE: And for more stories on faith, be sure to check out our belief blog. You can find it -- it is extremely popular -- and you can find it at CNN.com/belief. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. Glad you are with us this morning. Let's go to Washington now. CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" coming up at the top of the hour; host Candy Crowley joining me now.

Candy, good morning --

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: Good morning.

KAYE: -- you are talking to the Colorado's governor, certainly an emotional time for this state.

CROWLEY: It is. It is amazing to watch both the devastation as well as the coming together that almost always happens. We have unfortunately seen so many of these things it seems like in the past several years, and Colorado seems to be doing that same thing I remember when the Virginia Tech tragedy happened on this coast, we were watching Virginia Tech so soon coming together and shouting the name of their school.

We think in the Aurora, Colorado, community, there is a quieter sense, but nonetheless, this sense of kind of coming together, and we are going to survive this. And trying to pick up, and move on when it is still way too early for so many people to move on.

KAYE: Yes. And one thing of course this massacre has done as they always do is give rise of the debate of gun control all over again. I am sure that will be a topic of discussion as well this morning.

CROWLEY: It will indeed. With both Hickenlooper and John McCain, both of them from interior west states where in fact guns are a part of -- a beloved part of the culture, if you will -- but certainly not this use of guns and how do you find that balance when you want to protect the Second Amendment rights to bear arms against horrific things like this.

And a young man who has no record as we know that anyone can find so far, who legally buys all of this weaponry, all these chemicals and how do you stop that? Can you stop matters that may turn out to be what people now call an aberration? Is there any way to stop this no matter how many laws you put on the books?

KAYE: Candy, thank you very much. We will be watching "STATE OF THE UNION" at the top of the hour about ten minutes from now.

Police have already entered James Holmes' apartment, and they're saying that the evidence shows he may have been planning the attack for months and details of the elaborate trap he set paints a disturbing picture.

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KAYE: Trip wires connected to the explosives, jars filled with powder and flammable chemicals -- all part of an elaborate trip for anyone who dared to enter James Holmes' apartment after he allegedly walked into a movie theater in full-body armor and shot 70 people, killing 12 of them.

Jim Spellman is near the apartment complex where Holmes lives.

Jim good morning. We are hearing details of the apartment, what they found inside. Police now think that he may have been plotting this attack for two months or more. What did they find exactly?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, apparently there was a trip wire right at the front door into the apartment that as police told us was designed to kill the first person that entered that room; possibly designed to kill a police officer who may have responded to the potential noise complaint, because he had set a timer to have the stereo blast loud techno music as the attack was happening at the theater.

As it happens a neighbor who lives one floor down came up and tried to knock on the door and almost opened it herself. She came very close to potentially being hurt herself. Now throughout the apartment there were not only improvised explosive devices, some described as (inaudible) aerials which are similar to what are used in a fireworks display, but also incendiary devices that could have started a fire within the room. So really a nightmare scenario if somebody had walked into that apartment setting off these trip wires with explosives and incendiary devices -- Randi.

KAYE: And he may have been ordering his ammunition and his other supplies online for dating back to months ago, correct?

SPELLMAN: Yes. For the last several months apparently, he had been receiving many large packages here at the apartment. Police say that's helping them to begin to understand how he put together not only the ammunition and the magazines for the weapons that he used in the actual shooting, but also for assembling these devices that were inside the apartment.

KAYE: Jim Spellman, thank you very much for your reporting this morning.

We are continuing to bring you the latest developments on the investigation here in Aurora, Colorado. When we come back, we will bring you up to speed on the other news making headlines this morning including a look at how Norway is remembering their own massacre one year after the attack.

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KAYE: One last check of this morning's top stories for you. CNN has learned of new fallout from the Penn State scandal. Authorities are on site this morning at Penn State prepping to bring down Joe Paterno's statue. Employees have begun to place fencing around the statue and a tarp. State college and university police are on the scene now; some students have gathered as well.

President Obama will be here in Aurora, Colorado later today to offer his support. He is expected to visit those injured and the families of those killed. You see him here speaking by phone to Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan -- that was on Friday. He will also be meeting with him, but the President won't be attending a vigil that the city is planning for tonight.

Today, Norway is remembering its own mass shooting that left 77 people dead. One year ago, Anders Bering Breivik bombed a government building in Oslo and then headed to an island summer camp where he opened fire killed dozens of teenagers in.

Thanks so much for watching today. You can always continue the conversation with me on twitter @randykayeCNN.

That will be all from Aurora, Colorado.

"STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.