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CNN NEWSROOM

CNN Visits Suspects House, Mosque; Suspects Radicalized Themselves; Wounded Dancer Crawled for Help; One Fund Boston Raises $20 Million

Aired April 24, 2013 - 11:30   ET

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


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to a special edition of CNN NEWSROOM, live from Boston. I'm Anderson Cooper.

Thousands of mourners are starting to gather on the campus of MIT for a memorial service honoring police officer Sean Collier. He was shot four to five times as he sat in his patrol car last Thursday -- shot in the head, the chest. Police believe he was ambushed by suspected marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Also happening right now, the street where the bombs exploded is open for business. Authorities allowed the public back on Boylston Street today for the first time since the deadly terror attack. Business owners were allowed back briefly yesterday.

And we're hearing for the first time from the man who used to be married to the suspect's sister. He tells CNN he thinks the older brother, Tamerlan, went from an aspiring Olympic boxer to a self- radicalized jihadist after becoming friends with a mysterious and influential Armenian man named Misha. We're not sure if Misha is the nickname or if it is his name. He said the friendship started in Cambridge here in Massachusetts. Unclear if authorities are looking into this Misha character or what role if may have played, if any.

The FBI hopes to find some answers in Russia. That's where the Tsarnaev brothers came from and where their parents now live. A group from the U.S. embassy is there in Moscow now. They went to talk to family members. They're also looking to any links that the Tsarnaev brothers may have had to terrorist groups back in their homeland.

Our Nic Robertson is in Dagestan today walking through the Tsarnaev family neighborhood.

Nick, have you seen a sign of the FBI teams and do we know for a fact that the parents of these two are going to be willing to cooperate and meet with the FBI?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So far we know that last night the mother did talk with the FBI. Her husband, Tamerlan's father, was not able to talk with the FBI last night. They did meet with both parents today. That took place at the FSB. It is a building you're not allowed to film. We spent a couple of hours outside of there. Security was keeping an eye on us, making sure we weren't filming the building. All indications were they were inside the building, they were talking. A lawyer said they were cooperating and they did meet last night and they were meeting throughout the day today. We don't know the details of what's been said, but it does seem there is cooperation between Russian officials and the FBI. At some level, the parents are cooperating by showing up and going to these meetings --Anderson?

COOPER: Nic, does the mother plan to come back here? She's got one son dead. She has another son in a hospital facing charges. Does she have any intention of coming back here and at least seeing him? Do we know?

ROBERTSON: Yes, we've heard reports of her saying he wants to come back. She's angry with U.S. authorities. What we've heard of the talks so far is that they're cordial but you've got to believe, in this situation right now, both parents want to be there when their son is buried. You can imagine this conversation with the FBI is a two- way conversation. The FBI will have questions. The parents are going to want to know what's going to happen to their son, when can they go back? The intent does seem to be there. Do they want to come back in U.S. jurisdiction right now? Those details aren't clear at the moment -- Anderson?

COOPER: Nic, obviously, we have a lot of reporters there, you and Nick Payton Walsh. We're trying to figure out the timeline of how he spent this six month period, the older brother, in the region. There's a lot we don't know. I want to acknowledge that. You've been talking to people there. How are they responding to your presence and what have people told you? Did they remember seeing Tamerlan Tsarnaev there? What have they said?

ROBERTSON: It kind of depends who you ask. There's a radical mosque here that's widely viewed by everyone in this city as being radical. Most people in this city, and Muslims are most of them, won't go there because they are too radical. We have heard Tamerlan had been there. We talked to a couple of the people who were in that most. They say there were thousands of young men who come here, how would we know if or not he came here? It wasn't a flat out denial, but it was clear they didn't want us hanging out there with cameras. We were made to feel like our time there should be kept short.

But outside of Tamerlan's house, I got a different reception. Literally, a few yards across the road from his front door, and the lady there told me, yes, she remembered him going in late spring, early summer. When he came back, it was sort of January to July time. She said she saw him for about a month, a month and a half. He came in with any friends. She doesn't know who he was hanging out with. She did say he never bought cigarettes or alcohol from her, something you would expect from a sort of conservative Islamist he was at that stage. She said she did see the father as well. But she really didn't have a clue.

Other people that came in the store were sort of surprised. They said -- they saw us and said, what are you doing here? That's when they were learning that Tamerlan had lived in their neighborhood. They didn't know he been there, hadn't heard of the reports about him yet.

COOPER: Interesting. Nic, I appreciate the update on that.

One thing we have learned about the brother's possible motive is that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said he and his brother became radicals all on their own. The suspect is telling investigators tht they looked at web sites, online videos and an al Qaeda magazine called "Inspire" for motivation.

Listen to Congressman Peter King talk about this. He was on CNN earlier today. He said the magazine angle is an important one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING, (R), NEW YORK: It is very difficult to do. I can tell you, "Inspire" has had a real impact because it was written by an American, Shamir Kahn (ph), and he understood American idiom. It was written in a very, almost colloquial way. And I know that has had an impact in a number of cases. Shamir Kahn and Awlaki have been killed and the magazine is not as effective as it was. But for a number of years, believe it or not, that one magazine seemed to be a main recruiter of young Muslims in this country as far as self- radicalizing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I want to bring in Paul Cruickshank. He's a CNN terrorism analyst.

So you just heard Congressman King saying it is difficult to become radicalized without some kind of guidance or leadership. Do you think that's true?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: We have seen many cases of people in the United States being radicalized just from the Internet. There have been several dozens of cases in the United States of Islamist terrorist plots. Most of those plots haven't been linked to an organized terrorist group. The younger brother is claiming an organized terrorist group wasn't involved here. That is certainly plausible. Their bombs were rudimentary. It was low-grade explosives they used. Bomb making experts say it is possible they could have downloaded instructions from the Internet. And this magazine "Inspire" has a recipe, how to make a bomb in your mom's kitchen. There are striking parallels to between that recipe and the devices in Boston, right down to how they glued the shrapnel inside the pressure cookers. Certainly plausible they could have downloaded this stuff online and were not connected to overseas terrorist groups.

COOPER: Do you really believe that. I've talked to a bunch of different people -- I talked to Bob Baer, former CIA officer, familiar with explosives, Peter Bergen, also a terrorism analyst. They think it is more difficult than you think for people to make an explosive device and you that you would need some level of guidance. You couldn't just download it off the Internet and test it on your own. You need some sort of instruction. But then I talked to Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI, who said, as you did, that there have been cases of people who claimed they got their information off documents and the Internet and tested these devices on their on. You think it is possible they could have done this on their own in Massachusetts?

CRUICKSHANK: I think it is certainly possible. If you recall the case in Atlanta during the Olympics, Eric Rudolph, rudimentary pipe bombs filled with similar devices as the Boston Marathons. He didn't get any other training. It is possible who was involved, the people involved here didn't get overseas training. The investigation is also looking at the traveling of the older brother to Dagestan. On his YouTube page, he pasted a jihadist video of a commander out there, Abu Dujana (ph). Nick Payton Walsh has been told by police in Dagestan that this commander, Abu Dujana (ph), was running bomb-making courses for people in the countryside. So they'll be looking another that very, very closely. No evidence yet he met this commander, Abu Dujana.

COOPER: It is interesting to hear from our Nic Robertson that there is a mosque in Dagestan, in that city, that is considered radical by the locals there. So again, we're trying to look into that again.

Cruickshank, I appreciate the reporting.

A police sergeant's quick thinking helps protect him and his fellow police officers at the shootout in Watertown that occurred late thursday night and Friday morning. We'll tell you what he did to try to fool the suspects.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, thousands of mourners are starting to gather for a memorial service for police officer, Sean Collier. He was shot four to five times as he sat in his patrol car last Thursday evening. His memorial starts at 12 noon. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to speak there.

There is something we learned about that gunfight that occurred after Officer Collier was shot in Watertown. A quick-thinking officer did something they don't teach at the police academy and may have saved lives.

Drew Griffin reports on it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a hail of bullets, this Watertown police SUV became the decoy, taking fire, a bullet through the windshield, side and back windows shot out. According to the chief, all part of an instant decision made by one of his sergeants, literally, in the heat of a battle.

EDWARD DEVEAU, CHIEF, WATERTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Oh, yes. There's a serious gunfight going on. The second person on the scene, one of my sergeants, he pulled up. He gets one shot right through his windshield.

GRIFFIN: As the two gunmen open fire, as bullets whiz past police officers, as bombs are flying, the sergeant decides to abandon the SUV and use it as a weapon.

DEVEAU: You don't plan for this. You don't train for this. He has the courage and the determination to keep fighting and he decides to put the car in gear because his car is taking fire. They're shooting right at him in that car.

GRIFFIN (on camera): As that police SUV was just rolling down the street with nobody in, the suspects kept firing thinking the officer was inside. He was escaping.

DEVEAU: So they think he is still in the car. They're unloading on the car while he is able to take up a position to the side.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The SUV, eventually towed away, is riddled with bullets. The sergeant may have saved his comrades' lived. He is a little concerned about how bad it is beaten up.

DEVEAU: At the end, he hoped the chief is not mad at me, the cruiser is a little big damaged. I said, Sarge, are you kidding me? They're going to be writing about you in the textbooks. That was brilliant to be able to think that through and do that.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Watertown, Massachusetts

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Still ahead, we have new details from the dance teacher who lost part of her leg in last week's bombing. She tells me about crawling for help right after the explosion, and the mystery doctor on the scene who helped save her life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. I'm Anderson Cooper. Investigators are trying to learn more about what motivated the suspected bombers. I've been talking to a brave survivor. Her name, Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a dancer, a dance instructor, in fact. She lost part her left leg below the knee. Doctors had to amputate. Her husband was injured, but not as severely. Her spirit is remarkable. She is determined not only to walk again but to dance again.

Listen to how she saved herself by crawling for help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADRIANNE HASLET-DAVIS, DANCER & DANCE INSTRUCTOR: I crawled on my elbows to try to get into one of the nearest businesses. I looked at a couple of people and said, could you help me? I was covered in blood. People were in a state of shock and just ran the other direction. I don't believe that they were ill intended. I just think they were just in shock. Then I grabbed the door open with my elbow and crawled into the forum, dragging blood and asked people for help and finally received it.

COOPER: How long were you there for?

HASLET-DAVIS: We were there it seems like forever.

ADAM DAVIS, HUSBAND OF ADRIANNE: Time could have flown. My guess would have been five to 10.

HASLET-DAVIS: Maybe 10 to 15. It is hard to tell. We definitely had some people there and I kept saying tighter, tighter. I was asking for whiskey or vodka because we were in a bar. I may as well get a drink now.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: Did they bring you a whiskey?

HASLET-DAVIS: No they didn't. This is going to be a long process. I knew there were bombs going off. I don't know if there were more. I didn't hear them. I wasn't paying attention. I thought we were going to be here forever and losing all this blood because it was in the middle of a marathon. There were probably bombs going off, hundreds and thousands of people hurt. Before we knew it, a doctor came pushing his way through the crowd, dressed in civilian clothes, and said, I'm a doctor, and he immediately tried the tourniquets tight enough that I lost feeling in my leg, which I was so thankful for.

COOPER: Tying those tourniquets on the scene probably saved you.

HASLET-DAVIS: It probably did. I would love to find those guys that were there that helped. I am thankful to Adam for helping. I would love to find the other people I could say thank you to.

COOPER: You don't know who they were?

HASLET-DAVIS: No. I'm not sure. Just good Samaritans.

COOPER: At one point -- I know your mom came, your mom and dad. And you woke up the next day.

HASLET-DAVIS: Yes. They were there the next day when I woke up. When I went into the surgery I thought they could save my foot. I could move my toes. I could feel them touching my toes. They said wiggle your toe, do you feel your foot? I could still do it. So I thought in my forever optimism in thinking positive that I would still have my foot and woke up and I didn't.

COOPER: Do you still feel?

HASLET-DAVIS: I do. Not right this second, but I do. When I have a sheet over it, I can feel that feeling of the sheet on top of your toes. I still have phantom itch, which is weird. You can't scratch it.

COOPER: You're determined to dance again though.

HASLET-DAVIS: I am.

COOPER: What's your favorite dance? HASLET-DAVIS: That's hard to say. That's like saying what your favorite song is. It's like on Sunday mornings, I want like a waltz or a FOX trot or something slower, but Saturday nights, I want a cha- cha or mambo. Depends. I do them all.

COOPER: What's the first dance you want to do?

HASLET-DAVIS: Waltz.

COOPER: Waltz?

HASLET-DAVIS: Yes, one of the tougher ones. It's fast and beautiful and it's wonderful dance.

COOPER: How are you coping with this new reality?

HASLET-DAVIS: You know, it's minute-by-minute. Overall, I'm excited for the challenge. I look at this as someone trying to stop me from realizing my dreams. And I thought ballroom dancing was something I was never going to do in dance. It just seemed like it was a tough arena to be in. And I've conquered that. And I'm not ready to stop. So I feel like somebody has come along and said, oh, we're not going to let you do that anymore. And now I can -- I'm going to prove them wrong. I take it day by day. I think it's -- I have moments where I just throw water bottles across the room and throw my walker and just get angry and mad that someone did this to me and someone did this to Adam and that I won't be able to have the same dancing and the same movements that I had before and dressing takes longer and showers take longer. I get angry. I definitely get angry, but I try and stay on the positive side.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: She was amazingly positive.

For more on how to help victims of Monday's attack in Boston, go to CNN/impact.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, for more than a week now we've marveled at the strength and compassion and resilience of the people of Boston. You can add generosity to that. One fund has already raised $20 million for the bombing victims.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

And the donors run the gambit, Alison, from big-money corporations to everyday people, right?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Every day people have already given money to that fund, $6.1 million raised from just people who are really concerned about the victims and their families. $14.8 million, that came from corporations and charitable foundations. In fact, six companies have pledged over $1 million. They include Boston Institution, John Hancock, Bain Capital, the private equity firm once run by Mitt Romney, AT&T, Partners Health Care, Liberty Mutual, New Balance, they've all pledged over $1 million to help those affected by the attack.

Ken Fienberg, he's tapped to organize and distribute the money of this fund. He will determine who gets what. He's got a ton of experience doing that. If you remember, he was involved with the 9/11 fund, with the fund that came out of the Virginia Tech shootings, the B.P. oil spill.

One Fund says guidelines will be out by May 6th. All funds in this fund are going to be distributed by June 30th, Anderson. Pretty much, every big name company that has to do with Boston or has New England roots, yes, they are a donor too, like the Red Sox, CBS, Dunkin Donuts, many, many others -- Anderson?

COOPER: All right. That's great to see.

Appreciate it, Alison.

Sean Collier was the MIT police officer killed last thursday night. Police say the bombing suspect ambushed him. A memorial for him starts in a few minutes. We'll take you there live. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It's been more than a week since the Boston bombings, the families and friends of the victims continue to say good-bye to those lost.

In this hour, MIT Officer Sean Collier is being remembered. The university, MIT, is holding a memorial service in his honor at the school's Brigs Field. Vice President Biden is there. He's expected to speak. We'll bring you parts of the service live throughout this hour. A number of the people speaking you'll hear from and a number of performances as well.