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EARLY START

Oregon Campus Massacre; Hurricane Joaquin Preparations. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 2, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: According to the father of one of the students, a wounded student, the gunman opened fire as soon as he entered a classroom and singled out Christians during this killing spree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:30:02] STACY BOYLAN, SHOOTING VICTIM'S FATHER: He came in and there was gunfire immediately and scattered the room and got everyone's attention. He -- from what I understand, what she said is he shot the professor point blank, right, one shot killed him. Took him right out. Others had been injured.

And then he -- this man had enough time -- I don't know how much time elapsed before he was able to stand there and start asking people one by one what their religion was. "Are you a Christian?" he would ask them. "If you're Christian, stand up." And they would stand up and he said, "Good, because you're Christian, you're going to see God in just about one second." And then he shot and killed them.

And he kept going down the line doing this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN covering every angle of this breaking news story, starting with John Vause in Roseburg, Oregon -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, we still don't know why. Why did the gunman come to this community college? Why did he open fire? But we do know how he went about this mass shooting here.

We know that he had three handguns and long rifle. We don't know if he fired all of those weapons.

But law enforcement sources have told us he had a lot of ammunition, enough for a prolonged gun fight. He died in a shootout with police. It's not entirely clear if they killed him or if he took his own life.

But he also had been told that he has body armor as well. We are hearing from those who survived the shooting. One student, Hannah Miles, was in a classroom and she described the terror to one of our affiliates as she heard those gunshots ring out not far from her classroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNAH MILES, UCC STUDENT: She knocked on the door and she yelled through the door. She said, "Hey, is everyone OK over there?" As soon as she said that, multiple shots were fired. When she turned and looked at the classroom, the look on her face was horrifying. That's when I knew something was wrong.

And she looked at us and -- I don't know. It's hard to explain. When she looked at us, she said, "We have to get out now." One of my other classmates jumped at me and like, "Everybody out. Come on. Let's go." We immediately began running.

Still don't know what was going on. I knew the look and fear on my teacher's face that it was serious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Others students have told how they hunkered down under their desks and closed the curtains and locked the doors and turned off the lights. At first, they thought that this may have been a drill, but this was very real.

Christine, authorities here say they may start to release some of the names of the 10 people who were killed here on Thursday.

ROMANS: Yes, right now, the only name we have is the name of the gunman. We don't have the names of the victims.

And, John, it is always so important. The victims are the names that really matter here. The families of those people must be just so devastated this morning.

John Vause, thank you. Bringing us updates from the scene if you can.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, of course, it's only the fourth day of school there. So, there's a huge amount of confusion on campus, period. I mean, they really did not know what was going on at the time or what to do about it.

We have new information this morning about the gunman from police reports and some of the shooter's own recent blog postings. Authorities say the suspect or the shooter was prepared for a long gun fight. He had at least four weapons when he arrived on campus, a lot of ammunition. Investigators also confirmed he lived near Roseburg and wrote online about recent mass murders, focusing on the attention it brought to the gunman.

In one passage he wrote, "A man who was known by no one is now known by everyone. His face splashed across every screen, his name across the lips of every person on the planet, all in the course of one day. It seems the more people you kill, the more you are in the limelight."

In California, his father spoke briefly to reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN MERCER, GUNMAN'S FATHER: I don't answer any questions right now. I don't want to answer any questions right now.

Obviously, it has been a devastating day, devastating for me and my family. All I ask is, I know you guys are here to do your job, all I ask is respect our privacy. So far, you have done that.

REPORTER: Any surprise at all?

MERCER: Shocked. Shocked is all I can say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I want to go now to Winchester, Oregon, and bring in CNN's Sara Sidner who is live outside the apartment where neighbors say the shooter lived.

Good morning, Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

While the father is talking in California, neighbors say the mother lived here in Winchester. We are about a mile or so from the college where the shooting occurred. And people say they did see the shooter here. That they recognize his face when we showed them a picture of him that police had given to us and basically said, yes, we do recognize him.

[04:35:04] He has been here. He always seemed really quiet. He pretty much kept to himself.

But they did notice -- one neighbor in particular noticed something different today. A couple of hours after the shooting occurred, she says that she saw a woman who was visibly upset. Not just upset, but crying and here's what else she said about her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRONTE HART, NEIGHBOR OF GUNMAN: She was bawling. She looked really upset. I mean, I can't blame her. I mean, this is insane. I mean, my heart goes out to her and all the people there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: It is believed that she saw the mother. She says that some of the other people in this complex said that that is indeed the shooter's mother, visibly upset a few hours after the shooting occurred around 10:20 in the morning here.

Tonight, they also noted something else that happened. Very dramatic. They said, at some point, they looked out their windows and saw men crouching down in the bushes. They were in SWAT gear, they were coming in closer and closer to this building where they lived. Eventually they told people that they needed to leave.

They went up to the second floor and they went into apartment number 12 and started searching that apartment. We have seen ourselves, the FBI and ATF and sheriff's deputies all out here, combing this area and going in and out of the building here.

And so, we watched at times when they have taken a couple of things out of the apartment itself and tonight, there are still a couple of deputies here and going to be here throughout the evening. They decided to stay and post themselves to make sure nobody goes into the apartment.

There is still a bit of crime tape up just near the door. But they have cleared the rest of the scene.

A lot of neighbors saying they are stunned that someone that took the lives of ten people randomly at a college lived right next door -- John.

BERMAN: And, of course, the reason they are going through the apartment carefully, there is a history of these shooters occasionally booby trapping or setting explosives off or leaving something behind during, before, or after they go on these rampages. He clearly had a knowledge of the shootings because he wrote about them, we think, in blog posts.

Any sign they took anything dangerous from the apartment or is it too early to tell, Sara?

SIDNER: Yes, we haven't seen all of the things they may have taken out of the apartment. We just noticed a couple of things. Just by sight, we were looking through the bushes. They carried a couple of things out.

We did notice they had what appeared to be an evidence van parked here for a couple of hours. The reason why they came in with SWAT gear with their bulletproof vests and helmets, because of a fear of someone inside or that, for example, there could be something booby trapped and they wanted to make sure that they themselves were safe and that the people that live in this complex were safe as well. They first started crime tape close to the scene and they pushed it out. A lot of the neighbors went to stay at other people's homes because they could not get back into their actual apartments.

At this time, it seems that the scene has been cleared for the most part. Again, the two deputies still here guarding this area to make sure nobody tampers with the apartment -- John.

BERMAN: There still could be evidence inside there.

Sara Sidner for us in Winchester, Oregon. Thanks so much, Sara.

SIDNER: Right.

ROMANS: One law enforcement official saying this was clearly an angry young man filled with hate again. The campus shooting in Oregon left President Obama visibly shaken, clearly frustrated.

Again, this is the 15th time since he has been in office that he has been forced to address the country after a gun-related massacre. Listen to him challenge the American people in this remarkable news conference, challenge the American people and he challenges the news media to force a change to the nation's gun laws.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it.

We have become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newton, after Aurora, after Charleston. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun. And what's become routine, of course, is the response of those who oppose any kind of common sense gun legislation.

[04:40:00] Right now, I can imagine the press release is being cranked out. We need more guns, they'll argue. Fewer gun safety laws.

Does anybody really believe that? There are scores of responsible gun owners in this country. They know that's not true.

What's also routine is that somebody somewhere will comment and say, Obama politicized this issue.

Well, this is something we should politicize. It is relevant to our common life together, to the body politic.

I would ask news organizations -- because I won't put these facts forward -- have news organizations tally up the number of Americans who have been killed through terrorist attacks over the last decade and the number of Americans who have been killed by gun violence, and post those side by side on your news reports. This won't be information coming from me. It will be coming from you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So, here are the numbers. From 2004 to 2013, 316,545 Americans died from gun violence on U.S. soil. Through the same time frame, 313 Americans killed by acts of terrorism.

"The Daily News" on its front page using a different metric. "The Daily News" using the metric since Sandy Hook, an event that shocked the nation's conscious, 87,000 people killed by gun violence. Just since Sandy Hook.

The president in the press conference said save these lives. Let these people grow up. I am just shaken by the fact that, you know, the kids who died in Sandy Hook would turn ten this year. You think about all these people yesterday in Oregon happening again.

BERMAN: Well, what we don't know from Oregon yet is how the shooter got the guns. Those three hands guns and one long gun.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: May have purchased them all legally. Perhaps they're purchased illegally. Perhaps there is nothing that any gun law would have prevented him from getting the guns.

So, there is certainly a discussion to be had about laws, but it goes beyond --

ROMANS: Gun laws and mental health and early warning signs. As Dr. Ben Carson pointed out, you know, what are the early warning signs as society that we can try to identify, which -- there's so much layers to it, but the fact we have this conversation over and over again is so frustrating.

BERMAN: We will follow this all morning long. First there is more information on some other news. There is a hurricane spinning right now in the Atlantic. Joaquin gaining strength, shifting its course.

We are tracking the storm. We will have the very latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:46:30] ROMANS: Hurricane Joaquin battering the Bahamas. It is a monster category four storm now, sustained winds of 130 miles an hour. State and local officials along the East Coast, they are preparing for the worst. A possible direct hit from this powerful hurricane. Now, although the latest forecast models suggest that the East Coast may dodge a bullet, Joaquin remain in the Atlantic. Everyone is still preparing here, because too much of the track, early track is like Hurricane Sandy.

BERMAN: All right. Let's get the latest on Hurricane Joaquin from meteorologist Karen Maginnis -- Karen.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Bingo, Christine. You really nailed it.

We know what we can expect over the next 24 hours. It looks like it's going to meander around the Bahamas for a little while longer and we think in the next 24 hours, it will start to make that turn more towards the north.

But after that point in time, there are computer models varying models, about two dozen of them, that suggest it's going to stay out in the Atlantic.

But you may remember Sandy, 2012, almost 300 people killed from that, it stayed out in the Atlantic before it curved in towards the New Jersey shore. And our computer models show it out in the Atlantic. Several bring it to the mid-Atlantic.

But this is going to be a horrible weekend to go to any beaches from Beaufort, Charleston, Wilmington, Nags Head, up towards the Mid- Atlantic. You are looking at rough conditions.

In South Carolina, there is an area of low pressure and that's going to be lingering here. So, the rainfall you will see, 10 to 15 inches, already widespread flooding. That's not be because of the hurricane, but because of the low pressure system.

But, John and Christine, this is something to stay on top of and we will here at CNN.

ROMANS: And we know you will, too. Thank you so much for that.

BERMAN: All right. Our breaking news this morning: Ten dead in the college campus massacre in Oregon. Officials are discussing gun control and some criticism of President Obama and what he said about the tragedy. We will tell you what that is, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:52:21] ROMANS: Massacre at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. Here is what we know right now. Ten people are dead. Seven others injured. The 26-year-old shooter killed in a shootout. The shooter singled out Christians one by one and executed them. Investigators uncovering blog posts from the gunman, and the attention brought to shooters. Listen to the just released 911 calls moments after -- moments after the gunman opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a report of one person shot. An active shooter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody is outside one of the doors. Shooting through the doors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roseburg 17, unconfirmed report, that he has a long gun.

We are exchanging shots with him. He is in a classroom. It's got to be the southeast side of Snyder Hall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspect is down. We have multiple gunshot wounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please have (IANUDIBLE) dispatch as many an ambulances as possible to this incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Authorities say the gunman was heavily armed, prepared for a prolonged gun battle. We will have the details ahead.

BERMAN: The presidential candidates have started to weigh in on the massacre, offering their condolences and prayers mostly for the victims and families.

Jeb Bush, he went on Twitter, he said he is praying for Umpqua Community College and victims and families impacted by this senseless tragedy.

Donald Trump said on Twitter, he said, "My warmest condolences to the families of the horrible Roseburg, Oregon, shootings." Trump also Told "The Washington Post", "It's happening more and more. I just don't remember -- years back, I just don't remember these things happening. Certainly not with this kind of frequency."

John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki also tweeting as well.

Huckabee criticized President Obama, saying, quote, "With few facts, Obama is quick to admittedly politicize this tragedy to advance his liberal, anti-gun agenda. Gun violence is a problem in this country, but it's not the fault of Second Amendment, it's a fault of evil people doing evil things."

Ben Carson in a radio interview, he said the focus needs to be on preventing unstable people from getting guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obviously, there are going to be those who are calling for gun control. You know, that happens every time we have one of these incidents. Obviously, that's not the issue. The issue is the mentality of these people and we need to be looking at the mentality of these individuals and seeing if there are any early warning clues that we can gather that will help society to be able to identify these people ahead of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:55:05] BERMAN: There are people who say mental health needs to be dealt with within new gun laws.

Hillary Clinton expressed her anger and disbelief. And she called on the country to address the gun issue as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm sick about it. I feel an absolute urgency for this country to start being sensible about keeping guns away from people who should not have them. I'm going to try to do everything I can as president to raise up an equally large vocal group that is going to prove to be a counter balance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Clinton's Democratic rival Bernie Sanders weighed in tweeting we need sensible gun control legislation which prevents guns from being used by people who should not have them.

ROMANS: You know, part of this is all a discussion about why this keeps happening. Each one of these is a little bit different. But, you know, what is it -- unique about the American culture that we are the only place in the world where this happens over and over again. You know, big discussion about mental health, guns, everything.

All right. There's new information this morning on the gunman in Thursday's campus shooting. We've got live team coverage breaking down all of this, next.

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