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Vigils Honor Victims of Orlando Attack; Helping Victims Cope Following Orlando Attack; Did Squeeze on ISIS in Syria, Iraq Motivate Orlando Attack; Orlando Attack Adds to Political Firestorm Surrounding Islamic Faith in U.S.; Impact of Orlando Attack on LGBT Community; Orlando Shooter's Ex-Wife, Father Speak Out. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 13, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:28] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome on our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Isha Sesay, in Los Angeles.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Vause, live in Orlando, where it's just gone 2:00 in the morning.

The FBI is investigating what ties the Orlando gunman may have had to ISIS. Authorities say the attacker called 911 and pledged allegiance to ISIS during the three-hour long siege at the gay nightclub. 50 people were killed and 53 wounded in this shooting.

A witness shared video of the gunfire as police stormed the club.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Police shot and killed 29-year-old Omar Mateen when they went in to rescue hostages. One official described the crime scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALAN GRAYSON, (D), FLORIDA: U.S. All the killing that was done was with an assault rifle, with a single weapon assault rifle.

There's an enormity amount of havoc in there. There's blood everywhere. I spoke to somebody who was on the site. There's an enormous amount of evidence to be collected over the course of many hours inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The FBI had investigated Mateen in the past for ties to terrorism, but he wasn't found to be a threat. His father denies Mateen had been radicalized. Mateen's ex-wife said he was bipolar, as well as abusive.

People have told some harrowing stories of survival, by hiding in the club's bathroom, dressing room, under the bar. Anxious friends and relatives waited to hear from their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're shooting back and forth.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son hasn't been heard from. I don't know if he was left in the club, if he got shot, or if he's being worked on here. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three of my friends that I play ball with were also reported as deceased at this time and we're still waiting to find out the rest of us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 2:07, I got a text message from my daughter and two nieces, please come and get us, "Please come and get us now. They're shooting, they're shooting." Then about 2:12, I got a phone call from my daughter, saying she was hit in her arm, and she was going to pass out, and just come and get her and help her and she was just afraid. Just tragic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came here hoping nothing happened to him and I just received news from my girlfriend that my friend and her cousin just passed away in this terror attack. That's it.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Mourners gathered at candlelight vigils in Orlando and across the country on Sunday to honor the victims of this tragedy.

We'll begin our coverage here with CNN correspondent, Jessica Schneider, who is near the Pulse nightclub.

Jessica, walk us through the timeline, what we know about what happened inside that club and when.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it was just about 24 hours ago that all of this horror began unfolding. Just after 2:00 in the morning, at a very packed Pulse nightclub, where about 350 people were inside, a gunman entered. The first person he encountered was an off-duty police officer, who was working security. He got past him, and then entered the nightclub, where he took hostages and he opened fire. It was for three tense and terrifying hours that he invaded the nightclub. At 5:00 in the morning, police, three hours later were able to knock down a wall of the nightclub with a heavily armored vehicle, able to get hostages out, and they shot and killed the gunman.

In the meantime, there were text messages from some of those people trapped inside. They were desperately calling out to their family members for help, asking those family members to call 911. It all started around 2:00, lasted until 5:00, when police moved in and shot and killed the gunman -- John? VAUSE: Jessica, 24 hours on now, and this nightclub is still a crime

scene. There are still many bodies inside. How long do you think investigators will be before the building is cleared?

SCHNEIDER: You know, that's one indication law enforcement isn't giving us. This has been a very active scene, like you said now, for 24 hours. They say law enforcement, that this is really a twofold endeavor. It's all part of this investigation that they've been launching throughout the day and will continue. But then, of course, they have to work on notifying family members, and actually removing those bodies from the nightclub. We saw several coroners' vans line up here throughout the day. This is quite a long process and law enforcement has not given us any timeline or any indication as to when this investigation could wrap or when they could re-open this area -- John?

[02:05:40] VAUSE: Jessica, thank you. Jessica Schneider, live this hour, 2:05 in Orlando, thank you.

In the wake of this horrific shooting, there's been an outpouring of support across the city of Orlando. People came together to donate blood for the wounded. Lines stretched out the doors at some places. And local media reported the turn-out was so great, blood banks asked volunteers to stop coming on Sunday, they'd reached full capacity.

For more now on what is being done to help the victims of the Orlando attack, Nick Valencia joins us now with more.

Nick, so many people, of course, affected by this, 53 people wounded, 50 people dead, and so many people in that club, and hundreds and hundreds of people. How are they coping, and what is being done?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Your heart has to go out to the friends and family who are still waiting on getting notification of the updates of their loved ones, were they in that club, are they among those that are still hospitalized, are their names among the 50 that were killed? We spent all day here, since the early morning hours, talking to people who have been affected by this tragedy, witnesses, survivors, those that are waiting to hear word about what happened.

At one of the staging areas earlier today, we saw as three doctors crossed the street from the medical center and went in to tell a group of about 250 people inside, we're told, the names of those that had survived. And those that didn't hear the names of their loved ones, they took that as being the ultimate bad news. We heard a lot of heart-wrenching screams, sobs from people expecting the worst of the worst, especially those who are yet to hear what happened to their friends and family.

We spoke to someone named Andy Moss, who was inside the nightclub when the shooting happened. He showed up there with his friend. He said he was able to get out. Miraculously, he was near one of the exits and was able to get out. He thought his friend was with him as he ran out the front door. He found out later that that friend was nowhere to be seen and he still has no idea what the fate of that friend is. Right now, we're hearing a lot of frustration from friends and family,

those that say information has been shut off to them, that they should still be getting updates, but they're not.

Tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. eastern, in about six hours from now, they will be given notification here at the Delanie School, where officials will come and give word, give the updates. About two hours later, about 10:00 a.m. eastern, we expect immediate briefing, an update, where perhaps we'll get more information as to what happened here in Orlando at 2:00 a.m. eastern on Saturday -- John?

VAUSE: And, Nick, what support is now in place for the relatives of those who have been killed? What will be there to help them deal and work through this tragedy?

VALENCIA: We've seen chaplains here from the sheriff's office, grief counselors, the Red Cross here. We've seen mobile blood donations. You talk about the extraordinary outpouring of support. More than 1500 people showing up at a blood conation center that we were at. Hundreds more being told they were at capacity, and people had to be turned away. So there are avenues for grieving, for compassion here, people coming out of their residences, their neighborhoods, to talk to neighbors, talk to strangers, people they've never met, to try to provide them grief counseling. People here just talking through this.

It took a few hours, in fact, it was later this evening, earlier this evening, I should say, when people really started to reflect on what happened at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, all that tragedy, the scope of the tragedy here was really reflected upon and people really started to understand the reality of what happened here. 50 people killed, 53 people still hospitalized. This is a horrific day in the United States -- John?

VAUSE: And very quickly, Nick, what more do we know about the condition of the 53 wounded right now? How many are critical, what do you know?

VALENCIA: Well, we're told by friends and family at that staging area, doctors did give a list of those that were in critical condition, others that were in stable condition. That list has not been provided to the media. We have reached out to the hospital to find out the condition of the dozens that remain hospitalized. And we'll have to wait until the sun comes up to get those details -- John?

[02:10:08] VAUSE: So many horrific injuries as well.

Nick, thank you. Nick Valencia, live this hour.

And this terror attack here in Orlando is the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. And before this event, though, the biggest death toll was back in 2007, an attack on the Virginia Tech campus which claimed 32 lives. In 2012, a shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school killed 27 people, most of them children. 23 people died in Texas when a man crashed his truck into a building and opened fire. That was in 1991. And 21 people killed in California in 1984 when a man armed with several guns sprayed bullets at a local McDonald's restaurant.

Now, a short time ago, I spoke with CNN's military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, in Orlando; as well as Brian Levin, in Irvine, California. Levin is the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. I asked him what may have motivated Mateen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN LEVIN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: It's my guess, this is someone who was inspired by ISIS, rather than orchestrated or directed. Several weeks ago, ISIS came out with a new magazine, "Dabiq." Interestingly enough, in that magazine, they were aiming their fire at Muslims around the world, whether it be Egypt, the United States, Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. But the bottom line is these folks can get radicalized by one group and the baton can be passed to another group. That's what we found happened with respect to the terrible attacks in San Bernardino. One of the things that I warned Congress late last year was because of ISIS's ability to use the Internet, the dark web, and social media, even when they were under pressure, they were still getting their message out, and unlike Europe, where they're orchestrating folks who have gone in theater and come back here, here they're inspiring malcontents, disenfranchised people, mentally unstable folks and others. And what we've seen is a significant increase over the last several years with respect to these attacks. Indeed, San Bernardino and this attack alone represent a significant amount of the fatalities post 9/11 from jihadi attacks. We also see lone wolves on the right-wing as well. But the biggest threat are lone wolves. And also remember, ISIS would love to coordinate an attack, too, if they could. They just don't have that wide and deep bench that they have of criminals and malcontents and recruiters that they have on the ground in places like Belgium and France.

VAUSE: Let's go to General Hertling now.

Given the fact that ISIS is being squeezed militarily, especially in Iraq and Syria right now, is this kind of attack that we're seeing in Orlando, is that now their major way of striking a blow on Western targets?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It certainly is. It's at least contributing to that. When you talk about the fact that you have an element that's being defeated on the battlefield, that's losing ground, that's losing their capability, having to strike out, that was part of the message that we just talked about, go out and attack in other places. Certainly, easier to do in Europe, because you have that flow. But here, the kind of jihadists you're having here, the radical extremists, are those who are, like this one, has been misbehaving somewhat in a variety of ways, has run into law problems, been noticed by other people, and they're ready to conduct operations because they just don't fit in at times.

VAUSE: And, Brian, to you, the fact that Mateen made this telephone call to the authorities, this 911 call, pledging allegiance to al Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, do you have any idea why he would do it that way as opposed to leaving behind a note or posting something on social media? What was the purpose of that call?

LEVIN: The purpose of it was, he probably didn't get to do it on social media, and it might have come as an afterthought. Tashfeen Malik, who attacked our community, pledged allegiance on social media. Interestingly enough, at that time, ISIS radio, for instance, declared her like a follower and a supporter rather than a warrior, which is how this assailant was referred to. But right now, it doesn't appear there was evidence that there was any direct orchestration.

And one of the things I think is so interesting, as ISIS is losing the number of foreign fighters who are coming into theater, how their ground war is closing in a bit, yet they're still able to inspire these attacks. And like a caged animal, they can be the most dangerous when they appear under pressure.

This is going to be a long thing. And as I said before, we will get hit again, because we have so many people because we have 800 to 900 investigations going on in all 50 states, and a very sophisticated, though under pressure, Internet and dark web presence. So they'll fight back the only way they can, which is through this "catch as catch can" inspirational, rather than operationally, trained folks, like this particular assailant.

[02:15:38] VAUSE: General, I want to take a different tack here because you live here. You made this home after retiring. As a member of this community, how difficult has this been for you and how difficult will it be with everyone who you share the community with?

HERTLING: Striking. John, this was -- this morning, I can't describe what this felt like. Because as you said, I've seen multiple years in combat. I've seen soldiers die fighting against terrorists. When you wake up in the middle of the night and find something that occurred in your hometown, to this degree -- you know, this isn't far away anymore. This is not Paris. This isn't Brussels. This is Orlando, Florida, a place that is known for Mickey Mouse and Disneyworld. So, yeah, it was tough to take. The combination of an extremist fighting in this land, in this city, as well as someone with this much hate against this many people, and to have it affect the community. But the community is rebounding. This is a wonderful place to live and you're seeing that in the people that are coming out providing support, the hospitals and the emergency services that are coming together and working together to treat the patients and to care for the people around. That's a very good thing about Orlando.

VAUSE: And their soldiers fight back. They're trained for the battlefield. These were innocent, defenseless people.

HERTLING: They were. And another thing about that, and it has to do with this style of attack, when you're using automatic rifles with bullets that tumble, and the carnage that this creates, these are the kind of things that occur when you have a terrorist attacking unarmed people like this. And no amount of fighting back in this kind of environment is going to do anything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: And our thanks to John and his guests.

We're going to take a quick break now. The Orlando attack is adding to the political firestorm surrounding the Islamic faith in the United States. We'll speak to a major figure in the U.S. Muslim community.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:21:36] SESAY: You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. I'm Isha Sesay, in Los Angeles.

VAUSE: And I'm John Vause, live in Orlando.

We're getting dramatic details about how some people inside the club were able to avoid death. One person, hiding in the bathroom, covered herself with bodies. Some entertainers hid in a dressing room. They escaped by crawling out when police removed an air conditioning unit.

Officers took down the gunman after a three-hour-long stand-off. A witness shared this video of when police finally stormed the club.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And U.S. President Barack Obama is calling the attack an act of terror and an act of hate. He met with FBI Director James Comey and said authorities are trying to figure out the shooter's motive. Mr. Obama also talked about the issue of gun control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today marks the most deadly shooting in American history. The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle. This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub. And we have to decide if that's the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Florida Senator Marco Rubio says attackers like the Orlando shooter are the new face of the war on terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA: I think it's pretty clear at this point, I'm safe in saying this is an individual that was either directed or probably, I think, in all likelihood, inspired to take on this attack by some radical Islamist element, be it ISIS or al Qaeda. I think there's some indications it might be ISIS. And this is the biggest threat our country now faces in terrorism is the home-grown violent extremists. An individual like this, born in New York, raised in the United States, a U.S. citizen, living among us freely, and before he reaches the age of 30, he becomes radicalized and inspired to take action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: We'll have a lot more from Orlando in a moment.

But now, let's go back to Isha in Los Angeles.

SESAY: Thank you, John.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, tweeted, "This was an act of terror. This was also an act of hate."

President Obama was scheduled to make his first campaign appearance with Clinton on Wednesday but that event has been postponed.

Donald Trump is pointing the finger at U.S. leadership and warns more attacks will come. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee tweeted, "What has happened in Orlando is just the beginning. Our leadership is weak and ineffective. I called it and asked for the ban. Must be tough."

Muslim leaders are condemning the Orlando massacre as a hate crime and a monstrous attack.

Hussam Ayloush is executive director of the Los Angeles division of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He joins us now.

Thank you for being with us, Hussam.

HUSSAM AYLOUSH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES DIVISION, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: My pleasure.

SESAY: Your organization and many Muslims have quickly spoken out and condemned these attacks, saying that it does not reflect the values of the U.S. Muslim community. How is this message being received?

AYLOUSH: So far, very well received, because it's heartfelt, like any American today with compassion, feeling the horror of what happened today. This is something that no words can express the sorrow, the sadness, the anger that many of us feel as Americans, as humans, but also as Muslims, especially with the perpetrator claiming to be Muslim. It's very well received. It's something that has been based on many years of solidarity, work between the Muslim community and the LGBT community. We've worked for many years. This has been a community that has consistently stood by the American-Muslim community in support of their rights and in defense of that community against discrimination and bigotry. So the least we can do is stand with them shoulder to shoulder as they've always done with us. [02:25:42] SESAY: To hear you say that, talk about the bond between

the Muslim community and the LGBT community. That may surprise some, because have heard the words from ISIS, a distorted version of Islam, but they've heard the words of hatred towards homosexuals and the LGBT community, and it's led some to question the nature of Islam's relationship with this community.

AYLOUSH: Sure. Islam's view regarding homosexuality are very similar to Christianity, Judaism, they range. But the reality is what we're dealing with ISIS. ISIS have nothing to do with Islam. So looking at what Islam says is really irrelevant. ISIS has placed even American- Muslims on their target list, including our national executive director and many Muslim leaders. The main target of ISIS has been Muslims around the world. So what we're dealing with are sick-minded people with really no religious basis. They've committed crimes that are barbaric against people who they deem as enemies. So what is important today is to remember that ISIS does not speak for Muslims. Certainly, not for American-Muslims, and we stand together and not allow anyone to create a wedge between us. That's the beauty of America, we can have differences, but every American has to feel safe. The minute one American doesn't feel safe because of their choices or who are or who they're perceived to be, then none of us is safe.

SESAY: I was going to ask you about the statements made by Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee, who is now reiterating his call for a ban on Muslims entering the country, although he says it's temporary. What do you want to say in response to that?

AYLOUSH: First of all, how does that help? Omar Mateen was born in the U.S. No ban would have prevented that.

But that's not the main question. The main problem, at this time, when our country is in tears, our country is shaken, we need leaders that bring us together, not leaders who play into the hands of the terrorists, not leaders who would exploit our country's tragedies to score a few points at their election. At this time, calling for blaming all Muslims is exactly playing into the hands of the terrorists, because this is what ISIS wants. I know it's a cliche, but the reality is they want us to feel fearful of each other. That's what the purpose of terrorism is, to terrorize us and create wedges between us. So I hope most people in America will see through this and realize this is not the time to play divisive politics and the politics of fear.

SESAY: Hussam Ayloush, thank you very much for joining us and speaking out in sharing your message.

AYLOUSH: Of course. Thank you for having me.

SESAY: Time for a quick break. And Omar Mateen was interviewed by the FBI several times. That's leading many to wonder how the Orlando attacks could have happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:53] SESAY: Hello, everyone. You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the worst terror attack in the United States since 9/11. I'm Isha Sesay, in Los Angeles.

VAUSE: And I'm John Vause, live in Orlando.

The gunman in Orlando's mass shooting was a 29-year-old U.S. citizen. The FBI says Omar Mateen was interviewed twice in 2013 and 2014, but was considered not to be a threat. An official says Mateen called 911 during the siege and pledged allegiance to ISIS. But his father denies he was radicalized. But Mateen's ex-wife said he was unstable and he abused her. Mateen carried an assault rifle and a pistol into the club. When the shooting was over, he had killed 50 people and wounded 53 others. Police have searched Mateen's apartment and have allowed other residents nearby to return to their homes.

The attacks have brought pain to Orlando and to the entire United States. The LGBT community has been especially affected.

Kian A. Mims is part of that community in Orlando. She's been in the Pulse Club many times. She joins me now to talk about the impact this is having on the LGBT community.

Because this is Latin night inside the club, it's a popular night.

KIAN A. MIMS, FREQUENTS PULSE NIGHTCLUB: Yes.

VAUSE: You've been there on those kinds of nights.

MIMS: Yeah.

VAUSE: It was loud, it was dark, people were having fun. What's it like? What would it have been like leading up to that shooting?

MIMS: When I've been there, and I've had a wonderful time every time I go to Pulse. We enjoy it. Just drinking and laughing, having a wonderful time. Especially with Latin night, a lot of joy and laughter, close-knit friends getting together, having a good time.

VAUSE: Must be incredibly chaotic. Have you pictured that in your mind?

MIMS: I have. Just picturing the way that the club is, the lay-out is, just to imagine a shooter coming in and just shooting like that, I couldn't imagine how to get out, where to go. When you come in, there's a room to the left where you can chill out there and watch the show with the singers and everything. I can't even think that there's a way out to the left.

VAUSE: Maybe there's just the one door in and out.

MIMS: Well, you come in and you go to the left, I cannot imagine there's a door there. It might be to the back or might be something hidden. I'm not sure, but there's a stage there, and there's a bar, with usually dancing on the bar, and just having a good time. You walk in, there's a big open area right there. And to the right, you can actually go outside and have a good time on the patio there.

VAUSE: How will the LGBT community here deal with this? This is obviously an attack on gay people.

MIMS: Right.

VAUSE: It's a terrorism act, but it's also an activity on gay people.

MIMS: Right. It's just horrible to believe that someone would drive that long to specifically come to the Pulse, passing other locations, it's definitely an attack. It's a well known LGBT location. It's a landmark location for us, so it's definitely an attack. And how we're going to deal with it, we're not going to allow hate to overcome. For one person to come and do something like that to insight fear in our community, it's just going to bring us closer together.

VAUSE: Kian, thank you very much.

MIMS: Thank you.

[02:35:06] VAUSE: Thank you.

Let's get more now on the investigation. CNN's senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes, joins us once again from Honolulu in Hawaii. And CNN law enforcement contributor and retired FBI special agent, Steve Moore, is in Los Angeles.

Tom, first to you.

A lot has been made about the interviews of Mateen back in 2013 and then again he was spoken to in 2014. In some ways, the intelligence worked up until that point. It's just after that. There does seem to be a lot of questions which need to be answered.

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think that's true. And there's going to be a lot of questions. But, you know, the FBI is not the Gestapo. They can't just go out and grab somebody and put them in prison because they expressed an opinion that's not popular or approved of in the United States. They can say what they want, people can think what they want, as long as they don't continue down the path to do a violent act. And that's where the difficulty comes for the authorities, for the FBI or local police, is the person, aspirational or operational, are they going to actually commit an act, or are they just talking that they support that group or support Osama bin Laden, or al Baghdadi, or one of the other terrorist leaders in the world? So that's a difficult thing. We still have First Amendment rights in this country, and it's difficult for the bureau to really read somebody's mind and see if they're not only thinking bad thoughts, but intend to do something bad and violent.

VAUSE: And, Steve, to you, as someone who has carried out these kinds of investigations -- and we should stress there are literally hundreds and hundreds of these kind of investigations which are ongoing. How difficult is it to close one of those investigations, like the FBI did on Mateen?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Tom will know this. It is harder to actually close one than it is to keep one going. To close one, you're putting your name on it as a supervisor and saying I'm telling you, you don't need to follow him anymore. So it's harder to close one than it is to keep one open. Yet, you still had to close them, because otherwise your agents are going to be working a million different things other than the highest-priority cases.

VAUSE: And, Tom, one thing we've learned from inside the club was this call to 911 Mateen made, pledging allegiance to al Baghdadi, but he also spoke about the Tsarnaev brothers, the Boston bombers. Are these jihadists now the heroes to these home-grown jihadists?

FUENTES: I think so, they are heroes. But there's also -- you know, individuals that are sociopaths and psychopaths also possess a great deal of narcissism. This could be a simple fact that he wanted to make sure he got the glory for this. And he was afraid if he hadn't told anybody he was going to do it, and if the media or authorities were going to have to speculate about his motive, that maybe it was only a hate crime and not a terror act, it was only directed at the LGBT community. So to be sure, he calls the police and says, I want it to be clear, I'm doing this for ISIS and not have any doubt. Normally, in these shootings, you have people just continue to fire until they run out of ammunition or get killed. He stopped, to make a phone call. So I think it was very important to him that he got credit for this attack.

VAUSE: And, Steve, obviously, one of the big concerns for the FBI, for law enforcement now, copycats, and others who will be inspired by this. And we're seeing that now in a way, I guess. Well, it didn't play out that way in Los Angeles, but that was the initial fear.

MOORE: I think what we're seeing here is, since San Bernardino, you're seeing copycat after copycat after copycat after copycat. When they get this momentum, where they're getting press, they're getting all sorts of bragging rights with ISIS, it will continue until we can find a more effective way to eliminate it.

VAUSE: Well, and, Tom, I want you to pick up on that point.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Yes.

FUENTES: And another concern besides copycats are hate crimes directed against Muslims in retaliation for this. So that's another aspect that the FBI will be very diligently investigating any threat to Muslims based on what happened here.

VAUSE: And, Steve, finally to you, when you get the intelligence like they had back in 2013 and 2014, that he had said some radical things, he had said some inflammatory things, and he said it to his co-workers and they had reported it to the FBI, what then happens to that information? Is it just sealed off and that's the end of it, or is it kept some place and they keep an eye on this guy, or is it just all over with?

[02:40:13] MOORE: It goes to the substantive squad, the Joint Terrorism Task Force. They do an investigation. And you will put it in a file that is not a -- it's kind of a pending file. You are not closing the case. But you are not continuing active investigation. So you can -- you have some momentum to go back to that case if you need to. I suspect that Mateen's case was not a closed case, but an inactive case.

VAUSE: OK, Steve Moore, retired special agent, and Tom Fuentes, former deputy director of the FBI, thank you both for your insights and your experience. We appreciate it.

A short break. And when we come back, the Orlando shooter was a U.S. citizen. He was born in New York. His parents immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan. And now his father is speaking out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. I'm Isha Sesay, in Los Angeles.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause, in Orlando.

Tributes are pouring in from around the world following the massacre here. In Paris, dozens of people gathered for a candlelight vigil, carrying the Pride flag and signs that read proud.

50 people were killed, another 53 wounded when a gunman opened fire at this gay nightclub. The shooter has been identified at 29-year-old Omar Mateen.

[02:45:12] SESAY: Well, the gunman's ex-wife spoke out on Sunday. She described how her former husband changed before her eyes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SITORA YUSUFIY, EX-WIFE OF OMAR MATEEN: In the beginning he was a normal being that cared about family, loved to joke, loved to have fun, but then a few months after he were married, I saw his instability. And I saw that he was bipolar and he would get mad out of nowhere. That's when I started worrying about my safety. And after a few months, he started abusing me physically.

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VAUSE: We've also heard from Mateen's father, who said he and his wife provided their son with a loving and caring environment and that his son's actions have surprised him.

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SADDIQUE MIR MATEEN, FATHER OF OMAR MATEEN: He came in yesterday to see me and his mom and that was the last time that I saw him. I didn't see him anything different than what he used to be. So I'm really puzzled and I'm very saddened and I'm very upset what happened here because they are my family. All those deceased people, they are my family. And those people, they got injured, I pray for them that they get healthy soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SESAY: Well, the gunman was born in the U.S., but his parents are from Afghanistan.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer and he strongly condemned the terror attack.

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HAMID KARZAI, FORMER AFGHANISTAN PRESIDENT: A great tragedy. We commiserate with the families who lost loved ones, with the wounded. It's a crime that we condemn in the strongest possible terms, because we, in Afghanistan, suffer from it daily and for a long time. So we are with the American people on this.

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SESAY: Well, for more on the shooter and his ties to Afghanistan, we're joined now by CNN International diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, in London.

Nic, what are we learning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, we're learning that his family came to live in the United States, and that he was actually born in the United States, that his father, if you will, kept a hand in an interesting way, if you will, in Afghan politics, keeping up a commentary on an Internet television channel aimed as Afghans. And he had quite strong opinions. He was very anti-Pakistani. Also, the father also on his Facebook page had criticized traitors of Afghanistan, including the leaders of ISIS, including President Karzai, including others, who he said were embezzling money from the country. But it's the father that seems to have maintained the strongest ties to Afghanistan.

In terms of Omar Mateen himself, there isn't any information that's come forward so far that says that he has maintained strong ties there, that he has maintained some sort of, if you will, jihadi connections. He may have shared some of the same political views as his father. But even those have yet to be -- have yet to be fully, if you will, discussed and verified.

So at the moment, the ties to Afghanistan really seem secondary to what's happened here in Orlando. There's nothing yet that would tie -- and perhaps nothing will come forward yet -- that will tie his actions to anything that his family experienced in Afghanistan, that he has sort of experienced through listening to others in his community talking.

SESAY: Yeah. And, Nic, the expectation would be that the authorities will be scouring every part of this man's life that they can detect, from his digital footprint, to see whether he traveled abroad, to see whether he went anywhere.

ROBERTSON: The strongest evidence that has emerged so far when the investigations that the FBI conducted, his 2014 meeting with an American jihadi who was fighting with the al Nusra Front in Syria, had been there in 2013, had come back to Florida, who met with Mateen during that time. And then went back to Syria again and then became the United States' essentially first suicide bomber for al Qaeda inside Syria. So that's the connection. What other conversations on social media may have been going on? Was there a search for his identity, a failed marriage? We understand from his wife that he was unbalanced, potentially bipolar. And you know, was he searching for some kind of identity and had gone back to his Muslim roots and chosen to sort of follow this extremist ideology through that path? That's not that uncommon in this type of case.

[02:50:18] SESAY: Many questions to be answered in the days ahead.

Nic Robertson joining us there from London. Thank you, Nic.

Time for a quick break now. Broadway's Tony Awards took place in New York as scheduled Sunday night. How the event honored the Orlando attack victims when we come back.

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SESAY: You're watching CNN's live breaking news coverage of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. I'm Isha Sesay, in Los Angeles.

And I'm John Vause, live in Orlando, where it's just gone 2:54 here on a Monday morning.

And the shooting here has led to an outpouring of sympathy from around the world.

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[02:54:58] VAUSE: There are candlelight vigils, like this one in Orlando, taking place across the U.S. , people of all faiths coming together to pay tribute to the victims. This memorial in Austin, Texas. Pride celebrations in Los Angeles went on as planned with the people of Orlando on everyone's minds.

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VAUSE: Crowds also gathered outside New York's Stonewall Inn, a long- time symbol of the fight for LGBT rights. Also in New York, the Freedom Tower lit up in rainbow colors.

And Broadway's biggest night of the year, the Tony Awards, began with a poignant introduction from host, James Corden.

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JAMES CORDEN, HOST, TONY AWARDS & ACTOR: Good evening.

All around the world, people are trying to come to terms with the horrific events that took place in Orlando this morning. On behalf of the whole theater community and every person in this room, our hearts go out to all of those affected by this atrocity. All we can say is, you are not on your own right now. Your tragedy is our tragedy.

Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality, and gender is equal, is embraced and is loved. Hate will never win. Together, we have to make sure of that. Tonight's show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle.

This is the Tony Awards.

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VAUSE: The organizers of the awards agreed the show must go on in honor of the victims.

SESAY: Well, thank you for watching. I'm Isha Sesay, in Los Angeles.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause, in Orlando.

Our special coverage of the massacre here in Orlando continues after a short break.

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