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Orlando Shooting Detailed; President Obama Speaks about Attack; Seeking a Motive for the Shooting. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 13, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ROBYN CURNOW, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN center.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: And I'm George Howell, live in Orlando, Florida.

It was just 24 hours ago, when a gay night club just down the street here became the center of chaos. The worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. And you can see the crime scene still active this hour.

The FBI leading the investigation. I want you to listen here to what it sounded like when police stormed this building, finally bringing to an end a three-hour siege.

So much gun fire, police shot and killed the gunman 50 people had been killed and 53 wounded. Twenty nine-year-old, Omar Mateen was the attacker. An official says Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to ISIS. Investigators are continuing to gather evidence at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUDDY DYER, ORLANDO MAYOR: Law enforcement is working the scene as efficiently and as diligently as they possibly can. While also being respectful of the remains of the deceased.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: We heard law enforcement also hearing from someone who knew the shooter personally. Mateen's ex-wife says he abused her and she believes he was bipolar. She thinks the act stems from mental illness and not religious extremism. Listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SITORA YUSUFIY, OMAR MATEEN'S EX-WIFE: Emotionally instability, sickness, mentally. He was mentally unstable and mentally ill. That's the only explanation that I could give and he was obviously disturbed, deeply and traumatized.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOWELL: The focus is on the victims, the focus is on the survivors

but we are learning much more about the gunman as authorities release more information about this deadly attack.

And joining us now, CNN's Boris Sanchez has more about this mass murder. Boris, what more do we know?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, George. You know, before we knew this as the worst terror attack (AUDIO GAP) since September 11th, this was just Latin night at a gay night club here in Orlando. People were (AUDIO GAP) themselves having drinks and dancing and then at 2 a.m. everything changed. The shooter, Omar Mateen had an encounter with an off-duty police officer that was working security at the night club.

They had some kind of encounter; some kind of gun fire was exchanged. But the shooter was able to get inside the night club with an assault rifle and a handgun and that's when a hostage situation unfolded.

I talked to witnesses yesterday who told me that they heard these loud popping sounds inside the night club and they couldn't tell if it was part of the show, part of the music or something more nefarious. Eventually they said that they realized that something terrible was happening when people all around them started dropping to the ground.

One person that I talked to told me that he got to the ground and started zigzagging to try to get out of the club. He was very fortunate to the get out and (AUDIO GAP) we're hearing other stories. (AUDIO GAP) And there was one woman hiding out in a bathroom using the bodies of victims to disguise herself to try to hide from the shooter.

We're also that some performers from the club were able to escape through an air conditioning vent. They were able to get that (AUDIO GAP) But as you mention, there was a very tense three hours between 2 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.

We were actually here on the scene when we heard a huge explosion, and that's when police went inside, exchanged gun fire with the shooter and were finally able to take him out, but by then the damage was done, George.

HOWELL: Boris Sanchez. And Boris, just to give our viewers an understanding of where you are in relation to where I am, just on the opposite side of this crime scene, so it is expansive.

And investigators have a great deal to process. Boris Sanchez, thank you so much for your reporting.

One of the survivors from this tragedy was Joshua McGill, and the story that he tells is simply amazing. Helping a victim who had multiple gunshot wounds. He explained his ordeal earlier to my colleague, Don Lemon. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:05:11] JOSHUA MCGILL, ORLANDO SHOOTING WITNESS: I jump behind a car or SUV. I'm hiding behind it. The shots were fired multiple more times. They got little further away than they were before so I figured it was my time to run to the safety area that the cops had set up for the perimeter.

That's when I saw Rodney kind of struggling, limping around.

DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT SHOW HOST: Rodney is the victim.

MCGILL: He is the victim.

LEMON: Right.

MGILL: He had multiple gunshot wounds, one in each arm and then later I found out one was in the upper right area of his back. I pulled over behind the car and I told him everything will be Ok, I got you. Just calm down. I think I need to cut off as much blood as I can.

So, I took my shirt off, tied it around his one arm as hard as I could, took off his shirt and tied it around his other arm. And then I didn't know about the back when until I went to go like help him walk and dodged through cars to get to the safety area and that's when he was like oh, my god, my back hurts.

I looked at my hand, covered in blood. So, I just held it as hard as I could. We get to the safety zone, the officer whomever was like, all right, you guys stay down. There's a guy standing by, I just look at him and I said give me your shirt and he gave his shirt, I used it to cover up his back, the wound on his back.

LEMON: Yes.

MCGILL: I want to show the audience, there's a picture of your jeans, the bloody jeans, if we can put that up. And you said you took off your shirt and that's all of that is Rodney's blood.

MCGILL: Yes. There's actually probably still some on my shoe laces.

LEMON: And you said that you were able to -- because I don't know if the family's been notified. But just say his first name but he's fine, you heard.

MCGILL: Rodney. Yes, I went to the hospital today. I couldn't see him because he was still in the emergency department but they did say he was stable. So, I mean, on the way to the hospital, the officer had him lay on top of me and I had to bear hug him. And...

LEMON: You were making all kinds of promises to him you said you don't know how to keep him awake.

(CROSSTALK)

MCGILL: Yes. That's how I got him to stay conscious. What's your name, where you from, how old are you? I promise you'll be Ok. I don't know if you're religious. I am. But I promise you God's got this. You'll be OK. I was mainly scared. I was like, God please don't let me break my promise. And so we get to the hospital, he gets on the stretcher and they take him away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: You heard there from Joshua. And just the things that people did, first of all to survive, and then to help others around them. Rodney, the man that he helped survive and is being treated at a hospital here in Orlando. That's what we know at this point.

Robyn, back over to you.

CURNOW: Yes. So many stories of survival and tragedy as well. Well, all across the United States, people have been paying tribute to the victims of this massacre.

In the nation's capital, President Barack Obama ordered U.S. flags to be lowered to half-staff. Crowds also gathered outside the White House to show their support to all those effected by the tragedy.

And we heard from the gunman's father just a short time ago. He said he and his wife provided their son with love and care and that his actions surprise them. He also denies his son was radicalized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDIQUI MATEEN, OMAR MATEEN'S FATHER: He came in yesterday to see me and his mom and that was the last time that I saw him. I didn't see anything different than what he used to be. So, I'm really puzzled and I'm very saddened and I'm very upset over what happened there 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. In United States I give him the best education possible. He had his own house, his own life. So, he was living separately. And we provided for him love and care the best possible way a father and a mother can provide.

So, what had happened it really surprised me. Radicalism, now he doesn't have a beard even. When someone becomes radical, they grow a long beard and they wear clothes that -- you know, long clothes and I don't think religion or Islam had nothing to do with this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The gunman's father left puzzled by his son's actions. The attacks have left many wondering what led up to it and then how did all happen? How did it even happen?

Joining us now live from Los Angeles, CN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore, also was with the FBI as a supervisory special agent.

[03:15:03] Good to have you with us this hour, sir. So, Mateen called 911 and pledged his loyalty to ISIS. But again, we have a case here of radicalization playing out in a 29-year-old U.S.-born citizen.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: That's not surprising. That's the -- that's the way of the world now, that's the way of the internet. That's the way people are being radicalized. It started back with the white supremacists using short wave radio and things like that. Now it's gotten so much easier.

HOWELL: What about the fact that this is a guy who was known by the FBI but not under surveillance, not under investigation, still he was able to go out and buy weapons this week. How does that happen?

MOORE: I'm -- well, first of all, the fact that you're under investigation by the FBI doesn't mean you lose any civil rights. Simply by being under investigation. Obviously in this situation, in hind sight you say we should have had some kind of thing in place to do this. But the reality is you can't take away rights simply because the FBI is investigating you.

HOWELL: This the United States, you point that out, fairly. I do ask this question of you from your law enforcement background. People are drawing similarities to the attack at the Bataclan Theater in Paris last month, that's November, I should say, an attack that involved coordination and some training.

The question to you, do you see signs that Mateen might have had some sort of specialized training, killing so many people?

MOORE: I think Mateen had some skills with an assault rifle and a pistol that were above the usual abilities of the average gun owner. This could have been indications of training from other people who had had this training, maybe radicalized people who had given him the training.

But it doesn't indicate necessarily that he had intended -- or attended terrorist training camp or anything like that. But he did have some familiarity with it.

HOWELL: See, this is an attack at a gay night club. Many people are calling this a hate crime. But we're talking about a suspect who pledged his loyalty to ISIS, others call this terrorism, plain and simple. What do you make of it?

MOORE: I think that in my years of investigating both domestic terrorism and international terrorism, what I believe to be true is that the kind of person who would do something like this, the kind of person who would commit the atrocities that ISIS is committing in Raqqa are generally disordered people.

They are -- they are emotionally damaged people to begin with and they use Islam or they use Christianity or whatever religion as something to hide behind to explain, and justify their sadistic actions. So, yes, it is terrorism and yes, it is a hate crime.

HOWELL: Steve Moore, live for us in Los Angeles. Steve, thank you so much for your insight?

You're watching CNN Newsroom, we are live in Orlando, Florida this hour.

The U.S. political world has been weighing in on what happened. What the U.S. presidential candidates are saying about this tragedy. Still ahead.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT REPORTER: hi, there. I'm Patrick Snell with your CNN World Sports headlines.

Starting with the latest from the 2016 European Football Championship from France where there were wins to world champion as Germany as well as Poland and Croatia on Sunday. Now off the pitch, tournament overnight is UEFA threatening to disqualify both the Russian and the English and national teams if they find violence occurs.

This following the unsavory scenes that played out over the weekend in the French port city of Marseille where both sets of supporters clashing in the run up to the match Stade Velodrome on Saturday.

UEFA has already opened to discipline proceedings against the Russians of facing charges of crowd disturbances during the one-all draw in that group B game. It comes as the French government saying it's banning alcohol around all Stade on match days and the day before.

In sports race, Hamilton making it back to back Formula 1 victories with the winner of the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Brit overcoming the challenge of Ferraris. Seb Vettel in a tense battle in Montreal to move to within nine points now of title rival Niko Rosberg who would have to settle for a fifth place finish.

And ahead of this years' Rio Olympics, in Brazil, Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt with an ominous warning to his rivals despite somewhat pause start to having his capital city of Kingston. Bolt still managing to record a time of 9.88 seconds to emerge victorious in there Jamaica.

That is a look at your CNN World Sport headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.

CURNOW: You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN center.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, live in Orlando, Florida.

We are learning some dramatic new details about how some people were inside that club, how they managed to survive. Let me tell you this story. One person who hid in the bathroom covered herself with bodies for protection.

Some of the entertainers in the building they hid in dressing rooms then they escape by crawling out when police removed the air conditioning unit. Authorities say the gunman, 29-year-old, Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS during that shooting.

Mateen's parents say that he expressed outrage after seeing two men kissed in Miami but they didn't know of any connection that he had to the terror group. The shooting happened just as the club was set to close early Sunday morning. And the situation pressed on then for several hours. Our Jessica Schneider takes a look now at the timeline of these attacks.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Numerous cop cars out here. The worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11 begins here at Pulse, a gay night club in the heart of Orlando, 2 a.m., closing time. Some 350 people crowded inside the cavernous club for Latin night, the most popular night of the week.

Two minutes later, shots ring out in the darkness. Witnesses think the shots are part of the music. A man armed with an assault rifle and a Glock pistol, shooting patrons in two areas of the club.

Some are able to escape the chaos by running out the back. Others sent urgent texts begging for help. "Mommy, I love you. In the club they shooting." "You OK?" "Trapped in the bathroom." "What club?" "Pulse downtown, call police I'm going to die." "Calling them now." Moments later, "you still in there? Answer your phone?" "Call me. Call me." "Call them, mommy, now. I'm still in the bathroom. He's coming. I'm going to die.

A uniformed officer working security at Pulse and two other officers nearby at that time all fire on the shooter, later identified as 29- year-old, Omar Mateen.

[03:19:59] Mateen takes hostages. At 2.09, almost 10 minutes after the shooting began, club management posts an urgent message to Facebook, everyone get out of Pulse and keep running.

At 2.22, Mateen calls 911, pledging allegiance to ISIS and mentioning the Boston marathon bombers. At 10 standoff follows almost three excruciating hours with some 100 officers outside the club. One person hiding in the bathroom covers herself with dead bodies to protect herself. She survives.

Some entertainers hide in the dressing room when the shooting started. They escape when police remove an air conditioning unit and crawl out the window. Finally, at 5 a.m., a SWAT team uses an armored vehicle to smash down the door of the club, allowing some 30 hostages to escape.

Officers confront Mateen in the doorway, shooting and killing him. One of the bartenders said she hid under the glass bar. Police arrives calling out, if you are alive, raise your hand. Initial estimates of 20 dead proved to be far just far too low.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DYER: And it is with great sadness that I share we have not 20 but 50 casualties and another 53 hospitalized. In addition to the shooter, there are another 53 that are hospitalized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Jessica Schneider, CNN, Orlando.

CURNOW: Devastating details there from Jessica. Well, U.S. President Barack Obama calls the attack an act of terror and an act of hate. He met with FBI director James Comey and the authorities trying to figure out the shooter's motive.

This is the 15th times Mr. Obama has addressed the nation after a mass shooting during his presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: Today, as Americans, we grieve the brutal murder, a horrific massacre of dozens of innocent people. We pray for their families who are grasping for answers with broken hearts. We stand with the people of Orlando who have endured a terrible attack on their city.

Although it's still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage and in resolve to defend our people.

I just finished a meeting with FBI director Comey. And my Homeland Security and national security advisers, the FBI is on the scene and leading the investigation in partnership with local law enforcement. I've directed that the full resources of the federal government be made available for this investigation.

We are still learning all the facts. This is an open investigation. We've reached no definitive judgment on the precise motivations of the killer. The FBI is appropriately investigating this as an act of terrorism. And I've directed that we must spare no effort to determine what if any inspiration or association this killer may have had with terrorist groups.

What is clear, is that he was a person filled with hatred. Over the coming days, we'll uncover why and how this happened and we will go wherever the facts lead us.

This morning, I spoke with my good friend, Orlando Mayor, Buddy Dyer, and I conveyed to him the deepest condolences of the American people. This could have been any one of our communities. So, I told Mayor Dyer that whatever help he and the people of Orlando need, they are going to get it.

As a country, we will be there for the people of Orlando today, tomorrow, and for all the days to come.

We also express our profound gratitude to all the police and first responders who rushed to harm's way. Their courage and professionalism saved lives. And kept the carnage from being even worse. It's the kind of sacrifice that our law enforcement professionals make every single day for all of us and we can never thank them enough.

This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends, our fellow Americans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The shooter targeted a night club where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing and to live. A place where they were attacked is more than a night club, it is a

place of solidarity, an empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds and advocate for their civil rights.

So, this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:25:03] CURNOW: Well, this tragedy is already being politicized. The presumptive republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump is pointing the finger at Mr. Obama for failing to make America safe enough.

Trump said in his remarks today, "President Obama disgracefully refused to even say the words radical Islam. For that reason alone, he should step down. If Hillary Clinton, after this attack, cannot still cannot say the two words, radical Islam, she should get out of the race for this presidency."

Well, Clinton's team hit back saying "Trump has offered no real plans to keep our nations safe and no outreach to the Americans targeted, just insult and attacks. In times of crisis more than ever, Americans are looking for leadership and deserve better."

And earlier, Florida republican Senator Marco Rubio told CNN that "War came to Orlando and said stronger background checks are needed to prevent this sort of tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, FLORIDA SENATOR: I think there's two questions that need to be answered moving forward. One is, how is one person who not once but twice has now been looked at by the FBI, irrespective of whether or not they were able to find links and ties, was able to purchase weapons, and then, you know, very quickly use them in this way without anybody knowing about it.

That's a question a lot of people are asking. I suspect it's about the balance of protecting rights because anybody can accuse you of anything. In this case, unfortunately, it turned out to be true.

And then the other is how can an individual like this actually work for a company that's providing security given this FBI investigations that went into the person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Marco Rubio a little bit earlier. Still to come, dramatic details of how some survivors avoided death and you'll hear from the deejay who was in the club when the killings started.

Stay with us. You're watching CNN. [03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was dark. You don't know what's going on. More people are falling, glasses are getting dropped. I'm getting covered in blood from other people.

OBAMA: We know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At around 1.30 in the morning, we lost her inside the club. Just had another baby three months ago. Family is devastated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one can tell me where my son is, if he's been shot, if he's dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't heard anything knowing dead body if he's alive or is he breathing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we are making it clear if anyone who attacks our LGBT community, if anyone who attacks anyone in our state will be gone after to the fullest extent of the law.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, as a gay community, we are as a resilient people, that we're going to have people lined up behind those flood gates. We're going to show what the good heart of humanity is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN center.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, live in Orlando, Florida.

Here's the very latest that we know at this point. Fifty people are dead and another 53 wounded after a gunman opened fire inside a gay night club in Orlando. Dozens of people were inside. They were trapped for hours while police were in a standoff with the shooter. Officers eventually stormed the club and killed the gunman.

CURNOW: They say the gunman, Omar Mateen, called 911 in the midst of the shooting to pledge allegiance to ISIS. The FBI had investigated him in the past for possible ties to terrorism, but an FBI agent says those interviews turned out to be inconclusive and there was nothing to keep the investigation going.

HOWELL: We're hearing from Mateen's father who says he is puzzled and saddened by his son's actions and denies that Mateen was radicalized. Saddiqui Mateen says his son seemed normal, even visiting him and his wife a day before the shooting. Mateen's father also wished for quick recovery for the wounded victims.

Investigators are piecing together the events of that happened at the club that just down the street here. They're learning more about the chaotic night that played out and the gunman's background. All they could do was run. Some made it out, many didn't, after a lone

gunman opened fire in one of the city's iconic gay night clubs. The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Survivors recount their terror. Some hiding under dead bodies and others escaping through air conditioning ducts to safety. The gunman killed in a shootout with police after taking hostages.

According to U.S. officials close to the investigation, the gunman, identified as Omar Mateen, dialed 911 about 20 minutes into the attack, pledging allegiance to ISIS and mentioning the Boston Marathon bombers.

President Barack Obama having to address the American people yet again after another mass shooting, calling the shooting an act of terror.

Authorities say the man you see here, Omar Saddiqui mateen was behind the attack. Born to Afghan parents, he was 29 years old and worked as a security guard at a court house, which allowed him to purchase firearms with minimal screening.

U.S. federal officials say Mateen purchased a long rifle and Glock handgun just a few days before the attack. Mateen had been interviewed by the FBI twice, in 2013 and 2014 for possible ties to extremists. But the FBI says Mateen was not currently under investigation.

CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank says no one has claimed responsibility for the attack on Jihadist forum so far, but ISIS sympathizers have praised the attack.

Meanwhile, people around the world have come together in support. An appeal by an Orlando blood center on Facebook drove thousands to line up for hours outside the center, while a go fund me page to help raise money for victims and survivors.

Earlier, I talked to the club's D.J., Ray Rivera. He described the moment when the gunman opened fire. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY RIVERA, PULSE CLUB DJ: Honestly, it just, it all happened so fast, it was more just, you know, shocked and then, you know, panic set in and it was like, you need to get out of here. So, at that point it was like looking for the door to get out. And people were coming. Hiding beneath my D.J. booth.

And like I said, one or two people, there was a guy and a girl and they both, the guy took off, she was still down and I said come on, let's go. She left and I went right behind her.

HOWELL: So, where did you go, what did you guys do?

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: Right at the side door. Yes.

[03:35:04] HOWELL: Have you slept since?

RIVERA: No. That's why I'm like extremely tired right now. I just want to make sure my whole family is good, you know, everybody is safe, everybody is, you know, home. Nothing happened.

HOWELL: Have you heard about any of your friends? Are you worried about people?

RIVERA: I've seen -- I've seen some posts and that's about it. A lot of people are kind of, you know, not talking or doing anything.

HOWELL: What this does to you, how does it change your like, I can't imagine what you went through.

RIVERA: I've been doing this for 20 something years and, you know, you never imagine something like this would happen. So, it's a, you know, kind of shock. But, you know, I like what I do and, you know, I'll continue doing it. No problem, I'll continue doing it. I got, you know, take this one thing and, you know, call it, you know, say it's a wrap. I love what I do.

HOWELL: How thankful are you this day to be standing right here and we're talking?

RIVERA: I'm grateful but I know there's a lot of people that, you know, that didn't make it. So, I feel for the families and it's just a terrible situation. I wouldn't wish this upon anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: A terrible situation, he says. Well, for more on this investigation into the shooting, let's turn now to CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore.

Thanks again for talking to us. You're an retired FBI supervisor special agent. You're joining us from Los Angeles. And in your opinion, in your expertise, the investigation that's still continuing on the sire, what are the key questions that are being asked right now?

MOORE: I'm -- if I were there, I'd want to know what was going on during the three-hour standoff where the police didn't enter. And you have to know I believe blew. I love the police but you have to assume that dozens of people had been hit by gun fire and could potentially be bleeding to death in that -- in that room. And so, I would want to know the reasons behind not going in earlier.

CURNOW: There's a piece on cnn.com from our Peter Bergen who points out some grim patterns. "That every lethal terror attack in the United States in the past 15 years has been carried out by American citizens or legal permanent residents operating either as loan wolves or in pairs. And they have no formal connections or training from terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda or ISIS." He writes.

So, again, with your experience, the real terror threat is it's home grown mostly. MOORE: Yes, yes, and that is the new face of terrorism. What they're

doing is creating this lone wolf situation where they hoist their ideas through the internet on to people who will swallow them and then create sycophants essentially in this country who will go out and attack.

And it's not -- it's not exclusive to the United States. We've seen that in Belgium, we've seen that in England. This is -- this is the new face.

CURNOW: Let's talk about the added dimension within the U.S. which is easy or easier access to military grade weapons. This man was able to get hold of legally a semiautomatic assault rifle, a handgun. To massacre so many people he had the time. But he also must have had a lot of ammunition, changed magazines many, many times, reloaded over and over again.

MOORE: Yes, I would say it's not easier to get it recently. It's gotten progressively harder to get weapons and ammunition in the United States. I think, obviously, there's -- we have to examine how this is happening.

But it's not something that in this case -- I mean, he was -- he had already been investigated by the State of Florida and determined that he was suitable to be not only a guard but an armed guard.

He had the authorization to carry a weapon at work. This is not somebody who just popped up and said I want to buy a gun. This is somebody who would previously been investigated.

CURNOW: And how unusual is it for somebody to phone in and lay out his motives mid-attack?

MOORE: Mid-attack is new. Most of the people that I've seen, there will be a claim usually beforehand, either in writing or in person or on the phone. There's going to be a claim. But to stop in the middle of this and call is astounding to me.

[03:40:02] And I don't know why if you're talking on 911 somebody says by the way, he's on the phone. This might be a good idea to go in. Again, I have questions that I'd like to see the answers to. I'm not saying that they shouldn't have waited three hours. I'm just wondering why?

CURNOW: Questions no doubt you and many are asking, many questions not being answered this hour, 24 hours after that attack. Steve, thank you for your perspective.

Well, those who knew him say the Orlando gunman showed some troubling signs. We'll hear from the shooter's ex-wife. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Thank you for joining us. You're watching CNN's coverage of the worst mass shooting in the United States. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN center. HOWELL: I'm George Howell, live in Orlando, Florida. We are hearing now from the gunman's ex-wife. She says that when she first met him that he seemed normal. She gave an intimate account of the man he used to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YUSUFIY: This was a sick person that was really confused and went crazy. He worked as a correctional officer or a guard at the juvenile delinquent center and a lot of his friends were from the police department in Fort St. Lucie or Fort Pierce.

And he, you know, I believe he applied to the academy and was trying to become a police officer. There were moments he would express his intolerance to homosexuals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, the Orlando gunman was born in the U.S., but his parents are from Afghanistan. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He strongly condemned the Orlando terror attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:45:07] HAMID KARZAI, FORMER AFGHAN PRESIDENT: A great tragedy. The commensurate for the people of the United States with the families who lost their 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, for more on his family and their ties to Afghanistan, we're joined now by CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson in London. hi there, Nic. I mean, there are still questions, conflicting information on motives, but do his family's connections to Afghanistan provide any clues?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, as far as we know at the moment, and I think it's fair to say, there's an awful lot more to learn about Omar Mateen and that's probably going to be salvaged from communications on social media, what web site has been looking at, perhaps more conversations with closer friends.

That information we just don't have yet. When you look at the connection with Afghanistan really it's his father who's maintained, who's from Afghanistan. You know, Omar Mateen was born in the United States.

So, it's his father who's really as appeared to carry the strongest interest in Afghanistan, who's appeared on an Afghan YouTube channel really calling for a better Afghanistan, criticizing people he says that are corrupt, that are trying to sort of undermine the future wealth of the nation. That he's even pointed a finger at the leader of ISIS. The father has

being one of the sort worst people in Afghanistan. So, this is a man whose maintained a sort of a political interest and wanted to have his voice heard on Afghanistan, but his son, Omar, the gunman, his interests in Afghanistan, if he's really had any, that really that hasn't come to the for yet.

CURNOW: So, he pledged allegiance to ISIS in the middle of the attack. And as you know, you've reported on this extensively, security experts have flagged how the ISIS message its narrative is increasingly alluring to second generation Muslims and not just in the U.S. but in Europe, too.

ROBERTSON: This is a man who may by the, again, by the initial accounts that we have from his wife, for example, who described him as bipolar. He was never medically confirmed as such, if you will or medically diagnosed as such, but a man who had a problem with violence, a man she obviously fled for that reason.

He never lived in Afghanistan, but remembering his family lived in New York. He would have been 15 years old when the 9/11 terror attacks happened. Afghanistan, he would have been very aware of course that age of what was happening in Afghanistan of the Taliban at the time when the following invasion to get rid of Afghanistan and install a -- install a different government.

So, all of these issues may have been -- may have been close to his heart and we don't know. But again, the profile of people who have been radicalized through social media by ISIS who often have Muslim roots, Muslim faith but have other issues in their lives. And other historic connections. So, potentially he fits that profile of the sort of rare person that will go ahead because of their instabilities and pick up the ISIS message online.

CURNOW: OK. Nic Robertson in London. Thank you. Well, amid devastating tragedy an outpouring of support. Just ahead, the staggering amount of money raised for Orlando victims just hours after the horrifying attacks. Stay with us.

[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Weather Watch time. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

Watching thunderstorm that have really blast across portions of the Southern United States. We have moisture surging right on in from the Gulf of Mexico. And of course the afternoon heating among the longest days of the year upon us.

In fact, top five longest days of the year are ahead of us over the next seven days across part of the Southern United States. All the -- a lot of say time here a lot of sunlight beginning to really shine up and heat up the ground. Some thunderstorms blistering into the afternoon hours.

But the opposite end of the spectrum taking place at about 1900 meters up in elevation. This is Mount Washington, New Hampshire in the past 24 hours. Much of it in the last couple of hours picked up about five centimeters of fresh snow across portions of the State of New Hampshire.

You notice the cool air wants to stay there in the couple of days, heat though dominating much of the picture, especially towards the intermountain west. Then you notice the heat does want to finally come back in around the northeastern U.S. as well of the nation's capital that makes that to 30s around New York City.

Such as 30 degrees come Wednesday afternoon and also temps across the southern U.S. want to see a little bit of the cooling trend and how about this, some snow showers even under the picture across the Siskiyou's, across the Cascades your way out towards Mt. Shasta getting in some snow showers as well. So temps on the Western U.S. also going up a little bit. Take care.

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CURNOW: You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the worst mass shooting in United States history. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN center.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, live in Orlando, Florida.

Police say that the gunman left behind chaos here at this night club down the street. Even working though, for global security firms since 2007. An official says 29-year-old Omar Mateen legally bought a handgun and a long gun in the last few days.

Fifty people were killed and 53 wounded in the attack. The city's main newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel released a preview of their Monday morning paper. The front page reads "Our community will heal."

CURNOW: And the crowd funding campaign for the victims of the mass shooting and their families has pulled in more than a million dollars in just 13 hours. Equality Florida, largest LGBT rights group in the state posted the fundraiser shortly after the massacre Sunday morning. Well, the 30,000 people have donated so far.

A staff member with Equality Florida says the group plans to work with attorneys to distribute the donations.

HOWELL: We are slowly learning the names of the victims of this attack as Orlando authorities and their families identify them. Cory Cornell's father tells CNN his son is one of the many wounded in the shooting. There is no word at this point on his condition.

The City of Orlando named Stanley Almodovar as one of the 50 people who died in this massacre. And as we go to a break, we leave you with the names of other victims who have been identified so far.

[03:55:0] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Well, the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida has led to an outpouring of sympathy from around the world. (CROWD SINGING)

CURNOW: The 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 seen at this memorial in Houston, Texas. Pride celebrations in Los Angeles went on as planned with the people of Orlando on everyone's mind.

(APPLAUSE)

CURNOW: Crowds also gathered outside New York's Stone Wall in a long- time symbol of the fight LGBT rights. Also in New York, the Freedom Tower is lit up in rainbow colors, and Broadway's biggest night of the year, the Tony Awards, began with a poignant introduction from the host, James Corden. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CORDEN, TONY AWARDS HOST: 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 and embraced and is loved. Hate will never win.

[03:59:59] 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.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Beautiful words there. I'm Robyn Curnow in Atlanta. Our coverage of the mass --