- 16 hours ago
Deadline: White House - Season Episode 97
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Short filmTranscript
00:05We're back. We're covering the breaking news out of San Diego, California, and I want to bring
00:08into our breaking news coverage my colleague, investigative reporter Mark Santia. Mark,
00:13what are you learning from law enforcement sources? We know right now, according to the
00:16mayor of San Diego, that there is no ongoing threat to the community. Nicole, we also know
00:21that the FBI and ATF agents are also responding. They're going to pick up the investigation
00:25as well. There is a reunification location that was set up. You saw the video of those children
00:31being walked out, kindergartners through third graders who are walked out by adults. There is
00:35a reunification location that's set up. We're also being told, Nicole, that there's a media staging
00:40area. So we're hoping to hear in a press conference very soon. There's a lot to learn. We are being
00:47told that a suspect, at least one suspect, is dead. We're waiting for officials to confirm if there
00:52are any other suspects. Also, the weapons. The ATF agents are there. They handle, obviously,
00:58firearms. Were those weapons purchased? Were they stolen? We're waiting to hear that.
01:03The suspect, who we're told was neutralized, were they killed by police? Was it a self-inflicted wound?
01:10Again, we are waiting to hear more from the FBI as well as local police and the ATF. They're on
01:16the
01:16scene working right there. But as you see those children being led across the street from the Islamic
01:20center there, we do know a reunification center was set up. Eamon, our colleague, has been talking
01:25to the imam who said no children were injured. No children were hurt physically. And then again,
01:32we are waiting to hear our news desk has been working. The MSNOW news desk reaching out. We
01:37know Sharp Memorial Hospital has received patients there. We don't know the number of injured. So now
01:43there are a lot more questions than answers right now. But we're hoping, Nicole, very soon,
01:48as this media staging area is set up, as police and federal agents sort of get everything and gather.
01:54We're hoping to learn much more. We know that there will have to be search warrants that will
01:58be served on the home of the suspect or suspects. It appears right now we might.
02:03Okay, let's watch together.
02:05Just get a little bit closer than normal. We've got so many small lines up here.
02:30Good afternoon. Cesar Jimenez with San Diego Police Department, public information officer.
02:37Still very early in our investigation. We've got Chief Scott Wall is going to give,
02:42let you know what occurred. We are going to have time for questions afterwards. And so please, Chief Scott Wall.
02:56This is every community's worst nightmare.
03:01I want to give you some preliminary information to put a lot of minds at ease. There is no further
03:08threat.
03:09But both suspects in this case are deceased.
03:14All of the kids are safe.
03:21Our hearts go out to the families that are in this moment being notified of what has happened to their
03:28loved ones.
03:29We have three confirmed adults that are deceased at the Islamic Center.
03:40There is a lot of preliminary information that we're going to try to highlight and cover,
03:44but understand it's going to take us some time to get accurate information out to everyone.
03:51Here's what we know so far.
03:55At about 1143, we received a call of an active shooter at the Islamic Center.
04:05Within four minutes, officers arrived on scene
04:12and observed immediately
04:17three deceased, what appeared to be deceased victims out in front.
04:22They immediately began to deploy
04:25with an active shooter response
04:29into the mosque and adjacent school.
04:36at about the same time
04:40we began to receive calls from just a couple blocks away that we had more active gunfire.
04:49Officers were also responding to that call for service
04:55at the same time.
05:00There was a landscaper that was doing his work that was shot at
05:06and fortunately was not hit.
05:11That was at about the 7100 block of Salerno, which is just a couple blocks from here.
05:18Moments later at the 3800 block of Hatton,
05:23officers were called to that location where they found a vehicle in the middle of the street
05:29with who we believe to be the shooters in this incident, both deceased.
05:38The circumstances that led up to this
05:42and the details of what happened and exactly which time it happened
05:48will come out in the days ahead.
05:53I can tell you
05:55this is in 28 years, this is the
05:58most dynamic
06:00and impressive response that I have ever seen in policing.
06:06We have every single police officer throughout our county that dropped what they're doing.
06:10and did exactly what they're trained to do, run towards gunfire.
06:18I could not be more proud and I cannot express
06:25the gratitude,
06:29the willingness to step into harm's way in a moment like this.
06:36And I tell you what got me.
06:41watching the kids come running out.
06:46Just thankful to be alive.
06:51I want to bring up
06:54Mark Remley from the FBI.
06:57Because of the Islamic Center location, we are considering this a hate crime until it's not.
07:07And at this point, we're going to work closely with the FBI to make sure that we are matching
07:11all the resources that we need for this investigation.
07:14So, Mark.
07:19Good afternoon.
07:20My name is Mark Remley. I'm the special agent in charge of the FBI San Diego field office.
07:26Today, the FBI responded to assist our local law enforcement partners at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
07:32This was based on reports of an active shooter.
07:36As the chief said, what we know at this time is that there are three deceased adult males.
07:43And those are the presumed victims at this time.
07:46On behalf of the FBI, we extend our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the victims of this
07:53tragic incident.
07:54There were two subjects, both teenagers, and both are confirmed deceased.
08:01I want to thank our local law enforcement partners for their quick response
08:04that undoubtedly saved the additional loss of life.
08:09The FBI is meticulously assessing the situation and is prepared to employ every resource we have
08:15to uncover the facts of this incident.
08:17No community should have to grow through such a tragic incident,
08:21but we will work tirelessly until we learn the truth.
08:25We have on scene a number of special agents, task force officers, our evidence response personnel,
08:31victim specialists, and many more.
08:33As we work through this investigation, we ask for your patience to determine any motive
08:38and facts associated with the shooting.
08:41The FBI continues to ask for the public's help in providing any information
08:45that could help us resolve this investigation.
08:48And we remind the public that any detail, no matter how small, could be useful.
08:53The FBI has set up a digital media tip line for information regarding this shooting.
08:58We ask that the public submit their tips to FBI.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI
09:05with any information you may have.
09:12One more piece of information that I failed to put out.
09:15There is a reunification center set up at 4125 Hathaway, where parents can be reunified with their
09:24kids and any other loved ones that might be related to the Islamic center.
09:30That is the location where you can be reunified.
09:34Next, I want to bring up the mayor of San Diego, Mayor Todd Gloria.
09:42Thank you, Chief.
09:45I want to be here to reemphasize what our police chief said.
09:49The threat currently has been addressed.
09:52Children are safe.
09:54And that is a good thing.
09:57Obviously, we've had the loss of life here at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
10:01And to our local Muslim community, my prayers are with you.
10:05I want to assure our Muslim community that we will do everything it takes to make sure that
10:10you can feel safe in this city.
10:12And no resource will be spared in making sure that our religious institutions and locations
10:18are protected in this sensitive time.
10:21I want to express my appreciation to the San Diegans who responded to our calls
10:24to clear the area, to allow law enforcement to do their jobs.
10:29I ask you to continue to do that until you hear otherwise.
10:32As Chief said, students can be picked up at the church just down the street here.
10:38We have that information already sent out.
10:40And lastly, I would just say at this time, obviously, we'll have more comments later today.
10:45But at this moment, I want to simply express my immense gratitude in that of all 1.4 million
10:51San Diegans for the incredible law enforcement response that we saw here today.
10:56As Chief mentioned, a response within four minutes.
10:59This is what we train for.
11:00This is what we budget for.
11:02This is what we ask of our public safety professionals.
11:04And they absolutely deliver in the way that we ask them to do so.
11:07I appreciate our San Diego Police Department, our San Diego Fire Rescue Department, our Chief
11:11of the Fire Department is here as well, as well as our local, state, and federal partners,
11:17many of whom have been in touch with me directly, recognizing the gravity of this situation and
11:21why it is such a tragic situation for which there will be a lot more work to be done in
11:29the days and
11:30weeks and months ahead. Again, my condolences to the victims and their families, to our Muslim
11:37community. One of our great leaders is here, Imam Taha, who is directly impacted. This is a time for
11:44making sure that we do everything that is necessary to investigate and fully address the incident that
11:50was here today. But to reassert, as I always will, that hate has no place in the city of San
11:55Diego.
11:56And when it happens and crime of any nature occurs, we will hold you accountable.
12:00Again, appreciation to our public safety professionals. I'll turn it back to our Chief.
12:11I'll open it up to questions here in just a second. I want you to keep in mind, we're giving
12:16you
12:18what we have and what we know at this point. And there's only so many limitations. There's a limitation
12:23of what we can go into at this point until we can confirm information. So with that,
12:26we'll open up to a couple of questions.
12:28Chief, five total to three years to two hours.
12:32Yeah, so thank you for asking. How many total are deceased? So we have our two suspects that are
12:37deceased. We have three victims at the Islamic Center. All three are adults. For a total of five
12:46people that are deceased related to this incident.
13:02Yeah, so we are actively investigating that right now to figure out and piece together exactly what led
13:09to this moment. And as we get that information confirmed and verified,
13:14we'll be back out here providing more details moving forward.
13:26So the suspects at this point appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. There were no
13:34officers involved in firing their weapons, but that is still very preliminary at this point. But that's
13:44what we believe right now. Two males.
13:52Uh, at this point, uh, we believe them to be 17 and 19.
14:09So again, we are actively investigating the things that led up to this. Uh, obviously these things
14:15don't typically just happen, uh, on a, on a whim. Uh, and the, the information that we knew
14:22preceding it, uh, is what we're actively looking into. And once we get that information, uh, verified
14:27and assembled, uh, we will provide it. Yes, ma'am.
14:41Yeah. So the, the Islamic center does have, uh, security. Uh, uh,
14:51one of the deceased is a security guard that, that works there. Um,
14:56um, and I, I think played a, a, a, a, a pivotal role in, in assisting, uh, from this being
15:06much worse.
15:14Yes. Yeah. The Islamic center does have cameras and there are, there is footage. There's going to be a
15:18tremendous amount of, uh, information, uh, and details, uh, that we're going to try to sort and put this,
15:26this puzzle back together again.
15:31Not confirmed.
15:34No, we don't.
15:41Uh, Shannon, you know, I, I don't necessarily know, uh, you know, which locations were put on,
15:50on, uh, you know, a lockdown. There's other neighboring schools in the area. It's standard protocol.
15:56Uh, when, when information like this comes out with an active shooter, we try our best to get
16:00that information out and, and, and, and either shelter in place or evacuate from the area if it's,
16:04if it's, uh, ideally safe to do so. Uh, so that would not be outside of protocol for that to
16:10happen.
16:11One more question. Yes.
16:19So our initial, uh, officers that got on scene, uh, did not engage with the suspects in the parking
16:26lot. Uh, they began to make entry into the Islamic center. They observed three deceased bodies outside
16:34side of, uh, the center, uh, which, uh, you know, obviously, uh, forced them to engage in an,
16:41in an active shooter response and immediately deploy inside of the Islamic center and start
16:45working from room to room. Uh, they did have to breach doors, uh, to get into all of the different
16:51rooms. Um, extremely chaotic. Uh, there was somewhere between 50 to a hundred police officers
16:57inside of that facility. Uh, all of you that responded here could see, uh, how many officers
17:02and deputies from around the county that were surrounding the outside of the facility.
17:06We also have the scene a couple blocks away, uh, where we had active gunfire, uh, coming in, uh,
17:14on a landscaper that was just out there doing his job. Thankfully, he's okay. He was not hit.
17:19Uh, uh, he was not, he was not injured. Um,
17:25but we're, we got a lot of work to do to try to figure out what, what led up to
17:29this, um, and
17:30exactly what actions took place. But I can tell you with 100% certainty, the heroic actions of the
17:36responding officers and deputies, uh, is, is, is beyond words, uh, to know that this many of our public,
17:48uh, servants are willing to leave their loved ones behind, drop what they're doing and run towards
17:53gunfire without asking any questions, uh, is remarkable.
18:03Not yet. Uh, we're obviously making notifications as we speak to family and loved ones. And so I,
18:08I want to respect that. So we will be back. We will be back with more information a little bit
18:13later
18:13today. Thank you guys. That is a San Diego police chief, Scott wall, giving us the most detail.
18:25Oh, this is the Imam. Let's listen in Islamic center of San Diego.
18:30I know it's time of sorrow, time of sadness. We have never experienced a tragedy like this before.
18:40And at this moment, all what I can say is sending our prayers and standing in solidarity with all the
18:51families in our community here and also the other mosques and all the places of worship in our beautiful
19:01city should always be protected. It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship. Our Islamic
19:14center is a place of worship. People come to the Islamic center to pray, to celebrate, to learn.
19:24Not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life just this morning earlier
19:30a group of people, non-Muslims coming just to learn about our faith and our cultures.
19:39So this is something that we have never expected. And I would like also to thank all the people who
19:47contacted us from all over the country and even from overseas to give condolences and to ask about
19:55is there anything they can do to help. And I would like also to thank our local authorities, our
20:02San Diego police department, FBI, the San Diego police department, FBI, and all the sheriff department,
20:10our mayor for showing up and standing in solidarity with us. So this is what I have to say. Thank
20:17you so
20:18much. Thank you very much. That's all the time we have right now. We will come back in two hours
20:23and we will also sit up for Spanish interviews. Yes.
20:27That is a briefing from law enforcement and from the imam at the Islamic center in San Diego from
20:36the San Diego police chief, Scott Wall, who described it as quote, every community's
20:42worst nightmare. He was able to confirm there was no further threat and gave us a bit of detail about
20:49the events that played out today inside the Islamic center and in San Diego. He described the attack on the
20:57center from the two suspects, described the security guard as engaging
21:07the attackers. Two other center staff lost their lives. He confirmed that there are three victims from
21:16today's attack and violence. He also confirmed something we hadn't heard before in our coverage.
21:24And so I want to lift this up and ask all of our law enforcement experts about this. There was
21:30actually a
21:30second shooting. Um, the, um, response to the shooting, the active shooting at the Islamic center,
21:41that call came in at 1143. They, he said, quote, we got a call from a couple blocks away of
21:47active
21:47gunfire quote, a landscaper was shot at. He wasn't injured. It was a couple blocks away. And then the police
21:55chief, uh, Scott Wall confirming that the two teenage suspects believed to be age 17 and 19 were found
22:04dead in a vehicle of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Michael Feinberg, your thoughts.
22:13There's a lot of tantalizing information there that is hard to connect at this moment until we know a
22:18little bit more. I mean, my first question obviously is if the two shootings aside from
22:26the assailant's presumed self-inflicted deaths are related to each other. Um, was one a precursor to
22:33the other? Was this a sort of killing spree joyride type thing, or was it an organized attempt to sow
22:41chaos and target specific individuals? This, these are at least some of the questions that I imagine
22:50the investigators will now be trying to answer in the days and weeks to come.
22:56Uh, Tom manger, your thoughts from what we learned there, uh, most of the information again,
23:01coming from the San Diego police chief, Scott wall. So a couple of things. One, um, the, uh,
23:09he said, um, during his, uh, interview, he used the words, um, that the three deceased victims,
23:16uh, from the Islamic center were out in front. And then he, uh, and in answering questions,
23:22he said that they were outside the facility, which indicates to me that, um, these two teachers
23:28and the security guard confronted these shooters, uh, may have confronted these shooters before they
23:35even got into, uh, uh, the facility. We, we don't know that yet, but it's an indication to me that
23:40the, uh, that, um, the, you know, that, that it, this, uh, they started shooting, uh, outside the
23:47facility. The chief never, um, connected the dots between, he mentions the shooting of the lands,
23:55or shooting at the landscaper. And then, uh, the, the two self inflicted gunshot wounds,
24:01killing the suspects in a vehicle. He doesn't really connect the dots, but it, but the fact
24:06that he brings it up, uh, it leads you to believe that, um, they may be related. And, uh, you
24:13know,
24:13and, and, and I mean, as he's talking, my mind's racing saying, you know, is this something where,
24:18um, the, the two shot each other and, you know, around could have gone out of the car. Um, did,
24:25did they, they, did they each shoot themselves? Um, and why did they do it at this point? They had,
24:31they had left, they were in a vehicle. They had left the center. Um, did they, and you remember
24:37that the, the chief said there was a four minute response time. Um, so at that point were police
24:43already closing in and these, uh, these two suspects felt like we're, you know, we're caught,
24:48we, you know, and so a lot of questions still to be answered, but, um, it certainly, uh, is, is,
24:55uh,
24:55the fact that it was confirmed that all the kids were okay, um, is, is a blessing, uh, but you
25:01still
25:01have three innocent victims that, um, put them, it appears to me, put themselves in harm's way,
25:07um, to ensure the safety of those children. Um, I, uh, tried to jot down this, this part of the
25:14briefing that, that Tom manger is, is recounting. And here's what I, what I took down, um, 1143 AM,
25:21they get a call from the Islamic center of a quote, active shooter. Um, as Tom pointed out,
25:27the, the chief, uh, wall describes a four minute response time. Chief wall then describes that they
25:34quote, observed the three dead victims in front of the center. Um, we have those victims as a security
25:41guard and, um, two center staff. We haven't confirmed yet if they were educators or, or, or, or part of,
25:48um, um, the Islamic center staff or security, we, we don't know, um, for sure exactly who the other
25:55two victims were. Um, and then the, the police chief, uh, Scott wall describes, um, that they
26:01deployed an active shooter response. He described that response as the quote, most dynamic and impressive
26:07response he'd ever seen. Um, but, but to what Tom sort of got his finger on, um, three different scenes,
26:16uh, one at the Islamic center, one, this shot from a quote, a couple blocks away of active gunfire,
26:23um, a landscaper who was quote shot at, and then the vehicle founded a third location with the two
26:31suspects. Um, we heard from the police chief, they were age 17 and 19. He describes them as deceased
26:39from quote, and self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Yeah, absolutely. And so what he, what the chief was
26:45talking about when there's an active shooter, those officers, the first responding officers took that
26:49posture of believing that the gunman may have been in the Islamic center and immediately went into that,
26:56uh, facility. The chief said they began clearing rooms. They began making sure children were okay.
27:01And obviously you had three deceased adult males outside. Matter of fact, the chief said about the
27:07security guard who was killed that he quote, played a pivotal role from this being worse. Um,
27:13so the security guard being hailed as a hero. Uh, so at that point, as they were clearing that the
27:19Islamic center going into the Islamic center, there was also gunfire a short distance away. And that's
27:24where the chief said that they believe the suspects opened fire on a landscaper who was just out
27:29working. The landscaper fortunately wasn't physically hurt. And then a short distance away,
27:34they found the suspects, both suspects ages 17 and 19, uh, dead inside that car. Right now,
27:39the belief is self-inflicted gunshot wounds in that vehicle. So you're right, Nicole, three separate,
27:44um, locations, but we know if the chief is saying that the two suspects are 17 and 19,
27:51he, they obviously have more information. They have names at this point and they're going to start
27:55working backwards. Who do these teenagers talk to? Were they on social media? Do their families,
28:01did their families know anything? What was their behavior like? And they'll start working backwards
28:05from the point of this horrific act at the Islamic center in San Diego as to what drove them there.
28:12How were they able to obtain those weapons? Were they stolen? Were they purchased? Did someone give
28:17them, uh, give those weapons to those two teenagers? So a lot of work is happening behind the scenes
28:23right now. We know the FBI is there. We know ATF agents are on scene as well as working behind
28:27the
28:27scenes. Um, so there's a lot that goes into this and another briefing is going to happen in about
28:32two hours, right? So they'll have more, but as of right now, this is being considered a hate crime.
28:38Three innocent people were killed, taken their lives taken at the Islamic center of San Diego. This,
28:43this morning, um, all the children, again, the chief emphasize that all the students,
28:48all the children were safe. But again, the two teenagers at this point, we know investigators have
28:52their names. They'll be getting search warrants. They'll be going to their residence. They're going
28:55to talk to family, to friends. What did these, what did this 17 and 19 year old tell? Did they
29:01say
29:01anything? Um, what may have motivated, did they post anything? Absolutely. And are they in
29:06communication? I can tell you this, Nicole, um, the NYPD, as well as the LAPD, uh, they reached out,
29:11they're monitoring the situation. So you have police departments across the country who are watching
29:16what's unfolding in San Diego right now, LAPD, as well as the NYPD, they say they're monitoring this.
29:21There are no known threats to New York city or LA, but they're keeping watch as well as other
29:25police departments. The nation is watching what's unfolding in San Diego right now. Um, we are joined once
29:30again by my friend and colleague, Eamon Mahoudin. Eamon, what are you learning?
29:36Yeah, Nicole, as you can imagine right now, um, a big focus has been on the families who are trying
29:42to connect with, uh, their children and the relatives of the staff members. And as you can imagine,
29:49um, it's not particularly hard within the Muslim community right now, which is really shook up across
29:55the country to connect with, uh, relatives or people who know people in San Diego. And I was able
30:00to connect with, um, with a woman who is actually, uh, has a son at that school. And I've been
30:09speaking
30:09to her relatives and, uh, she's eight months pregnant. She is now, uh, at the scene there trying
30:16to connect with her son. The school has been able to notify parents and has been sharing some
30:23information with them that obviously, as we just heard there from the police, uh, officials and law
30:29enforcement officials that the children are okay, but not yet, uh, have been able to connect the parents
30:34to the students. And so a lot of parents who are arriving on the scene are still very anxious, uh,
30:40to
30:40want to hold and hug their children for the first time since this has happened. But as I understood it,
30:47it was just, and like any other morning school drop off, uh, school drop off happens at different,
30:53uh, phases. It's staggered like it is at any school. And it wasn't, uh, much longer after drop
30:59off that, uh, this, uh, woman that I was able to connect to her relatives told me that she got
31:06notification. She had first heard about it, uh, on the news and immediately contacted people at the
31:11school. The school was able to relay that, uh, children were safe. And in some cases even shared
31:17some video with the parents of children inside the school, uh, after certain protocols had been
31:24taken place to ensure that they were all, uh, safe and accounted for, and then began to immediately
31:30evacuate the students. And so, uh, as you can imagine, there is a lot of chaos, a lot of fear.
31:37Um,
31:37and no matter how much officials are obviously telling us right now that everyone is safe, you
31:42know, when you're a mother, when you're a parent, you want to hold your kids and you want to hug
31:46them
31:47to see that they are safe and sound. Uh, and so I was able to connect with this family who
31:51was describing
31:52for me just the kind of fear and horror that they have been going through over the last, uh, two
31:57hours
31:58since, uh, most of this began to unfold and they got to the school. So it's a very, it's a
32:03very difficult
32:03time. Um, and so hopefully, uh, as soon as she's able to hold her son, uh, we'll be able to
32:09speak
32:09to her, um, and, and hear her account of what has happened this morning, Nicole.
32:15Amen. Um, police also confirming, uh, your initial reporting from the Imam that, um, the security guard
32:23and two, um, other, um, staffers of the Islamic center lost their lives. Police confirming that they were
32:32out in front of the Islamic center deceased when law enforcement responded four minutes
32:38after first receiving the call at 11 43 AM of an active shooting. Um, did, um, did this mom say
32:46anything about how tight knit the community is with the staff at the center?
32:51It is a very tight knit community. Um, and it's not something that she particularly told me,
32:56but it's something that I've gleamed just from speaking to multiple people who know the school
33:00and know the community that goes to that school. Um, one of the things that was very telling when
33:05I spoke to the Imam earlier today is that this is a Islamic center and school that has deep roots
33:12in the community. Um, as I mentioned earlier, this was a school that was basically founded,
33:16uh, in the area, I believe in 1987. And when you're a school that has been in the community
33:21for decades like that, you're talking about multiple generations, uh, parents who have had their
33:27kids there may have at some point themselves been involved there, uh, teachers who have been there.
33:32And, and it's a pretty sizable school when you have 200, uh, kids, um, that attended and 20 plus
33:38staffers. And so it speaks volumes to the community. As I mentioned, I was able to connect with relatives
33:44of parents from that school who live in New York. And so I think, again, it speaks to the depth
33:50and breadth
33:51of the Muslim community of San Diego. And like many people, this,
33:55the news of a, of a school shooting like this, and particularly a religious one reverberates
34:01very quickly across the country. It's, you know, not many degrees of separation before, you know,
34:07somebody who knows somebody at the school. And that's how in large part, I was able to connect
34:12with the Imam, uh, very quickly. Um, and I think like most communities and schools, you know, parents
34:19know their principles, they know their educators, they know the, the parents and they know the teachers
34:24and the administrators at their kids schools. And it was no different here that when I was able
34:29to identify the amendment, speak to him, uh, and, and told him who I was, he was able to take
34:35my
34:35phone call and share that information. And I think in large part, because he knew that many people
34:40across this country right now would want to know what was happening and try to get as accurate
34:44information, um, as possible. And, you know, it was initially when he told me that there were three
34:52people from the school personnel who were killed, including the security guard and the two staffers.
34:57Um, it was very difficult to kind of process immediately how he knew that when he was evacuating
35:03the building, but because the staffers all were able to identify and see what the police later confirmed
35:09that the bodies were outside the school. And it seems that the school, as most schools nowadays,
35:14when kids are in session, have security protocols that, you know, close certain doors or prevent
35:20access from outside of the school into the school, except for certain entry points. And the security guard
35:26was where he was supposed to be. And as we heard from law enforcement, it seems that he tried to
35:31engage
35:32the suspect. I think the police said that it could have been much worse if the security guard
35:37who was killed, uh, was not where he was supposed to be. And, and perhaps the students, uh, were inside
35:45the school and the shooters were not necessarily able to get inside the school. And perhaps after engaging
35:49people on the outside, obviously we don't know that yet, but it seemed just from the way that the police
35:54were suggesting the security guard engaged with the, with the shooter and what the imam told me based on
35:59his eyewitnesses, uh, that the security guard did an incredible and heroic job. And so the families on one
36:06hand are breathing a sigh of relief that none of their children, uh, have been injured or killed,
36:11obviously. But at the same time, this community is really knowing that they just lost, uh, security
36:17guard and other staffers from, uh, from this Islamic center. And so it is a very still troubling moment.
36:24I'm, you know, I see the images, the helicopter images right now of, of parents outside and people
36:29outside trying to find out more information about, uh, about their loved ones and their kids. But
36:34I think it's still going to be a very, you know, troubling couple of days and hours, uh, for the
36:39parents in this community. Amen. Um, thank you so much for your reporting this afternoon on all of
36:46this. Um, I want to bring Michael Feinberg back. Um, Michael Feinberg, the police chief, um, uh,
36:55officer wall, um, chief Scott wall, um, said, we're going to investigate this as a hate crime until we
37:02aren't what, what, uh, I assume that means that the early theory of the case is that this is a
37:09hate
37:09crime and they'll follow the evidence until and unless something, um, suggests that wasn't the
37:16case. Is that what he's saying? Yeah. I don't know that I'd say it's necessarily a theory of the case
37:23in that it would be a singular one, but they would obviously given the target, a minority religious
37:31center that has often been, you know, demonized within American culture. You have to at least
37:39examine whether that demonization, whether prejudice and bigotry were the motivation for what happened
37:47today and how those three individuals tragically lost their lives. Um, it's also important to know
37:53that there is a pragmatic reason for investigating this as a hate crime, which is less germane
38:01once the assailants are dead, but if there are co-conspirators out there can come into play. And that's
38:07that once something is a hate crime, there are different federal penalties and local penalties or state
38:15penalties that might attach that could change charging and sentencing decisions in a way that
38:24while no shooting is run of the mill, obviously a run of the mill shooting without an ideological
38:30context would not offer. Michael Feinberg, thank you for spending the last 90 minutes, um,
38:38on the air with us, uh, covering these tragic events out of San Diego. We really appreciate you and your
38:43time.
38:46Um, we are going to take, I think just our second break since we've been on the air,
38:52um, gather any updates out of San Diego or, um, anywhere else and be right back with you. Stay with
38:58us.
39:05We are back covering the breaking news out of San Diego of a shooting in which, uh, three people
39:11lost their lives today. Um, it sounds from law enforcement, like their actions may have prevented
39:18today's shooting from being quote, much worse. The two suspects, two teenagers, according to law
39:24enforcement ages 17 and 19 are dead of apparent gun, self inflicted gunshot wounds. Um, a chaotic scene
39:32unfolding in San Diego today with, um, violence in three locations across a beautiful, beautiful
39:39California city by the sea. Uh, one at the Islamic center, one, um, quote, a couple blocks away,
39:47um, where a landscaper was shot at, but not injured. And a third, the location,
39:52another couple of blocks away where the two assailants were found deceased. Mark Santia.
39:58Right now we know police and federal agents are considering this a hate crime as they continue
40:03their investigation. They continue to build out exactly what happened leading up to this deadly
40:08attack. We know, as you said, the two suspects believe it'd be 17 and 19 years old. Their names
40:14have not been released at this point. One of the questions will be, how did these teenagers obtain
40:19these weapons? What kind of weapons do they have? Police have not said at this point,
40:23but they'll be looking at how those weapons were obtained. Um, they also said all the children
40:28inside the school were safe. We know that the three adults were killed. Three men were killed,
40:33including the security guard and two staffers at the Islamic center. And you said it,
40:37the chief was adamant to say that security guard engaged with the suspects as they approached.
40:42And he said the security guard quote, played a pivotal role from this being worse. It appears
40:48at this time, according to the chief, that the gunman did not make it into the Islamic center,
40:54but may have left. And then a couple blocks away, open fire on that landscaper who managed
40:59to escape without being physically harmed. And then a short distance from there,
41:03investigators found both teenagers dead in a vehicle. Um, of course, investigators
41:08want to know where that vehicle was from, who does that vehicle belong to? Where are those,
41:14those teenagers? They're 17 and 19. That's what police said. So obviously police have an identity
41:19on them as well. Um, they'll be working to talk to any friends, family. You said it social media posts,
41:25anything that may have sort of given a hint as to what caused or driven drove this as well as
41:32did they
41:32talk to anybody else? We know right now police are saying there's no further threat to the community.
41:37We also know police departments across the country are monitoring this and staying in touch just in
41:42case, Hey, they purchased this from here, or they may have talked to this person, go talk to that
41:47person, go knock on the door, and they'll send investigators out. So a lot of questions still that
41:52need to be answered. Nicole, Tom manger, um, Michael Feinberg made the point and Mark T is making the
41:58point. This is being investigated as a hate crime, which arms, uh, law enforcement with more tools.
42:03Just talk about what the investigation looks like at this early stage and what, what questions they're
42:07asking. Well, my guess is that, uh, law enforcement is already at the residences of, um, if these two
42:16kids were local, um, they are already at the residences. Um, they are getting search warrants if they haven't
42:22already to, uh, get, uh, information from their phones, from their computers. Um, and this will be,
42:29uh, uh, very, uh, important in terms of this investigation is a hate crime. If there is,
42:36that's where they're going to find the information, um, that might lead them to believe that this in
42:41fact was a hate crime. Uh, the, uh, uh, there are forensic folks, um, at the, uh, Islamic center,
42:50um, collecting evidence. Uh, this is also, um, obviously there's a homicide investigation,
42:57uh, for, uh, as well as a, uh, death investigation for the two suspects. Um, so this, the, there are,
43:05I'm sure, teams of, um, homicide detectives that are at each scene, uh, following up on, um, each
43:13particular case, uh, each, the deaths that occurred in the car, um, as well as the deaths that occurred at
43:19the Islamic center. So, um, they've, this is a, um, an investigation that will go through the night,
43:25um, to, to ensure that there are no other co-conspirators that they need to be going after,
43:32that there's no, nothing else that these two, uh, suspects, you know, had in the works, um, that needs
43:38to be dealt with. Uh, but I'm sure that, um, that law enforcement is, is already, um, at, at a
43:46number of
43:46locations, um, trying to collect as much evidence as they can to get to the bottom of what happened
43:52here. Tom Major, what questions would you have about that, that second shooting, um, about the
43:59landscaper being shot at, um, the police chief said that was, um, quote, a few blocks away.
44:06Um, so, uh, you, now you've got a, an individual, the landscaper who, um, was not hurt, thankfully.
44:14Um, the questions I would be asking, uh, the landscaper is, um, did the car slow down? Um,
44:21did you see an individual actually point a weapon at you? Um, was, how fast was the car going? Did
44:27it
44:27stop? Was it, was it moving? Um, did, did you see an arm out the window? Uh, you know, that,
44:33because what I'm trying to determine here is, was this intentional or was this just, um, around that,
44:39uh, that, uh, that, you know, that was meant to, to, uh, uh, be shot in, in the direction of
44:45this
44:45individual or, or not? I mean, these are the kinds of questions that we would want to ask.
44:50You also, um, uh, there, there are no doubt cameras, um, all over the Islamic center, both inside and out.
44:58Um, do you have, uh, uh, video of the vehicle? Do you have video of these two individuals so that
45:05you,
45:05uh, and it seems to me that they might, because the, the, uh, uh, the chief talked about the fact
45:11that the two suspects, uh, were deceased in this vehicle. Well, there had to be something,
45:16some evidence connecting them to the, uh, to what happened at the Islamic center. And I think the most
45:21likely would be the video evidence of you've got, you may have seen these individuals come up. You
45:28may have seen the exchange of gunfire, seen how they're dressed. Uh, you may have even seen the
45:33vehicle, and that way they, that's how they know that these are the two suspects. But, um, the, uh,
45:39uh, the landscaper, um, had, will be, uh, very, uh, crucial in terms of describing, um, what, uh, he or
45:48she
45:48saw, um, from the vehicle and to, to determine if that was an intentional, uh, shot for the, uh, directed
45:57at
45:57the landscaper, or was it just an errant round that, um, because these two individuals were
46:03were shooting at each other or who knows. Where does an investigation go when two teenage
46:10males are involved in simultaneous, um, acts of, um, of suicide, of, of, of self-inflicted gunshot ones?
46:20So you'll want to, um, uh, examine and they'll talk to, and who knows if, if these in, how these
46:28individuals are related? Are they friends? Um, are they, uh, is there some other relationship? Um,
46:34how long have they been, um, you know, friends, close friends enough that they would be, you know,
46:41could have been, uh, working on some kind of, um, plan to, to, to do this? How did they select
46:49the
46:49Islamic center? Um, you know, how did, what, what were their motivations to target that particular
46:54location? Um, the fact that, that if in fact they, uh, just took a random shot at a landscaper
47:01as they're driving away, um, what, what does that, uh, inform the investigation? Does that,
47:07does that mean they were just trying to, uh, that they were interested in just increasing their,
47:11their quote body count? Um, or was there some other reason that that individual was targeted? Um,
47:16hopefully they'll be able to, um, get some idea, um, of, of those, uh, those questions. And then we,
47:23you know, as was talked about earlier, how did these two get these guns in the first place? Um,
47:28you know, that if I learned anything being a cop for 46 years is that when you have a kid
47:34who's, um,
47:35you know, 15, 16, 17 years old, even 19 years old, um, they're, you know, their brains are not fully
47:42developed. Um, their impulse control is different than that of someone who is, you know, in their
47:48late twenties or thirties or forties. Um, and guns in those hands of, of someone that age, um, are,
47:55are, are dangerous in my view to begin with, but certainly, um, in a situation where these two, uh,
48:02individuals clearly had some plan. Did that plan, was it, was it, did they plan it for two days,
48:07two weeks, two months, two years? Um, hopefully they'll be able to get that evidence from their
48:11phones and computers to determine, and then talking to their family members as well, and their
48:16friends to get more information. And maybe there's some indication about how this came about, what
48:21their motives were and how long, just how long they've been planning this. Uh, I don't want to
48:26let you go, Tom, without asking you about, um, the, the men, the three men who, um, according to law
48:34enforcement, um, likely changed, um, the arc of today's tragedy and without their heroic acts,
48:42quote, the situation could have been much worse. Um, just, just talk about how these jobs now, um,
48:49require people to have, um, the courage and the training and the character and the humanity that
48:55these three heroes had today. Um, this is why, uh, you know, it's a, it, it's, it's a sad commentary,
49:04um, uh, you know, that schools, um, religious institutions are hiring these kinds of folks to
49:12begin with, uh, because they have to, um, there's been just too many cases of these random shootings,
49:18that that where religious institutions and, and, and education institutions are targeted.
49:24And, um, we, I guess we should all be thankful. We should be thankful that there are folks willing
49:30to take this job and take it seriously. And, uh, but I will tell you that, um, uh, I think
49:36any parent,
49:37um, would, would, would tell you that if their kid was in danger, they would do things that perhaps
49:44they would take risks. They would do things that maybe they wouldn't normally think they would
49:48do. Um, that instinct to protect children, um, I think, uh, is, uh, is, is real. And, um, clearly
49:57these three individuals, it, it appears to me, and again, the, the, the cameras that are outside,
50:03maybe there's video and we're, it'll tell a different story. It'll give us more details. But
50:09the fact of the matter is that, um, this, that kind of scene appears to me that these three men,
50:16uh, confronted the two shooters outside the school. And, um, and if, if we do confirm that
50:23these two shooters never got into the school, then I think it's clear that these three individuals,
50:29um, gave their lives in defense of those children.
50:33It's just an extraordinary, an extraordinary thing to hear you say, um, out loud. It's obviously
50:40what all of the information we've learned since we came on the air points to, um, and parents at,
50:46um, Jewish schools all over the country, parents at public schools, all over the country,
50:50parents at private school, parents at Catholic schools. And we've, we've covered way too many,
50:54um, tragedies like this, but today it, it appears that three adult males, um, engaged,
51:02um, two teenagers who, who, um, sounds like the investigation may bear out, sought to do more
51:08damage based on what law enforcement understands at this time and, um, change the arc of, of today's
51:14events. Uh, Tom manger and Mark Cynthia, thank you for being part of our live coverage.
51:18We're going to sneak in a break. We'll be right back.
51:27We are back with our breaking news coverage of the events out of San Diego. Mark Cynthia,
51:33you have some reporting on, um, something you and Tom have been talking about all afternoon,
51:38and that's, uh, the legal age to purchase a gun, right? Police say they know the suspects, uh,
51:43are 17 and 19 years old. Our investigative team has been digging. According to California
51:48state law, generally they say, generally it is illegal to sell loan or transfer any firearm to
51:54a person under 21 years of age. Uh, the state goes on to say of California goes on to say,
52:00although
52:00there are exceptions, generally all firearm purchasers must be at least 21 years of age to purchase
52:07any firearm. Police haven't said what kind of firearms the teenagers had, but that's definitely
52:12going to be a question they answer. How are these teenagers, 17 and 19 years old,
52:17able to get their hands on guns? Really important part of this investigation. Um,
52:22thank you again for all your reporting this afternoon. Um, I want to bring into our coverage,
52:27um, someone who's been with us all afternoon, Eamon Mohodin. Um, Eamon, let me, uh, play a little bit
52:32of what, um, Imam Taha Hassan said at the briefing this afternoon.
52:39I know it's time of sorrow, time of sadness. We have never experienced a tragedy like this before.
52:49And at this moment, all what I can say is sending our prayers and standing in solidarity
52:57with all the families in our community here. And also the other mosques and all the places of worship
53:09in our beautiful city should always be protected. It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.
53:22Our Islamic center is a place of worship. People come to the Islamic center to pray,
53:29to celebrate, to learn, not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life. Just this morning,
53:38earlier, a group of people, non-Muslims coming just to learn about our faith and our cultures.
53:48So this is something that we have never expected. And I would like also to thank all the people who
53:56contacted us from all over the country and even from overseas to give condolences and to ask about,
54:04is there anything they can do to help? And I would like also to thank our local authorities,
54:11our San Diego police department, the FBI, the San Diego police department, FBI, and all the sheriff
54:18department, our mayor, for showing up and standing in solidarity with us.
54:25That is Imam Taha Hassan of the Islamic Center of San Diego. Eamon, you were speaking to him almost in
54:35real time of this tragedy. Those were his public comments at the briefing for press. Your thoughts?
54:45You know, Nicole, it's one of those situations that when you're covering it, you realize the moment
54:51that you find yourself in and how severe it is, right? I think these moments of mass shootings at a
54:58school involving children and a religious minority, they always cut across so many layers in our
55:04society. And I think it's very, very troubling when you are covering it and you are a part of it,
55:10as anyone is in this country at this moment, as a parent, as a Muslim American. And it's very
55:16difficult. And you can hear that in his voice immediately, that no matter how much as a spiritual
55:22leader or as an educator, you want to be there for the community, as you heard in that soundbite,
55:28you can't help but also hear the fear in his voice. And it's a fear that, honestly, many Muslim
55:36Americans have been hearing louder and louder and feeling more and more in recent months. And,
55:42you know, we heard that it's still too early, obviously, to assign a motive. And that's very
55:46important to wait and see how this investigation plays out. But at the same time, we heard from law
55:51enforcement that this is being investigated as a hate crime. And it's hard to separate this type
55:57of incident from the increased rhetoric that we hear in this country against Muslims and the
56:03Islamophobia that continues to grow and goes unchecked. You know, we hear from officials all
56:08the time. And we've heard from officials and members of Congress who have called Muslims out and
56:15said Muslims don't belong in American society or warned of Muslims being a threat to
56:20American culture and that it's not a religion and that it's a cult. We've heard, you know,
56:26prominent media personalities in this country who've gone after elected officials. Here in New York,
56:31we've heard Mayor Mamdani, a Muslim official called the cockroach. And I think that kind of rhetoric
56:37ricochets and reverberates across the Muslim community as it does in any community that cares
56:43about elected officials and religious minorities. But when you hear that type of rhetoric and when you
56:47hear that type of language coming from elected officials in this country, officials whose
56:51responsibilities try to bring the country together and not to divide us, you worry. You worry about
56:57how those words are going to be interpreted. You worry about how those words and that rhetoric and
57:03that language is going to be perceived by people out in the broader society as to whether or not
57:10it's a call to action or violence. And we just don't want to live in a society that that happens.
57:17And we
57:17see it across all walks of life, sadly. But that's what I think a lot of Muslims are worried about
57:23today.
57:23And again, you know, it's very early on in the investigation. But as we heard from law enforcement
57:28officials, this will be treated as a hate crime until it's not. And you heard that from the imam there
57:34who
57:35was talking about how no community, no place of worship, no school, no place where children
57:42get together every day to learn should be subject to this kind of violence or this type of rhetoric
57:48about it. And I think that's that's what I take away from today. The tragedy, the heroism of the three
57:54police officers and the law enforcement, but also the need to kind of take a step back and gut check
57:59the language that we're hearing from a lot of people in this country towards Muslim at this moment.
58:05Amy Mahoudin, we are very fortunate that you co-helmed these two hours with us. Thank you so much for
58:13your reporting and your insights and your thoughts today. Really grateful to you. My colleague Ari Melber
58:17picks up our breaking news coverage after a short break. Please stay with us.
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