The shooter was born in new york in 1986. His parents are from afghanis n afghanistan. He rented a car, drove here and po opened fire on the pulse night club. 50 people killed, more than 50 wounded. More than 300 people were in the night club when he opened fire. And this is being regarded as an act of terror. This is sad, its disgusting, an act of terror. You just cant imagine it happening in our country. I can tell you, were going to work hard. Our justice is swift here, and we have severe penalties. Ive asked for a moment of silence at 6 00 p. M. Tonight, nationwide. As soon as i think about this, i think about having daughters and grand kids, and you never want a call about somebody being a victim of this. And the exwife of the gunman, theyre saying the gunman didnt have any clears ties to religion. But they did say he had an antigay sentiment. We also know investigators have been speaking to the exwife, that said he had a temper and anger management issues. Investigators are piecing together the motives, we will wait and see what the answers are to that, as investigators look at his electronics and continue to interview those close to the gunman. Were also learning the games of the victims. Edward sotomayor jr. Stanley almodova, luis ocasiocapo, and others. And brian todd is with us. What tack is the fbi taking, with the isis connection claimed by the gunman . Heres what we can tell you. Hes 29yearold omar mateen, he was born in new york, according to the fbi, they first became aware of him in 2013, when he made inflammatory comments to coworks, alleging possible terrorist ties. And then in 2014, he was connected to abusalha, he allegededly trained in syria, with an attack in may of 2013. And theyre saying he did that on behalf of an Al Qaidaaffiliated group, not isis. And omar mateen pledged allegiance to isis and mentioned the Boston Marathon bombings. And a u. S. Official telling cnn investigators that they had talk to his family, and had expressed antigay sentiments in past years. And we spoke with a lady that went to high school with mateen, an alternative school in stewart, florida. This woman said he was on the graduation list for the class of 2004, and said he was not someone that stood out to her as someone that would do that. Back to wolf blitzer in washington. Wolf . The fbi right now in charge of the investigation, theyre looking at the gunmans background, family, possible connections to terror groups overseas. Right now, what are officials learning about this man, were there any indications he was inclined to this level of mass murder . Wolf, we talked to his neighbors, and theyll say, no, this was not the case. We know who was responsible for this, but not why. And the answer may be in a condo just down the street from here in ft. Pierce, florida. And investigators are waiting for the proper paperwork to make their way in possibly. We know before, Law Enforcement takes a look inside a home as a safety check, and then come back with a warrant inhand. I can tell you, everybody is in waiting mode. They have a large command center, just past where the media is staged. And flood lights, perhaps an indication that they expect to be here, trying to answer how he could have been capable of such an attack. What kind of house did he li live in . We havent run into any of the neighbors that live in the apartment complex, really a town home setting. We havent seen a lot of movement in the actual complex itself. Were trying to figure out if it was partially or totally evacuated. And you walk a few steps, youre in a relatively normal neighborhood, three or fourbedroom, family homes. And people ive spoken do, they dont recognize the man. All of them still asking how he could have been capable of such an attack. Wolf . Thanks very much. Lets discuss the latest developments with our panel, peter bergen, and paul cruikshank. This picture of someone clearly on the fbis radar. Yes, and its typical in these cases that the fbi, somebody like this has come to their attention. We saw this in ft. Hood, the Boston Marathon case, the older brother was interviewed by the fbi, but we also live in a rule of law country, you cant keep investigations open on people indefinitely, so theyre closed if there isnt derogatory information that would lead to a case staying open. And this was at a gay club, serving the Lgbt Community, it was packed, 300 to 400 people there. It was by no means a coincidence that he went after a gay club, clearly its hatred of gays based on what were hearing. Absolutely right. And he may have calculated this may play well to isis base, who are homophobic, this may inspire attacks in the west. And doing everything he possibly can to allow isis to take ownership of the attack, making the 911 call pledging allegiance to isis. Hold on one moment. Represents from the consul on American Islamic relations are speaking now. I want to listen in. My name is ibrahim hooper, obviously, were here on a very sad day, to offer the Muslim Communitys heartfelt condolences and condemnation of this horrific crime in orlando. Well hear from a number of national and local muslim leaders, beginning with nehad awad, National Executive director of the council on American Islamic relations. Thank you. Good afternoon. I woke up this morning to the shocking news. I could not believe what i saw on the screen, the shooting in the night club in orlando. And i started, of course, to worry about what kind of crime, as we went through the day, the number of the victims has increased. And unfortunately, as you all know, more than 50 people have been murdered in cold blood. As a muslim, as an american, i would like to make this statement. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with the victims and their families. We offer condolences to the families, and pray for the recovery of the survivors. This is a hate crime. Plain and simple. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms. It violates our principles as americans and muslims. Let me be clear, we have no tolerance for extremism of any kind. Religious freedom is the cornerstone of our beliefs as muslims and americans. Today, we must stand united. For many years, members of the Lgbt Community have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Muslim Community against the acts of hate crimes. Today, we stand with them, shoulder to shoulder. The liberation of the american Muslim Community is profoundly linked to the liberation of other minority groups that have faced hate. And homophobia and islamophobia take lives every day, and we must stand up for the victims and their families. The criminals, terrorists, and extremists behind this kind of attacks mean only to divide us, and turn us against one another. We can not afford to let them succeed. Now is the time to speak out and make it clear, we will not give into hate, and we will not give into fear. We heard in the news that the alleged perpetrator called in and pledged allegiance for daesh or isis. I have a word for members of isis, how will you stand before god and answer for the crimes of the deaths of thousands of people . You do not speak for us or represent us. You are an aberration, an outlaw, or as we call ee eed it in islam they are not of our faith. They claim to, but the 1. 7 billion people are united in standing against them. And to those politicians that may try to exploit this tragedy, we ask them not to. This is not the time to exploit fear. This is the time for unity, and faith. Thank you. Next well hear from raswan jaqa. Hes the chairman of the board of the alldulles area mosques. Thank you. I want to read a statement from the Islamic Society of north america. Isna offers its condolences to the victims of the shooting in orlando. We stand with the victims, and mourn with their families, and pray for their ease and comfort during this time of difficulty. We are outraged by this shooting. Our president said today, isna sends its condolences and prayers and asks our members to donate with the immediate shortterm needs of the families and urge our members to donate blood today to help the members of this shooting. This concludes the Islamic Society of north americas statement. Now, from the second largest mosque in the nation very strong statements coming in, condemning what they call this horrific crime in orlando. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families of this hate crime, according to awad, the National Executive director. Awful, awful situation unfolding. We also heard very strong words of support for the families from these islamic leaders in the United States, condemning isis, bitterly condemning isis. Peter bergen, very strong words. And i think this is very important they said this, but it kind of counters you often hear that the muslimamerican community doesnt condemn terrorists. Thats wrong, these groups are often getting out there, this is not the first time this group or others like it have made very strong statements. We heard from one of the leaders of one of the largest mosques in the United States, and the leader of that mosque has signed on open letter condemning isis. So, also, theyre trying to get ahead of what will come tomorrow, donald trump will make a speech tomorrow and address this. Theyre trying to get ahead of it. 50 dead, 53 injured, the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States. Stand by. Our coverage continues right after this. man oh, looks like we missed most of the show. woman and theres no way to restart it. jon bon jovi with directv there is. You see, weve got the power to turn back time so lets restart the show that started at nine and while were at it, lets give you back your do and give her back the guy she liked before you hey, thats the power to turn back time. vo get the ultimate allincluded bundle. Call 1800directv. Think fixing your windshield is a big hassle . Not with safelite. This family needed their windshield replaced, but theyre daughters heart was set on going to the zoo. So we said if you need safelite to come to the zoo well come to the zoo only safelite can fix your windshield anywhere in the us. With our exclusive mobileglassshops. And our one of a kind trueseal technology, for a reliable bond. Service that fits your schedule. Thats another safelite advantage. Safelite repair, safelite replace. Man, its like pure power at your finger tips. Like the power to earn allstate reward points, every time i drive. Want my number . And cash back for driving safe. And the power to automatically find your car. 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The fbi is treating this like a case of terrorism, and theyre trying to piece together a motive, and figure out why this man rented a car, drove an hour and 45 minutes away, opening fire inside the pulse night club, on laytt latin night. And the people of orlando, responding with grace and donations. Hundreds lined up to donate blood across the city. And i spoke last hour with the Regional Communications manager for the American Red Cross in orlando, and asked what her organization is doing right now to help. Right now, were supporting the community. Were very closely working with our community partners, and the city itself, is Emergency Management to find out what they need. Weve just provided canteen services, food and water into the area where theyre investigating the crime. And working very closely with them to determine what other needs we can help with. The orlando communitys outpouring of concern and support for the victims is truly uplifting. Nick valencia joins me from the Orlando Medical Center where many victims are being treated. Were right outside the hospital, and were joined by i gio, tell me whats going on. I just got the text, i found out my cousin was there through a Facebook Post he posted around 11, 12 00 p. M. Tell us what his name, who he is . Hes Daniel Wilson leon, when i heard he was at the club, i came here to support, see what i can do to help, just any information i can get. Weve been here since 10 00 a. M. , and havent gotten any yet. And you havent been given very much information, have you . No, they released a list of people that are at the hospital, and hes not on any of the lists. A take us through, help us understand what youre going through. You dont know whether youre in the period of grieving, whether or not you should be hopeful. What are you feeling . Its weird. Not only my cousin, but a friend of mine, a coworker that i dance with. Hes missing. Its a weird feeling of, i dont want to grieve too hard, i want to hope hes okay. You just dont know. Its a matter of just hoping and praying, and seeing what happens. People across the country are focused on what happened here. Just the sheer senseless nature of it, the high number of casualties. But this is your home, orlando is your home. And when it happens in your hometown, it hurts all the much more. Its surreal. Whats crazy, last night, you know, you know, we knew people that were going, and didnt think nothing of it. This morning, when i find that news, it hit my heart, oh, my god, who went, who escaped . A call frenzy, texts, trying to find out if all my friends were okay. It sucks to wake up to that. And youre probably still going through those emotions right now. Whats next . Just stand by, wait . Yeah, just waiting to see what the new updates of victims, casualties, they released a list of people that are critical, people on guard, people that are stable. So, my cousin is in none of those lists, but hes not on the casualty list. Tell us his name one more time, just the chance that hes watching, or somebody knows him. Tell us again. Daniel wilson leon, hes tall, bald, i love him a lot. Weve done a lot of things together. It will suck to hear bad news, but hopefully hes okay. Holding that hope for you. Good luck to you and your whole family. His family is here, talking to the media as well. Reporters trying to find out what the family and friends of those who are missing, find out what they know. Police have been trickling information out here, the high number of deaths, the worst shooting in modern u. S. History. Pamela . At the same time, were seeing an outpouring from the community, people donatining bld and doing whatever they can. And were learning the names of the victims of this horrific tragedy. Theyve been identified as edward sotomayor, stanley almodovar, and two new names, i eric ortizrivera and weve learned that more than 300 people were inside when the gunman walked in. More after this quick break, stay with us. Itow you stay connected. Rk. With centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you get an industry leading Broadband Network and cloud and hosting services. Centurylink. Your link to whats next. Dont let dust and allergies get and lifes beautiful moments. With flonase allergy relief, they wont. Most allergy pills only control one inflammatory substance. Flonase controls six. And six is greater than one. Flonase changes everything. Defianour citracal bones. Easily absorbed calcium plus vitamin d. Defy bone aging with citracal maximum. Our highest level of calcium plus d. Abdbloating . In . You may have ibs. Ask your doctor if nonprescription ibgard is right for you. Ibgard calms the angry gut. Available at cvs, walgreens and rite aid. Were following the horrifying events unfolding in orlando, where 50 are dead, 53 injured after a gunman opened fire inside a gay night club. Not only the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States, also the deadlyiiest terrorist attack since 9 11. And the man who killed them, omar mateen, appears to have been at least inspired by isis. We spoke about the gunmans alleged terror ties last hour. I want to let everybody know, we have great Law Enforcement in the state, we will find you, hunt you down if you try to do anything. Right now, investigators are trying to find out whether this attack was tied to isis, or simply inspired by isis. Want to bring in florida senator marco rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence committee. Are you satisfied with the level of coordination between local, state, and federal authorities . This is, the fbi is leading the investigation, theyre going to do a good job. But i would say, directed is inspired, with isis. They want to say, well inspire you, and encourage these attacks. They lay it out online, find a sporting event, find a park, drive your car through a crowd, or build a bomb, and they have instructions online how to do that. This is the new face of terror in many ways, and probably the one that will grow the fastest. And also an act of hate, because this was a gay club. Clearly, that was part of the motivation. What can you tell us about that . I dont have any doubt about that. Law enforcement has not given any Additional Information, but theres no doubt, the fact that this was a club that was frequented by the Lgbt Community made it a bigger target for the gunman. Theres no doubt in my mind, the community was targeted as part of this overall plot to kill americans, and if they happened to be gay or lesbian, it added to that in the sick mind of the person that carried this out. And the killer at ft. Hood, texas, radicalized by the social media. How do you prevent this kind of affiliation from developing . What do you do about it . Well, its a multifaceted effort. We need to continue to work closely with islamic americans, and defeat isis and take away territo territory. They need safe operating spaces to conduct operations, even if theyre online. We need to target their capabilities to put this stuff online. None of it is easy, but it has to be part of it, even as we take away territory. Is isis gaining strength now, or is it being reduced . On the battlefield in syria and iraq, theyre losing territory. But theyve expanded their operations in other ways. As we saw today, reaching out beyond physical territory, reaching out online, radicalizing them, and turning it into action. Its a growing threat, but this could be al qaeda, there are multiple Islamic Radical groups around the world that would not mind seeing what happened today. And as sick as it sounds, copycats are a real concern, isnt it . Well, it may speed up timelines, give them impetus to move quickly or more spectacular spectacularly. And isis may say, this is one more example of what were doing dpe against the west. And sure, someone watching this may decide, im going to do the same thing tomorrow morning. But this is a real, growing, and ongoing threat. The homegrown violent extremists, the hardest to identify and prevent. One final question, before i let you go. I know youre busy. This is the holy month of ram d ramadan and isis is posting that if you do these during ramadan, youll be richly rewarded. Do you recommend authorities go on a heightened state of alert . Theyre calling for these attacks all around the year. So i think vigilance needs to be continuous. But in the case of the homegrown extremists, thats a very difficult thing to be vigilant against. You go out, any community in america, any day of the week, there are soft targets. Its part of the new face of the war on terror, and sadly, the war on terror visited orlando this morning. Thank you, senator marco rubio, for joining us. Thank you. And our special coverage will continue after this short break. No, its. No. This about a boy . Dad stop, please. Oh, theres tracy. What [ horn honking ] [ forward collision warning ] [ car braking ] bye dad it brakes when you dont. Forward collision warning and autonomous emergency braking. Available on the redesigned passat. From volkswagen. In new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. All across the state, the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, and the lowest taxes in decades, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. Like in buffalo, where the largest solar gigafactory in the western hemisphere will soon energize the world. And in syracuse, where imagination is in production. Let us help grow your companys tomorrow today at business. Ny. Gov innovative sonicare technology with up to 27 more brush movements versus oral b. Get healthier gums in 2 weeks guaranteed. Innovation and you. Philips sonicare. Save when you buy the most loved rechargeable toothbrush brand in america. The president says in no uncertain terms, what happened in orlando is an act of terror. Ordering flags at halfstaff, and regular updates. He addressed the nation earlier this afternoon. Today marks the most deadly shooting in american history. The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun, and a powerful assault rifle. This massacre is therefore a further reminder we have to decide if thats the kind of country we want to be. To do nothing is a decision as well. Very strong words from the president. Lets get an update from los angeles, a suspect told investigators he wanted to harm the l. A. Pride parade. At which point we recovered additional hifirearms, high capacity magazines, and we called out the l. A. County bomb squad, and as you can see, the fbi has responded, and we are investigating the scene. He said he was going to go to the pride festival, we dont have any Additional Information related to what his intentions were. The incident is still under information, and the evidence along with the individual, the suspect, will be staying at the Police Department at this time. Yes, one question, go ahead. [ inaudible ] sure. Just briefly, the question is, when did we contact our neighboring agencies for assistance . We contacted the l. A. Police department when the chemicals were discovered, requiring us to cordon off to area, and we contacted the l. A. Sheriffs department, and the fbi for the investigation. That was simply because it was in santa monica, and no need to contact the l. A. P. D. At that time. I dont know what he was doing, and as soon as more information becomes available, well let you know. It is an ongoing investigation. That will be all and i appreciate your [ inaudible ] we have no information at all that makes us believe this is connected to the orlando at all, thats the investigation thats still going on right now, as to his intentions. He was here simply, and made a statement, that he was here to go to the pride festival. Beyond him indicating what he was going to do, we have no information on that. The information is, the vehicle is from indiana and the suspect is as well. That will be it for now. Thank you very much. Lieutenant Saul Rodriguez updating us on the disturbing event out in los angeles. Kim long is joining us. We do know there was an arsenal of weapons this individual had. Reporter lets go over the arsenal because that is very telling about what is going on here. We heard the police there say several firearms, three assault rifles, magazines, ammo, a fivegallon bucket with chemicals. We have since removed a life vest that looked like a security badge on it as well. So theres quite an arsenal inside this vehicle. And we cant people who are also here in los angeles lining the street of santa monica boulevard, thousands of people are here for the gay pride festival on the streets of los angeles. This parade did still go on. But certainly was ringing in a lot of the ears here is what would have happened had this man not been caught. So, you know, just hours, mere hours after the orlando shooting unfolded, in los angeles a man was stopped with this entire arsenal with an intent to head over to the pride parade, wolf. Have they identified this suspect as james howell, 20 of indiana . He came from indiana, theres absolutely no known connection to what happened in orlando, is that right . Reporter youre absolutely right about that. But it is very curious, what would a man, this james powell of indiana, driving a vehicle with indiana plates, when did he get here . What was his motivation . Did he drive that vehicle, which it appears he did, from indiana all the way here to los angeles. Why would he do that carrying all these weapons, including that bucket of chemicals that could have made a bomb . So the motivation behind that is not related to this orlando incident. The fact that this appears to be connected to a gay pride event certainly this has a lot of people here in los angeles very concerned. Yeah, not of an abundance of caution here in d. C. Mayor muriel also had tightened the security here. Much more coming up after this. [phone rings] [man] hello,totten designs. Sales department . Yes. I can put you right through. Sales departmentthis is nate. Human resources. Technical support. Hold, please. [announcer]you work hard to grow your business. [man] yes. I can totally do that for you. [announcer] working together, we can help your business thrive. Wells fargo. Together well go far. Be the you who doesnt cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. 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Pulse and the men and women who work there have been my family for nearly 15 years. From the beginning pulse has served as a place of love and acceptance for the lgbtq community. I want to express my profound sadness and condolences to all who have lost loved ones. Please know that my grief and heart are with you. That statement from barbara poma, the owner of the pulse nightclub in orlando. David gergen is joining us from boston. We have also just received word from the white house the president is canceling his visit to green bay, wisconsin, on wednesday. That was supposed to be his First Joint Campaign event with hillary clinton. But he feels this is not a time for him to go out there. This is a very, very sensitive moment for any president right now. It is, indeed, wolf. A horror like this introduced in the white house a tone of grave seriousness. People put down their petty issues and they really have to step up their game. Because as you know, the first duty of government is to protect its citizens. Thats the most important. So in the white house, the first thing you do is you essentially go to general quarters and say, are we doing everything we can to deal with this situation . And are we doing everything we can to calm the nation to make sure we have a resilient people, so that terrorists like this cant destroy our morale . Then finally you ask the question, what do we need to do in the future that will take more time to figure out, but you never want one of these to happen again. And you have to then look commissions, the 9 11 commission after 9 11 served a lot of useful purposes, many, many good recommendations came out. Who is going to look at orlando and say, what can we learn from this . So that this never, ever happens again. And as you know, the attorney general of the United States, loretta lynch, the secretary of homeland security, jeh johnson, they have canceled visits to china. There are supposed to be bilateral security discussions between the United States and china. They are staying here in washington right now. Its sort of everyone is at full strength right now to deal with this. The great fear is that there could be copy cats. This could just be the start, we hope not, of more. Absolutely. And i think they were wise to cancel this trip just as the president and mrs. Clinton were wise to cancel their political campaigning together. This is a moment when you arent quite sure, when assassinations take place, when these kind of tragedies take place with a lone gunman, is he the only person involved . Is he really a lone wolf . Are there others . If we dont know the answers in the white house to begin with, frequently the information that comes in for the first 24 hours, a lot of the information is wrong about a tragedy. And you have to sift through the evidence and think seriously about the question, one other question im sure they are asking themselves is, the fbi we interviewed this guy three times for possible links to terrorism. He was in there database. When he went to buy a couple guns, why didnt one database on gun purchases talk to another database, the one about terrorists . And the fact that the databases are not linked up and connected. That leaves up vulnerable in a moment like this. So people in the white house need to sort of steering the political system, if you would, toward a set of reforms that actually buttons this up and improves our security for the long term. For nine years he work in the Security Firm that had federal contracts and presumably that made it easier for him to go out a couple weeks ago and purchase the weapons that result in the worst shooting massacre in american history. David, standby, well get back to you. Our coverage continues right now with the community in orlando remembering what happened overnight. And we know that the stakes are very high in our country right now. The kind of violence and rhetoric that weve had that has degraded in our country is the very soil where this happens. Violence against muse lilims or violence against jews or violence against the Transgender Community or violence for people just dancing for gay pride. It is time for us to stand with each other as we are
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