Transcripts For CNNW Wolf 20150504

The police about the attack and the investigation. Both of them had assault rifles came around the back of the car and started shooting at the police car. The Police Officer in that car began returning fire and struck both men taking them down. Obviously they were there to shoot people. We will continue to investigate. This is not going to be a real fast investigation. Weve got our suspects we continue to monitor social media, and other gather other intel to make sure that were not getting any more or any threats. So we dont know their intent other than we know that they were willing to pull up and start shooting on police. We think their strategy was to get to the event center into the event center and they were not able to get past that outer perimeter that we have set up which was part of that security. Our ed lavandera following the events in garland texas outside dallas and rose sa flores watching whats going on. Did the police say whether there was a specific threat made against the event . They didnt mention havent mentioned anything about a specific threat and we asked about one of the suspects whos been named, a man by the name of Elton Simpson, a nimame or picture put on the radar. Authorities in garland saying not that they were aware of but say the security plan had been put into place several months ago and that the event organizers were had to pay an extra 10,000 to beef up security teams which also included a s. W. A. T. Team in the back of the building. Look at the scene beyond the cars less than 100 yards away is that perimeter where the car, the two suspects were pulled out, it was two officers in a car monitoring who was coming and going from the civic center that first confronted these two gunmen and that is where the shooting took place. So they didnt even make it into the parking lot of the civic center. As you heard the officers here in garland describe that was part of the security plan put into place. Several months ago as this event was being planned and prepared for here in the city of garland. Rosa what do we know about the two gunmen . Wolf authorities releasing the name of one gunman Elton Simpson, is his name. Were learning more about him, about his background not only from authorities but social media. Weve learned that he is a known isis sympathizer and thats because he has links to known isis members on social media. Now the fbi had kept tabs on this man and monitoring him and we know from Court Documents that he was arrested indicted and found guilty of false statements to agents and this was for international and domestic terrorism. I want to start off, wolf specifically with a tweet that he sent out two hours before this attack. Now, take a look at this. Im going to read it in part. May ayla accept us as mujahedeen. Heres what stands out, wolf. Shortly after that this known isis member retweeted that tweet and then also sent out another tweet, i want to read that to you very telling and chilling. This is, quote, the brothers in texas may have had no experience in shooting but they were quick to defend the honor of the prophet mohammed. And he sent out a slew of other tweets were not going to share all of those with you, wolf, but theyre along the same lines praising what was done and also with the attacktexas. Or texasattacks. The other thing, the fbi had already been monitoring them. We know that fbi went out to his apartment in phoenix, scoured that apartment, gathered evidence as theyre trying to gather more clues. Heres what we do know from Court Documents. This is from an indictment out of arizona. I want to read you an excerpt from this. It says the defendant falsely stated to special agents of the fbi that he had not discussed traveling to somalia when, in fact the defendant had discussed with others on or about may 29 2009 and traveling to somalia for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad. Again, all of these tidbits that our producers have been gathering, wolf telling us a little bit about his background and a little bit of what happened just before that attack. Were just learning from some of his friends at that mosque in phoenix where he attended that mosque he went by the name of ebrahim and was a convert to islam. Dont go far away. The event in texas brought two controversial figures together. First Pamela Geller the president of an Organization Called the American Freedom Defense Initiative and affiliate called stop the islam mization of america, they led a charged protest against the building of a mosque near the site of the world trade center. The keynote speaker at last nights event outside of dallas was controversial, dutch politician girtheerts wilders and called for a ban on the koran, on an al qaeda hit list by the way. Talk more whats going on the attack and gunmen who have been i dent fighted and tweeted about the attack. Joining us is paul crook shank, in washington tom fuentes former fbi assistant director. Paul this is the latest shooting related to cartoons defecting the prophet mohammed. Right . Well wolf thats absolutely right. We obviously had those terrible scenes in paris, in january, when two gunmen who trained with al qaeda in yemen carried out that attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and the next month in february we had another gunman this time in copenhagen launching an attack on an event at which the swedish cartoonist lars vilks was attending. In the danish attack the gunmen pledged loyal toy Abu Al Baghdadi before launching the attack and appears the same thing happened this time around with the gunmen simpson declaring allegiance to the commander of the faithful in other words Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi the leader of isis and before the attack asking his twitter followers to follow a british isis fighter in syria who subsequently put out a lot of propaganda tweets about the attacks. This appears to be an isis inspired attack in the United States the second isis inspired attack weve seen in america off the hatched attack against the nypd in new york in october. The fbi knew of this guy, had been monitoring him, out on probation, so was there some sort of failure here something missing . No wolf. Hes one of thousands of people hes been through the system got three years probation in 2011 to 14 for his statements his sympathies with isis that type of thing and the fbi cant follow that theres hundreds of thousands of these guys. As the director of the fbi said investigations in all 50 states and theres not enough resources to do that. An hour or so before the attack as we heard, rosa flores reported he tweets may al la accept us. If they could have dispatched more people down there, fine. Credit the Garland Police department for the tremendous security plan they put too place and one thing thats different from the attacks that Paul Cruickshank talked about, jihadists with weapons going against Police Officers with handguns Police Officers were killed in paris when that happened killed in copenhagen when that happened you have an attack similar circumstance once officer with a handgun takes on two guys with automatic weapons and defeats them. Its outstanding credit to the department their plan and the training of their officers to be able to have that happen. I acume counterterrorism analysts in the United States and around the world are going to be looking for more information about these two gunmen right . They are. A lot is known about simpson because between 2006 and 2010 the fbi launched a full year investigation into him which resulted in him being convicted for lying to the fbi and during the course of that investigation, he talked on tape to an informant about wanting to go and fight in somalia with the terrorist group al shabaab. Someone well known to authorities. The big question will be when what do they know about him in the years after he got out of jail and who is the other accomplice accomplice . We know nothing about him publicly. The fbi is the lead Investigative Agency right now. What will they be looking for . Because it is terrorism makes them the lead. What they will look for is any connections these two have specifically to others that might carry on a similar attack right now, later, tomorrow and thats the key to this thing. So they will be in addition to the forensic investigation, in the parking lot as you see right now, they will be subpoenaing the records, the Internet Service provider record of emails they sent scouring social media as is going on right now, telephones who theyve called where theyve been who they talked to. Their apartment is in phoenix and they traveled a thousand miles to garrland texas, to carry out this attack. Are there others involved another attack possible soon . Well learn the identity of the second gunman soon. They probably already have that. Its his roommate. Guys thanks very much. Well have much more on the texas cartoon contest shootings ahead including a look at the narrow line between free and hate speech here in the United States. Also ahead a very different story, bill clinton the former president , strongly defending the Clinton Foundation and his highly paid speeches in a Testy Exchange saying he has to pay the bills. Stay with us. Theres only one egg that just tastes better. With more vitamins. And 25 less saturated fat. Only egglands best. Better taste. Better nutrition. Better eggs. Lets get back to the breaking news and our top story the investigation into a shooting in texas were joined now by the mayor of garland, texas, where the shooting took place. Mayor doug glass athis is joining us on the phone. What can you tell us first of all about these two gunmen . We really dont have very much information right now from the garland perspective. Obviously were not conducting that part of the investigation. Im sure that youve had reports from the fbi and others and i cant add to what youre already hearing. Are you ready, mayor, to call this a terror attack . No. We dont have that indication right now. I certainly wouldnt do that prematurely. Again, the last time i checked the suspects hadnt even been moved so they havent been fingerprinted or anything else. We dont have that information. It would be too early to make those speculations. One of the suspects Elton Simpson has been identified a convert to islam from phoenix. Do you know the name of the second gunman . No. Like i said were not actually looking at that part of the investigation. Were following it. Thats more or less in the fbis arena right now. Take us behind the scenes mayor, the decision to allow this event, showing cartoons of the prophet mohammed to take place in garland. Was that controversial, simply Going Forward because you know the history of these kinds of events. Well i certainly weve heard about different events around the world similar to this and theres been dramatic events around that. This one was a minor event. It wasnt many people scheduled to be there. I think if the media had not done such a job of advertising it very few people would have known about it. We took the precautions of trying to make sure we protected our citizens and participants and set up a perimeter around the event and tease two gunmen didnt even break the perimeter. Was there any controversy surrounding giving a license for this organization to host an event of this nature . We didnt give them a license. They rented out space in the Convention Center. Its the School Districts Convention Center not the citys, not something the district regulates. They will be looking at their policies and perhaps changing that. We as a Community Support peoples right to assemble freedom of speech and if it comes to that freedom of religion. We had no prior information of any prior threats so we did not know that this was coming but we were well prepared whatever should happen. Obviously you had very good security at the perimeter. These two gunmen couldnt get through there and they wound up losing their own lives. I guess the bottom line question if an event like this was organized in garland, texas work you allow it to take place . We would have to look at that. Too early to start speculating on those things. This is something that actually had absolutely nothing to do with garland it was organized by a group not from garland, had little garland or texas participation. It just its not a part of our community. It was something that was brought to our community and happened here. Douglas athas is the mayor. Thank you very much for joining us. That Police Officer who shot and killed these two gunmen obviously you consider a lot of people in your community consider him a hero right . He was doing his job and we all of our Police Officers are heros and he stepped forward and proved why they are. Certainly did. All right. Thanks very much mayor douglas ath as of garland, texas. The discussion of the blurred line in the United States between hate speech and free speech. Even the white house is weighing in. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is standing by. Own . Try new aveeno® sheer hydration. Its active naturals® oat formula. Goes on feather light absorbs in seconds. Keeps skin healthy looking. And soft. Aveeno®. Naturally beautiful results. [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]our new Online Business planning tools will help your business thrive. Wells fargo. Together well go far. You total your brand new car. Nobodys hurt,but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had a Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. 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You have principle you have heard from me before. No act of expression even if owe offensive that justifies an act of violence. Around the world and in line with the president there is no form of expression that justifies an act of violence. That from josh earnest the White House Press secretary. Pamela geller organized the event in texas and talked about the issue of free speech on cnns new day. The First Amendment, not the eighth tenth, but the first protects all speech not just ideas that we like but even core political speech ideas we dont like. Who would decide whats good and for bidden. The Islamic State or the government . In a plouristic society, you have offensive speech. You have ideas, you have an exchange of ideas. You dont shut down a discussion because im offended. Lets bring in our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Would you agree the First Amendment protects all speech including very offensive hate speech . Yes. It does. I mean its really as simple as that in the political realm. What Pamela Geller said was correct, that the First Amendment is designed so that there is no limits on political speech. However, the First Amendment doesnt give people good judgment doesnt spare people from provocation, so, you know you can argue Pamela Geller was clearly provoking and looking to be offensive and perhaps maybe shouldnt have done it but she had an absolute right to do it and thats really the core of the First Amendment. As you know there are limits on free speech and the Supreme Court has ruled, for example you cant cry out fire in a crowded theater because people would panic, people could get injured, somebody might get a heart attack. There are some limits right . There are very few. The fire in the crowded theater i rebel at that example because thats really not speech at all. What that is doing is pulling a fire alarm. Its pulling a false alarm and that is really whats going on there. Its not speech. It has no political content. When youre talking about political content or sacrilegious speech as many people would view what was going on in texas, portraying mohammed which is offensive to many but not all muslims, Pamela Geller knew what she was doing, she was provoking, being outrageous. Perhaps it was a dumb idea to do it but in the United States she absolutely had the right to do it. There is differences as far as free speech and hate speech in the United States than there is, for example, in several European Countries and people are watching us all over the world. Go through the differences because we know in germany and other countries there are restrictions on speech. Absolutely. Very different traditions, very just look at those two. Happy. In love. And saving so much money on their Car Insurance by switching to geico. Well, just look at this setting. Do you have the ring . Oh, helzberg diamonds. Another beautiful setting. Im not crying. Ive just got a bit of sand in my eyes, thats all. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer reporting from washington. Baltimore the city is starting to return to normal today as National Guard troops continue to pull out of the city. Meantime the states attorney who filed criminal charges against six officers in the death of freddie gray is facing serious questions about a potential conflict of interest. All this comes only a few months after Marilyn Mosby took the job. Cnns sarah sidner was able to get an exclusive interview with her and her husband. We sat down with the mosby family, mr. And mrs. Mosby and their two Young Children 4 and 6yearold and it became apparent they say they are ready for this challenge. He is a councilman and she the youngest states attorney in america and suddenly one of the most visible figures in the most highly publicized homicide case in recent baltimore history. I love you, baby. Thanks for everything you do. Reporter charged six officers so far, seeing more praise than protests. But her critics have pounced on the couples political connection. There is no conflict of interest. Im going to prosecute. Im the Baltimore States attorney. My district includes every city in Baltimore City. A number of crimes that take place in Baltimore City and unfortunately in the district we live. Where is the conflict . Reporter their relationship established over a decade ago at university. Very popular, but what attracted me to him there was something, it wasnt just a physical attraction it was he wanted to be a public servant, he wanted to make a difference. She knew what she wanted to do how she wanted to get there and the first time i really met a woman or a young lady at the time like that. Reporter but they discovered they had more in common than ambition. Both are the first in their families to go to college, both grew up in rough neighborhoods, and both were impacted by crime, especially marilyn. Her cousin mistaken for a drug dealer, shot and killed in front of their family home when she was 14. I saw my 1yearold cousin with all these dreams and aspirations who is now going to a grave, but the individual responsible for his death was also 17 years old. And it struck me. I said how could we have gotten to that 17yearold before he decided to take a life . Reporter it was a defineing moment from a girl who came from four generations of Police Officers. She and nick believed the community and police can Work Together despite the difficult relationship. It is about bridging everybody together. It is about realizing that at the end of the day its a very small number of individuals that are defining the perception of our city. Reporter as a black man in america what is your contact and relationship with the police . Its been tough. Struggling. Ive been physically assaulted by the police. Doesnt that make you angry . Anger is you learn how to handle your differences, you learn how to handle your anger through education and who and what you are and what you try to force change in a positive way versus the negativity or violence. Reporter Marilyn Mosby sees no difference between someone with or without a badge when it comes to justice. At the end of the day, my job is to seek justice and to apply justice fairly and equally to everybody. No matter what their color or their creed or religion their ethnicity. Do you think you can do that beyond a reasonable doubt and the biggest case of your life . Absolutely. Reporter as the blanket statement city leaders are out of touch they point out they choice to buy a delipidated home with the problems of their city in sight but a potential to flourish. We were the first to purchase on this block. 10 to 12 vacants at the end of the block, next to an Apartment Building called murder mall where violence occurs. Reporter there are people criticizing her for being in inexperienced saying she doesnt have the chops to deal with a case this big the nation is watching, but she mentioned shes faced that criticism before when she managed to unseat the incumbent, becoming americas youngest states attorney. Wolf . Sarah sidner thanks very much. Two more contenders join the race for 209s 16 republican nomination. Were taking a closer look at their impact and which political name may become their official rival tomorrow. T my house. Its a full day for me, and i love it. But when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. I dont like asking for help. I took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. So my daughter brought over some aleve. Its just two pills, all day and now, im back aleve. Two pills. All day strong, all day long. And for a good nights rest, try aleve pm for a better am. You total your brand new car. Nobodys hurt,but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had a Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. I guess they dont want you driving around on three wheels. Smart. New car replacement is just one of the features that come standard with a base Liberty Mutual policy. And for drivers with accident forgivness,rates wont go up due to your first accident. Learn more by calling switch to Liberty Mutual and you can save up to 423. For a free quote today,call Liberty Mutual insurance at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. The republican president ial field just got a little bigger. Retired surgeon dr. Ben carson is officially in the race with his wife at his side he announced his bid for the white house in his hometown of detroit. Now, i venture this my family who are you . Ill tell you, im ben carson im a candidate for the president of the United States. Planned trip to iowa after todays announcement in detroit, but he postponed it to visit his critically ill mother in dallas texas. Another new republican candidate entered the race today, former hewlettpackard ceo Carly Fiorina announced her president ial bid this morning becoming the first declared female candidate to seek the republican nomination. Our chief political analyst Gloria Borger is here to take a look at both candidates. What do you think about dr. Carson and his chances . Look he right now, is well known to a degree to those who watch fox news. Hes done very well in the sort of fox news a contributor. In the primary. So he is well known in that sense among the republican base. He is a worldclass pediatric neurosurgeon. And he is not a washington. All of those things serve him well. On the other side wolf he may not be of washington but he has never held elected office. He has no legislative executive Political National security experience and so i think hes going to have a hard time in this field overcoming that. Hes in the second tier of the polls. He can move up and down. Everybody in these races gets their 15 minutes of face, right . I assume ben carson will have it. Hes spent time apologizes for stupid things he said like prisoners who go into jail sometimes come out gay and had to apologize for that. Hes got a long way to go. He was one of the most brilliant pediatric surg bes at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in baltimore. Talk about Carly Fiorina in her announcement released a video and as she has often directly against Hillary Clinton. Listen to this. Im getting ready to do something too. Im running for president. Our founders never intended us to have a professional Political Class. They believe that citizens and leaders needed to step forward. We know the only way to reimagine our government is to reimagine who is leading it. Im Carly Fiorina and im running for president. And she really goes after Hillary Clinton in all of her stump speeches even before she has been a declared candidate. You know she is positioning herself as the antihillary to a degree. If you want to vote for a woman, another woman out there. And she is really going to not only talk about this sort of professional Political Class of which the clintons are at the head of that class, right, shes going to talk about trust worthiness, the problems that the clintons have do you believe them dont you believe them Hillary Clintons emails, the Clinton Foundation et cetera. So i think shes going to separate herself that wait. The interesting thing to me about both of these candidates weve been talking about, about carson and fiorina, theyre polling so low right now, im wondering how they get on the stage in the debate in august because the Republican National committee has said there has to be a certain threshold and i dont know if theyre going to be high enough in the polls at that point to even make it to the stage which i think republicans would like if you want to show a more diverse sneeld usually they get a bump after they make their announcements. Well see how they do. The former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee about to anournsnounce tomorrow. The difference with huckabee frankly hes been there, done that. Hes an experienced candidate. He appeals very strongly to evangelicals. Hes terrific out there on the stump. Those of us who have been on the campaign trail have watched him. So, you know, this is not his first rodeop in this and so i think, you know, he could upset the apple cart a little bit, particularly in the state of iowa where pro evangelical candidates are now splitting a lot of the pie. Well see what happens as of tomorrow there will be six form mall republican president ial candidates. Were still counting. Still to come here serious questions surrounding the Clinton Foundations fundraising practices. The former president may be getting tired of answering them seemingly some Testy Exchange with a reporter. Well have details when we come back. Big day . Ah, the usual. Moved some new cars. Hauled a bunch of steel. Kept the supermarket shelves stocked. Made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. Whats up for the next shift . Ah, nothing much. Just keeping the lights on. laugh nice. Doing the big things that move an economy. See you tomorrow, mac. See you tomorrow, sam. Just another day at norfolk southern. I want my foyer to smell more like a foyer. I want his bedroom to smell like hes away at boarding school. Surround yourself with up to 6 hours of luxurious, longlasting scents. Introducing new unstopables air refresher. Are you so congested. It feels like that bricks on your face . Try zyrtec®d to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms. So you can breathe easier all day. Zyrtec®d. Find it at the pharmacy counter. Boy once upon a time, there was a nice house that lived with a family. One day, it started to rain and rain. Water got inside and ruined everybodys everythings. The house thought she let the family down. But the family just didnt think a flood could ever happen. The reality is floods do happen. Protect what matters. Call the number on your screen or visit the website to learn more. Its a political headache that wont go away for the clintons. Questions about their foundations fundraising practices keep coming up. Specifically donations from foreign governments and individuals made during Hillary Clintons time as secretary of state. But former president bill clinton is dismissing any allegations of wrongdoing. I dont think theres anything sinister in trying to get wealthy people and countries that are seriously involved in development to spend their money wisely in a way that helps poor people and lifts them up. I dont think theres anything about that. Theres been a deliberate attempt to take the foundation down. And there is almost no new fact thats known now that wasnt known when she ran for president the first time. Our senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny joining us now. Jeff they have put some new restrictions in recent weeks on foreign contributions. Thats right. Theyve basically said only six governments can give money to the foundation mainly european governments that have already some projects under sort of in the works, but so many more questions and even some of his words there actually raised some more questions. We are learning a lot more than when she ran for president the first time. She was secretary of state for a period of time then. So there are new questions here. So he is referring to the old theyre out to get us but there are new things that were learning and legitimate things coming out. Not just in the new book that kim out, the new york times, the washington post, theyre following up as well. Those are serious investigative reports. No question about it. And the campaign is still looking into things and im told theyre going to release more things. The bigger question when is she going to address these things. One thing to have him addressing things. She was on the board of the foundation as well so at some point shell be asked about this and will likely have to answer. In the interview with nbc, asked about more than 100 million hes gotten over the past several years, speaking fees and said i got pay the bills. Critics seizi he said i have to have pay the bills. Critics obviously seizing on that. I think were going to see that in ads and see it again and again. It sounds so out of touch with the average american. He certainly has the ability to raise money or to make money but i got to pay the bills i mean hes made a lot of money in speeches. At some point, shes going to have to start doing some interviews and doing some explaining herself. I would think so. Especially if she wants to sort of control the message and control her campaign. She cant have him out this doing that. Im not sure how wise it was to do this interview or not. Jeff zeleny thanks. Coming up im going to speak with the president of the mosque in phoenix, arizona, that one of the texas gunmen attended. He described him as a, quote, nice guy. Well get an assessment when we come back. I have type 2 diabetes. I started with pills. And now i take a longacting insulin at night. I take mine in the morning. I was trying to eat right, stay active. But i wasnt reaching my a1c goal anymore. Man my doctor says diabetes changes over time. It gets harder to control blood sugar spikes after i eat and get to goal. My doctor added novolog® at mealtime for additional control. Now i know. Novolog® is a fastacting, injectable insulin and it works together with my longacting insulin. Proven effective. The mealtime insulin doctors prescribe most. Available in flexpen®. Vo novolog® is used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. Take novolog® as directed. Eat a meal within 5 to 10 minutes after injection. Check your blood sugar levels. Do not take novolog® if your blood sugar is too low or youre allergic to any of its ingredients. Tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medicines you take. Ask your doctor about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. The most common side effect is low blood sugar. Symptoms may include dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. Severe low blood sugar can be lifethreatening. Other common side effects include low potassium in your blood and injection site reactions. Get medical help right away if you experience trouble with breathing serious allergic reactions like swelling of your face tongue, or throat, sweating, extreme drowsiness dizziness, or confusion. Now i know about novolog®. Taken by millions since 2001. Vo ask your Health Care Provider about adding novolog®. It can help provide the additional control you may need. Returning now to our top story, the investigation into a shooting in texas. Joining us now, the president of the Islamic Community center in phoenix, arizona. Thanks for much for joining us. You knew one of the suspects Elton Simpson. Tell us what you know about him. I first met him about ten years ago. He attended our mosque regularly. Until the incident that happened in 2010 2011 which he was arrested by the fbi. Then after that he became less frequent to the mosque. And i believe you knew him as ibrahim. Yes, Everybody Knows him in the community as ibrahim. And he was a convert, based on what you know . Yeah. When i first met him, he was a assuming sometime before ten years he became a convert. We know he was 30 years old. What about the second suspect, his roommate . Did you know him . I dont know his name. I didnt see his name in the newspaper, so i dont know who that person is. So youre not once you hear the name you might be able to know who he is. Well follow up with you on that. Did he ever give you indications, Elton Simpson, that he was sympathetic supporter of any of these, lets say, isis or al qaeda or any kind of terror group . No he was a gentle person. He always had a good attitude good demeanor. I was surprised to hear that he was attempting to do this because he always was interested in playing basketball. He was always nice with other people. Its totally out of character for the person that i knew. But again, like i said since 2011 he hasnt been coming to the mosque regularly. The last time i saw him a few months ago, he looked the same. He didnt say anything that would indicate any of this. And even when he attended the mosque regularly, he was not somebody that had any extreme views. So youre surprised when you read these reports that just before this attack in garland, texas, outside of dallas he tweeted, quote, may allah accept us and used the texasattack. It was as if he was advertising what he was planning on doing. Yeah and like i said this is very surprising to everybody. Everybody that knew him. Like i said they wouldnt have expected anything like that from him. A lot of times when you read things like that you question yourself if you have known that person very well. But in this case this is what everybodys feeling because there was no any indication this was happening. Even the case against him in 2011 we know that an fbi informant was involved in this. A lot of times you would think that maybe there was some kind of entrapment or something. Nobody in the community really thought that this would happen from somebody like him. So its fair to say, usama, that in your community, especially at the Islamic Community center of phoenix, people are in the shock right now. Everybody that i talked to is in shock. Everybody cant believe this has happened with this person. Like i said there was no indication that he carried any of these views. So between 2011 until now, i dont know what happened, what radicalized radicalize radicalized his thoughts. Its a mystery to me. Were almost out of time but i assume fbi personnel are now questioning people at the mosque. We have not been contacted by any of the authorities. I havent. I havent received any calls in the mosque from the fbi. So well wait and see. But we always had an open relationship with the fbi. Theyre always welcome to the mosque. We always contacted them and talked to them. So if they have any questions, they know who to call. Its a really sad story all around. You dont know anything about whether his family life if he had relatives in phoenix or elsewhere, what he did for a living . I dont know what he did for a living. I know that he does have a family parents, here. He has a father and mother in phoenix. But i dont know. I know that he used to work in different businesses but lately i have no idea what he was doing. Usama shami, the president of the Islamic Community center in phoenix. Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks. Thats it for me this hour. Ill be back 5 00 p. M. Eastern in the situation room. For our International Amanpour is coming up next. For our viewers in north america, newsroom with Brooke Baldwin starts right now. All right, wolf blitzer. Thank you so much. Great to be with all of you on this monday. Youre watching cnn. Im Brooke Baldwin. Got to get to these huge governments out of texas today where this isis sympathizer and his accomplice have been killed after opening fire outside this exhibit. This exhibit was featuring cartoon drawings of the Prophet Muhammad. The event, sponsored by the American Freedom Defense Initiative which some critics describe as a hate group, offered as much as 10,000 for the best cartoon of Prophet Muhammad knowing full well that muslims consider any depiction of the prophet blasphemous and knowing such offenses in the past have been met w