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CNN NEWSROOM

20 People Die in El Paso Mass Shootings; Interview with Mayor Dee Margo, R-El Paso; Police: 9 Dead, 26 Injured in Dayton, Ohio Mass Shooting; Interview with State Rep. Cesar Blanco (D) Texas; News Conference at Del Sol Medical Center; Interview with Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton Ohio. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 4, 2019 - 08:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:16] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Victor Blackwell, live in El Paso, Texas.

Christi Paul is in Atlanta.

And this is a tragic weekend in America. Two communities asking the question, why, after two mass shootings. Here in El Paso, 20 people killed, 26 injured. We will talk about what happened here in a moment.

There is also what happened in Dayton, Ohio overnight. Nine people killed, another 26 injured.

With 29 people dead, this is one of the deadliest weekends in recent memory. But we have to put a marker in this moment that we can't say for sure. Because we're trying to remember how many mass shootings there have been. Dozens of people killed in events like this over the last several years.

We'll talk more about the active scene that's happening behind me as investigators and crime scene analysts collect evidence in what will be a prosecution as the shooter, the suspect, I should say, has been taken into custody and is cooperating with investigators.

But there is also what's happening in Dayton. To get the latest on that, let's go to my colleague, Shimon Prokupecz, who is in Washington.

Shimon, the mayor of Dayton, Nan Whaley, she wrapped a news conference just moments ago and gives some new information on that shooting.

What did you learn?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, she did.

Significant new information, as bad as this was, Victor, with the nine dead, this could have been for worse. The mayor saying there were thousands of people in this neighborhood. It's in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio. There's bars, there's restaurants. Thousands of people, she said, in this area at the time of the shooting.

What we learned is that the shooter, he came with a lot of fire power, a long gun, possibly an assault rifle. We have heard a lot about AR- style weapons. It's possible that in this incident, though the police will not say exactly what kind of weapon was used, but it is similar it seems to what we have seen in other shootings.

There were high-capacity magazines, they said. They also said that he had ammunition, lots of ammunition. So, it is believed he was prepared to take out a lot of people. He wore body armor.

The shooting happening outside of this bar, and police, significant here, the police were able to get to the scene and engage the shooter in just a minute, saving perhaps lots and lots of lives.

Here's the mayor describing all of that just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR NAN WHALEY, DAYTON, OHIO: Time and again, I, as mayor, have been amazed by Dayton first responders. If they had not gone to the shooter in under a minute, think of that, 26 injured, nine dead, hundreds of people in the Oregon district could be dead today.

Again, we don't know the thoughts of the shooter at this time. We know he had body armor and had high-capacity magazines and extra magazines.

Clearly. the question has to be raised, why does Dayton have to be the 250th mass shooting in America, 250. I mean, that's really the question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And that is what the police there now and FBI obviously are doing, they're trying to figure out motivation here. There are possibilities that the event in El Paso could have sparked something in this individual. That is all something part of the FBI and that police in Dayton, Ohio are going to be looking.

Again, you know, we talk about this so much in these kinds of mass shootings. Police train for this. We always see extra police in populated areas where there are a lot of bars and restaurants. And having the police there and able to respond so quickly obviously made such a huge difference in all of this, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Shimon Prokupecz, thank so much, for the latest on what's happening there in Dayton, Ohio.

Let's come back now to El Paso, Texas, and I have the Mayor Dee Margo with me.

Sir, our condolences to you and your community. And I listened to a conversation you had with our Wolf Blitzer yesterday. You're getting chocked up. This is your home. These are your neighbors and friends. A little

more than half a day on, 18 hours or so, what are you feeling this morning?

MAYOR DEE MARGO, EL PASO, TEXAS: It is still kind of surreal. Somebody has lost a loved one.

[08:05:02] I don't know, which is -- nobody is prepared for something like this.

The main thing I'm trying to get across is that we are resilient, and this incident will not define us. We are totally unique, bicultural, binational community. We have been around 350 years. It will not define us.

But it is a tragedy that no one prepares for. I'm not sure it's going to get easier with time until we get through these funerals. We're going to persevere.

BLACKWELL: We were talking about just a moment ago you went to the middle school to sit with families who were waiting for word. Tell me about that moment, if you would.

MARGO: Well, it's tough. Talk about getting emotional. They are still waiting. The police are still processing, waiting for identification.

You want to make sure they are doing it correctly. It's a crime scene. You want to make sure they gather all the evidence and everything is lined up.

Nobody is prepared for this. But we will -- we will -- we will survive. We will persevere, and it will not define us.

You know, I look at our first responders. They showed up yesterday, they got the call at 10:39, they showed up at 10:45, and 11:06 he was apprehended. We are one of the safest cities in the nation for years, and we will remain one of the safest cities in the nation.

BLACKWELL: There is obviously an active investigation that's happening behind the scene at the Walmart. Do you know if the deceased are still inside the building?

MARGO: I understand there are some that they are still processing. They are working to identify them as fast as they can to notify families.

BLACKWELL: I'm going to ask you a question I asked of county commissioner. Does this -- you said this will not define this community. Does it change El Paso?

MARGO: Well, something like this will cause us to come together, to rethink about a lot of things. We need to remember how we are going to treat our fellow man and love our families.

It's no different than what some of us felt after 9/11. There was a big change. I'm sure that will affect us here. As I said, we will grow and learn from this. But it will not define us. This is a wonderful family-oriented community.

BLACKWELL: We saw hundreds of people get in line to donate blood. And if they couldn't because the schedule was so full, they were waiting in line to get an appointment to donate blood next week.

MARGO: This community is unbelievably generous. Generous in spirit and generous with their pocketbooks. And they will do whatever is necessary. This fellow came from out of El Paso. I do not believe an El Pasoan would have ever done this. This is somebody from out of town.

BLACKWELL: This manifesto, and our Brian Stelter said that manifesto may be aggrandizing this too much. It was just a creed written on some message board. Investigators are trying to determine if it is linked to the suspect in custody. That work is still being done.

But according to the writing, El Paso is what is wrong with the country, the blending of races. To that ideology, you say what?

MARGO: I say that he's deranged and he does not know what -- this is what makes our country great is our binational culture. We are 84 percent Hispanic in El Paso. We're a region of 2.5 million people.

I don't want to be anywhere else in the United States but right here. This is a special, special area.

BLACKWELL: Mayor Dee Margo, I know you got a lot of people who need you right now and I thank you for spending a few moments for us.

More on the investigation now. We talked a little bit about the work that is being done to determine motive, investigating the writings found online, social media.

And also this physical investigation happening more than 600 miles from where we are standing in Allen, Texas at the suspect's home.

That's where we find our Brian Todd.

Brian, what are you seeing there?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Victor. A swarm of police and FBI agents at the home of the shooter, 150 yards behind me around this bend here. Police have been here all night and all morning. FBI agents from a forensic team have been in front of the house going in and out of the house.

They parked a forensic truck right there and are bringing evidence out of the house to examine the way these investigations unfold, Victor, we can assume they are going through any possible electronics that the suspected shooter, Patrick Crusius, might have left there, cell phones, computers, anything that he might have done electronically, possible weapons he might have had in the home. This is a home of a relative who he was staying with.

And again, there might be possible clues inside the home as to whether anyone else was in on this with him.

[08:10:06] There are no indications at the moment that there was anybody else. But there could be some clues to that effect that they might be wanting to look at.

Now, as far as the motive, I heard you talk about the manifesto, on 8Chan, investigators say they believe he wrote a racist rant about four pages long against Hispanics and immigrants, blaming then for taking jobs in the U.S. and the blending of the cultures in the U.S.

On that same manifesto, he had a quote saying I'm probably going to die today. And another quote saying: I'm nervous as hell but I can't wait any longer. That was posted 20 minutes before police got the first calls of that shooting at the Walmart in El Paso.

So, again, these are clues speaking to motive here. Police are still going in and out of the home here. What they don't know is more specifics about the planning. How long did he plan the attack? Why did he pick that particular target, that Walmart that is 660 miles away from here, a nine-hour drive?

And again, was anyone else in on this with him and could that have been communicated through that message board, 8chan? Those are things investigators are still looking at, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Certainly a multifaceted complex investigation happening at several locations. Brian Todd at one of then there in Allen, Texas.

Our special live coverage of two mass shootings this weekend, end with the deaths of 29 people killed, injuries of more than 50. We will check on Dayton, Ohio after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:16] BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell live in El Paso, Texas, outside of Walmart where 20 people were killed here, 26 injured. The sun is coming up this morning.

And this community is getting a fresh look at itself in the wake of this mass shooting and how this will impact this community. We just spoke with the Mayor Dee Margo and said it will not define this community. The question is, will it change it and what will this mean moving forward?

As we are getting the fresh look at Sunday here in El Paso, so is Dayton, Ohio, where there was another mass shooting overnight just after 1:00 in an entertainment district. Here is video. You see police cars there, police investigating.

We're told there are images of people injured on the ground. People running for safety. It was a chaotic scene there as well.

We have heard details from the mayor, Nan Whaley, about what happened at that bar when we're told a man went in with a long gun and just started shooting indiscriminately. Let's go to James Gagliano, CNN law enforcement analyst, to understand

what we heard from the mayor.

When we hear from the mayor, James, that this shooter had additional high-capacity magazines and body armor, it sounds like he was just going for body count.

JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Victor, exactly. To your point, last night on air, I suggested that on 9/11 the attack on the U.S. came from outside the U.S. now these attacks that seem to be proliferated, they are happening on the inside.

Look, the FBI studies this. As far as active shooters go, a study put together between 2000 and 2013 and it was entitled, "The study of the pre-attack behaviors for active shooters in the U.S."

Why is that important? Well, we want to look at pre-attack behaviors to attempt to disrupt or mitigate when these things occur. How do you prevent them? We talk about the flash to boom. Meaning, was there something that should have given some indication that this individual in El Paso and this other individual in Dayton, Ohio, were going to commit a heinous act like this?

Here's a couple of quick points from that. Of the observable stressors, are we missing them? Are we not sensing, you know, the old see something, say something, that somebody is moving toward violence?

Number two, 70 percent of all of these active shootings that happened between 2000 to 2013, they took a week to plan. Somebody had to have seen something. Somebody had to have at least gone some type of indication this could have happened.

Number two, only 25 percent of these active shooters are diagnosed with mental illness. That means 75 percent of them are not mentally ill.

Number three, on afternoon, each active shooter displayed four to five concerning behaviors. And, Victor, that's where we have to do the enter diction, whether online in the hate-filled chat rooms, somebody spouting off in public, or somebody saying something to family, friends. We have to operate left of the boom, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Certainly some of those answers are a little closer at hand in the case in El Paso because they have a suspect. We're told he is speaking with investigators. We don't know the degree of that cooperation, but we know they are conversing.

So, clearly, similarities between the mass shooting in Texas and the one in Ohio. But the difference in Ohio, that suspect, that shooter is dead. Talk about how much more difficult it will be to find out the motive when you have a suspect who is not available to give any of that information.

GAGLIANO: Certainly. Throughout my FBI career, Victor, you always wanted an opportunity to talk to the perpetrator of a crime. You always wanted the opportunity to ask them in their own words what was behind it.

Now, look, a lot of times the subjects clam up, lawyer up and don't say a word. But sometimes in these instances, my experiences are these folks are proud of what they've done. They want to talk about it. They want to broadcast it. They want the word to know what their cause was.

Now, we don't know why, especially in the El Paso case. I think he made some indications that he was preparing to die during this -- the conduct of this horrific mass shooting. But sometimes also, these folks get cold feet. They go into thinking they're going to, quote, unquote, martyr themselves and that doesn't end up happening.

And typically before police arrived, sometimes they commit suicide.

[08:20:03] Sometimes they leave on their own volition. Obviously earlier this morning in Dayton, Ohio, police got on the scene in one minute. That is a rifle chambered with high-capacity magazines, 20 or 30 rounds in each of those. Additional ammunition, as the mayor pointed out.

The cops are heroic. As horrific as it is, Victor, 26 casualties, nine dead thus far in Dayton. It could have been mind-numbingly even worse than that.

BLACKWELL: Yes, considering that this was all taken down in less than a minute, according to local officials.

James Gagliano, thank you so much.

We heard from the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, Nan Whaley, that there will be another news conference later this morning. We're hoping for more information from authorities in El Paso.

We'll take a quick break. And on the other side of it, we have heard now from president Trump about what happened overnight in Dayton.

Stay with us. Our special live coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. I'm Victor Blackwell live in El Paso, Texas, at the scene of one of the two mass shootings this week.

We have heard from President Trump on the shooting here in El Paso several times since it happened. And now we are hearing from the president on the shooting overnight in Dayton.

Let's go to Boris Sanchez who is traveling with the president in New Jersey.

[08:25:01] Boris, good morning to you. And what are we hearing from the president?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Hey, good morning, Victor. Yes, we just heard from the White House press shop that President

Trump has been briefed on the smooth in Dayton and he is monitoring developments.

The president tweeting out a short while ago: God bless the people of El Paso and God bless the people of Ohio. He then went on to write this, quote: The FBI local and state law enforcement are working together in El Paso and in Dayton, Ohio. Much is already been learned, law enforcement was very rapid in both instances. Updates will be given throughout the day.

The president yet again finding himself in a situation where he has to offer condolences to communities that have been ravaged by gun violence. We should point, the president is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C. at approximately 4:00 p.m. today. There's no indication that is going to going to move up that up in order to get to Washington sooner.

He often makes statements before he departs his estate in New Jersey. We will see what the president says later today, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Boris Sanchez for us there in Berkeley Heights -- Boris, thank you.

I should let you know, we are awaiting a news conference from the Del Sol Medical Center where some of the people were shot here in El Paso were taken. Medical officials will speak in a moment. You can see a live shot of the podium being set up. As soon as that happens, we will take you to that live.

In the meantime, I have with me Texas State Representative Cesar Blanco. This is his district. He just told me a moments ago that he shopped at this Walmart.

So you are familiar with this community, but this now crime scene behind us. Thank you, first, for being with us, and our condolences to you. This is your community.

REP. CESAR BLANCO (D), EL PASO, TEXAS: It is.

BLACKWELL: Your neighbors and friends.

BLANCO: It is.

BLACKWELL: What are you feeling this morning?

BLANCO: Well, first of all, our condolences to the victims and families in Dayton. Miles separate us, but our grief unites us. So be strong Dayton.

You know, it's a tragic thing. Something like this is just shocking. It is the 250th mass shooting. El Paso is 249. It is unfathomable these things continue to happen all over the country.

Yesterday, I was at a family reunification center, which is where I attended school as a kid. It is just tragic. We must do more as elected officials to make sure we are protecting innocent people and our citizens here in our country.

BLACKWELL: One of the elements of reunification, Customs and Border Protection tweeted out that people, if they are concerned about there being some operation related to what happened here, that they should not be because there were some fear that people would not come forward or make themselves known, their presence known in relation to being in the country undocumented.

BLANCO: Sure.

BLACKWELL: Is there some degree of mistrust? Is there some real reason that people should be fearful?

BLANCO: Well, El Paso County is home to a lot of family detention centers, child detention centers. This is ground zero where family separations occurred as a result of this administration's policies. There is naturally going to be fear and folks not trusting necessarily any law enforcement if you're an immigrant.

Clearly, this gunman's motives were racially motivated. We have seen his manifesto that describes which unfortunately has been a common term used by many politicians as an invasion in our country. So, immigrants are scared. And scenes here are scared of what could happen now.

Today is Sunday. People will be going to church. I've received phone calls that people are afraid to go to church, but make no mistake, we will get through this and our community will remain strong.

BLACKWELL: Are free to go to church because of gathering in a group.

BLANCO: People just don't know what could happen in public places, and gatherings.

BLACKWELL: In El Paso, because one of the things that this city is boasts about and is so proud about is the degree of safety.

BLANCO: According to the FBI, we are one of the safest cities in America. It is unfortunate that this type of mass murder has occurred in our community.

BLACKWELL: What's the first step to getting back to that degree of safety, that feeling of security?

[08:30:00]

BLANCO: I think it takes community coming together. I think it takes our community leaders speaking out in public and reassuring that our local law enforcement is among the best in this country.

We must not be deterred by these acts of violence. We must continue to move on and go about our lives and -- and -- and win.

But I think we as a country need to take a close look at what we value in this country. Is it machinery or human beings? And I think human beings should always be taken into consideration. These are the most important things.

BLACKWELL: No one ever suspects that something like this will happen in their community, near their home, in places that they are -- with which they're familiar.

But now that it has, have you had time to reconcile El Paso with mass shooting? I mean being part of that group with all the other communities we have covered, that yours is one of them?

BLANCO: We'll I'll give you an example. Most of my family lives in and around this area. IN fact, I grew up in these apartments across the street here.

And I sent my mom a message and asked her to have the whole family check in via mass text message to account for everyone. That's our new reality.

Thankfully, everyone was ok. But unfortunately for 20 individuals who have been killed here and 26 others who are fighting for their lives, that's not the case. And our thoughts and our prayers go out to them.

BLACKWELL: State Representative Cesar Blanco -- thank you so much for being with us this morning.

A new reality. That's a phrase that we have used and have heard in this city now, that they are talking about in Dayton. We have talked about in communities that have suffered through mass shootings before.

Will anything change? We'll have that conversation this morning. And we'll check in on the investigation in Dayton.

Of course, there is that news conference at Del Sol Medical Center for the latest on the victims of those who are suffering from injuries.

We'll bring all of it to you as our special live coverage continues.

[08:32:06] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We are continuing to follow breaking news this morning, live from El Paso, Texas where 20 people are dead, more than two dozen injured after a mass shooting in a shopping complex there.

The FBI has opened a domestic terrorism investigation, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

We have with us on the phone Katherine Schweit, former senior FBI official and an expert on active shooting situations. There she is.

Katherine -- thank you for being with me. Can you hear me?

KATHERINE SCHWEIT, FORMER SENIOR FBI OFFICIAL: I can. Can you harry me?

PAUL: I can. Thank you so much. We're also, of course, following this morning the situation in Dayton, Ohio. Nine people died, 26 were injured in a matter of less than a minute when a shooter started shooting with a high-caliber -- 223 caliber, high-capacity gun. We know that the police intervened within less than a minute.

I want to get your reaction, first of all, to the response from police there in Dayton who happened to be patrolling that area anyway.

It's an art and entertainment section -- you know what, I'm sorry. I have to shift gears here really quickly. Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, talking now about victims. Let's listen.

(INTERRUPTED BY A LIVE EVENT)

DAVID SHIMP, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DEL SOL MEDICAL CENTER: Now the adrenaline rush of that, now the real care is happening and care continuing to make sure that the 11 victims that we have received are continuing to progress.

I'm going to ask Dr. Stephen Flaherty or trauma medical director to be able to share a little bit more about those specific patients -- Dr. Flaherty.

DR. STEPHEN FLAHERTY, TRAUMA MEDICAL DIRECTOR, DEL SOL MEDICAL CENTER: Good morning, everybody. My name is Stephen Flaherty. I'm the trauma medical director here at Del Sol Medical Center.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, the El Paso community, our colleagues across town who are taking care of similar patients, and our colleagues across the country in Ohio going who are through the same processes.

We had 11 patients come to us yesterday. They ranged in age from 35 to 82 years old. Eight of them are in stable condition. Three of them are in critical condition.

Many of them were brought to the operator room. I believe we took seven patients to the O.R. yesterday. They received a variety of procedures from a number of different specialties. Some of them undergoing procedures by multiple specialties during the same setting.

We anticipate that a number of the patients will need to return to the operating room over the course of today and the next week perhaps one or more times.

I would like to give you some insight into the care that was provided and how we have been positioned to provide excellent care to these patients.

Their care begins at the site. It takes an entire system of care to provide the best chance for survival to patients who are injured so acutely and suddenly. The care begins at the site, by friends, family members, bystanders, many who have no medical training at all.

We're extremely grateful for the Stop the Bleed course that has been developed, promulgated by the American College of Surgeons, and has been taught so successfully throughout the El Paso community by both the border rep and Del Sol in the courses they have put out. Thousands of people have already been treated in the maneuvers necessary to provide life-saving care at such a site as happened yesterday.

It is also important to recognize the EMTs, paramedics and firefighters who are the first responders to these events. The men and women of the El Paso fire department providing care at the point of injury, starting their successful journey through the medical system, getting these patients to us alive.

[08:40:02] Del Sol Medical Center is a trauma center. That means that this hospital has established itself through the guidelines set forth by the American college of Surgeons and the state of Texas to meet a higher standard of preparation, availability of resources.

It is a tremendous commitment put forth by HCA Health Care and Del Sol Medical Center, to be ready for any one trauma patient, never mind such a large volume of patients arriving at one time.

So we are ready at any given time to take care of a trauma patient. But when faced with notification that a large number of patients is coming, it changes the situation.

Immediately we begin the triage process. What's going on in our operating room? Who really needs to be there? Can we be ready for the first patients who are going to arrive? We started that process as soon as we had confirmation of injured patients at the scene that were coming here.

We also have to be prepared for the number of providers that it would take to be able to provide their care. It is incredible how people came from home on their days off, dropped whatever they were doing and came here. Doctors, nurses, support staff, administrators -- everybody came immediately to Del Sol Medical Center to do their job and help us provide care.

We had community surgeons come to the hospital on their day off. We had a surgeon from the William Beaumont Army Medical Center come over to assist us. Del Sole Medical Center has a unique relationship with the United States Army in its coordination of care with the providers, the surgeons over at William Beaumont Army Medical Center. They have, of course, the requirement to deploy and they work over here on a regular basis to help ensure their sustainment of their skills to be ready to go to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other points around the world.

Several of them came to the hospital yesterday to help us. We are truly grateful for their support.

The care of these patients will be ongoing, as I said, throughout the week. It was a long night, it was a long day. Large volumes of blood and blood products were used.

I know that the blood centers here in town had a tremendous response from the community. People coming out to offer to donate blood. Extremely critical. That's the life-saving force that we give to people. There's no value in putting saltwater into a patient who is bleeding blood.

The teams are going to be busy. All of the nurses, the support staff, the surgeons, the anesthesiologists. Even the non-surgical providers, our medical colleagues came from all points in the hospital to say how can we help you as we were taking care of these patients yesterday. We're extremely grateful for their assistance and support in the care of the patients throughout yesterday.

I think I will turn it over to you, David, in case there's any further questions.

SHIMP: I think the comments that Governor Abbott and Mayor Margo ended up making about El Paso as a community certainly resonated. And I don't know that they ever felt any -- felt stronger anywhere than here at Del Sol Medical Center. Certainly the team of care providers that came together for these 11 patients was nothing short of exceptional.

We do anticipate likely at least one of those patients being discharged today, as some of the other stable patients as they wake up, as we assess their situation, we'll evaluate when they can end up being discharged home.

Again, please make sure that we are keeping the thoughts and prayers of everyone, specifically for those most critically injured patients as well as their families.

Happy that I'll be able to open this up to questions. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Considering the type of weapon that we believe to have been used can you speak to any of the wounds or injuries? Are we talking how many people have been shot multiple times? Have there been amputations? Can you speak at all to the specifics of some of the treatments and some of the wounds that have been seen by the surgical teams?

[08:45:06] SHIMP: I can't speak to all the specifics. Again, I mean we're treating the individual patients for the needs that they have.

Yes, ma'am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know -- we have heard from people who may still be looking for family members. Do you know if all the patients here have been in contact with families or have in some way had their families been notified?

SHIMP: Yes. All of the patients that we have here have been. I will tell you that that was a very difficult process. Patients were coming to us with no identification. Obviously completely unconscious and our ability to be able to identify them was not an easy thing.

We were able to work with all the families and ultimately were able to identify all of the patients. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This question is for you, Dr. Flaherty. I know

you mentioned that you are prepared -- or trained, rather, to respond to something like this. But when you see the large number of patients coming in, as you mentioned, what is going through your mind as you react to that?

FLAHERTY: Yes. It's a difficult situation, of course. And training is critical for helping to shape that response. So it's very important for everybody to understand that there is an entire infrastructure above this that prepares for these kinds of events.

In fact, we recently had an exercise where we did a mock drill of what if there had been an active shooter in the city? How would those patients be distributed in the city, how would the hospital respond? We actually brought people into the hospital to do a dry run of a situation just like that before. So we had been through this before without the real patients.

But as you note, when this happens for real and it's not just an exercise, there is a lot of feelings and emotions that come into it. That is hard to prepare for. And I think that, you know, what we do is we focus on our job.

We try to rely on that concept of muscle memory. Ok. I did this before. This is what I was strained to do. This is where I go. And this is what I'm supposed to do.

But when the patients are there in front of you, there's always the emotional overtone. And we have to do what we need to do for the patients at the time. And take some time to think about it. And, you know, all of that -- the entire health care team really needs to go through that process of understanding the emotional reaction just a little bit later.

We're very grateful to the help that David Shimp provides to us with those kind of people who can come in and help talk to the staff and understand and talk through that process.

SHIMP: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is the team doing in terms of sleep? Were a lot of them up throughout the night working on patients? What kind of rotation are they on now in terms of trying to get rest with this all hands on deck situation?

SHIMP: Sure. The staff generally end up working in shifts of 12 hours. The physicians -- I think Dr. Flaherty, you had about an hour and a half worth of sleep last night. You look pretty darned good for that on camera, sir.

But generally speaking, the teams are rotating through and making sure that they are getting the rest they need and still being able to provide for the patients.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were all the victims --

SHIMP: I'm not entirely certain.

(END OF LIVE EVENT)

PAUL: That again -- the folks from Del Sol Medical Center -- Dr. Stephen Flaherty speaking just a couple of moments ago talking about what it is like for them as they take in so many people.

And what struck me, and I'm sure struck you, is that he talked about a recent mock drill they had done for a possible mass shooting, actually bringing people in. so that is part of how they knew what to do

We're going to continue to follow this more from El Paso in just a moment. Do stay close.

[08:49:00[ (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Welcome back.

I'm Victor Blackwell, live in El Paso, Texas just outside the scene of where 20 people were killed, 26 injured in a mass shooting here.

But there is also the second mass shooting this morning in Dayton, Ohio. Happened overnight, nine people killed. The shooter there also dead. And 26 injured there as well.

I have on the phone with me Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton. Mayor -- good morning to you and thank you for being with us.

MAYOR NAN WHALEY, DAYTON, OHIO (via telephone): Good morning.

BLACKWELL: Let's start here. Nine dead, 26 injured and what we learned is that this could have been so much worse if not for the police officers, the first responders who acted so quickly. Talk about that, if you would.

WHALEY: Yes, the police were on the site. The Oregon District in our city is a entertainment area with lots of young people that come there every single weekend. And so we have regular police presence there.

The shooter had an AR-like -- hold on -- an AR-like assault rifle on him and he was with body armor. What is amazing is within under a minute our police officers had gotten to the shooter and stopped the shooting. And I just really think if they were not there and if they were not able to be so -- so amazing at their jobs, how much more loss of life we would have had in this city would have been incredibly worse this morning.

BLACKWELL: What have you learned about the -- anything about the potential motive of this shooting?

WHALEY: We have no information yet on the motive of the shooter.

[08:55:01] BLACKWELL: Ok. Do you know at all if what happened here in El Paso has any connection to what happened in Dayton? If it is the inspiration or even if what happened here accelerated the timeline of the shooter in your city? WHALEY: We do not have any information on that yet this morning.

BLACKWELL: Is this just -- is this just a state investigation or has the FBI become part of this investigation. Any terror nexus -- any reason for federal authorities to be part of it.

WHALEY: FBI has been on scene with us and has a part of this investigation from the beginning.

BLACKWELL: Ok. And you mentioned the weapon that he had, the rifle. He also had these high-capacity magazines I understand. You know, there are questions about what should and should not be available to the public that should be legal. Do you believe that these high- capacity magazines should be legal in the state of Ohio? Should there be a ban?

WHALEY: I've always been a long proponent of the ban on assault weapons. When your city is the 250th mass shooting that has happened in this year, I think it has to beg the question what are we going to do? It is not a -- and you know Ohioans, you know agreed on background checks. 90 percent of Ohioans agree on that so there are actions that could easily be taken that are not being taken.

And, look, I mean I have gotten calls from dozens and dozens of mayors from across the country because we've all been through this and the question is when are we going to have enough.

BLACKWELL: Yes. You point out the distinction that Dayton now holds being the 250th -- site of the 250th mass shooting this year. You're now, as I talked with a representative here, this year, yes, I talked with a representative here in Texas -- yes this year -- I talked with a representative here in Texas about joining this club of other cities that have had shootings like this.

Aurora, Parkland, what we saw in Orlando -- I mean you could -- there's a long list. As a mayor of this city, from you perspective, how does that feel this morning?

WHALEY: This is always a situation that you never want to be the mayor that gets this call in the middle of the night. But you know that it is likely -- any more you know it is likely going to happen. And so unfortunately this group of mayors that have had this happen to their community continues to get bigger and bigger as every day goes on. Because something has got to be done.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we just saw the President earlier today tweeted about the shooting in Dayton after we heard from him yesterday on what happened here in El Paso. Have you spoken with the White House. Have you heard from the President.

WHALEY: I have not heard from the President this morning.

BLACKWELL: Let me read actually what we're seeing from federal lawmakers there in Ohio from senator Sherrod Brown. He has tweeted "As Ohio wakes up this morning to the news of this horrific attack, Connie and I are filled with sadness for the victims and their families and gratitude for the police officers who responded to the scene and the medical professionals caring for the injured."

From Congressman Mike Turner, "My daughter and family friend had just entered the tumbleweed connection when the shooting began across the street. Both reported of the visible Dayton police presence before the shooting and the bravery they witnessed as officers ran toward the gunshots.

I should say that Senator Brown will be a guest on with Jake Tapper this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION". But finally to you, Mayor, does this change Dayton?

WHALEY: Yes, I think any time these incidents happen will change our community because we have people who have family members and friends who are no longer with us because of senseless gun violence.

And the question is when is this country going to have enough. I have to leave now.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you very much. Mayor Nan Whaley speaking with us this morning.

Christi, this is -- it's hard to come up with the words to describe what this country has faced in just the span of 13 hours -- 29 people killed, 52 injured, and we have to research to determine if this is the deadliest 24 hour-span because there have been so many mass shootings across this country in recent years.

[08:59:57] PAUL: And pointing out it could have been worse had it not been for the first responders who are credited with taking down the Dayton shooter in less than a minute.

Victor -- thank you so much. Victor Blackwell, Christi Paul -- thank you --