[Allen:] Shock and heartache in El Paso, Texas. Vigils and prayer services are being held for the victims of Saturday's mass shooting at a shopping center. At least 20 people are confirmed dead. More than 2 dozen others were injured. The suspected gunman, a 21-year-old white male, surrendered and is in custody. Police say it may have been a hate crime and the FBI has opened a domestic terrorism investigation. One witness says the shooter appeared to be on a mission.
[Unidentified Male:] He's going for blood. He's going for death. That's his favorite thing right now. He wants that blood lust. He wants that fulfilled. So after he sees people start running, you can hear the different firing. He starts pop, pop, pop, he's going fast, his trigger finger. He's going, going, going. Yes, that's what he we heard. I heard people yelling, run, shooter. Heard the gunshots. After we got close to the back, we didn't really hear much of it because
[Allen:] So many people luckily ran out the back of the store. There was, of course, an immediate need for blood for the victims. And donors quickly lined up to help. One of them spoke earlier with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
[Frances Yepez, Blood Donor:] It's somber. You hear some sniffling earlier as the updates were coming across the TV we have here in the waiting room. The line just continues and continues to grow. At this time, the blood center is no longer taking donations for today. They are at maximum capacity. However, everyone in line, there's easily 75 to 100 people in line and they are all aware that all they're doing is standing in line to make appointments for tomorrow and Monday and they are willing to wait until they get up to the front to make an appointment. And I believe El Paso, we're 100 and something today or we're supposed to be in the 100s.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] Well, you're doing a really, really life- saving work. What motivated you, Frances?
[Yepez:] You know, I'm B positive is my blood type and I try to be positive throughout my life and if there's ever something I can help with, it's easy to make a dollar but it's harder to make a difference. So I try to get out there and do whatever I can to help.
[Blitzer:] When you speak to others waiting in line, what are they saying to you?
[Yepez:] How could it happen here? You know, it's crazy. It's Walmart. You know, even though El Paso is big, it's still a small city. Everybody knows everybody. And, you know, immediately when everything happened this morning, my son called me. He was at work. And then from there it just the group text just started, with everybody checking in, everybody from my work family to my extended family in Louisiana, extended family in California and, of course, the local family. Everybody just checking in and making sure everybody was safe.
[Allen:] Victims' names have not been released to the public. Many people, of course, still unaccounted for after the mass shooting. Earlier, our Alex Marquardt spoke with the mayor of El Paso.
[Dee Margo , Mayor Of El Paso:] The governor and I just visited with the families waiting on information over at one of the schools here in El Paso. It's tough. It's really, really tough.
[Alex Marquardt, Cnn Anchor:] It's extremely tough and extremely heartbreaking. What about the investigation? What are federal authorities telling you? We understand the suspect is a 21-year-old man who drove from Allen, Texas. What more do we know about the investigation into him and his motive?
[Margo:] Well, there isn't much update since we had the press conference. We talked about a gentleman I shouldn't say gentleman, this murderer who came from outside El Paso. And as I said before, nobody in El Paso would have done something like this. This is not what we are about as a community. The investigations going through and identifying the bodies and going through their normal forensic work and families will be notified. But nothing new is happening yet. Nothing new is happening yet. We're here at the scene as it stands now.
[Marquardt:] Was the shooter, do you know? Was he known at all to authorities?
[Margo:] I don't know that. I do not know that. He came out of Allen, Texas is I think where he came from. But my point is just a real tragedy.
[Marquardt:] Can you describe the scene before the shooting? What would have been happening a the a Walmart in El Paso, Texas on a Saturday morning in early August?
[Margo:] A lot of shoppers, everybody getting ready for back to school. Normal routines. Just a normal Saturday for people and yet this tragedy struck.
[Marquardt:] And you and others have talked about how tight-knit this community is. What has been the reaction since this horrific massacre happened now just over nine hours ago?
[Margo:] Well, it's been reported we have had significant blood donors. This is a very generous community. It is a community that goes back 350 years and people just don't understand. We have we are a close-knit we are the largest community of our type on the U.S.-Mexico border. There is nothing in North America that can equate to what we have here with El Paso products. So this is just totally unexpected and, as I say, probably never would have occurred with an El Pasoan.
[Marquardt:] You must be heartened to see those long lines of donors, of blood donors to come out to donate blood. There have been calls for people to sign up online. What can people do to help the community right now?
[Margo:] Well, we have set up The Paso del Norte Health Foundation has set up a web site for donations for victims and their families. And the other what we are telling other people is just continue to donate blood. That's what we need right now.
[Allen:] I want to bring in John Matthews, a former Dallas police officer and author of "Mass Shootings: Six Steps to Survival." Mr. Matthews, thank you for being with us.
[John Matthews, Former Police Officer:] Glad go be here.
[Allen:] I want to first get your reaction to this shooting that happened in El Paso and what we are learning about the shooter and the location at a Walmart in El Paso, apparently he started in the parking lot. What's your reaction?
[Matthews:] Well, again, horrified at what happened. Our hearts go out to the folks in El Paso, here in Dallas. You know, we experienced a mass shooting and I can tell you, every time one occurs, we relive that event. And this is something that is going to stick with that community for a long time. One of the things that I'm encouraged about today, listening to witnesses, visiting with people out there on the scene, is how proactive so many different people were. The mall outside of where the shooting occurred, just outside of Walmart, had done an active shooter drill. Walmart employees and employees at the mall had practiced what to do in such a situation. And it was so encouraging, as someone that goes around and works with folks all over the country on this on how to stay alive, that these folks took it upon themselves. They were proactive. They brought people inside, strangers they didn't even know. They locked their doors, they sheltered in place. They loaned them their cell phone in order for them to call loved ones. And so I was very, very encouraged. And I can tell you having researched this for several decades, that saved lives right there. Anytime we can get potential victims out of harm's way, we're saving lives.
[Allen:] And, of course, the political discussion about what's going on in this country, that's for another day. But the sad thing about it is that you travel the country, helping people prepare for the event that they are in just what happened in El Paso, that suddenly they realize there's a shooter amongst them. I did hear a young woman who was saying that she pushed 40 people out of an exit but she couldn't help an elderly woman and she felt horrible about that. But I also heard another account of a child who came into a store in the mall and said there's an active shooter and people responded passively. In some respects, isn't it just impossible for some people to grasp what is going on at the moment?
[Matthews:] Well, that's what we've got to do through education, through training, thru outreach to the average citizen, the average person in public out there, to let them know you're seeing this on television. You're following it in the news. You know, mass shootings and active shooter events are a part of society. You have to understand that. You don't have to like it but you have to understand it and be aware of it. And so some people did take it seriously. They heard the first shots. I know that we spoke with one woman, who said, I heard the shots; I recognized it wasn't normal. I had my 1-year-old baby in the car and I sped away. Whereas others still weren't sure what was going on or all of us, honestly, want to say we live in a safe community. We live in a safe environment. It'll never happen here. We need to raise our level of awareness just so people understand, it can happen here and, if it does, you've got to be able to respond and not just dismiss it.
[Allen:] It used to be a mass shooting a day in the United States but it's gone beyond that now. What is the main thing that you tell people if, say, they were caught in a situation like this and what they need to do as far as getting away? Or we saw some video of people hiding. They couldn't get out. So what are they to do?
[Matthews:] That's right. You can't always get out of this situation so what we did is we went back and looked at every single mass shooting since 1980 until today and developed a research-based model on what were the effective actions that people took and tactics that they made that allowed them to survive. We called the model ESCAPE and the first thing you try to do is exit. Any possibility of getting away from the shooter or getting away from the scene, exit as fast and far as you can and stay away. Don't go back. I know you have an urge, especially if you have friends and relatives to go back and save them, but get away as fast as you can. If you can't get away, and some people just weren't in a position to get away, then we want to you seek cover. Cover is anything that's going to protect you from bullets. Today people hid in cars. They hid behind cars. They hid behind cement pillars, all great things to do because bullets aren't going to be able to penetrate it and get to you. If you can't find cover, find concealment. Something to hide you. And several of the folks today said, yes, we hid in a storeroom. We hid in a shop. You know, we hid behind a clothes rack. If even if it's not going to stop bullets, if that shooter can't see you, you probably won't become a victim. We ask you to assess the situation. If you have to move, present him with a small target. Get low to the ground, run in quick bursts. And the last step, engage only as the last possible resort because, most of the time engaging the shooter, someone that is bent on killing by an average, unarmed citizen won't turn out well for the citizen. So, you know, exit as soon as you can, seek cover, find concealment. Those are the best things to do.
[Allen:] Thank you so much, John Matthews. Thanks for talking with us.
[Matthews:] Thank you very much.
[Allen:] Texas governor Greg Abbott spoke earlier about this tragedy. Here he is.
[Greg Abbott , Texas Governor:] Twenty innocent people from El Paso have lost their lives and more than 2 dozen more are injured. We, as a state, unite in support of these victims and their family members. We want to do all we can to help them, to assist them. We pray that God can be with those who've been harmed in any way and bind up their wounds. We want to express incredible gratitude for all the law enforcement and the swift response that they took to minimize the loss of life by directly confronting the shooter, getting him to disarm himself and be able to arrest him. I want the city of El Paso to know and the El Paso Police Department and everybody in this entire community know that the state of Texas provides its full support for this community and their efforts to rebuild. For the country that I know has been paying a lot of attention to this, asking what they can do, I ask that you keep El Pasoans in your prayers. We know the power of prayer and the power that you can have by using that prayer. For every mom and dad, for every son and daughter, we ask you put your arms around your family members tonight and give them a hug and let them know how much you love them.
[Allen:] Stay with CNN as we continue to bring you more information on yet another mass shooting in the United States.
[Unidentified Female:] It's tragic and I think we have to stay strong for our city and I think, in a situation like this, you just ask yourselves, how can I help? What can I do to help? And so the first thing we thought of was let's go to the school and see what we can do there. It's like it's a time where we all need to come together instead of being separate.