[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Breaking news this morning. A shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. All the latest details as we're covering them right now. Again a breaking situation. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
[Dave Briggs, Cnn Anchor:] I'm Dave Briggs. It is Thursday, November 8th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. 1:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. And that's where we are covering this breaking news. Police were called at 11:20 p.m. California Time. It is now again 1:00 a.m. and still considered it active. A mass shooting incident ongoing at this hour. A bar in Thousand Oaks, California, that's northwest of Los Angeles. Information still coming in at this hour. Here's what we know. The attacker forced his way into the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, reportedly shot a bouncer or barman. Now what is the Borderline Bar & Grill? A large country dance bar popular with Pepperdine and Cal Lutheran students. Cal Lutheran is just down the street. An official on scene saying there are at least a half dozen wounded including one deputy sheriff.
[Romans:] Their conditions not yet known so we're still gathering that information. But there's one witness telling CNN affiliate KABC that a gunman walked up, shot a security guard, entered the bar, set off a smoke bomb. Some of the witnesses there said there were several smoke bombs but again these details all need to be confirmed and then began shooting. Tactical officers have entered the bar now. It is still, as we said an active scene. It is unclear right now if there's any threat to the public that still remains. A few more words about the bar, the Borderline dance floor alone, 2500 square feet. Officials say hundreds of people were inside. And look, this was college night. Wednesday night, college night at the bar. So you've got students from Pepperdine, you've got students from Cal Lutheran who are frantically trying to find out if their friends were inside. And there were lots of eyewitness reports of some of those college students fleeing by any means possible the scene.
[Briggs:] And again still an active situation. CSU Channel Islands, another local college in the area. For those of you that have not been to a similar place, imagine hundreds of young people dancing to country music. Line dancing often takes place. Could be hundreds of people on the dance floor at anytime. Here is what we know from the local captain of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office with an update.
[Capt. Garo Kuredjian, Ventura County Sheriff's Office:] So about 11:20 this evening, we received a call of shots fired at the Borderline Bar & Grill here in Thousand Oaks. As our first deputies arrived on scene, they also heard shots fired. Our deputies have been searching the area. It's an active scene as you can see behind me. But we can confirm that there are several people that have been injured inside the Bar & Grill, including one deputy sheriff who was transported. I can't tell you the condition of the deputy or those that are injured inside. But I can tell you that this is still a very active scene and we have obviously dozens of personnel behind me now that are trying to get to the bottom of what happened and to neutralize the threat if the threat is still active.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Do we know if Is the threat is still active, sir?
[Kuredjian:] Yes.
[Unidentified Reporter:] OK. So it's an active situation.
[Kuredjian:] It's an active situation. We can't consider this situation under control at this point. We have lots of personnel that are on scene including special weapons and tactics team with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, the Ventura Police Department, as well as the Simi Valley Police Department.
[Unidentified Reporter:] So the shooter could be alive and could still be a threat?
[Kuredjian:] Yes.
[Unidentified Reporter:] And can you give us any sense of how many people were there?
[Kuredjian:] I would say about half a dozen people were injured inside the location.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Shot?
[Kuredjian:] Yes.
[Unidentified Reporter:] OK. And once more, the status of the shooter, sir? What can you tell us?
[Kuredjian:] I can't tell you much about the shooter at this point. We are still looking for the shooter. We can't confirm that the shooter is in custody at this point.
[Unidentified Reporter:] What is the number of victims? We're hearing mass casualty means anything from 11 to 20 victims? Is that right?
[Kuredjian:] At this point, what I'm hearing is about six.
[Unidentified Reporter:] How many people were inside at the time?
[Kuredjian:] I would say hundreds, but I can't confirm the exact number.
[Unidentified Reporter:] As far as you know only half of it only six victims total?
[Kuredjian:] That's what I can confirm at this point. But again I want to remind you this is very preliminary. And our deputies are still processing it to ensure both that the shooter is neutralized and that the victims are taken care of.
[Unidentified Reporter:] We're told by a witness that You said on arrival. You described a very dynamic scene. What was that like?
[Kuredjian:] When deputies arrived on scene, they responded to a shots fired call. When they got here, they were still hearing those shots. And they responded to neutralize that.
[Unidentified Reporter:] One of the witnesses said that they may have thrown smoke bombs in. Do you know about that? And was that still going on when the deputies arrived?
[Kuredjian:] I have not heard about the smoke bombs. I don't know about that.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Has anyone been confirmed killed or has anyone died?
[Kuredjian:] I can't tell you what the status of any of those that were shot is at this point.
[Unidentified Reporter:] When is the last time you had a shots fired incident in this community?
[Kuredjian:] It's been quite some time. It's been quite some time.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Thousand Oaks is known for its safety. This obviously changes everything.
[Kuredjian:] Thousand Oaks is a very safe community. This is something that thankfully is a very unusual and it doesn't happen very frequently in our neighborhood.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Do you train for active shooters?
[Kuredjian:] We train all the time with active shooters. And if you see behind me, we have law enforcement for all agencies. We all train the same way for active shooter scenarios, so we can seamlessly work together to neutralize that threat. And so we're working with our partners both state and other municipalities.
[Unidentified Reporter:] When is the last time you heard a shot fired?
[Kuredjian:] That's a tough question. I can't tell you specifically, especially in this neighborhood.
[Romans:] So again, to recap, this is late Wednesday evening, the call comes in at 11:20 that someone had entered this bar shooting. One report of a smoke bomb. Full of students Wednesday night. College night. Cal Lutheran, very close there. It's right there on the Ventura freeway. A dance floor that's, what, 2500 square feet.
[Briggs:] Yes, an enormous country line dancing bar. And again, that was the update at 12:45 a.m. Pacific Time, about an hour and a half after the initial call came in to the police department. It was still at that point an active situation. The local coverage there was zooming in on a body, a deceased body, just outside the Borderline Bar & Grill. Eyewitnesses said there were hundreds of people on the dance floor at any given time. And again eyewitnesses said there were smoke bombs thrown into this country line dancing bar at the time of the shooting. Let's hear now from some of the witnesses.
[Unidentified Male:] I was to the front door. I was talking to my stepdad. And I just started hearing these big pops. Pop, pop, pop. There's probably three or four. I hit the ground. I look up. The security guard's dead. I don't want to say dead but he was shot, he was down. And the gunman was throwing smoke grenades all over the place. I saw him point to the back of the cash register. And he just started he just kept firing. I ran out the front door. I hear chairs being thrown out the window. People were trying to get out the window. And the gunman went to the he went behind the cash register. He kept there was probably 12 shots before I got out the front door. And I go out. I come back in to see if my stepdad's OK. I hear him yelling. And I ran. But the gunman he was he had a beard. He looked Middle Easterner or so. He was wearing a hat, black jacket. I think he had glasses on like prescription glasses. He had a big handgun. And I mean, shots were just firing. Everyone was hanging out. All of a sudden we heard a bunch of shots obviously from a semiautomatic rifle. The police showed up. Three of them went to the door. Currently there's one officer down as they were breaching the front entrance. The other two pulled out. One, I think, is still in there. And now I think about it, there are probably two officers down. Because only one came out. So they both pulled out. He is still holed up inside.
[Romans:] You just hear the shock in their voices. Calm and composed, but clearly shaken here. The scene is still active, we are told. We heard from officials there, Ventura County sheriff's captain at 3:45 a.m. Eastern Time. The first call was received at 11:20, shots fired. He confirmed that six people were shot including a deputy. But again not confirming of course any status. And all of this is very preliminary. It's really important in breaking situations like this, Dave, to remind everyone that even some of the eyewitness testimony, it's just one small little bit of what happened in there. And sometimes the early information can be corrected.
[Briggs:] And again, that sheriff's county captain said just six which would be surprising considering hundreds of people dancing on that floor at any given time. ABC 7, the local there in Los Angeles, says eyewitnesses describe the shooter as a Middle Eastern male with a beard. To Christine's point, that evidence, that eyewitness account can certainly change as we move forward. But black hair, black trench coat, described as a Middle Eastern male at this hour. 1:09 there, Pacific Time.
[Romans:] This is, right there, on the Ventura freeway, a big borderline country and western bar. Wednesday night was college night there. So among those eyewitnesses were college students from Cal Lutheran. The Pepperdine student newspaper is writing about this, we're told, because this is a place that according to folks writing for the newspaper was a popular place with Pepperdine students. And Wednesday night, a college night there. So there would have been hundreds of people there in the venue.
[Briggs:] And an update now from ABC Eyewitness News there in California. They are reporting one sheriff's officer was transported to the hospital. Authorities say the suspect may still be on the loose. Let's bring in now Steve Moore, CNN law enforcement contributor, retired supervisory special agent with the FBI. Steve, good morning to you. It is 1:10 Pacific Time. The first calls came in at 11:20 p.m. there, Pacific Time. They say it's still an active situation. What's your read into this? Is there still a shooter on the loose?
[Steve Moore, Cnn Law Enforcement Contributor:] Well, yes, if they say that they haven't if they say it's still active, yes. Something is there. I also see people walking on the roof. That's indicative of possibly still looking for the person. They have probably with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, one of the more robust and well- trained law enforcement agencies in Southern California. And I would expect that they're going to be doing this the right way. But if they have said that it is not resolved, then they are either looking for the primary or a secondary suspect. In these situations, you're always going to be told that there is a secondary suspect by someone. So I'm not sure that they are not doing this out of an abundance of caution. But they are still right there, looking at these yes, they are going in search right now from what I can see. They are one thing that's significant is you are not going to see emergency personnel, medics, EMTs, firefighters go into a venue until it is considered reasonably safe. So at a certain level they have to think that there is it is safe to bring those firefighters, those EMTs in.
[Romans:] Talk to us a little bit about the mechanics of securing the scene than we've seen you know, we've seen first responders going into the building, you mentioned on some of these videos you can see that there are people, first responders, on the roof. If you've got hundreds of college students in there, and somebody was in a black trench coat who maybe could ditch that black trench coat, how are they handling all of the witnesses, all of the young people who were there dancing?
[Moore:] Excellent question. What they're going to do is, as much as is humanly possible, they are going to segregate anybody out who is even in the area at this time of night, especially at a location like the Borderline where it is easily cordoned off. It's even though it's in a very popular place it's bordered by several roads that make it easy to get everybody corralled. Once they do that, they're going to go person by person and identify them, search them and interview them because, as you just alluded to, because people can just drop their clothes they were wearing, especially if it's an outer garment and just blend in with the crowd.
[Briggs:] But just again, Steve, judging by what we're seeing these pictures of people standing around while traumatized, yes, there are hundreds of people standing around yet the police describe it as an active situation must do surmise that the shooter has been in some way either detained or shot judging by the fact that police are allowing people to stand around and reporters to stand around right next to the bar.
[Moore:] Yes. From what I'm seeing, they are where the people are standing is probably a block or two away. But yes, I mean, I don't I can't imagine that from their actions that they don't have an idea somehow on where the main shooter is and maybe they're looking for other shooters as they
[Briggs:] Steve, hang on. This is the video I'm referencing here. People standing around, officers without guns drawn. That does not look to me doesn't it to you like an active shooting situation?
[Moore:] Not at all.
[Briggs:] OK.
[Moore:] In fact I've seen one of the tactical team guys carrying his helmet. When I was on the tactical team, you did not take your helmet off until you were going home. So that would indicate to me that this is not a as active a situation as maybe they're talking about to the press right now. But you're absolutely right. They are already putting up crime tape which to me means you don't do that until you have a scene to cordon off. So to me it looks like they've gone from the response stage to the investigative stage. Again I'm only judging from what pictures I'm seeing. I you know, the encouraging thing I saw is they have their triage mats out in the lot which is just southwest or northwest of the location. Those mats are empty, which is a phenomenal good news. You don't have victims laying in these triage mats. It also appears that they've set up mobile command post which is on the complete other side of Borderline. So there is caution being used displayed, but it doesn't mean that there is something going on right at the moment.
[Romans:] Sure. Steve, talk to us a little bit about the bar. We know that it's a country western bar and grill. We know Wednesday night was college night. So it could have been full of young people there. And these are the kinds of, you know, soft targets that are just are so difficult to secure when you have a crowd situation and someone with a firearm.
[Moore:] Yes. You're not going to you're not going to be able to defend a soft target like that. Especially, I mean, if you really actually had somebody go in there and as I have seen reported attack a security guard and begin throwing smoke grenades into the place. Again, this is all preliminary.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Moore:] And witnesses are very reliable at this point. But if that's the case, you have somebody who's planned this that this doesn't appear to be somebody getting mad and coming back. And again the crowd is not one that would tend to you know, on college night then to bring out people who would use violence to end an argument. So
[Briggs:] Yes.
[Moore:] You know, based on what I'm hearing, it could be a very well- planned thing.
[Briggs:] Students as young as 18 could be in that bar that night according to the bar's Web site, 18 and older. And according to the L.A. Times the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has been dispatched. Also according to the "L.A. Times," 30 shots were fired. What does that tell you about this handgun as reported and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force? Is that typically that they would be dispatched to a shooting like this?
[Moore:] Yes. In fact I was the supervisor on that task force for years. So they will be on their way out. Again, part of the reason is, you know, the FBI does handle mass shootings. But there are reports that indicate that the person might have been Middle Eastern. I don't put a whole bunch of credence into that based on just the fact that early reports were usually incorrect. But, you know, that you can't ignore that. And so there are going to be a bunch of law enforcement here. And frankly, you know, one thing about Thousand Oaks is every other block, you either have a policeman or a federal agent living.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Moore:] This is where law enforcement lives in the northern Los Angeles area. This is where they go because this is statistically one of the safest towns by population in the nation.
[Romans:] Yes. Yes. Isn't it? Thousand Oaks is a nice it's just a nice little community there, an L.A. community. Quickly, so at this point, I mean, can we assume that first responders are clearing out folks that might be hiding, employees and people who might be hiding inside that venue?
[Moore:] Yes. That's what you would be doing at this point if you believe that your suspects are if most of the indication is your suspects are down, then you are emptying the place and making sure everybody is secure. But I don't even see that level of concern at this point. You would see teams coming in and out because it's a very exhausting process to look for survivors and look for people who are hiding, and so you bring people in and out like you bring players off the bench just to keep them fresh. And right now I see nobody coming out, nobody really going in. And you would see tactical teams moving in and out. I do not see that at this point.
[Romans:] All right. Steve Moore, CNN law enforcement contributor, helping us understand what's happening on that scene right now. The Borderline Bar in Thousand Oaks, California. Stay close. Thank you so much for your context.
[Briggs:] We'll check back with you. Let's welcome in now Betty Harrah. Her son was inside the Borderline Bar & Grill at the time of the shooting. We are happy to report her son is doing OK. Betty, good morning to you. How is your son? What did he tell you about what he witnessed?
[Betty Harrah, Son Survived Shooting:] Yes, he goes there on a regular basis. This is an innocent place for young kids to go have a good time. He was standing across the way and a man walked in dressed in all black. Came in and started shooting. He shot the girl in the front, which he witnessed, which was his friend. She was his friend. She worked there and he said he shot her. And then he ducked down. He had his girlfriend's hand. He fell on the ground. He was dragging her out. He called me, hysterical, crying, I was on the way there. He told me, don't come there. It's just it's a tragic scene. I lived here my whole life, I've never witnessed anything like this here. It's very, very sad, we are a very safe community. And it's tragic. It's very tragic.
[Romans:] So your son told you, Betty, that he saw the a young woman who worked there at the bar inside the front door being shot?
[B. Harrah:] Right. Inside the front door. Just walked in and shot her.
[Romans:] Just awful.
[B. Harrah:] And he said he heard four or five gunshots.
[Romans:] Did he keep shooting inside? Did he he heard four or five shots. So he heard the gunman continue to shoot after that?
[B. Harrah:] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then evidently jumped behind the bar. He was throwing some kind of smoke bombs. He had a beard. He did have a beard and he was wearing a beanie. So the things that they are saying he seemed are true.
[Romans:] OK. We're going to have thank you so much, Betty Harrah. Don't go too far, Betty, we might want to talk to you again but we're going to get an update here from law enforcement on the ground. Let's listen in to this update.
[Kuredjian:] The shooter is confined within the facility. So there is no threat to the general public outside the bar and grill. I don't know what the status of the shooter is. If he's been captured or if he's been neutralized. But what I can tell you is we don't feel that he is out of the bar and grill at this time.
[Unidentified Reporter:] At this time. How about weapons? Have you determined what he brought inside? We've been hearing about smoke bombs. What do you know?
[Kuredjian:] I know only of the guns. I've heard of the smoke bombs by being at the presser earlier, a reporter mentioned that, but I don't know that.
[Unidentified Reporter:] So 11 shots How many died
[Kuredjian:] I don't have the status of any of their injuries.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Including the deputy?
[Kuredjian:] I don't have the status of the deputy.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Is the location clear now? Is the location clear? We've heard there might be people in the attic?
[Kuredjian:] We have deputies going through it now. My understanding is that there is I didn't know about people in the attic. I haven't heard that at all.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Sir, can you spell your name again and your rank?
[Kuredjian:] It's K-U-R-E-D-J-I-A-N. My first name is Garo. G-A-R-O. I'm the captain of Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
[Unidentified Reporter:] So, Garo, was one of your colleagues injured or
[Kuredjian:] A deputy was shot. I don't know what his condition is. With the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Were they responding to the scene or?
[Kuredjian:] Yes. They were responding to the scene.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Was it someone who engaged the suspect?
[Kuredjian:] I don't know that but I assume so. But I don't know that.
[Unidentified Reporter:] We heard of a report about a security guard who got injured. Do you have information about the security guard who was injured?
[Kuredjian:] I don't have information on any of those injured other than the deputy that was injured. That's all that I know.
[Unidentified Reporter:] You don't have any conditions on any of the victims? Is that right?
[Kuredjian:] I don't have any conditions on any of the victims.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Eleven total right now?
[Kuredjian:] Yes.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Are you expecting that number to grow?
[Kuredjian:] I would guess if anything that number would go up. These are, again, like I said earlier, they were preliminary numbers. I want to give you guys numbers as opposed to saying several. That number could just like what I said earlier six. That number has gone up to 11. That number could change and that's all that I can say at this point. I don't have that information. I don't know of anyone that is deceased or not transported.
[Unidentified Reporter:] As far as you know 11 people are in the hospital?
[Kuredjian:] I don't know if they were transported or if they are here or what their condition. I don't know that answer.
[Unidentified Reporter:] What are you saying to the families? There are so many people. Friends and loved ones worried about the status. When will they know? When will
[Kuredjian:] That will take some time. It's not a scene that is safe where people can go in and out of at this point. We have investigators that are looking to make sure that the scene inside the nightclub is safe and it's going to take some time. I don't have a time estimate for that.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Do you know how this call came? Was there someone in the bar that called for help? Someone who left
[Kuredjian:] I don't know where the call came from. What I can tell you is the call was shots fired. And that's what our deputies responded to. That is what they factored when they arrived on the scene.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Did you check the security guard on arrival?
[Kuredjian:] I don't have that level of detail. I think since it's so rapidly unfolding at this point, we're trying to give as much information to give you all about the statistics of what is happening. I don't have that level of detail. Haven't been in talks with investigators to that level yet.
[Unidentified Reporter:] So the shooter is
[Kuredjian:] We don't feel that the shooting has left the bar and grill. So whatever it is, was contained inside the bar and grill. We don't feel that there is a threat to the public outside, to the neighbors outside.
[Unidentified Reporter:] We heard the inside the building and the shooter
[Kuredjian:] I don't know if he's been transported or if he's been captured. What I can tell you is we don't feel that there is a threat to the residents outside the area.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Do you know
[Unidentified Male:] OK. So, well, there, we're just hearing a big update from
[Romans:] So look, we were an update there from a captain there in the Ventura County Sheriff's Office confirming in fact that a deputy was shot. A deputy with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office was shot. But not any details about how that happened. Look, all of this is all preliminary. So I want to really caution people that it's rapidly unfolding. It's only been a couple of hours since the first call came in at 11:20 local time. And they say that the gunman is confined. But he is not the sheriff's captain is not saying what that means exactly. If he is if he's been shot, if he's been arrested. He's just confined inside the location. They don't think there's a further threat to the public here.
[Briggs:] And the captain confirmed a sheriff's deputy has been shot, has been transported to the hospital. Again, for those of you just tuning in now, it's a college night at the Borderline Bar & Grill. The Pepperdine student newspaper can't confirm Pepperdine students were at the bar at the time of the shooting. I can confirm from watching local news Cal Lutheran students, several were at the bar at the time of the shooting. But again just right now, 11 reports of shootings from that sheriff's deputy. The black hair, black trench coat, black beard is what we know at this hour about the shooter.
[Romans:] Betty Harrah is someone who lives nearby. Her son was inside. He is OK, but he went running out of that venue with his girlfriend after the shots were fired. Betty, are you still with us?
[B. Harrah:] I am. Yes.
[Romans:] Tell me a little bit more about what your son says he saw and how quickly this unfolded.
[B. Harrah:] You want to tell them, Holden?
[Romans:] Hi there. What's your name? What's your name, sir?
[Holden Harrah, Shooting Victim:] My name is Holden Harrah.
[Romans:] Hi, Holden. I'm so glad you got out of there. Must have been terrifying.
[H. Harrah:] One of the worst, horrendous tragic event that ever happened in a very long time.
[Romans:] Tell me, Holden, what you saw, what you were doing. You were dancing?
[H. Harrah:] No, I was on the opposite side of the bar. And I was with just a few friends. And yes, and I go there every week. I have been attending there for about six months. And just a place to go out, hang out with your friends and just have fun as young adults. And unfortunately what happened tonight and what I actually saw with my own two eyes was a gentleman who walked in to the front door and shot the girl that was right behind the counter. I just I see this girl every single time I'm there. It just I don't know her name. But someone to make small conversation with, and say hi here and there. We're starting to get really familiar with each other. And the first two gunshots hit her. I don't know if she's alive.
[Briggs:] We are so sorry, Holden. We know how difficult this must be. I can't imagine what it was like to be inside that bar at the time. Did you see the shooter? Did you make anything out?
[H. Harrah:] Yes. I saw a gentleman wearing a black trench-looking coat. He had a beard. It seemed was also wearing glasses. And within seconds he went and walked through the door, pulled the gun out and fired twice. And then there was about three or four other shots that I did hear, but I was already out of the building at the time. But I just I am just in shock over what I saw with my own two eyes tonight.
[Romans:] Was it dark inside the bar?
[H. Harrah:] No. There's light.
[Romans:] Yes.