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New Image of Bombing Suspects; Search and Rescue Continue at Fertilizer Plant Fire; MIT Police Officer Shot

Aired April 18, 2013 - 23:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, the FBI releasing a video of two possible suspects in the Boston marathon bombing. Our forensics experts break it down frame by frame.

Plus, the latest developments from the massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas. Emergency workers are working around the clock, a 24-hour day to try to find and save any more survivors.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, live from Boston. We begin with breaking news.

Suspects revealed. Today FBI officials released video and photos of two male suspects in the Boston bombings. Officials also say they have video of at least one suspect planting a bomb. They, at this point, though, have chosen not to release that specific video.

But I want to show you the video that they have released. I'll show you first suspect one. That's the man wearing the dark hat walking in front of suspect two in the white hat. They are walking in the direction of the marathon finish line about 12 minutes before the blast went off. This is according to the time stamp on the video we've received.

A law enforcement official tells CNN that the men stayed at the scene to watch the carnage unfold. Then they casually walked away.

And here are the photos released today. Suspect one, as you can see, these are the freeze frames in the dark hat carrying the dark-colored backpack. Suspect two in the backwards white cap, we got a much better picture of his face because of that. With a profile and a frontal. Authorities say he left a bag that they believe could have contained one of the explosives outside the Forum restaurant on Boylston Street within minutes of the explosions. That was the site of the second blast which caused the fatalities. Now the FBI is asking for your help in finding these men.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD DESLAURIERS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: We consider them to be armed and extremely dangerous. No one should approach them. No one should attempt to apprehend them except law enforcement.

Let me reiterate that caution. Do not take any action on your own. If you see these men, contact law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 1- 800-CALL-FBI or go to their Web site, Bostonmarathontips.FBI.gov.

Drew Griffin was at the FBI press conference today. He's been working his sources here in Boston.

And, Drew, you know, the FBI was very specific in what they chose to give out and what they chose to not release. What do you know that they're not comfortable telling us right now?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Well, I believe and I think most of these experts that we'll be talking to the rest of your show, believe that they have video of these guys all the way through this event, lots of incriminating video, I'm sure, which brings them right to the crime scene to the crime scene and away from the crime scene.

We know from our own reporting -- Susan Candiotti is reporting about how they behaved afterwards. But also, what the FBI said today specifically, Rick DesLauriers said, just look at these photos, no description. We're not giving you the height, the weight, the ethnicity. None of that. We just want you to focus on these photos and specifically, he said, forget every other photo you saw and tell us who these people are.

So they want, for some reason or another, they want the public to just focus on these two exact people and these two exact images of these people to help identify them.

BURNETT: Right. And to your point, very interesting that they chose not to release more specifics of their appearance. I guess I supposed that's to not lead people?

GRIFFIN: Well, maybe to not lead people.

BURNETT: Right.

GRIFFIN: Maybe they want that information kept so they can convict these people. Maybe they don't want to release too much information to a potential suspect of what the police may or may not know about their actions. This could have something to do with the investigation, et cetera.

BURNETT: Right.

GRIFFIN: So all of that. But we do know, Susan Candiotti talked to a federal source said, look, the second guy did place the backpack in front of the Forum restaurant, 775 Boylston, where it blew up, right? And we also know that these guys acted very -- they acted different than everyone else after the explosion. That while most people are running away, and victims were lying on the ground, these two suspects walk away casually. That is what focused them on these two guys. BURNETT: On these two guys. Now how are they able to isolate them? I mean, there's that reaction at the end but when you think about all the video that they were looking at, and a lot of people who were confused, and who knows how you'll react in that moment, how are they able to isolate these two?

GRIFFIN: Well, I think it's started with the forensic evidence. The black nylon bags. Now who's carrying black nylon bags, black backpacks? We see them in this video. We know about where the bombs were placed. So who was walking in that general area with a black backpack?

So I think there would be a process of video elimination that brought them to these two specific people and then once they locate these possible -- and there's probably many different people they were looking at.

BURNETT: Right.

GRIFFIN: But they look at the video of these two people and then they look at their reactions and then they might have more witnesses that we don't know about. And so they have isolated these two people in particular, and you know, they're not saying persons of interest. Not we want to talk to them. These are suspects. Stay away from them. They are armed and dangerous. Just tell us where they are. We want to arrest them.

BURNETT: Right. And to your point, suspects, obviously, meaning you're just a suspect but it is different than we want to talk to you.

GRIFFIN: Yes. That is exactly right.

BURNETT: Very different. All right. Drew Griffin, thank you very much. Reporting with the very latest there on the FBI investigation in this video. Why they chose to put just this part of it out and only this part to the public around the world.

I want to bring in now former counterterrorism expert Jeff Beatty and Don Borelli also joins us, former member of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. And thank both of you for taking the time.

Jeff, you're here with me so let me -- let me just begin. You know, you hear Drew talking about this video, why they chose to put this specific -- only this and only this. What is your take on that? You know, it's two points that we know that they have an incredible amount of video out there. But they only wanted us to see this.

JEFF BEATTY, COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: I think they want to just keep it simple. I think that the images they showed, the video they showed are going to get the job done for them. We already know that people have even come to us and said I've called the FBI as a result of seeing this today.

BURNETT: Right. We're hearing that they are getting a lot of calls tonight. Yes. BEATTY: Right. So very successful. But, you know, even from this video you can infer some great things. You can see that there was no city plan in their hand. There was no GPS in their hand. So what does that tell us? It tells us they were very deliberately on a route that they were familiar with. They kind of came in from one side and then parallel the route, knew where they were going. You know, clearly they had rehearsed that.

So a lot of inferences could still be drawn by that. But I think the FBI just wants to keep it simple and I think it's proving good results for them.

BURNETT: And, Don, let me ask you about that point Jeff raises. That they knew what they were doing. They had done dry runs. Now when you think about an event like this it would seem you would assume that there's going to be video footage, if not CCTV, from television crews, whatever it might be, you're at the finish line after all.

But you would also have assumed that there'd be CCTV footage of you while you did your walkthroughs. These people seem so disciplined in some ways. Did they know that and don't care or did they not think of it?

DON BORELLI, FORMER MEMBER, FBI JOINT TERRORISM TASK FORCE: I think that there's a good chance that they knew this and they didn't care. That they had a plan in place. They had rehearsed this -- I mean, this to me seems just like these guys had some training. They were very cool, calm, and collected, and it also leads me to believe that they must have had a get away plan and didn't really care about the fact that they were going to be on videotape. That they had a plan in place for after the bombs went off.

BURNETT: I want to just interrupt the conversation here and let you all know we do have some have breaking news and update you on just what we know here. MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is reporting gunshots have been reported on the campus. According to an alert on MIT's Web site the area where the gunshots are presumed to be taking place at this moment has been cordoned off.

The university is telling students right now and other to stay away from that area. It's building 32 until further notice. We're going to bring you updates on this as we get them. That's obviously near where we are here in Boston. We have a reporter -- we're going to go check that out and find out what exactly is happening at MIT and as we get more information on that, we're going to bring that to you.

Jeff, it does show a country on edge.

BEATTY: Well, it certainly does. You know, and the MIT incident here and you know we've been doing some research and your staff has been doing research about other aspects of rehearsals. We talked briefly the other day about, you know, they would rehearse their choreography on the street but they would also how to rehearse how this weapon might be detonated. And now --

BURNETT: And you're talking about -- they would have rehearsed the explosives to the marathon?

BEATTY: Exactly. At least the initiation device. And now we have some indications that in the greater Boston area within the past month or so there are some indications of previous investigations law enforcement has done and found some crude explosive devices and that's being developed right now. So we'll get more information on that.

BURNETT: Don, do you also think, when you look at how these men walk in this video, you know, so casually, so confidently, you know, the backpack on one of them just over the shoulders, obviously, as Jeff's point out, makes it easier to drop it but it also shows a real confidence in what they're doing. That they would have not only mapped out the route but had to have actually detonated explosives before and tested it, which is something of course that you would think that at some point somebody else would have noticed.

BORELLI: Absolutely. I mean it looks like these guys definitely had some training. It eerily reminds me of what we saw in Mumbai. That these -- that the people involved in that attack had planned, rehearsed, they moved with a purpose, they didn't panic. They just kind of went about their business. I mean, I'm not going to, you know, go out on a limb and say these guys had that same type of training but it just reminds me of the way that they moved from place to place without seeming to panic or anything like that. They just -- they seem to have it down pat.

BURNETT: People have described it as a discipline that's almost military like. That these people have received training?

BEATTY: Well, absolutely. And your point is right on. I was at Mumbai, investigated that. Went to every single one of the sites that was targeted, talked to the survivors of it, and they described the same type of deliberate, paramilitary or military type precision with the attacks and of course then we backtracked and found out that that was exactly the case, launched out of Pakistan.

So military, paramilitary background, whatever clearly folks who were prepared, folks who knew their mission, and folks, as your other guests also said, you know, had a plan from beginning to end, from planning, reconnaissance, rehearsal, the attack, the ex-filtration, and then where do they go from there?

BURNETT: And that, of course, is where the world now is trying to find these two suspects.

Don Borelli, Jeff Beatty, thank you very much both of you. We appreciate your time.

And we're going to take a break but we have much more on the possible suspects as we continue to break down this video frame by frame from the Boston terror attack.

The chairman of the House Homeland Security is here tonight with the very latest intelligence. Could this be an hallmark on an al Qaeda attack? His view on that.

And later social media tries to track down the men. Which pieces of clothing are they wearing that could actually really open this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Chilling new details about the suspects in the Boston bombings. Authorities believe that the two men, the suspects stayed at the scene to actually watch the carnage unfold. And then they left casually. This video of the men, suspect one in the dark hat, suspect two in the white hat, was taken 12 minutes before the blasts and released today by the FBI. Now these are the first images that we have seen of the men who authorities say may be responsible for killing three and injuring 180 more at Monday's marathon.

Earlier tonight I spoke with Congressman Mike McCaul. He is the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and he talked about the latest intelligence he's received. I asked him how authorities came to the conclusion that these two men were in fact the suspects in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL, CHAIR, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: I think as you and I have talked over the last several evenings, this videotape and the explosive forensics are really the key to this case and now the videotape has come out.

I want to first of all commend the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Boston Police Department for doing -- making significant progress in this case. Remember, this -- these images are going to go viral all over the world to millions of people and this is where they obviously can apprehend them on their own. This is where the American people can really make a difference and I hope that that will happen soon. But as you mentioned, I think a very important point to all of this, this is not a lone wolf case. There are two.

And where there are two, there may be more. This is a conspiracy now because you have two actors working together. We probably have a terrorist cell now. Other individuals may have worked to plot and plan and prepare for this terrorist attack and so I think, again, it's good news. I'm concerned about the flight risk here. But it's significant progresses in this case.

BURNETT: I want to ask you about the flight risk more in a moment. But first something you just said. You said we now know we have a terrorist cell. My question to you is, is that -- from your briefings, are you concerned that there could be other attacks being planned? Or was this really done on the day of the Boston marathon? How much more fear should there be?

MCCAUL: I think it's more like the '93 bombing, World Trade Center, on a less scale, and which was a one-time event. I think they have plotted this, prepared it. You can see the trade craft these two individuals and sort of ordinary clothes walking very methodically. They knew what they were doing and so they clearly prepared this. And it's -- there are two but I would argue that there could be a bigger conspiracy out there and I think the FBI is very interested in having the American people help apprehend these two individuals so that if there are other actors out there, they can get to them as well.

BURNETT: And in terms of the flight risk, we're now more than 72 hours after the blast. Obviously this is a significant breakthrough but these men, we all are under the belief knew that they would filmed. They are very confident. Do you think that they are long gone or are you certain at this point that law enforcement will be able to apprehend them?

MCCAUL: Well, I certainly hope they're apprehended. I think as every day goes by, certainly it's more difficult. First 24 hours are important. Their images can be screened through TSA video to see if they've already departed, which I'm sure the FBI has already done or if they are entering airports as we speak.

On the other hand, you know, the Canadian border is not very far from Boston. And the idea of them getting in a car and driving across the border into Canada is another flight risk that I would be very concerned about.

Now I know that the Justice Department has requested the assistance of foreign countries in terms of foreign travel, which I think is a very significant point here.

BURNETT: On foreign travel?

MCCAUL: Well, foreign travel in the sense that there may be some sort of foreign connection here. And the idea that they may have flown out of country to some other place. So you know, this is all evolving very rapidly --

BURNETT: Let me just make sure I understand. Sorry, I just want to make sure I understand, you said foreign connection. So they're still looking into the possibility that even though these two kids look sort of very, very stereotypically, like they're from here, that this may be linked to a foreign terror group?

MCCAUL: Well, I -- it's still unclear. And the nationality is very unclear from the images that you see.

BURNETT: Yes.

MCCAUL: This particular device is very common in Afghanistan and Pakistan and I will say that the al Qaeda playbook is usually to hit sporting events. We read this all the time. Sporting events, mass casualties. Spectacular, right? So it really -- this marathon bombing kind of plays into the al Qaeda playbook. So I would not discount it. Again, as I've said throughout your programs, we still at this point really don't know if this is a foreign or domestic terror plot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And our thanks to the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Congressman McCaul.

By putting out this pictures and videos, investigators are hoping that people, someone somewhere is going to recognize one of these two individuals or locate them in a picture that they also took during the marathon.

Our Tom Foreman has been watching the video over and over again like you have, like we have. But he's been blowing it up able to go in, pixel by pixel.

And, Tom, what have you learned?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and you know something, Erin, that's exactly what the FBI wants you to do. They want everyone to watch it again and again. And see what you can figure it out.

Let's roll into the actual sequence of it. This is where they come around the corner. There's suspect number one, suspect number two. These shots overlap a little bit. They cover in all about 50 feet of walking as they go down this way. There's the second shot in the sequence, you can see him coming this way. You see the women with the -- or the green bag down here. That's how you know it's the same direction. Then they continue this way and then there's a shot from behind as they go away.

Now I want to give you a little bit of context here so people can understand exactly where this all is. The running street is right over here. This is the direction they are coming. So I'm going to let this cycle back around you. We see them coming toward us again. And we're going to stop this for a moment. This is suspect number one, suspect number two here. This is the street. So the race is up here going this direction. These gentlemen are coming around and they are headed in a direction that is generally from the west to the east. They are also in the right sequence.

If this is number one, he is currently associated by the FBI with the first bomb. If this is number two, he's associated with the second bomb. And those bombs were on the route in this order. If he is in fact the person who is responsible for the bomb nearest the finish line, he had about three blocks to walk from this position. If he is the person who is responsible for the second one, he had about a block and a half to walk.

And look at this down right here. The time stamp tells us that all of this is happening around 12 to 12 1/2 minutes before the bombs actually go off. So that's one of the things that people are looking at. One of the other things that's being considered by authorities out there is simply this. Look at the shape of the backpacks and the size of the backpacks. If we go with this notion that authorities said they have found parts of this pressure cooker and where it might be. If you outline the bag, where you can see it early, yes, that's big enough to hold something.

And I'll move it down the way here just so you can see what we're talking about. If we move down here this is one of the packs that they believe they found that contained one of these explosives. Look at the colors. It's generally black as we've talked about. And this is part of one of the pressure cookers. You can see the size of the glove here so you get a sense of scale. Important to note here as well, as we move back here, this pack is generally black. If I move the video on, though, you can see that with the second pack here, and this is kind of interesting, that pack is not black. We really haven't heard that much about the second bomb. We've talked about the pieces of the bombs, we've heard a great deal more about what happened with the bomb near the finish line, not so much the second one that was further away and as you can see right there, Erin, I'm stopping it so you get a good look at it. That's where you can see that this pack really is much more of a light gray or a white color whereas the one up ahead here, this is the one that is black.

So Erin, it's just context. It doesn't necessarily tell us a whole lot but you're absolutely right. When you say you just want to watch it and watch it again, this is what the FBI wants people to do. Watch this and watch this and look at the individual pictures of these people and see if somehow in doing that you can spot somebody or something that will help them make an arrest -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Tom, thanks very much to you.

You know the images that the FBI released earlier this evening could also lead to fresh clues about the suspects. And not just because investigators are getting a first look at their faces but there's other things that they're looking for, too.

I'm joined live here in Boston by Deb Feyerick.

And, Deb, you know, you've been -- you have an understanding now in talking to investigators that they're looking at every single step that these two people took all the way down the road.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And to give a little more perspective on how this all played out, what we do know -- I've spoken to a number of analysts. And here's premise that they're working on. Those two men were headed down in the path towards the finish line. They were just about eight feet apart. They have practiced this route multiple times. They knew exactly where they were going. They knew exactly how much time they had in between the various stops.

Think about this. These men are carrying explosives. They are carrying bombs on their backs and yet they don't look nervous, not in the least. And that's why investigators do believe that in fact they had rehearsed this, they had practiced this route many, many times. So the two men are walking in direction of the finish line. Now the man in the black hat, he keeps walking. That is his destination. It is the finish line.

The man in the white hat, he stops at an earlier point. There's a distinctive picture of him looking down back towards the racers. He has the second device. The man in the black hat, he keeps walking. They know exactly how much time they have between point one and point two. It's about three minutes, according to analysts that I spoke with. They are using, according to investigators, some sort of a device, a detonation device. And that's what's key in many of these bomb incidents we've seen, it's the initiator, it's the detonator that always seems to fails. And that's why investigators believe they did do a dry run some place. And that's one of the things they're looking at. So you've got the man in the white hat who is south of the finish line, the man in the black hat who is at the finish line.

That bomb goes off. That is the bomb at the finish line that kills the two women. It is the bomb -- the bomb that's further south down the route that killed the little boy and injures those folks, that dramatic picture of the man we see with his legs blown off. Investigators are working on the assumption, Erin, that basically the two men they didn't cross over the route. What they did is they -- once they distanced themselves and detonated the devices, then they turned and began walking away to parallel roads, either Newbury Streets or Commonwealth. Investigators now looking for example at videos of subways, videos of buses, even tolls.

BURNETT: Right. Various escape routes.

(CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: They knew, they knew where they were going, they knew how to get in and they knew how to get out, and the question is, did anyone help them? And that is a big point of the investigation.

BURNETT: Yes.

FEYERICK: Those cell phones, they may have been used to detonate the device. Right now analysts are working on the premise that it may have been something more like a model plane detonator.

BURNETT: Right.

FEYERICK: But those cell phones, look, could have been used to communicate with one another as well, to communicate with a third individual.

BURNETT: Right.

FEYERICK: All of that they are looking at. And what kind of cell phones are most interested, the kinds of cell phones that don't leave a record, those that are disposable. So all of this is under investigation. This is so active but that's what we know right now. That the man in the black hat, he kept walking. The man in the white hat, he stopped south. They knew the timing, they walked away, detonated almost simultaneously and then they were gone. They disappeared.

BURNETT: All right, Deb, thank you very much.

And as Deb says, this is an incredibly active and changing minute by minute. But a big question now is, the shock tonight was when we found out it was not a lone wolf, that there were two, as you just heard the chairman of the Homeland Security say -- Security Committee say, are there more? Is there a conspiracy? A big question as they try to find these men and try to find everyone responsible.

Still to come live tonight, we take you to the site of a massive explosion in Texas. The fertilizer plant which, unfortunately, people have died. Emergency workers are working nonstop to try to save the possible survivors even though emergency workers themselves are among the fallen.

Plus, more of our coverage of the Boston bombing investigation. What investigators are learning from the video of the two possible suspects. We'll be back live from Boston in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: And now to the other breaking story that we are following tonight live, the search and rescue in Texas. We have new images of the devastation in West, Texas, which some have described as -- like a bomb site in Baghdad. Others have described it as a nuclear explosion. The images come as rescue workers continue to search for survivors among the rubble. The small town, which is really only about 20 miles, 18 to 20 miles north of Waco, was almost leveled by a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll-up the window.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cover your ears.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't hear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The blast could be felt as far as 50 miles away and there are reports that as many as 35 people have lost their lives. We do know that more than 160 have been injured in the explosion and at least three firefighters are still missing right now.

Our Miguel Marquez is in West, Texas, live tonight. And Miguel, what do we know about who has lost their lives? I know that among them we understand now there are first responders.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It was the mayor of West here that told "USA Today" that some 35 people have perished so far that they have found because they are going painstakingly through house to house, apartment to apartment through this area. But he also said that 10 of those that are dead are first responders. I can tell you I spoke to the fire department here early this morning as we were getting here. The person answered the phone sobbing barely able to talk to me. So this has clearly a tragedy that has affected this entire city -- Erin.

BURNETT: Miguel, there doesn't seem to be a lot of official information being released. You know, I was watching the press conferences and you know they didn't have a lot of answers. Do you know why?

MARQUEZ: Yes, well, as I said before, it's really -- it's a town, it's this town of 2800 people, maybe a few fewer than that. It is a very small place. I think officials here are -- they are shocked by what has happened. Everybody in this town knows someone who died in this. It literally turned lives upside down in an instant.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The call came at dinnertime, 7:29, a fire at West Fertilizer Company. Twenty-four minutes later, 7:53 p.m., firefighters on the scene, an explosion so big it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was sitting in my truck, you know, and then, boom, a big explosion, fire everywhere and just -- and bodies on the ground, bloody bodies, people in panic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bomb just went off inside here. It's pretty bad.

MARQUEZ: Within the blast radius, a nursing home, a hospital and a middle school.

SGT. WILLIAM PATRICK SWANTON, WACO POLICE DEPARTMENT: The firefighters that are missing first responders. They were the ones that actually went to the scene on their call, their page out. They responded to the scene and were actively fighting the fire at the time the explosion occurred.

MARQUEZ: The firefighters, volunteers. The chemical president, anhydrous ammonia, relatively harmless as a gas, causic and explosive in concentrated form adding water a lethal mix.

SWANTON: Somebody asked me their firefighting methods, I have no clue other than to tell you they were here. They knew it was a chemical issue. I feel fairly confident to tell you those folks knew what they were doing. I don't know what apparatus they have.

MARQUEZ: West Fertilizer Company fined twice previously. Last year, the Department of Transportation fined the company after it failed to file a property security plan for the transport of anhydrous ammonia, in 2006 the company was fined by the EPA for failing to file a risk management plan.

Most troubling, the "Dallas Morning News" reports, West Fertilizer Company told the EPA its 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia presented no risk of fire or explosion. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Miguel, when you look at the regulatory past of this plant has the company responded? Have they said anything yet?

MARQUEZ: Despite several calls and e-mails to the company, we have not heard back from the company. Officials say that they are working with the company in order to get the facts. So it's not like they are hiding. But, you know, everybody knows them in town. There's eight or 12 employees there. And you know, they're much as a part of this town as everybody else so I think that they are all struggling to get to the bottom of this -- Erin.

BURNETT: Thank you very much, Miguel, reporting live tonight from West, Texas.

And now back here live in Boston, I want to update you on the breaking news that we're following at MIT, Massachusetts institute of technology. Here's what we know. There's been a shooting at the school. We have just learned from Massachusetts police that an MIT police officer has been shot and has been taken to the hospital. I understand that he's been taken to Massachusetts general hospital.

The university is telling students right now and others to stay away from the area. Building 32 is where this took place. Until further notice, it's been cordoned off.

We're going to bring you updates on the story as we get them. I have Drew Griffin now on the phone who is over at MIT.

And Drew, what do you see?

GRIFFIN: A huge police presence. The scene is cordoned off. It seems like everything is under control. We don't have any official information but I can tell you from past experience it looks like this is a quiet scene. In other words, there's no -- apparently no active search at the exact crime scene where I'm at right now. There are multitudes of Cambridge and state police and obviously I am looking for federal authorities which at first brush I do not see at the moment.

We're hoping to get some kind of detailed information from the police as soon as they can wrap up the scene. But right now that is all we know. This is right at the center of the MIT campus Vassar and Main, where the shooting has taken place. Right now we just have a large taped off crime scene in the courtyard -- Erin.

BURNETT: And at this point, Drew, I know it's hard from where you are, we obviously are reporting there was an MIT police officer shot. Is it your understanding the same, that that was the only person shot? We know that he's in the hospital. We don't know yet his condition. Or do you know if this went beyond that?

GRIFFIN: That is all I have right now. That is my understanding. I am looking to see if there is anything beyond that. We're looking right now -- a police dog that had just been brought in by the state police. I am going to take a look and see what kind of activity that dog may or may not be performing. I don't see any kind of bomb sniffing activity at the moment. The (INAUDIBLE) is just folding out there. So I can't tell you what's happening.

Right now it's very sketchy information but it's huge, huge police presence and I think in the background of everybody's mind is whether or not this is connected to anything else that took place here in Boston today with regard to the suspects. I can just tell you that it did not appear at first blush to be any federal authorities at this location.

BURNETT: All right. Drew Griffin, thank you.

Drew, as you know now, is there. He's going to try to get more information. We don't know the status of the shooter and obviously there are questions. It's not just MIT. It's a country on edge. MIT is currently saying that the situation is active and extremely dangerous. We'll update you as we get more on that from Drew who is reporting on the scene live tonight for us tonight from MIT.

And now the latest from the investigation here in Boston. Jeff Beatty is here with me.

Jeff, you know, as Drew just said -- he's on the campus of MIT, huge police presence. He's noting at least from what he sees right now which is, you know, he's trying to find out more but he doesn't yet see a federal presence but a lot of police presence.

BEATTY: Sure.

BURNETT: And with everything that happened here today, with the video coming out, and with what happened herein the city earlier this week, people are asking the question as to whether this is something that could in any way be related.

BEATTY: Well, I think it's too early to tell if it's related. The good news is, I was listening to a bit of Drew's report.

BURNETT: Yes.

BEATTY: You know, if they are cordoned off a building, then that means we're probably dialing with a pistol. Or something that doesn't have a lot of reach, not a lot of range to it. So --

BURNETT: So it's not a semiautomatic rifle --

(CROSSTALK)

BEATTY: You know -- no, that a semiautomatic weapon, not a rifle that's going to reach out there 100 and 200 yards. So that indicated maybe a firearm, maybe even a firearm that became available from a scuffle with law enforcement or whatever. We don't know that yet.

Related or not? Won't know. But at this point, you know, there's no indication of a federal crime. So as a former FBI agent I can tell you that until there's an indication that there's a federal crime involved, the FBI certainly has our hands full with a few other things right now and they are going to leave that to the very capable police forces at MIT and within the Boston Police Department.

BURNETT: Right. And -- but it is interesting that what you're saying is from cordoning off a building that it's contained in terms of the sort of weapon?

BEATTY: Exactly.

BURNETT: You know, we're talking about some sort of a mass casualty situation.

BEATTY: Yes. I mean, the maximum effective range of a handgun in a really good shooter is 50 to 100 yards maximum. Whereas if you take a rifle and you can reach out 300, 400, 500 yards. So they would have to cordoning off blocks and blocks. Not just -- not just at an immediate building so apparently they appreciate the threat at the moment.

BURNETT: Right.

BEATTY: To be some sort of handgun.

BURNETT: All right. Now, I just want to -- we're looking at the video. We'll see if we have that. These are black pictures as we have them coming in but we did just see several men with FBI on their jacket. So it does seem now that there are -- there is an FBI presence there, which as you said is given what they have going on, that's important?

BEATTY: Well, they may have some information that we don't have yet, that indicates that they should go there. But this is, from what we know so far, not related to the incident on the marathon but it's also, you know, a very touchy day tonight and tomorrow because April 19th in this country is such a big anniversary for many horrible things that happen. I mean the militia movement.

BURNETT: Waco. Oklahoma.

BEATTY: Took a lot of (INAUDIBLE) from April 19th event. And so I know that the federal officials are on edge about what might unfold yet on April 19th.

BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you very much. Jeff will be with us. We're continuing to gather information on this, as you can tell, incredibly, rapidly developing story at MIT with a shooter. We'll be right back after this.

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BURNETT: We are back live from Boston tonight and we have two new pictures that we want to show you that have just come in about the marathon bombing. There are two pictures. One of them is from further away. I'm going to show you that one first and then I'm going to show you a tight shot, a still frame of suspect number two. So this is the first picture. This is a high-quality, high resolution photo and over on the left you can see the woman with the green shirt and then in between her and the man behind her there is the man with the white baseball cap turned backwards.

All right. So this is the wide shot. You can see in the street, the explosion, and now this is a close-up of that man. Suspect number two walking away.

I want to hold this up. I have Jeff Beatty here and I want to -- I want to ask you what you see here when you see this picture. You see looks of anguish on everyone's faces here and then you see suspect number two. And what do you see on his face?

BEATTY: I don't see any look of anguish on his face. You know, I see the gentleman in the tweed jacket on the right side there, he's focused on the sight of the explosion, everybody else appears to be anxious, trying to escape, et cetera. This individual looks a little more calm, a little more deliberate in his movements.

BURNETT: And he's doing something with his hands. I mean I know at this point as you look at every picture but it could be --

(CROSSTALK)

BEATTY: Yes, I can see his one hand and I can't see the other hand there very clearly from where I'm looking at it. But you know I think you're right. I think when you just look at this picture and you say, pick out the picture who doesn't seem agitated.

BURNETT: Right

BEATTY: Who seems calm, it's certainly the guy in the white hat.

BURNETT: That's right. And this picture was taken by David Green who's going to be coming up on Piers in a few minutes to talk more about this. I want to pull out to the wide shot again, Jeff, because this to me when you talk about your experience in counterterrorism, you see that wide shot and you see in the far left corner a speck of a person.

BEATTY: Yes.

BURNETT: And then you see the tight shot and you think about what law enforcement officials have had to go through and how quickly they have had to go through it. When you look at this picture to go and hone in on this person and to say this person's look on their face isn't right?

BEATTY: Well, absolutely. But you know what, they have a tremendous mutual support operation going on here in Boston. You know, I've talked to police officials from other places in Massachusetts who have sent detectives here to be a part of this process, to help go through these images and so it has been a real coming together of folks who have been supporting the FBI and not just FBI resources, not just Boston Police Department resources, but neighboring communities who have volunteered and sent their personnel here to help process all these things. And you can see that every hour or so we're getting more and more progress on identifying these people and eventually we're going to see and put together other surveillance imagery. Where do they go from here? Did they link up with somebody else? Do they get in a car? Do they go into the T? And the park area on the subway system?

BURNETT: Well, you know, to your point on that, Deb Feyerick was reporting, it was fantastic, a minute by minute of what had happened. You know, that they were eight feet apart when they walked. And then suspect number one continued and suspect number two, giving you a real re-enactment of what happened moment by moment, and she was reporting that when they were finished they each went down two different streets, that they, of course, had rehearsed that.

BEATTY: Yes.

BURNETT: That each went down two different streets.

BEATTY: Yes.

BURNETT: So they are now going to be looking for all the surveillance video at every single T stop.

BEATTY: Right.

BURNETT: Which is what they call the subway here in Boston.

BEATTY: Right. Right.

BURNETT: Any other CCTV they have to find out where they went.

BEATTY: Yes. Yes. They will. And you know, I think that again they'll go back not only after the blast but they'll go back before the blast, they'll go back in the blocks around the area and they'll look at those surveillance images. They are looking at them already. And they may in fact find how did these people come into the area? Did somebody drop them off in a car? Did they come out of the T? You know, how did they get into the area? Was there -- was there another person who was driving them? Another person who was meeting them?

So this is going to be a very thorough investigation. There's going to be an awful lot of evidence that they are going to be able to bring to bear when they do capture these individuals and it's just great to see the progress that the FBI is making here.

BURNETT: Are you confident at this point they will find them? Someone was saying no matter where they went, it's a small world. You're going to find people.

BEATTY: Well --

BURNETT: Are you confident?

BEATTY: I am pretty confident but I'm not certain simply because they rehearsed everything else about it. You know they rehearse an exfiltration plan. It all depends on how fast people put measures in place to kind of block that exfiltration plan.

BURNETT: Right.

BEATTY: You know, we look at Eric Robert Rudolph, who did the Atlanta Olympic bombing.

BURNETT: Yes.

BEATTY: And you know, he was at large for five years in the mountains of western North Carolina. So I think -- I think the odds are that they're going to get them. They're going to get them soon but if these folks managed to make it out of the country and, let's face it, we have some pretty open borders, you know, to the north and to the south. And so challenge is out there. But if they're still in the United States, I think we have a very, very good chance of getting them.

BURNETT: All right. Jeff Beatty, thank you very much.

And still to come, more on the breaking news we're following here live tonight from Boston, a police officer shot at MIT. We'll be right back.

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BURNETT: We are back with an update on the breaking news at MIT. A police officer has been shot on the campus tonight. Our Drew Griffin is there on the scene.

And, Drew, you said you saw a lot of law enforcement. We saw some with FBI jackets on a moment ago. What do you see now?

GRIFFIN: I'm still seeing a prevalence of state and local police. I have not been able to get a good angle on where the FBI officers are. But you guys apparently have been seeing it from another angle. This does appear to be turning into an investigative phase. We have just been moved back about a block. I've talked to an officer not for security reasons but just they wanted to expand the perimeter of the area and now we're getting moved back again.

But I've got to tell you, Erin, my gut feeling is that this is probably not connected. It seems to be like there might be a robbery of a convenience store and then the police officer may have confronted that robber and then the shooting took place.

That is just very preliminary information that I have right now and police not having any -- answering any questions at the moment -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Drew, thank you very much.

Drew is there on the campus of MIT where we can confirm that an MIT police officer was shot. He's now at Massachusetts General Hospital. We don't know his condition. We don't know much, as you can see right now, about the shooter. But obviously a big police presence and we could confirm FBI are there. We'll continue to monitor that situation and our live breaking news coverage of the Boston bombings also now with "PIERS MORGAN LIVE."

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