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Man In Custody After Two Dead, Nine Injured In Brown University Shooting; Fifteen Killed In Attack Targeting Australia's Jewish Community; Jewish Community Mourns Victims Of Australia Shooting; Reflecting On 13 Years Since Deadly Sandy Hook School Shooting; Trump Mourns Deadly Shooting In Rhode Island And Australia; Students Create Makeshift Memorial At Shooting Scene. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired December 14, 2025 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Man have been accused of any wrongdoing. Stay with us another hour of "CNN Newsroom" starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

You are in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. And we do begin this hour with our breaking news.

We have two tragedies thousands of miles apart. First, new updates on the investigation into the deadly shooting on Brown University's campus. Law enforcement sources identified the person of interest attained in connection with the shooting as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson of Wisconsin.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Erickson is a decorated soldier who had served in a position at Arlington National Cemetery. These new details coming just a day after the Ivy League campus was rocked by that deadly shooting that killed two people and injured nine others.

And tonight, CNN has obtained stunning new videos showing the moment police found students sheltering in a library on campus after that incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNSHOTS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police. Police. Providence Police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands, hands, hands. Hands up. Hands. Hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Providence police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Meanwhile, in Australia, an investigation is underway after gunmen opened fire on Bondi Beach, targeting the Jewish community. Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. Officials say 15 people are dead. That includes a 12-year-old girl and a rabbi. That's according to one community member.

Police say there are two suspects, a father and a son. The father was killed at the scene. The son is in critical but stable condition.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese quickly condemning that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of anti-Semitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location on Bondi Beach that is associated with joy, associated with families gathering, associated with celebrations. And it is forever tarnished by what has occurred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: We are going to take you to Australia in just a little bit. But first, we're going to go to Providence, Rhode Island.

CNN's John Berman is on the ground there with the latest details on that investigation. John.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm standing along Hope Street here right in the heart of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. And it was just one night ago where this was a very active crime scene. This whole area was completely locked down.

Now the streets are open. Police have largely left the area. And they say there is no remaining threat. We do see students still walking, many of them with suitcases. Why? Because classes are done. Finals have been canceled. Final presentations have been canceled. So students for the most part are trying to find a way home. In many cases, much earlier than they had originally planned.

The latest on this investigation here, a person of interest is in custody. 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson from Wisconsin in custody, taken overnight at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, about a 25- minute drive from here at 3:30.

But police took this person into custody. He had two weapons on him, a revolver and a Glock nine millimeter. Police have been spending the day trying to mash the shell casings found in the building just a half block away from where I am to the weapons itself.

Now CNN, a team of CNN reporters, has identified a LinkedIn profile, believed to be that of this individual, which indicates, among other things, he is an army veteran served for several years in the infantry.

The army tells us never deployed overseas, but served for some time in Washington, D.C., including an Arlington National Cemetery. He was a trained rifleman, a marksman, clearly, had experience with weapons.

The LinkedIn profile also indicates, and this is what gets interested in also a little murky, that he either planned to or was studying this fall at Brown University.

Now Brown and officials have said he is not a student here, but left unanswered the question of whether he ever had been a student here.

At this point, we just don't know the answer, but if that is the case, that would provide a direct link of some sort to this person of interest and the university itself.

Of course, one of the unknown questions is, why was the classroom chosen at this engineering building? Why was it chosen? How did this person know that on a Saturday of all times, there would be students in that -- in that class doing a review session?

Unanswered question. Just one more thing we're waiting to hear from authorities here at Brown University.

John Berman, CNN, in Providence, Rhode Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right. John, thank you for that reporting. We're joined now by CNN law enforcement analyst and former secret service agent, Jonathan Wackrow.

Jonathan, thank you for being with us. We were talking with you last night as this was all unfolding. We do have some more information and thankfully people are now, and we're told not under any more threat. They do have this person of interest in custody. What stands out to you as we do get this new information?

[21:05:17]

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, what stands out to me, Jessica, this evening, and listen, we're more than 24 hours later, but we really don't have a lot of information about this person of interest that -- that, you know, police have in custody.

And some of that is by design as law enforcement is, you know, piecing together this mosaic of, you know, items of evidentiary value across multiple potential crime scenes. You know, what they are trying to do is they have one shot of getting this right.

So they are making sure that all of their focus right now, now that the emergent phase is over. They don't believe that this is a coordinated attack or that there are potentially any other, you know, suspects out there putting the public at risk or harm.

Right now, they are focused on ensuring that this is the right person that the evidence lines up to the charging documents that are forthcoming, and that charges will be brought against this individual real soon. But what investigators are doing, and what we can talk about is we can look at what they're looking at. And -- and most notably, it's the attack dynamics. And when the investigators start looking about how this attack actually took place, it starts to point them in the direction of wait a second, this is not a crime of opportunity. This was a directed targeted act of violence, not this random crime.

And what that does for investigators is they starts narrowing down the possible motives for them. And some of the things that they're looking at is, where did this attack take place? It took place in a very specific environment within the campus during a time period where students probably wouldn't be, you know, located there.

What I mean by that, on a Saturday night in an academic building, typically you don't find a group of students. Here, this attack was launched during that time period in a very specific location.

So investigators are looking at this suspect may have had, you know, the time and place intentionality showing that he had advanced planning and knowledge that this was happening. So again, that's not random. That is targeted.

This -- the building itself, oftentimes when we look at targeted acts of violence, the location is anchored to a place connected to grievance. Again, we often know, you know, from -- you know, previous attacks, targeted violence is rooted in some sort of grievance that ideates over time. And, you know, individuals, you know, go along this pathway to violence. But when we look at this location, again, it's anchored to grievance, not some randomness.

And the final point here that investigators are really looking at is, how far did this individual travel? We know that he is from Wisconsin, spent time in Washington, D.C. But it's clear from what is being reported is that he was not a resident of Providence, Rhode Island.

So, when you start looking at travel over distance to launch an attack, that's a major behavioral threat indicator, which really suggests planning and goal directed intent. So now investigators have, you know, directional information that could lead them to motivation. They know they have, you know, items of intent, specifically this -- the travel and also the -- the weapons that were found in the -- in the hotel.

So, again, all of this stuff is piecing together, which will aid investigators in bringing those charging documents, you know, very quickly to make sure that this person is charged appropriately.

DEAN: Yes. There's also this idea about the cell phone that they were -- that the FBI said they were able to geo locate. And I was speaking with the former FBI Deputy Director, Andrew McCabe, in the last hour. And he was -- he was saying that in addition to -- to being able to geo locate that, you know, potentially that sus -- that person of interest where they were at that hotel, that now they can also use that information to try and place that person if they had their phone with them at that location, at that time.

And that how important is that -- that kind of information to this investigation?

WACKROW: Well, it's -- it's very important. And when you start looking at, you know, the -- the cell phone team from the FBI, and when you actually start comparing that against the video evidence that we know that they have. So we do know that there is video of this person of interest walking away. Those video -- those videos have time stamps.

Now, what the FBI, in their cellular analysis survey team, most likely did was take that video in the time stamps that were associated with movement and basically triangulated that against cell phone signals and towers to really pinpoint that movement. Most likely that is what they did in trying to, you know, geo locate this person in the motel, but they had to work backwards from that -- that -- that first moment that they were able to line up the -- the pattern of behavior via the video with this -- this digital signal.

[21:10:18]

Again, very advanced technology that was actually applied very quickly by the FBI, but we see the -- the results in the investigative benefit yielding itself right away.

DEAN: And then and -- yes, and then, obviously, they'll try to put this all together. And -- and we will potentially see these charges filed, but we will -- we will see waiting for them to update us with more information.

Jonathan Wackrow, always good to see you. Thanks for being here.

WACKROW: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: The tragedy in Rhode Island comes on the same weekend that families in Newtown, Connecticut are marking 13 years since the Sandy Hook shooting. We're going to take a look at how this could revive the conversation about how to stop gun violence.

Plus, a father and son accused of carrying out a violent, deadly attack targeting Jewish people in Australia. What we're learning about the suspects and what we're learning about the victims, which included a Holocaust survivor who was celebrating Hanukkah. We're live at the scene, ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI MENDEL KASTEL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, JEWISH HOUSE CRISIS CENTER: Parents trying to put out that light. We're not going to allow them to put out that light. Tonight, we're going to light two candles. And tomorrow night, we're going to light three candles because that's the way we -- that's the way we do things. That's the way we, as a community, all together support each other and stick to the mission of making the world a better place."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DEAN: We have new details about a tragedy on a day of celebration for Jewish people all around the world. Authorities in Australia saying at least 15 people were killed in a shooting targeting an event marking the first day of Hanukkah along Sydney's Bondi Beach.

Dozens of people remain in the hospital. Police saying there are two suspects, a father and his son. They also say the 50-year-old father was killed by law enforcement officers at the scene and had six firearms licensed to him.

The son is in critical condition. Police say the 24-year-old is likely to face criminal charges while the head of Australia's intelligence service says one of the suspects was on that organization's radar.

Angus Watson is joining us now live from Sydney. And, Angus, I know you have been on the ground for hours now. I see a crowd behind you. Tell us what's going on there.

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Let me just show you what's going on here. Behind me, we have a spontaneous memorial here to the victims of this terror attack. This heinous terror attack here on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Australia targeting the Jewish community.

Now people here have gathered to pay their respects to the 15 people killed. They've burst into song, Jewish hymns and even the Australian National Anthem to really underscore the fact that this community, this proud historic Jewish community here in Bondi is very much a part of the Australian nation, one of the -- one of the greatest parts at that.

[21:15:12]

Now, we know a little bit more about the victims from this attack. The youngest was a 10-year-old girl who died of her wounds in hospital overnight. The oldest was an 87-year-old man, a Holocaust survivor who came to Australia after the Second World War from Ukraine for a better life, dying tragically in this anti-Semitic terror attack at Bondi on Sunday afternoon.

Now, it could have been much worse without the heroics of one bystander. Take a look at what he did.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WASTSON (voice-over): When Sydney's Jewish community came under attack by two armed terrorists, one man saved lives with this extraordinary act of bravery.

Moving towards the gunman, he disarms him, turns the weapon on the perpetrator and defends innocent people. CNN affiliate Seven News has identified him as a Muslim-Australian who was also wounded in the attack.

The man's bravery juxtaposed with horror and suffering on the first night of Hanukkah being celebrated in Bondi with a party in the park called Hanukkah by the Sea. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guys, I feel horrible. I have no husband. I don't know where his body is. Nobody can give me any answer. That's it. OK. I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your husband was killed in the attack?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the Jewish people, we will not be silenced. As the Jewish people, our light will not be dimmed and the holiday of Hanukkah will remind us and the world that a little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness. And what we need to do is add in our light.

WATSON (voice-over): Bondi Beach, home to a large and vibrant Jewish community, has been the scene of previous incidents of anti-Semitic violence, incidents which have sharply risen across Australia and other parts of the world since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023.

ALEX RYVCHIN, CO-CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY: It's one of the most joyous days of the calendar. And to think that people plotted to target this event came there with automatic weapons and massacred people in cold blood. I -- I can't believe it. I think it will take a long time for us to recover from this.

WATSON (voice-over): One gunman on Sunday was shot and killed, another shot and wounded and now in police custody. Police identified a car linked to the dead shooter, containing multiple explosive devices indicating a thought-out attack which stole innocent lives and the joy of the Hanukkah holiday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Now as people are mourning the loss of these 15 innocent people who are celebrating Hanukkah, police are doing their work to get to the bottom of just who these suspects are and why they did what they did and how they did what they did.

The intelligence service here is saying that one of the men was known to them but they did not believe that he posed an imminent -- imminent threat. The -- this was a father-son duo that carried out this attack. The 50-year-old father killed. The 24-year-old son in hospital now with serious injuries.

He -- the father had a license to legally carry firearms that he used in the attack. Police are now looking into a gun club that he was a member of.

DEAN: All right. Angus Watson with the very latest live from Sydney. Thank you for that reporting.

Of course, we're hearing from witnesses about what they saw, what they heard. Here's what one said to a camera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIDGET SPARKS, WITNESS: I know what I saw. I saw him shoot the gun and it just all hell broke because there's just people everywhere, kids everywhere screaming, people screaming. And, yes, just everyone, everywhere just -- yes, it was -- it was horrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The CEO of the Australian Jewish Association says that anti- Semitism has been surging there and that the country needs to, in his words, deal with some of this incitement, this anti-Semitism at its source.

Colin Clarke, the Director of Policy and Research at The Soufan Group joins us now. Colin, thank you for being here with us later on a Sunday night. We do appreciate it.

Do you agree with --w that that assessment that I just laid out that -- that anti-Semitism is surging and that -- that the country needs to deal with, again, in -- in their words some of this incitement, this anti-Semitism at its source?

COLIN CLARKE, DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND RESEARCH, THE SOUFAN GROUP: Well, first let me express my heartfelt sympathy to the Jewish community in Australia and Jewish people worldwide as they celebrate Hanukkah and -- and have to deal with this tragic incident.

I absolutely agree with that and at The Soufan Center, we wrote a report two years ago looking at the kind of spillover of violence in the West in particular after the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7th, 2023.

[21:20:07]

We've seen a big uptick in Australia, in particular, like we've seen in the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

Last year, there were some arson attacks that the Australian government ultimately blamed the Iranians for. This attack different likely going to be inspired by the Islamic State, perhaps, jihadist ideology.

But we absolutely need to do more to stamp out anti-Semitism. And I think across the board provide more resources to our counterterrorism officials and security services to deal with the threat.

DEAN: And the Israeli Foreign Minister says Australia must take significant action. The Australian officials, the prime minister, saying that -- that they're going to do whatever it takes to stamp out anti-Semitism in their country. How do they start to turn the tide on that?

CLARKE: Well, part of it is education, unfortunately, tolerance and, you know, where we see science or even subtle science of anti-Semitism cracking down on those hard, you know, some -- with -- with some of these folks, if -- if you give an inch, they take a mile. We see propaganda that's anti-Semitic in nature, flooding the Internet, all sorts of vile images and statements. And I think, you know, a harder line needs to be taken in Australia and in other countries as well, so that this cancer, which is really what it is, doesn't continue to metastasize in our societies.

DEAN: And this is a complicated -- complicated question and -- and that we could probably talk about this for another hour. But why is this happening now? Obviously, this is -- we have seen this severe uptick since October 7th, as you noted. But you also ticked off Australia, the U.S., Canada. We are seeing this in a lot of Western nations. What -- what's going on here?

CLARKE: Well, I think not only was it the attacks of October 7th, 2023, but the subsequent, you know, two-and-a-half-year war since then, or two years and several months, the Israeli war in Gaza, the suffering of Palestinians, which kind of leads to grievances, the images coming out of places like Gaza, which are then manipulated and used by various extremist organizations, essentially as propaganda, as information and influence operations to radicalize individuals and push them over the edge and encourage them to partake in acts of violence like we saw over the weekend.

DEAN: All right. Colin Clarke, thanks for that context. We really appreciate it.

CLARKE: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come, we're going to go back to Brown University, the scene of America's latest mass shooting. It happened on the eve of the anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, leader of the group, Sandy Hook Promise, is here to share her perspective on this latest shooting and reflect back on what's happened in the last decade plus.

You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:25:37]

DEAN: Police in Rhode Island have detained a person of interest in Saturday's deadly shooting at Brown University. Law Enforcement sources telling CNN he's been identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson.

Officials believe he traveled from Wisconsin to Rhode Island to carry out that attack. And according to a social media profile, he's served in the army. Sources also say police have recovered two firearms, including a revolver and a small Glock handgun.

The community came together tonight in their grief. The gunman killed two students, injured nine others in that rampage yesterday afternoon.

Earlier, CNN spoke with a teaching assistant who survived the shooting. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH ODURO, TEACHING ASSISTANT AT BROWN UNIVERSITY: We just finished up our -- our last review session of the year. And then we ended a little bit late and did around my 4:03. And I was giving my closing remarks. And then I've seen as everybody stood up, I'm sort of exiting the room.

We heard what sounded like gunshots outside the door. And we heard screaming from various students.

And then about five seconds later, we see a gunman enter the room. And then we just screamed something and just started shooting.

I was standing in the front of the auditorium and he came through the back. So we pretty much directly made eye contact. And then as soon as that happened, I looked to my students and signaled them to come to the front and then I just ducked.

So the desk is probably a length of around 10 feet or so. And we all just hid behind it as best as we could. There wasn't too much space, but we made do, because at the end of the day, we just all wanted to survive.

The first couple gunshots went straight to the chalkboard exactly where I was standing. So, who knows if I didn't? Maybe I'm not here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now today marks 13 years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Six adults and 20 children were killed that day. It is a rampage that still haunts the nation today.

We're joined now by Lauren Levin, chief advocacy officer of Sandy Hook Promise. It's a nonprofit organization which works to prevent violence in schools through education and gun safety legislation.

[21:30:06]

Lauren, thank you for being here with us. Though I am sad that we're coming together on this anniversary when we have another school shooting, a deadly school shooting to talk about.

And what is striking about this shooting at Brown University is these are kids who have grown up in the last 13 years and are now in college. And this whole generation has grown up with this threat. We have heard from students at Brown who were in previous school shootings and had to shelter in place and have been through this already once before.

How are you reflecting on this university knowing that it comes on the heels of this shooting last night?

LAUREN LEVIN, CHIEF ADVOCACY OFFICER, SANDY HOOK PROMISE: Thank you, Jessica. It's absolutely devastating. And thinking about this generation that has grown up, like you said, in -- in active shooter drills, in school shootings, fearing going to school that it could be the last day of their lives. It's just not normal.

And I think that is the biggest thing that I am holding today. Even as Sandy Hook Promise has been doing this work for 13 years, we have to shake ourselves awake from this apathy. And we cannot accept that this is normal, that school shootings are normal.

I come to this work, you know, from my advocacy role, but I'm also a mom of three beautiful kids. And it's our job to protect our kids. And this just isn't OK.

DEAN: And how do you keep you but also and, you know, the people you work with and the work you do -- how do you all keep hope that -- that it can get better, that changes can be made, that there might be a day where this isn't the reality for the students?

LEVIN: Yes. There absolutely can be a day when we no longer have school shootings in this country like we do. A lot of the hope that -- that we get is we do so much work across the country to -- to spread our programs, but also to pass stronger laws.

And we've stopped over 19 school shootings with our know-the-science programs and our anonymous reporting system. We've stopped thousands of suicides because we know in shootings, just like this, that we're going to learn about so many warning signs, so many opportunities to intervene.

And if we teach people the signs and if we connect people to help, and if we pass stronger laws, this doesn't have to be our normal.

So we -- we find hope in -- in the work we've done, but we know that it's not enough, and we all need to do a lot more work together as a country and everyone needs to do their part, our leaders, in particular, and -- and we hope more people will join us and -- ad reject this reality.

DEAN: I mean, Brown University students, again, we've been talking to them all day. Various correspondents and anchors have been talking to them. They're very frustrated and scared. And they -- a lot of them say this keeps happening because lawmakers, in their view, aren't listening and aren't taking action.

You know, I'm thinking back to the last federal -- I was covering Capitol Hill when the last federal gun legislation was passed a few years ago. But again, you know, there still -- these are still happening. And I -- I -- you know, wonder what you would say to lawmakers specifically about what -- what can actually functionally be done to make this happen less often or maybe not at all.

LEVIN: Yes. I -- I mean, the first thing I would say to any of my elected officials is no more school shootings. We want action. This isn't acceptable. I'm hopeful because we have worked every Congress with every administration over these 13 years to pass meaningful laws.

But like I said, it is not enough. And I think it starts with treating these shootings like they're as -- like they aren't normal, and like they require big change and big solutions until they stop, until our kids are safe.

And so I know Republicans and Democrats can come together and -- and take action and will be there with them to pass stronger laws, to put policy solutions on the table. But we need them to treat this like the emergency that it is for our kids.

DEAN: And it sounds like, I think, you're talking about the work you all are doing starts with trying to identify warning signs, get help. And it stretches all the way into gun laws and stricter gun laws, that -- that -- that for you all, the solution is more holistic than just one prescription.

[21:35:07]

LEVIN: Yes, it has to be. This isn't a small issue. We do have to make sure that people in crisis who are at risk of hurting themselves and others are connected to help. We have to teach everybody the warning signs because you never know when you're going to hear something or see something. And that could be a warning sign of someone who is about to hurt themselves or others.

So we have to teach people about isolation and about loneliness and about crisis. And we can temporarily separate people from their firearms in crisis. We can pass stronger laws to get people the healthcare that they deserve.

These are easy steps that we can take because we have so much support for them. And we need to put it on the table urgently to meet this moment and protect our kids. It -- it's just as simple as that.

And if -- if we can't agree on that, then what can we agree on? So I -- I know that -- that those are steps that we will keep fighting for and we need more people to join us. You know, our hearts are with the Brown community and the Rhode Island community.

And I know that -- that people watching don't want to accept this normal either. And I hope they'll join us at sandyhookpromise.org and help us take these steps and make sure that there are no more school shootings and that the next generation of our children don't grow up this way. That this isn't the country that they live in.

DEAN: All right. Lauren Levin, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

LEVIN: Thank you so much, Jessica.

DEAN: President Trump is responding to the deadly shootings in Rhode Island and also in Australia.

I do want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who is covering this for us from the White House angle. Julia, what is the president saying today?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We did hear from President Donald Trump directly about this today. He was speaking at a pre-planned holiday party here at the White House.

And he started those remarks by offering his condolences to those who have been impacted and his thoughts and prayers. This was both for the victims of that shooting at Brown University, as well as the shooting there in Australia.

I want to play for you part of his remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Before we begin, however, I want to just pay my respects to the people. Unfortunately, two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from heaven.

And likewise in Australia, as you know, that was a terrible attack. And that was an anti-Semitic attack, obviously. And it's -- I just want to pay my respects to everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: The president also went on to speak about an attack that took place in Syria over the weekend. It left two U.S. Army soldiers, as well as the civilian interpreter, dead, and three others wounded.

He did say that the wounded are doing OK. He has referred to that as an ambush attack. He said it was an ISIS attack against both the United States and Syria and has promised retaliation.

In fact, in these most recent comments, he said, quote, a lot of damage will be done to the people who did it.

So these remarks started with a very somber tone. He then, though, weaved in and out of his more campaign-style rhetoric, making several different comments, introducing notable people in the crowd, including some of his family members. He spoke about his golf game, made some jokes about his golf game, as well as took at least one dig at his predecessor as he touted his administration's work.

Now, First Lady Melania Trump spoke after all of those remarks wrapped, and she again said that she was thinking of those who had experienced these tragedies, adding, quote, my heart is with them. Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook at the White House. Thanks so much for that.

We do have some breaking news to share with you, a law enforcement source telling CNN homicide detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department are on the scene at an address associated with Hollywood director Rob Reiner.

We know they're conducting an investigation. We're standing by for new details. This is just coming in. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [21:40:12]

DEAN: The death toll in the attack in Sydney has now risen to 15 people, 38 people remain in the hospital. That's according to officials there. One of the suspected gunmen was also killed. People are grieving in the Jewish community. People are grieving for the Jewish community.

The attack has been declared a terrorist incident targeting Jews as they celebrated the first day of Hanukkah there on Bondi Beach. We are still trying to learn more about the man who tackled one of the gunmen.

Our affiliate, Seven Network Australia, spoke to the man's cousin outside the hospital where he's being treated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a hero, 100 percent he's a hero. Because what we see on the -- on the -- on the social media is like a -- he's a 100 percent hero.

Yes, he has two shots, one in his arm here and one in his hand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And have you been able to talk to him today?

[21:45:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. Because I come when I see the -- what's happening, and I come here to see him, but they said, it's not allowed to go inside. Because they have to make an operation, whatever. I'm still waiting to see him to see him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The shooting caught everyone there off guard, including the tourists and the beachgoers. Here's what some of the witnesses and family members of survivors are saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL, UNCLE OF SURVIVOR: Very angry that something like this happened in Australia. It's --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to believe.

RUSSELL: -- disappointing. Yes. You had a Jewish event where terrorists and murderers, you know, went to kill Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah. It is just unbelievable that in Australia this is allowed to happen. This is supposed to be the lucky country. It's supposed to be a country where people allow to express their religion freely and when something like this happens is unbelievable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I just heard was it was like fireworks going off and there was multiple modes of going off. So I saw over the blinds see what's going on and I just saw an older lady get shot and she was on the floor. Saw an older guy get shot. Everybody injured on the left-hand side. And I just saw a bunch of people screaming around and calling me. I didn't know what was going on.

I was upset I was in place onto them. So they were just showing and screaming saying, you know, get cover, get cover. So I ran to my front door for the lock on and then ran to my bathroom, pulled the blinds down and just took cover and my -- my boys are still over there.

GIL, EYEWITNESS TO SHOOTING: I ran onto the beach. I guess everyone ran onto the beach. It was pretty terrifying. And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

GIL: Yes. We -- I eventually went back to see what was happening. A few people helped a few -- sort of helped a few old people get up and get out of there, but it was like there were lots of bodies on the floor. It was a fencing event. It's kind of like fishing a barrel.

Like the guy had a -- I think of what I've been told he had an automatic rifle, big gun, standing on the bridge and just target practice.

WILLIAM DOLENTE PETTY, RESTAURANT WORKER: So I was out at the restaurant over there and I was just serving some, I think I was taken away some dishes, but I was near by the front and, you know, I heard these shots go off. And I knew it was gunshots immediately, but I didn't really register it.

So I just sort of saw them all the way over there. Just people start running and I'm going, well maybe it's like a one-time shooting, not like a -- like it's not America, like, not a massacre event but turns out it was and the whole shop just like stood up and we all just ran into the back edge and everyone was pushing everyone. There was no like semblance and we just ran in through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now is Peter Wertheim, the co-chief executive of the -- executive council of Australian Jewry. Peter, thanks for being here with us.

Your co-CEO told my colleague, Dana Bash, this morning that this shooting, targeting Jewish people, is in his words, the logical conclusion to what's been simmering in the country for the last several years.

How people understand that? Give us some context.

PETER WERTHEIM, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN JEWRY: Well, we've been warning about the escalation of rhetoric, violent rhetoric, and -- and discrimination and vilification of the Jewish community for the last two years and -- and even before that.

There -- there were signs of things developing. And we warned also that if this -- if this was not addressed properly, not only by government but by the whole society, that it would lead ultimately to violence.

We've been saying that Australia is a beautiful, peaceful country but there are some people who wish to import the hatreds and the violence of overseas conflicts into our land. And that if this is not addressed vigorously and robustly, across the board, that not only will the hatred be introduced but ultimately the violence.

And yesterday, sadly, was the proof of that. We -- we are calling on not only the government but the whole of society to have a good long look at itself. I mean, this did not occur in a vacuum. It occurred in a social climate of almost weekly street protests featuring violent, hateful rhetoric that -- that was only barely concealed as political rhetoric.

It was sometimes even openly anti-Jewish rhetoric. It comes off the back of the encampments at universities, cancellation of Jewish people in the arts and culture sector, a sewer of hatred on social media that's been left unchecked. And this is ultimately the logical conclusion, as my colleague said, of all of those developments.

[21:50:01]

DEAN: The prime minister there in Australia said in the hours following the shooting that we will do whatever it takes to stamp out anti-Semitism. What in your opinion must be done, can be done?

WERTHEIM: Well, I'll tell you when I told the prime minister when he called me last night to express his condolences. I mean, we -- we appreciate -- we appreciate the words that he spoke publicly yesterday, even though we would have liked to have seen something as resolute all the way through.

And look -- look, what we need is a bold action by the government along the lines of the action plan that was put to the government by the ECHA and then further developed and -- and refined and ultimately put in the form of -- in a quite different form with additional features by the special envoy to combat anti-Semitism.

I mean, there have been a number of plans that have been put forward, but the official one by the special envoy was -- was put to the government five months ago and we are still awaiting a comprehensive response. And so I urge the prime minister to -- to make that a priority among the other things that we spoke about.

And but as I said, it is not just the task of government. I mean, this is a test for liberal democratic societies. One of the strongest and most cohesive of them is Australia. And if this sort of thing can happen in a country like Australia, then liberal democratic values are under threat everywhere else, including the United States. We've seen similar events there and in other countries. I'm not singling any particular country out.

But it is a -- a threat, not only to the Jewish community, it is a threat to our way of life. And unless it is addressed in those terms and clearly understood in those terms, things are only going to get worse.

And the freedoms and the democracy and the rule of law that we enjoy and the peaceful and prosperous life that we become used to are going to be things that are passed.

DEAN: All right. Peter Wertheim, thank you for your time, this afternoon where you are tonight, where we are, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you.

WERTHEIM: Thanks for having me on.

DEAN: Back here in the United States, Brown University and its neighboring community in mourning tonight. There's now a makeshift memorial at Barus Holley Hall, the site of Saturday's deadly shooting.

Flowers and candles have been placed outside that building. We want to go to CNN's Leigh Waldman now who is live there in Providence. Leigh, you've been there all day covering this story, which is unfolded now a person of interest in custody.

But the community still so shaken, reeling, upset about all of this. What are they telling you?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, we were at a vigil that was put together by this community. Hundreds of people showing up, showing support for one another, but also working through the grief that they're feeling.

We spoke with Mayor Smiley about seeing so many people come out, brave the cold, just before the winter holidays are -- are happening here. And this is what he had to say about his community that showed their support to Brown University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT SMILEY, MAYOR OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: In the hours since all of this started, the ripple effect is starting to happen where everyone in Rhode Island is sort of famously two degrees of separation from one another.

And they're starting to hear about a family friend whose kid was nearby or a professor who they know was working in the building. And so it's all getting very personal for us very fast. And -- and the way in which we respond when something terrible happens to someone we love as we come together.

And so it's sad that we have to gather like this, but this is really the best of Providence behind me right now. And -- and I'm sure this won't be the last. This is just the beginning of what I expect will be a long healing process for my city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: A small community, a small state, but a mighty one that is sure to try and get through this one step at a time and together, Jessica. DEAN: All right. Leigh Waldman with the latest reporting from Providence. Thank you.

We do have more breaking news as new details are coming into CNN. We're learning two people have been found dead at an address associated with Hollywood director Rob Reiner. Homicide detectives from the L.A. Police Department are now on the scene. They are conducting an investigation.

Obviously, this is happening in real time. We're getting more details. We will stay on top of this story and bring you more as we get it.

[21:55:59]

In the meantime, thank you for joining me tonight. Erica Hill is going to pick up our breaking news cover. Just going to come your way after a short break. Have a good night, everyone.

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