Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Sources: Detectives Investigating After Two Found Dead At Address Connected With Rob Reiner; At Least 15 Killed In Attack On Australia's Jewish Community; Man In Custody After Two Dead, Nine Injured In Brown University Shooting. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired December 14, 2025 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:07]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: And good evening from New York. I'm Erica Hill.

We begin this hour with breaking news out of Los Angeles. A law enforcement source telling CNN homicide detectives from the LAPD are on the scene after two people were found dead in an address associated with Hollywood director Rob Reiner. We know that an investigation is in process at this hour. We're standing by for new details. We're going to bring you these updates as they become available.

I want to go now though to my colleague Julia Vargas Jones who is in Los Angeles following some of these developments.

Julia, what more can you tell us?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yep, yep, yep.

HILL: Hey, Julia, it's Erica, can you hear me?

JONES: I think we're having --

HILL: We have you up live, Julia, if you can hear me?

JONES: I apologize. Yeah. Erica, we just got here. Forgive us for that issue.

We are just outside this police cordon here in the Brentwood area in west Los Angeles. They're telling us this is as far as we can go. What we know at this point is still very little. We do know that the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call in a house associated with --

HILL: We may be having some transmission issues with Julia. We're going to get back to Julia Vargas Jones as soon as we can.

Again, the breaking news if you're just joining us now, the police are responding. Homicide unit is responding to an address. Julia, you pick it up from here. An address that's associated with Rob Reiner.

JONES: That's right, Erica. And Los Angeles Fire Department arrived at that address this afternoon. They found two people deceased upon arrival. We do have some more details coming in now that they were 67 and 78 years old. So, 78-year-old man in a 67 67-year-old woman, deceased on arrival. That's according to a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson that, and again, this is all we know at this point --

HILL: We have lost -- we may have lost Julia again. We're going to work on those transmissions. As all of you know, this happens often when we're dealing with live news.

Julia, just arriving on the scene there again. We'll continue to follow these developments. But homicide detectives at an address connected with Hollywood director Rob Reiner, we are told two people deceased, ages 78 and 68. We'll bring you more of those details as they come in to us.

We are also following very closely the very latest on two unthinkable tragedies happening a world apart within just hours of each other. In Sydney, Australia, at least 15 people are now dead, dozens injured after two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration at the popular Bondi Beach.

Now, police say the suspects are a father and son. The father was shot and killed by police at the scene. The son is now critical -- in critical but stable condition. Take a listen as witnesses describe this attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We thought it was fireworks at the start and then next second, we see people lying on the floor. So, a kid gets shot. It was probably the worst feeling I've ever seen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All hell broke loose. There's just people everywhere, kids everywhere, kids screaming, people screaming. And yeah, just everyone everywhere. Just -- yeah, it was horrible

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: And in Providence, Rhode Island, a person of interest is in custody at this hour in connection with Saturday's deadly shooting at Brown University.

Twenty-four-year-old Benjamin Erickson was detained at this hotel near Providence, a little bit closer to the Providence airport, which is in Warwick, Rhode Island. This hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island. This happened just hours after the shooting. So fairly quickly after that shooting on campus, the shooting left two students dead. We've learned nine others injured.

According to a LinkedIn profile, Erickson had been had served in the U.S. Army and also had past sniper training, also served as a rifleman. The shooting leaving this tight knit community of Providence in mourning, understandably, local leaders holding a vigil this evening in memory of the victims and also to unite the community in spite of the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI SARAH MACK, TEMPLE BETH-EL: No matter what our faith tradition, no matter what we believe, each and every one of us can share that light. We can use our light to kindle other lights, to care for one another. And that is how we get through this dark moment, One step at a time

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: We want to -- we want to begin our coverage tonight of these stories with our Angus Watson, who joins us now live from Sydney.

Angus, so much -- so much anguish over this awful act that left 15 people dead, dozens more injured. What more do we know at this hour?

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Erica, I'm at a memorial service which has popped up just outside the crime scene here at Bondi Beach, where a grieving community is coming together after 15 of its own were lost in this antisemitic terror attack on Sunday afternoon.

The death toll stands at 15 right now, and we're learning a little bit more about the victims. We know that two rabbis were killed. We know that the youngest victim is a 10-year-old girl who lost her life last night in hospital. The oldest person injured in this horrific attack is an 87-year-old man, a Holocaust survivor who came from Ukraine to Australia after the Second World War to live a better life. And he died last night in this shocking terror attack here at Bondi Beach.

Behind me, we're seeing this memorial service here where the Australian governor general, the queen's representative -- the king's representative here in Australia, has just left some flowers and is sharing a moment with other dignitaries.

I want to let you in on a bit of what politicians are saying here, responding to an uptick in antisemitism that's flared here in Australia since Hamas attacked Israel on the 7th of October 2023. Here's a bit of what Christopher Minns, the premier of New South Wales, said.

HILL: I guess it is -- it is --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MINNS, NEW SOUTH WALES PREMIER: It is a shocking, shocking act of violence, as we've said, and it needs to be met with an overwhelming government, community and police response. Operation Shelter will be overwhelming and it may be inconvenient for people in the coming days, but we need to send a clear message to the people of this state and those in the affected community that have seen so much violence and damage that New South Wales police are there to protect them, to keep them safe. And they've got every right to celebrate their faith and enjoy this festive period, free from the profound worry and sadness associated with this horrible violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: So, the attack occurred yesterday afternoon, Sunday afternoon here in Bondi Beach, when the Jewish community was simply celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. The event was called Hanukkah by the Sea. Families were gathered their children, the elderly, mercilessly shot at by these two antisemitic terrorists, one of whom was killed by officers at the scene.

The other who is -- who was shot and injured, is now in hospital and is obviously the focus of police investigations. Now. Erica, police have raided two homes in Sydney, one where this father and son duo lived and another where they stayed the night before the attack. The father, 50 years old, had a gun license, was legally allowed to hold firearms and he used some of those in this horrific attack -- Erica.

HILL: It is just heart-wrenching and it is also so many people have just been so moved and struck by the bravery of this man being referred to rightfully as a hero who was able to wrestle one of those weapons away.

Can you just tell us a little bit more about this man and also his condition?

WATSON: It's absolutely extraordinary footage that were seeing right there. A bystander tackling one of the gunmen, prizing that weapon away from him, then turning it on the perpetrator and using it to defend the community here. We know that that man, that hero, as officials have described him, was injured as well. He was shot and he underwent surgery last night in hospital -- Erica.

HILL: All right, Angus, really appreciate it. We'll continue to check in with you throughout the night as we are getting more updates there.

Meantime, we are also, as I noted, very closely following developments out of Rhode Island. CNN has obtained video which shows the moment Providence police officers found students sheltering in place in one of the libraries on Brown's campus. Just take a -- take a look at this

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLICE: Police, police. Providence police.

POLICE: Hands, hands, hands. Stand up. Hands. Hands, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: It is chilling to watch, especially when you think about what it was like for all of those students in there as they lived through those moments. Officers sweeping into the library, searching the area. You see the students following orders very quickly, standing up their hands up after checking to see whether anyone was hurt.

[22:10:06]

Officers then escorted them all to safety. Brown has canceled all classes and finals in the wake of the shooting. Joining us now is Ethan Schenker. He's a student at Brown who was in lockdown after the shooting.

Ethan, I also do want to full disclosure, point out you're also an intern here at CNN just a few months ago.

So, you were there studying for finals? First of all, before we even get to what happened, just how are you doing tonight?

ETHAN SCHENKER, BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Hi, Erica. I'm doing -- I'm doing okay. I'm lucky that I'm safe and my friends are safe, and people I've talked to and I've reached out to are safe, but so -- on that end, I'm very lucky. But I think I know that, you know, some of our classmates were not. And it's -- it's a really sad thing.

HILL: Yeah, it is, and it's -- I would think it's probably a tough thing to wrap your head around. So, there is the. Yes, you're physically safe. And, and, you know, you're physically okay emotionally. This is a lot to go through. And it's really only been, I mean, you know, barely 24 hours at this point, a little over.

Has it set in for you. You think?

SCHENKER: It's definitely started to. And I've kind of been in reporting on campus, I've talked to a lot of people who and students who, whether they were there in the classroom or they're in the lobby when they heard gunshots. It's -- the word "surreal" came up a lot, but it's now really starting to sit in you know, people are starting to find out that that their friends that, you know, people they care about, people that they know, just people who was affected. We knew that people were affected and students did.

And I think that this realization, as more information comes out, is a lot more apparent to a lot of students. And it's really hard at the end of the semester, you know, this is a time when people would have been studying for their final exams. The libraries were packed during lockdowns because everyone was there studying for finals.

I was at a library during the lockdown with hundreds of other students. We were there for five or six hours until we were moved somewhere else.

HILL: In that time. I mean, it's -- it is unfortunate, but I know you know, having kids around your age, I know that you have grown up in this world. You have grown up with lockdown drills, with shooter drills.

Were you thinking about any of that in those hours that you were spending there, you know, with your fellow students in this lockdown? How much of that did you all talk through? How much of that did you think about?

SCHRENKER: I think all of the drills we've done in middle and high school kind of came to mind. What we're supposed to do? Getting away from the windows, barricading doors. I think that, you know, it was -- one thing that I noticed very early on was, you know, we have, a lot of international students here at Brown, and they didn't necessarily grow up experiencing these drills. And in a way you know, as I've heard it described it almost a uniquely American experience is, what, from discussions with international students and other students on campus is what I've heard.

And I think that that also set in, you know, the fact that we know what to do in this situation or what we're supposed to do it was apparent when we were in that lockdown what everyone did right, right away. But I think that also showed that this is something because it happens with such staggering frequency. That is something we have to be prepared for.

HILL: It is, sadly, a uniquely American problem and experience. Ethan, I'm grateful to talk to you tonight. I'm glad you're okay. And keep surrounding yourself with people because you're -- people who you care about, who care about you. You're going to need to talk to them. As this all sets in. Thank you. We appreciate it

SCHRENKER: Thank you so much.

HILL: Also joining me, CNN's senior law enforcement analyst, Charles Ramsey, who served as chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, also commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Chief, always good to talk to you. Unfortunately, it tends to be in situations like this, as you and I know too well and have covered far too many of these together. When we look at what we know about what happened at Brown, I'm also struck by how quickly they were at that hotel not that far away, how quickly there was a person of interest.

Based on what has been alerted publicly, what we know publicly, what stands out to you in this moment?

[22:15:06]

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, just how fast they identified and apprehended the individual. I mean, that is incredible. They worked hard on this. Obviously, they did have that video that they showed initially with him leaving the building.

And as, of course, of the investigation, you would also then look for surrounding cameras in the area to area to see if you can track this person further, to see whether or not they got into a car. Could you get a facial shot or whatever? Obviously, they did that. I believe they also received a tip because they went up on a phone and they were able to triangulate the phone, and that's what led them to the hotel.

And so, it's just great police work altogether, and all the different agencies working together. And of course, the community that also you know, provided critical information.

HILL: There is also a LinkedIn profile, which is, which has been taken down, but that references this person's military background and training. The fact, too, that there is a record of service will also provide an incredible amount of information for investigators in this moment. What could they learn from that?

RAMSEY: Well, they'll get a lot of background information. But more importantly, right now, they're executing search warrants where they have executed search warrants. They've recovered, you know, electronics, whether its computers, cell phones so forth. You mentioned the LinkedIn page. There may be other social media pages or that they'll be looking at in order to try to get as much information as possible about this individual, to try to establish a motive.

Now, he was caught in Rhode Island with two handguns. That's enough to be able to hold him for a period of time until he's actually charged in this case.

HILL: That was going to be one of my next questions for you is how long can he be held without being charged?

RAMSEY: Well, he'll be charged with two gun offenses, because those guns --

HILL: Okay.

RAMSEY: -- you know, again, he's from Wisconsin. He's in Rhode Island under Rhode Island law, of course, being in possession of those guns is what they'll use in order to hold him for a period of time.

HILL: Chief Ramsey, always appreciate it. Thank you.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

HILL: And we'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:21:11]

HILL: We are following the latest developments in our top story at this hour. A law enforcement source telling CNN homicide detectives from the LAPD are on the scene after two people were found dead at an address associated with Hollywood Director Rob Reiner.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter is with me now.

So, Brian, a fairly fluid situation, but details slowly coming in. What do we know?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: L.A. police and fire swarming the scene, having that area locked down right now, that area in Brentwood and trying to figure out exactly what happened inside this home. Police were called to the scene this afternoon.

Reports of two victims, one is 78 years old. And let me state the obvious and unfortunate fact here, a 78-year-old man was found dead, and Reiner is 78 years old.

Police and fire officials have not released any information on the identities of those deceased. This may be a scenario where family members are trying to be reached. Typically, there's an attempt to reach those members before identifying the victim. So, we don't officially know who passed away in this home. But there is a connection there between the ages of the victims.

You know, Reiner, an actor, a director, a political activist, someone who is, you know, not only, you know, world famous, world recognized, someone who has had generations of fame and success, from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the '60s to films like "When Harry Met Sally" in the '80s.

You know, earlier this year, he was actually quite active, coming out with a new Spinal Tap. He came out with a Spinal Tap Two. He did a sequel to his infamous big hair mockumentary from the '80s.

So we're talking about a legend of Hollywood who has had a career that many would envy, someone who has been well-known for decades. And what we know at this moment is that this home linked to Reiner, is where this homicide investigation is now underway, Erica.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. And I want to bring in John Miller now, who is joining us, CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst.

John, I know you've been talking to various sources. So initially a call came in. The L.A. Fire Department responded, now we're learning, though, that the homicide department from the Los Angeles Police Department is on scene.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Right. So, we'll go through the official version first, and then well take a look at some of the questions.

On December 14th at 1540 hours, so that's 3:40 p.m. West Coast Time, LAPD officers assigned to West L.A. division responded to a death investigation in the 200 block of south Chadbourne. West L.A. is that that area out, you know, towards Santa Monica that comes up with, you know, everything from the Palisades to UCLA. That area there.

Once inside the residence, officers discovered two decedents. The identity of the decedents has not yet been confirmed. Robbery-homicide division, that is the elite robbery homicide division of L.A., which is basically their major case squad that handles high profile homicide cases, responded to the residence, which has been identified as the home of Rob Reiner.

At this time, no further details are available as this is an ongoing RHD investigation into -- and this is key -- an apparent homicide. Now, getting back to the questions, it does not say who the decedents are, but their identity has not been confirmed. It is a male and a female at the home where Rob Reiner resides with his wife. It does not get into the cause or manner of death which it's something that the coroner would obviously have a role in and be responding to.

[22:25:07]

But the idea that they not just called west L.A. detectives, but then notified RHD, which is their elite homicide squad certainly is a clue that they found things that were indicative of a possible crime that needed to be investigation -- needed to be investigated beyond the fact that they had two people who had passed away. HILL: Absolutely. And as you mentioned to this, this department, this robbery homicide division that you noted in terms of how they would be called into the scene so quickly, what they would be dealing with when we're talking about an apparent homicide, how does that change things for the LAPD that they're now calling in this unit?

MILLER: Well, it's one of the things that would happen when in two or three kinds of cases, one where you have a pattern of crimes, they'll bring in RHD to investigate that so that they can tie it all together. Two, when you have a complex unsolved homicide, they may take it over from the regular division detectives.

But in this case, and I believe it's because, A, this is going to be an extraordinarily high profile case, a lot of questions are going to be raised throughout this case, because of the high profile nature that they brought in RHD right away. The keywords here, though, because we've been talking about, a family member who went to do basically a wellness check discovered the two bodies called the fire department because in L.A., they're the people who run the ambulance corps, that an ambulance responded. Police responded. And that they called detectives.

But the key line here, of course, is that last, which is at this time, no further details are available as this is an ongoing investigation into an apparent homicide. What they saw, what they've seen, what they know to make that determination is unknown to us, but it's an important determination.

HILL: John, can I ask you really quickly, too, when it says apparent homicide? Singular. Is there anything that we should read into that, or is that the exact same term that would be put out there if there were multiple victims?

MILLER: The latter, I think that's a -- this is a carefully worded statement, but I think they mean a homicide in general, whether that is a double homicide, or a homicide. Suicide. We can only read into that.

We're expecting more information as this develops, but this is the first initial on the record statement that we've gotten from the LAPD.

HILL: Yeah, which is important, John, Appreciate it, as always. We'll continue to check in with you as well.

Stay with us. Following, of course, a number of breaking news stories at this hour. We're going to fit in a quick break here. We'll see you on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:31:36]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I've said before it sounded like fireworks going off. And it was multiple going off. So, I sort of opened the blind to see what was going on. And I just saw an older lady get shot and she was on the floor. So an older guy get shot very badly injured on the left-hand side. And I just saw a bunch of people screaming run towards me. I didn't know what was going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few people helped, helped a few old people get up and get out of there, but it was like there were lots of bodies on the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: We return now to the breaking news we've been following out of Australia. Members of the Jewish community there, reeling in the wake of a mass shooting at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach on Sunday. There was a gathering there to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. At least 15 people were killed, dozens injured after a father and son opened fire on that crowd who was there, of course, to celebrate.

The father was killed by police at the scene. The son remains hospitalized in critical condition. Australia has very strict gun laws. The terror attack, though, marks now one of Australia's deadliest massacres in recent history

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MINNS: I think it's time that we have a change to the law in relation to the firearms legislation in New South Wales, but I'm not ready to announce it today. We want to make sure that prospective reform and change in New South Wales has a lasting impact. But it's the -- not the last time I'll be mentioning it and you can expect action soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Matt Connellan joins us now live from Sydney. He's a reporter with Australia's Nine Network news.

Matt, it's good to have you with us. Bring us up to speed on where things stand at this hour.

MATT CONNELLAN, REPORTER, NINE NETWORK: Hi, Erica. We've just had an update from authorities, so I can tell you that as I come to you right now that 16 people have been killed in this terror attack, one of those is the shooter. So, 15 victims of that brazen attack on Bondi beach early yesterday evening.

I can tell you, as you were saying, that it was a father and son who carried out the shooting. The father was shot dead at the scene. The son is in a critical condition in hospital as well. There are a number of patients, more than two dozen currently being treated in hospitals all across Sydney at the moment. So, the developments are coming thick and fast as I come to you this afternoon.

HILL: All right. Matt, really appreciate the update there. Thank you so much.

I also want to bring in now Sanjay Anand, an eyewitness to that attack in Sydney. Sanjay, we appreciate you joining us.

As I understand it, when you first heard these gunshots, you thought maybe these were fireworks.

SANJAY ANAND, EYEWITNESS: Yeah. Look, we were enjoying a beautiful Sunday at the beach and just sitting down, you know, having a chat. Me and my partner and, you know, started hearing what we thought were fireworks. And you know, within 20 or 30 seconds started seeing people, you know, running and fleeing the scene right the beach.

And so, we made a, you know, an exit. We basically ran for our lives. But the gunshots were consistent and, and it felt like it went on for an eternity, but at least 10 minutes.

HILL: Yeah, I'm sure it must have. Could you, could you see, I know you're saying you and your partner got up, ran understandably, for your lives.

Did you have a sense of where the gunshots seemed to be coming from? Did you even know where to run for safety?

ANAND: We -- I -- we had a sense it was coming from about 50 meters or so from where we were towards the left.

[22:35:01]

We ran to the south of Bondi and tried to sort of, you know, get away from the beach as far as we could. We ended up, you know, crossing the road and going through one of the side streets, and we could still hear the gunshots as we were, you know, running through the side streets to get away from the beach. And, yeah, it was chaos. You know, families with young children just, you know, we didn't know what was going on, just trying to run.

And we didn't know if the shooters were, you know, shooting at the beach or, you know, if it was a madman walking around, just trigger happy. We had no idea. And we were just, you know, tried to run for cover, and it was complete chaos.

HILL: Yeah, I can -- I can only imagine. Did you, you know, from what I've heard, was fairly busy day, a beautiful day, as you point out, at the beach. Were you aware that there was also this Hanukkah celebration happening?

ANAND: Well, I just walked past that whole fair, maybe 10 minutes before the shooting occurred, right? And you know, there was a big crowd. A lot of families, a lot of young kids. There was also a sunset cinema, an outdoor sort of cinema happening just next door.

So, you know, the beach was really busy. You know, its summer here in Sydney, you know, holiday season. Christmas is around the corner. Great atmosphere. And it was an amazing day. You know, it was a beautiful sunny day.

And, you know, we were just wrapping up and walking, you know, back. And we were walking back to our car and decided to stop and just enjoy the, you know, the beach. And we had had a bit of a chat and all of a sudden, you know, just these shots just started blaring.

And it's hard to believe because this doesn't really happen in Sydney, you know? So initially you're in a bit of shock. And then even as people were running, my partner had to sort of urge me to get up and run and run faster, you know, because it's just something that's so foreign to us.

HILL: It's -- it's almost like you read my mind. And the next question, which unfortunately, here in the United States, shootings happen a lot and far too often. But to your point, this is not something that you would certainly be anticipating a day like this at the beach.

And now that it has been a day and you've had a moment to sit with it, I mean, what do you what do you make of this moment for Sydney and also for Australia?

ANAND: Well, you know, I'm born and raised here in Sydney. I've been here all my life. It's a beautiful city. It's very safe. It's a great place to live. And it just changes things, you know, because we never thought that this would happen here in Sydney, in a place like Bondi, an iconic beach.

It's, you know, and this time of year where families are celebrating, you know, we're going to have to think twice, like, you know, were going to have to be more vigilant. And this is not something that we've had to think about before. We haven't had any training.

You know, we don't have school shootings. We don't have public shootings. And in a situation like this, we don't know what to do. You know, we run for cover, but we're not trained to, you know, get to the floor or do something or what's the procedure?

This is so foreign to us. And it's sad that this is now a reality like this has changed, you know, Sydney I think forever.

HILL: Yeah. You know, we've also been hearing in the wake of this attack because it was an attack on the Jewish community. There's been a lot of discussion over the last day about the increase in antisemitism in Australia, specifically over the last couple of years since the attacks of October 7th by Hamas.

Is that something that you have noticed either on your own or even just in coverage over the last couple of years? Is it something that's being discussed, do you think?

ANAND: It's something that's been discussed. I think you know, there's a lot of stuff happening online. Theres a lot of political views, opposing views. And, you know, I don't want to talk about politics. All I want to say is that, look, you know, there's no place for extremism. You know, in a place like country like Australia.

You know, my parents were immigrants. You know, they came here to find a better life, for opportunity. And Australia is a land of opportunity. And, you know, there's no place for extremism or hate here in this country. And hopefully, you know, the police, you know, gets to uncover whatever networks they are that are working at, you know, creating havoc.

And we get down to, you know, really sort of cutting out that extremism, but also I think we also need to sort of, you know, just be understanding that, you know, we can't single out a certain race, a certain community on any side, you know, and I do really feel for the Jewish community. It's heartbreaking. This is a time for celebration.

[22:40:02]

And, you know, to have young families, young kids exposed to something like this, you know, people losing their lives, it's truly heartbreaking. And, you know, I just wish them all, you know, a speedy recovery. Those that are in hospital and those that have lost, you know, loved ones might. My thoughts and prayers are with them. It's really, really sad.

HILL: Yeah. Sanjay, really appreciate you taking the time to join us tonight. Thank you. And I'm glad that you and your partner are okay.

ANAND: Thank you so much. Take care.

HILL: Well, a bystander is being hailed as a hero after he was actually able to stop one of the gunmen in in Sydney. A video circulating on social media. It is remarkable as you watch this, it shows the man bravely tackling, then disarming one of the gunmen. According to Seven Network News, the man underwent surgery after being wounded. His cousin says he believes his actions really did save lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a hero. He's a hero because what we see on the -- on the -- on the social media is like is 100 percent hero. Yeah. He had two shots, one in his arm here and one in his hand.

REPORTER: And have you been able to talk to him today?

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 you have to make operation whatever. I'm still waiting to see him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: And be sure to stay with us. Much more to come. We're going to fit in a quick break here

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:45:16]

HILL: We are following a number of breaking stories at this hour. I want to bring you now the latest out of Los Angeles, where a law enforcement source tells CNN homicide detectives from the LAPD are on the scene after two people were found dead at an address associated with Hollywood director Rob Reiner.

CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter is with me now.

Brian, some details trickling out. Walk us through what we know at this point.

STELTER: That's right. This began from a law enforcement standpoint at 3:40 p.m. when LAPD officers were responding to a death investigation at that address. And the LAPD is describing this now directly as the home of Rob Reiner.

Apparently, according to CNN's John Miller and his reporting from a source, there was a relative of Rob Reiner who was at the home apparently doing a wellness check. And your heart has to go out to whoever that person was who was walking into this home and finding two dead bodies, according to police. And according to officials, these bodies were deceased at that point.

Now, this is a ongoing investigation. LAPD says robbery homicide division has responded, and that's why no further details are available at this time. So, Erica, were in a little bit of an information vacuum where someone the same age as Rob Reiner has been found dead at his home, but we do not know, officially, the identities of the deceased. We know that Reiner and his wife of. I want to do the math here, more than 30 years, close to 40 years. His wife, Michelle, her age also similar to an age of another person reportedly found dead in this home. But we do not know.

Officially the identities of these individuals. And your heart goes out to these family members, right? This relative showed up at the house on a Sunday afternoon, may be concerned about something being wrong, maybe just showing up on a normal Sunday? We don't know yet. There's so much we don't know, but it is so striking to think about this Hollywood icon.

Now, we might be talking about a Hollywood horror story, but Rob Reiner, in some ways one of a kind, you know, can you imagine your directorial debut and it's this is Spinal Tap, you know, and then going on in so many decades with so many hits, and he had a second life as a political activist.

A lot of people don't know. He was instrumental in reversing the gay marriage ban in California, helping to usher that in across the country. He was virulently anti-Trump for the past decade was showing up on real time with Bill Maher a couple months ago, sparring over all things politics. He's had so many different roles, so many different characters, both on and off screen, but also in politics and in his personal life.

I think some people have so many different memories of Reiner for that reason. And so now they're hearing about this, this death at his home. We don't yet know the identities.

HILL: Yeah, it's so important. Brian, stay with us.

I also want to bring in our colleague Julia Vargas Jones, a CNN correspondent in Los Angeles, who is there in the area of the home.

Julia, what more are you hearing from officials who are there as we try to piece together what more we know about what may have happened?

JONES: Well, very little at this point, Erica. We're still piecing together and getting little bits of information. What we do know is were here on the street where this house is located, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. This part of the street is cordoned off to the public and to the media as well, so we don't have access to get any closer to that.

But we have seen is some detectives, police officers coming in and out of the street. We are expecting at some point to get some more information from the public information officer in the next few hours. At this time, what we do know is from the Los Angeles police department that it was a family member, that that they responded to the -- to the investigation around 3:40 p.m. on Sunday and they found those two people dead.

We have those ages as well. Weve heard conflicting reports of the age of the second person, 78, in 67 years old, in that house.

Now, as Brian had just mentioned, the reporting from our colleague John Miller, that it was a family member who found those two people deceased, we're still working on more details on what exactly happened. What were those moments like for that family -- Erica.

HILL: All right. Julia, appreciate it.

Julia, Brian, were going to, of course, continue to check in with both of you.

Stay with us. We're going to fit in a quick break here. Much more ahead on multiple breaking news stories that were following at this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:53:44]

HILL: If you're just joining us, we are following some breaking news out of Los Angeles, where a law enforcement source tells CNN homicide detectives from the LAPD are now on the scene after two people were found dead at an address associated with Hollywood Director Rob Reiner, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter joins me now.

Brian, a lot of things, as you and I have been discussing since this news broke, a lot of questions at this hour, not as many answers. So, we know that there was -- there was a call from the home. There was a family member who went over and then apparently found, right, two people dead. We know the homicide division was called in as were waiting for further details. We know the ages basically match up with those of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle.

Let's talk a little bit more about Rob Reiner, who he is so well known in the entertainment industry. This is really I mean, he grew up in this industry as well with his parents.

STELTER: Yes, absolutely. Actually got his start in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at the theater in New Hope, the Playhouse, and then was able to write for one of the most infamous CBS variety shows in history, the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, alongside, of all people, Steve Martin.

But it was really all in the family that turned Rob Reiner into the star, the household name that we're here all talking about tonight. You know, playing Archie Bunker's liberal son in law, you know, famously known as "Meathead". You know, that character made Rob Reiner a star.

And it created a lot of opportunities for him. He was able to go in multiple different directions, so he did continue to act for decades, actually, in supporting roles. I remember seeing him in movies, you know, "Sleepless in Seattle" is one that comes to mind. "Primary Colors" is another one that comes to mind.

But in the '80s, he set off to become a film director. And I mentioned a few minutes ago "This is Spinal Tap". Of course, his first director, his directorial debut. He just came out with a sequel to "This is Spinal Tap" just a couple of months ago. So he was active at the age of 78, still busy, still out there producing, directing and promoting his films.

So, you know, "This is Spinal Tap". You then lead to "The Princess Bride", "When Harry Met Sally", and I'm sure we'll talk more about this, Erica. It was on the set of "When Harry Met Sally" that Rob Reiner met his future wife.

He had been married in the '70s, but he met his second wife, Michelle, while working on the film, and he later credited his wife with coming up and helping him inspire a new ending to the film, "When Harry Met Sally". Maybe the characters were going to walk away and instead they came together at the end because Rob Reiner was in love.

So that marriage was in 1989, still together more than 30 years later. And as we've been saying, Erica, a lot, we still don't know at this point.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Brian, I know you will be with us through the next hour as well. Thanks to all of you who joined us this hour. I'm Erica Hill. Much more CNN NEWSROOM coming after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)