Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
Police: Son Of Rob & Michele Reiner "Responsible For Their Deaths"; Police: "New Lead" In Seach For Brown University Mass Shooter; Australian PM: Mass Shooting "Motivated By Islamic State Ideology". Aired 7-8p ET
Aired December 15, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:23]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next: we're following three major stories.
First, breaking news. We've got new details in the grisly deaths of famed director Rob Reiner and his wife, as police say the Reiner son is responsible. Reiner's longtime friend of 50 years is OUTFRONT.
Also breaking, police say they have a new lead in the Brown University shooting at this hour, just releasing new images and video. The Rhode Island attorney general will be OUTFRONT. That manhunt heating up at this hour.
And new video right now. We're learning more about the 43-year-old hero who tackled one of the gunmen who opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration. We are live in Australia tonight.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, booked for murder. Legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner's son Nick is tonight in police custody after being held without bail. Now, police in Los Angeles at this hour are now saying -- and the word choice here is very important. They say that he is responsible for the deaths of his parents.
And we are learning new details right now about the hours before they were killed. According to a source, Reiner and his son Nick were having an argument at Conan O'Brien's holiday party on Saturday night. Hours later, a source tells CNN the Reiners' daughter discovered her parents in their house, a horrific and unimaginable discovery, given what we know.
Rob Reiner, of course, someone through his work that touched the lives of almost all Americans, being remembered tonight by the editor of "Variety" as the mayor of Hollywood. And he directed classics "When Harry Met Sally", "A Few Good Men", "Princess Bride". Tributes are still pouring in from across the globe as people are just dumbfounded and in shock about the circumstances here.
And then President Trump weighed in, posting something on social media, which is actually truly disturbing and unsettling. He wrote that Reiner and his wife passed away, quote, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as all caps, Trump derangement syndrome, adding he was known to have driven people crazy by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the golden age of America.
It's disturbing and it's unsettling. And then this afternoon, he doubled down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wasn't a fan of his at all. He became like a deranged person. Trump derangement syndrome. So, I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Rob Reiner was murdered by his own child, it seems, in a horrific death. I mean, it is unimaginable. What happened in that response is unimaginable.
The response from many Republicans has been swift. Thomas Massie wrote, "This is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse." Marjorie Taylor Greene, "This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies." Congresswoman Stephanie Bice, "We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics."
Elex Michaelson is OUTFRONT in Brentwood, California.
Elex, what is the latest that you're learning there on the ground in Brentwood
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, we have learned that it was the daughter of Rob and Michele who made that horrific discovery at the home behind us. And tonight, were also getting some new insight into the relationship between father and son.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK REINER, ROB REINER'S SON: I wasn't really that shy about including some of the bad stuff I did, because a lot of people do things that are pretty unsavory.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): A haunting interview with Rob Reiner and son Nick nearly a decade before Nick Reiner would stand accused of murdering his father and his mother, Michele. The legendary movie director, and his wife, also a producer, found dead Sunday in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: First of all, our hearts go out to the family and friends of the Reiners, a tragic incident.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Police say they were called to the Reiner home at 3:40 p.m. local time on Sunday. Nick Reiner quickly became a suspect, was taken into custody just over five hours later.
MICHAELSON: Investigators obtained a search warrant to search Reiners home, which is behind us, where it says private property. And then they made a key discovery.
MCDONNELL: I wouldn't be in a position to talk specifically about what the object of the search warrant was, but it's a critical piece of our investigations to be able to ensure down the road of prosecution.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Sources tell CNN, Nick and his father, Rob, had an argument Saturday night at a holiday party thrown by Conan O'Brien, where Michelle was also in attendance.
[19:05:00]
Nick Reiner had well-known battles with substance abuse, but by 2015, he said he was clean and co-wrote the film "Being Charlie", a semi- autobiographical look at drug and mental health issues directed by his father.
ROB REINER, ACTOR & FILMMAKER: You know, we did get into fights over things, but ultimately it forced us to make the make the film better.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): In an interview promoting the film, Rob and Nick spoke openly about the process of portraying the difficult times they lived through.
R. REINER: The fact that we were dealing with, you know, things that Nick had gone through and how I had related to it and how his mother had related to it. It forced us to have to -- it forced me to have to see more clearly and understand more deeply what Nick had gone through.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): The loss felt in politics as well. Reiner, well known for his work in the Democratic Party.
I talked with California Governor Gavin Newsom about Reiner's loyalty.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Elex, I was out there feeling a little alone, doing same sex marriage in 2004. It was Rob who reached out, so I got to know him, saying he had my back at a time when a lot of members of my own party, the Democratic Party, didn't.
MICHAEL TRUJILLO, WORKED WITH REINER: Amazing boss.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Michael Trujillo worked at Reiner's production company for years.
MICHAELSON: How are you processing this? This shock of this?
TRUJILLO: Not well. He was a mentor. He taught a lot of us, you know, how to be a good person. And I'm going to miss him. I think it was just nice knowing he was there.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): The world mourns the man behind classics like "A Few Good Men".
JACK NICHOLSON, ACTOR, A FEW GOOD MEN: You can't handle the truth.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): It's Reiner's millions of fans worldwide who can't handle the truth today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: So much pain.
So many folks in this neighborhood. One of the safest and tightest knit in all of Los Angeles completely shocked by what happened. The case officially goes to the district attorney tomorrow -- Erin.
BURNETT: Elex, thank you very much, in Brentwood.
And so much to talk about. I mean, just this I think absolutely, after a weekend that was full of so much tragedy and then this happened and I think people just -- it shakes you.
Tim Clemente is with us. Mary Ellen O'Toole is with us. Kevin Frazier is the host of "Entertainment Tonight". He's going to be with us in just a moment. He's also in Brentwood, where Elex is.
Tim, the LAPD is now using this word responsible, right. In a new statement to describe the son, Rob Reiner's son, that we just saw him there in those interviews that Elex was playing. That's -- that's obviously not the word suspect. It's not person of interest. Its responsible.
What does that shift in language mean?
TIM CLEMENTE, FORMER FBI COUNTERTERRORISM AGENT: I think it means they probably got a confession from him. I think they made the arrest, spoke to him, and if he cooperated, he probably gave them all the details about what happened, confessed completely. And so, he's no longer suspected of having done this. He has confessed to it. And so, he can be termed the responsible party at this point, because there's very little suspicion that he's not.
BURNETT: And, Mary Ellen, you know, Nick Reiner is now being held without bail. Earlier, it was $4 million. Now, it's without bail. And we've also seen that shift in language to he is responsible. What does that all tell you?
MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER & FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, what that tells me. And I'm in agreement with Tim completely on that, is that they were concerned about his ongoing behavior and his ongoing threat to other people, so that probably contributed to their saying that at this point, you're not going to get a bill. We're not going to release you because of the possible threat that you pose to other people. BURNETT: So, Kevin, you're there in Brentwood. Obviously, you have
known and covered so much of Rob Reiner and so many who worked with him. What more are you learning about the Reiner's relationship with their son, Nick, that the LAPD now calls responsible for their horrific murders?
KEVIN FRAZIER, HOST, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: Well, it has been troubling for quite a long time. And, you know, Rob and his wife have, you know, sent their child to rehab more than a dozen times. Nick, in an interview, said it was 17. But the big thing here is that there was that argument that now, Conan O'Brien's party and did that spin off in happened behind the horrific things.
And I also add, Erin, that we have a clip of Rob at "The Ghosts of Mississippi" premiere, and he was talking about Medgar Evers, and he said that, you know, Medgar was murdered in front of his children. He would never want that to happen. And like him, Medgar had two boys, and he would always want to be here for his boys. Prophetic words now, today.
BURNETT: It is just so unimaginable.
And, Mary Ellen, it is -- you know, Rob Reiner is a public figure in so many ways, the movies and his incredible creative work.
[19:10:04]
But there is something I think here that just strikes anybody watching, right? To imagine a child you know, murdering their own parents and such a, you know, a family that had had its challenges, but of course, had was a -- was a tight knit family.
I want to play another exchange that we have as obviously, Rob and Nick had talked about their relationship. Here's one other exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
R. REINER: You know, the parent is your main job is to keep your child safe. So I would do anything.
N. REINER: We didn't bond a lot as a kid. Like he really liked baseball. I like basketball and he could watch that with my brother but -- baseball. But I just -- when I saw him do that and it was something that I'm interested in, I was like, wow. Like he really knows a lot and like it made me feel closer to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Mary Ellen, when you watch that and you see that interaction and that they worked on that film together and now we're in this moment that were in, what does it take psychologically? And perhaps even what you think his condition may have been at the moment that this happened, for someone to do what it seems from what the LAPD is saying, Nick -- Rob Reiner son did.
O'TOOLE: So, it's a combination of things, in my opinion, that really happened here. And it's not just the murder of your parents, it's the brutality and the lethality that seems to have been used by the son to kill his parents. And that has to be taken into consideration when you're analyzing behavior.
Somebody doesn't just explode on one afternoon and act in this way where they can inflict the maximum lethality on a loved one. That doesn't -- that just really very seldom happens. So there -- there likely is a history of violence, and the violence can be exacerbated, made worse by the use of drugs and alcohol.
But my sense is we will learn as things go on. It's a combination of drugs and alcohol, and it's also partnered up with certain personality traits.
How -- how does he interpret his life? Does he see his life as being a failure? And who does he blame? Who's at fault? Who's the reason for this? So, it's a combination of things that I think ended up culminating in what we saw yesterday.
BURNETT: Tim, what do you think? I mean, this is what I think any everybody who hears this story just simply cannot -- cannot imagine the unimaginable which happened here.
CLEMENTE: Yeah, it's horrific. And even, the fact that the son killed him and then this was discovered by the daughter -- I mean, that just made it worse for her that she had to come upon this carnage upon this scene and find her parents in this way. And it's just so devastating to think that anyone would fall victim to a crime like this, but so much worse when it's his own son.
Clearly, there were issues and, those issues just you know, I would add to what was just said, I think that he may have been what's termed an injustice collector, where a lot of little things built up over time to get to the point where he could explode like this and commit this kind of violence.
BURNETT: Kevin, you know, Tim talking about the Reiners daughter, Romy, being the one who discovered her parents again, a moment that nobody can -- nobody can comprehend what that is like. What are you learning tonight about her, their other child? What's happening to this family right now?
FRAZIER: Well, we do know that Nick's brother Jake, was often described as the golden child. And Nick has said himself that his brother did so well. And he did not. He did not finish high school. He did not finish college. So he always felt like he was chasing his brother.
And for his sister, we can only imagine what she's going through right now. We do know there are reports coming out that Nick is currently on suicide watch, and we heard on a podcast that where Nick had talked about taking LSD, and he walked into his parent's bedroom and his father held him, held him down while his mother walked away, but that his dad was there and he wanted to help him to fight through this moment. And you figure that as a parent, you'll do anything for your child. And this is the worst outcome you could ever imagine BURNETT: Thank you all very much.
And we're going to speak next to one of Rob Reiner's longtime friends, Alan Horn. He was friends with Reiner and his family for 50 years. They created Castlerock Entertainment together. He's here to talk about his dear friend.
And we have breaking news. We've got new images just coming out here. This manhunt really heating up. Incredible. It's still going on, as I said, so much moving this hour.
Images of what they say is an important person in the mass shooting at Brown University. The Rhode Island attorney general is next.
And new details about one of the heroes who tackled a gunman at Bondi Beach in Australia during that mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:19:31]
BURNETT: Breaking news police in Providence, Rhode Island, say they have a new lead as a mass shooter remains on the loose tonight. A manhunt ongoing at this hour and heating up because we now have new videos of a person in interest -- person of interest, I'm sorry that they say is connected to the shooting at Brown University, coming more than two days after a gunman killed two and injured nine in a mass shooting there.
Leigh Waldman is on the ground OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The manhunt intensifying for the gunman who opened fire at Brown University on Saturday.
[19:20:02]
CHIEF OSCAR L. PEREZ, JR., PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT: We're asking for the public's assistance in identifying this individual.
WALDMAN (voice-over): Authorities releasing new videos to the public tonight showing three new angles of a person of interest, walking through Providence in the hours before the shooting. A new poster released by the FBI, with the images describing the suspect as approximately 5'8" with a stocky build. The FBI also offering a $50,000 reward for information.
TED DOCKS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, BOSTON: It's painstaking work, and we are asking the public to be patient as we continue to run down every lead so we can get victims, survivors and their families and all of you the answers you deserve.
WALDMAN (voice-over): FBI teams seen searching for evidence today in Providence, going door to door asking residents for any video that may help in the investigation.
REF BARI, BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I suddenly heard this pop, pop, pop, pop, seven or eight like pop sounds.
WALDMAN (voice-over): The shooting began around 4:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon in the Barus and Holley buildings on Brown's campus. The first 911 calls were reported shortly after at 4:05 p.m., according to the mayor's office.
The reality of the event setting in on the campus as gunshots rang out. The university issued its first emergency alert about an active shooter at 4:22 p.m. terrified students took cover on campus. Law enforcement cleared university buildings, and the campus remained on lockdown throughout the evening.
The shooting left two students dead. 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, described as incredibly kind, funny and smart by family members and Ella Cook, vice president of the Brown University College Republicans.
Nine others were hurt. Class and exams for the rest of the semester have been canceled.
TIMO VOLLBRECHT, BROWN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: I am pretty spooked. We're pretty shaken up.
WALDMAN (voice-over): After a person of interest in the shooting was questioned and released Sunday night, and cleared in the investigation. Now the community is on edge as a killer, considered armed and dangerous remains on the loose.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no real sense of safety.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALDMAN: And this evening we learned new details from the chief of police here in Providence that the suspected shooter used a nine millimeter gun to commit this horrific act outside of Brown's campus. We see the increased police presence. That's what Mayor Smiley is telling residents they should be assured of, that their safety is cared for.
But residents telling us today, Erin, they're scared and they will remain scared until this person is in custody.
BURNETT: Absolutely. Leigh, thank you very much. On the ground there in Providence.
And OUTFRONT now, the Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.
And, Attorney General, I appreciate your time, and thank you very much. I'm sorry that we're talking in these circumstances, but obviously, this manhunt now reaching a -- it appears an intensity, intense stage. I mean, new videos. I'll show them again now that have just come out from police. The FBI has also released images, and they are pointing at this person
saying that they are looking for an individual about five foot eight that has a, quote/unquote, "stocky" build. Is there anything more you can tell us about this individual?
PETER NERONHA (D), RHODE ISLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL: You know, not right now, Erin. You know, we are working hard. I just left the command post over at Providence PD before coming here, and there are a lot of detectives, the province police department working with federal agencies, state police are prosecutors to pull every thread here to see how quickly and hopefully very quickly we can get this person identified, detained, questioned if possible. But certainly, he is our primary person of interest right now.
And look, sometimes these kinds of investigations, I've been a state or federal prosecutor now for nearly 30 years investigations like this, you know, you don't have an image of the person, a right after a shooting. It takes time to build the kind of evidence picture you need to identify somebody and get them into custody. And that's what's happening now. But I'm confident we're going to get there.
BURNETT: So, you also though using the primary person of interest right now to describe this individual, if I'm making sure I'm just repeating you what you just said there.
NERONHA: You are.
BURNETT: Okay. Are you confident then at this point that at least with the information you have now, which I presume, Attorney General, is based on, maybe more than the videos, that other information you may have that lead you to believe that you think this is the person responsible for the shooting?
NERONHA: Yeah. Look, yes, is the short answer. I can't share the other evidence that we have, but we're releasing this evidence because the public can play a role here in helping us identify someone if they know them. Yet at the same time, we're analyzing, you know, as you mentioned in your reporting, there's -- there are we know what kind of firearm was used. We're analyzing that ballistic evidence and evidence associated with it.
So, you know, eventually, we'll put together the kind of evidence we need to charge someone. In this case, we believe that this person is a significant person of interest, possibly more than that. So, we want to identify him and detain him very quickly if we can.
[19:25:01]
BURNETT: Now, Attorney General, you're being clear and also careful with your -- with your language, right, as law enforcement, as the attorney general. And in that context, I just want to ask you, because as we were all following this this weekend, right?
You know, we all -- we all saw reports that came from very credible sources, including the director of the FBI, you know, that maybe the manhunt was over. The individual had been found. Kash Patel, the FBI director, you know, was talking about the agency.
They had used cell phone data to geolocate somebody, that they had said was a person of interest at a hotel. Then, all of the obviously detailed reporting came out about this individual. But that person then, all of a sudden, they came out and said, nope, that's not the person. That person's released.
You and I both know usually this doesn't go that way. Usually when they get that far along and the public knows about it, you got the guy. And in this case, it doesn't appear that way because they released the individual. Do you know what happened there as to why that that information, you know, talking about the cell phone data and all of that came out so prematurely?
NERONHA: Yeah, I think because people who aren't familiar -- aren't experienced in investigations got over their skis. I mean, during the course of that day, reporters locally that I know that we're reaching out to me -- look, I've been U.S. attorney or A.G. now for 15 years.
BURNETT: Yeah.
NERONHA: I was very careful with my words. And the reason for that is you don't want to overpromise and under-deliver. Sure, evidence is going to point to a particular person. And it did here. But when we analyze -- once you identify that person, okay, that's why it's so important to identify the person on the video release today. Once you do that, you can get a search warrant, for example, for their phone, for their room, for their car, you can take a sample of their DNA and test all of that.
And as that testing goes out, I'm speaking very generally now when that testing goes out and comes back and you know it's not the person, then you move on, but you've got to run that lead to ground based on the evidence you have to date. But I think this is why I have tried to frankly exert more influence over this in the last 24 to 48 hours, 36 hours, because it's really important that career prosecutors and career law enforcement officers, people who have been in these situations before, talk about what we have and where we're going.
BURNETT: Well, I think -- I think the public can agree with you on that. I mean, obviously, the you know, the reaction of everyone thinking it was okay and the lockdown being lifted, I mean, all the things that happened as a result of that were very serious and, and could have honestly, I'm sure is why you feel this way, could have could have led to a horrific outcome if this was somebody who was going to come back and do something, right?
I wanted to ask you one other thing, Attorney General, as I know you're in the middle of this, and this is, as I said, were in these hours here where maybe you could make a big breakthrough. President Trump was asked about why the FBI has not identified and caught the shooter, and he specifically had someone to blame or something. And that was Brown University.
I wanted to play for you what the president said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You really have to ask the school a little bit more about that, because this was a school problem. They had their own guards. They had their own police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do you think he's correct, Attorney General?
NERONHA: No. I mean, look, no one can foresee these events. I mean, we try to harden institutions around this state, around the city, my hometown, small town. But you can never harden them against all threats.
This isn't a Brown problem. It's a national problem, a symptom that happened here in Rhode Island. So, what we're focused on here is solving this crime, not making broad statements about Brown or for whatever reason.
It's not Brown's fault. What this is, is the fault of this gunman. It's a difficult case at the start, but based on my experience in a relatively short period of time, with the tools available to us as investigators and prosecutors today, we can get these cases solved relatively quickly.
I want it done as quickly as possible. It's never quick enough, but we're making great progress. It is a tremendous team in Rhode Island here that is working on this case. People who I've worked with now for a very, very long time have great confidence in them.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Attorney General, I appreciate your time and thank you so much for sharing all of this new information with us.
NERONHA: Thanks, Erin. Good to be with you.
BURNETT: All right. You too, sir.
And next, Reiner's close friend Alan Horn speaking out. He knew Reiner's family for decades, including his children, and he joins us next.
Plus, new video of the deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach as we hear from a witness who was just feet away from the gunman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:34:15]
BURNETT: Tonight, Kevin Bacon paying tribute to Rob Reiner, who directed him in the iconic movie "A Few Good Men".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: The making of that movie was one of the best experiences that I've ever had on a set. He was so fun, you know? And it really -- it comes down from the top. You know, you can set a tone where people feel like we are working hard, but also working hard in a safe and pleasant and fun situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Alan Horn. He's a longtime friend of rob Reiner. They were dear friends for over 50 years.
[19:35:00]
They co-founded Castlerock Entertainment together. Alan is currently a consultant for Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company, of course, of CNN.
And, Alan, I am really -- it's hard to even find words to say, you know, sorry for this shocking, shocking loss that you're facing. This is your dear friend, one of your dearest friends. And, you know, for anyone watching, I mean, this is a man that is with you on the day your daughter was born -- on the day, right, right. Your daughter Cody. Rob described you as like a big brother to him.
How do you even process the fact that this has just happened?
ALAN HORN, FRIEND OF ROB REINER'S FOR 50+ YEARS: Well, Erin, first of all, one needs to internalize the fact that it actually did happen. It all feels very surreal. It's hard to get my mind around the fact that this, in fact, did happen. That our dear friends, Rob and Michele, were literally murdered. And when we first heard the news, we simply could not believe it.
So, now, it's only a day later. So, we are still in the process of getting our heads around it, but it's impossibly hard, not just for us, of course, but for all of those who loved him, loved his family. He had a lot of friends, and he, of course, Rob was known throughout the country, if not the world, and Michele has been at his side since "When Harry Met Sally", which we released in '89. So, it's tough.
BURNETT: And you saw him just recently, I know, just -- just within the past couple of weeks. I mean, you know, I'm sure -- I'm sure at the time, nothing you probably would have even thought about. But now, I'm sure you're reliving every moment of that time together.
What did you talk about?
HORN: Yes. Well, he happened to have spoken on my behalf when the Warner Brothers had David Zaslav dedicated a screening room to me. So, Rob was one of the very few people who was asked to say something, and he did. He was, of course, funny and charming and just -- just out there. And it was a great deal of fun. And we had dinner afterwards, Rob and Michelle and my wife Cindy and me and our daughters and friends and all that. And it was just a great time to reminisce about more than 50 years together, because we started in 1973 when he was acting on all in the family.
And I can't believe I don't know where the years have gone, but the mirrors confirmed that they have.
So -- I just honestly, it just still taking it in. BURNETT: And then when you saw it, I mean, I don't know if you saw the
original reports were, you know, there were two people deceased in the home and you thought, well, maybe it was -- who knows, something bad happened, but you wouldn't have thought necessarily it was Rob and Michele, right? Then you find out it's them, then you find out the absolutely gruesome and horrific way in which they were murdered by their own child.
Apparently, according to the LAPD, they are calling it -- they're calling Nick Reiner responsible for their deaths. That's the words that they're using at the LAPD. What -- how devastated were you when you -- when you heard that? And you obviously know Nick. You know, the relationship that he had with his parents.
HORN: Yes. Well, it was known to us and known to other people who were close to Rob and Michele that Nick had a substance abuse problem that goes back quite a long time, but that they were all working on it together. And to be honest with you, Erin, Rob and Michele kept this family matter rather personal, and at least as far as we were concerned, close to the vest.
I -- he didn't talk much about it. We were very aware that he and Nick collaborated on this movie, "Being Charlie", which was some ten years ago or so, which dealt, of course, thematically with exactly the same subject. So, we were all aware that there was an issue they were dealing with. But, I could never have guessed that it would come to this. Never.
BURNETT: No, no -- no one could. Rob Reiner had a career. Some career advice for filmmakers. And it was interesting. This is back in 2016 that he said I'm about to play for you, Alan. But it was for more than filmmakers. It was really for anyone. Here's something that he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINER: That's what I tell people. Enjoy what it is you're doing. Find something you like to do that you enjoy doing, that you're good at, and then just do it.
[19:40:05]
And then whatever happens, it'll happen. Don't worry about the results, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HORN: It's just makes me smile to see him. Making that statement. And of course, he's right. The interesting thing was that from 1973, for the next ten years, he was Rob Reiner, the actor in a situation comedy put forth by Norman Lear and his collaborators. So, the transition occurred in 1980 -- well, in '82, when he came to Norman Lear, Jerry Perenchio and myself and pitched the idea of literally directing a movie.
And he was pitching it to us, and we tried to understand what he was talking about, and he explained what "Spinal Tap", what his vision was for it. And we said, okay, so it's a documentary. He said, no, it's a mockumentary.
We said, what? What is a mockumentary? Well, it's not a documentary.
And we said, okay, Rob, where's the script? We don't have a script. We're not going to use the script.
So it was a -- it was a crazy conversation. He got more and more exorcised and finally it just got louder and louder, and he just stormed out of the room. And then Norman turned to me and Perenchio and he said, which one of the two of you wishes to tell him no?
And we said yes. So that started "Spinal Tap", which then led to "The Sure Thing" and "Stand By Me" and "Princess Bride" before we founded Castlerock with Martin Shafer, Andy Scheinman, Glenn Padnick. So that was our story.
BURNETT: Well, it is a pretty incredible story. And certainly, certainly somebody willing to have a dream and take a risk on it and force everybody else to come along.
HORN: Yes.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Alan, I am grateful to you for talking about your friend. And again, I'm sorry for the shocking circumstance in which were having this conversation. So thank you.
HORN: Thank you, Erin. We love him. And I appreciate your time.
BURNETT: All right. And next, Rob Reiner met his wife while he was filming "When Harry Met Sally". And that actually changed everything for him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
R. REINER: I met her while we were making the film, and I changed the ending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And tonight, we are learning new details about the 43-year- old hero who tackled one of the gunman who opened fire at Bondi Beach, and that mass shooting. We're live in Australia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:47:15]
BURNETT: All right. We're learning new details this hour about the life and the marriage of rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. She was an accomplished photographer. She shot this original cover of Donald Trump's "The Art of the Deal," in fact. The two met while Reiner was making "When Harry Met Sally", a moment that he later said shaped what made that movie the iconic ending and his involvement in politics.
Jason Carroll is OUTFRONT with more on their marriage, an incredible story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These rarely seen images are from a photo shoot of Rob and Michele Reiner from 1999, shot by noted photographer Michael Mundy. He says it represents a portrait of love and happiness.
MICHAEL MUNDY, PHOTOGRAPHER: You can always tell when a subject in front of you is pretending or not pretending, and they were so honestly happy to be in each other's spaces.
CARROLL (voice-over): Michele Singer Reiner and Rob Reiner were the married couple of 36 years that almost wasn't. They met by chance, and that meeting changed not only their lives, but also the ending to one of cinema's classic romcoms.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, sometimes I vary it a little.
CARROLL (voice-over): In an interview last year with Chris Wallace, Reiner says he first met Singer on the set while directing "When Harry Met Sally" back in 1989. At the time, she was a noted photographer who had shot then New York real estate mogul Donald Trump for the cover of his 1987 book "The Art of the Deal". Singer just happened to visit the set of the film.
Reiner had been single, and, like the character Harry thought he would never remarry. That is, until he spotted Singer.
R. REINER: I couldn't figure out how I was ever going to be with anybody, and that gave birth to "When Harry Met Sally", and I hadn't met anybody, and so it was going to be the two of them seeing each other after years, talking and then walking away from each other. I met my wife, Michele, who I've been married to now 35 years. I met her while we were making the film and I changed the ending.
Hi.
MICHELE SINGER, REINER'S WIFE: Hi.
R. REINER: Hi. I'm running a little late.
CARROLL (voice-over): In 1994, singer played a small role alongside Reiner in Nora Ephron's dark comedy "Mixed Nuts". And while they worked together on films such as "Misery" and the "Spinal Tap" sequel, the couple also championed Democratic candidates and causes. They were key figures in getting Proposition 10 passed in 1998, a cigarette tax to help fund early childhood development.
R. REINER: She was, you know, absolutely behind me 100 percent. I mean, we went in this together. I mean, we started the I am child campaign together.
CARROLL (voice-over): The couple also co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which supported same sex marriage in California.
[19:50:01]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to see you again.
R. REINER: How's it going?
CARROLL (voice-over): Those close to the Reiner say they were best friends. They cared about their causes, their family and each other.
As Michael Mundy reflects on that day years ago, he took their portraits.
MUNDY: Lots of embraces, lots of loving looks between them. It was really a, you know, very special, and Michele, who I adored was a photographer herself. So, she was not comfortable in front of the camera, as most photographers are not comfortable. But you know, in the arms of Rob, she felt very comfortable.
They weren't just movie people. They were real warm people who clearly struggled, like we all do with our families.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And, Erin, earlier this afternoon, I spoke to a close personal friend of Michele Reiner. They had been friends for years, and he talked about what a loving couple they were, how open they were. He talked about the house where they lived, how they bought it from Norman Lear years ago, and one of the rooms they turned into a screening room where everyone would come over how it really became a gathering place, and it symbolized how open they were, not just with each other, but with friends, with the community that they serve and how sorely they will be missed -- Erin.
BURNETT: Thank you so much, Jason.
And next, the family of the hero who tackled a gunman at Bondi Beach during a mass shooting, sharing new information about his condition tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:55]
BURNETT: Breaking news authorities in Australia now determining the mass shooting of Jewish people at Bondi beach was driven by, and I quote, Islamic state ideology. This is according to the Australian prime minister. Now police have captured two men, father and his son, who they say targeted a Hanukkah celebration, murdering at least 15 people, including children, and dozens more are in the hospital tonight and were learning more about the hero, a bystander who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen.
The parents of Ahmed al Ahmed tell the Australian broadcasting corporation that their son was shot four to five times. Several of the bullets are still lodged inside him.
Will Ripley is OUTFRONT. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Sydney, reels from a deadly terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration, video shows a Muslim bystander Ahmed al Ahmed, charging into the chaos, wrestling a rifle from one of the gunmen, and Australian leaders say stopping further bloodshed at enormous personal risk.
Shot multiple times, the father of two is recovering at St. George Hospital.
For the first time, Ayman Lobadi is sharing this video. He was on Bondi Beach when the attack began, targeting Jews at a Hanukkah celebration.
AYMAN LOBADI, WITNESS: And you could actually hear the gunshots at the back.
I could tell that the gunshots were coming from the car park over there.
RIPLEY (voice-over): With bullets flying, panic.
RIPLEY: So they were running up the stairs.
LOBADI: That's correct. So, all I know, all I witnessed was hundreds of people with their children, women, children, surfers, everything.
RIPLEY (voice-over): For many, there was nowhere to run. Lobadi says bodies and blood filled the sidewalks of Australia's most iconic beach. He's Palestinian, grew up on the West Bank and moved here to escape violence like this, he says most of the victims were Jews, including Rabbi Mendel Castell's brother-in-law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Horrific scene with so many, you know, mass casualties, ambulances, police.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The two men at the center of this horror, a father and son Australian media identifying them as 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who died in a shootout with police, and his 24-year-old son Naveed, who was wounded by police and is now in the hospital.
The son's teacher posted this photo of them together, saying he studied the Quran and Arabic for one year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I condemn this act of violence without any hesitation.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Police raided this house overnight and removed the other occupants. Neighbors say the father and son and their family moved in last year, and the neighborhood is mostly immigrants. The father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa. His son was later born here.
RIPLEY: Neighbors say the police were here for several hours before they took three people out of this house, two women and one man. And then several hours later, they brought them back. And now they're inside with the blinds drawn.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?
POLICE OFFICER: No one's answering.
RIPLEY: Right now. We're heading to an Airbnb in western Sydney, and we're hearing this might be where the father and son were staying in the days just before this terrorist attack.
POLICE: We have a search warrant to search the residence.
BILL DIAKOS, NEIGHBOR: They started to call out at this specific house for the residents, whoever's in the house to make their way out of the house with their hands up.
RIPLEY: We looked at the listing of this place online, and it looks like there's multiple rooms, maybe six different rooms. So, if the father and son were staying at one, presumably there were other people staying in the other rooms. But now the place seems empty. And neighbors tell us that everybody was cleared out this morning and told that they had to stay somewhere else.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Police seized evidence after the attacks, including six guns. They say the father had a firearms license.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: And the question is, Erin, how did he keep all of those guns? When authorities actually interviewed his son as a person of interest in a government investigation back in 2019? They did not believe at that time that the son had been radicalized or was part of a larger group. And yet you have now the father and son, all of those weapons. That's one of the questions they're asking here. Obviously, there's a lot of activity at this memorial. At another memorial, where so many people were killed, including that 10-year-old girl.
And of course, the hero, Erin, recovering in the hospital. He needs several more surgeries, and a GoFundMe page has raised more than $1 million to help in his recovery. It's just incredible.
BURNETT: Truly incredible, that heroism. Thank you so much, Will Ripley.
And thanks to all of you.
"AC360" starts now.
