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Gunman Wired $100K to Someone in Philippines; New Images Show Gunman's Hotel Sniper's Nest; Trump Praises 'Amazing Response' to Puerto Rico Disaster. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 03, 2017 - 17:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. A sniper's nest. A first look at the hotel suite turned into a sniper's next by the Las Vegas gunman and some of the weapons from his arsenal used to rain death on concertgoers 32 floors below.

[17:00:15] Killer's motive what led the gunman to slaughter dozens of innocent people and would hundreds more? New information on his gambling habit and the $100,000 he wired abroad.

Heroes in the horror. We're learning more about the victims. People from all walks of life. And the heroes: first responders and ordinary citizens who helped save others or risked their own lives to comfort the wounded and dying.

And a real catastrophe. President Trump visits the Puerto Rico disaster zone but suggests it's not a real catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina. As the president pats himself on the back, we'll get a reality check on the ground.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: The breaking news: as investigators scrambled to learn why the Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, fired hundreds of rounds into a concert crowd, new images show where he turned his hotel suite into a fortress and show some of the weapons from his arsenal.

Police say Paddock fired for about nine minutes, leaving 59 people dead, more than 500 injured. All but three of the victims have now been identified. While a motive remains elusive, we're learning more about the shooter, a wealthy former accountant and very active gambler. A source says Paddock wired $100,000 to the Philippines, although officials don't know the exact timing or who the money was sent to. Police believe he acted alone in Las Vegas, making it more difficult to determine a motive.

They found 23 weapons in his hotel suite, apparently carried in in at least ten suitcases. Twenty-six more weapons were found in Paddock's homes and explosive materials in his car.

Also breaking tonight, President Trump is heading back from Puerto Rico, where he got a firsthand look at recovery efforts and met with some victims of the catastrophic Hurricane Maria. The president heaped praise on his own administration for its disaster response, seemed to jokingly blame Puerto Rico for throwing the federal budget, quote, "a little out of whack." He raises more eyebrows when he compared Puerto Rico's current death toll of 16 to thousands who died in what he called "the real catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina."

I'll speak with the Las Vegas mayor, Carolyn Goodman. She's standing by live, and our correspondents, specialists and guests, they are also standing by with full coverage.

Let's begin with a stunning look at the hotel suite that the Las Vegas gunman used as a firing position to slaughter people at an outdoor concert far below.

Let's go straight to our Brian Todd. He's in Las Vegas for us. Brian, what is the latest?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, just moments ago, some jarring new information from Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who told reporters that cameras were inside and outside the room of the shooter, Stephen Paddock including one camera that was found on a service cart.

The sheriff also said that they were aware of the discovery of what's called a bump-stock, some kind of a device which enables the speeding up of the discharge of ammunition.

And Wolf, this comes as we're getting some other graphic new details of the time line of how this shooting unfolded on Sunday night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Tonight, the first look inside the high-roller hotel suite that Stephen Paddock turned into a sniper's nest. This newly-obtained video shows the door the SWAT team blew open Sunday night. Just inside, one of Paddock's 23 high-powered rifles. These photographs show two other rifles found inside the suite. One includes a mount to steady the barrel and is surrounded by spent shell casings and another clip full of bullets.

In the corner a hammer, possibly the one Paddock used to break two of his hotel room windows before he began firing. Police say he checked into room 135 of Mandalay Bay's 32nd floor three days before the massacre. With him, ten suitcases, apparently packed with his weapons.

REP. DINA TITUS (D), NEVADA: The maid service and the housekeepers have been in and out of that room and saw no signs of anything. So it was pretty well-hidden.

TODD: These videos shot by others who have stayed in the same room show Paddock's view looking down onto the Luxor Hotel next door, the south end of the Strip, and the open-air concert stadium across the street, about 500 yards away.

Tonight, we're also getting a clearer sense of how the shooting unfolded. Just after 10 p.m., Army veteran Chris Bethel is in his room in the Mandalay Bay two floors below. Having served in Iraq, he immediately recognizes the sound of gunfire.

CHRIS BETHEL, MANDALAY HOTEL GUESTS: Changing weapons, changing calibers, and I mean, you can hear the difference in the gunshots of the different rifles that he's shooting.

[17:05:00] TODD: Nine-one-one calls begin to flood in at 10:08 p.m. Minutes later police arrive on the scene and try to triangulate Paddock's position but have to move slowly at first.

SHERIFF JOSEPH LOMBARDO, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA: We didn't know where the gunfire was. We weren't sure it was safe to commit our people at that time.

TODD: Back on the 30th floor, Bethel says he calls 911, the front desk, even a hotel across the streets, but no one answers.

BETHEL: It seems like it just never stops. Your seconds are going by, minutes are going by, and the rounds are continuously going.

TODD: Inside the hotel, officers are working their way upstairs. One radios in from the floor below.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm inside the Mandalay Bay on the 31st floor. I can hear the automatic fire coming from one floor ahead, one floor above us.

TODD: But when officers, including a hotel security guard, reach the room, they are pushed back by shots from Paddock.

LOMBARDO: He engaged security. He fought -- he shot through the doorway and struck a security guard.

TODD: The guard is shot in the leg, and the officers pull back, waiting for SWAT team to arrive to blast the door. At 11:20, SWAT officers surround Paddock's suite.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to pop this and see if we get any type of response from this guy, to see if he's in here or if he actually moved somewhere else.

TODD: Then the order to blow open the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breach, breach, breach.

(EXPLOSION)

TODD: Authorities say Paddock is already dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: And tonight we have learned that the shooter's girlfriend, a woman named Marilou Danley, 62 years old, has been cooperating with law enforcement authorities and that she is being brought back to the United States. She may arrive as early as tomorrow. She has been in the Philippines.

CNN has also learned that in recent days the shooter, Stephen Paddock, wired about $100,000 to the Philippines -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. We're working that part of the story, as well. Brian Todd, thanks very much.

The death toll in the Las Vegas massacre stands at 59. More than 500 people were hurt, dozens of them critically.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is over at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, which received more than 100 of the victims. What are you learning over there, Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we have learned a bit more about the kinds of wounds that were here. We know that they had a panoply of wounds. It wasn't just gunshot wounds, although they did say upwards of 80 percent were gunshots but they also said that there was somebody who was hit by a car trying to run from the venue. There are also large wounds, gunshot wounds but from what they believe probably a large caliber weapon, because of the size of the wounds that they are in the people that are here.

There are also said that they have had no amputations that they've done here at this hospital. The other good news is that they have been able to treat and release some 40 people, and they're watching some of the patients, looking at them stabilizing but still very much concerned about how they will do.

And, also, Wolf, it's worth pointing out that it's too early to tell for some of those people that remain here at the hospital how much recovery they will be able to do and how much they will return to the kind of lifestyle and normalcy that they had beforehand. They said it's just too early to tell right now.

BLITZER: Stephanie, how are the doctors, the nurses, the hospital workers dealing with all of this? I know you've spoken with them.

ELAM: I have. I actually got to tour the trauma center earlier today with the chief of the surgery department here, Dr. John Files. And it's amazing to see the faces behind the emergency response.

For one thing, Wolf, I learned today that, because of the way the county works, they were called and were brought in, were here at the trauma center before the bullets even stopped being fired. That's how quickly they were responding and prepared for this.

Now, while they had never seen anything like this, of this magnitude, they did say that their training kicked in. They were able to help everyone and line up the halls with gurney after gurney of these patients who were there and just really go back into their training. They say while it might have seemed somewhat chaotic going through the emergency room, once they got into the operating rooms, once they got into triage, that is where their training kicked in and they were able to help people that came in.

We know that four people died on their way to this venue. But they have been able to save the other people that have been here so far. BLITZER: We want to thank all of those doctors and nurses for saving

lives at the hospital where you are and the other facilities and other hospitals, as well. Stephanie Elam, thanks very much.

Joining us now, the mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman.

Mayor, the gunman clearly spent a lot of time in beautiful Las Vegas gambling in the casinos, staying at the hotels. As far as you know, were there ever any reports of suspicious behavior or something that would have raised a red flag?

MAYOR CAROLYN GOODMAN, LAS VEGAS: You know, I think the sheriff's been very clear. I'm one not to talk about the "what ifs" or what might be or what's not corroborated. I always go back to the sheriff for the facts as he checks them and then authenticates what the rumor is.

Yes, we know he has been over the years frequently and was a gambler. But a lot of people can say that, too.

[17:10:06] What is the amazing thing is about one heinous person who has really brought this city to its knees because of these 59 innocent people who are shot and aren't with us anymore, and their families and their loved ones.

And our concentration is not on him. He doesn't deserve it. I don't like anything to hear about it except that we know our law enforcement, our first responders, our entire medical community has done as much as it possibly can. It's been so professional. Outstanding.

And having spent the night, most of it on that horrible Sunday night, Monday morning, talking to patients who were not going into the surgery immediately, or who were being gurneyed into the facility, knowing the doctors there, I mean, what a tremendous effort and love for life. Everybody, that's what they did, and that's what they were trained to do.

Law enforcement continues training. Our early responders the same. And everything we do here, I mean, I am so proud of this community and feel such a terrible loss for all of these families. People who've enjoyed coming here for years that loved this festival and found it so spectacular. For one individual, and I hate to even use the word "individual," to do such destruction is despicable.

BLITZER: We have to learn, and I'm sure you agree, Mayor, the lessons of why this happened, how this could have happened, to try to make sure it doesn't happen again. How was the gunman, based on the information you have...

GOODMAN: There's no way, Wolf...

BLITZER: Go ahead.

GOODMAN: There's no way, Wolf. There's no way, Wolf, you can take every single human being in this country -- we have over 350 million people that live here -- and be able to analyze and go around the world of this country and know that every single person doesn't have this or that disorder or isn't full of anger and hate.

There was no record, to my understanding, and as it changes, maybe the sheriff and the FBI will corroborate that. We know about his father. I know what we've heard from his brother in Florida. But there's no way. And we do everything here.

I mean, this is a hospitality community, a place that prides itself in a convention of 43 million tourists who come here every -- every year just to relax, have a good time, go to special events, go to boxing matches, now coming to the ice hockey and coming to the Raiders at some future point and our USL. These are people who come here to relax and just say, "I can take time out and have a good time."

But not for these 59 people and their families. Our heart breaks for them. And I just can't imagine, as we see each face and see a little vignette of who they were, what their lives were, that they'd just graduated from college, that they were a cheerleader, that they were an outdoorsman, that they were a member of our local community, young people, who just were out there having a good time, taking some time off. How dare this rotten soul go ahead and do this to innocent people, like picking off ducks in a line?

BLITZER: And Mayor...

GOODMAN: I can't even -- I don't even want to give him any attention.

BLITZER: And it's not just the -- the people who were killed or the people who were injured, unfortunately, way too many. It's 22,000 people who were there at that concert who clearly have been impacted by what this gunman did. We couldn't agree with you more.

But I still go back to the notion, the authorities have to learn as much as possible about this man, and certainly, everyone else has to learn to see what -- there's certainly no 100 percent perfect way of dealing with this, but the gunman, as you know, he was able to bring in some high-powered weaponry to that hotel suite, store it there in, what, ten suitcases without anyone apparently noticing. Is that a problem?

GOODMAN: Wolf, no, no, no. This is Las Vegas. This is a place of entertainers, as well as those being entertained. These are people who come in with instruments, suitcases full of clothing changes, so that somebody would come in with five or ten bags, and how would anybody know at the front desk? "Oh, I'm going to count your bags. Are these for your girlfriend, your boyfriend? Please open and show us your bags."

I mean, this isn't the airport. And this really is about preserving what this entire country was created to do, to be a land of the free.

And this -- I mean, to me, this one single person, because of the issue of what this person was and what he did, we find out that he's demented? I mean, give me a break, what do you think? He's going to go out there and shoot innocent people? How could it not be a demented soul?

[17:15:12] How are you going to follow each one of us? Are we going to be shackled, and are we going to have all these identifying things to go get a hamburger or go sit down, get a cup of coffee, be free to travel somewhere?

The issue is that, of course at the airports we have all these screenings we have to go through. But you can get in your car. You can go on the rail. Now are we going to start to make sure that every single person is identified for getting into their car or a rented car or getting on a train?

I mean, when you take this further and you begin to see how it would manifest itself going forward, this is one sick, demented human being who had no right to do any of this. And may he rot.

BLITZER: Mayor, thank you so much. Good luck to you. Good luck to all the people in Las Vegas. What a horrendous, horrendous situation this is. And we're grateful to all of you for doing what you're doing. Thank you so much for joining us.

GOODMAN: And please thank the country and thank all those who sent their prayers and their love to these families and these wounded people. Thank you.

BLITZER: I agree. We thank them, as well. The mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, appreciate it very much.

There's more breaking news we're following here in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're getting more details on the Las Vegas gunman and the extensive arsenal that he put together before launching the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:53] BLITZER: The breaking news in Las Vegas: authorities have now identified all but three of the 59 people killed by the gunman, who fired hundreds of rounds at concert goers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel.

New images show the hotel suite he turned into a sniper's nest and weapons from his arsenal. We're also learning more about his weapons purchasers.

Our senior national correspondent, Kyung Lah, is joining us live from north Las Vegas. What are you finding out, Kyung?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we just heard in that news conference, investigators laying out seven more weapons that were recovered in the gunman's Reno home.

This is also one of the places that we found that the gunman purchased weapons, this store in Las Vegas. He didn't just go to Las Vegas. He also went, according to the sheriff, to stores in Arizona. He bought weapons also in the town that he was -- that he had his home in Mesquite, Nevada. And then we went to St. George, Utah, where he went to a gun shop

there, visiting three times starting in January. Here's what the gun shop owner told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MICHEL, OWNER, DIXIE GUNWORX: You know, it was just a regular, everyday Joe Blow kind of guy. Nothing specific. He didn't ask for anything that threw any red flags. He looked through the entire store. He looked at all different kinds of items, asked different questions about things.

My first encounter with him was, again, nothing remarkable.

The next time he kind of came through the door, he was looking more specifically for a shotgun.

The third visit that he came in, he actually purchased the firearm, the shotgun. And, again, browsed around, talked about just everyday life, nothing like that. And then walked back out the door.

It wasn't like there was just this one little thing or a look in his eyes. Because we get sketchy people that walk into our business. No matter how you look at it, sketchy people come in. Those are the ones that we have code words, you know, on our staff that we can throw up and let everybody know something's not right here. Something's going on. And that didn't happen with him.

He passed all of our background checks here in the store. He passed every red flag that could have popped up. But it's still -- it's still there. It's still something that I'm still going, "What else could I have done better?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And he says he's had sleepless nights over this, because Las Vegas is his hometown. He keeps going over everything, wondering, "Is there something I missed."

If you are keeping track, Wolf, this person was able to accumulate 49 guns total that we know of. That number has continued to go up every single news conference, Wolf. So there are going to be a lot of questions of how many states did he visit, how long had he been trying to acquire these weapons? Because this gives us an intimate look of how long the planning had been going on.

BLITZER: Forty-nine guns. And thousands of rounds of ammunition collected and that the police have now determined what was either in the hotel suite or two of his residences in Nevada. Maybe there are more elsewhere, as well.

Kyung Lah on the scene for us in North Las Vegas. Thank you.

Coming up, more breaking news. We have new details on the Las Vegas massacre. New images of the hotel suite turned into a sniper's nest by the gunman, along with images of some of his weapons. And President Trump right now returning from the Puerto Rico disaster

zone, where he spent much of his time downplaying the extent of the catastrophe and patting himself on the back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your governor has been -- who I didn't know -- I heard very good things about him -- he's not even from my party, and he started right at the beginning appreciating what -- what we did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:29:25] BLITZER: This hour's breaking news: at a just-completed news conference, Las Vegas authorities said all but three of the victims from Sunday's mass shooting have now been identified.

New images show some of the weapons from the killer's arsenal, as well as the hotel suite he turned into a sniper's nest. The Clark County sheriff says the killer also set up cameras inside and outside his hotel suite.

Let's get some insight from our specialists. And Jim Sciutto, give us the latest on what you're learning on this latest development that, what, he wired $100,000 to at least someone in the Philippines.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We learned today he wired this large sum of money to the Philippines. Police saying, Justice Department saying at this point they don't know the exact date of that transfer or who was on the other end of the transfer.

I should note that this should not be to say that this is definitely the person on the other end, but I should note that Danley, who was a companion of the shooter's, initially the police were looking for her because he had traveled with her. She had traveled with him. They have now eliminated her as a person of interest, but I should note they believe that she is now in the Philippines, that she transited there sometime in recent weeks.

So, again, police know the amount of money that was sent, where it was sent to the Philippines. They are not saying what the date was or who was on the other end of that transfer. But notable that a companion that they were looking for initially is Marilou Danley, and her location is believed to be there in the Philippines.

BLITZER: Yes, where we got some images from the gunman there. You can see images from the Philippines. Apparently, he was there back in 2013.

Tom Fuentes, what are the -- what question does this wire transfer of $100,000 to someone in the Philippines raise for you?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, right now, we don't know. I think they're going to have to find out who it was intended for. Because I mean, this was a fairly wealthy person, able to buy this small arsenal that he did, and it sounds like he was very well- to-do financially. So this could have been a real estate. It could have been some other deal. It's just very coincidental, and maybe too coincidental, that his traveling companion happens to be from the Philippines and was there. So was she the intended person? Was it a family member? Or was it some separate business activity? We don't know yet.

BLITZER: Always follow the money, as they say.

You know, Phil Mudd, what was most interesting to you, what you heard from the Clark County sheriff, Joseph Lombardo, at that news conference just moments ago? Because he suggested that, in the next 48 hours, they'll know a lot more.

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: That's what jumped out to me. We've been talking about some visibles in the past day or two, Wolf. That is things like like how many weapons were found at locations, how many people died. We've got to talk about invisibles here, because in the next 48 hours, those are going to blow up.

You can think of this investigation in a couple stages. The first stage is chaos: what floor is the man on? Where is the girlfriend? Is she in Thailand? Is she in Japan? Was she a co-conspirator?

We're in stage two, where the feds, along with the state and locals, are putting together a time line of communications, financial transfers, travel. For example, I want to see his credit card, if he has one: where did he get gas? Did he check into other hotel rooms?

Within 48 hours -- and this is what the sheriff is talking about -- we should have going back months a pattern of life that will help us understand what he Google searched, when he bought those weapons, how that corresponded with his communications with friends and family. By the end of the week what that sheriff is telling us is we should have a pretty good picture of his life.

And then we're going to have that big question: if we know what the picture of the life is, do we have a picture of why he did this? That's the one that might not be answered by the end of the week.

BLITZER: You know, Mary Ellen O'Toole, you're a former FBI profiler, special agent. The fact that he apparently set up cameras inside the hotel suite and outside the hotel suite, what does that say to you about this killer?

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER FBI PROFILER: Well, that tells me that he wanted to be in control of the whole scene. He wanted to know when people were approaching the room. He wanted to know if somebody was going to take -- make an effort to stop him from what he was doing.

So that was just part of that extended, extensive planning that he put into play in order to carry this out.

BLITZER: The weapons he had, Tom, were pretty sophisticated. Semi- automatic. Maybe he made them into automatic weapons. How much training would he need to be able to fire these kinds of weapons?

FUENTES: Well, he'd need a little bit of training, for sure. But there are a lot of people that can help people transform a semi- automatic into a fully automatic weapon.

So when you heard the sounds of that gunfire, it was too rapid to be a single pull on the trigger. It was "bababababa." That's an automatic weapon. And they can be fairly inexpensively converted. There are many gunsmiths that can do that very rapidly, very easily.

BLITZER: But he would need to practice extensively, right?

FUENTES: Well, when you look down from that window, down at the crowd size down there, and he has a scope on that rifle that we saw on the tripod, that would be just very easy for you. You wouldn't need to be a Navy SEAL to be able to be that accurate to shoot into a crowd of thousands of people who are shoulder to shoulder that close.

So, yes, it would take a little bit of training to load the magazines, to take it off safety, to fire it, and if a gunsmith or someone helped him convert a couple of those guns into being fully automatic, which means you can fire 700 rounds per minute, at minimum, yes, you wouldn't have to be the most expert marksman to pull that off.

BLITZER: All right. Everybody stick around. Don't go too far away. We have much more coming up on Las Vegas massacre investigation, including new pictures, new details about the hotel suite the killer turned into a sniper's nest.

Also, President Trump wraps up a sometimes awkward visit to Puerto Rico constantly insisting his administration's response to the disaster has been, in his word, "amazing."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:35:04] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right from the beginning, this governor did not play politics. He didn't play it at all. He was saying it like it was. And he was giving us the highest grades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We have much more ahead on the breaking news on the Las Vegas massacre investigation, including new pictures of the weapons used by the gunman. Authorities say some of them have been sent to a crime lab to see how they were modified.

[17:40:02] Also breaking, President Trump just wrapped up his visit to Puerto Rico. At every stop he praised what he called the amazing response to the disaster caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria. And it led to a few awkward moments.

CNN's Boris Sanchez is on scene for us in Puerto Rico. Boris, tell us more about the president's day. BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Wolf. Yes, he spent

some time at a briefing with FEMA officials and local elected leaders before moving on to a chapel and helping to spread out some aid. He is now on his way back to Washington, D.C., before heading to Las Vegas tomorrow.

Here in Puerto Rico, there was an expectation that he might change the tone from the very aggressive one that he took this weekend, questioning the leadership capabilities of some of Puerto Rico's elected officials and being less than receptive to offering aid to the island.

We didn't see a full change from the president today. Instead we saw some colorful moments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: This has been the toughest one. This has been a Category 5, which few people have ever even heard of. A Category 5 hitting land. But it hit land. And, boy, did it hit land.

SANCHEZ: Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated much of Puerto Rico, President Trump visits the island amid a humanitarian crisis.

TRUMP: I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you're throwing our budget a little out of whack. Because we've spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico, and that's fine. We've saved a lot of lives.

SANCHEZ: The president touting the federal response to Maria and his team's relief efforts, while also comparing the number of those killed after Maria to the death toll following Hurricane Katrina.

TRUMP: If you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina, and you look at the tremendous hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died, and you look at what happened here with, really, a storm that was just totally overbearing. Nobody has ever seen anything like this. What is your -- what is your death count as of this moment, 17?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixteen, sir.

TRUMP: Sixteen people certified. Sixteen people versus in the thousands. You you can be very proud of all of your people, all of our people working together. Sixteen versus literally thousands of people.

GOV. RICARDO ROSSELLO, PUERTO RICO: We're grateful for the president.

SANCHEZ: The president also commending Puerto Rico's governor.

TRUMP: And I just want to tell you that right from the beginning, this governor did not play politics. He didn't play it at all. He was saying like it was. And he was giving us the highest grades. And I want to, on behalf of our country, I want to thank you you.

MAYOR CARMEN YULIN CRUZ, SAN JUAN: Save us from dying. SANCHEZ: But there was no mention of San Juan's outspoken mayor

Carmen Yulin Cruz...

CRUZ: It's not about politics.

SANCHEZ: ... despite meeting her face-to-face minutes before. The moment coming after the president's weekend Twitter attack, saying she had "such poor leadership ability." Trump commenting on their feud before leaving Washington this morning, saying...

TRUMP: Well, I think she's come back a long way. And, you know, I think it's now acknowledged what a great job we've done. And people are looking at that.

You know who helped him? God helped him.

SANCHEZ: The president also taking on the comforter-in-chief role with first lady Melania Trump by his side, visiting victims of the storm at their homes in Guaynabo, known as the five-star city, one of the island's most upscale neighborhoods.

TRUMP: Did you have fear that the house was going to go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The second floor probably. Not the house.

TRUMP: And that's what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TRUMP: Incredible, yes. Good going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for being here.

SANCHEZ: And stopping by a church to help distribute food and supplies.

TRUMP: There's a lot of love in this room. A lot of love in this room.

SANCHEZ: Despite the positive spin on relief efforts coming from the White House, official numbers reveal there's still a long way to go. Seven percent of the island's electricity is restored. And only 40 percent of their telecommunications. Obtaining running water is still a challenge. And there are still long wait times at lines in grocery stores and gas stations.

TRUMP: The job that's been done here is really nothing short of a miracle. It's been incredible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Wolf, the recovery here in Puerto Rico is certainly uneven. While San Juan gets back on its feet, further south, in a city that I visited recently, we met up with a couple, a Korean War veteran and his wife, Sam Levia (Ph), who are now living with a neighbor, because a tree went through their living room. They told me that they registered with FEMA shortly after Hurricane Maria, but they've not received any aid at all. No federal or local official has even gone into their neighborhood to check on their wellbeing. And, Wolf, they are not alone.

BLITZER: I'm sure there's lots and lots of stories like that. Boris, thanks very much. Boris Sanchez in Puerto Rico for us.

Coming up, we're going to have a reality check. I'll be joined by some of our correspondents who have seen the desperation over the long wait to get food, fuel, clean water, medicine, to hit the hardest hit parts of Puerto Rico.

We also have some new reporting on this other -- this hour's other major breaking stories, new details about the weapons used...

[17:45:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: -- over the long wait to get food, fuel, clean water, medicine to hit the hardest hit parts of Puerto Rico.

We also have some new reporting on this other's -- on this hour's other major breaking story. New details about the weapons used in the Las Vegas massacre, and the first pictures of the sniper's nest.

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[17:50:00] BLITZER: We're following two major breaking stories, including our first look inside the hotel suite used by the Las Vegas sniper. Authorities just announced they found more weapons and ammunition at the gunman's home.

Also breaking, President Trump now on his way back to Washington after getting a firsthand look at some of the devastation in Puerto Rico. While he repeatedly praised the response to the disaster caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria, he didn't get to some of the island's hardest hit areas.

Let's get a reality check from our CNN correspondents.

And, Sara Murray, you're on the ground for us right now. The President visited Puerto Rico. This was the first time he's seen the devastation there. Did he get a full picture, though, of what the conditions on the island are really like?

SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, no, Wolf. I think it was impossible for the President to get a full picture in the amount of time he was on the ground. He was here for about 4-1/2 hours.

Just to give you context, Puerto Ricans have been waiting in gas lines longer than that in recent days. He didn't venture too far outside of San Juan, and he went to one of the more affluent neighborhoods.

Now, obviously, this is a storm that has been devastating for still many who lives here, but the President didn't go to some of the hardest hit parts and didn't hear a lot of the stories from people who have really lost everything, who has yet to see and aid truck, who can't get online, can't access cell phone service to contact FEMA and say, hey, I don't have a roof on my house any more.

BLITZER: Leyla, you had a chance this afternoon to speak with the Mayor of San Juan, who was the target, as we all know, of President Trump's attacks over the weekend. What did she have to say about his visit today?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know Trump was very critical of her over Twitter, and she was a bit critical of him as well today. She said there were two sets of meetings in which Trump came in and met with government officials here that was public, that was televised. And then there was a meeting that they had with just White House staff.

She describes them as very different. She says with the White House, it was very productive. With Trump, not so much. She says some of those comments were actually offensive. Let me let you listen to the rest of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CARMEN YULIN CRUZ, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO: We got to meet with White House staff, and I truly believe that they finally saw the connection or the disconnect between what they were hearing on the one hand and the reality of what is happening on the ground.

When I heard him say, and I quote, Puerto Rico, you have thrown our budget out of whack for all the money we have spent here, it doesn't make you feel good.

SANTIAGO: Yes or no. Do you think this trip with President Trump on this island will help the people of Puerto Rico after Maria?

CRUZ: I think his staff understands now and they have all the data they need. But I would hope that the President of the United States stops spouting out comments that really hurt the people of Puerto Rico because rather than Commander-in-Chief, he sort of becomes Miscommunicator-in-Chief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTIAGO: So she is throwing the criticism right back at him, although she is not as critical of FEMA workers. She says she understands that they are here. They are doing the best that they can with what they have right now.

But let me quickly give you an update on what I have seen on the ground, Wolf. This morning, I was at a distribution center in Toa Baja, and I did see more aid. I mean, there was significantly more aid when it comes to FEMA in that distribution center.

But then when you follow the aid out to some of the areas that are outside of San Juan -- we went about an hour and a half southwest into an area called Guayanilla -- and the FEMA aid that arrived there was simply not enough.

Once it was all distributed, there were still about a line of more than a hundred people waiting, waiting, for more help. And help with the basics, food and water, from FEMA, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it's very sad.

Sanjay, even for Puerto Ricans who didn't necessarily suffer any physical injuries during the storm, the lack of medical care is still a very, very serious problem. What are the challenges that the elderly, the sick residents are facing right now?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Wolf. And these are people who may not have been adversely affected directly by this hurricane, but this is a population of people who already had a lot of health challenges and who still, in many places, have not had some of the basics, in terms of potentially lifesaving medications.

And I think, as Leyla is saying, and as Sara is saying, there is this disconnect that it takes a couple of days to sort of fully understand after being on the ground here.

Many of these supplies are on the island. They are here, they're in various places, but it's very fragmented. You have to sort of figure it out. They're not getting necessarily to the people who need them, or they're not getting there in adequate numbers.

[17:54:57] I think what I was surprised by, maybe even a little shocked by, was that there was a lot of self-congratulatory sort of discussion today when the President was here, but not as much talk about the stark assessment of what's happening.

How many people still have electricity? Less than 10 percent. How many people are still getting any of these medications? Smaller percentages.

You have hospitals that are considered up and running but still don't have a reliable source of power. So how do you continue to take care of patients in that way?

So there's a lot that's still going on here that needs to be addressed, and I didn't hear a lot of that when the President was on the ground.

BLITZER: Important points, guys. Thanks very much. Don't go too far away.

Coming up, there's more breaking news. New images show how the Las Vegas gunman turned his hotel suite into a sniper's nest. And we also have some new details about the massacre investigation, what drove him to slaughter dozens of innocent people and wound hundreds more.

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