TAKEN OUT AGAINST HIM ISSUED BY A JUDGE IN 2011, 2012 AND 2013
13.
13. >> THANKS, TOM.
>>> WE’RE JOINED BY ONE OF THE
SURVIVORS.
SURVIVORS. INTERN ANTHONY MESSENGER.
GOOD MORNING.
GOOD MORNING. >> GOOD MORNING.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> I KNOW YOU STARTED WORKING
THERE JUST WEEKS AGO IN THE
SPORTS DEPARTMENT.
SPORTS DEPARTMENT. CAN YOU TELL US HOW YOU’RE DOING
THIS MORNING?
THIS MORNING? >> I’M STILL TRYING TO DIGEST
EVERYTHING.
EVERYTHING. I THINK IT WAS SO SUDDEN.
IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT ANYBODY
CAN PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR.
EVEN TODAY, IT FEELS SURREAL
THAT WE ALL WENT THROUGH THAT
SENSELESS ACT OF JUST VIOLENCE.
IT WAS INSANE.
>> ANTHONY, POLICE SAY THE
SHOOTING BEGAN AROUND 2:35 P.M.
WHAT WERE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS
AS YOU HEARD THE SHOTS?
>> INITIALLY, I THOUGHT IT WAS
FIREWORKS.
FIREWORKS. I HEARD A POP AND I LOOKED AT
THE FRONT OF THE ROOM, TOWARD
THE ENTRANCE.
THE ENTRANCE. AND I SAW SOME FACES THAT LOOKED
CONCERNSED.
CONCERNSED. BUT I DIDN’T SEE THE SHOOTER.
I SAW THAT THE GLASS DOORS THAT
OPEN UP INTO OUR OFFICE WERE
BLOWN OUT.
BLOWN OUT. AND I HEARD A SECOND POP.
AND AFTER THAT, I STILL WASN’T
POSITIVE WHAT WAS GOING ON.
BUT I WAS AFRAID ENOUGH TO GRAB
MY KEYS.
MY KEYS. AND I RAN TOWARD THE BACK EXIT
OF THE OFFICE.
>> AS I UNDERSTAND IT, ANTHONY,
YOU WERE WITH ANOTHER COLLEAGUE
AND THAT THE DOOR WAS LOCKED.
YOU WERE STUCK IN THERE.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
>> SO, CELINE SAN FELIZ, ONE OF
MY COLLEAGUES, SHE RAN TOWARDS
THE DOOR.
THE DOOR. SHE JIGGLED THE HANDLE.
AND THAT DOOR IS NEVER LOCKED
FROM THE INSIDE-OUT.
AND FOR WHATEVER REASON THAT
DAY, IT WAS JAMMED.
AS SOON AS THAT HAPPENED, THAT
SIGNALED TO ME, OKAY, THIS IS
INTENTIONAL.
INTENTIONAL. THOSE ARE SHOTS.
YOU KNOW, WE SEE THESE THINGS ON
THE NEWS ALL THE TIME.
IT’S -- UNFORTUNATELY, WE’RE
DESENSITIZED TO THEM.
I QUICKLY RECOGNIZED, THIS IS A
MALICIOUS SITUATION.
MALICIOUS SITUATION. HE’S HERE TO DO HARM TO US.
WE RAN AND GOT UNDER THE DESK IN
THE FAR BACK CORNER OF THE
OFFICE.
OFFICE. WE HUDDLE AS CLOSE AS WE COULD.
>> YOU MANAGED ON A LAND LINE,
TO CALL 911, NOT TO SPEAK TO THE
EMERGENCY OFFICER ON THE OTHER
LINE BUT TO GET THAT PHONE CALL
STARTED.
STARTED. AND THERE WAS A TWEET THAT
ROCKETED AROUND THE INTERNET OFF
YOUR TWITTER PAGE THAT SAID,
ACTIVE SHOOTER, 888 BESTGATE,
HELP US.
HELP US. IT CAME FROM YOUR PHONE BUT YOU
DID NOT WRITE THAT TWEET.
>> I CALLED THE POLICE AS SOON
AS I WAS UNDER THE DESK.
I WAS NOT ABLE TO TALK TO THEM.
I DON’T FEEL I COULD DO IT IN A
MANNER THAT WOULDN’T TIP OFF OUR
LOCATION TO THE SHOOTER.
ONCE HE MOVED AWAY FROM US, I
TRIED TO CALL AGAIN.
THE LINE WAS BUSY TWICE,
PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE CALLING FROM THE
OFFICE.
OFFICE. I TEXTED MY FRIEND.
PLEASE CALL THE POLICE, I’M IN
TROUBLE.
TROUBLE. AFTER I DID THAT, CELINE WAS
WITH ME AND HER PHONE WAS ON HER
DESK.
DESK. AT THAT MOMENT, I THOUGHT WE
WERE GOING TO DIE.
THE ONLY SOLACE IN THAT MOMENT
WAS, YOU CAN HAVE MY PHONE.
TEXT WHO YOU NEED TO TEXT OR
CONTACT WHO YOU NEED TO TEXT.
SHE TEXTED HER MOTHER AND I’M
NOT SURE SHE TEXTED ANYBODY ELSE
AND SHE SENT THE TWEET.
I SAW SHE WAS ON TWITTER BUT I
DIDN’T REALIZE WHAT WAS GOING
ON.
ON. THAT’S HEADS-UP TO HER IN THAT
MOMENT.
MOMENT. >> I KNOW YOU SAID THE POLICE
GOT THERE PRETTY QUICKLY AND YOU
WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY YOURSELVES
AND GET OUT OF THERE.
I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT YOU
WITNESSED AS YOU TALKED OUT.
>> IT WAS CHAOS.
THE OFFICE WAS IN SHAMBLES.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE SAW -- WE HAD
TO PASS TWO BODIES OF OUR
COLLEAGUES, WHICH WAS SOMETHING
THAT NOBODY SHOULD EVER HAVE TO
STOMACH.
STOMACH. JUST UNFORTUNATE THAT SOMEONE
WOULD COME INTO A PLACE THAT
REPORTS TRUTHFUL STORIES THAT
ARE FACT-BASED AND UNLEASH HELL
ON THE OFFICE.
WE TRIED TO KEEP OUR EYES OFF OF
THE GROUND.
THE GROUND. BUT INEVITABLY, WE ALL, AS
JOURNALISTS, WERE CURIOUS.
AND IT WAS SICKENING.
>> ANTHONY, AS WE’VE BEEN
REPORTING THIS MORNING, THIS MAN
HAD A LONG HISTORY WITH THE
NEWSPAPER.
NEWSPAPER. A GRUDGE WITH THE NEWSPAPER.
DID ANYONE YESTERDAY RECOGNIZE
THE MAN IN REAL-TIME?
WAS THERE TALK AROUND THE
NEWSROOM SAYING, WE KNOW WHO
THIS GUY IS?
>> NOT THAT I REMEMBER HEARING.
I WASN’T EVEN KNOWLEDGEABLE TO
THE ENTIRE SITUATION, OUR
HISTORY WITH THE MAN.
WHEN IT WAS GOING ON, IT WAS SO
CHAOTIC, I RAN AS QUICK AS I
COULD.
COULD. ME AND CELINE HUDDLED UP
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. THERE WAS SO MUCH COMMOTION
GOING ON.
GOING ON. HE WASN’T SAYING ANYTHING.
I THINK THE SHEER CHAOS OF IT
ALL, PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO GET
TO SAFETY TO REALIZE, OKAY, THIS
IS A MAN WE HAVE A PRIOR HISTORY
WITH.
WITH. WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE BUILDING,
I DON’T THINK MYSELF, PHIL,
CELINE OR RACHEL KNEW WHO IT
WAS.
WAS. THEY MAY HAVE HAD THEIR OPINIONS
ON WHO IT WAS AT THE TIME.
I DIDN’T.
I DIDN’T. THIS IS MY FOURTH WEEK ON THE
JOB.
JOB. THERE WAS -- WE WERE NOT CLEAR
ON WHO THE SUSPECT WAS AT THE
TIME.
TIME. I NEVER GOT A LOOK AT HIM UNTIL
AFTER THE FACT, THROUGH SOCIAL
MEDIA.
MEDIA. >> ANTHONY, HOW DO YOU FEEL THIS
MORNING?
MORNING? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WANT TO GO
BACK TO WORK AND COMPLETE YOUR
INTERNSHIP?
INTERNSHIP? >> AT THE MOMENT, I’M NOT SURE.
I’M TRYING TO DECOMPRESS.
MY HEART JUST GOES OUT TO THE
FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE
PEOPLE WHO WERE, UNFORTUNATELY,
KILLED.
KILLED. THAT’S NEVER SOMETHING THAT
CROSSED MY MIND WHEN I TOOK THE
INTERNSHIP THAT I MIGHT SEE
PEOPLE DIE.
PEOPLE DIE. PEOPLE THAT WERE NOTHING BUT
WELCOMING AND COMFORTING TO ME
IN SUCH -- IT’S A BIG JOB TO
TAKE.
TAKE. I HAD NEVER HAD A JOB AT AN
OFFICE YET.
OFFICE YET. AND THEY WERE ACCOMMODATING TO
ME AND HELPED ME TO WRITE THE
BEST STORIES I COULD.
IT WAS UNFORTUNATE TO SEE SUCH
GOOD-HEARTED PEOPLE ULTIMATELY
SUFFER SUCH UNTIMELY, SENSELESS
DEATHS.
DEATHS. >> THAT’S JUST HEARTBREAKING.
ANTHONY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
BEING HERE THIS MORNING AND
SHARING YOUR STORY.