Ernesto Heading To Gulf; Andy Murray Brings Home Gold; "Lightning Bolt" Is Back
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The search for answers this morning in Oak Creek as we learn more about the gunman and what may have motivated him to open fire on a Sikh Temple. Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Zoraida Sambolin.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. It is now 6:00 a.m. in the east and we are finding out more this morning about a possible motive in that deadly shooting spree at the Sikh temple near Milwaukee. Seven people now dead including the suspect. The latest victim confirmed the temple leader who was shot when he tried to tackle the gunman and save others. Law enforcement officials spent the night examining the suspected gunman's home. We don't have his identity yet, but a source tells CNN the suspect was an army veteran who may have been a white supremacist. Police say the shooter walked into the temple parking lot yesterday morning that is where he began firing. The first officer responding to the scene was ambushed. Here's what it sounded like on the police dispatch.</s>UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Ambulance up, subject's down! (Inaudible) officer's down! Bring the ambulance. We have one officer shot.</s>BERMAN: David Mattingly joins us live now from Oak Creek, Wisconsin this morning. David, we're trying to piece together what we know about this suspect. We hear 40-year-old white male, may have been this 9/11 tattoo on his arm. What else are police saying?</s>DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, here's exactly what we know this morning. According to people at the temple at the time of the shooting that describe this as man around 40 years of age, bald, white male wearing a white t-shirt and black pants with 9/11 tattoo. Authorities aren't speculating about the possible motive in this case, but they are saying that they are approaching this case in a certain way that implies there may have been some kind of agenda. Listen.</s>JOHN EDWARDS, CHIEF, OAK CREEK POLICE: We're treating this as a domestic terrorist type incident and therefore the FBI has the resources needed to help investigate that.</s>MATTINGLY: As they are pursuing this as a possible domestic terrorism case, that would imply there was some kind of political motivation here. But as of right now, the FBI not ready to talk about at all what the motivation may have been. The people at the temple at the time not are saying whether or not the shooting had anything to say while he was there. Police officers not reporting when their confrontation with him, if he had anything to say, but again, a single law enforcement source this morning telling CNN that this suspect was an army veteran and may have been a white supremacist. So again, we're still one step closer to that possibility of domestic terrorism here, but no clear answers about why this happened and why here and why now.</s>BERMAN: David, overnight we saw police raid a residence that they believe belongs to the suspect and they appeared to be doing it with great delicacy. Explain.</s>MATTINGLY: Right, I was there until late last night. It was a very tense situation. They evacuated the houses immediately around the house they were searching. They approached it very cautiously with weapons drawn. They actually went up in a fire department crane at one point to get a different vantage point from high above. But they were very cautious they were approaching this house. They did gain entry and seemed to be approaching it as if someone might still be inside. But they did gain entry into that place. When they came out they were carrying large boxes. They left spotlights on the building and it was still lit up suggesting that they weren't finished and what they were looking for inside that building. But we're expecting to find out that source that was telling us that the suspect was in fact in the past possibly a white supremacist, also telling us maybe later this morning they will be able to release his identity to us.</s>BERMAN: All right, thanks, David Mattingly on the developments in Wisconsin this morning.</s>KEILAR: Witnesses to the massacre say the tragedy could have been a lot worse if the shooter had shown up 30 minutes later. Gunshots rang out at 10:30 yesterday morning. And temple members say half an hour later very large crowds would have started showing up for services and meals. Still, lives have been shattered and for some innocence have been forever lost.</s>KANWARDEEP SINGH KALEKA, TEMPLE MEMBER: At a place that you go to find peace and find God, of all places.</s>MALEEN RAJPUT, TEMPLE MEMBER: I just thought it was the safest place maybe on earth. We're in Oak Creek, apparently not. I just want people to know that they shouldn't be mistaken by us. And because we have turbans and long beards too and that's our religion and it's very peaceful.</s>BEILAR: In the next half hour, we'll be joined by Simran Kaleka, (inaudible) Kaleka, the niece and nephew of temple president and shooting victim (inaudible) Kaleka. Another developing story that we're following this morning, a deadly lightning strike that killed a racing fan. This happened at the Pennsylvania 400-sprint cup race at Pocono Race Way. The 160-lap event had to be called on lap 98 when a storm moved in and a race track spokesman says about 12 minutes after Jeff Gordon was declared the winner, a lightning bolt struck in the parking lot, killing a 41-year-old and injuring nine others, one of them in critical condition. The spokesman also said public address announcements were made before the storm and at the end of the race for fans to take shelter and evacuate the grandstands. We're also tracking those storms that caused so much heartache there at Pocono and snarled air traffic. I know I dealt with that yesterday. You have Tropical Storm Ernesto. And Karen Maginniss is in for Rob Marciano this morning. A lot going on, Karen.</s>KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Quite a bit and yesterday this fierce line of storms moved across the northeast, a little bit of heat relief, not much though. But this is the line of storms associated with that cold front that moved through. We've circled the area. You can see some of the lightning strikes just kind of dotting all around that race track. There were 85,000 people at the race track there. Ten struck by lightning and so far this year. That particular fatality marks the 19th lightning fatality in the United States. Well, a clearer day as that frontal system sweeps off towards the eastern seaboard. Now we're focusing in on the tropics with Tropical Storm Ernesto, just kind of chugging along. It slowed down and hasn't picked up any intensity and still holding at 50 miles per hour. It is expected sometime Wednesday to make it across the Yucatan Peninsula and into the southern Gulf of Mexico. But we think it may briefly reach hurricane intensity in the next couple of days, but we'll keep you updated on that -- Brianna.</s>KEILAR: All right thanks, Karen, we'll see you a little later.</s>BERMAN: Aiming for gold this morning. Jamaica's Usain Bolt is back and back in a flash. The world held its collective breath as the fastest group of 100 meter sprinters ever hit the Olympic blocks. Both held off the field with a new Olympic record. He was amazing, 9.63 seconds. Three other sprinters finished under 9.8 seconds. That is very fast. The other story, hometown tennis star, Andy Murray, hometown Scotland that is, winning the gold on the hallowed lawn of Wimbledon and he did it convincingly. It wasn't even close to being close. Murray avenged his loss last month in the Wimbledon finals. In the medal count an all out dog could you tell. China is on top, but the U.S. is right behind with 60 medals, including 28 golds. Great Britain is in third place with 37 medals overall.</s>KEILAR: Here's what you want to watch for today. Women's gymnastics, uneven bars final, all-around champ, Gabby Douglas, going for more golds. You can see the flying squirrel. In men's basketball, Team USA versus Argentina.</s>BERMAN: We're pondering this question this morning, Brianna, very serious. Is there life on Mars? At this moment man is closer to finding out the answer. Coming up, the dramatic landing of our new rover on the red planet. The truth is out there.