Shooting Similar to Aurora Movie Shooting; U.S./Turkey Close to Agreement for Base Access
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We continue with breaking news out of Louisiana where two people are dead after a gunman opened fire in a movie theater and the gunman also killed himself. So a total of three dead. Here is what we know from police from the city of Lafayette.</s>LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: So the first call came in around 7:30 p.m. local time. The shooter is identified as 58-year-old white male. Seven people are injured and three people are dead including the gunman.</s>HOWELL: Police say the shooter, as we mentioned, died of a self inflicted gunshot wound. And we are hearing three of the victims at this hour are in critical condition. One theater-goer spoke to CNN about what she saw last night. Listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: I was across the hall from the theater the shooter was in.</s>UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: And what did you hear?</s>UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: We were just watching movie and the sirens went off and lights came on and we exited through the back door. When we were outside we heard three shots. Not very loud but we heard three shots. We were like, what was that. When we walked around to the front of the theater there was a woman on the front, she had been shot in the leg, I believe. She was bleeding and that's about all we saw.</s>KINKADE: This comes almost three years to the day after similar deadly shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. 12 people were killed and 70 other wounded when a gunman opened fire in a crowded screening of the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."</s>HOWELL: Earlier, we talked with our senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter, about reaction to this shooting.</s>BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Obviously, whenever something like this happens at a movie theater, it does affect the industry and creates concern in the industry, questions about security. You were describing Aurora three years ago. It has become one of those atrocities are you just say it with one word, Aurora. It really shocked the conscious of the country three years ago because so many were killed in such a usually happy, you know, entertaining place. I think that is what so unique about a crime that is committed in a movie theater. People go there implicitly believing they are safe enough to sit in a dark theater with strangers to be entertained. To in some cases see violence on the screen but know they are safe there. I think once again, people will in the coming hours and days wonder if they are safe when they go to the movie theater. The short answer is yes. Obviously for the most part when we see crimes like this, they are obviously the exception, not the rule. Certainly in the aftermath of the Aurora massacre, we did not see a big downturn in ticket sales or a dramatic change in people's movie-going habits. There were changes in security in the wake of Aurora and maybe we will hear about that again in the wake of this mass shooting in Louisiana. For example, there were more guards in some cases, more security checks at theaters, but we have not seen a real change in the way movie theaters operate. Many of the security measures that were implemented were implemented quietly. There wasn't a lot of publicity around them. Movie theaters didn't want to publicize them. At the moment, I have a feeling we will see the same reaction to this most recent tragedy.</s>HOWELL: At this hour investigators are taking inventory of that crime scene. We will of course stay on top of the story and bring you the latest and get you updated as we get any more information about this shooting in a U.S. movie theater. Just a few hours ago, Turkey's air force bombed ISIS targets in the country of Syria. The Turkish officials say fighter jets hit three ISIS locations in a village one kilometer or less than a mile away from the Turkey/Syria border. This is just a day after militants opened fire on a Turkish unit killing a soldier.</s>KINKADE: The United States and Turkey are close to getting information about key locations about air strikes involving ISIS. The countries have a final agreement. And Barbara Starr has the details.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials say there is a handshake agreement between the United States and Turkey for the U.S. and coalition to have access to bases in Turkey from which they can launch air strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Key on the list is access to an air base in Turkey. If the deal with be finalized, this would cut down the time essential for U.S. warplanes trying to strike targets in sir why and ISIS strong hold. It would be a much shorter flight time than the current one they have to have from Iraq or the Persian Gulf. The only places that they can fly these lethal missions from into targets in northern Syria. But the deal has to be finalized. Both militaries have to work out the details, how it will happen, what kinds of missions will be flown, whether the U.S. will be able to fly missions in support of the Kurds that that consideration troubles the Turks quite a bit, we are told. So still not a final deal. The ink is not dry on all of this. There could be changes. But if it could be agreed to, there is a significant step forward officials say for the coalition effort against ISIS. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.</s>HOWELL: Let's bring in CNN producer, Gul Tuysuz, who is in Istanbul, Turkey, joining us live by phone. Gul, thank you so much for taking your time to chat with us. Gul, so the question that many people are asking, and you heard in Barbara Starr's report, that the ink is not yet dry on this potential agreement. But if the United States is able to base within Turkey, how significant is that change in the fight against ISIS?</s>GUL TUYSUZ, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Turkey is a very geographically important place for the fight against ISIS. But Turkey itself has been having to deal with ISIS terror in its own country as well. And we saw a reaction from the Turkish military just recently, just hours ago, Turkish fighter jets took off from a southeastern Turkish air base and hit ISIS targets inside Syria, taking out three ISIS targets. Two of them ISIS bases. And one place that's been described as a gathering place for ISIS ammunition. The operation is concluded but Turkish officials are not ruling out the possibility that they will carry out more targeted attacks against is. So they are saying that they're committed to preserving Turkey's national security interests there. And Turkey targeting ISIS inside Syria comes just a day after is militants opened up fire on a border patrol unit on the Turkish Syrian border killing one soldier and this is a response to that and Turkish officials described it as being a preemptive defensive missions you're making sure there are no more casualties from the Turkish side. The fighter jets took off and they flew along the border and used guided missiles take out these targets. Whether or not this means we will see an escalation in Turkey targeting ISIS attacks in Syria is unclear at this moment. But the ISIS attacks in Turkey are pushing the country towards a more -- a more strong position within the coalition and we'll see what comes up and what develops over the next couple of days in terms of Turkish military action in Syria.</s>HOWELL: And you talked about, we will see he what happens with that country, stepping up in this fight against is. And again, you know, depending on whether the United States is able to base there, that will have a significant impact. But we've heard of taking the Syria. As you see it escalate, do you see the impact?</s>TUYSUZ: Turkey has been a reluctant partner in some ways because there is a concern that taking action against ISIS could mean a retaliation within Turkey's borders by ISIS. And Turkey is leery of the forces fighting just on the other side of their border, Kurdish forces fighting against ISIS because Turkey also used the Kurdish fighting force over there a terrorist threat. Because it is an offshoot of the Kurdish Worker's Party, which Turkey has been waging a bloody war against for more than 30 years. So whether or not the dynamics of the situation that Turkey finds itself in was the Kurdish workers party on the one side and ISIS on the other side and whether or not the threat of is will supersede the threat that Turkey from the party will remain to be seen and it will be in the coming days that we figure out where Turkey has taken a stronger stance against ISIS and the fight against them in Syria. [02:40:]</s>HOWELL: CNN producer, Gul Tuysuz, on the phone with us live from Istanbul, Turkey. Gul, thank you so much for your reporting from the region. Well stay in touch to see how this plays out with this, you know, partnership, with air bases there in Turkey. The U.S. defense secretary made an unannounced visit to Iraq Thursday. Ash Carter met with Iraq's prime minister, Sunni's leaders and U.S. commanders. They talked about ISIS and Anbar Province and its effort to retake that key city of Ramadi. This was Carter's first trip to Iraq since becoming defense secretary in February. A man has been arrested for threatening to kill the U.S. ambassador to Korea. He is said to be in his early 30's, identified only by his surname, Lee. Ambassador Mark Lippert was the threat. Lee allegedly made the threat in a post on the White House website in mid July. He was arrested in Seoul on July 16th. Ambassador Lippert was attacked in March by a knife-wielding Korean nationalist. He was cut on his hand, on his face, and he has since made a full recovery. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. 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