Transcript of Nick Reiner Arrested, Brown University Suspect Search, Bondi Beach Aftermath

A family friend thought Nick Reiner was on the upswing until he was accused of murder.

He was going through some rough times for many years, but his soul was so pure and so gentle.

What's known about Rob and Michelle Reiner's son?

I'm Amy Martinez. That's Steve Inskeep. And this is up first from NPR News. Rhode island authorities want the public's help in identifying the shooter at Brown University.

The sooner we can identify that person, the sooner we can, I think, blow this case open.

What clues do they have?

We also have some information about suspects in a mass shooting in Australia. Two men open fire at a Hanukkah celebration. A father and son are accused. And police say a car linked to the sun contained homemade Islamic State flags. What more does the evidence say? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

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The killings of Rob and Michelle Reiner were intimate crimes.

Police say the suspect was a man who was as close to them as anyone in their life, their own son, Nick Reiner. In the years before his arrest, Reiner spoke openly about his struggles.

NPR's Mandalit del Barco is covering the death of the filmmaker and his wife, Mandalit. What is known about Nick Reiner?

Well, Nick Reiner is 32 years old, born in Los Angeles and one of film director Rob Reiner's four children. Nick says he started using drugs when he was young. He was just 15 years old when he began spending years in and out of rehab and addiction Treatment centers. Here's how he described himself to NPC in 2016.

I am a spoiled, white, rich kid from a Hollywood family, but I think it's even more of a testament to how powerful drugs can be that you don't care about any of that stuff.

What was his drug use like?

Nick has been very candid about using all kinds of drugs, including meth and heroin. And he said he had many, many relapses. I heard him on a podcast talking about how he hated getting sober and how he sometimes chose to be homeless rather than going back to rehab. But 10 years ago, after bouncing around in and out of halfway homes and treatment centers, Nick decided to co write a screenplay based on some of his experiences. Father Rob Reiner produced and directed the movie Being Charlie, about a troubled teen who has a turbulent relationship with his famous father. Here's a scene in which Charlie's dad talks to him about supporting him through tough love.

Every expert with a desk and a diploma told me, I had to be tough on you, but every time we sent you away to another one of those programs, I saw you slipping further away from us. And all I could tell myself was, I'd rather have you alive and hating me than dead on the streets.

This had to have meant a lot for the father and son to work on this creative project that grew out of their real life experiences.

That's right. And you know, Rob Reiner told NPR's Scott Simon that their collaboration was the most satisfying creative experience he'd ever had.

Because I got to work with Nick, and even though we had struggled through some difficult times and the making of.

The movie certainly dredged those things up.

It was also an opportunity to work.

Through a lot of that stuff.

And Nick told Scott that making the movie was part of his recovery journey.

A lot of people that go through addictions of all kinds are kind of hard to love when they're doing those sorts of things. So I guess the character was to show how ugly it gets.

For example, the character Charlie steals oxycontin from a sick elderly woman who really needs it.

I have definitely done things similar to that. I can't say I've done that in quite some time, but when I was going through a lot of that stuff, sure. You really don't think about anything. You throw your morals out of the window.

Nick Reiner talking years ago. Mandalit, what have you heard from people who know him since this news of this crime has become known?

Well, last night NPR spoke to cinematographer Barry Markowitz, who shot Being Charlie in some of Rob Reiner's other films. Markowitz is a friend of the Reiners who he calls a strong, close knit family. And he painted a very different picture of Nick Reiner, who he says loves basketball and had traveled to Europe to learn more about his family's Jewish roots. Markowitz told us he saw Nick and the family in LA just 10 days ago.

You know, he was going through some rough times for many years, but his soul was so pure and so gentle. He was on the upswing. You know, look like I'm GQ model. I wish I could give you a tidbit of something like, oh, he looked bad and this that he didn't. That's what's so spooky about mental illness.

And, you know, Markowitz says that over the last year or two, he was happy to see Nick Reiner because it seemed like his life had changed for the good.

NPR's Mandalito Barco, thanks so much.

Thank you.

Police in Providence, Rhode island, released new images of the person they suspect to be the gunman in a mass shooting at Brown University.

They're asking for the public's help in identifying the person who killed two students and injured nine others. And the FBI is now offering a reward.

This is one of many moments when it's useful that NPR has local stations to keep us up to date, and they include Ocean State Media in Rhode island, where reporter David Wright has been following the case. David, good morning.

Morning, Steve.

Are these new images any better than the one image people had seen?

A bit. You know, police have been going door to door in the neighborhood around the engineering building at Brown where the shooting took place, asking people for their doorbell camera footage. And some of these new images were taken hours before the shooting, just a few blocks away. The previous footage showed a person in dark clothes, mostly from behind. And in these new images, assuming it's the same guy, you can see a little more detail. He wears a mask, but you can see his eyes and you can tell his build. I describe him as a bit stocky. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Nerona said that he hopes that somebody out there will recognize him.

These investigations are like threads that you pull on a garment, and some of them you pull and the garment doesn't open up, and other ones you pull and the garment comes undone. I think the sooner we can identify that person, the sooner we can, I think, blow this case open.

That's their hope anyway. If they have any more to go on than this, they're not saying. And of course, this after a weekend where they did take somebody into custody only to release them a few hours later.

A Martinez mentioned something about an FBI reward.

Yep. The special agent in charge of the Boston office, Ted Dox, put some reward money on the table yesterday.

The FBI is now offering a reward of $50,000 for information that can lead to the identification, the arrest and the conviction of the individual responsible, who we believe to be armed and dangerous.

Armed and dangerous. Do they think he's still in Rhode Island?

Frankly, they don't know. The mayor said as much and it's kind of leading to some mixed signals. On the one hand, they're warning the public that this guy is out there armed and dangerous. And at the same time, local officials are trying to reassure people. This is a very shaken community, doesn't have a whole lot of experience with mass shootings and they're trying to tell people the streets are safe. Here's Providence Mayor Brett Smiley.

My sense of the community right now is that this is starting to get very real and very personal. You know, we're all two degrees of separation from one another, which is hard, but we're here from one another. That's the scary side. The upside is that this is a tight knit community that looks out for one another.

Some parents have been keeping their kids home from school out of caution, and the mayor urged them to send their kids back to school, promising that stepped up police presence will be there to protect them.

What more are you learning about the victims in this case, David?

Well, nine injured as of Monday afternoon, one still critical, most of the others critical but stable, one discharged and of course, two dead. The first name that we learned of the dead is ella Cook, a 19 year old sophomore from Alabama, apparently a leader of the College Republicans, also active in the campus Catholic community. The other victim was Muhammad Aziz umar Zokov, an 18 year old freshman born in Uzbekistan. His family lives in Virginia now. He was a scholarship student. According to his family, he was diagnosed with a medical condition that required brain surgery when he was a kid and the success of that treatment inspired him to pursue a career in neurosurgery. But of course, it's a dream he sadly will never get a chance to fulfill.

David Wright, correspondent of long experience. Glad you can apply it here. Thanks so much, sir.

Thanks, Steve.

Australian authorities say the two suspects in Sunday's attack on a Jewish holiday celebration were motivated by the Islamic State group.

Hundreds of people had gathered for an annual beachside event marking the first night of Hanukkah when the pair opened fire, killing at least 15 people and injuring Dozens more now vigils are being held to remember the victims.

Christina Kulkaya is at Bondi beach in Sydney, where crowds have gathered. Welcome back.

Thank you, Steve.

What are you seeing and hearing there?

Well, I'm standing next to a makeshift memorial not for far from where Sunday's attack happened. And it's a cool Tuesday evening here. And around me there is a sea of hundreds who have come to pay their respects to the victims. I've been watching as people slowly and respectfully make their way through the small streets approaching Bondi beach, many carrying flowers. And they're from all walks of life, of all ages, members of the Jewish community, but also the wider Australian community. And there's a very serene feeling here with the sound of the waves in the background. And but there's also a heavy police presence, and I've been hearing police car sirens and seeing flashing lights and the heavy roadblocks in the background. And it's all just a reminder of the tragedy that happened not very far from here only 48 hours ago and.

A reminder that the investigation continues. What are you learning there?

There have been some significant developments in the investigation. Yes. New South Wales police have said that improvised explosive devices and two, what they called homemade Islamic State flags were found in a car linked to one of the men, the son, who is currently in hospital in police custody. His father was shot dead by police on Sunday. They also said the counterterrorism investigation would now look at why the two men visited the Philippines last month and the places they may have traveled to. Now, the Philippines Immigration Bureau has told NPR that the men arrived in the country together in early November and reported their final destination as Davao, on the southern island of Mindanao. It says they left the country in late November. The bureau has identified the father as an Indian national and a resident of Australia. The son is an Australian citizen. And Australian authorities have reiterated that at this point, though, there's no evidence that other people were involved in the attack.

Some people here have been interested in the gun control debate in Australia. How is that evolving in the days after this attack?

We've seen Prime Minister Anthony Albanese together with state and territory leaders commit to immediate action to tighten Australia's gun laws. And the measures that are being considered now include limiting the number of weapons a person can own and the length of time licenses are issued for, and as well making citizenship a condition for holding a gun license.

We also heard on NPR yesterday a member of an Australian Jewish group who alleged that the government had been very slow to respond to anti Semitism over the past couple of years. How's the government answering that?

The prime minister has been criticized by some members of the Jewish community over what they see as a failure to address anti Semitism in the country and keep the community safe. And indeed, Australia has seen a rise in attacks and incidents targeting the Jewish community since the October 7 attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza that began in late 2023. But the prime minister has rejected that criticism. He says now is the time for the country to come together and he's pledged to work to eradicate hate, violence and terrorism in Australia.

Reporter Christina Kulkuja, thanks so much.

Thank you.

And that's up first for this Tuesday, December 16th. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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