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CNN Live At Daybreak
Talk of CNN: Sniper Case
Aired October 21, 2002 - 06:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The sniper case in the Washington area is just about all anyone seems to be talking about now.
Jimmy Barrett, WRVA News Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia. He lives just a few minutes, actually, from Ashland, although that shooting there has not yet been linked to the sniper. We should soon know whether or not it is the sniper now that bullet has been removed.
Jimmy on the phone with us now.
And, Jimmy, it amazes me how you continue to do your radio show up to the moment I'm tossing to you.
JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, that's exactly, that's what we do here. We're a news talk radio station. We disseminate the news. We spend a lot of time doing it and hey, what can I say? We're good at it.
CALLAWAY: Yes, you know, it's your job, right? You're working here.
BARRETT: Well, exactly. And quite frankly, I have a fairly easy job today, because my job is to disseminate information like public school closings, and virtually all of them in the greater Richmond area are closed this morning.
CALLAWAY: Yes, that's amazing. I know there had been talk that they were going to try to keep them open. Indeed, they ended up shutting them down. What happened?
BARRETT: Well, I think what happened is parents decided that it was just not a safe place for their kids to be. Certainly the school superintendents yesterday, led by Hanover County's Stuart Robertson (ph), tried to convince parents that school was the safest place for their kids to be. But, you know, parents want to be close to their kids right now and I think a lot of us understand that.
Here's a question, though, how long will the schools remain closed? Will anything change between today and tomorrow to make people feel more comfortable about allowing their children to go to school?
CALLAWAY: It's such a shock to that community, though. I know you live just a couple minutes from there. It's a small community, right? BARRETT: Well, yes. I mean, what, about 6,500, 6,600 people in Ashland. They pride themselves on being, and I quote, "the center of the universe." It's just a nice little town. My wife and I have eaten at The Cracker Barrel -- that's right on that same street -- many times. And it's the last place on earth you would expect to have something like that happening.
CALLAWAY: Now, that's right off, Ponderosa restaurant is right off that I-95, that main interstate that runs right through your town, right?
BARRETT: Well, you're talking about a block away from I-95. It's in very, very close proximity. But, you know, within 10 minutes, certainly, of that shooting, state troopers had the freeways completely shut down in that particular area, along with the major thoroughfares. The question is today how does this guy continue to get away? How is he eluding police?
CALLAWAY: The police want to know that, that's for sure.
Jimmy, thank you for being with us again.
And it's a sad time, I know, in Richmond. Our thoughts are with you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 21, 2002 - 06:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The sniper case in the Washington area is just about all anyone seems to be talking about now.
Jimmy Barrett, WRVA News Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia. He lives just a few minutes, actually, from Ashland, although that shooting there has not yet been linked to the sniper. We should soon know whether or not it is the sniper now that bullet has been removed.
Jimmy on the phone with us now.
And, Jimmy, it amazes me how you continue to do your radio show up to the moment I'm tossing to you.
JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, that's exactly, that's what we do here. We're a news talk radio station. We disseminate the news. We spend a lot of time doing it and hey, what can I say? We're good at it.
CALLAWAY: Yes, you know, it's your job, right? You're working here.
BARRETT: Well, exactly. And quite frankly, I have a fairly easy job today, because my job is to disseminate information like public school closings, and virtually all of them in the greater Richmond area are closed this morning.
CALLAWAY: Yes, that's amazing. I know there had been talk that they were going to try to keep them open. Indeed, they ended up shutting them down. What happened?
BARRETT: Well, I think what happened is parents decided that it was just not a safe place for their kids to be. Certainly the school superintendents yesterday, led by Hanover County's Stuart Robertson (ph), tried to convince parents that school was the safest place for their kids to be. But, you know, parents want to be close to their kids right now and I think a lot of us understand that.
Here's a question, though, how long will the schools remain closed? Will anything change between today and tomorrow to make people feel more comfortable about allowing their children to go to school?
CALLAWAY: It's such a shock to that community, though. I know you live just a couple minutes from there. It's a small community, right? BARRETT: Well, yes. I mean, what, about 6,500, 6,600 people in Ashland. They pride themselves on being, and I quote, "the center of the universe." It's just a nice little town. My wife and I have eaten at The Cracker Barrel -- that's right on that same street -- many times. And it's the last place on earth you would expect to have something like that happening.
CALLAWAY: Now, that's right off, Ponderosa restaurant is right off that I-95, that main interstate that runs right through your town, right?
BARRETT: Well, you're talking about a block away from I-95. It's in very, very close proximity. But, you know, within 10 minutes, certainly, of that shooting, state troopers had the freeways completely shut down in that particular area, along with the major thoroughfares. The question is today how does this guy continue to get away? How is he eluding police?
CALLAWAY: The police want to know that, that's for sure.
Jimmy, thank you for being with us again.
And it's a sad time, I know, in Richmond. Our thoughts are with you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
