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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Tornadoes Follow Same Path of Destruction in Oklahoma as had Three Years Before; Gunman Holed Up in Ohio University
Aired May 09, 2003 - 17:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Spinning out of control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God!
BLITZER: Tornadoes on a rampage again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were standing on the roof and there was this tornado just coming right at us, dude.
BLITZER: Today the trail of destruction spreads across the Midwest and could get longer tonight.
Who killed Laci Peterson? Is someone in the know hiding?
MARK GERAGOS, SCOTT PETERSON'S ATTORNEY: We know there are people out there, specifically there's one particular young lady out there who we believe has some very important information.
BLITZER: Or is this the stunt of a desperate attorney? I'll ask famed defense attorney Robert Shapiro.
A jail escape turns dangerous. Shocking video of a mother holding a gun to her own son.
Justice served or denied? James Kopp, the abortion opponent and convicted killer learns his fate.
And crash and burn. A governor's scary ride on the racetrack. How did he walk away?
ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS live form the nation's capital. With correspondents live from around the world. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: It's Friday, May 9, 2003. Hello from Washington. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting.
We'll get to all those stories in just a moment, but there's a breaking story unfolding right now in Cleveland, Ohio. You're looking at live pictures of Case Western University at the business school.
A gunman according to reports on the scene opened fire a little while ago. At least two people, according to the Associated Press are injured. A spokeswoman for the university says a lone gunman is still in the building which has been by now locked down, surrounded by police. One person is said to have been shot outside, taken to a local hospital. The other wounded person remains inside the building.
Squad cars are surrounding this university, this business school at Case Western Reserve University, one of the major universities in Ohio. Of course, we're looking at these live pictures. We're following these developments. We'll go back to Case Western as soon as we get some more details to.
But to restate what is happening, a lone gunman reportedly inside this building, the business school of Case Western Reserve University. Two people are already reported injured. The gunman, supposedly, still inside this building.
No mercy, no letup from powerful, in some cases, deadly storms that have battered much of the nation this week and more severe weather is on the way right now. People in the Oklahoma City area woke up earlier today to an unbelievable 19-mile path of damage and destruction. The work of a twister, that remarkably didn't kill anyone. Governor Brad Henry describes the destruction though as horrific.
A different state, but same story. Officials in Lawrence, Kansas say 70 homes were damaged by a twister last night. A couple who ran for their basement when the storm hit say the twister sounded and I'm quoting now, "like a bunch of bees with a real whistle to it."
Severe flooding is the big problem in parts of Georgia and Alabama. Interstate 85 was closed north and southbound on both sides of the state line as the Chattahoochee River reached four feet above flood level.
More now on the destruction and the death in the Oklahoma City area caused by last night's tornado. CNN's Sean Callebs is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began literally right after the powerful storm roared through central Oklahoma. Early estimates place the dollar damage at 100 million and expect that will rise. There were more than 125 injuries, some of those serious, but no fatalities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like a roar. It was like you can see 2 by 4s, you could see dust, you could just see -- well I could so total destruction.
CALLEBS: The governor of Oklahoma along with federal officials toured much of the areas hit hardest. Parts of Oklahoma, he says, will be declared disaster areas.
GOV. BRAD HENRY, OKLAHOMA: We have sent a request to President Bush asking for an expedited federal declaration of emergency.
CALLEBS: A week that has seen the most tornado activity in the U.S. in half a century. The storm in central Oklahoma hit at the height of rush hour Thursday, sending people scrambling for safety as debris was tossed about. Hundreds of buildings were flattened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lady I spoke to in there, I said, what's the condition in your home? She goes, well, anything that could break is broken and everything that can't break has dust embedded in it.
CALLEBS: To the north, tornadoes and high winds rolled through a number of communities in Kansas, flipping cars, downing power lines and scattering debris across miles.
(on camera): People in this area are crediting early warnings with the fact there were no fatalities. As bad as this all looks this region has dealt with far worst. Four years ago this month, a path of killer storms carved an area identical to this one. At that time 47 people were killed.
In Moore, Oklahoma, I'm Sean Callebs, now back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Sean.
And there are more tornado warnings right now in various parts of the Midwest. Let's get a live helicopter tour of the damage in Midwest City, that's in Oklahoma. It's coming to us from reporter Jeff Cunningham of our affiliate KOCO. Jeff, give us the latest.
JEFF CUNNINGHAM, KOCO CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we are hovered right above one of the damage areas right here. And I believe, James (ph), show them -- this is I-35 which goes through (UNINTELLIGIBLE) city in the distance.
And the tornado took a path as you can see right over I-35. You see homes and businesses that were just hammered. And from up here you can just see the devastation. I mean I've seen video of this, but getting this bird's eye view of it is something entirely different. You can see the houses just torn apart. There's debris strewn all over and it's just amazing what these kind of tornadoes can do.
And, Wolf, as you probably know, this is almost the exact same path that another tornado took almost exactly four years ago, May 3rd of 1999. An F5 tornado came almost this exact same path here at Moore. And they, to my knowledge they have yet to determine exactly how big this tornado was, but I believe it was at least an F3, possibly an F4.
So today the clean up begins. Earlier you mentioned our governor, Governor Brad Henry had toured the damage through the air like we are doing now. And on a side note we can actually see the helicopter that I believe he used earlier. He has petitioned President Bush to speed up the process of getting federal aid to these communities here who have been hit so hard by this tornado and he's hoping that will speed up the process to get a little federal assistance -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Very dramatic pictures, let's hope this ends sooner rather than later. Jeff Cunningham of our affiliate KOCO with that live chopper report. Thanks very much, Jeff, for that.
Now in the words of survivors what it was like when those devastating twisters tore through parts of Oklahoma and Kansas last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were all standing outside talking with other neighbors and next thing you know the funnel starts to come down and I saw the debris and I ran into my friend's basement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was thinking oh, my gosh I can't believe we're in a tornado.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sudden rush of just the sound like a train and then just as quickly as it came on and it stopped and it was dead silence and darkness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot stress this enough. Tornado on the ground near I-240 and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Road and we have confirmed damage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crossing the road. I-240 and Sooner (ph) Road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's coming straight at me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were standing on the roof and there's this tornado just coming right at us, dude. There was debris flying everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stayed up there as long as we could until we thought we better get down because I mean debris was like smacking us in the face and stuff. So we jumped down, jumped in the closet. We sat in the closet for two seconds and decided that we wanted to go back out and look at it. So we went in the backyard. Then we decided we better go back inside. And about that time, the sun came out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We built it after the May 3 one last time. And then I seen it coming so I threw our dog in there and slammed the thing and we heard it come right over us and there was some stuff on top of it and we were able to push it off and get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just spent three years redoing this house, replaced all of the windows in it, rebricked it. They added 300 square feet on the side. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) paint on the outside and we would have been done on the outside. We're not going to need that painter Monday now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's gone. It's totally gone. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most amazing thing to me as we walked through the damaged areas here in Moore was the fact that the people are upbeat. And almost to a person that we met they said, you know, it doesn't matter, it's just a home. It's just material goods. Just personal things. We are just thankful that our family is safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Dramatic developments. We're going to have much more on these tornadoes unfolding in the Midwest in just a moment.
But I want to go back to the breaking story that we reported at the top of this program. That incident at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. You're looking at live pictures of the School of Management. There a gunman opened fire earlier in the day at the business school there. At least two people are reported to be injured.
Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the school is joining us now phone. Dick, if you can hear me, are you inside the building?
DICK BENNETT, EXEC. DIR. OF DEVELOPMENT, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV.: Yes, I am, Wolf.
BLITZER: Tell us what you know. What has happened there?
BENNETT: Well, we heard gunfire. I'm up on the third floor. We heard gunfire a little after 4:00 p.m., and almost immediately police descended on the building.
We are surrounded by police. Obviously, all the traffic has been stopped. We have been cautioned to stay away from windows -- just by hand signals -- and there's quite a bit of shooting going on. We believe it's in the first floor lobby area.
As you can see from this building, from the outside, it's open -- it's an open atrium building all the way to the fifth floor. So the shots, you can hear quite clearly up here on the third floor.
BLITZER: Do you have any sense of how many shots you've actually heard?
BENNETT: Well, there's been what I would term automatic gunfire so it's fairly rapid succession, and then there will be -- our sense is that they have someone or somebody's pinned down, but we have no idea.
I did look out at one point and see just officers crouched in the kneeled position in the lobby, but we just don't know where these people are.
BLITZER: I take it school is still in session, and there presumably were plenty of students and faculty inside the building at the time? BENNETT: Actually, finals were completed last week for our graduate students and for our undergraduates this week, so there were very few faculty and students in the building.
BLITZER: That's fortunate. That's good to hear that.
Any idea how many students, how many faculty, how many people might have been inside at 4:00 eastern time when this incident began -- which is a little bit more than one hour ago?
BENNETT: Well, we have over 1,600 students at the Weatherhead School. and my guess is less than 10 percent of them would have been around. And then faculty, for the most part, is research days on Fridays -- plus they're grading papers off site. So other than staff, my guess is there were probably only 40 to 50 people in the building.
BLITZER: Based on what you know, Dick Bennett, is this the work of one lone gunman?
BENNETT: We don't know. We thought that there may be two but we just heard that on a radio, so we're just guessing.
BLITZER: Maybe two people, but they're still at large and the incident is still unfolding, obviously.
BENNETT: That's right. We're locked into the third floor in our particular area and poised, Wolf, to go into a coping room. All of our doors here have glass -- they're glass doors so we would go into the copying room if somebody tried to break n. We've locked the suite off, if you will.
BLITZER: So you've been there for the past hour since the shooting began?
BENNETT: Yes.
BLITZER: How many people are with you?
BENNETT: Eight.
BLITZER: And I assume everyone is, understandably, quite worried.
BENNETT: Yes, we have a few people up here with us who have -- their work groups are down in the first floor so they're very concerned.
BLITZER: And just to recap, you're on the third floor right now, and this incident -- the shooting -- is taking place on the first floor of the school of management?
BENNETT: Yes.
BLITZER: On the Case Western Reserve University campus in Cleveland.
BENNETT: That's correct.
BLITZER: And the building is now surrounded by police snipers and others?
BENNETT: Yes. In the usual crouched position behind open police doors and trash receptacles, etc.
BLITZER: Has anything like this ever happened before at Case Western Reserve University -- as far as you know?
BENNETT: Not as far as I know, Wolf.
BLITZER: Because, as you know, at other universities around the country, occasionally you hear a disgruntled student got some bad grades, was dismissed, or whatever and just goes berserk.
We have, obviously, no idea what may have caused this particular incident to unfold, but that's happened at other universities, other schools over the years as I'm sure you well know.
BENNETT: Yes. Yes. It's unfortunate timing, Wolf, in the sense that, you know, the first thing that would come to your mind when people have completed their finals and are waiting to receive their grades.
BLITZER: And have you heard any negotiations underway with bullhorns, or are people trying to communicate with the one or two gunmen that may still be holed up inside?
BENNETT: Just a lot of -- sort of -- yelling periodically.
Orders, we think, by the police for whoever to give up or -- would be our sense of things up here.
BLITZER: The Associated Press is reporting that two people have been injured. Do you have any additional information as far as injuries are concerned?
BENNETT: No. We were just listening to the radio up here so it's hard for us to tell. We were told in local radio that two people were injured but could not be removed from the building because of the gunfire.
BLITZER: Tell us a little bit about the school. The Weatherman School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
BENNETT: It's called Weatherhead.
BLITZER: Excuse me.
BENNETT: That's okay. It's a school of management that's been around under the name Weatherhead since the late '70s, but the school of management has existed -- business schools have existed at all the successor schools to Case Western Reserve. Case Western, as you may know, Wolf, is the combination of a number of institutions who all reside in University Circle, and that union took place in the '60s. So it was Case Institute of Technology, Western Reserve University, Adelbert College, Mather College, and Cleveland College all joined at one time or another to become Case Western Reserve. And this is -- there are eight schools and colleges at Case, including the school of medicine, a school of engineering, law school, business school, etc.
BLITZER: And the Weatherhead School of Management, which is where you are -- for our viewers who may just be tuning in.
Stand by for a moment, Dick Bennett. I want to just recap and let our viewers know what's going on.
We've been covering this story since the top of this hour. An incident at Case Western Reserve University -- that's in Cleveland, Ohio -- a gunman opened fire earlier around 4:00 p.m. eastern, about an hour and 15 minutes ago and, apparently, has wounded two individuals in the school of management in this building.
We are looking at local police outside. They're gearing up for the incident, but we do have -- we do have some -- someone who has been there on the scene, and I want to roll this tape and hear precisely what this person says.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 4:10, a gunman walked in the building -- in the PBL building. They say he was armed, carrying a gun. Shots are getting fired around 4:20, and they are still in there with him now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he hasn't been removed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not that we know of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So shots fired and we don't know if people are hurt?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes..
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know how many people are still in there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know the identity of -- whether the fellow is a student or some other -- ?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he's not a student, they said. They say it was a black male. So -- .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So they haven't got him. He's still in the building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He's still in the building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear more shots fired?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They might have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moore (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OSS Security.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Well, that word from a security official on the scene. We heard that one individual, apparently not a student, opened fire allegedly or just after 4:00 p.m. eastern time, and according to the Associated Press, at least two people are injured.
I want to bring back Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Dick Bennett, you just heard what we just heard -- apparently not a student, described as a black male, opened fire, and is still inside. I guess you must be relieved, at least, to hear word -- it could be premature, or whatever -- that a student is apparently not involved in the shooting.
BENNETT: Yes, that's very good news, Wolf.
BLITZER: We don't know what may be the motive behind this. Obviously, the incident is unfolding right now.
Since you've been in that room and you're up on the third floor of this building -- the incident has occurred on the first floor of the Weatherhead School of Management building, which is a beautiful complex at Case Western Reserve University. It's a very impressive structure -- as our viewers can see now in these live pictures.
Dick, has anything changed as far as what you've seen or heard over the past hour?
BENNETT: Wolf, we have not heard shots for about 10 minutes -- which is somewhat of a relief because it was sporadic shooting going on for almost an hour-plus, but we still haven't had any indication that we can emerge from this suite here. And the police are still outside the windows, etc. So we're going to sit tight until we get some kind of word that we can leave.
BLITZER: We're going to keep these live pictures up. Let me tell you what the Associated Press is reporting from Cleveland, Dick and to all of our viewers out there.
Witnesses say the gunman was firing indiscriminately. One eyewitness said this, and I'm quoting directly what this eyewitness said, "He had a machine gun, bookbag, camouflage shirt, military green hat, white pants and a bookbag. He was just walking, aiming his guns and firing." Obviously, very, very disturbing, very disturbing.
Let's bring in Marjorie Hersh of the university. She's -- Marci Hersh, excuse me. Could you tell us what you know about this? You're a spokesperson for the university.
MARCI HERSH, UNIV. MEDIA RELATIONS: Yes. We have an armed gunman inside the Peter B. Lewis building, which is on the Case Western Reserve University campus. The SWAT Team is on the scene. The building has been cornered (ph) off and locked down. One person was shot outside the building and has been taken for treatment to an area hospital. And the second individual has been shot and is wounded and remains inside the building.
BLITZER: Are there efforts under way to discuss what's going on to talk to the -- I assume it's one individual, one person who's doing the shooting or do you suspect more?
HERSH: There is one person and...
BLITZER: Not a -- not a student?
HERSH: I don't know anything about this person. I don't know if it's a man or a woman. I don't know what their background is. I don't know what the reasoning is. I only know that that person is inside the building and that last I heard the Cleveland police were also inside the building.
BLITZER: And -- and but -- but we heard from one of your colleagues at the university, Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the school of management that it looks -- it looks like -- like there hasn't been any shots heard, at least in the last 10 or 15 minutes.
Let's go to our affiliate. They're talking to some of the individuals who were -- may have been eyewitnesses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just normally, we wouldn't keep the front door of their office area locked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many people did you see running out when they were yelling, "Go, go, go" How many people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a couple of people. I didn't recognize them or anything. They might have been some of our evening students. I don't know, but I didn't -- not many people at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what were they saying? They were just saying, "Get out now." They weren't saying...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just -- I heard -- all I hear in my head was, "Go, go, go," so....
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did any one talk about seeing any one. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, then I just walked around and asked people what was going on. They said, "Get back. Get back." That's all I know.
And like I said, since then, I've just been trying to walk around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now you work in the same office as Amanda (ph). Now we had talked about Amanda a couple of minutes ago. Her family is here trying to find out where she is. She works on the first floor in alumni relations and her parents have not been able to get in touch with her, calling her cell phone repeatedly and have not been able to locate her. Of course, they are very worried about her.
Do you have any idea where she is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, she's one of the people. She's one of my best friends, so I'm looking for her just like I look around for everybody else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. Thank you very much. OK, I'm going to send it back to you guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Wendy (ph). If Albert (ph) is...
BLITZER: All right. That's from our affiliate WOIO. Clearly, an eyewitness talking about the scene.
Once again, let me reset it. The shooting incident has been unfolding over the past hour and 20, 25 minutes or so. The -- a lone gunman apparently inside the school of management, two individuals wounded, injured as a result of the shooting. One inside has not been treated, remains inside. A second individual, according to Marci Hersh, a spokeswoman for the university, has been taken to a local hospital, shot outside.
Marci Hersh, are you still on the phone with us?
HERSH: Yes. Go ahead. I'm sorry.
BLITZER: All right. Well, do you have any additional information that you're receiving at this point?
HERSH: They are evacuating the buildings. They're evacuating the people -- some people from the Lewis building and they are -- there are still people inside. We don't know how many and they are evacuating buildings around the Lewis building.
BLITZER: Well, that's probably a very prudent measure. Marci Hersh is a spokeswoman for Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where the shooting incident is taking place right now. Apparently, still not resolved. The shooter -- the alleged shooter still inside the building surrounded by SWAT teams, Cleveland police.
Let's bring back Dick Bennett. He's inside the building. Have you seen or heard anything in the last few minutes, Mr. Bennett, that would suggest the incident may be about to be resolved?
BENNETT: The only thing, Wolf, is it continues to remain fairly quiet. No gunfire, again, now for about the last 25 minutes. But we haven't had any indication that -- we are not to get near the window, so I heard Marci say that people were being evacuated but I'm not sure where that would be from. We -- no one has come up to this area yet.
BLITZER: And Dick Bennett is the executive director of development at that school of management at Case Western Reserve University, a major institution of higher learning in Ohio, a school with an excellent reputation, obviously.
One individual, Marci Hersh -- Marci Hersh, the spokeswoman for the university apparently responsible for what's unfolding right now, is that what you're hearing?
We may have lost Marci Hersh. Marci Hersh is the spokeswoman for the university. What we're showing our viewers these pictures from Case Western Reserve University.
It's a shocking thing that could happen at any university, obviously, Mr. Bennett. That it's happening at your university, what's going through your mind?
BENNETT: Well, obviously, for all of us here, as far as I know, this is the first episode of this kind, certainly on this campus and for each one of us personally it's the first kind of episode.
We are obviously deeply concerned and we have our usual assortment of -- my assistant, for example, is pregnant and it's not good because of the the -- she's only a few months away. But everything's -- people are calm and we're prepared if someone were to try to get through the doors here. We have a plan to sort of get behind a metal door and lock ourselves in.
BLITZER: Well, let's hope that that is not necessary. This building, the Peter B. Lewis building -- it's a beautiful complex, only opened relatively recently. Is that right?
BENNETT: We moved in last July. Right.
BLITZER: And it's sort of designed, according to a story I'm reading right now in the Associated Press, along the lines of the Guggenheim Museum in...
BENNETT: Well, it's the same architect. The architect is Frank Gary.
BLITZER: A $62 million structure that opened only in the fall of this past year?
BENNETT: That's correct.
BLITZER: So you have a wonderful building, great students, unfortunately an incident, a very disturbing incident right now. A gunman apparently inside the building, one gunman, two injured at least that's what we know according to Marci Hersh, a spokeswoman for the university. One person injured inside, remaining inside, apparently not being treated right now and another person injured, but taken to a local hospital.
Is there any sort of serious security on a normal basis at that school of management?
BENNETT: We have a security guard at the front desk generally. We have three major entrances to the building. Two of those are always kept locked and you only have access by swipe card for students, faculty and staff.
The security guard and the receptionist sit in front of the other entrance which is open and check I.D. cards. But any one could walk at any time except in the evening hours, late evening hours, in through that door.
BLITZER: All right. Mr. Bennett, please stand by, if you will. Stay with us because I want to come back to you and I want viewers to know we are following the story.
You are looking at live pictures of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where there's been a shooting incident. A lone gunman apparently still inside. Students, presumably faculty, presumably others inside as well surrounded by Cleveland police. SWAT teams, two people injured, one of those still inside being untreated. A second taken to a local hospital, a person injured by gunfire.
We heard Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the Weatherhead School of Management said he heard plenty of gunshots but not in the past 25 minutes. This incident happened -- began about an hour and a half ago.
We're going continue to follow this story as well as other stories we are following including this: black hawk down. We'll go live to Baghdad for the latest on a deadly helicopter crash.
Plus the doctor killer. Final justice for an anti-abortion sniper.
And a governor's joyride ends with a big bang. We'll hear from the man, the governor of North Carolina, who was behind the wheel. He'll join us.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. I want to show our viewers live pictures of what's unfolding at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. An incident that began around 4:00 p.m., just after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, about an hour and a half or so ago. Apparently a lone gunman inside the building at the School of Management opened fire.
Two people, at least two people have been injured. One has been taken to a local hospital. That person was injured outside the school. A second person has been injured. He remains or she remains inside apparently not treated.
The incident is continuing. Cleveland police, SWAT teams have surrounded this building. And we've heard that there were evacuations of other surrounding buildings on the campus of the university.
Dick Bennett is the executive director of development at the school of management, the Weatherhead School of Management. He's been helping us understand what's going on. He's on the third floor of the building where the incident is still occurring right now. The alleged shooter is on the first floor.
Give our viewers, Dick, a sense of the drama, the sadness. What's going on over there right now?
BENNETT: Well, we're still in a lockdown situation. Obviously, the drama is just that. When you hear gunshots in your own facility which you've never heard before, at least any of us here have, there are eight us in the dean's suite. Our dean is on his way to Washington so we have not been in contact with him.
Obviously, it's very sad to have an institution like this sort of violated, if you will, Wolf. As you know, we're completing our week and completing our work day and final exams have just been completed and we have graduation in a week.
And so we, as I mentioned earlier, just have been asked to sit tight. And not verbally, but just by hand gestures from police outside and to stay away from the windows. So we're just -- we will just wait until someone tells us we can leave.
BLITZER: A major university, a premiere university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve University winding up the academic year right now with this incident that continues to unfold. And we're showing our viewers these live pictures of what's happening right now at the university. Only days away from graduation. Isn't that what you said, Mr. Bennett?
BENNETT: Yes, graduation is a week from this Sunday.
BLITZER: And the good news, though, if there is good news in this, is the last half hour or so, we have not heard any shots fired?
BENNETT: That's correct.
BLITZER: But you heard several shots -- you heard several shots being fired within the first hour or so, or at least the first 45 minutes after the incident broke out?
BENNETT: Wolf, yes, several would be a misnomer. I think there were literally tens, if not hundreds. What sounded to us up here like automatic gunfire. We assumed that that was the SWAT team all shooting at once. But it was the proverbial sounding like the culminating event of the Fourth of July. That's how loud it is because of the open atrium here, it echoes through the entire building. BLITZER: And we did report that an eyewitness according to the Associated Press saying that the individual responsible allegedly for the shooting supposedly had a machine gun, a book bag, camouflage shirt and military-type gear, military green hat, white pants and a book bag, just walking, aiming his gun almost indiscriminately.
Dick Bennett, please stay with us because I want to continue to follow this dramatic story unfolding in Cleveland, Ohio. A story that's been -- we've been watching now for about an hour and a half or so.
I want do -- I want to check some other developments, important developments happening half a world away. A Black Hawk helicopter has gone down near Baghdad killing three U.S. troops. CNN's Jane Arraf is in Baghdad and she has more on what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: The U.S. Army says that helicopter was on a routine nighttime mission Near Samarra (ph). Now that's about 60 miles, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad. There was a major Iraqi military base near there. The helicopter itself appears to have hit a power line, plunging into the Tigris River.
Now three people were killed, another soldier wounded. He was airlifted for emergency medical aid. The last Black Hawk crash was when one was shot down near Karbala in the south of Iraq by Iraqi forces during the war.
Now these helicopters are, of course the main utility helicopter for the U.S. Army. They fly troops and equipment around Iraq and it's an indication that not only is there danger on the ground continued what the U.S. military calls pockets of resistance with shootings and other incidents in Baghdad and outside, but there is still a continued danger from these nighttime missions.
Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Shooting incidents in Baghdad and a shooting incident we're following in Cleveland, Ohio, where there's been an incident in the past hour and a half. It's still continuing to unfold. We're going to continue to update our viewers on what we learn.
But there's also been a new twist in the Laci Peterson case. Attorneys for her husband Scott are suggesting there may be another suspect in the case. Joining us now to shed some light on this late development is Don Knapp of our affiliate KRON. Don, tell us what happened in court and outside of court today.
DON KNAPP, KRON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you know, this case has been largely a circumstantial case and any hard evidence that police investigators may have remains under wrap.
So the initial big battles in this case are of release of information contained in search warrens and search warrant affidavits. That's what they were fighting around about in court today. But the prosecution and the defense are in the same side of this issue. Neither side wants that information released before trial.
The prosecution has said, and they've said all along, even before they made the arrest when they issued the search warrants that release of the information could jeopardize the investigation.
The defense says release could provide damaging pretrial publicity for the client, Scott Peterson, who was in the same blue suit and white shirt and tie that we saw wearing at last appearance. His mother and father were in the front row, but Laci Peterson's family members were not present in court today.
Outside of court, after court we talked with Mark Geragos and he presented this tantalizing glimpse of what might be a strategy for the defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERAGOS: We know that there are people out there and specifically there's one particular young lady out there who we believe has very important information. We asking and we will protect her anonymity that she contact my office. We will do everything possible to keep you out of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KNAPP: Next big day, May 27 when they'll talk about that and apparently search warrants and cameras will be allowed -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Don Knapp of our affiliate KRON. Don Knapp, familiar figure to all of us at CNN, used to work for CNN. Thanks, Don, very much.
Let's get some analysis now on what all of this means. Joining us from Los Angeles, Robert Shapiro, the famed criminal defense attorney. What do you make of Mr. Geragos today coming out and raising the specter of possibly someone else killing Laci Peterson? Or at least a witness who might help find someone else?
ROBERT SHAPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Wolf, in all high-profile cases expect the unexpected. There is always going to be witnesses who come forward who have what they believe to be information. Sometimes it is relevant, most of the time it is not.
This is the early stage of the case and I think the defense is now trying to balance the playing field with all the adverse publicity that came out that was favorable to the prosecution in the last couple of weeks.
BLITZER: And the decision by both the prosecution and the defense, Geragos as well as the prosecutors, to keep the documents sealed, not be released at this point. They've obviously joined hands in the face of -- in the face of requests by news media organizations to get their hands on these sealed documents. What do you make of that?
SHAPIRO: You know, it's very unusual that you have both sides agreeing in anything in a criminal case except when it comes to media issues.
Generally, whether or not there's going to be cameras in the courtroom, both sides generally come to an agreement. The same thing here with the -- it's an affidavit for the search warrant.
What it is, it's a statement taken under penalty of perjury by an investigating or senior officer as to the probable cause to believe that evidence relating to this crime will be found. And so, basically, it is an outline of the prosecution's case.
The prosecution probably has less to lose by this coming out. The defense certainly does not want to have anything more said that could be interpreted as being negative to its client.
BLITZER: Bob Shapiro, unfortunately, we have to leave it right there because apparently there were more gunshots that have just been heard at Case Western Reserve University.
We'll continue our conversation on another occasion. Robert Shapiro joining us from Los Angeles. Thanks very much.
Dick Bennett is inside the building, the school of management building at Case Western Reserve University. Did you hear more gunshots just now?
BENNETT: Yes, Wolf. It was hard to tell how many there were. You know, it's like four or five in just quick succession I guess is the way I would describe it.
BLITZER: Is it possible that you're hearing echoes or are these individual shots that are -- that you can clearly discern?
BENNETT: You can discern the shots. Certainly it does echo because of the atrium structure, but there were at least four.
BLITZER: And there's no way of knowing that -- if these were shots from an automatic weapon or individual shots from a handgun or anything like that?
BENNETT: They were in pretty rapid succession so my guess would be automatic weapon of some kind.
BLITZER: What was it about a half an hour in between shots? Is that what you estimate?
BENNETT: Almost 40 minutes.
BLITZER: Almost 40 minutes and now we've just heard some more. So there could be some movement, and then again it might still be the same situation dragging on.
No indication if there is a hostage type of situation inside the building on the first floor. You're on the third floor.
BENNETT: That's correct.
You know, you can only surmise, I guess, Wolf, because of the -- one would think they'd be able -- if he or she does not have a hostage that they would be able to rush them. But with all this gunfire one would also hope that there's no hostage.
BLITZER: It's a -- it's a horrible, terrifying situation not only for young people, for everyone who's on the campus right now and I assume for most people in Cleveland who are quite familiar with Case Western Reserve University. This is a highly unusual situation.
Describe the neighborhood around the university. What kind of neighborhood is it?
BENNETT: Well, we're in an area called University Circle which is the home, Wolf, of Cleveland's cultural community in many ways. We certainly have a number of things downtown, but the home of the Cleveland Orchestra is a few hundred yards, 300 or 400 yards from this building. The Cleveland Museum of Art, the historical society, et cetera -- the Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, et cetera and then we are surrounded by academic buildings and dormitories. And then a little further east, a residential section of Cleveland.
BLITZER: Dick Bennett is the executive director of development at the Weatherhead School of Management, the building that has now been surrounded by police, SWAT teams and an individual inside opened fire after 4:00 p.m., just after 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, an hour and 45 minutes or so ago. Two individuals have been injured, one has been taken to a hospital. That person was injured outside the building. A second was injured inside apparently still inside, according to Marci Hersh, who's a spokeswoman for the university.
Dick Bennett, you'll be interested in knowing what we're learning from our affiliate reporters in Cleveland. The police chief, the Cleveland police chief, has now spoken to reporters suggesting that this individual inside the building, who has apparently opened fire, may have access to a television or radio and they're asking local media to provide a number in case this individual wants to speak with police and get a number for them to call or for him to call so they can open up some sort of dialogue, some sort of negotiation, if you will, presumably to try to end, to resolve this standoff which has been continuing now for quite awhile, an hour and 45 minutes or so.
Each minute, I take it, Dick Bennett seems like a lot longer than that. How are you guys, who are up on the third floor, are you and your colleagues coping?
BENNETT: Well, I'm in my office and we have most of the others gathered outside that room, the safest room we have in case they have to go in there.
You know, it's the usual terribly nervous situation where you have no access to what's really going on and it's highly uncomfortable, I guess is the way I would describe it.
We feel, up here, at least, that the police at least have this individual pinned some place because the gunfire appears to still be coming from the lobby and so there's not rushing around outside on the floors, at least on the third floor.
BLITZER: All right. Dick, please stand by for another moment. We just got a report in from our affiliate WJW in Cleveland. I want our viewers to see that right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You see I have this phone with me and as a matter of fact, the Cleveland police chief just talked moments ago with the news media. They want our cooperation to get the word out to the gunman, who is believed to be in the Peter B. Lewis building.
Obviously, a very sensitive situation, confirmed by the chief that there is one gunman inside. They believe he can watch anything that is being broadcast, must have some kind of access to a television and that's why he is putting out the word that he wants this individual, whom he described as a disgruntled individual, to please try and contact Cleveland police at this following number: 375-8112. This is from Cleveland police to the man who is inside the building.
Now we have been talking to witnesses about when this started, how it went down and here is what one of the individuals had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some body was work walking in front of me and this guy stopped and I saw him and I just watched some body at a door. He just broke the door. I could hear the noise, the glass broken. And he put back his helmet and got in and he was dressed like a military guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was he carrying? Weapons?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a bag, a big bag of some thing, but I didn't see a gun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now police have said we must be very careful what we are saying in the way of details about the deployment of officers. Obviously, because again, they believe the gunman has access to radio and television to hear what is being said. But they want that gunman to contact them. That number again, 375-8112.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, Belinda (ph), you can't see, but the number is on the bottom of the screen and it's probably going to stay there or be up and down throughout out newscast this evening.
And once again, you said the chief described this person as a...
BLITZER: All right. I want to go back to our live pictures. That report from our affiliate WJW. The police chief in Cleveland providing a number, asking that the individual, who's allegedly inside, allegedly responsible for beginning the fire, the opening -- opening up of shots to call a local Cleveland number and presumably start some sort of dialogue with Cleveland police. The individual described by the police chief, we just heard, as a disgruntled individual. We have no additional information.
Another one of our affiliates spoke just a little while ago with another eyewitness. I want our viewers to hear that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in the building and we're -- the people in our office are OK. There's about eight of us in here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we were told earlier the third floor was where some of the activity was going on. Is that true? Did -- was there gunfire on your floor?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And have you been there all along?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be very delicate here. Can you give us a sense of how many people might be in the building and what you are doing, without giving anything away -- to keep yourself safe? Have you gotten any instructions from the police?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've got to go. We just had another gunshot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And we know that after about 40 minutes there have been more gunshots only within the past few minutes. The individual described by eyewitnesses as dressed in camouflage opened fire with what's described as a high powered gun, one eyewitness saying it was a machine gun and two individuals, as we've been reporting, have been injured. One taken to hospital, the second still inside this building.
This building you're looking at right now, it's the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. The business school there. It's the Peter B. Lewis building, a beautiful building only opened last fall, a building that cost some $62 million, $62 million to open up that building.
This incident is continuing. We don't know if it's a hostage incident. We have heard from eye witnesses that the individual, the alleged gunman is on the first floor of this building apparently surrounded and cornered by Cleveland police, SWAT teams.
Other building on the campus understandably, prudently have been evacuated. And police, of course, taking all precautions to make sure that if there are two injured, that remains the case no more than that. We're going to continue to follow this breaking story in Cleveland. We'll get back to it with updates.
But we're also following some other developments as well, including this. What was he thinking when he went behind the wheel? the governor of North Carolina, crashes, burns and thank God, walks away. He'll speak with us live. That's coming up next.
And a scary moment for police as a mother holds a gun to her own son's head. We have much more news coming up including more information on what's happening right now at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: You're looking at live pictures at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio where a shooting incident has been unfolding now for nearly two hours. An gunman, an alleged gunman inside this building, the School of Management on the campus of the university. Two people already injured. One taken to a hospital. A second still inside.
SWAT teams, Cleveland police surrounding the building. There are students, faculty members still inside the building. We are continuing to watch and see what happens, but only within the past few minutes we've heard more gunshots from inside. We'll continue to follow that story and bring you updates as we get them.
In the meantime, it's been almost five years since Barnett Slepian, a doctor who performed abortions was gunned down in his own home. Today his killer found out his fate. Our Jamie Colby is in Buffalo, New York where the sentence came down -- Jamie.
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good afternoon. It has been four and a half years since Lynn Slepian, held her husband, Dr. Barnett Slepian, as he bled to death on their kitchen floor. Two of their four sons watched as a bullet pierced the window, hitting their father in the back.
Today James Kopp an anti-abortion activist who had targeted Dr. Slepian and admitted he pulled the trigger was served a stiff sentence for murdering the respected physician, husband and father.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY (voice-over): James Kopp has been given the maximum sentence allowed, 25 years to life in prison. The 48-year-old anti- abortion activist who still has supporters...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He stopped him from killing babies.
COLBY: ... had admitted he pulled the trigger in the 1998 sniper-style shooting of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an upstate New York obstetrician who also performed abortions. Prosecutor Joseph Marusak claimed the ruling by Erie County Judge Michael D'Amico a victory for Slepian's wife Lynn, a nurse, and their four children, two of whom witnessed the murder.
JOSEPH MARUSAK, ERIE COUNTY PROSECUTOR: From day one, this was not about abortion, this was about murder.
COLBY: Kopp had elected a non-jury trial, instead, stipulating to 35 pages of facts and giving the judge the authority after a one- day trial in March to convict him of murder.
Abortion rights advocate Vicki Suporta says Kopp's stiff sentence sends a message to anyone considering interfering with a woman's right to choose.
VICKI SUPORTA, ABORTION RIGHTS ADVOCATE: And it's important that that serve as a deterrent for others who would want to commit a copycat crime.
COLBY: Marilyn Buckham, a co-work of Dr. Slepian, says justice even after a four and a half year wait is worth it.
MARILYN BUCKHAM, SLEPIAN FRIEND: The best thing is that this is over and he's going to prison forever.
COLBY: A rifle and cap left in the woods behind the Slepian home tied Kopp to the fatal shooting. Slepian was in his kitchen making soup with his wife and two of his sons at his side when he was shot in the back.
Judge D'Amico refused to accept Kopp's explanation given in a jailhouse confession to a Buffalo newspaper he only intended to injure the doctor, not kill him.
BRUCE BARKETT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's certainly true he did not intend to kill him. I think that the judge said are the feelings of a lot of people, how could you not have expected him to have died?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY: Kopp evaded authorities for two years, Wolf. He even landed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. He was eventually apprehended in France two years ago and brought back here, extradited, on the promise that he wouldn't face the death penalty. He's got 30 days to appeal today's sentence of 25 years to life -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie Colby in Buffalo, New York. Thanks, Jamie, very much.
And while we're on the subject of criminals, an incredible jail break in Tennessee today. A woman escaped from the Smithville jail and kidnapped her own 3-year-old son. When confronted by police, she turned the gun on her son. Alex Cabrero of our affiliate WTVF explains what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALEX CABRERO, WTVF CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Karen Lynn Lovell with the police gun she stole waving at officers, then, amazingly, waiving it at her own 3-year-old child.
The deputy was in front of her, then a gun shot.
Nobody knew who was hit until the deputy arrived with the 3-year- old child, crying, but safe, unhurt.
It's not the way deputies wanted this search and standoff to end, but the deputy said he had no choice.
SHERIFF LLOYD EAIMON, DEKALB CO., TENNESSEE: My deputy felt like she was ready to fire and he fired first.
We certainly hope she'll be all right, but the main thing is that the child is safe.
CABRERO: Lovell was moving as she was brought to the back of an ambulance. She was taken to Erlanger (ph) Hospital in Chattanooga by life flight helicopter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That report from Alex Cabrero of our affiliate WTVF.
For politicians this is a truly amazing story. Normally for politicians hitting a wall usually means having a tough time on crucial legislation. But for North Carolina's governor the phrase took on a quite literal meaning.
Governor Mike Easley slammed a race car into a retaining wall earlier today during a charity event. He's joining us now by phone. Governor, first of all, tell us how you're doing.
GOV. MIKE EASLEY, NORTH CAROLINA: Oh, we're doing fine. They take good care of us out there, the Lowe's Motor Speedway's a safe one and the motorsports has good cars and NASCAR requires you to do everything the drivers do.
So I'm fine, I got to drive a second car after that to make sure I can get my laps in to raise money for education.
BLITZER: Governor, how fast were you going?
EASLEY: Somewhere in the 165 miles per hour range. A lot slower than the drivers do on that track. But it was getting a little bit loose and I was getting ready to come in to the pit to have it adjusted, that lap and it just slipped out on turn two so it was fun up until right then.
BLITZER: And what went through your mind the second you hit that wall?
EASLEY: The second I hit the wall, the thing that went through my mind was that Rick Hendricks was going to be mad at me and so was the racetrack. I was wondering what I was going to have to pay for as well as they would. But I mean I felt pretty comfortable where I knew they had me in a safe position.
BLITZER: Thank God you're OK, Governor Mike Easley of North Carolina. Stay away from those race tracks. Appreciate it very much.
Lou Dobbs is picking up our coverage. He is joining us now live -- Lou.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
had Three Years Before; Gunman Holed Up in Ohio University>
Aired May 9, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Spinning out of control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God!
BLITZER: Tornadoes on a rampage again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were standing on the roof and there was this tornado just coming right at us, dude.
BLITZER: Today the trail of destruction spreads across the Midwest and could get longer tonight.
Who killed Laci Peterson? Is someone in the know hiding?
MARK GERAGOS, SCOTT PETERSON'S ATTORNEY: We know there are people out there, specifically there's one particular young lady out there who we believe has some very important information.
BLITZER: Or is this the stunt of a desperate attorney? I'll ask famed defense attorney Robert Shapiro.
A jail escape turns dangerous. Shocking video of a mother holding a gun to her own son.
Justice served or denied? James Kopp, the abortion opponent and convicted killer learns his fate.
And crash and burn. A governor's scary ride on the racetrack. How did he walk away?
ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS live form the nation's capital. With correspondents live from around the world. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: It's Friday, May 9, 2003. Hello from Washington. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting.
We'll get to all those stories in just a moment, but there's a breaking story unfolding right now in Cleveland, Ohio. You're looking at live pictures of Case Western University at the business school.
A gunman according to reports on the scene opened fire a little while ago. At least two people, according to the Associated Press are injured. A spokeswoman for the university says a lone gunman is still in the building which has been by now locked down, surrounded by police. One person is said to have been shot outside, taken to a local hospital. The other wounded person remains inside the building.
Squad cars are surrounding this university, this business school at Case Western Reserve University, one of the major universities in Ohio. Of course, we're looking at these live pictures. We're following these developments. We'll go back to Case Western as soon as we get some more details to.
But to restate what is happening, a lone gunman reportedly inside this building, the business school of Case Western Reserve University. Two people are already reported injured. The gunman, supposedly, still inside this building.
No mercy, no letup from powerful, in some cases, deadly storms that have battered much of the nation this week and more severe weather is on the way right now. People in the Oklahoma City area woke up earlier today to an unbelievable 19-mile path of damage and destruction. The work of a twister, that remarkably didn't kill anyone. Governor Brad Henry describes the destruction though as horrific.
A different state, but same story. Officials in Lawrence, Kansas say 70 homes were damaged by a twister last night. A couple who ran for their basement when the storm hit say the twister sounded and I'm quoting now, "like a bunch of bees with a real whistle to it."
Severe flooding is the big problem in parts of Georgia and Alabama. Interstate 85 was closed north and southbound on both sides of the state line as the Chattahoochee River reached four feet above flood level.
More now on the destruction and the death in the Oklahoma City area caused by last night's tornado. CNN's Sean Callebs is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began literally right after the powerful storm roared through central Oklahoma. Early estimates place the dollar damage at 100 million and expect that will rise. There were more than 125 injuries, some of those serious, but no fatalities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like a roar. It was like you can see 2 by 4s, you could see dust, you could just see -- well I could so total destruction.
CALLEBS: The governor of Oklahoma along with federal officials toured much of the areas hit hardest. Parts of Oklahoma, he says, will be declared disaster areas.
GOV. BRAD HENRY, OKLAHOMA: We have sent a request to President Bush asking for an expedited federal declaration of emergency.
CALLEBS: A week that has seen the most tornado activity in the U.S. in half a century. The storm in central Oklahoma hit at the height of rush hour Thursday, sending people scrambling for safety as debris was tossed about. Hundreds of buildings were flattened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lady I spoke to in there, I said, what's the condition in your home? She goes, well, anything that could break is broken and everything that can't break has dust embedded in it.
CALLEBS: To the north, tornadoes and high winds rolled through a number of communities in Kansas, flipping cars, downing power lines and scattering debris across miles.
(on camera): People in this area are crediting early warnings with the fact there were no fatalities. As bad as this all looks this region has dealt with far worst. Four years ago this month, a path of killer storms carved an area identical to this one. At that time 47 people were killed.
In Moore, Oklahoma, I'm Sean Callebs, now back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Sean.
And there are more tornado warnings right now in various parts of the Midwest. Let's get a live helicopter tour of the damage in Midwest City, that's in Oklahoma. It's coming to us from reporter Jeff Cunningham of our affiliate KOCO. Jeff, give us the latest.
JEFF CUNNINGHAM, KOCO CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we are hovered right above one of the damage areas right here. And I believe, James (ph), show them -- this is I-35 which goes through (UNINTELLIGIBLE) city in the distance.
And the tornado took a path as you can see right over I-35. You see homes and businesses that were just hammered. And from up here you can just see the devastation. I mean I've seen video of this, but getting this bird's eye view of it is something entirely different. You can see the houses just torn apart. There's debris strewn all over and it's just amazing what these kind of tornadoes can do.
And, Wolf, as you probably know, this is almost the exact same path that another tornado took almost exactly four years ago, May 3rd of 1999. An F5 tornado came almost this exact same path here at Moore. And they, to my knowledge they have yet to determine exactly how big this tornado was, but I believe it was at least an F3, possibly an F4.
So today the clean up begins. Earlier you mentioned our governor, Governor Brad Henry had toured the damage through the air like we are doing now. And on a side note we can actually see the helicopter that I believe he used earlier. He has petitioned President Bush to speed up the process of getting federal aid to these communities here who have been hit so hard by this tornado and he's hoping that will speed up the process to get a little federal assistance -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Very dramatic pictures, let's hope this ends sooner rather than later. Jeff Cunningham of our affiliate KOCO with that live chopper report. Thanks very much, Jeff, for that.
Now in the words of survivors what it was like when those devastating twisters tore through parts of Oklahoma and Kansas last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were all standing outside talking with other neighbors and next thing you know the funnel starts to come down and I saw the debris and I ran into my friend's basement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was thinking oh, my gosh I can't believe we're in a tornado.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sudden rush of just the sound like a train and then just as quickly as it came on and it stopped and it was dead silence and darkness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot stress this enough. Tornado on the ground near I-240 and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Road and we have confirmed damage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crossing the road. I-240 and Sooner (ph) Road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's coming straight at me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were standing on the roof and there's this tornado just coming right at us, dude. There was debris flying everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stayed up there as long as we could until we thought we better get down because I mean debris was like smacking us in the face and stuff. So we jumped down, jumped in the closet. We sat in the closet for two seconds and decided that we wanted to go back out and look at it. So we went in the backyard. Then we decided we better go back inside. And about that time, the sun came out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We built it after the May 3 one last time. And then I seen it coming so I threw our dog in there and slammed the thing and we heard it come right over us and there was some stuff on top of it and we were able to push it off and get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just spent three years redoing this house, replaced all of the windows in it, rebricked it. They added 300 square feet on the side. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) paint on the outside and we would have been done on the outside. We're not going to need that painter Monday now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's gone. It's totally gone. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most amazing thing to me as we walked through the damaged areas here in Moore was the fact that the people are upbeat. And almost to a person that we met they said, you know, it doesn't matter, it's just a home. It's just material goods. Just personal things. We are just thankful that our family is safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Dramatic developments. We're going to have much more on these tornadoes unfolding in the Midwest in just a moment.
But I want to go back to the breaking story that we reported at the top of this program. That incident at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. You're looking at live pictures of the School of Management. There a gunman opened fire earlier in the day at the business school there. At least two people are reported to be injured.
Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the school is joining us now phone. Dick, if you can hear me, are you inside the building?
DICK BENNETT, EXEC. DIR. OF DEVELOPMENT, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV.: Yes, I am, Wolf.
BLITZER: Tell us what you know. What has happened there?
BENNETT: Well, we heard gunfire. I'm up on the third floor. We heard gunfire a little after 4:00 p.m., and almost immediately police descended on the building.
We are surrounded by police. Obviously, all the traffic has been stopped. We have been cautioned to stay away from windows -- just by hand signals -- and there's quite a bit of shooting going on. We believe it's in the first floor lobby area.
As you can see from this building, from the outside, it's open -- it's an open atrium building all the way to the fifth floor. So the shots, you can hear quite clearly up here on the third floor.
BLITZER: Do you have any sense of how many shots you've actually heard?
BENNETT: Well, there's been what I would term automatic gunfire so it's fairly rapid succession, and then there will be -- our sense is that they have someone or somebody's pinned down, but we have no idea.
I did look out at one point and see just officers crouched in the kneeled position in the lobby, but we just don't know where these people are.
BLITZER: I take it school is still in session, and there presumably were plenty of students and faculty inside the building at the time? BENNETT: Actually, finals were completed last week for our graduate students and for our undergraduates this week, so there were very few faculty and students in the building.
BLITZER: That's fortunate. That's good to hear that.
Any idea how many students, how many faculty, how many people might have been inside at 4:00 eastern time when this incident began -- which is a little bit more than one hour ago?
BENNETT: Well, we have over 1,600 students at the Weatherhead School. and my guess is less than 10 percent of them would have been around. And then faculty, for the most part, is research days on Fridays -- plus they're grading papers off site. So other than staff, my guess is there were probably only 40 to 50 people in the building.
BLITZER: Based on what you know, Dick Bennett, is this the work of one lone gunman?
BENNETT: We don't know. We thought that there may be two but we just heard that on a radio, so we're just guessing.
BLITZER: Maybe two people, but they're still at large and the incident is still unfolding, obviously.
BENNETT: That's right. We're locked into the third floor in our particular area and poised, Wolf, to go into a coping room. All of our doors here have glass -- they're glass doors so we would go into the copying room if somebody tried to break n. We've locked the suite off, if you will.
BLITZER: So you've been there for the past hour since the shooting began?
BENNETT: Yes.
BLITZER: How many people are with you?
BENNETT: Eight.
BLITZER: And I assume everyone is, understandably, quite worried.
BENNETT: Yes, we have a few people up here with us who have -- their work groups are down in the first floor so they're very concerned.
BLITZER: And just to recap, you're on the third floor right now, and this incident -- the shooting -- is taking place on the first floor of the school of management?
BENNETT: Yes.
BLITZER: On the Case Western Reserve University campus in Cleveland.
BENNETT: That's correct.
BLITZER: And the building is now surrounded by police snipers and others?
BENNETT: Yes. In the usual crouched position behind open police doors and trash receptacles, etc.
BLITZER: Has anything like this ever happened before at Case Western Reserve University -- as far as you know?
BENNETT: Not as far as I know, Wolf.
BLITZER: Because, as you know, at other universities around the country, occasionally you hear a disgruntled student got some bad grades, was dismissed, or whatever and just goes berserk.
We have, obviously, no idea what may have caused this particular incident to unfold, but that's happened at other universities, other schools over the years as I'm sure you well know.
BENNETT: Yes. Yes. It's unfortunate timing, Wolf, in the sense that, you know, the first thing that would come to your mind when people have completed their finals and are waiting to receive their grades.
BLITZER: And have you heard any negotiations underway with bullhorns, or are people trying to communicate with the one or two gunmen that may still be holed up inside?
BENNETT: Just a lot of -- sort of -- yelling periodically.
Orders, we think, by the police for whoever to give up or -- would be our sense of things up here.
BLITZER: The Associated Press is reporting that two people have been injured. Do you have any additional information as far as injuries are concerned?
BENNETT: No. We were just listening to the radio up here so it's hard for us to tell. We were told in local radio that two people were injured but could not be removed from the building because of the gunfire.
BLITZER: Tell us a little bit about the school. The Weatherman School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
BENNETT: It's called Weatherhead.
BLITZER: Excuse me.
BENNETT: That's okay. It's a school of management that's been around under the name Weatherhead since the late '70s, but the school of management has existed -- business schools have existed at all the successor schools to Case Western Reserve. Case Western, as you may know, Wolf, is the combination of a number of institutions who all reside in University Circle, and that union took place in the '60s. So it was Case Institute of Technology, Western Reserve University, Adelbert College, Mather College, and Cleveland College all joined at one time or another to become Case Western Reserve. And this is -- there are eight schools and colleges at Case, including the school of medicine, a school of engineering, law school, business school, etc.
BLITZER: And the Weatherhead School of Management, which is where you are -- for our viewers who may just be tuning in.
Stand by for a moment, Dick Bennett. I want to just recap and let our viewers know what's going on.
We've been covering this story since the top of this hour. An incident at Case Western Reserve University -- that's in Cleveland, Ohio -- a gunman opened fire earlier around 4:00 p.m. eastern, about an hour and 15 minutes ago and, apparently, has wounded two individuals in the school of management in this building.
We are looking at local police outside. They're gearing up for the incident, but we do have -- we do have some -- someone who has been there on the scene, and I want to roll this tape and hear precisely what this person says.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 4:10, a gunman walked in the building -- in the PBL building. They say he was armed, carrying a gun. Shots are getting fired around 4:20, and they are still in there with him now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he hasn't been removed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not that we know of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So shots fired and we don't know if people are hurt?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes..
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know how many people are still in there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know the identity of -- whether the fellow is a student or some other -- ?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he's not a student, they said. They say it was a black male. So -- .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So they haven't got him. He's still in the building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He's still in the building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear more shots fired?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They might have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moore (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OSS Security.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Well, that word from a security official on the scene. We heard that one individual, apparently not a student, opened fire allegedly or just after 4:00 p.m. eastern time, and according to the Associated Press, at least two people are injured.
I want to bring back Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Dick Bennett, you just heard what we just heard -- apparently not a student, described as a black male, opened fire, and is still inside. I guess you must be relieved, at least, to hear word -- it could be premature, or whatever -- that a student is apparently not involved in the shooting.
BENNETT: Yes, that's very good news, Wolf.
BLITZER: We don't know what may be the motive behind this. Obviously, the incident is unfolding right now.
Since you've been in that room and you're up on the third floor of this building -- the incident has occurred on the first floor of the Weatherhead School of Management building, which is a beautiful complex at Case Western Reserve University. It's a very impressive structure -- as our viewers can see now in these live pictures.
Dick, has anything changed as far as what you've seen or heard over the past hour?
BENNETT: Wolf, we have not heard shots for about 10 minutes -- which is somewhat of a relief because it was sporadic shooting going on for almost an hour-plus, but we still haven't had any indication that we can emerge from this suite here. And the police are still outside the windows, etc. So we're going to sit tight until we get some kind of word that we can leave.
BLITZER: We're going to keep these live pictures up. Let me tell you what the Associated Press is reporting from Cleveland, Dick and to all of our viewers out there.
Witnesses say the gunman was firing indiscriminately. One eyewitness said this, and I'm quoting directly what this eyewitness said, "He had a machine gun, bookbag, camouflage shirt, military green hat, white pants and a bookbag. He was just walking, aiming his guns and firing." Obviously, very, very disturbing, very disturbing.
Let's bring in Marjorie Hersh of the university. She's -- Marci Hersh, excuse me. Could you tell us what you know about this? You're a spokesperson for the university.
MARCI HERSH, UNIV. MEDIA RELATIONS: Yes. We have an armed gunman inside the Peter B. Lewis building, which is on the Case Western Reserve University campus. The SWAT Team is on the scene. The building has been cornered (ph) off and locked down. One person was shot outside the building and has been taken for treatment to an area hospital. And the second individual has been shot and is wounded and remains inside the building.
BLITZER: Are there efforts under way to discuss what's going on to talk to the -- I assume it's one individual, one person who's doing the shooting or do you suspect more?
HERSH: There is one person and...
BLITZER: Not a -- not a student?
HERSH: I don't know anything about this person. I don't know if it's a man or a woman. I don't know what their background is. I don't know what the reasoning is. I only know that that person is inside the building and that last I heard the Cleveland police were also inside the building.
BLITZER: And -- and but -- but we heard from one of your colleagues at the university, Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the school of management that it looks -- it looks like -- like there hasn't been any shots heard, at least in the last 10 or 15 minutes.
Let's go to our affiliate. They're talking to some of the individuals who were -- may have been eyewitnesses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just normally, we wouldn't keep the front door of their office area locked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many people did you see running out when they were yelling, "Go, go, go" How many people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a couple of people. I didn't recognize them or anything. They might have been some of our evening students. I don't know, but I didn't -- not many people at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what were they saying? They were just saying, "Get out now." They weren't saying...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just -- I heard -- all I hear in my head was, "Go, go, go," so....
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did any one talk about seeing any one. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, then I just walked around and asked people what was going on. They said, "Get back. Get back." That's all I know.
And like I said, since then, I've just been trying to walk around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now you work in the same office as Amanda (ph). Now we had talked about Amanda a couple of minutes ago. Her family is here trying to find out where she is. She works on the first floor in alumni relations and her parents have not been able to get in touch with her, calling her cell phone repeatedly and have not been able to locate her. Of course, they are very worried about her.
Do you have any idea where she is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, she's one of the people. She's one of my best friends, so I'm looking for her just like I look around for everybody else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. Thank you very much. OK, I'm going to send it back to you guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Wendy (ph). If Albert (ph) is...
BLITZER: All right. That's from our affiliate WOIO. Clearly, an eyewitness talking about the scene.
Once again, let me reset it. The shooting incident has been unfolding over the past hour and 20, 25 minutes or so. The -- a lone gunman apparently inside the school of management, two individuals wounded, injured as a result of the shooting. One inside has not been treated, remains inside. A second individual, according to Marci Hersh, a spokeswoman for the university, has been taken to a local hospital, shot outside.
Marci Hersh, are you still on the phone with us?
HERSH: Yes. Go ahead. I'm sorry.
BLITZER: All right. Well, do you have any additional information that you're receiving at this point?
HERSH: They are evacuating the buildings. They're evacuating the people -- some people from the Lewis building and they are -- there are still people inside. We don't know how many and they are evacuating buildings around the Lewis building.
BLITZER: Well, that's probably a very prudent measure. Marci Hersh is a spokeswoman for Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where the shooting incident is taking place right now. Apparently, still not resolved. The shooter -- the alleged shooter still inside the building surrounded by SWAT teams, Cleveland police.
Let's bring back Dick Bennett. He's inside the building. Have you seen or heard anything in the last few minutes, Mr. Bennett, that would suggest the incident may be about to be resolved?
BENNETT: The only thing, Wolf, is it continues to remain fairly quiet. No gunfire, again, now for about the last 25 minutes. But we haven't had any indication that -- we are not to get near the window, so I heard Marci say that people were being evacuated but I'm not sure where that would be from. We -- no one has come up to this area yet.
BLITZER: And Dick Bennett is the executive director of development at that school of management at Case Western Reserve University, a major institution of higher learning in Ohio, a school with an excellent reputation, obviously.
One individual, Marci Hersh -- Marci Hersh, the spokeswoman for the university apparently responsible for what's unfolding right now, is that what you're hearing?
We may have lost Marci Hersh. Marci Hersh is the spokeswoman for the university. What we're showing our viewers these pictures from Case Western Reserve University.
It's a shocking thing that could happen at any university, obviously, Mr. Bennett. That it's happening at your university, what's going through your mind?
BENNETT: Well, obviously, for all of us here, as far as I know, this is the first episode of this kind, certainly on this campus and for each one of us personally it's the first kind of episode.
We are obviously deeply concerned and we have our usual assortment of -- my assistant, for example, is pregnant and it's not good because of the the -- she's only a few months away. But everything's -- people are calm and we're prepared if someone were to try to get through the doors here. We have a plan to sort of get behind a metal door and lock ourselves in.
BLITZER: Well, let's hope that that is not necessary. This building, the Peter B. Lewis building -- it's a beautiful complex, only opened relatively recently. Is that right?
BENNETT: We moved in last July. Right.
BLITZER: And it's sort of designed, according to a story I'm reading right now in the Associated Press, along the lines of the Guggenheim Museum in...
BENNETT: Well, it's the same architect. The architect is Frank Gary.
BLITZER: A $62 million structure that opened only in the fall of this past year?
BENNETT: That's correct.
BLITZER: So you have a wonderful building, great students, unfortunately an incident, a very disturbing incident right now. A gunman apparently inside the building, one gunman, two injured at least that's what we know according to Marci Hersh, a spokeswoman for the university. One person injured inside, remaining inside, apparently not being treated right now and another person injured, but taken to a local hospital.
Is there any sort of serious security on a normal basis at that school of management?
BENNETT: We have a security guard at the front desk generally. We have three major entrances to the building. Two of those are always kept locked and you only have access by swipe card for students, faculty and staff.
The security guard and the receptionist sit in front of the other entrance which is open and check I.D. cards. But any one could walk at any time except in the evening hours, late evening hours, in through that door.
BLITZER: All right. Mr. Bennett, please stand by, if you will. Stay with us because I want to come back to you and I want viewers to know we are following the story.
You are looking at live pictures of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where there's been a shooting incident. A lone gunman apparently still inside. Students, presumably faculty, presumably others inside as well surrounded by Cleveland police. SWAT teams, two people injured, one of those still inside being untreated. A second taken to a local hospital, a person injured by gunfire.
We heard Dick Bennett, the executive director of development at the Weatherhead School of Management said he heard plenty of gunshots but not in the past 25 minutes. This incident happened -- began about an hour and a half ago.
We're going continue to follow this story as well as other stories we are following including this: black hawk down. We'll go live to Baghdad for the latest on a deadly helicopter crash.
Plus the doctor killer. Final justice for an anti-abortion sniper.
And a governor's joyride ends with a big bang. We'll hear from the man, the governor of North Carolina, who was behind the wheel. He'll join us.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. I want to show our viewers live pictures of what's unfolding at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. An incident that began around 4:00 p.m., just after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, about an hour and a half or so ago. Apparently a lone gunman inside the building at the School of Management opened fire.
Two people, at least two people have been injured. One has been taken to a local hospital. That person was injured outside the school. A second person has been injured. He remains or she remains inside apparently not treated.
The incident is continuing. Cleveland police, SWAT teams have surrounded this building. And we've heard that there were evacuations of other surrounding buildings on the campus of the university.
Dick Bennett is the executive director of development at the school of management, the Weatherhead School of Management. He's been helping us understand what's going on. He's on the third floor of the building where the incident is still occurring right now. The alleged shooter is on the first floor.
Give our viewers, Dick, a sense of the drama, the sadness. What's going on over there right now?
BENNETT: Well, we're still in a lockdown situation. Obviously, the drama is just that. When you hear gunshots in your own facility which you've never heard before, at least any of us here have, there are eight us in the dean's suite. Our dean is on his way to Washington so we have not been in contact with him.
Obviously, it's very sad to have an institution like this sort of violated, if you will, Wolf. As you know, we're completing our week and completing our work day and final exams have just been completed and we have graduation in a week.
And so we, as I mentioned earlier, just have been asked to sit tight. And not verbally, but just by hand gestures from police outside and to stay away from the windows. So we're just -- we will just wait until someone tells us we can leave.
BLITZER: A major university, a premiere university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve University winding up the academic year right now with this incident that continues to unfold. And we're showing our viewers these live pictures of what's happening right now at the university. Only days away from graduation. Isn't that what you said, Mr. Bennett?
BENNETT: Yes, graduation is a week from this Sunday.
BLITZER: And the good news, though, if there is good news in this, is the last half hour or so, we have not heard any shots fired?
BENNETT: That's correct.
BLITZER: But you heard several shots -- you heard several shots being fired within the first hour or so, or at least the first 45 minutes after the incident broke out?
BENNETT: Wolf, yes, several would be a misnomer. I think there were literally tens, if not hundreds. What sounded to us up here like automatic gunfire. We assumed that that was the SWAT team all shooting at once. But it was the proverbial sounding like the culminating event of the Fourth of July. That's how loud it is because of the open atrium here, it echoes through the entire building. BLITZER: And we did report that an eyewitness according to the Associated Press saying that the individual responsible allegedly for the shooting supposedly had a machine gun, a book bag, camouflage shirt and military-type gear, military green hat, white pants and a book bag, just walking, aiming his gun almost indiscriminately.
Dick Bennett, please stay with us because I want to continue to follow this dramatic story unfolding in Cleveland, Ohio. A story that's been -- we've been watching now for about an hour and a half or so.
I want do -- I want to check some other developments, important developments happening half a world away. A Black Hawk helicopter has gone down near Baghdad killing three U.S. troops. CNN's Jane Arraf is in Baghdad and she has more on what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: The U.S. Army says that helicopter was on a routine nighttime mission Near Samarra (ph). Now that's about 60 miles, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad. There was a major Iraqi military base near there. The helicopter itself appears to have hit a power line, plunging into the Tigris River.
Now three people were killed, another soldier wounded. He was airlifted for emergency medical aid. The last Black Hawk crash was when one was shot down near Karbala in the south of Iraq by Iraqi forces during the war.
Now these helicopters are, of course the main utility helicopter for the U.S. Army. They fly troops and equipment around Iraq and it's an indication that not only is there danger on the ground continued what the U.S. military calls pockets of resistance with shootings and other incidents in Baghdad and outside, but there is still a continued danger from these nighttime missions.
Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Shooting incidents in Baghdad and a shooting incident we're following in Cleveland, Ohio, where there's been an incident in the past hour and a half. It's still continuing to unfold. We're going to continue to update our viewers on what we learn.
But there's also been a new twist in the Laci Peterson case. Attorneys for her husband Scott are suggesting there may be another suspect in the case. Joining us now to shed some light on this late development is Don Knapp of our affiliate KRON. Don, tell us what happened in court and outside of court today.
DON KNAPP, KRON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you know, this case has been largely a circumstantial case and any hard evidence that police investigators may have remains under wrap.
So the initial big battles in this case are of release of information contained in search warrens and search warrant affidavits. That's what they were fighting around about in court today. But the prosecution and the defense are in the same side of this issue. Neither side wants that information released before trial.
The prosecution has said, and they've said all along, even before they made the arrest when they issued the search warrants that release of the information could jeopardize the investigation.
The defense says release could provide damaging pretrial publicity for the client, Scott Peterson, who was in the same blue suit and white shirt and tie that we saw wearing at last appearance. His mother and father were in the front row, but Laci Peterson's family members were not present in court today.
Outside of court, after court we talked with Mark Geragos and he presented this tantalizing glimpse of what might be a strategy for the defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERAGOS: We know that there are people out there and specifically there's one particular young lady out there who we believe has very important information. We asking and we will protect her anonymity that she contact my office. We will do everything possible to keep you out of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KNAPP: Next big day, May 27 when they'll talk about that and apparently search warrants and cameras will be allowed -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Don Knapp of our affiliate KRON. Don Knapp, familiar figure to all of us at CNN, used to work for CNN. Thanks, Don, very much.
Let's get some analysis now on what all of this means. Joining us from Los Angeles, Robert Shapiro, the famed criminal defense attorney. What do you make of Mr. Geragos today coming out and raising the specter of possibly someone else killing Laci Peterson? Or at least a witness who might help find someone else?
ROBERT SHAPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Wolf, in all high-profile cases expect the unexpected. There is always going to be witnesses who come forward who have what they believe to be information. Sometimes it is relevant, most of the time it is not.
This is the early stage of the case and I think the defense is now trying to balance the playing field with all the adverse publicity that came out that was favorable to the prosecution in the last couple of weeks.
BLITZER: And the decision by both the prosecution and the defense, Geragos as well as the prosecutors, to keep the documents sealed, not be released at this point. They've obviously joined hands in the face of -- in the face of requests by news media organizations to get their hands on these sealed documents. What do you make of that?
SHAPIRO: You know, it's very unusual that you have both sides agreeing in anything in a criminal case except when it comes to media issues.
Generally, whether or not there's going to be cameras in the courtroom, both sides generally come to an agreement. The same thing here with the -- it's an affidavit for the search warrant.
What it is, it's a statement taken under penalty of perjury by an investigating or senior officer as to the probable cause to believe that evidence relating to this crime will be found. And so, basically, it is an outline of the prosecution's case.
The prosecution probably has less to lose by this coming out. The defense certainly does not want to have anything more said that could be interpreted as being negative to its client.
BLITZER: Bob Shapiro, unfortunately, we have to leave it right there because apparently there were more gunshots that have just been heard at Case Western Reserve University.
We'll continue our conversation on another occasion. Robert Shapiro joining us from Los Angeles. Thanks very much.
Dick Bennett is inside the building, the school of management building at Case Western Reserve University. Did you hear more gunshots just now?
BENNETT: Yes, Wolf. It was hard to tell how many there were. You know, it's like four or five in just quick succession I guess is the way I would describe it.
BLITZER: Is it possible that you're hearing echoes or are these individual shots that are -- that you can clearly discern?
BENNETT: You can discern the shots. Certainly it does echo because of the atrium structure, but there were at least four.
BLITZER: And there's no way of knowing that -- if these were shots from an automatic weapon or individual shots from a handgun or anything like that?
BENNETT: They were in pretty rapid succession so my guess would be automatic weapon of some kind.
BLITZER: What was it about a half an hour in between shots? Is that what you estimate?
BENNETT: Almost 40 minutes.
BLITZER: Almost 40 minutes and now we've just heard some more. So there could be some movement, and then again it might still be the same situation dragging on.
No indication if there is a hostage type of situation inside the building on the first floor. You're on the third floor.
BENNETT: That's correct.
You know, you can only surmise, I guess, Wolf, because of the -- one would think they'd be able -- if he or she does not have a hostage that they would be able to rush them. But with all this gunfire one would also hope that there's no hostage.
BLITZER: It's a -- it's a horrible, terrifying situation not only for young people, for everyone who's on the campus right now and I assume for most people in Cleveland who are quite familiar with Case Western Reserve University. This is a highly unusual situation.
Describe the neighborhood around the university. What kind of neighborhood is it?
BENNETT: Well, we're in an area called University Circle which is the home, Wolf, of Cleveland's cultural community in many ways. We certainly have a number of things downtown, but the home of the Cleveland Orchestra is a few hundred yards, 300 or 400 yards from this building. The Cleveland Museum of Art, the historical society, et cetera -- the Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, et cetera and then we are surrounded by academic buildings and dormitories. And then a little further east, a residential section of Cleveland.
BLITZER: Dick Bennett is the executive director of development at the Weatherhead School of Management, the building that has now been surrounded by police, SWAT teams and an individual inside opened fire after 4:00 p.m., just after 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, an hour and 45 minutes or so ago. Two individuals have been injured, one has been taken to a hospital. That person was injured outside the building. A second was injured inside apparently still inside, according to Marci Hersh, who's a spokeswoman for the university.
Dick Bennett, you'll be interested in knowing what we're learning from our affiliate reporters in Cleveland. The police chief, the Cleveland police chief, has now spoken to reporters suggesting that this individual inside the building, who has apparently opened fire, may have access to a television or radio and they're asking local media to provide a number in case this individual wants to speak with police and get a number for them to call or for him to call so they can open up some sort of dialogue, some sort of negotiation, if you will, presumably to try to end, to resolve this standoff which has been continuing now for quite awhile, an hour and 45 minutes or so.
Each minute, I take it, Dick Bennett seems like a lot longer than that. How are you guys, who are up on the third floor, are you and your colleagues coping?
BENNETT: Well, I'm in my office and we have most of the others gathered outside that room, the safest room we have in case they have to go in there.
You know, it's the usual terribly nervous situation where you have no access to what's really going on and it's highly uncomfortable, I guess is the way I would describe it.
We feel, up here, at least, that the police at least have this individual pinned some place because the gunfire appears to still be coming from the lobby and so there's not rushing around outside on the floors, at least on the third floor.
BLITZER: All right. Dick, please stand by for another moment. We just got a report in from our affiliate WJW in Cleveland. I want our viewers to see that right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You see I have this phone with me and as a matter of fact, the Cleveland police chief just talked moments ago with the news media. They want our cooperation to get the word out to the gunman, who is believed to be in the Peter B. Lewis building.
Obviously, a very sensitive situation, confirmed by the chief that there is one gunman inside. They believe he can watch anything that is being broadcast, must have some kind of access to a television and that's why he is putting out the word that he wants this individual, whom he described as a disgruntled individual, to please try and contact Cleveland police at this following number: 375-8112. This is from Cleveland police to the man who is inside the building.
Now we have been talking to witnesses about when this started, how it went down and here is what one of the individuals had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some body was work walking in front of me and this guy stopped and I saw him and I just watched some body at a door. He just broke the door. I could hear the noise, the glass broken. And he put back his helmet and got in and he was dressed like a military guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was he carrying? Weapons?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a bag, a big bag of some thing, but I didn't see a gun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now police have said we must be very careful what we are saying in the way of details about the deployment of officers. Obviously, because again, they believe the gunman has access to radio and television to hear what is being said. But they want that gunman to contact them. That number again, 375-8112.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, Belinda (ph), you can't see, but the number is on the bottom of the screen and it's probably going to stay there or be up and down throughout out newscast this evening.
And once again, you said the chief described this person as a...
BLITZER: All right. I want to go back to our live pictures. That report from our affiliate WJW. The police chief in Cleveland providing a number, asking that the individual, who's allegedly inside, allegedly responsible for beginning the fire, the opening -- opening up of shots to call a local Cleveland number and presumably start some sort of dialogue with Cleveland police. The individual described by the police chief, we just heard, as a disgruntled individual. We have no additional information.
Another one of our affiliates spoke just a little while ago with another eyewitness. I want our viewers to hear that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in the building and we're -- the people in our office are OK. There's about eight of us in here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we were told earlier the third floor was where some of the activity was going on. Is that true? Did -- was there gunfire on your floor?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And have you been there all along?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be very delicate here. Can you give us a sense of how many people might be in the building and what you are doing, without giving anything away -- to keep yourself safe? Have you gotten any instructions from the police?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've got to go. We just had another gunshot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And we know that after about 40 minutes there have been more gunshots only within the past few minutes. The individual described by eyewitnesses as dressed in camouflage opened fire with what's described as a high powered gun, one eyewitness saying it was a machine gun and two individuals, as we've been reporting, have been injured. One taken to hospital, the second still inside this building.
This building you're looking at right now, it's the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. The business school there. It's the Peter B. Lewis building, a beautiful building only opened last fall, a building that cost some $62 million, $62 million to open up that building.
This incident is continuing. We don't know if it's a hostage incident. We have heard from eye witnesses that the individual, the alleged gunman is on the first floor of this building apparently surrounded and cornered by Cleveland police, SWAT teams.
Other building on the campus understandably, prudently have been evacuated. And police, of course, taking all precautions to make sure that if there are two injured, that remains the case no more than that. We're going to continue to follow this breaking story in Cleveland. We'll get back to it with updates.
But we're also following some other developments as well, including this. What was he thinking when he went behind the wheel? the governor of North Carolina, crashes, burns and thank God, walks away. He'll speak with us live. That's coming up next.
And a scary moment for police as a mother holds a gun to her own son's head. We have much more news coming up including more information on what's happening right now at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: You're looking at live pictures at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio where a shooting incident has been unfolding now for nearly two hours. An gunman, an alleged gunman inside this building, the School of Management on the campus of the university. Two people already injured. One taken to a hospital. A second still inside.
SWAT teams, Cleveland police surrounding the building. There are students, faculty members still inside the building. We are continuing to watch and see what happens, but only within the past few minutes we've heard more gunshots from inside. We'll continue to follow that story and bring you updates as we get them.
In the meantime, it's been almost five years since Barnett Slepian, a doctor who performed abortions was gunned down in his own home. Today his killer found out his fate. Our Jamie Colby is in Buffalo, New York where the sentence came down -- Jamie.
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good afternoon. It has been four and a half years since Lynn Slepian, held her husband, Dr. Barnett Slepian, as he bled to death on their kitchen floor. Two of their four sons watched as a bullet pierced the window, hitting their father in the back.
Today James Kopp an anti-abortion activist who had targeted Dr. Slepian and admitted he pulled the trigger was served a stiff sentence for murdering the respected physician, husband and father.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY (voice-over): James Kopp has been given the maximum sentence allowed, 25 years to life in prison. The 48-year-old anti- abortion activist who still has supporters...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He stopped him from killing babies.
COLBY: ... had admitted he pulled the trigger in the 1998 sniper-style shooting of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an upstate New York obstetrician who also performed abortions. Prosecutor Joseph Marusak claimed the ruling by Erie County Judge Michael D'Amico a victory for Slepian's wife Lynn, a nurse, and their four children, two of whom witnessed the murder.
JOSEPH MARUSAK, ERIE COUNTY PROSECUTOR: From day one, this was not about abortion, this was about murder.
COLBY: Kopp had elected a non-jury trial, instead, stipulating to 35 pages of facts and giving the judge the authority after a one- day trial in March to convict him of murder.
Abortion rights advocate Vicki Suporta says Kopp's stiff sentence sends a message to anyone considering interfering with a woman's right to choose.
VICKI SUPORTA, ABORTION RIGHTS ADVOCATE: And it's important that that serve as a deterrent for others who would want to commit a copycat crime.
COLBY: Marilyn Buckham, a co-work of Dr. Slepian, says justice even after a four and a half year wait is worth it.
MARILYN BUCKHAM, SLEPIAN FRIEND: The best thing is that this is over and he's going to prison forever.
COLBY: A rifle and cap left in the woods behind the Slepian home tied Kopp to the fatal shooting. Slepian was in his kitchen making soup with his wife and two of his sons at his side when he was shot in the back.
Judge D'Amico refused to accept Kopp's explanation given in a jailhouse confession to a Buffalo newspaper he only intended to injure the doctor, not kill him.
BRUCE BARKETT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's certainly true he did not intend to kill him. I think that the judge said are the feelings of a lot of people, how could you not have expected him to have died?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY: Kopp evaded authorities for two years, Wolf. He even landed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. He was eventually apprehended in France two years ago and brought back here, extradited, on the promise that he wouldn't face the death penalty. He's got 30 days to appeal today's sentence of 25 years to life -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie Colby in Buffalo, New York. Thanks, Jamie, very much.
And while we're on the subject of criminals, an incredible jail break in Tennessee today. A woman escaped from the Smithville jail and kidnapped her own 3-year-old son. When confronted by police, she turned the gun on her son. Alex Cabrero of our affiliate WTVF explains what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALEX CABRERO, WTVF CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Karen Lynn Lovell with the police gun she stole waving at officers, then, amazingly, waiving it at her own 3-year-old child.
The deputy was in front of her, then a gun shot.
Nobody knew who was hit until the deputy arrived with the 3-year- old child, crying, but safe, unhurt.
It's not the way deputies wanted this search and standoff to end, but the deputy said he had no choice.
SHERIFF LLOYD EAIMON, DEKALB CO., TENNESSEE: My deputy felt like she was ready to fire and he fired first.
We certainly hope she'll be all right, but the main thing is that the child is safe.
CABRERO: Lovell was moving as she was brought to the back of an ambulance. She was taken to Erlanger (ph) Hospital in Chattanooga by life flight helicopter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That report from Alex Cabrero of our affiliate WTVF.
For politicians this is a truly amazing story. Normally for politicians hitting a wall usually means having a tough time on crucial legislation. But for North Carolina's governor the phrase took on a quite literal meaning.
Governor Mike Easley slammed a race car into a retaining wall earlier today during a charity event. He's joining us now by phone. Governor, first of all, tell us how you're doing.
GOV. MIKE EASLEY, NORTH CAROLINA: Oh, we're doing fine. They take good care of us out there, the Lowe's Motor Speedway's a safe one and the motorsports has good cars and NASCAR requires you to do everything the drivers do.
So I'm fine, I got to drive a second car after that to make sure I can get my laps in to raise money for education.
BLITZER: Governor, how fast were you going?
EASLEY: Somewhere in the 165 miles per hour range. A lot slower than the drivers do on that track. But it was getting a little bit loose and I was getting ready to come in to the pit to have it adjusted, that lap and it just slipped out on turn two so it was fun up until right then.
BLITZER: And what went through your mind the second you hit that wall?
EASLEY: The second I hit the wall, the thing that went through my mind was that Rick Hendricks was going to be mad at me and so was the racetrack. I was wondering what I was going to have to pay for as well as they would. But I mean I felt pretty comfortable where I knew they had me in a safe position.
BLITZER: Thank God you're OK, Governor Mike Easley of North Carolina. Stay away from those race tracks. Appreciate it very much.
Lou Dobbs is picking up our coverage. He is joining us now live -- Lou.
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had Three Years Before; Gunman Holed Up in Ohio University>
