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Killer's Haunting, Hate-Filled Message; Gonzales Hearing; Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Iraq

Aired April 19, 2007 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And hi. I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM on this Thursday, the 19th of April.

Here's what's on the rundown.

The Virginia Tech shooter on video. An angry, hateful tirade sent to NBC News. Police say it is a video the public should not have seen.

HARRIS: A blistering reception for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Capitol Hill, called out for his handling of the fired federal prosecutors.

COLLINS: The U.S. defense secretary in Baghdad. The streets still stained with blood from Wednesday's butchery. Almost 200 people dead, and there's new violence to tell you about today, here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A killer's haunting, hate-filled message, new agony for Virginia Tech. The police say it provides little new evidence. Here's what we know right now about the campus massacre.

Police said a short time ago the so-called manifesto sent by gunman Cho Seung-Hui to NBC News may be of marginal value. But they say most of the information simply confirms what they already knew.

Authorities say Cho mailed the package at 9:01 a.m. Monday, midway through his deadly rampage. It contained photos, video clips and writings. He railed against the wealthy and other enemies and said, "You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option."

HARRIS: The latest now from CNN's Brianna Keilar. She is on the Virginia Tech campus this morning.

Brianna, the university wrapped up a news conference, oh, not that very long ago. What did we learn from it?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we were told that the evidence at this point has largely been gathered and that the information stream is going to begin trickling off. The crime scene has been cleaned up. And so we're not expecting to learn as many details through coming press conferences, but we did learn about a special and very meaningful acknowledgement for those students who died here Monday at Virginia Tech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. STEVE FLAHERTY, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE SUPT.: We appreciate NBC's cooperation and their cooperating with all the authorities, though we were rather disappointed in the editorial decision to broadcast these disturbing images. The victims of the family, the entire university campus, and even the international community certainly has certainly been afflicted by these horrific events and this horrific tragedy and this intense media attention. I'm sorry that you all were exposed to these images.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And also, what we did learn was that these students are going to be receiving posthumous degrees. So, they will be receiving degrees at the graduation ceremonies, where their friends will be walking.

We also learned about what students who are coping with this tragedy are going to be doing academically for the rest of the school year. Obviously, with just days -- just a couple weeks before the end of the school year, how are they going to finish out?

Well, we've been told there will be a few options. One of those will include just doing -- will include whatever work they've done for this semester, Tony, and that they can use that as -- towards their final grade.

HARRIS: Brianna, the law enforcement officials have expressed their disappointment with NBC for releasing and airing some of the video. And yet, NBC has released, I understand, new video today.

What can you tell us about it?

KEILAR: That's right. And it was really more of the same today in this newly released video. Cho saying that he was -- he said, "I didn't want to do this," essentially saying that his hand had been forced in this. And that was something that we heard some of yesterday.

Also, yesterday we did hear (AUDIO GAP) compared himself to Jesus. And again today, another biblical reference.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHO SEUNG-HUI, VIRGINIA TECH GUNMAN: I did it for them. I did it to make you stop what you did to me. The future generations of the weak and the defenseless.

Like Moses, I split the sea and lead my people, the weak, the defenseless, and the innocent children of all ages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And of course those were part of 27 QuickTime video clips that were sent to NBC News. A lot of people here on campus saying that this is really just horrible, that this -- that Cho sent this to NBC News, that it's really just a chance for him to create an of fear -- Tony.

HARRIS: And that NBC is airing it and we, in turn, are airing it.

Brianna, you're near the memorial behind you. And I can still see people showing up, paying their respects.

KEILAR: That's right. A number of people have been coming to this memorial. I'd like to show you some of the messages. These are things that people obviously have posted here for people to see.

One of the things we've noticed, Tony, is that a lot of universities have been coming in expressing their support. "Virginia Tech is in Radford Hearts." This is Radford University, I believe.

Also, individual messages to some of the particular victims. "Reema and Erin, everyone who is hurt, we love you, and you are in our hands."

Reema, of course, we've learned so much just about her through this board. She was a belly dancer. One person wrote on this board, "I'm so glad I hugged you at the last belly dancing practice."

So just very touching things. You're really kind of getting a sense of who these people were -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes.

CNN's Brianna Keilar there on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Brianna, thanks.

KEILAR: You bet.

HARRIS: Well, the gunman mailed his chilling messages from a post office in Blacksburg, Virginia.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us from there.

Jeanne, good morning to you again.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

This looks like a typical small-town post office, but it's anything but today. This main street in Blacksburg, Virginia, is festooned with yellow ribbons saying "In loving memory." And this post office has become a focal point for the investigation since it has been determined that that package sent to NBC was mailed from here at 9:01, the morning of the shootings. In fact, some investigators from the U.S. Postal Service were here on site earlier this morning before going to campus to participate in that press conference.

A female clerk waited on Cho that morning. She has been interviewed by the FBI, we're being told, and is cooperating fully with the investigation. But officials said this morning that they are still looking at other aspects of what happened here, including Cho's behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLAHERTY: Keep in mind what day we were talking about. Monday was the 16th of April, the beginning of the end of Tax Day. It was a very, very busy climate at the post office. So we're taking various steps to determine exactly what took place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: This post office is just a few short blocks from the Virginia Tech campus. Police tell CNN's Deborah Feyerick that they believe that Cho walked, that it was quite easy for him to go from Ambler Johnston Hall, where the first shootings took place, back to his dorm, then up to this post office and back to Norris Hall, where the second shootings took place.

But if Cho intended to get word out to the world about why he had done these heinous acts, it didn't work quite as he planned because he messed up the zip code. That was corrected here at the post office by the clerk. But he also made an error in addressing the envelope. He addressed it to Rockefeller Avenue, rather than Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is located.

Back to you, Tony.

HARRIS: OK.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve for us in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Jeanne, thank you.

COLLINS: The college campus struggling to make sense of a senseless act. Adeel Khan is the student body president at Virginia Tech. He's joining us now from Blacksburg.

Adeel, it's nice to see you again. Tell me a little bit about the mood on campus today.

ADEEL KHAN, VIRGINIA TECH STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT: The mood is one of grief. And the students here are supporting one another.

If you look behind me, you'll see many, many students there for one another, writing on those boards, as you saw earlier. Students here aren't focussing on the killer. They're focusing on one another. They're focusing on these students and honoring them.

Let's focus as a country on these students and how they were beautiful people, not on this killer, please.

COLLINS: You know what? I couldn't agree more. And I think we're really taking the opportunity, the best that we can, to provide those stories, the people that we lost, and certainly the stories that we've heard of the other heroes inside those rooms that really tried to help each other and protect each other. There's no question about that, Adeel.

But last I spoke with you, you said a lot of these same things, about how close you are with your fellow students and how vitally important it would be to get that support from the community. And I think we've seen a lot of that.

But I do have to ask, you know, there's been an awful lot of changes and a lot of information that's come out since we spoke on Tuesday. And I wonder how you're feeling today about the leadership of your university.

KHAN: The leadership is in great hands. Students haven't slept. We've already been planning events.

Hokies United has planned a 5:00 p.m. barbecue this Saturday, a cookout, a reflection for students. Students can come and uplift one another. Once again, that's going to be 5:00 p.m. on the drill field this Saturday. And anyone in town, any community members, any Hokie alumni who want to come out and just talk to one another and just express their condolences for one another and focus on these students and how much we care about them, please come out to that.

And if you're not ready for that, that's OK, too. But really, we're here for one another. And I just want to express that in the greatest -- the most public way I can. And once again, these students are incredible. I can't say enough about them.

COLLINS: You are a terrific spokesperson for those students as well. That's why the questions I think keep coming to you, Adeel, about things that you may have heard on campus and the overall collective thoughts.

As best as possible, because I know everyone deals with this on many different levels and very differently, but specifically, the information that we have heard about the police being in contact with this shooter two years prior, and the professors knowing about these writings and the red flags that have gone up, I have to ask you how you feel about your safety on that campus during the events that happened on Monday.

KHAN: I am safe. We are safe. I've walked alone on this campus and not felt for one second that I'm unsafe.

Once again, as much as you want to hear my feelings about this killer, I'm not going to speak on it, because I'm speaking on behalf of these beautiful students who we've lost. That's what we need to focus on as a country.

Let's not show these images. Let's not show these videos. Let's show images of the students, and let's show images of these students who have given their hearts to this community and tried to repair it and tried to heal it.

COLLINS: Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. That's what we're trying to really get to the bottom of here, as well as the events that happened on Monday.

Adeel, bear with me for one second. I want to read you something and put it on the screen for our viewers at home that was in the "New York Post" today and get your reaction to it, if you could listen for me.

This is what it says: "It seems the finest minds in Virginia chose to treat the shooting as a repeat of an August emergency that made them shut down the campus unnecessarily. The tragic decision not to act was made by the president's 'leadership' team -- which is made up of all the top honchos whose paychecks are signed by Virginia Tech."

Of course, I'm sure you remember the first day of school when classes were canceled for a completely unrelated shooting event that actually -- the shooter was later found off campus.

Do you have any concerns now that the campus was not closed down when authorities were well aware of the first shooting?

KHAN: I'm not concerned. I'm certain that this administration, who cares about the students, has done their best in trying to protect the students. And they'll continue to do so.

If you went to the convocation, you could really see the students' reaction to the president. The president of this university stood up, and he got the largest standing ovation of any speaker, including the president of the United States and Governor Tim Kaine. That kind of shows you what -- what the student reaction is to this. And that's -- that's exactly what I want to put across.

We support our student body. We support -- we're not looking for someone to blame. We're looking to honor those students that we've lost and remember them.

COLLINS: And certainly that is the most important thing.

Adeel, I know that you helped organize and you spoke at the candlelight vigil, where there were expected to be about 40,000 people attending that. And we're looking at some live shots now in Blacksburg on that campus of all of the memorials that have been set out. It's really an unbelievable sight.

What were the feelings inside that candlelight vigil? The images were very, very powerful.

KHAN: It was incredibly powerful. And I encourage you to show as many images of that as you can, because that's Virginia Tech.

And I can't tell you how moved I was, how moved everyone who attended was. It was a beautiful thing to see. And seeing this community come together is something you're going to continue to see. And you're going to continue to see these students just rise up and uplift one another, and uplift the students that we've lost.

COLLINS: I know the graduation is coming in a couple of weeks, Adeel. And we learned a little while ago from the press conference, I'm sure you may be aware, of what's going to happen on that day, which will be very, very special. They're going to honor the victims who were killed with posthumous degrees in whatever field they would have graduated with.

It's going to be a special time, I'm sure.

KHAN: It's going to be beautiful.

COLLINS: Adeel Khan, student body president at Virginia Tech.

Nice to see you again. Thanks.

KHAN: Thank you.

HARRIS: And another story we're keeping on eye on here in the CNN NEWSROOM this morning, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office is telling us that Kalamazoo Valley Community College in southwest Michigan has closed its two campuses due to an undisclosed threat. The Kalamazoo City Sheriff's Office is responding to an undisclosed Internet threat.

And we have a statement here from Michael R. Collins, who is the vice president of college relations, who tells us that "KVCC was contacted by state law enforcement authorities and made aware of a very specific threat to our campus. As a result, we are canceling classes for today and through the weekend, and are actively working with local law enforcement agencies to resolve the situation."

We will keep an eye on this situation for you right here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Massacre at Virginia Tech, memories of Columbine. Who could forget these pictures? We talk with a man on the scene that awful day eight years ago, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: The U.S. defense secretary in Baghdad today. The city on guard after a harrowing day of explosions that killed some 200 people. The latest in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: His version of events sometimes confusing, sometimes contradictory. The attorney general tries to clear the air over those fired prosecutors. His Senate testimony, live in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Fiery moments, testy exchanges this morning on Capitol Hill. The nation's embattled attorney general is facing lawmakers and fighting for his job. He's being grilled over the firing of eight federal prosecutors. It looks like they might be taking a little bit of a break there.

Did partisan politics overshadow justice?

CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel is on Capitol Hill now with the very latest.

Andrea, what have you been hearing?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're absolutely right, Heidi, they're taking a few minutes break right now. But what we've been hearing is not just pointed and incredibly heated and sharp exchanges between the attorney general and Democrats, but we're also hearing very pointed questions from some top Republicans.

In fact, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania really tried to just back him into a corner on the degree to which he's even prepared for hearings and for press conferences. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I prepare for every hearing, Senator.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Do you prepare for all your press conferences? Were you prepared for the press conference where you said there weren't any discussions involving you?

GONZALES: Senator, I've already said that I misspoke. It was my mistake.

SPECTER: I'm asking you, were you prepared? You interjected that you're always prepared. Were you prepared for that press conference?

GONZALES: Senator, I didn't say that I was always prepared. I said I prepared for every hearing.

SPECTER: Well, and I'm asking you, do you prepare for your press conferences?

GONZALES: Senator, we do take time to try to prepare for the press conference.

SPECTER: And were you prepared when you said you weren't involved in any deliberations?

GONZALES: Senator, I've already conceded that I misspoke at that -- at that press conference. There was nothing intentional...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: So, it just gives you a feeling for how the mood and the atmosphere is in the hearing room. And the fact of the matter is, senators are about up to here with the fact that they feel that Gonzales has not leveled with them, that he has contradicted himself, that there have been countless misstatements. And they want to get to the bottom of why those eight U.S. attorneys were singled out, why they were fired, and the degree to which Gonzales was involved.

The question was asked already, Heidi, whether or not he should resign. This is what Gonzales said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GONZALES: I have to be -- I have to know in my heart that I can continue to be effective as a leader of this department. Sitting here today I believe that I can. And every day I ask myself that question.

Am I -- can I continue to be effective as leader of this department? The moment I believe I can no longer be effective, I will resign as attorney general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Senator Specter said this was another confirmation hearing for Gonzales, his job is on the line -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So, the $64,000 question, he's going to keep that job or not?

KOPPEL: Today's hearing, I think, will help to answer that question, because it's really not how Democrats feel. We already know that most of the Democrats on this committee think he should resign.

There are even a couple of Republicans off the committee who have said he should resign. But whether or not these individuals behind me, the Republican -- senior Republicans, believe whether or not they'll stand behind him or not, they said it depends upon his answers today -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Thanks for watching it for us.

Andrea Koppel from Capitol Hill today.

America's divided over the future of Alberto Gonzales. The split is apparent on a CNN-Opinion Research Corporation poll. When asked this question, "Do you think Alberto Gonzales should or should not resign as attorney general?" 38 percent say yes, 37 percent say no. Almost one in four Americans say they're just not sure.

HARRIS: Man on a mission. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Iraq today, one day after a series of Baghdad bombings killed almost 200 people.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in the Iraqi capital.

Arwa, good to see you.

What is the message that the secretary is carrying with him on this trip? ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the message he's carrying is actually quite a simple one, and that is that the patience of the U.S. administration and the American people with the progress being made in Iraq is running out. The U.S. administration wants to see the Iraqi prime minister begin to take concrete steps toward national reconciliation and towards taking -- or having certain bills, such as the oil bill, passed in parliament.

They believe that these steps will help to lay down the groundwork to eventually move forward towards a secure and stable Iraq. But his visit really comes the day after, as you just mentioned, the deadliest day to hit the capital, with at least 198 Iraqis killed in six attacks that took place here in Baghdad.

The deadliest of those attacks was the Sadriya bombing, where at least 140 Iraqis were killed in that marketplace alone. This was a very popular marketplace, right at the heart of the capital. And this type of violence that we saw yesterday, violence that still continued today with a suicide bombing also in central Baghdad, that also targeting a predominantly Shia area, that type of violence is what really reinforces and sends a message not just to the Iraqi people, but to the Iraqi prime minister as well. And helps reinforce what the U.S. administration is trying to put toward, and that is that the Iraqi government really begins to start proving itself.

It is not just the patience of the U.S. administration that is running out here, but it is also the patience of the Iraqi people that really want to see things start to move for the better -- Tony.

HARRIS: And the Iraqi people want some accountability from its government. So, to that end, let's put the violence of the day aside for just a moment. Any statements, any actions from the Iraqi government in response to yesterday's horrific day?

DAMON: Well, the Iraqi prime minister's office did put out a press statement late yesterday saying that they had detained the Iraqi army commander who was in charge of security for Sadriya. But Iraqis that we spoke to after the prime minister's office made that statement said that they believed that it was probably one two of things.

It could be that the Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is sending a message to all of his commanders on the ground that he is not going to tolerate any lax security measures. Or, it could be that the Iraqi prime minister is making a desperate attempt to try to prove himself to the Iraqi people by asserting his authority.

Additionally, Iraqis are wondering what the government is going to be doing outside of that step. They say that detaining the commander on the ground might not be necessarily the solution.

HARRIS: Yes.

DAMON: This was one bombing in Baghdad at a time when we saw multiple bombings. So people really want to know what the current security plan is going to do to ensure that this type of violence doesn't happen again. HARRIS: CNN's Arwa Damon for us in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Arwa, thank you.

COLLINS: Remembering the dead in Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "We will never forget. With evil comes good. You are all in a higher place."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: CNN's John Roberts reports, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: The worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. The Oklahoma City bombing remembered in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Researchers say they have strong new evidence of a hormone replacement therapy linked to breast cancer. They point to new government numbers showing a stunning drop in the number of breast cancer cases in 2003.

That's right after millions of women stopped taking hormones. The drop was especially dramatic in women aged 50 to 69, the group most likely to use hormones.

To get your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. There you will find the latest medical news, a health library, information on diet and fitness. The address, CNN.com/health.

COLLINS: I want to get you back to the story happening at Virginia Tech. In fact, we still haven't heard directly from the parents of the Virginia Tech gunman, but Cho Seung-Hui's great aunt is speaking out. She describes him as cold and withdrawn even as a child.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM YANG-SOON, CHO SEUNG-HUI'S GREAT AUNT (through translator): In Korea, he was very quiet. When they went to the United States, they told me it was autism.

From the beginning, he wouldn't answer me. Cho doesn't talk. Normally sons and mothers talk. There was none of that for them. He was very cold.

Every time I called and asked how he was, she would say she was worried about him, she said she couldn't deal with him. She didn't know what to do. Cho's father and grandfather worried about that. Who would have known he would have caused such trouble, the idiot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Cho Seung-Hui's aunt there.

Garrett Evans was among those who survived the Virginia Tech massacre. Evans, a college senior, was in a German class when Cho came in and began shooting. He says he'll never forget the horror of that day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRETT EVANS, SURVIVED CAMPUS SHOOTINGS: I mean, I saw Satan at work, and I saw God at work at the same time. I mean...

CHUCK GOUTY (ph), WLS REPORTER (on camera): How so?

EVANS (voice-over): Evil. Evil spirit was going through that boy, that shooter. I knew it. I felt it. God move him, move me away so that he didn't shoot me in my head or anything like that.

GOUTY: Garrett Evans helped himself a little, too, after being wounded in the leg he says he played dead, suffering through the slaughter.

EVANS: Walked to the door real fast. Didn't say anything. All he did was bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Shot a girl here, shot a girl there, shot the instructor.

GOUTY: I talked to the 30-year-old senior from Chicago's Rosalyn neighborhood as he recovers at a Virginia hospital.

EVANS: I believe those loss of lives and that carnage could have been avoided.

GOUTY: Evans was wounded as he sat in German class, more than two hours after the initial shooting at a dormitory here at Virginia Tech. He says the police should have offered some warning.

(on camera): Why do you think you ended up spared?

EVANS: The good Lord only knows. I mean, he has a purpose for me. I guess maybe one reason is to tell you and the world what happened. I always knew how blessed I was, but now I'm blessed to a level that I thought I would never be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: At least 12 people remain hospitalized after the campus shooting.

COLLINS: Massacre at Virginia Tech. Memories of this scene -- Columbine. We talk with a man on this scene that awful day eight years ago now, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. A living memorial to those who died at Virginia Tech. Friends, loved ones remembered. AMERICAN MORNING's John Roberts reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have become the new center of gravity at Virginia Tech, 16 white poster boards that stand within sight of Norris Hall, where 30 people lost their lives. It is, in many ways, a living memorial. Mourners write, they read, they remember, they grieve. "I'm glad I hugged you at our last practice," one girl writes. Jerema Semaha (ph), an urban-planning student with a passion for dancing. "You were the best sister a girl could ask for, and Heaven is lucky to have you. I love you." That message to Caitlin Hammaren (ph), only 19 years old, majoring in international studies and French.

TRACY ALITZER, MOURNER: It's kind of hard to live in the community and be a part of the community and not be touched by this somehow.

ROBERTS: Tracy Alitzer and her daughter, Kaelie, live down the street from professor G.V. Loganathan. Loganathan, who taught and environmental engineering, died in Norris Hall on Monday. Kaelie is friends with Loganathan's daughter, now coping with the loss of her dad.

KAELIE ALITZER, MOURNER: On Monday when she found out, she was really sad. And her sister flew in from (INAUDIBLE) from UVA (ph), and so she is (INAUDIBLE). And their mom is taking a lot harder than (INAUDIBLE) is taking it.

ROBERTS: The messages, notes, photos and flowers, are all a chance for mourners to express emotions in a tangible and public way. The words are there for all to see. Just reading them moves many to tears.

It is far too early to think about healing here, but this coming together, this collective convulsion of grief is the first step on a difficult path to recovery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From death and evil comes good. You are all in a higher place.

John Roberts, CNN, Blacksburg, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The carnage at Virginia Tech brings back vivid memories of 1999, the rampage at Columbine High School. The nation will mark the grim eight-year anniversary of that attack tomorrow. Charles Burdick was a fire department incident commander at Columbine that day. Today he works with colleges and universities across the nation to help prevent these types of tragedies.

Charles, great to see you. Thanks for your time.

CHARLES BURDICK, FMR. INCIDENT CMDR. AT COLUMBINE: Thank you. HARRIS: Did your mind flashback on Monday to columbine?

BURDICK: Absolutely. Horrifying event. I ultimately had to turn the TV off. It was just too remindful.

HARRIS: You did? Mentally, were you transported to the Blacksburg campus?

BURDICK: Yes, mentally I -- more importantly, I was remembering all the events that happened at Columbine, which is something that we all are doing, even eight years later, we're still remembering the events almost as if they happened yesterday.

HARRIS: Give me one single lasting image of that day in 1999, the image that won't go away.

BURDICK: I think the magnitude of the incident, how large scale it was, how many people were involved. Different agencies that we typically did not work with, that we were bringing in. It was a very, very large incident, and some of the lessons that we learned out of that have been used across the country to help prepare agencies to respond to these types of incidents.

HARRIS: Chief among those lessons would be what?

BURDICK: The biggest one is planning. It's one of the things that we really stress. Both within the fire service, but also at IXP Corporation, where I'm working now. When we work with campuses it's very important that the planning and establishing...

HARRIS: Charles, Charles, how do you plan? How do you plan for what happened on Monday?

BURDICK: You can't plan specifically for the -- exactly what happened. Unfortunately it would be nice if we could have all of the school shootings be exactly the same. But every one is going to be different. What we need to do is plan for a large-scale event, to have the infrastructure in place to make sure we can communicate with each other, have the -- in Columbine we had 47 different law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies there's all trying to communicate.

HARRIS: You're talking about an after-the-incident reaction plan, that's sort of what you're talking about, isn't it?

BURDICK: It's developed out of an incident like Columbine. We developed a future plan based on the events that happened at Columbine. Same things going to happen out at Virginia Tech. It's going to take months to piece together everything that transpired, but lessons will be learned, and the nation will be looking to make changes to -- in the event -- or when the next incident happens, that we're prepared to handle that.

HARRIS: Is it a mistake to air these videos from Cho Seung-Hui?

BURDICK: I'm -- I have no expertise or background in that. I think the event itself is a very tragic event. Having the videos reshown is very painful for the families. The -- from there I really can't venture any...

HARRIS: Sure. Maybe it was just an unfair question to ask of you.

What is available in terms of sort of high-speed emergency notification? What kinds of systems are available to address kind of this need for immediate information when something like this happens? What's available for campuses?

BURDICK: There are a variety of products out there, but more importantly, the university or municipality needs to be, through the planning process and training and table top exercises, identifying ways that that particular community can get the message out.

It's going to be different in every single community. And it has to be tiered. There are multiple different, you can't just depend on one specific technology to get the word out. You have to have backup plans. It may go just simple sirens. Or it could be as high-tech as some of the multi-paging systems that are out there. Could be any extreme between the two.

HARRIS: And just quickly, what is it that you're saying to your clients? How can you help them?

BURDICK: We help them by identifying, developing the plan, establishing the plan. Identifying the investment they're going to need to make and then we work with them, after we piece those pieces together, then it's easy to place the technology in there to support the plan that we developed.

HARRIS: Charles Burdick, thank you for your time this morning. Appreciate it.

BURDICK: You bet.

HARRIS: Thank you.

COLLINS: As we listen to him and all of these other things that are coming out, it was so easy, it seemed obvious to make those comparisons between Columbine and Virginia Tech, but I covered both of them now. When I was there, you definitely see the same looks on the kids' faces. It could have been transplanted from one geographic location to another.

However, it was really very different. I think we'll learn a lot about this security situation because of the massive campus versus what we saw at Columbine, which was so much smaller. So many fewer entrances to that building and the roads surrounding it and so forth. They were able to lock that down quickly.

HARRIS: Heidi, I just hope that the colleges and the companies like Charles' company will take the opportunity to talk and can offer something practical to help these universities moving forward and improving their security and their notification systems.

COLLINS: A lot of smart people out there. I certainly hope so, too.

Want to move on to yet another terrible story. I'm sure you remember 12 years ago today, the Oklahoma City bombing. The worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Survivors and relatives of the 168 people killed, gathering today in remberance at the site of the attack. The Murrah Federal Building. They are also rembering the 32 people killed Monday at Virginia Tech.

A deadly anniversary, 14 years ago today, an inferno ended a 51- day standoff at a religious cult complex near Waco, Texas. Sixty-nine people died when the Branch Davidian Compound went up in flames. Survivors say tear gas rounds fired into the building set off the blaze. The government said cult members committed suicide by setting the fires and shooting themselves.

HARRIS: The U.S. defense secretary in Baghdad today. The city on guard after a harrowing day of explosions that killed some 200 people. The latest coming up for you in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to show you new pictures now. Looking at Defense Secretary Robert Gates arriving in Iraq today. After this horrendous stretch of bloody violence that's left more than 200 people dead. I believe he intends upon meeting with U.S. Commanders there, Petraeus and Admiral Fallen. This was an unannounced visit but I do believe we are learning this was planned ahead of time, just not announced. As we watch this and remember this violence, 198 people killed yesterday, 12 more killed today. Going to be talking with those commanders as we see there.

And this is a story that we'll be followed on "Your World Today." We check in with now. You will talk about Robert Gates' visit some more in your show.

UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR: Definitely. That's our top story today, his visit urging reconciliation. Landing in a city in a state of shock after 200 people were killed.

We'll also see how the students and faculty at Virginia Tech are dealing with their tragic loss of life. We'll tell you a story of hope of the person who was last shot by the gunman who has survived and will be okay. He just came out of surgery.

Then we'll introduce you to the main candidates running in Nigeria's presidential election this weekend. It could be a landmark event. For the first time, in the country's modern history, power will be transferred from one elected official to another. Meet the main candidates.

Hope you'll join us for that and more on "Your World Today," beginning at the top of the hour. Back to you guys now.

COLLINS: Thank you.

HARRIS: He was and is a person of interest in the Virginia Tech case. Many are wondering why and what do police want to know? CNN's John King reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Carl Thornhill was the boyfriend of the first shooting victim. And the suspect that had police focussing off campus while a massacre was being carried out on campus.

Emily Hilscher was gunned down at 7:15 a.m. Monday morning. Not long after Thornhill dropped her off here at Virginia Tech's Ambler Johnston dormitory. Police at the scene made a quick, preliminary assumption it was a lover's quarrel.

That judgment is now under fire, because while police were looking for a boyfriend off campus, we now know Cho Seung-Hui was on his way to mail his photos, an angry manifesto to NBC, before he continued with his deadly rampage on campus. A half mile from the first shooting.

CHIEF WENDELL FLINCHUM, VA. TECH. POLICE: It was information we developed from witnesses on the scene.

KING (on camera): Police say in those hectic moments after the first shooting they thought they were following a solid lead. Emily's roommate told them her boyfriend owned guns. And as recently as two weeks ago, they came to this shooting range to take part in target practice. Visit the range and you will see scores and scores of spent shells from rifles and shotguns, even from 22-caliber guns. The type of weapon, used in the shootings.

(voice over) Monday morning, after dropping Emily at Virginia Tech, Thornhill went to class at nearby Radford University. What he didn't know was police were looking for him. And would soon be at his home looking for evidence. This is the affidavit filed by Virginia Tech detective to support a search warrant here at Thornhill's house. This affidavit says the police wanted to come here to search for "firearms, ammunition, bloody clothing, footwear and other tangible evidence associated with the alleged murders."

The search turned up nothing. Thornhill was pulled over on route 460, on his way home from class. He was handcuffed and questioned. At roughly the same time, Cho was methodically gunning down 30 victims back at the Norris Hall Engineering building back at Virginia Tech.

Law enforcement sources believe Cho was the only shooter. Although police still labelled Thornhill a person of interest in the case.

FLINCHUM: We do believe he may be, have some information that will assist us in this investigation.

KING: No one answered at Thornhill's apartment. The next-door neighbor said she did not know him. Because police initially suspected a domestic dispute and believed Hilschire's boyfriend had fled campus, they did not cancel classes or lock down the campus. They continue to defend that decision, saying in most cases assault and murder victims know the attacker. Cho's guns were used in both campus shootings. Police say they have no information linking Cho to Emily Hilscher or any of the 32 victims or to the building where the slayings took place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Perhaps even more upsetting.

On to another story and the fate of a preacher's wife accuse of murdering her husband, now in the hands of the jury. A judge this morning giving jury instructions on the murder charge against Mary Winkler. Winkler took the witness stand yesterday, telling jurors she recalled having a shotgun in her hands but not much more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you remember ever pointing a gun?

MARY WINKLER, ACCUSED OF MURDERING HUSBAND: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you remember ever pulling the trigger?

WINKLER: No, sir.

UNIDNETIFIED MALE: Did you pull the trigger?

WINKLER: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know that, Mary?

WINKLER: Because I'm telling you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Winkler's attorneys tried to convince jurors that Matthew Winkler abused his wife verbally and physically and the shooting was an accident.

HARRIS: Masked gunmen terrorize a hospital in Tijuana, Mexico. Hundreds of workers and patients ran for their lives after a shoot out with police. Authorities say two police officers and one of the gunmen were killed. It is reported the attackers were trying to free a prisoner undergoing treatment. Several people were taken into custody. It is a disturbing trend.

Look at these pictures. In recent years violent gangs have stormed a number of hospitals across Mexico to kill rivals or free prisoners.

COLLINS: The men and women who died at Virginia Tech, 32 individuals, fascinating people who represented the melting pot that is America. A remembrance in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

HARRIS: "Your World Today" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home.

COLLINS: As we leave you, we do want to remember those who lost their lives at Virginia Tech.

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