Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Johnson Space Center Press Conference; Investigators Searching for Connections in Seung-Hui Cho and Emily Hilscher; Gonzalez and Wolfowitz Under Fire; More Terrifying Accounts About Virginia Tech Tragedy; Alec Baldwin's Tirade Against Daughter

Aired April 21, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A breach of security at NASA and a hostage situation ends in gunfire. Now we may get some answers about this deadly shooting. A news conference is about to get under way at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. We'll take you there live.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news unfolds live this Saturday, April 21st. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

How did an angry worker manage to get a gun inside the Johnson Space Center? That's what NASA officials are trying to figure out following a murder-suicide at the facility. That live press conference is coming up shortly but first CNN's Susan Roesgen brings us up to date.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There were two hostages and only one survived. A secretary, Fran Crenshaw. The gunman was a contract engineer, Bill Phillips. He shot and killed a NASA engineer, David Beverly, and then Philips killed himself. The rest of the story from the Houston police chief.

CHIEF HAROLD HURT, HOUSTON POLICE: We believe what happened was that David, the other engineer, was shot during the period of time when the first two shots was heard and someone called the emergency center. After a period of negotiation and hostage situation, when the one shot was heard, we think that that's when the individual killed himself and then shortly after that, Fran called the emergency center and set everything in motion.

As I understand the chain of events, she was very courageous, a calming influence in this whole issue. And apparently was a very positive relationship between her and the suspect because he had no -- at no time that we know of, threatened to do injury to her.

ROESGEN: The secretary Fran Crenshaw was not hurt but police say that the gunman Bill Phillips bought that gun just three days ago. They're also reviewing the security here at Johnson Space Center. There were no metal detectors or surveillance cameras in the area of the shooting.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And again, that scheduled press conference taking place at NASA is to take place shortly. We will carry that for you live here on CNN.

Meantime, in Virginia, classes will resume at Virginia Tech on Monday one week after the shooting spree that took more than 30 lives. Back to school, of course, is not the same as back to normal. CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Blacksburg with the latest on the investigation and the long road to recovery. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, investigators are checking now to see if there's any connection between gunman Seung-Hui Cho and Emily Hilscher. Hilscher believed to be the first victim here on Monday in that first shooting at the dorm across campus.

According to a search warrant investigators are looking at her cell phone and also at her laptop. Meanwhile, yesterday a day of mourning here across the state and really across the nation, and this is the same day that we first heard from the family of Seung-Hui Cho. They had been in seclusion all week.

But his older sister, Sun-Kyung Cho came out with a statement, a written statement that said in part, "He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare. Our family is so very sorry for my brother's unspeakable actions. It is a terrible tragedy for all of us. Our family will continue to cooperate fully and do whatever we can to help authorities understand why these senseless acts happened."

And she also said that the family is praying for victims and the families of victims.

Meanwhile, President Bush who was here on Tuesday for a convocation, focused on the Virginia Tech tragedy in his radio address.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: Our society continues to wrestle with the question of how to handle individuals whose mental health problems can make them a danger to themselves and to others. Colleges and state and local officials are now confronting these issues and the federal government will help.

I've asked top officials at the Departments of Education, Justice and Health and Human Services to provide the Virginia Tech community with whatever assistance we can and to participate in a review of the broader questions raised by this tragedy.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KEILAR: People continue flocking to the makeshift memorial here on campus, but also a few signs of normalcy. We've seen people biking, we've seen people running, we've seen people playing Frisbee there on the same Drill Field where the memorial is. And another thing, Fred, the veterinary school here holds this fund-raiser every semester, it's called the doggy wash, and they thought about canceling it this year but they decided they weren't going to, that this would be a great opportunity for people to get together, people who might not be doing so well so come together, see each other and do something that might make them feel good and work even towards recovery. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. It's going to be a low road to recovery. But we know folks are trying to best they can to try to grasp on to some sort of sense of normalcy. All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

Meanwhile, memorial service is scheduled in about two hours from now for one of the first people to die in the Virginia Tech shootings. Twenty-two-year-old Ryan Clark was one of the first two victims at West Ambler Johnston Hall. He was a resident assistance there. Clark also was a member of Virginia Tech's marching band. About 100 band members are expected for today's service in Georgia at Clark's old high school in Evans.

And you can see that service live at 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

This weekend on CNN, an all new SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT. CNN's Soledad O'Brien takes you inside the mind of the Virginia Tech killer. That's tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

And Sunday's prime time lineup includes a special report, "32 Lives to Remember" at 7:00 p.m. Eastern followed by "Massacre at Virginia Tech" at 8:00. And a LARRY KING LIVE special edition at 9:00.

The massacre at the Virginia Tech was traumatic for the entire nation, but your chances of becoming a murder victim in America may not be as great as you think. CNN's Joshua Levs has a reality check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The killings at Virginia tech and other killings that make news can make some people feel that homicide happens more often than it actually does. So we what we wanted to do here, we wanted to show you the actual numbers of how often homicide happens in America.

Here you go. Six out of every 100,000 people in America is killed. It's a total of 17,000 people a year. And this is important, take a look there. Most cases, the victims know their attackers. Often it's a matter of intimate partner violence.

Now there is also different age brackets. Let's take a look at this. If you're between 15 and 24, it's second leading cause of death. After that, it drops down to the third leading cause of death. And beyond that age, it drops to the sixth.

And then look at this. If you're over 44, homicide is not one of the top 10 causes of death in America for people that age.

There is one group we want to show you specifically here in just the leading cause of death and that is for blacks in America, 15-34. The CDC puts it that way, not African Americans, because the CDC is talking about deaths that happen inside the United States, whether it's a U.S. citizen or not, whether African heritage or not. People in America who are considered black in that age group is leading cause of death.

And is most cases it's firearms for the weapons used for those killings. Joshua Levs, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, a tough weekend for presidential appointees. A pair of the president's men sitting on very hot seats. Will Alberto Gonzales and Paul Wolfowitz survive the weekend? We'll take a look next in the NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One second too early, one second too late, somebody could have been probably killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Pretty incredible video of a pretty terrifying moment. But how did this happen? Details coming up in 15 minutes from now.

And he's a movie and television star, but a newly released telephone message from Alec Baldwin to his daughter has the actor wilting in the spotlight. What he said and the likely repercussions, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Bush standing behind two old friends today. Question is, can he stand his ground with his own Republican Party tossing javelins? Attorney general Alberto Gonzales in hot water over those fired federal prosecutors and then there's the World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz under investigation for engineering a high- paying job for his girlfriend.

One says he did nothing wrong. The other admits he did. Both are insisting they will not resign. So first, Gonzales, a frosty reception on Capitol Hill this week when he testified about the fired prosecutors. Here now is congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The third ranking Republican in the House tells CNN he now thinks it's time for the attorney general to step down. "I think that they would be well served by fresh leadership," GOP Congressman Adam Putnam told CNN. "He did not distinguish himself in the hearing. There remains a cloud over the department."

In the Senate an influential conservative on judicial matters said he's wrestling with whether Alberto Gonzales should keep his job. Senator Jeff sessions of Alabama tells CNN, "The attorney general should take time this weekend to think about it. Ask himself whether he can effectively reconstitute the attorney general's office and I'll be thinking about the same thing," said Sessions. "If he feels like he cannot, then it would be best for the president and the country to resign."

Sessions is usually a reliable Bush ally but he's a former U.S. attorney who was become increasingly concerned the Justice Department is damaged by the fired prosecutors controversy and was openly frustrated Thursday when the attorney general couldn't remember if he was at a key November meeting 10 days before the attorneys were fired.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, (R) AL: I'm concerned about your recollection really because it's not that long ago. It was an important issue. And that's troubling to me.

BASH: GOP support for Gonzales is so limited, some Republicans who want him to stay say it's because the alternative, a confirmation hearing for a new attorney general, could be worse.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN, (R) TX: If for some reason Alberto Gonzales is thrown overboard, it's not going to end the problem that the president has from a political standpoint. A newly emboldened majority -- Democrat majority who is going to continue to conduct investigations and try to gain political advantage the best they can.

BASH (on camera): There is no organized Republican effort to force the attorney general out but this weekend will be critical. Several GOP senators say they're going to be reviewing information and transcripts and maybe more aggressive in calling for Gonzales to resign if they determine he's simply too damaged to stay on.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So Paul Wolfowitz' situation quite different. But it entangles his public role and his private life. Besides, President Bush can't fire him. Only the board of directors at the World Bank can do that. Still, Mr. Bush's backing carry's significant sway. Let's talk to senior political analyst Bill Schneider who is joining us again from Washington.

All right, Bill, so the president can't fire him but the president is responsible in part for some of his career opportunities. I'm talking about Wolfowitz's career opportunities. So what happens to Wolfowitz impacts the president how?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it impacts the president because the president of the World Bank is chosen customarily by United States. And if he loses the backing of the president then he's under enormous pressure to quit, which is exactly what the board of directors is saying. They have ordered a new - they call it an urgent and immediate inquiry into various charges of favoritism and to whether there were conflicts of interest.

Clearly what they intend to do is put pressure on Mr. Wolfowitz to quit, which is what the staff of the bank has recommended, and also for the president of the United States to pressure him to quit because his position has become untenable.

WHITFIELD: While the board is having this conversation about Wolfowitz, might this kind of conversation be taking place in the White House just like that conversation is taking place in the White House involving Gonzales?

SCHNEIDER: It's very similar. Of course, the president and people in the White House are worried that if both of these guys, a member of the Cabinet, the president of the World Bank, if both of them fall, they're forced to resign, it would look very bad. It would look like this president, his cloud has collapsed, his influence in the world, which is what the World Bank is all about, his influence in Congress with his own party, which is what the fate of Gonzales represents.

It looks like the president's clout has simply disappeared.

WHITFIELD: So what's the likelihood of Wolfowitz actually surviving this, maintaining his job even though there are allegations within the U.S. State Department that perhaps there are a lot of people who complained they were overlooked for certain jobs or their opportunities were bypassed because Wolfowitz was making sure that his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, was one to get those opportunities at the State Department?

SCHNEIDER: You hear those complaints and also complaints about favoritism toward his top aides at the World Bank and maybe some political interference in some of the bank's standards. The likelihood that he'll stay on, what they're doing is play for time. The bank clearly order -- the board of directors clearly ordered this inquiry in order to create more time and more pressure on Wolfowitz to resign. And the White House of course doesn't want this to happen while the Gonzales matter is very high. They do not want these to come to a head at the same time.

The bank doesn't want to force a resignation because they don't want a confrontation with the president of the United States. So what tear saying is we'll have this inquiry, we'll buy a little time but the pressure will mount on Wolfowitz to quit.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots to watch this weekend and of course into the new week there in Washington. Bill Schneider, thanks so much.

Meantime, we're also watching the situation out of Houston because we are awaiting a press conference involving NASA security as they delve into how a man with a gun was able to get at the Johnson Space Center last night and ended up killing one before taking his own life. We're watching that press conference out of Houston right now. Meantime, we've all heard phrases like daddy's little girl to describe father-daughter relationships. Well, how about this one?

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: I'm going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's the message left to his daughter. Not the most tender of moment there between father and daughter. The outburst and its possible repercussions for actor Alec Baldwin, coming up in 25 minutes from now.

But next ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car was coming at me and I saw it and everybody started screaming and I just ran. I jumped up here.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: He and a few others very lucky to be alive. Narrowly missing that careening truck right there through the gas station. What happened exactly? All that in THE NEWSROOM coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I want to take you straight to Houston and that update out of NASA on security developments after that shooting last night.

MICHAEL COATS, DIR., JOHNSON SPACE CENTER: David attempted to barricade the office in an attempt to protect himself and Fran from further injury and he died in that attempt. Fran's behavior was nothing short of heroic. During the hours that he was a hostage she was amazingly composed and calm and has been able to provide the Houston Police Department with good information on how the events exactly unfolded yesterday.

Today the NASA team is pulling together to comfort those in need and begin the process of healing. We've met with Fran, Mike and I went out and met with both Fran Crenshaw and previous to that with Linda Beverly this morning, and our NASA team and our NASA family is providing them with as much support as they need.

David and Fran and their families deserve our respect and admiration for the courage they have demonstrated. I want to say I got some questions last night. I do want to say that while our jobs are often demanding, they are jobs that we have chosen because we believe in what we do and we believe it's important to the country.

Speaking for Mike and myself, we take the safety of our employees very seriously. And as part of a family here at NASA, we do try to watch out for each other. We are committed to ensuring as a safe work environment as possible out here. We will be looking at yesterday's events to see if we can improve the security for our employees out here.

But I do want to commend our Johnson Space Center security forces as well as the Houston Police Department, the constable's office, the FBI, and several other organizations that just worked so smoothly together. They were very well coordinated and I was very impressed with the professionalism of everything involved. Thank you.

HURT: Thank you. Yesterday a troubled Jacobs Engineering contract employee for NASA took the life of a NASA civil servant, held another colleague hostage before taking his own life.

Today we're going to be informing the community how this incident unfolded. In the days to come we hope that the facts gathered as a part of our investigation will lead all of us toward a better understanding as to why these types of incidents occur and how future tragedies can be prevented.

As we outlined yesterday's tragic events, two things will become very, I think, immediate apparent to you. First, this unprecedented act of violence at the Johnson Space Center was quickly and efficiently contained and controlled by NASA security forces and law enforcement personnel.

Coordination, cooperation, and team work kept the incident contained without greater loss of life to other employees or to law enforcement officials. Second and more importantly, we saw two ordinary people confronted with a nightmare type situation and responded in a heroic manner.

Mr. David Beverly and Mrs. Fran Crenshaw are the names to be remembered and celebrated as testament to grace under fire.

At present we have determined that Mr. Beverly was a career NASA civil servant in charge of quality assurance issues. He had reported job performance deficiencies associated with the suspect in this incident.

On March 16th, 2007, an e-mail was created and sent to the suspect describing his performance deficiencies and set out a plan of improvement. The suspect printed out the e-mail on March 18th. The same day the suspect purchased a five-shot Smith & Wesson revolver and 20 rounds of hollowed point ammunition.

The subject blamed Mr. Beverly for being responsible for his negative job performance situation. So yesterday at approximately 1:30 p.m. The suspect entered the office suite housing Mr. Beverly and Ms.Crenshaw with a gun purchased in March, with the gun purchased in March, he was holding it in his left hand. Ms. Crenshaw reported that Mr. Beverly spoke in a calm, soothing manner, offering a number of options for job improvements, including a transfer with the individual as they talked about the situation. The two talked for several minutes before the suspect raised his weapon and shot Mr. Beverly two times, once in the right leg and again in the chest. The suspect exited the office suite for a few seconds, allowing Mr. Beverly to move to protect himself and Mrs. Crenshaw.

Despite being critically wounded, Mr. Beverly attempted to block the suspect from re-entering the office by pushing his desk against the door. Unfortunately the suspect was able to take advantage of Mr. Beverly's weakened state and force his way back into the office, again firing at Mr. Beverly, shooting him more times.

Mr. Beverly fell mortally wounded. The suspect then barred the door to the office suite, taking Mrs. Crenshaw as a hostage. Ms. Crenshaw was taken to the far corner office, bound by wrist and arms with duct tape.

Mrs. Crenshaw remained a captive until the suspect took his own life. During her captivity Mrs. Crenshaw was able to talk with the suspect, she maintained her composure throughout the entire ordeal.

The message I hope comes from this horrific incident is one of courage. NASA has a long tradition of courage, ingenuity and strength. The strength by two NASA employees was demonstrated yesterday. The teamwork philosophy at work every day in the space program was also evident.

HPD combined with the Houston -- with the Johnson Space Center security, the FBI, precinct 8, Deputy Constable Saddelin (ph) and ATF agents all contributed to the containment and the resolution of this incident.

We have learned one thing at this point, it is heroes just don't fly in space. Sometimes heroes work in the next cubical to you. Now I ask Lieutenant Bambridge (ph) to provide a detailed time line of the events as they occurred yesterday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to run through the time line as chief said, in going back to March the 16th, a little over a month ago. The suspect received an e-mail from his supervisor at Jacobs Engineering regarding his work performance. A copy of this e-mail, a hard copy of this e-mail was found yesterday in his lunch bag, which was left on his desk.

On March 18th, 2007, the suspect purchased the Smith & Wesson .38 special revolver and then yesterday April 20th, the suspect had lunch with Dave Beverly as well as another male. The other male stated that there was no -- nothing seemed out of the ordinary except perhaps for the suspect's slight unusual demeanor, aside from his normal demeanor, which has also been described as quite odd.

Approximately 1:33 p.m. yesterday the suspect entered the office of Mr. Beverly. Mrs. Crenshaw had been in Mr. Beverly's office talking with him. The suspect held a gun in his hand and stated you are the one that's going to get me fired. Mr. Beverly spoke with the suspect in a very calm manner and attempted to try to calm him down. All the while the suspect held the gun in his hand. After several minutes of talking with Mr. Beverly the suspect shot him twice. He then left the office and returned a short time later and shot him two more times. At 1:37 p.m. JSC dispatch received a man with a gun call at building number 44. They also had a secure alarm sound which meant a secured door had been opened.

At approximately 1:43 p.m. all JSC security arrived on the scene. And they secured the building and helped to evacuate those inside. Upon arrival at the scene they found that two individuals had barricaded themselves in their offices, which they escorted out to safety.

Several people that exited the building stated they had seen a man with a revolver upstairs. HPD and HP SWAT were called out to the scene. Between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Special Agent Richard Hewlett (ph) with JSC made several attempts to contact the suspect via the telephone in Ms. Crenshaw's office. The suspect answered the phone but never made any statements to him.

During this time the suspect called from that same phone to Mr. Hewitt, saying the caller I.D. and where he was calming from but never made any statement to him.

At approximately 4:28 p.m. a gunshot was heard by SWAT members who were inside building number 44. At 4:30 p.m. the decision was made to breach the door into the office where the hostage was being held.

Once inside they found that the complainant, Mr. Beverly, was deceased and they also found the suspect had been shot in the head by himself. The hostage, Ms. Crenshaw, who was taped up, was quickly removed and taken to a safe place where she received medical treatment.

I also want to note that according to Ms. Crenshaw, during the incident the suspect was watching everything unfold on television. And I state this because he was watching as for the deployment of SWAT and other equipment, which I think it's important to note why we're careful about trying to keep the media back at times, as he was able to get some intel from this.

I know the decision was made at some point during this to cut the feed, to prevent any other information getting out that shouldn't be. Finally, the suspect told Ms. Crenshaw that he was taping her mouth shut in an effort to prevent her from screaming once he shot himself.

His statement to her was basically that he did not want her to scream and then the police to rush in and save his life. His fear was that he would end up in jail and he didn't want to go there. It was obvious from his intent initially that he went there with the intent to kill himself as well as Mr. Beverly. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are profoundly saddened by this event. We mourn the loss of Mr. Beverly and suffering by Mrs. Crenshaw. And now the trauma suffered by their families. Since the incident yesterday we've been working with NASA. The first thing we did was locate all of our employees that had evacuated Building 44.

And since then, we've been counseling our employees, talking to them and setting up our employee assistant program folks to come out and talk to them. We'll continue to do that until this crisis and we have returned to what might be considered normal operations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With that, we are going to go to questions. I will ask that you right now just one question per person for right now. We are limited. We will need to be finishing this up. If you have questions specifically for Mike Griffin, I would suggest you ask those first because he needs to get out.

QUESTION: Krash Makpor (ph) with A.P. Can you talk a little bit about what you will be reviewing with the security measures and what you think this event will bring around?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is this question for?

QUESTION: Mr. Griffin.

MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, as the -- as Chief Hurt pointed out this morning, in any sort of incident like this or of many other kinds, even though the initial impression was that everybody who participated handled themselves just about as well as could be done, there are always lessons to be learned.

And those lessons may save another life later on. And if there is such a lesson out there, we want to find it. And so we will be conducting a top-down review of the whole incident. And we'll tell you how it comes out.

ROESGEN: As follow up, Mr. Griffin. Susan Roesgen with CNN. Are you considering having metal detectors inside the building themselves here at Johnson Space Center?

MIKE: Well, I'm not saying that anything is off the table or on the table. We'll consider all of that. But I would again point out what has been said by others, that when -- when an employee badged on to a center or into a building of any kind, who is allowed to come into that building has decided that he wishes to avenge a grudge or not, and is willing to die in the process, that it is essentially impossible to stop such a person.

We see that in the Mid-East on a nearly daily basis, unfortunately. We saw it on September 11th of 2001.

I regret to say I suspect we will see more of it. That was what we had yesterday. This individual came in, as you have heard, from Lieutenant Bambridge's statements, determined that at the end of it he was going to die. And before he did he wanted to satisfy a grudge.

ROESGEN: Thank you.

QUESTION: Gina Sinceri (ph), ABC News for Michael Coats. Michael, what message are you sending to the other employees here? What are you telling them about this and what do you want them to know?

COATS: Well, what we're trying to get out, first of all, I learned, because I lived in Littleton and we had the Columbine massacre, that it is very important for people to have the opportunity to talk about their concerns, their fears.

If they have concerns about security in the workplace, it's important to talk about that and answer their questions and try to reassure them. It's really a matter of informing them. We will inform them of all the details that we have on this incident.

We will inform them about everything we're doing in the way of reviewing our security, again. Which we just did after the Virginia Tech shootings. But it's important to, first of all, inform the employees and then give them an opportunity to voice their fears and concerns, if you will.

QUESTION: Mark Curow (ph) with the "Houston Chronicle." Do you have a set procedure, either NASA or contractor, for counseling an employee for -- in manners of job performance as you've described this, and if so, was that procedure followed? And if not, is that a lapse that you will be looking into in this regard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let me refer that to Lon.

LON MILLER, CEO, JACOBS ENGINEERING: The answer was, our procedure followed is yes. This had not reached a point of formal disciplinary action. We were aware of some poor performance on this employee's part, mainly involving schedule performance, his technical work was regarded fairly highly.

But we did get some feedback that he wasn't showing up at meetings on time and work was having to be picked up by others. So our immediate supervisors counseled him, gave him an eight-step plan. They wanted to see some improvement in these specific areas of performance.

And that was several weeks ago. He complied with one of those actions and did submit documentation to confirm that. But did not provide any feedback on the other seven.\

In our process then, at that point we would then consider more formal disciplinary action that could lead up to termination. But with this employee we had not gotten that far and there was no discussion as to what disciplinary action, if any, would be taken. It was still at the supervisory level.

WHITFIELD: An explanation there of a bizarre sequence of events that resulted in the deaths of two people at the Johnson Space Center yesterday in Houston, including a disgruntled contract worker who was seeking revenge on someone that he thought had participated in an unfavorable review, employee review.

And one of those persons, David Beverly, as described by the Houston police chief, tried very heroically to try to keep that gunman from bringing any harm to anyone else. While he had two gunshot wounds he tried to push a desk in front of the door to keep that gunman from leaving. But the gunman was able to overcome him, overpower David Beverly who then died.

Then that suspect then, William Phillips, was able to hold hostage one of the other employees who, in the end, was able to escape unharmed.

Meantime, as that press conference continues to go on about any kind of security measures that will take place at the Johnson Space Center, we're going to continue to monitor that press conference.

Meantime, he's a big star but actor Alec Baldwin could have done without his latest bit of exposure. What he said and perhaps, more shockingly, who he said it to. That's 10 minutes away from now. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Virginia Tech students are still coming forward with terrifying accounts of Seung-Hui Cho's rampage. Here's one story from CNN's PAULA ZAHN NOW.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN HOST: So Emily, take us back to the moment that your teacher started jamming desks up against the door of your classroom and she told you and your fellow students to go to the back of the class and hide under desks.

EMILY HAAS, VIRGINIA TECH STUDENT: She heard the gunshots and she put the door -- she put the desks in front of the door. And she said, call 911, get to the back of the room, get under the desks. Everybody, as far as I know, tried to move as far back as they could. I was back up at the back against the wall on the side. Just waiting and hoping that he wouldn't come in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That Virginia Tech gunman, many are still wondering today if he was so mentally unbalanced, why was he allowed on campus? Our legal experts will look that the very issue in a moment. But first, here's CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All the signs were there, extreme isolation, stalking, violent writing, suicidal thoughts, a judge's find that Cho presented an imminent danger to himself. So why was he not forced into the custody of mental health professionals? CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Schools and universities are really in a bind here because on the one hand, they can be sued for locking people up unnecessarily. On the other hand, they can be sued for not locking people up who go on to do damage to themselves or to other people. FOREMAN: Many of America's 16 million college students exhibit signs of mental stress or illness. The American College Health Association found that one in 10 has seriously considered suicide. And one in 100 actually tries it. Counselors say most of these students just need help. Greg Eels counsels at Cornell.

GREG EELS, CORNELL UNIVERSITY STUDENT COUNSELING: If someone's really struggling and seeking help you don't want to take their rights away, you don't want to do something to keep people from getting the help they need.

FOREMAN: till victims right advocate say the public needs help, too, in dealing with the mentally ill. Eight years ago a schizophrenic man pushed 32-year-old Kendra Ann Webdale in front of a speeding train in New York, killing her. He was off his medication. Her death led to the passage of Kendra's Law, which allows the mentally ill to be medicated by force if necessary.

Her mother, Patricia, now an advocate for mental health treatment, says shootings like the one at Virginia Tech might be averted if patient privacy laws were changed. So doctors, counselors, professor, even students could share more information about potentially dangerous individuals.

PATRICIA WEBDALE, KENDRA'S LAW IMPROVEMENT PANEL: The idea is to protect the privacy of people but sometimes we protect the privacy of the wrong people.

FOREMAN (on camera): If Cho had been deemed an imminent danger to others, not just to himself, he could have been committed, if he had been committed, he could not have legally bought those guns.

(voice-over): But knowing the difference between the merely disturbed and the truly dangerous is key and often no one knows until it's too late. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A disturbing phone call from one of Hollywood's most recognizable stars.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I'm tired of playing this game with you. I'm leaving this message with you to tell you, you have insulted me for the last time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. We'll, it might be fine for a character in one of his movies but what about for a father talking to his daughter? Our legal experts weigh in on Alec Baldwin's latest troubles. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A parental melt down in Hollywood's ugliest custody battle. Actor Alec Baldwin's latest rant humiliates his daughter, leaves celebrity watchers gasping and could jeopardize his case in court.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I'm tired of playing this game with you. I'm leaving this message with you to tell you, you have insulted me for the last time. You have insulted me. You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being -- I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that you're 12 years old or 11 years old or that you're a child or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) who doesn't care what you do as far as I'm concerned.

You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone. This (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you pull on me with this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) phone situation that you would never dream of doing to your mother. And you do it to me constantly and over and over again.

I am going to get on a plane or I'm going to come out there for the day and I'm going straighten your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out when I see you. Do you understand me? I'm going to really make sure you get it. I'm going to getting on a plane and I'm going to turn around and I'm going to come home. So you bet be ready Friday the 20th to meet with me to let you know just how i feel about what a rude little pig you really are.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. That hurts. OK. So let's toss this hot custody case into the laps of our legal expert experts. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Hello.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor, good to see you as well.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, people, that is so painful to listen to. You know, we're talking about a case that not only highlights, I guess, parental responsibilities but now we're also talking about a hot custody battle.

And then, of course, gentlemen, there's case of who released this tape. I mean, the responsibility of the person who released this tape because that's really humiliating and painful if you're the kid involved.

All right. I don't know where to begin on this one, Avery. Let's start with this custody battle that was already ugly and now it is reached a horrible territory.

FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, obviously the call is alarming to any descent person. What kind of father would make this remark. And you know what, Fredricka, at first blush I thought that Alec's behavior would really place himself in jeopardy and then it dawned on me ...

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy, could the other parent have been the one to release the tape.

FRIEDMAN: Right. The fact that now this -- didn't even know the age of his daughter, by the way.

HERMAN: Twelve.

WHITFIELD: Oh gosh, I heard, 10 or 11, which is it, pops?

FRIEDMAN: Now what's going to happen is all her peers, the whole world knows that she's been called a rude little pig by her father? And you know what, you know where that came from. That came from Kim. So I think while both of them are terrible, where the law is going to come down is on Kim. She's in a lot of trouble over there this.

WHITFIELD: Really? Richard, do you agree with that? While the rant certainly, you know, rubs a lot of people wrong, the responsibility of the parent, if it was Kim Bassinger, because we really don't know that as of yet whether she indeed released this tape. Might the law come down on her even more harshly?

HERMAN: I think it's completely inappropriate what he said. But where the law is going to come down here is this. At the end of the day, they're going to scold whoever released this tape. We don't know -- we just know he didn't do it. We know that. Someone did it. We don't know who did it. She's going to get a finger pointing. You shouldn't do things like that.

And at the end of the day his visitation rights are going to be hampered. He's probably not going to get unsupervised visitation. And the girl's 12 years old now. As children get older, they get to have more of a say into how much time they want to spend with their parents.

So you know, he's going -- it's such -- it shows such a level of frustration in him. It's unacceptable but you know, who knows what they're going through there.

FRIEDMAN: But here's something important to keep in mind. I know Richard agrees with this. The only standard that a court is going to consider is what's in the best interest of the child. And it's stunning to me that you have people, a mom and a dad in their 40s that act like they're children themselves.

And ultimately of course got to hear all the facts. I don't know if the provider of that tape, if it's TMZ or anybody else is in as much trouble as who gave it to TMZ. That's where the problems are going to be.

WHITFIELD: Certainly, gentlemen, it is bad no matter which way you look at it. So sorry we're having to cut this session short. We usually like to go a little longer with you guys. Always good to see you. But today our time is very limited.

HERMAN: You don't want to talk about Nifong today? No?

WHITFIELD: Not today. Uh-uh. Not after last weekend.

HERMAN: OK.

WHITFIELD: Y'all are great. Thanks a lot. Richard and Avery.

FRIEDMAN: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Have a great weekend.

WHITFIELD: Never has a witness said so much by saying so little. One of the stranger sites we've seen in a courtroom. That's coming up next in THE NEWSROOM.

And coming up at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, do you want to live to be 100? Well, hey, why stop there at 100? Sanjay Gupta and the CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATION UNIT, "Chasing Life." You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The witness was, shall we say, real mule headed. Actually he was a donkey. A Donkey named buddy appearing in a Dallas courtroom. No joke. To settle a dispute between his owner and a neighbor.

The neighbor complained that buddy made too much noise. So buddy's owner responded by producing the donkey has evidence. So what did Buddy do? Well, he stared at the jury, quietly. The jury began deliberating but it never got the chance to say yea or nay. So buddy's owner and the neighbor decided to settle out of court.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center. When the NEWSROOM continues at 4:00 p.m., the massacre at Virginia Tech illustrate as complicated issue facing schools across the country. Safeguarding a problem which is students' privacy, while protecting the rest of the community from potential threats. CNN special correspondent Frank Sesno looks at this tough act.

Coming up next, Sanjay Gupta and CNN's SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT looks at the best ways for you to live longer. CNN SIA, "Chasing Life", right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com