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Cleveland School Shooting Rampage Injures Five; Bobby Brown Suffers Heart Attack
Aired October 10, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And, if you're just tuning in, we're following that school shooting that happened in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
We can tell you right now five people have been injured, two adults, two teachers, and three kids, the two adults more seriously injured, those three kids, those three students in stable condition right now.
This is what happened. A 14-year-old student was upset about a suspension for getting into a fight. He came back to that school today, a gun in each hand, walking down the hallways and opening fire.
The SWAT team was called in. We're not quite sure if they shot that 14-year-old student who opened fire on his classmates and his teachers, or if he took the gun on to himself and took his own life. We're still trying to figure that out.
But bottom line is, five people injured, two teachers, three students. The gunman is dead. And now students are just reuniting with their parents. SuccessTech Academy is a downtown alternative high school there in the Cleveland city school district.
It has about 240 mainly black students, with a small number of white and Hispanic students. All those students considered poor and federal poverty guidelines. It's a specialized alternative school to try to give these kids a chance to get an education. It has got a technology focus.
We're finding out more about the school, trying to find out more about this 14-year-old shooter and also those five individuals that have been seriously hurt or in stable condition, all there at that academy today.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: As a matter of fact, we are going to get more information now from someone who is on the ground.
Gabriel Baird is a reporter with "The Cleveland Plain Dealer" on the ground in Ohio.
What are you hearing where you are?
GABRIEL BAIRD, "THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER": Well, right now, the information is coming in fast. And we're hearing a lot of conflicting reports. Actually, had been hearing that perhaps the shooter had been shot or had shot himself, but now we're also being told that possibly he (AUDIO GAP) year-old boy who was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. So, it is possible that he's still alive. The teachers, we're told, are, as you said, not as in good a condition as the two students right now.
LEMON: Yes. And, Gabriel, that would explain some of the confusion around all of this, because we're getting reports of five people injured, three people injured, and then what have you. And then it's just one of our affiliates there on the ground reporting that the gunman was dead. No confirmation from CNN on that, and also to the Associated Press.
We're hearing again, and I'm going to talk to you a bit, but just for our viewers, this is the information we know now, five injured, two adults, three kids. The three kids are in stable condition and the two adults are those who are most seriously injured in all of this.
So, I know you have been speaking with some of the parents and some of the students there, Gabriel. Describe some of the confusion and what they're saying as they come out and speak to you there on the ground.
BAIRD: We have been seeing a range of emotions here. When I first got here, the predominant emotion was concern.
And we had a father who showed up and said he moved up here from Louisiana to do some contracting work. He had just gotten a call from his wife that his daughter had been in the building during the shooting, and he was very irate that this could happen at the schools. And he was questioning school officials to why and how a gun could have made it into the schools. And no one was giving him any answers.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Hey, Gabriel, do we know, were there metal detectors at the school? Do we know?
BAIRD: We don't know for sure if metal detectors were in use today. The school has a couple metal detectors. They use them off and on kind of in random ways, for the most part.
And the superintendent of schools here, the CEO of the schools, Eugene Sanders, has declined to answer any questions about whether or not the metal detectors were in use today.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I understand that there was an issue too with security guards. But here's what I want to ask you. Why are you getting some indication that the gunman may still be alive?
BAIRD: Well, the main reason for that is that the mayor and the superintendent of schools, the CEO here, have not really given us much information yet. And so, we really have only fragments of stuff and information we're getting off the record to go on.
LEMON: OK. And continue your thought you were saying about the metal detectors?
BAIRD: Well, what I was going to say is we did a fairly extensive investigation into the schools and school security back in 2005.
And just today minutes before we got word of the shooting, one of our reporters was looking at school security data, and actually found that there had been six weapon-related incidents in the schools within I believe he said the last week, but within a short period of time. So, this is not an isolated incident with a weapon. It just happens to be the first time that someone has actually pulled the trigger.
LEMON: OK. Gabriel Baird with "The Cleveland Plain Dealer," we appreciate your reporting. If you get any more information, especially about the gunman, will you check back with us?
BAIRD: Certainly.
LEMON: All right. Thank you for your report.
BAIRD: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: And reporters like Gabriel in print and also reporters there on the scene in broadcast are able to catch or have been able to catch up with a number of students and parents. We just heard from a mom a minute ago.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have also heard some concerns from parents. And after situations like this, things are always looked at in hindsight, but some concerns about security here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, security has been an issue for a while. We had one security guard downstairs that didn't patrol upstairs. And, as a PTO, we sent several letters to the school board and had several meetings with them to try to find what would get us more security because the security guard that was downstairs was strictly for the administration building, and not for the school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how did you find out about this today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, my daughter called. They were texting her from lockdown. A couple other kids were scared and they were just trying to reach out to people, to their friends. And she called me and said that she got the message.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long do you think some of the students were in lockdown here this afternoon?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. I'm sure as soon as they found out, it was immediate. So...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And your daughter no longer goes to this school?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's at Bowling Green now. She's at...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, she was Bowling Green in college and her friends here were texting her about what...
BAIRD: That's how close these kids are. I mean, there was some class, you know, discrimination, but these kids, they care about each other. They were close-knit. They were small. And I mean, they spent a lot of time together. These teachers stayed here after school when they needed extra help. And they were there all the time. So, I mean, the bond goes past high school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It certainly does. Do you know what they were texting to your daughter?
BAIRD: They were just saying that they were scared, that there were a couple teachers that were shot, and they were just really scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. I have watched you. You have been out for a while. And you have been giving so many hugs to students who have been coming out. And I know you're so relieved when you see them coming out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But my heart goes out for the boy that brought in the gun, because I mean, how hurt he must be to hurt other people like this. It sounds a little cliche, but when you know these kids and you just don't expect anything to come like that from them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just such a devastating day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: One of the mothers of a student that attended the SuccessTech Academy there in Cleveland, Ohio.
Once again, five injured, two adults, three kids, those two adults most possibly teachers, seriously injured, three kids in stable condition after a 14-year-old student came back after a suspension he was not happy about for getting into a fight and opened fire there on students and teachers at the SuccessTech Academy in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
We will follow the investigation. We believe that that shooter is dead. That's what local affiliates have been reporting, but now we're getting the sense that possibly he was not shot and killed or did not take the gun onto himself and take his own life. We're still trying to confirm that. But we do believe -- we have heard from police that they said that he was in control. SWAT team there arriving on the scene. We will keep you posted on this investigation. LEMON: Another developing story happening right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Fredricka Whitfield working all the details for us.
Fred, what is this one?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This taking place in Hunt Valley, just north of Baltimore, at an Embassy Suites. And if you have been into an Embassy Suites, one of the distinctions is, you walk in and there's a big open area, an atrium.
Well, imagine being in one and that glass atrium above had simply collapsed. That's the situation here at this Embassy Suites in Hunt Valley, where now you're seeing the aerial view of the two glass panel areas over the atrium, one of them simply just collapsing and falling in.
Amazingly, however, no reports of injuries, so perhaps it happened at a time when, you know, there was an all-clear in that lobby and restaurant, eatery kind of area. They have since evacuated the entire building. All of the guests at that hotel have been told to leave that hotel, vacate the premises while an investigation is under way.
Firefighting teams from the Baltimore area are there on the scene trying to secure what is right now a mostly dangerous area because of the shards of glass there. And you see the metal partitions there that have just simply collapsed inside the lobby, atrium area of the Embassy Suites there at the Hunt Valley, Maryland, location.
LEMON: That would be a little scary, wouldn't it?
WHITFIELD: Very scary.
LEMON: All right. Fred, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Five injured, two adults and three students at the SuccessTech Academy in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. We believe the shooter, a 14-year-old student, is dead. We're following all the details in this investigation. We will have more for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A shooting rampage at an Ohio high school. We're following breaking news from downtown Cleveland. Here's what we know right now.
At least five people, two adults and three teens, are injured. We're hearing four of them were shot. Now, there have been reports that the gunman, a 14-year-old boy, is dead. But we haven't confirmed that. And witnesses say the boy was upset about being suspended for fighting, and came back to the school with a gun in each hand and started firing. PHILLIPS: We have been hearing from a number of students that go to that school, students who say they actually knew that 14-year-old shooter.
We want to ask you, if you knew anyone that went to that school, possibly the shooter, have pictures or video, send it to CNN.com/ireport.
Meanwhile, here's what one student had to say there on the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this dude might come up here and shoot us up. So, I'm like, man, I ain't coming up.
But here today, came up shooting it up. I'm like, I heard the gunshots around the corner. I hear it. And then I just see. I hear one gunshot. I'm like, dang, they're shooting. But I'm just playing, because we always hear little noises and whatnot. I'm like, damn, they shooting.
And then I hear -- I hear like three more gunshots. And I'm, oh, (INAUDIBLE) So, then I see like -- I hear -- and I see 20 people running across from the hallway. So, I see they're running. I'm running, too.
So, once they come running, I run down the stairs and whatnot. I run straight down the stairs. They came out the third floor, too. I run straight down the stairs. And I met up with about six other people. We ran down that way, or was -- yes, it was right down there through the back of the FBI.
And then we got here. When we got here, we are beating on the window, like let us in, let us in. And the lady was looking at us like we're crazy. And we're like, let us in the door. He's shooting. She's like, no, you all can't. No, no.
So, we're like, man, forget you. So we go over here to the mental retardation center. And then we get in, you know what I'm saying. Then we see the news, but we was like the first people out, though. I was like the first person out.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was the first person out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you weren't out before me. That's why ain't nobody seen me, because we was in that building over there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It don't matter...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, yes, it don't matter, though. It really don't matter.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And two people got trampled, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew that dude was crazy.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he ever say anything...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we just knew it. You know when people are crazy. Come on, man.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was in my class.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He always wore a trench coat. He had a pistol.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE) zero tolerance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The picture was right there. But it wasn't like it was a pistol in the belt, a pistol belt. Come on, now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't see that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw it, but you ain't know what it was. You saw it. I asked him what it was, and he was like, it's a pistol (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had he carried a gun before?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it was a pistol belt. It wasn't no gun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he show you the belt?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The belt was visible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wore it where, around his leg?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was around his leg.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever say anything to any of the teachers?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, one of the teachers was standing right there. I ain't going to say her name. But it was a her.
She was standing right there. She saw what happened. She saw me asking if it was a pistol belt or whatnot. And she saw exactly, but she just kept on. She didn't say anything. She just laughed it off, because the dude was laughing when he told me. He was laughing.
He was standing with his dude. And the dude was laughing, too. They was laughing. And I'm laughing, too. I'm like, oh, this dude is crazy. But I'm laughing with it. And she started laughing, too. So, I thought it was nothing. But I'm always thinking in the back of my mind, this little dude is crazy. He might do something crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That student talking about the 14-year-old shooter there at SuccessTech Academy.
We're getting word now from one of our bookers. She was able to make contact with MetroHealth Medical Center there in Cleveland. Here's an update on the three victims who were shot there at the academy. Apparently, a 57-year-old male teacher, he's reported in good condition. An 18-year-old male student in stable condition, he is still in the emergency room.
And then there's a third patient, not sure of the age and condition, unknown at this time. All they know that he is a male. That's the information that we have on the three people that we know, at least three people that have been shot, possibly more.
We're still investigating this. We will bring you more information as we get it.
LEMON: And we're now hearing from the apparent victim of a hate crime that shocked the Columbia University campus. A noose was found on the office door of professor Madonna Constantine, a black professor of education and psychology.
Students are rallying on campus today. And professor Constantine, she spoke to them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADONNA CONSTANTINE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: I want to express my sincerest thanks to all of you for being here this afternoon and for organizing this event. It's such an important and historic one for Teachers College.
I also want to express my sincerest thanks to my family, friends, colleagues around the country for their overwhelming support regarding this heinous and highly upsetting incident. I especially appreciate and am very, very humbled by the support of Teachers College students and students from the greater Columbia University community, along with the support of individuals from various races and ethnicities throughout the country and really throughout the world.
I'm upset that our community has been exposed to such an unbelievably vile incident. And I would like us to stay strong in the face of such a blatant act of racism.
Hanging the noose on my door wreaks of cowardice and fear on many, many levels.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CONSTANTINE: I would like the perpetrator to know I will not be silenced.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CONSTANTINE: I'm pleased to see the Teachers College security force, who has been incredible throughout the whole ordeal, and the hate crimes unit of the New York Police Department investigating the matter with due diligence and commitment.
I'm honored to be a part of this community that is Teachers College, which is situated in one of the most diverse cities in the world. Thank you all for your support. I do appreciate it.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And that was Madonna Constantine just moments ago from Columbia University. New York City police are investigating this incident as a hate crime.
PHILLIPS: And we're getting news from our entertainment unit. It involves Bobby Brown. It concerns his health. We're getting word that possibly he might have suffered a heart attack. We will bring you that information right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This just into the CNN NEWSROOM.
The gunman in that Ohio school shooting, we're being told by police now that the gunman shot himself. Again, the gunman is dead. We have five injured in all of this, two adults and three kids. The adults are in serious condition or stable condition. The children are in stable condition as well. But again the gunman in that shooting, that school shooting in Cleveland, Ohio, shot himself, shot and killed himself, I should say.
So, we have now confirmed those reports about the gunman possibly being dead or alive. We're learning now that the gunman in all of this is dead.
PHILLIPS: News out of Los Angeles right now. Bobby Brown rushed to a hospital.
Our entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson is here with all the details -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
Yes, 38-year-old musician Bobby Brown suffered a heart attack yesterday. His attorney tells CNN it was a mild heart attack. And today CNN has confirmed that he is already out of the hospital, this according to Bobby's brother, Tommy Brown.
Bobby was taken to a nearby hospital after suffering the attack in the Los Angeles area. Bobby's brother Tommy also tells CNN that the singer is fine and at home now and that he was taken to the hospital last night as a precautionary measure when he started having chest pains.
Tommy tells CNN his family has a history of heart disease and that Bobby suffers from inflammation around his heart. Kyra, of course, we will update you as soon as we learn more.
PHILLIPS: All right.
We will keep following it up. Brooke Anderson, thanks so much.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
PHILLIPS: A 14-year-old student at a high school in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, opens fire on students and teacher, then puts the gun on himself, killing himself. We have got the latest on the investigation right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Shooting rampage at an Ohio high school. We're following breaking news still from downtown Cleveland. Here's what we know at this point. At least five people -- two adults, three teens -- are injured. We're hearing four were shot. Another was hurt in the ensuing chaos.
The gunman, a 14-year-old boy, apparently dead. The Associated Press now quotes police as saying he's dead and it appears that he shot himself. Witnesses say that boy was upset about being suspended for fighting, came back to school with a gun in each hand and just opened fire.
WKYC reporter Kim Wheeler was one of the first reporters there on the scene.
This is the latest from her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be there -- actually, I'll be there as soon as they let us back in this building. This a great program. And I just am so proud of the program, because it's helped my son tremendously. And what my son has accomplished, I want all of them to accomplish.
KIM WHEELER, WKYC CORRESPONDENT: And we continue to see students who are being taken to be reunited with their parents and other relatives, who are obviously so concerned about them today. You can see on their faces what an emotional and what a traumatic day this has been for them. But the Cleveland schools have said that they're going to provide counseling, help them get through this in any way they can.
But this is so much to take in, if you're an adult, you're a teacher in this building or just have a connection. And so you can only imagine the impact that this has on these young people who go to this school and have seen something today that they never imagined could ever happen here -- Monica.
PHILLIPS: Once again, that was one of our affiliates there in Cleveland.
Kim Wheeler reporting to us.
LEMON: All right, let's go straight to the newsroom now.
Fredricka Whitfield working on the details of a developing story.
What do you have this time -- Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Don, some movement is expected in the case of that murder mystery at sea off the Florida coast. As you may recall, it was Kirby Logan Archer, a 35-year-old man, and Guillermo Zarabozo, a 19-year-old, who had chartered a boat called the Joe Cool, as you saw in those file pictures of the Joe Cool being later towed -- with a crew of four in September. But these two -- Archer and Zarabozo -- were found on a life raft after this boat here had not returned back to port. They were found floating on this life raft.
But what happened to the four crew members?
Well, they could only say there were pirates who boarded that vessel and that they fatally shot the crew there. You're seeing the pictures of the crew members, made up of a woman and three men. Well, the investigators have thought this story has been pretty fishy from the start, and so while these two have been charged with lying to authorities, it was still unclear what next step that these federal and local authorities would say. The investigators seem to believe that they've got a quadruple homicide on their hands. But the next step now is still unclear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER ACOSTA, U.S. ATTORNEY: I was asked a few minutes ago by a reporter whether we had a confession yet. The answer is no. Our jobs, unfortunately, are not that simple. In truth, we're unlikely to find the bodies of these four individuals, who were murdered on the high seas and whose bodies were thrown into the ocean.
As of today, we have no witnesses. The crime took place aboard a ship isolated in the middle of the ocean. Yes, we have strong historical, forensic and circumstantial evidence that not only justifies, but requires that we proceed with a murder complaint.
Four individuals were killed in this case. Four families have been torn apart. The captain and his wife in particular leave behind two children -- a 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter and a 4-month son. These four individuals were doing what they loved. They were on the seas on a boat and they were murdered in cold blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It's still unclear who murdered them.
That was the U.S. attorney Alex Acosta, who painted that picture for you there.
What made this case so particularly mysterious is that while Archer and Zarabozo were the only ones on this life raft, they also seemed to have more than $2,000 with them. So federal authorities seem to believe that this was really strange. If there were, indeed pirates -- pirates that might want to kill the crew, perhaps robbery might be one motive.
But why is it that these two survivors would still have a substantial amount of cash on them?
So a mysterious murder mystery at sea -- or at least a mysterious death at sea involving this fishing vessel, the Joe Cool.
LEMON: Yes. And one of the oddest and most complicated stories, I think, recently in this whole thing.
All right, Fred.
WHITFIELD: It is, indeed.
LEMON: Yes.
Thank you for that.
PHILLIPS: A dispute going back to World War I doesn't seem like the kind of thing that could derail the U.S. war in Iraq. But some people say a U.S. House resolution that calls the deaths of Armenians at the hands of Turkish forces almost 100 years ago genocide could do just that.
The bill has angered Turkey, a key U.S. ally.
Now President Bush has joined the debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I urge members to oppose the Armenian Genocide Resolution now being considered by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the Armenian people that began in 1915, but this resolution is not the right response to these historic mass killings and its passage would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in NATO and in the global war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates got even more specific than the president, outlining how the bill could harm U.S. military efforts in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: About 70 percent of all air cargo going into Iraq comes -- goes through Turkey. About a third of the fuel that they consume goes through Turkey -- or comes from Turkey.
They believe, clearly, that access to airfields and to the roads and so on in Turkey would be very much put at risk if this resolution passes, and the Turks react as strongly as we believe they will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And many historians support the genocide claim. But Turkey argues the deaths came amid chaos before Turkey was formally created in 1923.
One voice in this debate today was the supreme patriarch of all Armenians. He was invited to begin the House session with prayer and he took the opportunity to mention the controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHOLICOS KAREKIN II, ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH: Our father in heaven, render guidance to all nations, including the Republic of Armenia, our homeland and center of our faith, the majesty of holy (INAUDIBLE). With a solemn burden of history, we remember the victims of the genocide of the Armenians, the consequences of which are still felt by the entire world in new manifestations of genocide.
Grant rest to the souls of all victims of crimes against humanity and bestow peace and justice on their descendants. Give (INAUDIBLE) to those who trample life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Lord, bless this land and people. Grant peace and safety to America's sons and daughters who serve their nation abroad. May the United States continue her mission as a great beacon of hope. Amen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The patriarch offered those comments this morning while serving as guest chaplain.
LEMON: Homes and businesses in Painesville, Ohio are being evacuated as a precaution after a freight train derails and some of its cars catch fire. At the moment, authorities are just letting it burn. They're still trying to identify what's in each car. Some of the 112 cars on the train were carrying hazardous materials, and so far, no one has been hurt. PHILLIPS: The husband of the woman who died in police custody at the Phoenix airport says a little compassion might have saved her life. Carol Anne Gotbaum flew from New York to Arizona late last month, en route to alcohol rehab. But travel difficulties and, reportedly, a few drinks, enraged her. She resisted arrest and apparently strangled herself trying to get free from the cuffs and shackles.
On Sunday, at Gotbaum's funeral, Noah Gotbaum said authorities and even the family could have been more sensitive to his wife's state of mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOAH GOTBAUM, HUSBAND OF CAROL ANNE GOTBAUM: My beautiful girl was so ashamed to seek help. And many of us, myself included, perpetuated that, because we simply didn't understand the disease. We said it can't be. There must be something else causing this. These are diseases that have to be understood and treated, not swept under the rug, demonized and hushed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: As part of the investigation, the medical examiner had herself cuffed and shackled in the holding cell. The Gotbaum family, meantime, has hired well known pathologist Cyril Wecht to do an independent autopsy.
LEMON: A crime spree that gripped the nation's capital and beyond -- we'll revisit the D.C. sniper case five years later, right ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're waiting for Cleveland's mayor, Frank Jackson, to step to the podium here and comment on what's been a really rough day for that city. A student -- a 14-year-old student at the SuccessTech Academy in downtown Cleveland, Ohio upset about being suspended for fighting comes back to the school today, opens fire, a gun in each hand, shooting five individuals -- three students, two teachers. All of them, we're told right now, are in the hospital suffering major injuries. We have not heard of any deaths thus far. The only death we're hearing about is about that 14-year-old student, apparently the gun upon himself and taking his own life.
We're hoping to hear from the mayor soon on more details about the shooter, the condition of those five that he injured and what's next for that academy in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
LEMON: We'll bring that to you.
We also want to bring this to you. In just two weeks, we're going to take you on a journey unlike any you've ever experienced before -- a voyage through 13 countries on four continents uncovering our "Planet In Peril". Today "Animal Planet's" Jeff Corwin takes us on a quick trip to Madagascar, where magnificent animals not seen anywhere else are facing extinction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF CORWIN, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST (voice-over): This is a place where 90 percent of the wildlife can be found nowhere else on Earth.
(on camera) There he goes.
(voice-over) This is a place where only 10 percent of the natural habitat remains. This is Madagascar. It is one of the world's largest islands, isolated from mainland Africa for more than 160 million years. The small pockets of the rainforest explode with life, but you have to look closely.
(on camera) If you let your eyes just sort of drift down the trunk of this tree, you'll see spots of lichen and moss and little bumps along the bark.
What's so amazing is that there is a lizard here. It's hard to see. The camouflage is that good. It is a Uroplatus gecko. It just moved.
Isn't that amazing?
It also perfectly illustrates how many of the animals here survive. They survive by being specialists. This creature is so specific to this tree, to this habitat, it cannot survive anywhere else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
CORWIN (voice-over): And that is why Conservation International's Russ Mittermeier is here.
RUSS MITTERMEIER, CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: This is an (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) -- and this is an area that we really want to protect.
CORWIN: His group is working to protect what are called biodiversity hot spots -- regions that are both unique and threatened.
MITTERMEIER: If you're going to try to avert an extinction crisis -- which we're facing right now -- you've got to focus a lot of attention on hot spots like Madagascar.
CORWIN: Of all of the animals here, the most well known is the island's primate, the lemur.
(on camera) Where did you see them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, let's go this way.
CORWIN: This way? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CORWIN: Oh, look at this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see it?
CORWIN: I see. I see. There's the (INAUDIBLE) right there. Oh, my goodness. Look at this. Look.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEMON: Don't miss the four hour "Planet In Peril" documentary. It premieres October 23 and 24th. And if you'd like to see clips of CNN's "Planet In Peril" before it begins, just download the "A.C. 360" pod cast. It's the only place you'll be able to watch. Go to cnn.com/planetinperil to download it now.
PHILLIPS: And we're still waiting for the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, to step up to the mikes. He's going to hold a news conference about that shooting at his academy, the SuccessTech Academy in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The shooter is dead. Five people are injured. We'll bring you all the details, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're still waiting for Cleveland, Ohio Mayor Frank Jackson to step up to the podium there and get update on what happened at one of his high schools today. This was at SuccessTech Academy in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. A disgruntled student -- a 14-year-old student disgruntled about a suspension for fighting in school came back today into the halls of that school, opened fire, a gun in each hand. Five individuals injured, two teachers, three students. The shooter is dead.
We'll hope to get more information when the mayor steps up to the mike.
LEMON: It's fair to say that this gunman terrorized a community there in Ohio. And let's talk about more terror.
Hard to believe it's been just over five years since the so- called D.C. snipers first unleashed fear in and around the Washington area. In a matter of three weeks, John Allen Muhammad and his teenage partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, killed 10 people and wounded three others. Even now, the questions linger -- who are these two killers and what set them off?
Well, CNN's special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien, goes inside the minds of the D.C. snipers in a CNN special investigation tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): This is where John Allen Muhammad resides now -- on Death Row at Sussex One State Prison near Richmond, Virginia.
He is still defiant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD, CONVICTED OF SNIPER MURDERS: Hello, everyone.
I guess y'all thought I was finished.
(LAUGHTER)
I'm still on death row fighting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: This is a one-minute, 23-second videotape made inside Sussex One State Prison and handed to CNN during the course of our reporting in the Caribbean. A shackled John Muhammad talks to the camera in the presence of two unidentified women.
What he wants, he says, is to establish accurate information about the time he spent with Lee Boyd Malvo in the Caribbean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J. MUHAMMAD: So that they can get a better understanding of our relationship with each other. Not to distort our relationship, as it has been told to the news media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: He ends the video on a note of gratitude.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J. MUHAMMAD: Thank you for your patience, kindness and your sacrifice that you all always made.
Peace, and may God be with you all.
Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: In suburban Maryland, Mildred Muhammad and her three children are getting by -- barely. She's begun a nonprofit Web site called afterthetrauma.org to call more attention to victims of domestic violence.
Mildred still believes that her ex-husband can somehow reach out and harm her, that John Allen Muhammad can do anything he puts his mind to -- even convince a smart, gifted teenager to become a cold- blooded killer.
(on camera): Did John have the personality where, if he wanted to brainwash someone who was a young man, he could do it?
MILDRED MUHAMMAD, EX-WIFE OF JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD: Yes, ma'am.
O'BRIEN: Easily?
M. MUHAMMAD: Yes, ma'am.
O'BRIEN: No doubt in your mind?
M. MUHAMMAD: That boy was a victim before he even knew it. His life was over when he said hi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Boy that looks really amazing.
Soledad joins us now from New York.
A fascinating update there on Muhammad. But, you know, I also understand that you did some digging on his young accomplice.
What are his days like now, Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Very interesting. Lee Boyd Malvo is 22-years-old. He's in a maximum security prison in Virginia. He spends 23 hours a day inside his cell. He is allowed out for one hour a day. He's taking college correspondence courses. And he draws a lot. He was always, his friends told us, a talented artist. And now he draw pictures. And almost every single picture that he draws in his self-portraits, Don, will have a picture of him with tears running down his face.
LEMON: Oh.
Is he in for life, Malveaux?
O'BRIEN: Yes. You know, there have been some people who would like to have him transferred to a different facility where it's a little bit easier. But there is a big push against that. And, certainly, a number of the victims' family members say absolutely no way -- the ones who were pushing for him to get death.
I think that it is unlikely -- uncertain, maybe if you're optimistic on his behalf -- that he'll ever get out of there.
LEMON: Yes.
And, Soledad, you remember this well, in that area, people were afraid to go get coffee, to go to the grocery store, to stop and get gas.
O'BRIEN: Remember that time?
Terrifying.
LEMON: It was terrible. O'BRIEN: It was absolutely terrifying, because no one had any idea where it was coming from. Mildred Muhammad, who you saw in that piece, had a theory, as you may or may not know, which was this -- that all those shootings were really done to target her. She was the ex-wife. John Muhammad was furious with her because she gained back custody of the children. He took those kids to Antigua. We went to Antigua to track down that part of the story.
So she says all those people were killed and shot and injured in order to get to her, so that when she became another person on that list, everyone would say it was a sniper -- it wasn't an obvious suspect, her ex-husband.
LEMON: Yes. Fascinating. I know I'll be watching, and everyone should.
Soledad, thank you so much for that.
Again, tune in tonight at 8:00 Eastern for this CNN special investigation -- "The Mind of the D.C. Sniper" -- something you'll see only here on CNN.
PHILLIPS: And we're still waiting to hear from the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, where that shooting took place at the SuccessTech Academy in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
The gunman is dead -- a 14-year-old student who was disgruntled about a suspension for fighting. He shot two teachers, three students. They are injured.
We're trying to get more on their conditions, if they're OK. They were all taken to the local hospital.
We'll have more right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're still standing by for that live news conference out of Cleveland, Ohio. We're waiting for Mayor Frank Jackson to step up to the mike. We want to know more about what happened in this high school this afternoon.
What we do know is a 14-year-old student who was disgruntled about a suspension after getting involved in a fight came back to that school, a gun in each hand, opened fire. Two teachers, three students both enduring injuries right now. Not positive about their conditions at this moment. We're hoping to learn more from that news conference. But we can tell you is that student -- that gunman -- is dead, apparently turning the gun on himself, taking his own life. It's been a rough day for those in Cleveland, Ohio today. We hope to hear from the mayor any minute now.
And the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Absolutely.
Susan Lisovicz standing by with a final look at the trading day.
A very busy day for us.
What about you -- Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very busy day here, too. And I thought that it's been such a heavy news day, I thought we'd bring it down just for a second and just have a little levity, you know?
You know who rang the opening bell this morning?
Tiffany. Tiffany is opening a store on Wall Street today, just steps from the New York Stock Exchange.
And what was particularly exciting, Don and Kyra, is that when I walked in, they presented me with this bag. I don't know if you can see it. I'm holding it up.
LEMON: Tiffany blue.
PHILLIPS: All right, I want to know what's in it right now.
LISOVICZ: Well, let's look. OK. Well, there's Tiffany water.
LEMON: Tiffany water.
PHILLIPS: OK.
LEMON: Does it have diamonds in it?
LISOVICZ: No, it does not.
PHILLIPS: That Audrey Hepburn used to drink.
LISOVICZ: Yes. There is a...
LEMON: A Tiffany cookie.
LISOVICZ: ...a Tiffany cookie.
PHILLIPS: OK. Very nice.
LEMON: All right. You can FedEx that to us.
LISOVICZ: And there's a catalog and other things. But there is no tennis bracelet. The are no...
PHILLIPS: No diamonds?
LISOVICZ: No bling. No.
PHILLIPS: Oohhhhh.
LEMON: You know, Susan, when you said Tiffany, I thought it was the pop star.
PHILLIPS: A singer?
LEMON: Tiffany from like the '80s.
I'm like, what?
Sorry.
LISOVICZ: Well, it's -- they're here. And Tiffany actually -- it goes back to its roots. Tiffany actually opened in lower Manhattan, lower Broadway.
LEMON: Yes.
SYLVESTER: And so a lot of folks down here. Hopefully, there's going to be a lot of spending. It will be a nice holiday for Tiffany. I know it will make it easy for a lot of traders.
LEMON: Is that your favorite bag?
LISOVICZ: That will -- yes. That will replace the discount bag that I have in my repertoire.
PHILLIPS: She's going to -- she's going to walk around with it on her arm.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Century 21...
LISOVICZ: It is so...
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: I've got those, too. And -- hey, don't knock it. There's some good bargains there.
LEMON: Oh, I love them.
Are you kidding me?
LISOVICZ: Some good bargains there.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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