Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Deputy Shot; The Big Ouch!; Shuttle Homecoming; Missing Woman
Aired November 07, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Critical condition. We did not know that, at least up until now.
Thank you for that, John.
Also, you know, I know you know the area very well. Nineteen schools that are on lockdown that you mentioned and one district site. Probably an administration type facility. But, boy, very scary to be thinking about this guy on the loose, possibly with the weapon that a sheriff's deputy was carrying.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's correct. And that, of course, is why the precaution to close all of the -- or to lock down all of these schools. Now all of these schools, from what I've read and the number -- the ones that I've seen, are all in the northern end of Broward County, in the Coral Springs area in Broward County. Several of them up there. The Pompano Beach area, of course, because that's where this incident took place. So all in the north end of Broward County is where these 19 schools all appear to be, judging from the one that I've seen on the list so far.
Heidi.
COLLINS: OK. Very good. Once again, Michael Mazza is the suspect that police and sheriff's deputies are looking for in Broward County. At least at this point. Who knows how far he may have gotten. In fact, John, do you have that information as to when this actually happened? When we think about how far away from the actual site he could be by now?
ZARRELLA: No, we don't have an exact time. It would have been probably sometime between 7:30, 8:30 this morning. Chances are he would have had to have been in court by about 8:00, brought in in a holding area. So probably sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. this morning when this would have happened.
And as I was saying, you know, they have every road is blocked off from A1A -- or not blocked off but being surveilled from very far east, I-95, out west to 27, to Interstate 595. As I was coming in this morning, no less than 15 squad cars barreling westward on 595. Obviously they are checking every artery, closing them down, blocking them off, making sure that this guy doesn't get away.
But, of course, as we know now, he's apparently at least dumped the vehicle unless we find out at some point, Heidi, that he was in that vehicle or that they have him. But at this point, no word that either of those two things have happened. COLLINS: Yes. And also no word on whether or not he may be, you know, sort of working with someone else and may be in a completely different vehicle by now or how well this may have been planned in advance.
ZARRELLA: Exactly.
COLLINS: But again, probably worth putting his name and that description out one more time. You see it there at the bottom of your screen. In just a moment you will anyway. But he's 40 years old, 5'9", 200 pounds, the name Michael Mazza. Dark hair, blue eyes. They're looking for him in the area of Broward County.
John Zarrella, thank you.
ZARRELLA: My pleasure.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: $100 a barrel. Oil prices nearing a, boy, a bummer of a benchmark. This is really huge. From the pumps to your pocketbook, we are ready with everything you need to know today. CNN's Gerri Willis keeping watch as people fill up.
Good to see you, Gerri.
Let's start with Ali Velshi in New York.
And, Ali, where are you -- Ali, where are you?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm on the floor of NYMEX. This is the oil trading pit. This is where oil is bought and sold. This is where the price is going to be decided. If oil decides it's going to be $100 a barrel, it's getting decided righted here.
Now we're about half an hour into the trading session. We're looking at about $97.40 for a barrel of crude oil. In about half an hour we are going to get a report about how much oil there is. How much the oil stocks are in the United States. Most people are expecting for a third week in a row for those numbers to be lower than expected.
The issue, Tony, how much lower than the analysts are expecting? If that number comes in too low, you'll see the price of oil surge and we'll probably get to that $100 a barrel. If it's where analysts expect it to be, you probably will see oil hover around here.
But make no mistake, Tony, we're in that position where oil has been heading and trending up toward $100 a barrel. And for those of us who don't have to go home with barrels of oil, it doesn't matter because it works its way into your gas pump, it works its way into your home heating oil if you live in the northeast. And as Gerri and others will tell you, it works it's way all the way through the economy into everything you buy.
HARRIS: Boy, I love that sight. That shot of you down there in the floor. It reminds me of that scene in a great movie, "Trading Places." If I could get to New York right now, I would be your Billy Ray Valentine right there on the floor next to you.
VELSHI: The difference is everybody else here is making money and I'm just doing . . .
HARRIS: Yes, Ali, great to see you. Thank you, sir.
VELSHI: All right.
COLLINS: So some troubled times that's for sure. How do you feel about filling up your tank while your wallet seemingly goes empty, goes dry, runs dry? CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is at a station in the Flushing section of Queens.
Gerri, that number there, I think you said last time was $3.19. Is it still holding?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's about $3.19 you can see for regular unleaded. But across the country right now, it's about $3.02.
I got to tell you, Heidi, what you need today and every day probably for the rest of the year, three words, gas rebate card. Now these are cards that can save you money on gas. As much as 3 percent to 5 percent. You've really got to shop around for them, though, to get the right kind.
The best kind, typically, a bank-issued gas card. It's the best because it allows you to go anywhere. You don't have to just go to one kind of gas station. At the end of the day, make sure, though, that you don't roll over your debt on these cards because the interest rates are typically high, 16 percent to 18 percent.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow, that is awfully high. So is that the best way to get your bang or the buck then? I mean, I'm thinking the Forever Stamp. Maybe we could get a gas card where you can just sort of type in the price that you'll pay and it will stay that way forever. Do you think that might happen?
WILLIS: Well, good luck with that, Heidi. But I can recommend to you two cards that we did some research on that are very good. Discover's Open Road and Chase's Perfect Card. Good terms. Check those out if you're looking for a gas rebate card. Of course, you want to time your visits as well to the gas station because they tend to raise their prices in the morning 10:00 to 12:00. Best time to go, early morning on the way to work, not in the middle of the morning.
COLLINS: Yes, very good. And we've had a couple of reports in here in the Brooklyn area of those prices being over $5 a gallon for regular unleaded. So pretty amazing.
Gerri, unfortunately, we've got to cut it short. We have some more information we want to get out about the situation in Broward County.
So, Gerri, thank you.
HARRIS: And let's bring you the very latest information on that. As you know, a sheriff's deputy has been shot and has been transported to a local hospital there, Pompano Beach, Broward County, Florida, in critical condition was the last word we received. We want to tap in just a little bit and give you a bit of the coverage from our local affiliate there WFOR.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The type of vehicle he was in, is that what you use if someone says they have a medical issue?
ELLIOT COHEN, PIO, BROWARD CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Yes, our detention deputies, the Department of Detention, has vehicles that they'll transport a prisoner in if they have some sort of medical condition but they have to be transported somewhere, for instance, to the courthouse. We've got those vans that are available.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now he was involved in a crash after the high-speed chase back at the time of the bank robbery. Is this -- was it believed then that his back pain would have sounded normal because of that?
COHEN: Not knowing exactly what his exact complaint was, I wouldn't want to speculate as to what he attributed his back pain to, if he had any back pain to begin with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elliot, again . . .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The condition of the deputy?
COHEN: The deputy was transported in critical condition to North Broward. Any update on his condition is going to be coming from the hospital up there. The latest I have is he's extremely critical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any message you want to give to anyone that might want to assist this man in his escape?
COHEN: We can tell you that, if you assist someone escaping from prison, you are just as guilty as the men or woman who escaped from prison. We will find you, just as much as we will find the individual who escaped and you will face just as harsh a penalty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elliot, and again, your thoughts on if you believe that this man, even though he was in a wheelchair, I mean can he actually walk? Can he move around?
COHEN: Again, without having the details of the nature of his back complaint, I don't want to go into that. But it's possible that his back complaint was fabricated just to get himself into some sort of a medical transport.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you just recap the suspect's background?
COHEN: The suspect has been serving two life sentences for robbery and he was being transported downtown to the courthouse for a court appearance on unrelated charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was this protocol for someone who's injured or says they're injured going to a court appearance or should there have been more detention deputies in the van?
COHEN: As far as policy and procedure and all those questions, those are premature. Not the kind of questions that we think should be asked at this point. Right now what we're asking is for the public's help, for your help in finding our suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elliot, the deputy, are you able to tell us more about him. We understand 70, retired, came back. Can you tell us?
COHEN: Right now we're not releasing any information about the deputy. We are focused on searching for our suspect.
OK. Thank you very much.
HARRIS: OK. And we're just sort of piecing together what we've just been just listening to thanks to our affiliate in Miami on the scene there in Pompano Beach, Florida, WFOR, bringing us a briefing. Not sure from whom. But we're getting more details about Michael Mazza. He is the suspect that is at the heart of this search right now. You just saw a quick picture of the van. That was a transport van that Mazza apparently absconded with after he overtook the sheriff's deputy and there was some kind of an altercation there and the sheriff deputy was shot.
We believe that Mazza has the sheriff deputy's gun right now. That deputy has been transported to a local hospital where we understand he is in critical condition. And, Heidi, I believe you're about to get some additional information on this story.
COLLINS: Yes. Standing by we have someone who is in the area. I'm not exactly sure where. But Wendel Santejan is there.
Wendell, why don't you start by telling us what you do see around you. I do understand that you can't leave the building that you're in?
WENDEL SANTEJAN, BYSTANDER: Yes, we can't. We're pretty much locked down here. The street is locked down on Hammondville Road, between Carline (ph) and Deprezen (ph) Road.
COLLINS: OK. Just in case there are people out there, and there may be many of them who are not familiar with the area, how far away from where all of these police cars are gathered are you?
SANTEJAN: I would say probably a couple hundred feet.
COLLINS: OK. What are you seeing exactly?
SANTEJAN: They actually just brought in a mobile unit and there's cop car going up and down and helicopters everywhere. COLLINS: OK. So you can see the van, the white van that we are looking at? We have a live shot pulled up right now. I'm not sure if you have your television on. But so you are close to there and seeing the scurrying of all the officers, yes?
SANTEJAN: Yes, we can see the van. I think the van is on the prison road, which I cannot see, and -- because that's off of my road.
COLLINS: OK. How's everybody feeling where you are? Is everybody kind of talking about this, looking out the windows or have you seen something like this before?
SANTEJAN: Pretty much. I mean everybody just can't get out of their buildings. I mean we're just, you know, in the street looking at the cars, but, you know, pretty much no cars can get in or out.
COLLINS: Yes. But we are seeing an unbelievable amount of officers and sheriff's workers who are there on the scene now. Hard to make out exactly who's involved in all this. But we have certainly learned that several of the roads, according to our John Zarrella, are now blocked off.
We also know that 19 different schools are on lockdown because of this suspect, Michael Mazza, being on the loose still at this point and apparently carrying that sheriff deputy's weapon. Not quite sure what the weapon is, but we do know it to be a gun of some type when he overpowered that sheriff's deputy on his way to -- which is still a little bit in question -- whether he was going to a court proceedings or, as we heard briefly just a few minutes ago in that press conference there, possibly may have faked some sort of back pain to get some medical attention. Still trying to work out the details on that.
But Wendel Santejan sort of in the middle of it all and this activity again in Broward County.
HARRIS: Let's get to more of the local coverage from our affiliate in Miami, WSVN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're telling me in my ear, so as we continue to move off here, we may lose a little bit of our vantage point. But we can continue to monitor and we'll give you any information we can develop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they sure have accomplished a lot in the last few hours, Ralph, finding that van. That's huge. And that's going to give them a lot of information, a lot of evidence. Can you give us an idea of the scope of this search right now. How many agencies are involved? I mean, obviously, this all started in Pompano Beach, but where is it now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the focus right now is just off of Davey (ph) Boulevard. South of Davey boulevard. Just east of I-95. I will draw the camera back out here just for a second to show you, there's the intersection. The overpass where Davey Boulevard goes over I-95. This quadrant here, which would be the southwest corner of that area, is where the police are concentrated -- their efforts are concentrated.
And there are police officers at, as we said before, literally every turn in the road, every intersection in the road, every crossroads there are police officers both in uniform and under cover along with what we understand is a special response team. And they are making an effort now to close in on the suspect that they're looking for, this Michael Mazza, who earlier today is alleged to have shot a police officer, commandeered a van, a van that's used to transport people charged with crimes, a criminal transport van. He was dressed in a gray suit. He was wearing a white tie. He was wearing a black shirt. They indicate now that he was on his way to court. He may have been clean shaven or may be clean shaven at this time.
But quick work by a number of agencies involved here, located that vehicle, which is -- let me just show you, give you a reference point here. I've got to pull back out. That van is going to be behind Flanagan's (ph). There's the Flanagan's and there's the van right there. So we're still able to use our camera to give you that picture right there.
But there's the transport van has been abandoned there. There is a blood smear on the driver's side door. There you can see it just above the word sheriff there. And they believe that the man fled into this area here. They have reason to believe that he may have made a phone call or gained access to a phone in this area and requested ground transportation. So they are putting together a plan now to try to locate this man in this area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, Ralph, as we've been covering this story, it almost seems like the plot continues to thicken. The last time we heard from Elliott Cohen, he was talking about this wheelchair and this back problem that may have all been part of a ploy. What have you heard regarding that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, all -- we did get confirmation that he was at some point either wheelchair bound or in a semi ambulatory state and that was why this particular type of transport van was being used. Backtracking just a little bit, there was some kind of a bank robbery attempt or a robbery attempt up in Coral Springs earlier, several days ago.
HARRIS: You've been listening to the coverage from our local affiliate in Miami that's on the scene there in Pompano Beach, WSVN. As the search continues now for Michael Mazza, 40 years old, 5'9". He stands 200 pounds. Was on his way, we believe, to a court appearance today. This is a man who was serving two life sentences for robbery. So clearly very dangerous. Overtook the sheriff's deputy in the transport van that was taking him to this court appearance, shot him allegedly, and is now on the loose.
The manhunt continues right now. And as we were looking at these pictures, Heidi, the thing that jumped out, just sort of lept out at me is that we know there are businesses in the area, but there is also a lot of residential space there as well. So as police try to close in on where they believe this suspect might be, boy, if a thought that he could be holed up in a building, in an office building, or in someone's home is something that I can't seem to get out of my mind right now as we take a look at these pictures.
This is a story that, obviously, we will continue to cover, with the help of our affiliates WFOR, WSVN and, of course, CNN's John Zarrella.
COLLINS: Space shuttle Discovery homeward bound today. And you might even see it passing overhead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Hillary Clinton on Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wasn't at my best the other night. We've had a bunch of debates and, you know, I wouldn't rank that up in my very top list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And that is just part of what she told our Candy Crowley.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Countdown to homecoming. Discovery wrapping up a 15- day mission and heading for Florida today. Space correspondent Miles O'Brien at the Kennedy Space Center now for us this morning.
Hey there, Miles. Everything on track for this afternoon's scheduled landing?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi, it looks pretty good here. As a matter of fact, it looks great. The only concern they're looking and are really focusing on right now is it's a bit breezy here at the Kennedy Space Center. Pretty close to the limitations for the wind for the space shuttle Discovery to land. But otherwise looks very good for landing here. And, of course, it is still within the limits and everything is green and go for the landing.
We'll know at about noon Eastern Time is about the time that they'll fire the rockets for the space shuttle Discovery to lower its speed by all of about 148 miles an hour. That's just enough to knock it out of its orbit and send it down on a precipitous fall from somewhere over Australia to here in about an hour's time. How's that for a quick trip across half the planet?
Let's take a look at the mission for just a moment. We'll tell you about what's going to be a spectacular view across the continental United States today as Discovery comes in. First of all, they accomplished their goals and then some. Installing the Harmony Module on the International Space Station. Think of it as the wheel in a tinker toy set. An important connecting node which lays the groundwork for some later missions. One hopefully in December, if NASA can get its act together to put a European module on the International Space Station. Then the first part of next year, a Japanese laboratory. Greatly expanding the capability of that International Space Station.
But then there was some unexpected mission tasks in space. You remember that. They had that mangled solar array, which we all recall. As they were deploying the array, it got hung up on some guide wires and it -- look at that. That looks ugly, doesn't it.
COLLINS: Yes, not so good.
O'BRIEN: And you want to fix that. You want to fix that. Because otherwise, if it couldn't fix it, they'd have to jettison the whole thing and that would be a big problem downstream for the Space Station. So unplanned space walk of the mission. Scott Parazynski, the guy they call too tall or long bow because he's got a long reach. Good thing because if it had been a foot farther out, he wouldn't have made it.
COLLINS: They call that wingspan, don't they?
O'BRIEN: Yes. It's important to have wingspan out there. He had the right wings for it. Snipped and clipped and put in -- he's a physician. He actually did some suturing on that whole array and fixed it. It's patched. It's not as pretty as it was supposed to be, but actually if you're an engineer, you'd look at it and say, hey, that's a pretty thing.
Now let's take a look at this track. I want to tell folks watching right now. You have an unusual opportunity to see the space shuttle. Take a look at its path. The space shuttle will be coming on a rare -- they call this a descending node, north to south entry. This is the first time since Columbia its come over the continental United States. Over Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, then down here to runway 33 off to the northwest here at the Kennedy Space Center. This all is occurring because it's been a long mission, 15 days, and the commander, Pam Melroy, wanted to land by day. Listen to why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM MELROY, DISCOVERY: Well, just like driving, flying, making a landing I think is easier in the daylight. You have more visual cues. So I have no concerns on that area at all and I can't wait.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: She can't wait. We can't either.
Back to you, Heidi. COLLINS: All right. Very good. And, Miles, you know, if that wind kicks up, they will have another chance about 90 minutes later. So we will be watching all day along side you.
Thank you, Miles.
HARRIS: A young mom vanishes. Her police sergeant husband says she ran off with another man. What really happened to Stacy Peterson?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: OK. Yikes. It is 10:25 Eastern Time. The markets been open for a little less than an hour and we are down, the Dow Jones Industrial averages, by 101 points at 13,559. Very different than the close yesterday where we were to the positive almost the exact same amount by the time the close of business came.
So we will watch that and also be watching this. This is the price of oil. We're zeroing in on that LS number there for light sweet, meaning light sweet crude, and what it is trading at per barrel of oil. You see $97.55. So, as you know, that is a record and a lot of people talking about whether or not we're going to hit that $100 a barrel mark today or not. We talked about the same thing yesterday. So Ali Velshi is watching it very, very closely for us and we will check in with him shortly.
HARRIS: Stacy Peterson, the missing Illinois mom and wife of a police sergeant, vanished more than a week ago. Police will search the couple's home again today. Keith Oppenheim joins us now.
Keith, good to see you.
Why another search? What do authorities hope to find?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, sources told me, Tony, this morning that, in the course of the investigation over the last couple of days, the Illinois State Police got some information which led them to want to get another search warrant. They did confiscate some items. I have not been told exactly what. And they took them from the house last night. Just keep in mind that there was a search warrant on Drew and Stacy Peterson's home last Thursday and they looked at things like cell phones, computers, and a couple of vehicles.
Officially though, Drew Peterson, a local police sergeant, is not a suspect in this investigation. In fact, it's not being called a criminal investigation, just a missing persons case. Stacy Peterson has been missing for 10 days now. She is 23 years old. Her husband, Drew, 30 years older, age 53, and they have been married four years.
Drew Peterson tells the media that he doesn't think his wife is missing at all and that she left with another man, but her family strongly disputes that and has characterized him as being a very difficult guy, that she wanted a divorce from him and that she was afraid of him. One more thing, Tony. I spoke to the Will County state's attorney's office. That's the local prosecutor. And the person I spoke to there said that authorities are interested in speaking to Drew Peterson's children. Keep in mind, this guy was married four times. He has adult children. He's got a couple of teenaged boys. He's got two children with Stacy. I was not told which children authorities want to talk to, just that there's a general interest in speaking to his kids as part of this investigation.
Back to you, Tony.
HARRIS: Keith, anything on the record to suggest that Drew Peterson has been abusive in this relationship or in past relationships?
OPPENHEIM: Only from accounts from his family and -- or, sorry, from Stacy Peterson's family. They indicate that that was how she described the relationship, how she talked about it in e-mails to friends. And there are similar sorts of vibes from his previous wife, Kathleen Savio, who, by the way, died by accident according to a coroner. She drowned in a bathtub. And that is something -- an investigation that is being reopened again by the Will County state's attorney's office. They're taking a look at what happened to his last wife who drowned in a bathtub.
HARRIS: And just another quick one. Boy, that's curious. Is Peterson being described as cooperative in this investigation?
OPPENHEIM: Yes, he is. He's being described as exactly that and he's not being called a suspect.
HARRIS: OK. Keith Oppenheim for us this morning.
Keith, appreciate it. Thank you.
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins and Tony Harris.
HARRIS: Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
We want to get directly to the story we've been telling you about out of Broward County. There are 19 schools on lockdown because of a shooting incident in Pompano Beach, Florida, to be exact. There's a jail suspect deputy who was taking a prisoner to a court proceeding inside of a white van that I'm sure we will have a shot of here in just a few moments. Apparently that prisoner overpowered the sheriff's deputy and shot him. That sheriff's deputy now in the hospital. Not sure the nature of his injuries.
In the aftermath of all this, that suspect still on the loose. Authorities believe he does have the weapon of the jail transport deputy. Now, that obviously the main concern. You see a picture of him there. The name Michael Mazza, 40 years old, 5'9", 200 pounds. A lot of new information to share with you. I have been listening in to the local affiliates there between there live reporting on all of this. Here is what I have learned. This was a robbery charge that he was going to court to face the judge for. Apparently he was serving two life sentences and he was being transported for this court date, but important to point out, we had spoken earlier with our John Zarrella about why he would be transported with just one sheriff's deputy, which we believe to be the case, and, in fact, there's something to talk here by way of a possible injury and a possible wheelchair. At this point, sheriff's deputies are not saying anything about what they may have found inside the van. But it's possible that Michael Mazza had been suffering from a serious back injury. On the heels of the bank robbery, there was apparently a high-speed chase in which he was injured. No one really seems to know at this point how severely he was injured and whether or not the extent of those injuries really warranted a wheelchair. But it is perhaps the reason why he was being transported with one sheriff's deputy only.
Right now apparently the focus is on a new vehicle that he may have gotten into, a white sedan. We even have a license plate number. Once again, want to point out before I give this to you this is all according to our affiliates on the ground and their local reporting that is happening live right now. That white sedan with a license plate W84QZY, now focusing their attention on that.
We are also understanding that Michael Mazza was apparently restrained. Once again, do not know whether or not he was in a wheelchair, but we do know that apparently is the reason why they were using that type of van to transport him or it could have been the reason why they were using that type of van because it did have some handicap accessibility. So he is apparently now wearing a gray suit and a white shirt underneath because he was going to be in court today, and that is what we have learned since last we had an update on the story. We of course will continue to follow it as it does continue to change as we go here. In fact, let's go ahead and listen in to the affiliate we've been talking about, WSVN, for some more local coverage.
RALPH, WSVN: Right off of 2700 Davey Boulevard. Says they believe the suspect may have come inside and used their restroom facilities here. They have a surveillance camera in there, so the Broward Sheriff's office is meeting with the owner of the station right now to look at that surveillance tape to get more information.
In the meantime, there was a description of a vehicle that we gave out a short time ago. It's a 2006 white Nissan Maxima. They believe that that vehicle belongs to the mother of the suspect here, the suspect that they're looking for. They believe they have an address they're going to check out. We don't want to give that information out. But an address they're going to check out where that vehicle has been located by police officers who are involved in this investigation. So that's the latest information we have for you. We'll get back to you with a little bit more a little later. I'm reporting live ... UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. That's some real important information that Ralph has just brought us. One, that there may have been a sighting of this suspect, and you're looking at live pictures where that might have happened, at the Mobile gas station where the owner of that station off of 27th Avenue and Davey Boulevard says that the suspect may have come in and used the restroom. They obviously have surveillance video at all gas stations.
And that second bit of information you had told us earlier, Ralph, about that white vehicle. Now a lot more specific. You're saying it was a 2006 white Nissan Maxima and it may belong to the mother of the suspect. We're unsure exactly right now, it may be an Altima or Maxima, now we're learning, a 2006 Nissan Altima or Maxima, that detectives believe belong to the suspect's mother. And as you look at these live pictures, that is where their search was concentrated after they found the vehicle in that area, and then this new vehicle that police are on the hunt for right now left that area presumably from the suspect's mother's home, possibly living in that area. Now taking off, spotted in Lauderdale by the sea, and you heard Elliott Cohen saying earlier they want to get a warning out there to anyone who may be helping this suspect that they will come after you just as strongly as they will after the suspect. And right now they're doing a door-to-door search, and we had mentioned surveillance video. They are using surveillance video from the area, including the convenience store, the gas station there, and their focus is finding the suspect. After they've already located the vehicle there in the area of 27th Avenue and Davey Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale, now the search is on for the suspect in possibly this four-door white 2006 Nissan Altima or Maxima with a tag, we want to give it to you again, W84QZY seen in the area of Lauderdale by the Sea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And, you know, it goes to show that Elliott Cohen ...
COLLINS: So there you have it. Some of our local affiliates reporting on this story, making quite a bit of reference to some of this new information they are getting in. Closer to the story than they are immediately. So we continue to monitor what they are saying, what they are learning from authorities. Obviously the biggest point to make here is that suspect, Michael Mazza, who has apparently shot a sheriff's deputy, is still on the loose, and they do believe that he is armed and dangerous.
HARRIS: Oil prices driving toward the $100 a barrel mark today. Where are we here? $97.60. Oh, boy. Will you be driving to the poor house?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Turning to the race for president, scoring big, a short time will go religious broadcaster Pat Robertson who carries a lot of weight with Christian conservatives named Rudy Giuliani as his choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT ROBERTSON, FOUNDER, CHRISTIAN COALITION: For months I have contemplated our future and the outstanding group of men who are offering themselves to the Republican Party to be its standard bearer in the 2008 presidential election. Today it is my pleasure to announce my support for America's mayor, Rudy Giuliani, and a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast the hopeful vision for all-Americans.
COLLINS: Another endorsement to tell you about in the republican field, we're learning Senator Sam Brownback, a candidate himself until not too long ago, will throw his weight behind Senator John McCain. The announcement is expected a little bit later today.
Meanwhile, if you want the must up to the minute political news anywhere available, check out CNNpolitics.com. It's your one stop shop to get behind the scenes details from CNN's best political team on television and see why it's the Internet's premiere destination for political news, CNNpolitics.com.
HARRIS: The case that drew national protest, divided a small town along racial lines. It is back in the spotlight today. A Jena six defendant in court this morning. Sean Callebs live from Jena, Louisiana and just out of the courtroom. OK. Sean, what happened inside?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can still see some of the members who were inside court mingling behind me. Bryant Purvis, the sole member of the so-called Jena six who was still charged with attempted murder, well just a few minutes ago the district attorneys in this case, Reed Walters, asked the judge to reduce those charges to second-degree aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. A deadly weapon in this case would be his foot. Purvis along with the other members of the Jena six are accused of beating Justin Barker at Jena High School back on December 4th so badly that Barker had to be taken to the hospital. Apparently according to the authorities they knocked Barker out and then began kicking him. One interesting aspect in all of this is it's played out time after time in court, and today, Purvis' attorney said that he was pursuing this case saying that no police report had been filed yet. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARRYL HICKMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The state hasn't filed a motion. Asked for a copy of the initial police report, which I understand there isn't one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no police report?
HICKMAN: No, no police report, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why wasn't a police report written?
HICKMAN: Far as I know it hasn't been written yet. There's no initial police report in this case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: Which if it is true, would be highly unusual according to the attorney in this case, Darryl Hickman. I did have a chance to call the police department a short while ago and they said they believe a police report is written. They just don't know if it is at the head quarters right now. Someone is checking into that right now. It could also be written by the sheriff's office, but they have told news the past that the initial investigation was done by the police department. So that certainly is a new wrinkle throw in all this, Tony.
HARRIS: Boy, it sure is. Back to Purvis Bryant for a second, this reduction, remind us again ...
CALLEBS: Bryant Purvis.
HARRIS: Bryant Purvis. So what is the reduction? What is he facing now?
CALLEBS: Well, he could be facing 22 years if he is convicted on the aggravated battery charges with a deadly weapon. However, he was charged with attempted murder before all this, all the other defendants in the case had the attempted murder charges reduced before this. But the D.A. is still pursuing charges against four, including Purvis, as adults because they were 17 or 18 when this alleged act took place.
HARRIS: OK. Very quickly, isn't this the same reduction in charges that we saw with Mychal Bell?
CALLEBS: Exactly. With Mychal Bell. He really has been the focal point of so much of all this, and of course he is still locked up in juvenile court. One odd aspect about his case, it played out very publicly when he was tried as an adult. The appellate court threw that out and now he's being charged as a juvenile. Theoretically that should all be sealed, but CNN and a number of other media organizations are asking his trial be played out in the open. We're expecting to hear about that in a few weeks.
HARRIS: Sean Callebs back in Jena, Louisiana for us. Sean thank you.
COLLINS: $100 a barrel? Oil prices nearing a bummer of a benchmark. A key report just released. Ali Velshi is on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange where it's all happening today as we look at those numbers from last week. Crude $97.60 now, Ali. What does the report say?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So take it back, take it back. You always say I come and bring you bad news. Guess what for once in my life I'm telling you oil didn't hit $100. $97.60, that's what you're looking at. We have this oil supply report just a few minutes ago. We were expecting oil supplies in the United States to have fallen by 1.6 million barrels. They actually fell by half that amount, by 800,000 barrels. We were expecting gasoline supply to have gone up by half a million barrels. They were down by 800,000. That's not great news which you will see translate into the cost of gasoline at the pumps. We were expecting heating oil to be down, and they were up by 100,000. So a mixed report, but the end result is even though the trading here remains volatile we're looking at $97.65 for a barrel of oil, still $2.35 away from the bench mark number of $100. It's not obvious to me what is going to set it to $100. This would have been the catalyst. If these numbers had come in unexpectedly low again for the third week in a row, you would have seen that push up to $100. Again, Heidi, there's no one who thinks it's not going there eventually or in fact very soon, but it may not happen right here, and I think this is the first sort of breaking news, urgent thing I have told you in about six weeks that hasn't been negative.
COLLINS: I really wasn't going to draw attention to that, but I see you have done that and done it very well. All right. Ali Velshi, thanks so much. We will keep our eye on those numbers.
HARRIS: I'm trying to get some of the latest information on the situation in Broward County with the officer -- the sheriff's deputy who was shot. The update here is that all schools -- earlier we had been telling you 19 schools in the area of Pompano Beach, Broward County, had been closed, and now we're getting an indication that all schools, all schools in Broward County are on lockdown right now. A total of -- thank you, Tom -- 273 schools, including adult centers, vocational schools, and charter schools locked down right now as the search continues for Michael Mazza, 40 years old, 5'9", 200 pounds. He is on the run right now, and have no real clear indication if authorities are actually closing in on him. We're getting some interesting information from the local affiliates. We will continue to cover the story, and that is the police transport van that was taking him to court for a hearing this morning, and he allegedly overtook the sheriff's deputy, allegedly shot him, made off with the van, and made off with the sheriff's deputy's weapon as well. We will obviously continue to follow this and monitor our affiliates in Miami as we continue to follow developments on this story for you.
COLLINS: And details coming into the NEWSROOM on a terrible story from Finland. Seven reported killed in a school shooting. In fact, it is a first for Finland.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's a dark side of a very popular form of entertainment. Tonight, a CNN special report goes inside pro wrestling. In this excerpt, investigative correspondent Drew Griffin examines the murder/suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit and his family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris Benoit has become the heavyweight champion of this world!
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: In the fall of 2005 following the year he wore the championship belt, professional wrestler Chris Benoit was at the top of his game. In the ring with the body of an Adonis, he was slamming opponents, being slammed, and putting on a show. Outside the ring, the former WWE World Wrestling Entertainment champion was quietly spinning into depression and in a sense documenting his own mental breakdown.
MIKE BENOIT, CHRIS BENOIT'S FATHER: This is an open letter to Eddie on November 24th, 2005.
GRIFFIN: Mike Benoit is reading the diary his son wrote over an 11-day period in 2005. The diary consists of rambling letters to his best friend, a wrestler named Eddie Guerrero. The first entry, the first note to Eddie was written on November 23rd, ten days after his 38-year-old friend dropped dead of a heart attack.
BENOIT: "Eddie, I forgot to tell you about my dream last night. I dreamt that both my parents were taken, perished."
GRIFFIN: Mike Benoit believes it's the diary of his son going mad.
BENOIT: "Nancy and I were trying to get to her parent's in Daytona to save them because we felt they were being taken next. And these people after them were very powerful people, high-ranking people. When we got to Daytona, it was too late. Her parents were gone, too. Perished." We just didn't understand this was going on at that time in Chris's life.
GRIFFIN: 19 months later, during the weekend of June 2nd, Chris Benoit would suffocate his wife, Nancy, their 7-year-old son, Daniel, then would walk into the basement of his suburban Atlanta home and hang himself. He was 40. The diary was found outside in the trash by a neighbor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Drew Griffin is joining us now with more on tonight's special, and I know you spent a lot of time with the Benoit family. In fact, his father. You look at that diary, you read some of those excerpts, who does the father actually blame for all of this?
GRIFFIN: You know, there is no real blame, but he wants to prevent this from happening again. Mike Benoit had his son's brain tested, tissue samples taken, and found severe brain damage, what he's calling severe brain damage inside his head. That combined with the fact his son was righting this kind of material two years ago, he believes his son was going mad from the hits he was taking in the ring. He wants those hits to be addressed. Even though Heidi we know this is all fact, but when you hit your head, you hit your head.
COLLINS: You hit your head. That's right.
GRIFFIN: You're not taking that. Chris Benoit was known for this thing called the flying head butt. He used his head and he was getting a lot of cumulative damage to that head.
COLLINS: Does Mike Benoit give any reference to the guy in charge?
GRIFFIN: You know the guy in charge is the 800-pound gorilla in the room is Vince McMahon who controls all of professional wrestling. We sat down with Vince and his wife, Linda, had an in-depth conversation about Mr. Benoit, about the death rates in this industry, seven times normal. You know wrestlers are dying for a number of reasons.
COLLINS: Does he see and hear the numbers?
GRIFFIN: He sees the numbers. He hears the numbers. You will see what he is doing to address it, a little short of what Mr. Benoit wants, but McMahon believes he does have some responsibility, but not all the responsibility, when these adult male people are doing this to themselves, are taking their own actions into account.
COLLINS: Yes. It's very interesting. We look forward to seeing the special. Drew Griffin, thank you so much. You can see the entire special investigations unit "Death Grip, Inside Pro Wrestling." It will come your way tonight at 8:00 eastern.
HARRIS: A deputy shot. The prisoner he was driving to court on the loose and on the run this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: As oil prices approach $100 per barrel, the government has released the latest report on stockpiles. Let's go to Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange. Stephanie, good morning to you. A lot on your plate this morning.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have a lot to talk about today. Tony, good to see you. But moments ago the energy department reported U.S. Oil supplies fell for a third straight week. Inventories fell by 800,000 barrels in the past week. That was less than expected, so right now oil prices are right around $97, about flat.
In automotive news, General Motors announced a record $39 billion loss for the third quarter. Most of that came from a one-time tax charge. The size of the charge is nearly double all the value of all outstanding GM shares. The operating loss in the quarter was far worse than analysts expected. The company says this quarter's results should not affect its long-term financial outlook, but it warned of tough market conditions in the U.S. and Germany.
Turning to Wall Street, we're seeing a broad sell off. Shares of General Motors are falling more than 3 percent. Checking the numbers for the Dow, right now up 146 points, 13,513 and a loss of more than 1 percent on all three major indexes here. NASDAQ up 29 points at 2795. Heidi and Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: You're up 117 yesterday. You're down 146. The roller coaster ride continues. Stephanie, see you next hour.
ELAM: Sounds good.
HARRIS: All right. Thanks.
And good morning again everyone. You're with CNN. You're with Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Wednesday, the 7th of November. Here's what's on the rundown.
A Florida deputy shot and critically wounded. The suspect, a prisoner on the run. Schools on lockdown this hour.
HARRIS: A first in Finland. A school shooting. Several people reported killed.
COLLINS: The minute men, guarding the U.S. border and asking for millions to do it. So where is the money going? We're keeping them honest in the NEWSROOM.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
