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New Day

School Shooter Wounds Two Children; Video Released of Fire Truck Running Over Plane Crash Victim; Movie Theater Shooter Identified; Teenager Sinks Amazing Shot Twice; "Duck Dynasty" Returns

Aired January 15, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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


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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a report of possibly two victims at this time.

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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: A shocking act. Another school shooting, but this is a new low in age, the shooter only 12 years old. Two children in the hospital this morning, one fighting for his life. We talk live to a student who knows the shooter.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The shooter's defense. The man who killed a fellow movie patron is in court as we learn more about why he opened fire in that theater. Does he have a defense? Those who know him are speaking out this morning.

CUOMO: NEW DAY exclusive. He's the American imprisoned in the Middle East for nine months all over a joke. He's now free and talking only to NEW DAY about his living nightmare.

Your NEW DAY starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. It's hump day, Wednesday, January 15, 7:00 in the east. And new this morning, a teacher in Roswell, New Mexico saluted for saving lives and disarming a 12-year-old student with a shotgun, but not before the child shot and wounded two fellow students, one of them an 11 year old boy who is now fighting for his life. Let's bring in Stephanie Elam. She is live in Roswell.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Police are saying if it wasn't for the heroic actions of that one teacher, this situation could have been much worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: A nightmare striking this Roswell, New Mexico, middle school Tuesday morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have one student or female subject possibly shot.

ELAM: Police say around 7:30, a seventh grader, just 12 years, old pulled a sawed off shotgun out of a bag opening fire and hitting two students.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have two victims at this time.

ELAM: The two students injured in the shooting airlifted to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas. An 11-year-old boy in critical condition, and 13-year-old Kendal Sanders now in stable condition after being shot in her right shoulder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just breaks your heart, these kids at this young age having to witness and be a part of such a tragedy.

ELAM: Ten seconds of terror as heroes like eighth grade social studies teacher John Masterson bravely stared down the barrel of the shooter's gun.

GOV. SUSANA MARTINEZ, (R) NEW MEXICO: Mr. Masterson begins to talk to him to put it down. The young man put the gun down and raised his hands. At that time he put the young man up against the wall.

ELAM: Another middle school staffer sustained injuries, but refused care so he could stay with the students in the gym.

CHIEF PETE KASSETAS, NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE: I commend the principal and the people who work at this school for saving many more lives.

ELAM: Residents in Roswell now trying to heal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know we need to pray for two children.

ELAM: After becoming the latest American town rocked by a school shooting.

MARTINEZ: Please keep these two children in your prayers who were shot while simply sitting in their gym waiting to go to class. God bless those kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Absolutely. And joining us now are Amy Moody and her son Jordan. Jordan was there. He witnessed the shooting. He also knows the student in custody this morning. How are you both doing? Jordan, how are you feeling?

JORDAN MOODY, KNEW SHOOTING SUSPECT: I feel all right.

CUOMO: And Amy, how you doing?

AMY MOODY, MOTHER OF WITNESS TO SHOOTING: I'm OK today. Thank you.

CUOMO: Amy, how did you hear about what was going on in the school?

AMY MOODY: I was on my way to work. A lot of police cars came flying past me with their sirens, including the chief. So I called my husband who's a police officer and asked him to find out and let me know.

CUOMO: And Jordan, obviously, you were inside the school. You were hanging out with friends. What happened?

JORDAN MOODY: He just went in there and just shot really.

CUOMO: Just totally random? No real-time to pick up details of what was happening, right? You just reacted to the sound?

JORDAN MOODY: Yes, sort of.

CUOMO: Did you see what happened with the teacher who wound up confronting this kid?

JORDAN MOODY: He went up and just talked him out of it sort of, had him drop the gun.

CUOMO: Do you know this kid?

JORDAN MOODY: Yes, I do.

CUOMO: Tell me about him.

JORDAN MOODY: He was -- we were friendly, but we didn't really hang out outside of school that much. And it was just surprising.

CUOMO: Why is it surprising? What was his reputation in the school?

JORDAN MOODY: I'm not sure what his school reputation was, but he was always, like, real nice, and he's most of the time happy and wouldn't let his mood go down.

CUOMO: Wouldn't let his mood go down. There are some people saying he was bullied, maybe this was a kid who was a victim who was now lashing out. Did you ever see anything like that? Did you ever hear anything like that?

JORDAN MOODY: I was not aware of any bullying.

CUOMO: Amy, how do you make sense of a situation like this, especially a kid at such a young age?

AMY MOODY: I don't make sense of it. I'm devastated for him and for his family. They are wonderful people. We're praying for them. We don't understand. God has a reason. We don't -- we don't know what the reason is.

CUOMO: Was there ever any word from the family or from the community that this kid had emotional issues or any kind of trouble?

AMY MOODY: I've never heard of that, no.

CUOMO: And how did you find out that your son was OK, obviously the most important word you probably ever heard in your life? AMY MOODY: Absolutely. I was with my best friend. Her husband is a firefighter and paramedic who was on the scene. We were headed to school. We had been told that they would be released. And he called and said he did not know the victims. And so that was when we knew that our children were OK. We then were directed where to pick them up. And it was about an hour before we were able to get with our children, but once we did, it was -- it was wonderful to see him.

CUOMO: Jordan, I'm sure you know the kids who got hurt and you're thinking about them. We're all hoping that the boy who was shot recovers. Do you know the teacher as well who became a hero in this situation?

JORDAN MOODY: I don't really. I'm in seventh grade so I don't have any 8th grade teachers really.

CUOMO: Well, you looking forward to getting a good one next year because he really stepped up in this situation and kept it from becoming a lot worse. I'm glad you're OK Jordan. Amy, thank you for sharing with us this morning, and good luck going forward.

AMY MOODY: Thank you. You too.

CUOMO: Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right, we have gripping new video this morning of the response to last summer's Asiana Airlines crash. Three people on that flight were killed, one of them when she was run over by a fire truck. In the video you hear firefighters warn more than once about the teenager nearby, but they end up running over the girl twice. The video is prompting many more questions for the fire department there. Let's get straight to CNN's Dan Simon who has been tracking the developments on this story. Good morning, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. It was a tragic revelation. Here you have this 16-year-old girl from China who survived the crash only to be run other by a fire truck. Now you have this video and it's raising serious questions about how firefighters conducted themselves.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop, stop, stop. There's a body right -- there's a body right there, right in front of you.

SIMON: Chilling new video obtained by CBS News giving us a rare up close look from a firefighter's helmet cam. The chaotic moments first responders encountered after Asiana flight 214 crash landed in San Francisco last July. This 16-year-old was accidentally run over twice by fire trucks. Her family has since filed a wrongful death claim against the city. In particularly blunt language it accuses first responders of deliberately and knowingly abandoning the teen where they knew she would be in harm's way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop. There's a body right -- there's a body right there, right in front of you. SIMON: Does the new video prove the tragic accident could have been avoided? There's also this. Another camera appears to show a firefighter directing a truck around the victim.

JOANNE HAYES-WHITE, SAN FRANCISCO FIRE CHIEF: We're heart broken. We're in the business of saving lives and many lives were saved that day.

SIMON: This video may be crucial in understanding what happened to the girl, who the coroner says survived the crash but died from injuries she suffered after being run over. At the time officials say her body was obscured by foam and couldn't be seen by the trucks, that combined with the chaos of putting out the fire and rescuing victims.

MAYOR EDWIN LEE, SAN FRANCISCO: I will say this -- it was very, very hectic, very emergency mode at the crash site minutes after the airplane came to rest and there was smoke inhalation and people were coming out of the fuselage as fast as they could.

SIMON: The spectacular crash of Asiana flight 214 was captured on amateur video and on surveillance cameras. The Boeing 777 descending too low on landing, crashing into the seawall and cartwheeling across the runway, tragically claiming the lives of three passengers and ejecting two flight attendants from the aircraft on impact.

A court may eventually have to decide whether fire crews on this video were negligent and should be held accountable for the teenager's death.

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SIMON: And why it took so long for this video to come out is also an important question. We reached out to the San Francisco Fire Department for a response. At this point they haven't gotten back to us. It is important to remember that you did have many firefighters who acted in a heroic fashion that day. But clearly this is something that they're going to need to address in a clear and transparent fashion. Chris, we'll send it back to you.

CUOMO: All right, Dan Simon in San Francisco, thank you very much.

The alleged movie shooter in Florida, a decorated for police captain, is now being held without bond. And his lawyer says he has a good defense. CNN's Martin Savidge is following developments from Wesley Chapel in Florida. Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. The movie theater where the shooting took place is expected to reopen today. When it does, there will be extra security on hand. And the defense attorney for Curtis Reeves is saying that his client felt threatened and that he fired the fatal shot in self-defense. We're learning more about the victim and the shooter this morning.

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SAVIDGE: Friends say 43-year-old Chad Oulson served in the Navy, loved riding dirt bikes, and was crazy about his young daughter. Friends say 71-year-old Curtis Reeves served in the Navy, loves motorcycles, and is a standup guy. Somehow, texting in this movie theater left Oulson dead, Reeves facing life in prison, and a community and nation dumbfounded. Reeves is charged with second degree murder, something his friends find unimaginable for this former swat team leader.

JIM DIAMOND, FORMER CO-WORKER: When they identified the person involved in the incident as Curtis Reeves I just couldn't believe it.

SAVIDGE: Jim Diamond spent 15 years serving with Reeves on the Tampa PD.

DIAMOND: We literally have risked our lives together on more than one occasion.

SAVIDGE: Documents obtained by CNN from the Tampa police department when Reeves was there support that claim, with one troubling exception. According to this evaluation covering 1978 through '79 which says, quote, "His demeanor is generally very professional. He has however occasionally allowed his temper to detrimentally affect his manner of dealing with his supervisors."

This is apparently not the first time Reeves has been upset about texting in a movie theater. Jamira Dixon contacted detectives after hearing about the shooting

JAMIRA DIXON, CONFRONTED BY SUSPECT: It could have been us.

SAVIDGE: Dixon recalls a similar run-in with Reeves when he allegedly confronted her for texting in a theater about two weeks ago. And Dixon says he then approached another movie goer, saying --

DIXON: Can you do me a favor, can you please just stop texting.

SAVIDGE: Defense attorneys say Reeves shot Oulson after he struck the former policeman in the face with an unknown object. Witnesses say it was popcorn Oulson threw. As for the texting, investigators say Oulson was simply talking to the babysitter to check on his daughter. Like Reeves' friends, Oulson's friends are also in disbelief, in this case that something so trivial like texting would take a dad from a child and a husband from a wife.

SEVERIO MONGELLI, FAMILY FRIEND: Just a good, all-around guy, father of a beautiful little girl. Just a tragic loss.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: CNN has made several attempts to try to talk to the defense attorney of Curtis Reeves, but so far we've had no response from them. Chris and Kate, I should point out that only one shot was fired inside of the theater, and authorities now reveal there was a reason for that. The gun that was used jammed after the first shot, which begs the question could it have been possible the gunman could have fired more than once? The authorities simply say they have no idea what his intent was. BOLDUAN: Martin Savidge, thank you so much, Martin.

Let's get over to John Berman in for Michaela for more of today's top stories.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Kate. We're going to begin with breaking news this morning from Iraq. Dozens dead and almost 100 wounded in a series of bombings in and around Baghdad. The death toll right now stands at 26, but that is expected to rise. Six car bombs went off in Baghdad, another bombing at a funeral almost 40 miles to the north. This is just the latest violence as Iraqi security forces, largely Shiite, battle with Al Qaeda and also Sunni tribesman for territory in Iraq.

New this morning, the NSA is said to be using radio frequencies to spy on nearly 100,000 computers around the world. "The New York Times" reports the agency can access computers other countries have tried to protect from cyber attacks, even if they're not connected to the internet. Targets includes the Chinese army, Russian military, drug cartels, Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, also India and Pakistan.

More than 100,000 West Virginians now being told they can drink tap water again. That must come as welcome news -- coming one week after a chemical leak contaminating the water for some 300,000 people in that state. About half the people are still under a "do not use" order this morning. West Virginia's attorney general announcing the start of an investigation to see if criminal charges are warranted against the chemical company involved.

The case of a brain dead pregnant woman in Texas now in the hands of a judge. The family of Marlise Munoz asking the court to force a Fort Worth hospital to take her off life support, calling her treatment cruel and obscene mutilation. They claim the hospital misinterpreted a state law requiring pregnant women to be kept alive to protect the unborn child. The family argues that the law does not even apply here because Munoz is brain dead and therefore legally speaking, not alive.

And finally, proof that lightning in fact can strike twice. Check out 13-year-old Eastern Gomat (ph). Look at that, sinking a stunning full-court shot at the buzzer to help his Winona, Minnesota YMCA team win a big game in Westconsicin (ph) last weekend. That's an amazing shot, right? Lifetime shot. You make that once in 10 lifetimes. Amazing.

However, when the 8th grader returned home, a local Minneapolis TV station stopped by for an interview and asked him to recreate the one in a million shot, and he sank the thing again on the first try.

BOLDUAN: On the first try?

BERMAN: On the first try. So Easton (ph), you can be on my team any time you would like.

BOLDUAN: I am voting for him next time there's a half court shot contest at any NBA game. BERMAN: That was full court. I mean, that was like, amazing.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, you're right. What am I talking about? That's even better!

CUOMO: Wow, what an arm. I've only even heard of that as a myth one other time -- and he'll like this -- about Larry Byrd. Supposedly Larry Byrd was being interviewed once and he had a court in his backyard and he through a basketball the length of the court and in. And they were like, "Wow, that's amazing." And he supposedly did it twice. That was a myth. This is a kid and he actually did it.

BOLDUAN: Question. Where's Larry Byrd from?

CUOMO: He is from Queens, New York.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: French like Indiana.

CUOMO: By way of Queens, New York. He was known as Enzo (ph) Byrd.

Let's get over to Indra. Indra told me that, that that's where he's from.

INDRA PETERSONS, METEOROLOGIST: I had to talk about Queens all the time.

All right, guys. Let's take a look at the weather across the country this morning where things are definitely a lot milder. We had some rain up and down the east coast yesterday, but that system is well offshore.

but we know there are several systems behind it. So let's take a look at the next one. You can actually see so weak on the radar, that as it continues to progress to the east, it will dry out. So this is not going to impact you too much today. Yes, you may get some light showers, but the bulk of the moisture is actually expected to stay offshore. So really, what you're going to be looking at is mostly cloudy conditions on the east coast and cooler temperatures.

But there's another guy behind even that one. So there you go. The next system's gonna be coming way north from Canada, so it's going to bring even some cooler air with this system. And remember, when the air is that cold, you're going to start getting strong winds.

So in the Dakotas, in towards Minnesota today, you're gonna be talking about blizzard conditions. You're not talking about a lot of snow (inaudible) even Chicago overnight, starting to see a little bit of snow out of this. But again, so dry that even by the time it makes its way to the east coast, not really looking for a lot out of this. Maybe by the weekend, you'll get a couple of flurries. Big thing again, cool temperatures.

However, remember we talked about Minnesota, you talked about the Dakotas, not a lot of snow, but you have very strong winds, so with that, the blizzard conditions. Some places will. I mean, the farther north you are, maybe around Minneapolis, you've got six to eight inches of snow there. four to six inches in the Ohio Valley, by the time it progresses maybe about Thursday through Friday.

Bigger story, temperatures they are going down, not too much, nothing like we saw a few weeks ago. But enough, 10, 12 degrees below normal from the first front. You rebound by tomorrow, then they kind of down again. It's kind of this flip-flop weather pattern over the next several days. But eventually, by the weekend, we'll see some 30s back into the northeast, which is typical for this time of year. So nothing too major for the east coast, a little bit of snow for the Lakes. But you're kind of Midwesterners, you're so used to it, it's no biggie, right?

BOLDUAN: We're so used to it. And we're so great at basketball.

PETERSONS: So much better in Queens.

BOLDUAN: And football.

PETERSONS: Whoa.

CUOMO: Whoa. That's crazy talk and not science.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

Gonna to take a break here on NEW DAY.

Love them or hate them, "Duck Dynasty" is back. And controversial comments from the patriarch -- right there -- could they actually lift the show to new record ratings? What to expect, we're going to be taking a look.

CUOMO: And then, did Governor Chris Christie hit the right notes in his state of the state address to satisfy his critics? Probably not. But was it enough to allow him to survive? That's the question.

Plus, Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon take on the governor bridge scandal. You got to hear their unique take.

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BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Tonight, "Duck Dynasty" returns for its fifth season. It will feature patriarch Phil Robertson who was, as you remember, briefly suspended from the show last month for angering many with what is seen as clearly homophobic and racially insensitive comments. But whether that scandal ultimately helps or hurts the show, fans will be tuning in tonight to a very changed "Duck Dynasty," and they will have to answer that question for themselves.

And John Berman is looking at that.

BERMAN: Hey, you know, everybody's angry at everyone here, except, you know who's not angry? A&E. They have managed to raise huge interest and publicity in these new shows of "Duck Dynasty," which were filmed before Phil Robertson said what he said. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentleman, start your engines.

BERMAN (voice-over): Like it or not, the Robertson family of A&E's hit reality who "Duck Dynasty" returns to the air waves tonight. And by all signs, a whole lot of people still like it a lot. The new season of the show promises all the crazy antics that viewers have been tuning in for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to duck commander first annual burger cook- off.

BERMAN: Last month, the show's future was in question when show patriarch Phil Robertson was temporarily suspended from filming after an interview with "GQ" in which he questioned whether blacks suffered under Jim Crow and was crudely critical of gay Americans.

Robertson had this to say about homosexuality, "It's logical my man. It's just not logical."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's so strange is that all the episodes we're gonna start seeing tonight are episodes that were taped well before this whole controversy with Phil Robertson started.

BERMAN: The question is, could the scandal actually help the show? Robertson was quickly reinstated by A&E and industry insiders expect record breaking ratings tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Act like they ain't never seen a man on a scooter before. Yeah, go on around me, you idiot!

BERMAN: It's already the second highest rated series on cable TV, pulling in an average of nearly 14 million viewers. And it practically prints money with duck-themed products available at stores like at Walmart, Target and Khol's. Forbes estimates their merchandise brought in about $400 million in 2013.

PHIL ROBERTSON, PATRIARCH OF ROBERTSON FAMILY: Who's the greatest hunter you ever met? Who's a great fisherman?

BERMAN: Great hunter, great fisherman and judging by the ratings so far, great entertainer who could fall into that category of such thing as bad publicity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think "Duck Dynasty" will be rejuvenated by what happened last month. Now it has a chance to regain that, all of that momentum. Now it has a chance to come back and maybe be bigger than ever.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN (on-camera): Viewers can expect to meet a new family member this season, Rebecca Robertson. She is the oldest daughter of Willie and Korie. She was an exchange student from Taiwan they later brought into the family. And you know, A&E clearly has a lot of confidence in this show. It's going up against "American Idol," which you know I don't watch, but I understand it does pretty well.

BOLDUAN: It does do that. Thanks, John.

CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, Shezanne Cassim just released after nine months in a Middle Eastern prison for a joke he made. He's going to join us live in a NEW DAY exclusive.