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Coverage Of The Mass Shooting In Virginia Beach; Trump on Meghan Markle: "I Didn't Know That She was Nasty"; Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Will Not Challenge Trump in Primary; Radio Host Compares Elizabeth Warren to Rachel Dolezal; Trump Overruled Top Economic Advisers with Tariff Decision on Mexico; Trump Announces White House Special Counsel Emmet Flood to Leave Post; Witness Alyssa Andrews Photographed Shooting Victim in Virginia Beach & Described Scene. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 01, 2019 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00] JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: And we begin with the headline we shouldn't have to bring you, 12 lives lost for no reason at all. These 12 lives lost because yet again there has been a mass shooting in America. This one happened in Virginia Beach at a municipal building just as the workday was winding down on Friday.

City workers wrapping up those last little things before they could head home for their weekend, be with their families, and that's when the gunfire started. Round after round after round fired by a fellow employee armed with two guns. And in the end police found bodies on all three floors of the building. Another victim shot dead in a car just outside. That's 12 people who will never go home. And for some of the survivors it is memories they will never shake of barricading their doors, not knowing if they would make it out alive before officers finally evacuated them past their fallen colleagues. The mayor hailing those first responders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BOBBY DYER, VIRGINIA BEACH: Let me just say this. We will not be defined by this horror. We will go forward. We are a city of resiliency and resolve. The true character of our city is going to rest with our public, our citizens and our neighbors that we share borders with. There's one thing that is most evident that has come about. We in Virginia Beach are a city of heroes. We have heroes with our military, we have many members of our public that help and save lives, but most of all let me commend the officers, the people that ran into a building with an active shooter shooting .45-caliber bullets and saved many people. Without doubt or reservation Virginia Beach is a city of heroes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: There is no doubt about that.

CNN's Erica Hill leading our team coverage now from Virginia Beach.

And Erica, we are getting a new account of the gunman who was killed during the shootout with police following the rampage. What can you tell us?

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are learning bits and pieces as we are all trying to put together a picture of who this person was. Jessica, police confirming just moments ago the suspect had not been fired from his job. There was some question about that, although, remember, he had a hard pass to get into areas of the building. So there was some question as to if he had been fired why he would have that pass. Again, he was not fired.

We are also now hearing from a co-worker of the man who, again, police say opened fire in the workplace, taking those 12 lives on Friday. So this other person who works in the building says that both he and the suspect had exchanged words that they would talk now and then. He said, look, he seemed like a good guy to me. They would talk about different things, their families, their friends. And on Friday they ran into one another in the bathroom and they exchanged pleasantries, talking about whether they had plans for the weekend, the gunman said no and then they wished each other to have a good weekend.

We are also starting to learn some more information from the Virginia Beach police who tell us his age, 40 years old, that he worked for the city for 15 years as a certified professional engineer. He worked in the public utilities department. Also a state government source describing this killer as a disgruntled employee.

I want to bring in now Miguel Marquez who is here with me.

And you have been digging on a bit more on this. We know the FBI -- we have seen the FBI busy behind us in the last little bit. They are now in charge of the evidence recovery. They are bringing everything out. They are basically taking over the investigation at this point. We are waiting on a timeline and that's going to be really interesting too. We are told that will come tomorrow.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are waiting on a timeline because after that conversation in the bathroom, what is interesting, there was an incident where someone was shot in a car just outside this building and then the gunman went into the building and started shooting. So it is not clear what happened. They just took away a white SUV from the location, presumably that is the gunman's car.

We know that he had a .45-caliber pistol on him, at least one. He also had several high-capacity magazines. He engaged in a gun fight. This is sort of a governmental campus for Virginia Beach. The police station is very nearby. Senior investigators and two other police officers that manage canine units rushed in.

I mean you cannot emphasize this enough. They went, they heard the shooting, they were trying to help victims, they knew something was going on inside, they moved into the building, engaged the gunman. One of those police officers got hit in the chest and he was saved by his bullet-proof vest. As soon as they took down the gunman, they then started rendering aid to the gunman, trying to save him. He did not survive. The ATF a short time ago gave us a bit more information on the guns that they recovered so far. Working with Virginia Beach police department, state police and our

partners with the FBI. We identified two weapons used in the shooting yesterday. Both weapons are .45-caliber pistols. One was purchased in 2016, one was purchased in 2018. Both pistols were purchased by the shooter and all indications are they were purchased legally.

[16:05:21] HILL: So that's what we heard from ATF in terms of those guns. I know that CNN has also reached out to his parent and we're hearing from the shooter's parents. Did they offer any insight?

MARQUEZ: Not a lot. They had not even heard at the point that CNN got hold of them, and they are saying that they were unaware of any issues. You hit this off the top of this segment that investigators think he was not fired from his job. Parents echoing that when CNN contacted them, saying they were unaware of any issues that this individual had with his job. So right now motive very much a mystery.

HILL: Yes. The investigation obviously very much ongoing. It has been literally just 24 hours, so still so much to learn, Miguel. Thank you.

We do now know the names of all 12 of the victims who were killed just behind me. And we want to tell you more about those 12 lives lost because these are the names that you will be hearing. These are the pictures we are going to show you.

Laquita Brown. She was a right-of-way agent in the public works department for 4 1/2 years. She loved football. We are told she was an enthusiastic fan of the Baltimore ravens also a Florida state Seminole fan.

Tara Welch Gallagher was a public works engineer for six years. She monitored water quality in the city's Lake James and also educated the public about efforts to improve water quality.

Mary Louise Gayle, a city employee here for 24 years. Also working as a right-of-way agent in the public works department.

Alexander Mikhail Gusev was a right-of-way agent as well for the public works department. Nine years he spent here.

Katherine A. Nixon, a 10-year veteran of the city's public utilities department.

Richard H. Nettleton, also an engineer who worked in the public utilities department for 28 years.

And Christopher Kelly Rapp, an engineer, who worked in the public works department. He had been here less than a year, just 11 months since he started that job here for the city.

Ryan Keith Cox, an account clerk who worked in public utilities in that department for more than a dozen years.

Joshua A. Hardy, an engineering technician, again in the public utilities department. He worked there for 4 1/2 years. Michelle Langer also was killed. She was known as Missy. She worked

as an administrative assistant for the last 12 years.

And Robert "Bobby" Williams. He was the longest serving employee among victims. He had been the special projects coordinator for the city in the public utilities department. He worked here for 41 years.

Those are the 11 public employees who were killed.

Herbert, otherwise known as Bert, Snelling's (ph) life was also taken. He is a local contractor and he was in the building on Friday afternoon trying to fill a permit when that shooting happened.

Today Virginia Beach's police chief is airing some more details about the difficulties facing law enforcement officers as they are struggling at this point to process that horrific scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JAMES CERVERA, VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is a large-scale crime scene. It is a horrific crime scene. And please understand it takes not only physical, emotional and psychological toll on everyone who spent the night inside that particular building. The officers checked every room on every floor, every closet, under every desk, and they escorted a large number of city employees out of the building. And remember, they are escorting them out of the building while the victims were still in the building.

I want you to know those officers worked with compassion. They worked with caring. They worked with professionalism in assisting our brothers and sisters who work for our city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: With us now is Virginia Beach mayor Bobby Dyer.

You said earlier that your city will not be defined by this horror. You said, I'm going to quote you here, the city will be defined by love and compassion because this is Virginia Beach. That is certainly what we have heard from so many people, that this is what you want to focus on, this city throwing its arms around its citizens.

DYER: No, without doubt, question. And the greatest strength of Virginia Beach are the people of Virginia Beach. You know, since I have been mayor for a little over six months but on council 14 years, I see out in the community the willingness of people to always help their neighbors and get along. And you know, we have a very strong military, you know, presence here and the military is part of our DNA here, you know. And you know, we got a city that we are proud of.

And the other thing is too we are a city of heroes. When you think about the military that's here, you know, we have a lifesaving award that we give out periodically, the average citizen that just saves lives because a lot of times the average citizen is the first responder. But, you know, when you talk about the four officers that went in, imagine getting a call like that and having to go into a building with an active shooter who is actively shooting.

[16:10:25] HILL: And by all accounts they did not hesitate for a moment. We know that there also had been an active shooter training just the day before. We are waiting on the full timeline on this, I know, from the city before the investigation, but to your point they went right in. One of them took a bullet and was saved by his bullet proof vest. You have a number of times in the last 24 hours talked about how it is because of those four officers who went in that this death toll is not higher.

DYER: Well, you know, it speaks highly to the caliber of, you know, the men and women we have in our police department, but it also goes as training. You know, it just doesn't end with graduation from the police academy. You know, these -- these folks constantly train and, you know, train and train. And when you think about all of the difficult situations that they are put in on a daily basis, you know, you don't -- you never know when you get that call, you know, what you are going to wind up with, you know, in terms of any situation, but they are trained to deal with any situation that comes up.

HILL: You know, when we talk about situations like this, in a tight- knit community first responders, there always will be a chance when they respond to the call they know the person. In a building like this with officers who worked so close by, that does add another layer as they are going in and they are responding, in terms of not only in the moment but afterwards, what they are dealing with, seeing people they know.

DYER: And don't forget the police department is basically 100 yards away from this thing. We are a community and you have to realize that -- and I'm sure you do -- that, you know, employees work together, and this was the people's house. This is where people freely can be and go in and conduct their business and, you know. And I guess the thing is that, you know, we are the safest city for a city our size and this rocked our foundation. And now it is up to us to get it back.

HILL: When you got that call, what went through your mind?

DYER: I tell you what, I was driving home -- you know, I'm a home care physical therapist, that's my day job. I got a call there was an active shooter in building two. OK, so I started heading toward city hall. And then I started getting a call there were three casualties, then I got another call, there were six casualties. And I'll tell you what, and you know, when I got to city hall and got with the staff and everything, there was never a more solemn group. And you know, it was just horror, it was shock. It was terrible.

HILL: I imagine there's still a fair amount of shock. It has only been, as we know, 24 hours.

DYER: Twenty four hours.

HILL: You mentioned it is the people's house, where people come to do their business. One of those people yesterday was your good friend, Bert Snelling, a contractor here who was coming in to get a permit. Tell us about him, if you would, because it is important in these situations to know who the victims are.

DYER: You know, as a mayor or as a human being when people die in a carnage like that it affects you, but when you know personally and intimately one of the victims -- I met Bert five years ago. He was a carpenter and he came and repaired my house and we became friends. We got together and met, the wives got together. And I tell you what, you know, it is just such a sense of loss and a sense that this didn't have to happen. It didn't have to happen.

HILL: There is a lot of love and a lot of support coming your way for the city today. I know you feel it and I know you stressed in the last press conference. But this is not something that will be temporary for the city, that you will be known for your love and compassion, not just in the days after this but moving forward.

DYER: That's how we are going to define ourselves.

HILL: Mayor, thank you for coming by. You have a lot going on, we appreciate it. Thank you.

DYER: Thank you.

HILL: Our live coverage from Virginia Beach will continue in a moment. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:00] HILL: Police say the man who killed 12 people in the municipal building that is just behind me here in Virginia Beach was using guns which he had obtained legally. Those guns, of course, at least one used to open fire on his co-workers. Now, he reportedly walked through every floor, all three floors of this building, that was found, except for the basement. People were shot on each one of those floors.

Last hour the police chief spoke about how officers train for these situations, but even with that training why things were different this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CERVERA: We train extensively. We train extensively on firearms tactics. We train extensively on self-defense tactics. We train extensively on de-escalation tactics. Now in this particular case there was no de-escalation tactics. He was firing his weapons. As soon as he saw the officers he engaged firing weapons at the officers. So we train in what is called close-quarter battle. That's the best term I could give you. And that is officers position themselves to take the tactical advantage in order to use deadly force.

And I have to really accentuate that. They are the only ones in society who are allowed to use deadly force on an individual, and they take that very seriously. In this particular case they reverted back to their tactics, to their training, and I have to tell you that they reverted back to their self-discipline that our officers have because they learn that in training and they reverted back to the discipline we have as a police agency in order to return fire as tactically and efficiently as possible, and that's what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining us now, two law enforcement experts. Art Roderick spent 25 years with the U.S. Marshals service. We are also joined by Cedric Alexander, former president of national organization of black law enforcement executives.

Art, as we look at all of this in terms of the investigation, in talking about the trainings, we know on Thursday there was an active shooter training.

[16:20:02] ART RODERICK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes.

HILL: You learn from each event that happens. Based on what information we have today, do you think this will change at all that response to an active shooter?

RODERICK: I think the tactics are going to remain the same, but I mean once the -- once law enforcement puts all of this together they will look at the video tapes, they will look at the timing on the radio transmissions, put it all together and see if the training has to be changed.

Now, I worked both for department of justice and department of homeland security which provided a lot of training to state and local first responders. And I have to tell you that on the very first page of that instruction manual there's three sentences that you probably will never hear in any other block of training, and I quote, "without proper intervention by the on-scene law enforcement officers armed suspects can continue to cause serious bodily harm or death. The first law enforcements on the scene must be prepared and trained to enter the area, confront the suspect and stop the violence. First responders to the active shooter scene will usually be required to place themselves in harm's way and display uncommon acts of courage to save the innocent. First responders must understand and accept the role of protector and be prepared to meet violence with controlled aggression.'

I can tell you that those sentences you never hear in any other block of instruction that you get as a police officer or law enforcement officer in the United States.

HILL: It is something to hear you read them aloud like that. One of the things that really stood out to me rather, Cedric, as we are learning about not only that there are these -- that there were these high-capacity magazines that were found, but also a suppressor, which I had not heard before. And I couldn't help but think about the impact that would have had on the people in that building, because if this is to suppress the sound of that gun then it also makes it harder for people to know what is going on, for them to take cover and it makes it all the more terrifying.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, that's absolutely correct.

RODERICK: Yes, the -- go ahead, Cedric.

HILL: Yes. Go ahead, Cedric.

RODERICK: Sorry.

ALEXANDER: That's absolutely correct. And let me say this, any time -- and that is what is really troublesome about this particular incident, is that he was equipped with a suppressor, which means he was able to enter that building and do a lot of harm, as we have seen, and we don't know how many people could have further got away had that sound not been suppressed. It also makes it more of a challenge to those heroic officers that entered the building, because what they move towards is the sound of gunfire. But they were able to locate that target, they were able to neutralize the target and they were able to save many lives we suspect as a result of their own heroism and their valor under fire. But that is very concerning, the fact that he had that particular item in his possession, a suppressor. It is very troubling to all of us.

HILL: As we are looking at this too -- and, again, we heard from the police chief that we are expected to have at least a partial timeline in terms of the response from those four officers who responded, you know. And thankfully, the police department is just a little over 100 yards away from this building two behind me.

But, Art, when we look at the timeline, part of the timeline that will go further back that will be important as well is when these high- capacity magazines were purchased. We know that the guns according to the ATF we just learned a short time ago, the two guns found at the scene were purchased legally in 2016 and 2018.

RODERICK: Yes.

HILL: But tying together some of the purchases perhaps on what they may see on social media or even some of the other forensics they will do on his electronics, that could be a very important clue as to the mindset.

RODERICK: That is going to be a key clue. And that's one of the things I picked up from the press conference with the chief. This individual seems to fit the profile that the FBI has come up with in dealing with these types of active shooters. Ninety-eight percent of them are committed by a single person, 96 percent are male, 78 percent of these active shooting incidents, there's some connection between the shooter and somebody in this office space, 29 percent of the incidents occur in school, 35 percent occur -- I'm sorry, 55 percent occur in a commercial area, 46 percent of these individuals are taken down and neutralized by law enforcement officers. The other 40 percent commit suicide.

So this particular individual seems to fit the standard profile of what the FBI has studied in the past in a lot of these active shooter incidents. And if you look at some of the databases that are out there, this could be number 150 mass casualty event that has occurred since January 1st of this year alone. [16:25:06] HILL: Reporter: It is -- certainly puts it in stark

perspective. We are going to have to leave it there, gentlemen, but I know we will continue to discuss this of more.

Art Roderick, Cedric Alexander, always appreciate your expertise. Thank you, both.

We will continue the live coverage from here at Virginia Beach throughout the afternoon, but I want to send it back to Jessica Dean in New York who is covering some of the other stories -- Jess.

DEAN: All right, Erica. Thanks so much. We will see you in a bit.

Just ahead, President Trump doesn't meet the queen of England until Monday but he is already making waves already with comments about Meghan Markle and who he would like to see as prime minister.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:29:21] DEAN: President Trump leaves for the UK tomorrow for an official state visit and he is kicking off the trip by criticizing new mom and duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle. Here is part of an interview Trump gave to the British newspaper, "the Sun."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, Meghan, who is now the duchess of Sussex.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have given her a different name. She can't make it because she has maternity leave. Are you sorry not to see her because she wasn't some nice about you during the campaign. I don't know if you saw that.

TRUMP: I don't. I didn't know that. No, I hope she is OK. No, I did not know that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said she would move to Canada if you got elected. Turned out she moved to Britain.

TRUMP: Yes, that will be good. There are a lot of people moving here, so what can I say. No, I didn't know that she was nasty.

[16:30:06] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it good having an American princess, Mr. President?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it is nice. I think it is nice. I'm sure she will do excellently. She will be -- she'll be very good. She will be very good. I hope she does.

(END AUDIO FEED)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, on Monday President Trump will come face-to-face with Meghan's husband, Prince Harry. We will cover the full visit right here on CNN. In the meantime, here to talk about the diplomatic tight rope both

sides are sure to walk, CNN's political commentators, Doug Heye and Charles Blow. Doug is a Republican strategist. Charles is an opinion columnist for the "New York Times."

Gentlemen, thanks for being here.

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

Charles, I want to start with you.

If you are President Trump, why make these comments at all, but especially on the eve of the visit overseas?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I will say this. I don't like the way the question was asked. All of it is wrong.

When the questioner asked, he says, she wasn't very nice to you, actually, just relook at the clip of what she actually said. She just says there's misogyny and sexism. That's a fact. So if you listen to the "Access Hollywood" tape, that's a fact. She that is not, she's not being nice to you. She was recounting a fact that existed during the campaign and exists today.

If you look at the way President Trump deals with women he is attracted to and those who are owe opposed to him, and you look at that and you can't see misogyny and sexism in that, you're blind or you're willfully blind. Because there's no way you can't see it.

She was stating a fact. Wrong for the questioner to say she's not being nice by stating a fact.

Also, there's a particular way he responds to people who are opposed to him and they're women. This whole "nasty woman" thing. It is a recurring rhetoric in him about women who are opposed to him. That's not good.

But also the whole -- the situation isn't good. I will --

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: The whole premise?

BLOW: The whole premise. When you pose the question in that way and he respond in that way, he is doing exactly what he will do, but also he is being led to do it.

DEAN: Doug, I want to get to 2020, but just quickly your thoughts on that as well? Do you agree?

HEYE: Certainly, it is not ideal. I spoke to somebody who is a British government official who is in London preparing for the trip today, about this and the comments, the very positive comments President Trump made about Boris Johnson. They told me they were trying to ignore the Meghan Markle comments. And when it came to Boris Johnson, that they were, to quote this person, "very relaxed about it." They, in fact, expected he would probably say something like that.

DEAN: But it is the Markle comment that caught them off guard a little bit.

HEYE: It did. And they're trying to ignore it.

DEAN: Right, right.

HEYE: Probably the smart thing to do.

DEAN: OK, I want to turn now to 2020 because we just learned that Maryland's Governor, Larry Hogan, is not going to challenge President Trump in the Republican primary.

Doug, how significant is it that Hogan is backing off this idea?

HEYE: Well, I think it is a reality where Donald Trump's approval is and the intensity of that approval rating within -- within the Republican Party. We see poll after poll where he's at 85 percent to 95 percent approval for within the Republican Party. It means it is very hard for anybody to really credibly challenge him in a primary.

I think Governor Hogan, who I am a massive fan of and who ran a brilliant campaign to win in Maryland, a state I have worked in, and know how hard it is for Republicans to do well there, I think he saw the reality and he has a long political future ahead of him. This is the right call.

DEAN: To your point, we probably will see more of him in the years to come.

HEYE: Mm-hmm.

DEAN: All right. Charles, I want to play you an exchange that Senator Elizabeth Warren had recently on Charlemagne the God, with "The Breakfast Club." It is about the controversy over her Native American ancestry. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLEMAGNE THE GOD, HOST, THE BREAKFAST CLUB: You are kind of like the original Rachel Dolezal a little bit. Rachel Dolezal is a white woman pretending to be black.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): No, this is what I learned from my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So he alluded to this. But just to remind everyone, that Dolezal says she identifies as black but she was born white. She later called herself trans-racial.

Warren says her parents told her she was Native American ancestry. What do you make of this comparison and that moment?

BLOW: When, if you listen to Charlemagne the God, he's good at this kind of provocative question. That's I think it is an attempt to be provocative. And good for him because it gets ratings for him.

However, on the substance of it, you know, the idea of ancestry in America is very tricky. And we are told stories about where we come from and we're not.

You know, why I look through photo albums and I'm looking at my great- grandfather, he is incredibly light skinned. I'm like, how did this happen because there's no white people I know of in the family. Or all of the people in the south who think that they're completely white and what the research shows is in some states, up to 12 percent of them, have black ancestry.

You are told stories through your family that you are something and what -- the kind of new DNA age is telling us that they're not always true.

[16:35:06] I think her bigger problem was trying to say that all of -- to be Native American was simply about DNA and not about culture and not -- and that was, I think, what rubbed people, particularly the Native American community, wrong the most.

For her to publish the results and say, see, there's a little piece in here and that means that I am, that was the problem. I think that she will overcome that. There are so many bigger issues.

And I think she is such a great candidate among a lot of great candidates that she will overcome that.

But it is a sticking point. And it will be a thing that if she survives and becomes the nominee, they will throw at her as she has to find a way to deal with that.

DEAN: Gentlemen, thanks so much. Lots of interesting things there.

BLOW: Thank you.

DEAN: We appreciate you being with us.

And also a programming note. Be sure to tune back in for three back- to-back Democratic CNN presidential town halls. Tomorrow night, it is Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton at 6:00, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan at 7:00, and California Congressman Eric Swalwell at 8:00. It is tomorrow, right here on CNN.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:39:52] DEAN: The White House is defending President Trump's decision to place tariffs on all Mexican imports. But behind the scenes, we are learning it is a very different picture. There's a serious divide among staff and we're told the president's top two economic advisers, pictured here, actually opposed the move. And his son in-law, Jared Kushner, even called him from overseas to urge him not to impose tariffs.

Instead, the president blindsided Republicans and announced he will impose a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican imports starting June 10th.

That number, as you see, gradually increases until Mexico steps up its efforts to stop illegal immigration in ways President Trump has yet to specify.

I want to bring in Rick Helfenbein, the president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association.

Rick, when President Trump announced the tariffs on China last month, you said that U.S. farmers and retailers were, quote, "beyond freaked." That was your quote. What are they now?

RICK HELFENBEIN, PRESIDENT & CEO, AMERICAN APPAREL & FOOTWEAR ASSOCIATION: We have reached an additional stage in this. You know, we are having enough trouble just dealing with China, and then Thursday night at 8:00, the president tweeted about Mexico. Mexico wasn't even in the equation.

And we were in the process of doing a lot of what we do in China, moving it to Mexico, and that door is closing. Then, just yesterday, we got hit with India's possibility. At least they removed GSP and they're going to do some serious looking at India.

We don't know where to go. We don't know what exactly to do next. We try to be good corporate citizens and follow the trade policies that are established by the government.

And clearly, this thing with Mexico -- you know, immigration and trade are not the same thing. They're not cut from the same piece of cloth.

And the fact that we will be punished, because our industry will be punished by this, makes no sense to us. Yes, we have an immigration problem but what does it have to do with trade with Mexico?

You know, the standard argument is be a patriot, let's do this. Let's bring to the table people who are willing to talk about how to solve this problem.

Well, I'm sorry, we are businesspeople. We plan three to six months in advance. And, you know, the idea that we're going to be disrupted in this manner is just a no-go. It is a no-go.

DEAN: How difficult -- to that point, how difficult does it make you all to plan to grow businesses, to grow American companies and American jobs?

HELFENBEIN: Well, you know, the standard line I like to say is, we know, that by doing this, prices are going to go up. When prices go up, sales go down. When sales go down, jobs get lost. This is indicative to what is going on. We're building businesses in America. We're building lots of

structure around the world to support it. This is totally disruptive to that.

The president -- let's say he means well, but he's not helping us. Please, one message to the president, stop helping us. You're not helping us anymore.

DEAN: And this coming from all of your members?

HELFENBEIN: Oh, my phone has been ringing off the hook. But it is not the usual conversations that you get. Some of it --

DEAN: What makes this different?

HELFENBEIN: Well, they're stunned. They're going, is it true? Can you imagine getting a phone call, is it true? Well, is what true? Are they going to be tariff on my goods from Mexico? Is it true? When does it kick in? How much is it? What is it going to cost me?

DEAN: And you don't know -- and it is hard to know those answers.

HELFENBEIN: We can't see what is coming next. We were in Bob Marley Lalaland for a long time thinking everything was going to be all right, and now it is not all right. And it is getting worse by the day. I'm surprised that the stock market was so calm in its reaction going down.

DEAN: All right.

HELFENBEIN: It was.

DEAN: Yes.

Well, Rick, thank you. Thanks for the message. Thanks for being here on a Saturday. We appreciate it.

HELFENBEIN: My pleasure.

DEAN: Nice to have you here.

[16:44:02] This just in to CNN. A critical member of Trump's legal team is leaving the White House. We will have details on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: This just in. Emmet Flood, the lawyer who has been serving as White House special counsel with a focus on the Mueller investigation, will be leaving in two weeks.

President Trump announced the move in a tweet just moments ago, saying, "Emmet Flood, who came to the White House to help me with the Mueller report, will be leaving service on June 14th. He has done an outstanding job. No collusion, no obstruction, case closed. Emmet is my friend, and I thank him for the great job he has done."

CNN White House reporter, Sarah Westwood, joining us now.

Sarah, of course, the Mueller report not ruling on obstruction there, but what more can you tell us about Emmet Flood's departure?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, Emmet Flood was brought on to be the White House's top lawyer representing President Trump for the Russia investigation. He succeeded Ty Cobb in that role. He came on last summer.

So as the Russia investigation has wound down, he really hasn't had much of a role. He has had less and less to do. And a source tells our colleague, Jeremy Diamond, that President Trump and Emmet Flood met in the Oval Office yesterday to discuss Flood's exit. That was widely expected.

Though, at one point, President Trump had considered Flood to potentially be his White House counsel to replace outgoing White House counsel, Don McGahn. But, ultimately, President Trump put Pat Cipollone in that role. So Cipollone has been handling the White House's responses or nonresponses to congressional oversight attempts to House Democrats requesting documents and testimony from the White House.

There had been questions, according to sources, that potentially Emmet Flood would stay on to maybe help with some of those inquiries, especially if it led to impeachment proceedings, but that hasn't happened yet. And sources say Flood has expressed a desire to return to the private sector, much like Robert Mueller -- Jessica?

DEAN: Sarah Westwood, from the White House. Thanks so much.

[16:49:54] Coming up, we hear from the witness who took this heartbreaking photo at the scene of the Virginia Beach mass shooting.

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DEAN: We are live in Virginia Beach. Behind me, the scene of what is now the deadliest mass shooting this year in the United States.

Among the harrowing and difficult images we have seen in the last 24 hours is this one. In it, what you see is one of the shooting victims, his shirt covered in blood. You can see him being tended to by an officer.

CNN's John Berman spoke with the woman who took the photograph. You will hear now Alyssa Andrews as she described the scene unfolding around her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALYSSA ANDREWS, SHOOTING WITNESS (voice-over): The police were just running back and forth with machine guns in their hands. And I was actually in the car with my grandson.

But when I first noticed, you know, they had blocked the road off so I couldn't go anywhere. I was parked on the side of the road. And then I just saw a police officer run in front of my car with this gentleman that had just gotten shot.

And I told him I was an R.N.. I said, can I help you? I guess they brought him over, he said, no, stay in your car. So they took him away. And I pray that he's OK.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think we all share that with you.

I can't tell from the photo. You just said that he had been shot. So this is his blood presumably we're seeing on him? Did you see --

ANDREWS: I believe so. That's what I heard anyhow. When SWAT -- I don't know. The police came by my car after he had left and said, get out, get out now.

BERMAN: As this was happening, what was going through your head?

[16:55:11] ANDREWS: I just -- I couldn't believe it was happening. I was so afraid because they were circling the building.

I was -- my car, you can probably see in some of the photos, it is the GMC that was right on the corner there. So we were there. And they were -- swat was parked by building one and running, you know, by our car and circling building two where everything happened. I just -- I didn't know what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Just to hear that in her own words.

Tonight, we can tell you, in addition to the 12 people who were killed, four others remain hospitalized. Three of them are in critical condition.

Our live coverage from Virginia Beach continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean, in for Ana Cabrera.

[16:59:58] And tonight, the people of Virginia Beach, Virginia, are dealing with the reality that 12 members of their community are gone. Twelve families ripped apart after the deadliest mass shooting in the United States so far this year.

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