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At Least Eight Killed In Mass Shooting At Indianapolis FedEx Facility; Wright Family Calls For Accountability From Former Officer; Closing Arguments Set For Monday After Chauvin Does Not Testify. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 16, 2021 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: He's on his way there to that FedEx facility. Jason, what do we know?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, as you know, a lot of folks waking up with this tragic news. We can tell you that a number of FedEx employees at this point, still, Christine, trying to be reunited with their family members.

Just to recap what happened here, the initial calls came in just about 11:00 last night. Indiana metro police quickly arrived at the FedEx facility where they said it was an active shooting scene.

One employee says he was on a break when he heard gunshots but at first, he wasn't sure what he had heard. He soon realized that they were shots and that he act -- that he had to act very, very quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was firing at -- in the open and I immediately ducked down and got scared. And my friend's mother, he came -- she came in and told us to get inside the car. And what we've been doing is currently, just telling everyone who is our co-workers to not come -- to not go to work today and said no, that there was an incident that just happened.

TIMOTHY BOILLAT, EMPLOYEE, FEDEX, INDIANAPOLIS: And at the same time, when we were telling them that there was a shootout they basically looked at us and chucked like we were joking. I don't normally joke about things like that and that just isn't OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: So what's clear from what we can gather Christine is that some people were actually shot inside the facility, others were hit in the parking lot just outside the facility.

Police say eight people are dead, four were transported by ambulance to local hospitals. One of those four that were transported is in critical condition. But it's also clear that there were people who were simply walking

wounded who took -- who took themselves to hospitals. This is a facility that borders two counties, as we understand it, and so you can imagine some of the walking wounded went to one hospital, some went to another hospital.

And so at this point, police still trying to get a handle, actually, on the number of those who were injured in this mass shooting.

A family reunification center has been set up at a Holiday Inn Express that's located just within walking distance from the FedEx facility.

I spoke to a clerk at the front desk just a short while ago over the phone. She said that there were about 30 family members who were there. She also said that representatives from FedEx are there as well, talking to family members, trying to give them as much information as possible.

We have a statement from FedEx. I want to read that to you as well.

It says, "We are aware of the tragic shooting at our FedEx ground facility near the Indianapolis airport. Safety is our top priority, and our thoughts are with all those who are affected. We are working to gather more information and are cooperating with the investigating authorities."

So at this point, law enforcement are doing a few things. They are trying to get the employees reunited with family members -- that's first. Second, they are trying to get a handle on the number of those people who were injured. And third, trying to get -- trying to get a motive for this shooting.

What we can tell you at this point is that the shooter, from what we are being told, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Jason Carroll there, heading to the scene in what is an all too familiar journalistic ritual of going to the scene of a mass shooting and reporting to us all the details. Jason, thank you. Be safe today.

Let's bring in Juliette Kayyem, CNN national security analyst and a former assistant secretary with the Department of Homeland Security.

And I'm struck by something. This is a facility where these people were working to keep products flowing during a pandemic, much like the grocery store in Boulder where people were working as frontline workers to help keep -- to keep the community safe during a pandemic. And they are, instead, felled by what is an all too familiar disease in America, which is gun violence.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (via Cisco Webex): Right, the -- we're back to the old disease, which is, of course, these mass shootings.

And you're exactly right that these frontline workers at a supermarket and now at a FedEx, who basically keep the trains running for us as we start to come out and get into the post-COVID-19 world, are quite vulnerable.

In this instance -- just looking at the pictures of where this facility is -- of course, the first part of the investigation will be did the -- did the person work there or have some ties to a FedEx facility, only because it's isolated. It's not a well-known facility in terms of what it is and you sort of wonder about those ties.

The second thing I wanted to pick up on what our reporters are saying is we are in the midst of this. And so as I often say in these mass shootings, we want to know everything that's going on, on the outside.

Family members need to know what's going on because they don't know where their family members are. It's overnight. They may -- they may be asleep or being woken up at this moment. So family unification becomes key right now so that we can begin to identify the victims that are both at the facility and then, of course, the numerous victims that we don't have a specific number about at the hospitals in the area.

[05:35:20]

ROMANS: Officials are telling us there is not a threat at large here because the gunman -- the suspected gunman took his own life there at the scene.

They're calling this a mass casualty situation. So what's the top priority then for investigators right now, beyond the unification?

KAYYEM: Right. So they know who the -- who the person is, presumably. It wouldn't take that long because he is -- it is a self-inflicted wound.

And now you're -- they're going to do both the physical investigation. Who is he? What's at his home? What's online?

And then, of course, the mental motivation aspect, which is what would have brought him -- presumably, it's a him -- to this facility and why would he have targeted it?

Those two pieces will -- are going on simultaneously with the family unification aspects.

And then, I guess -- and then the overlay, of course, is -- which I'll say every single time because it's never too soon -- the capacity to kill this many people this quickly in a single facility is uniquely American. And so we need to find out what kind of weaponry was used. How does someone kill that many people so quickly?

And it seems that the only reason why it stopped was a self-inflicted wound. That's the -- that's the nature of these mass shootings now is that there's almost no time for law enforcement to be able to respond and save people. So that will be part of the investigation as well.

ROMANS: It's just this drumbeat of mass shootings -- KAYYEM: Yes.

ROMANS: -- over the past month. Gun violence is a national threat in this country.

What needs to be done here?

KAYYEM: Right.

ROMANS: I mean, I guess there's the what can be done on a national level from Congress, which I'll keep my thoughts to myself on that --

KAYYEM: Right.

ROMANS: -- but what can be done in terms of companies and families and people --

KAYYEM: Yes.

ROMANS: -- to protect themselves?

KAYYEM: Right. So the notion that if we all arm ourselves we will be safer, right -- this is the notion by NRA and other groups -- is belied and undermined by the fact that we are the most armed society in the world and we have the most number of gun shootings. So that is not working for us, right?

So part of this is, of course, family members and others monitoring people that might be likely to do this and telling authorities and authorities taking that seriously. A lot of times you do have family members saying this person -- we're worried about this family member and authorities not taking it seriously.

On a -- on a national level but also on a local level because you can pass gun regulations on a local level although there would be court battles.

The thing I focus on just from a homeland security perspective is we're not going to get rid of all guns. No one wants to get rid of all guns. That's just a -- that's just a straw man used by gun advocates.

But I do think that we can be -- that rational people can begin to discuss the capacity of assailants and murderers killing people this quickly. I mean that honestly. This weaponry just basically exists to tear people apart in terms of what the -- what the bullets do and to do so quickly.

And so whether this is a handgun -- I suspect it probably isn't -- we need to look at the weaponry that can do so quickly -- kill people quickly. And maybe that's an area where we can get some movement because these mass shootings are occurring.

I wanted to say one more thing. There is a notion that we didn't have mass shootings or we didn't have shootings during COVID. That is not true. We had a bad year. Last year it was just the nature of how we covered them and how they

were reported that was different. Because of COVID, we have -- the gun problem has been a pandemic for us throughout the real pandemic and we'll see if it gets addressed.

ROMANS: Yes, the novelty of COVID, the new disease --

KAYYEM: Yes.

ROMANS: -- taking the top of the headlines from the old disease, gun violence, which kills thousands and thousands of people, too.

KAYYEM: Right.

ROMANS: All right, Juliette Kayyem. Thank you so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

ROMANS: All right.

The U.S., the only country where this happens regularly. We just showed you that map. Essentially, a mass shooting a day since the Atlanta spa massacres exactly a month ago.

CNN's Daniella Diaz live on Capitol Hill. You know, every time this happens, gun rights supporters say this is not the time to talk about guns; this is the time to talk about the victims. And yet, here we are again, Daniella.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Christine, here we are again.

Democratic senators remain optimistic that they can try to pass some sort of legislation to fix these kinds of situations -- any sort of gun safety measures -- but there is still a long way to go on this issue.

[05:40:00]

On one hand, you have Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who is leading a bill right now through the Senate to try to expand background checks. He wants universal background checks and he wants it in legislation. He wants Congress to pass legislation on universal background checks.

And he is aware and acknowledged that anything they pass through the Senate will have to have a narrow scope to be able to get any Republicans to sign on. He wants to see this issue passed. Of course, he represents the state where the Sandy Hook shooting took place in Connecticut.

And on the other hand, you have two senators, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who tried to pass a commercial background check bill in 2013 and it failed. And they have said they're not moving on this from where they stand on this issue. They want commercial background checks. And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has committed to putting a

gun safety measure bill on the floor even if it doesn't pass through the Senate.

So that's where things stand right now on this issue.

But, of course, we always go back to the same problem in the Senate where a lot of legislation stalls because Democrats need at least 10 Republicans to sign on to any legislation to break the filibuster. Because of this 50-50 split in the Senate, they need 60 votes to break the filibuster.

So right now, Sen. Murphy has said that he is speaking with Republicans on this issue to try to get them to -- to convince them to support his legislation and work with him on this issue.

But the bottom line is, after this tragic event happened in Indianapolis last night, this will renew the conversation of what Congress can do to prevent these kinds of shootings happening in the future. This happens time and time again after a mass shooting happens and Congress renews the debate on gun safety measures -- Christine.

ROMANS: The debate often renewed but the political will almost never there.

Daniella Diaz, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:06]

ROMANS: Recapping our breaking news this hour, police say eight people were killed in a mass shooting overnight at a FedEx facility that's near the Indianapolis airport. Four other injured victims were transported to hospitals. One of them, we're told by officials, is in critical condition. Others took themselves to the hospital, so the full scope of the wounded here is not clear yet.

Police say the gunman took his own life. They're asking for patience as they investigate a motive.

We'll have much more on "NEW DAY" in just a few minutes.

Nic Robertson is CNN's international diplomatic editor. He joins us live from Nic (sic).

You know, it's so fascinating to me that you've got a new administration that's trying to retool its foreign policy, but almost on a weekly basis there is a major American tragedy that happens that takes the focus back to the original American disease of gun violence. You know, the U.S. trying to recast itself as a global leader but drowned out by a domestic gun tragedy again, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and what you sort of -- the perspective you get here from Europe and the United Kingdom is this image of America that's still ill at ease itself, that's still deeply divided. And that does detract from President Biden's message of sort of being a global leader for democracy, standing up for the value of human rights.

And when you look and compare the gun crimes here in the U.K. -- 33 fatalities last year. There were 30 the year before. There's been overall sort of a four percent increase in gun crime 2019 to 2020.

The gun crime and gun ownership here is so different to the United States. The contrast between the sort of European life and life in the United States in terms of gun crime is so different.

These are stark statistics so let me run them by you. If you go back to 1987, there was a mass shooting then. Seventeen people were killed. The next one was 1996 in Dunblane, Scotland. Eighteen children were killed.

The gun laws were changed after that, significantly. Anecdotally, I can tell you somebody I know said that they were grateful that those laws were changed because they took the hands of a weapon away from a family -- they took a weapon away from a family member who was considered a little bit mentally unstable. The laws were changed significantly after that.

And the last major shooting spree -- mass killing here in the U.K. was 2010. Twelve people were killed then.

So the incidents of the sorts of things that the United States is experiencing -- almost on a weekly basis -- here, happen every decade.

So, yes, the contrast of the message of a president who stands for democracy and values and cherishes human life and human rights rings true. But there's such a difference between the way that Europeans can see their lives and the lives of people who live in the United States, and that really makes the U.S. position as sort of unequivocal leader that just -- it undermines the narrative, for sure.

Does it change the diplomatic relationship? No. But the way that Europe views the United States is that the United States has a serious gun crime issue that Europe just doesn't.

ROMANS: And often, policymakers more numb than outraged or accepting than outraged, and that's something that we grapple with here, indeed.

All right, Nic Robertson. Thank you so much for that. Nice to see you this morning -- this Friday morning.

All right, to Minnesota now where the family of Daunte Wright is speaking out as the former officer charged with shooting him appears in court.

CNN's Miguel Marquez has more from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Christine, that former police officer, Kim Potter, the 26-year veteran of the police department here in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota -- she was in court for the first time, by Zoom because of the pandemic. It only took a few minutes. There was no plea entered and they'll be a preliminary hearing in the weeks to come.

[05:50:12]

This, on the same day that the entire Wright family gathered to talk about Daunte Wright. His aunt made an impassioned plea that officer be convicted.

NAISHA WRIGHT, DAUNTE WRIGHT'S AUNT: What is justice? Do we get to see Daunte smile? We don't get to see that. Do we get to hear Daunte joke again? We don't get to hear that.

My brother and my sister need this woman to be convicted. If we can have life, we want life. We've got to go life without him.

KATIE WRIGHT, MOTHER OF DAUNTE WRIGHT: Everybody keeps saying justice but unfortunately, there's never going to be justice for us. Justice isn't even a word to me.

I do want accountability -- 100 percent accountability. Like my sister said, the highest accountability. But even then, when that happens, if that even happens, we're still going to bury our son.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Police here at Brooklyn Center Police Station have added security around the station itself, another -- barricades and fencing not only around the station but around the streets around the area as well.

People coming out for a fifth night to rally in the name of Daunte Wright. The young man -- the 20-year-old father of one will be laid to rest next Thursday -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Miguel. Thank you for that, Miguel.

Minneapolis bracing for the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Closing arguments are set for Monday. The former officer who killed George Floyd chose not to testify.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC NELSON, DEREK CHAUVIN'S ATTORNEY: Have you made a decision today whether you intend to testify or whether you intend to invoke your Fifth Amendment privilege?

DEREK CHAUVIN, CHARGED WITH MURDER IN GEORGE FLOYD KILLING: Uh, I will invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege today.

JUDGE PETER CAHILL, HENNEPIN COUNTY, FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT: Is this your decision not to testify? CHAUVIN: It is, your honor.

CAHILL: All right. Do you have any questions about your right to remain silent or to testify on your own behalf?

CHAUVIN: Not at this time, I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The court is not in session today. The jury will be sequestered once the closing arguments begin, so the judge didn't want to hold them for the weekend.

After the defense rested its case, prosecutors called the pulmonologist who testified last week -- this time, as a rebuttal witness. The defense's medical expert said Floyd died partly because he inhaled carbon monoxide while he was pinned on the ground. But, Dr. Martin Tobin says Floyd's blood oxygen levels effectively rule that out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY BLACKWELL, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: Does that tell us anything whatsoever about what the carbon monoxide content could have been at a maximum?

DR. MARTIN TOBIN, PULMONARY CRITICAL CARE DOCTOR: Yes, it does. It tells us that if the -- if hemoglobin is saturated at 98 percent, it tells you all there was for everything else is two percent. And so, the maximum amount of carbon monoxide would be two percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Razor wire has been put up around the downtown Minneapolis police building ahead of the verdict as police prepare for potential unrest across the U.S.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to sign an anti-protest bill passed by lawmakers, largely on partisan lines. This measure stiffens penalties against people taking part in violent protests and bars those arrested for rioting from bailing out of jail until their first court appearance.

Democrats who fought the bill say it infringes on free speech and it targets minority communities and the Black Lives Matter movement, specifically.

Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning -- this Friday morning. Looking at markets around the world, you can see gains in Asia and opening higher in Europe.

China's booming economy a big story this morning -- the fastest quarter in nearly 30 years. Its economy grew 18.3 percent in the first quarter. China, the only major economy to avoid a recession last year.

Back on Wall Street, checking futures to end the week, a mixed performance right now. Stocks rallied Thursday after signs of a great American comeback in the economy here.

Record high for the Dow, closing above 34,000. The S&P 500 also finished at a record high. The Nasdaq closed higher as well.

Look, jobless claims, the lowest of the pandemic. Five hundred seventy-six thousand filed for first-time benefits last week. The layoffs are slowing, you can see from that chart. We're starting to see hiring again.

A lot of work still to do there in the jobs markets, but consumers are spending money. At the same time, retail sales surged in March. People spending their stimulus checks, more people vaccinated and getting out and spending money.

Retail sales rose 9.8 percent last month. Sales of online retailers grew six percent. Good signs for the recovery.

All right, we're still following all of that breaking news out of Indianapolis. Lots of new details for this. Eight people dead, the gunman dead, people in the hospital.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans. "NEW DAY" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:59:42]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Friday, April 16th, 6:00 here in New York.

I'm John Berman. Poppy Harlow here with me.

There is major breaking news and we're just getting new details in now. At least eight people were killed at a FedEx warehouse near the airport in Indianapolis. Four others were taken by ambulance to the hospital, including one, we are told, in critical condition.