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At Least Eight Killed in Mass Shooting at Indianapolis FedEx Facility; Officer Eric Stillman Placed on Administrative Leave for Fatal Shooting; Chicago Police Release Video of Officer Shooting 13- Year-Old Boy. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 16, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:59:45]

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 16, 6 a.m. here in New York. I'm John Berman. Poppy Harlow here with me. There is major breaking news. 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.

This is the deadliest mass shooting in America in three weeks. The first mass shooting in America in eight days. One witness tells CNN affiliate WRTV what he witnessed when the shots rang out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY BOLLAT, FEDEX EMPLOYEE WHO WITNESSED SHOOTING: We heard two metal -- loud metal clangs at first, because they -- they didn't sound like gunshots at first. Then we heard three more shots, and then my buddy Levi saw someone running out of the building, and then more shots went off. Somebody went behind their car to the trunk and got another -- and got another gun, and then I saw one body on the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Police say they quickly encountered the shooter when they arrived at the scene. The suspect then turned his gun on himself.

BERMAN: All right. We're going to bring you live reports from the scene throughout the morning.

Joining us now, the deputy chief of investigations at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Craig McCartt.

Thank you so much for being with us. This happened overnight. We have scant details at this moment. Can you just tell us, Pete [SIC], walk us through what happened. DEPUTY CHIEF CRAIG MCCARTT, INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN POLICE

DEPARTMENT (via phone): So our officers received a run late last night, referenced shots fired at the FedEx facility, and they arrived, obviously, to a very chaotic scene with -- with victims and witnesses running everywhere.

When they -- when they entered the facility, as you said earlier, they encountered the suspect, who immediately took his own life. And then as they made their way through the facility and the -- and the parking lot outside, as well, they -- they were able to locate eight deceased victims, and then they also had some other folks who were hurt and taken to the hospital. There were four others who suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds, and then there was another who was transported to the hospital with an injury believed to be caused from shrapnel.

BERMAN: Eight deceased victims both inside and outside the facility?

MCCARTT: Yes, that's correct.

BERMAN: Do you know if the shooter was a FedEx employee?

MCCARTT: You know what? We don't yet, because we are -- we're still -- this is really just in its infancy, and so we're still out there processing the scene right now, so we are still working to identify both victims and the suspect. So until that's done, we can't really confirm whether or not the suspect was an employee.

BERMAN: Do you have any information about the weapon or weapons that were used?

MCCARTT: Again, we're still processing things, but we do believe that -- that the suspect had a rifle of some sort.

BERMAN: Just one?

MCCARTT: We know that he had one. There have been reports, maybe, of two, but we -- again, that's not confirmed at this point in time.

BERMAN: Do you have a sense of how many shots were fired?

MCCARTT: I don't at all at this point.

BERMAN: Do you know the duration -- or what information do you have about the duration of the event itself, from when the shooting began to when the shooter took his own life?

MCCARTT: Well, preliminarily, the information that we have is that -- that it was very short, that the suspect came into the parking lot, and I believe he -- he exited his vehicle and quickly began shooting. There didn't -- it wasn't precipitated by any kind of a disturbance or an argument with anyone there, that he just immediately started shooting.

So the first shooting occurred in the parking lot, and then he went inside and was -- did not get very far into the facility at all. So I think that it probably only lasted one to two minutes from -- from what we're hearing.

BERMAN: So the shooting began in the parking lot, continued inside. We do understand there are metal detectors at this facility where employees have to show their I.D.s. Did the shooter -- if I'm right about that, did the shooter get past that area?

MCCARTT: I don't believe so.

BERMAN: We understand the families of workers, FedEx workers, are gathered at a Holiday Inn Express nearby, and it's been a long night, I know, for them because there's been little information at first, coming out. Have families been informed? What's the process?

MCCARTT: Yes. So it's certainly been a night of frustration and uncertainty for those families, and I think that frustration was exacerbated by the fact that many of the employees did not have cell phones on them in the facility. So when this happened and when they left the facility to go to be transported to be interviewed or over to this hotel, which is the reunification site, you know, they didn't have their cell phones with them to be able to contact the family.

So certainly, there was a -- there was a lot of frustration and some uncertain times there. But, you know, we're working together with FedEx to -- to make those reunifications happen at that hotel, and we're certainly working with those families to do all we can right now to get them an update on their loved ones and family members.

BERMAN: It's got to be so difficult for those families, particularly as you said, because so many of the employees didn't have cell phones on them at the time, as required by FedEx.

You said four injured with apparent gunshot wounds, one with apparent shrapnel wounds. Any sense of the condition?

MCCARTT: The last I heard, is that they were all -- that those were all expected to survive.

BERMAN: Well, that, in and of itself, I suppose, is good news, welcome good news at this point.

Listen, Officer, this is the first mass shooting in America in eight days, right? A month ago, there was -- there were ten people killed. As a law enforcement officer, what are your concerns about the apparent frequency, increasing frequency, of these mass shooter events?

MCCARTT: Well, I mean, it's very alarming. It's very disappointing. I mean, just to hear you give -- you know, give those statistics and how -- how frequently those are happening now, you know, like you said, is very alarming. And we wish that we -- you know, we knew more about why people were doing this and what -- what the motivation is and certainly what the motivation is now that they seem to be happening so -- happening so frequently. You know, we certainly know that there seems to be a lack of conflict resolution skills and people are way too quick to pick up a gun and try to solve their problems with a gun today. But you know, everyone should be concerned -- concerned about the frequency that these are happening.

BERMAN: I just want to confirm, the shooter took his own life once police arrived on the scene?

MCCARTT: We're sorting that piece out, as well, but that is my understanding, that the first -- the first arriving officers, that he took his life when they arrived.

BERMAN: Did police fire any shots?

MCCARTT: No.

BERMAN: What's the status of the investigation into the shooter? Have you begun speaking with possible people connected to this individual?

MCCARTT: No, because you know, we're -- we're -- that's something that we're working on, but it's way too early. And as we're still working to positively identify him, that you know, that's the first step. We have to get through processing the crime scene and actually positively identifying him before we can start any of that background and answer many of these questions that all of us have.

BERMAN: Yes, no, and I know. I know these are the early stages. And I can't thank you enough for giving us the information you have, because there is so little information coming from the scene, because you're processing it right now. This is obviously an active crime scene. You said the driver pulled into the parking lot, got out and began shooting. That means there's a vehicle, presumably there, connected to the shooter.

What information do you have from the vehicle itself?

MCCARTT: Information from the vehicle?

BERMAN: Yes. Information, things found in the vehicle. More guns, weapons, ammunition, anything found in the vehicle.

MCCARTT: And again, the vehicle has not been completely processed yet, either, so I -- I don't have that information yet either.

BERMAN: OK. Listen, Deputy Chief Craig McCartt, I can't thank you enough for coming on. I know this has been an endless night for you, and it won't end anytime soon. I know the work goes on there. Your people are on the scene, doing the best they can. Please keep us posted throughout the morning and let us know if there's anything that we can do.

MCCARTT: Certainly. Thank you very much.

BERMAN: All right, Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. But important information that you did get from him, John, as they're going through this all right now.

Let's bring in the former police chief from Aurora, Colorado, Daniel Oates. You'll remember that tragic mass shooting at the movie theater. He was leading the police department during that in 2012.

Chief, if you could respond, actually, to the last question John asked, which I think -- or one of the last, is so important. Having led through a mass shooting in America nearly a decade ago and to see the frequency and repetition of them now, it feels like things are out of control in America right now. What do you think as you wake up to this news this morning?

DANIEL OATES, FORMER AURORA, COLORADO, POLICE CHIEF: Well, I'm just -- I just feel terrible for that community. And you know, it's interesting, we all want answers, and of course, it's so early in the event, and the deputy chief is explaining.

You know, as a department, they're still struggling with a crime scene, with reunification, with handling victims. I am sure that the scene at that hotel is a bit of chaos, with families who can't connect with their loved ones. There's injured people at hospitals, and there's a major effort underway, I'm sure, by the department just to gather witnesses and get stories from whoever was anywhere near the scene.

[06:10:14]

So you know, it's very early on, and it's -- for me and for anyone who's been through this, it's stomach churning to see another community go through this.

In terms of the frequency, I think it says something about where we are in America in terms of availability of guns and a combination of issues with regard to mental health, along with those things, and as a society, I think we're just wrestling with all of that right now.

BERMAN: Yes. Imagine what it must be like for those family members at the Holiday Inn Express, given that the company policy there at that warehouse is not to have cell phones on the floor, because they want people working and concentrating. So no way for people to get in touch with their loved ones. The feeling of uncertainty, the despair. It just must be overwhelming at this point.

OATES: It -- it is gut-wrenching. And what will happen eventually sometime this morning is the police will realize that there are eight families who cannot find their loved ones, and there are representatives of those eight families in that hotel waiting for answers.

And there will be an anguished meeting, where leadership in the police department will meet with those folks and tell them that their loved ones will almost certainly be deceased at the crime scene, and then sometime after that, there will be positive identification. And it's -- it's a horrific, horrific moment when that -- all of that happens.

HARLOW: One thing that strikes me so much is how quickly people were killed. Now, to be fair, from John's interview, it sounds like what happened inside -- and John, correct me if I'm wrong -- but he said it was about one to two minutes inside.

BERMAN: I think the total duration.

HARLOW: Even outside?

BERMAN: He got to the parking lot, started shooting getting out of his car. That was new, the fact that he was shooting in the parking lot --

HARLOW: Yes.

BERMAN: -- before he got into the facility, and the deputy chief didn't even think he necessarily got beyond --

HARLOW: The metal detectors.

BERMAN: -- the metal detectors.

HARLOW: And that -- to this point even more. If that -- if eight people were killed, four more injured, an additional one, it sounds like, with shrapnel wounds in the hospital in -- in a matter of one to two minutes with a gun that all we know from the police chief there is that they believe it was a rifle of some sort. Those were his exact words. What does that tell you?

OATES: Well, there's a couple things going on here. One, if it's a rifle, it's incredibly powerful and much, much more destructive. OK?

With regard to the whole metal detectors set up, whatever that was, you know, a gunman who surprises whoever is handling the medical [SIC] -- metal detectors can overcome whatever the human security is around the metal detectors.

And then, as is typical in most of these kinds of shootings, the destruction occurs in seconds and minutes. And, of course, it takes time for police to respond, so it's not uncommon that the event is over even before the police respond.

And as you heard, the officers didn't fire any shots, and the suspect apparently took his life.

All those, unfortunately, are common kinds of themes in these events. They happen very, very, very quickly, and the ability of the police to intervene and prevent the destruction is limited by their -- by the reasonable issues around response time.

BERMAN: Chief, thank you for helping us understand what is happening. So much information still coming to light, so much still unknown at this hour. We appreciate you being with us.

OATES: OK. Thank you.

BERMAN: We're going to bring you updates about the Indianapolis mass shooting throughout the morning.

Also coming up, we're getting new details about another developing story. Body camera footage shows the police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. We're going to break down what it shows and what police are now saying about this death, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:07]

BERMAN: If you're just waking up, we're following breaking news: a mass shooting at a FedEx facility near the Indianapolis airport. At least eight people are dead, several others injured.

We're told four -- we were just told moments ago by the deputy chief of the Indianapolis Police Department -- four injured with apparent gunshot wounds, one other with a shrapnel wound. They all look like they're recovering, one, though, in critical condition.

The shooter, we are told, took his own life at the scene. We're going to have a live report coming up.

Also, Chicago police releasing body camera footage of an officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old named Adam Toledo. Police say that that body camera video shows that there is less than a second from the time that Toledo is seen holding a handgun to the moment he is shot by that officer.

Our Ryan Young has been covering this since the video was released. He joins us in Chicago this morning with the latest. Good morning, Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy.

Look, this is very tough video to watch. We've watched it over and over again, and of course, the city is grappling with how its citizens will react to its police department being involved in another officer- involved shooting.

We actually marched behind protestors last night, but it was less than 100 that showed up, but there's still a city that's waiting to see what happens next, because more protests are planned.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG (voice-over): The tragic final moment of a 13-year-old boy's young life unfolded in just 19 seconds. Chicago Police releasing this body camera footage, and we warn you that it's disturbing. So Officer Aaron Stillman responded to a shots fired call before chasing one of two suspects down an alley.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop! Stop!

Show me your hands! Drop it!

(GUNSHOT)

Shots fired. Shots fired. Get an ambulance up here now.

YOUNG: The officer fired a single fatal shot into the chest of Adam Toledo. Despite efforts to save him, the teen was pronounced dead at the scene.

[06:20:06]

MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D), CHICAGO: No parent should ever have a video broadcast widely of their child's last moments. Much less be placed in a terrible situation of losing their child in the first place.

YOUNG: Chicago police say Toledo had a gun in his hand before the shooting and that they recovered one from just behind the fence, highlighting in this video and released by the department. The body camera footage appears to show Toledo had his hands up and was not holding anything at the time he was shot. A crucial detail his family attorney says is important in the investigation.

ADEENA WEISS ORTIZ, LAWYER FOR ADAM TOLEDO'S FAMILY: If he had a gun, he tossed it. The officer said, Show me your hands. He complied. He turned around.

YOUNG: Toledo's family released the videos after viewing them with the Chicago mayor's office earlier this week.

Now the officer who killed Toledo is on administrative leave. His attorney told CNN he was "left with no other option," adding Stillman was "well within his justification of using deadly force."

But to Toledo's family, there are questions about his death that need to be answered.

ORTIZ: All I know is that the officer is trained to not shoot an unarmed individual, not shoot an unarmed child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: John, as you know, we've been covering shootings in Chicago for quite some time. There's obviously an issue with guns on the street. And you know, it was shot spotter technology that alerted police to the idea that eight shots had been fired. That was what the officer was responding to.

But so many questions. You know, a 21-year-old was also taken into custody, because that's who the 13-year-old was with when these shots were fired.

So still, so many questions about this investigation. But again, you have a city on edge. As we speak right now, they have salt trucks positioned throughout the city to block off parts of it if they think protests will get out of hand.

Ryan Young, we know it's been a long night for you. Thank you so much for your reporting.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers; also an attorney. And Cedric Alexander, he's the former president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the former public safety editor of Dekalb County in Georgia.

To be clear, we're talking about a 13-year-old boy. I have two boys practically the same age. So we're talking about the death of a 13- year-old boy here, and that in and itself is horrifying.

Cedric, the details of what happened, though, as you were looking at this video, what are the major questions here? Is it the timing of when he may have dropped the gun? What are you looking at?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES: Yes, I think it's going to be the timing, and more importantly, though, I think what most people will see when they watch this video and they watch the still shot is that the moment the young kid turns, his hands appear to be empty. And that is what's going to be of question here.

But I think what it's going to take, in all fairness, to get a better understanding of what took place in this shooting that happened very quickly is that, when the forensics examination using the best of technology that can really slow those camera and video movements down, I think then the investigators will have a better opportunity to really be able to pinpoint what happened, how it happened, and the circumstances under which it happened.

But the bigger issue here, we ever another young child who has been killed. And certainly, in this climate we're in, that's what's really tough for a lot of Americans.

HARLOW: Also, for anyone just waking up to the news this morning, again, 13 years old. His mother put him to bed that night, believing her child was in bed as all of this happened. Just -- you know, something that every parent -- is the worst nightmare for every parent.

That said, Bakari, watching the video over and over, as I have, and unfortunately, you hear the officer yelling four times on that video, "Stop." The question is the relevance, and you hear the attorney for the family saying, you know, he didn't have a gun in moment at -- in his hand at the moment he was shot, but she cannot say whether he had a gun in his hand prior. She said that is irrelevant. Is it?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I think that because we had a 13-year-old lost, the answer to is it relevant or not, is it is irrelevant, I agree.

For the criminal aspect of this, of course, it's going to have relevance. You're going to want to know the tick-tock and the timing. But at the end of the day, Poppy, I think that we have to take a step back and look at it this way.

There were two people in that alley. One was supposedly trained to handle these situations. The other is dead and 13 years old. If an officer tells you to comply, and you don't have an opportunity to comply, and your hand is empty when you try to comply, that itself is a problem.

[06:25:10]

And so, yes, I -- I hear your point or your question, Poppy. I just have to push back slightly, because he complied, his hands were empty, and he was still gunned down and he's the one in that alley without the training.

But I also want to just take a step back, as my good friend Cedric was mentioning, and let's look at this from a 50,000-foot view. You had a 16-, 17-year-old white boy, Kyle Rittenhouse, who had a long-arm assault rifle, walk through a crowd, murder two people and get water from law enforcement and be able to walk by law enforcement after these individuals were murdered.

And he is now partying in bars out on bond. His mother actually received the GOP dinners.

So while we want to point out elements or flaws in this young 13-year- old boy, which I kind of have a problem with on its face, let's juxtapose that against this white boy who is still living, breathing, and facing the consequences, the same consequences that people should have afforded Adam.

BERMAN: One thing I want to point out is something, Bakari, I heard you say last night on TV, which is only in America, right, could we, you know, interrupt coverage of a trial over the death of a black man by police because of another death in the same city, to only be interrupted by the death of a 13-year-old boy on the streets.

And then now this morning, you know, a mass shooting in Indianapolis, you know, one state over. This is America this morning.

HARLOW: Yes.

BERMAN: Cedric, if I can go to the first thing that I brought up there, which is the Derek Chauvin trial. The defense rested. You know, we're days away from closing arguments there. You've been watching the trial very closely. What do you expect to hear in closings, and do you think the defense made any in-roads?

ALEXANDER: Well, let me talk just from the perspective of a layperson. I'll let my buddy there, Bakari, speak from a legal perspective.

But as a layperson, when I look at this, I think the prosecution is probably going to close, reemphasizing all of the witnesses that they have brought forth over the last several weeks and that have made a -- who made, quite frankly, very convincing and compelling arguments for the prosecution.

And I think this is going to be a tough case for the defense, but, of course, we can't predict what a jury is going to do. But to your question, I believe that the -- certainly, I believe that the prosecution is just going to reiterate and remind folks, and don't be surprised if we see that video played again at the end in the closing of these arguments.

HARLOW: Bakari, to your great legal mind on this, as Cedric pointed to, look, in Minnesota, the threshold, the bar for the jury, as they're instructed, is going to be a substantial causal factor. Was Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, the substantial causal factor? And the defense's attempt was to poke holes in that and to not allow the jury to decide it was substantial. Did they do that?

SELLERS: Look, I had to take the bar more than one time. So I don't know how brilliant this legal --

HARLOW: Most people do, Bakari. Most people do.

SELLER: I don't know how brilliant this legal mind is.

But I will say one thing that I know for a fact is that jurors are -- are wild cards. I believe, and I think many people watching the video believe that it was a substantial causal factor.

The question is, did the defense make it messy enough to raise to the level of reasonable doubt? I find that the defense's strategy wasn't too overly complicated. Their goal was to make this as messy as possible. Some stuff was asinine. Some stuff made a little bit of sense. But at the end of the day, they just wanted to give the jury so much to think about that they may find some reasonable doubt.

I don't think they were successful in that, because as Cedric said, at the end of the day, you have this video, and this video speaks volumes.

BERMAN: Bakari Sellers, the first honest lawyer. Thank you so much for being with us today.

Cedric Alexander, as always, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

ALEXANDER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Coming up, we do have tragic, brand-new details about the mass shooting overnight at that FedEx facility in Indianapolis. At least eight people have been killed. We'll take you live to the scene, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)