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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Three Shot In Oregon School Shooting; Shooter On The Loose After Oregon School Shooting

Aired December 12, 2014 - 16:30   ET

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

PARKER BOLDEN (via telephone): -- I didn't hear anything about the shooter or the shooters. It is sort of the conversation on the scene that there's a lot of gang activity in that area, specifically in that school because it's an alternative school. I mean, this stuff doesn't happen all the time, but that there are definitely murmurs of gang violence.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: What do you mean by it's an alternative school? We've heard that description of Rosemary Anderson High School. What do you mean by that?

BOLDEN: Just from what I overheard, I didn't know much about the school. I don't want to say it because it might sound offensive. It was an alternative school for people who maybe have some troubles or difficulties with their upbringing.

TAPPER: Fair enough. We're told also that Jefferson High School and Portland Community College which are nearby are also in lockdown, Rosemary Anderson High School no longer in lockdown, although it was at one point. How far away are Jefferson High School and Portland Community College?

BOLDEN: Jefferson High School is right behind -- Kirby is the street that that school is on. And Jefferson High School is right behind that. And then in the other direction, northeast is PCC and it's just a block away. Both of them are about a block away.

TAPPER: All right, Parker Bolden, thank you so much. Appreciate your sharing with us what you saw just minutes after this shooting took place at Rosemary Anderson High School in North Portland, Oregon. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

On the phone right now, we have Andrew Theen, he is a reporter with "The Oregonian," which is the daily newspaper in the city of Portland. Thank you for joining us. What can you tell us? We know just some very basic preliminary information. Anything you could tell us would be great.

ANDREW THEEN, REPORTER, "THE OREGONIAN" (via telephone): Sure. I think you probably know as much as we do at this point, Jake. When my colleague and I arrived on scene about 12:35 or so, 20 minutes after the shooting, I spoke with a neighbor, Tamara King, who lives on the other side of North Albina to the west of the school.

She reported hearing five shots in rapid succession and saw kids running in the street, including some kids diving under a car near North Killingsworth Court and Albina, which is right next to this storefront school.

She was one of the folks who called 911 and that's as much as I can tell you from witnesses that I've spoken to. I was just listening to the police spokesman as he gave updates to the media here.

TAPPER: Your information is that the shooting took place at about 12:15 Portland time on the west coast --

THEEN: A little before that, yes.

TAPPER: What can you tell us about Rosemary Anderson High School? The previous caller, guest, witness -- not a witness to the shooting, but witness to after the shooting was saying that people on the street were talking about how there is gang activity in this area. Is that accurate?

THEEN: Well, that's something that Tamara King, the neighbor I spoke to, mentioned as well, that she wasn't surprised that this happened in the neighborhood. She's lived here since 2007. I want to say last summer. There was a shooting on Albina as well, north of here a little bit at a bus stop.

And police are saying that initial reports are -- they believe the shooter was gang affiliated. They stressed they can't say that for the victims. So we're just kind of waiting until we know a little bit more about who these two young boys and one girl who were injured in the shooting. But that's really all I can say at this point.

TAPPER: I think it's a misperception among people when they hear about gang shootings. They think the victims of gang shootings are fellow members and that's absolutely not the case. Many times the victims of gang shootings are completely innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time or individuals who were certainly doing nothing to merit a shooting.

The police said that the three individuals were shot and then when they left the school, all were conscious and breathing. The fire department spokesman with whom we spoke said they were treating their injuries as if they were life-threatening, but that didn't necessarily mean that's what they were. What's your understanding of how serious the wounds are?

THEEN: Well, the police spokesman, Sergeant Pete Simpson, said they were all conscious and breathing. Anytime you have a gunshot victim and you can say that, that's a good thing. I was listening to the witness say this area is close to Portland Community College and Jefferson High School.

It's also relatively close to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital, which is a trauma hospital. So that's a good thing in terms of proximity. But beyond that, I can't really say because we don't really know.

TAPPER: Andrew Theen, hold on one second. I want to bring in Evan Perez, our justice correspondent, who has some new information. Evan, what can you tell us?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Jake, we just got an update from the Portland Police. They clarify that the shooting occurred outside of the school, that the three victims, the three shooting victims, actually went to the school after they were shot.

They say -- they've not identified the victims, but they say they were two males and one female and that they ran to the high school after the shooting. The shooter fled the scene. So now we have a manhunt looking for this shooter to try to figure out what happened here, Jake.

So the latest from the police is that the shooting occurred outside of the school nearby and that the two males and one female who were shot ran to the school after they were shot, Jake.

TAPPER: That would explain why the fire department thought that the shooting might have been inside the school.

PEREZ: Right, and why they were transported from there.

TAPPER: All right. Andrew Theen, what can you tell us about North Portland, the area in which this school is and if you know anything more about Rosemary Anderson High School, which we're told is an alternative school of fewer than 200 students. What can you tell us about that?

THEEN: Well, I can't tell you too much about the school itself. I wasn't familiar with the school. I'm familiar with the area. It's inner North Portland. It's a gentrifying part of town, I guess you could say as many larger urban areas of the U.S. like I said, Portland Community College is right here.

They have one of their branches, Jefferson High School, one of the Portland public schools, is within spitting distance. It's an active area of town. There are coffee shops. There are restaurants. People are out and about trying to see what's going on. It's close to Interstate 5.

TAPPER: Andrew, I would think that -- it's not an active shooter situation because the shooter's not there. But there is somebody on the loose, at least one individual who shot three young people, three teenagers, two boys and a girl, how big is the police presence when it comes to the manhunt? Did Sergeant Pete Simpson of the Portland Police Department shed any light on how intense this search is right now?

THEEN: He didn't. And I can't really speak to that. I'm not aware of any other details as far as a manhunt. But I can tell you that people are -- do not look concerned for their safety in the immediate area where I am. People are going about their day.

TAPPER: All right, if the shooting, just to recap for individuals who may just be tuning in right now. Shortly before 12:15 Portland, Oregon, time, there's 3:15 east coast time, there was a shooting at a school -- at Rosemary Anderson High School outside the school. Three individuals, two boys and a girl, were shot. They were

wounded. They left the scene, according to Portland Police, conscious and breathing, we're told anecdotally from some witnesses that at least one of them was still talking and the police told Andrew Theen with the Portland "Oregonian" that any time after a shooting you have people talking that is obviously a good sign.

Those individuals were rushed to the hospital, nearby Emmanuel Medical Center, which has a trauma unit, which is very, very close. We are monitoring the situation. There is not an active shooting situation because the shooter is no longer inside or outside the school.

But the individual or individuals are still wanted and on the loose. Portland police are trying to find out who he or she or they are. We're going to take a very quick break. When we come back, we'll have more news about this shooting at Rosemary Anderson High School in Portland, Oregon. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to THE LEAD. We're continuing to follow breaking news in our National Lead. A shooter or shooters are on the loose after wounding three students outside Rosemary Anderson High School in North Portland, Oregon.

Let's go back and reset what we know so far. There are at least three victims, all of them students, teenagers. They have been shot. A witness tells us he saw two males and a female being loaded into ambulances. Police say the victims were transported from the scene.

They were conscious and breathing, at least one of them speaking, according to a witness with whom we spoke. They were taken to nearby Emmanuel Medical Center, which does have a trauma unit. The fire department told us they are treating these injuries as if they are life-threatening, although that doesn't necessarily mean that they are life-threatening.

The hospital isn't indicating what condition the students are in. As I said, the fire department saying they are being treated as if the injuries are life-threatening. Police telling us that Rosemary Anderson High School is no longer an active shooter situation, meaning the shooter isn't on the premises or nearby

But we are told the Portland Police Department is engaging in a manhunt or men hunt for the shooter. That's under way. We're told this began shortly after 12:15 or so, Portland, Oregon, time. There's 3:15 east coast time, obviously.

And that it began outside the school, although after they were shot, the students went inside the school. Pamela Brown is in New York with more information. Pamela, what can you tell us?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We're learning here, Jake, at this hour as we speak that ATF agents are en route to the scene right now. What they're going to be doing is running ballistics, try to recover the weapon that was used in this shooting and then trace that weapon, find out where it came from.

So ATF agents are en route. We typically know in these situations, that FBI agents are usually deployed as well to help with the local authorities. As we still try to learn exactly who is behind this shooting and all of the details, what we can tell you is that the FBI did a recent active shooter study because there have been so many of these types of incidents, especially in the past few years.

What we learned from that study, Jake, is that all but six of the 160 shootings involved male shooters and only two of those, only two of the 160 involved more than one shooter. So oftentimes in these situations, we see a male acting alone, someone who is disillusioned in some way.

Once they figure out who is behind this -- like you point out earlier, it could be more than one person but more than likely it is just one person. They're going to look at indicators, locker room through their social media and try to figure out what's behind this.

Three victims taken to the hospital right now and this is a very serious situation. Of course, caused a lot of panic among the parents there when initially it was reported there was a school shooting, a shooting on the premises. That was the initial understanding. We learn now that this happened just off the school campus -- Jake.

TAPPER: It happened about an hour and a half ago outside Rosemary Anderson High School, two boys and a girl, teenagers shot, wounded, taken from the scene -- we're going to go right now, Pamela, stay with us.

I want to go to Evan Perez, our justice correspondent, who has a little bit more information about the shooting. Evan, what are you being told?

PEREZ: Well, Jake, again, this is partly -- adding a little bit more context to what Pamela was saying as well. This feels a little different from a lot of these other shootings that we've seen in schools, again, this one happened outside of it.

For that reason, I'm being told by authorities that it just seems perhaps a little bit different. Typically in most of these shootings that we've seen, by the time the police get there, the shooter has already shot himself or the situation is over.

In this case, this person tried to get away or has gotten away. So in some ways, this feels and it seems like according to the authorities looking at this, it's more of a criminal situation.

It's very early in the process, very early in this case to know exactly happened, especially since they're still looking for the suspect. But it does feel like it's a little bit different.

As Pamela pointed out, looking at all the history of all these shootings, you typically see a certain pattern. And this one just falls out of that pattern as Pamela was pointing out.

TAPPER: That's right and we're told, by the way, if there are any parents of students at Rosemary Anderson High School, local police are saying the staging for parent reunification for the students, the school is no longer in lockdown.

The parent reunification area is being held at Killingworth Court and Kirby, near the Jefferson High School football field, Jefferson High School, along with Portland Community College, we're told, were still in lockdown, which is standard operating procedure, police protocol, after a school shooting situation.

Pamela Brown, in a situation like this, obviously the federal government trying to do whatever it can to help. But as Evan noted, usually in these situations, the school shooter, at least in the ones that we've covered in the last couple of years, the school shooter has been shot by police or has taken his own life.

In this situation, we have a manhunt under way. I imagine that it's something that federal law enforcement could be helping with as well.

BROWN: Absolutely. Like we mentioned earlier, ATF agents are on their way to help out. We presume the FBI is on its way to help out and provide the assistance. But I want to point out what I think is key here. They're saying this is not an active shooter situation and that the perimeter is secure.

So I think that does provide us some clues that it appears that at least that area where the school is secure. And if there's a gunman on the loose, then I would be surprised if they would say this is not an active shooter situation.

So, again, we're still trying to learn more details, whether this shooter or shooters are even still alive. As we've seen in so many other school shootings, just the one recently in Washington State, we've seen that the gunman dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

And that really is -- there's a pattern to these school shootings. Unfortunately they happen far too often. And a lot of times it's a male acting alone. Again, we're waiting to learn more details on this. But that's what studies have shown, as I pointed out earlier, the FBI study.

All but six of 160 incidents over the past several years involved male shooters and only two involved more than one shooter. Just to put it in perspective as we await more details on the specifics of this particular shooting -- Jake.

TAPPER: In fact, we are waiting for the Portland Police to give an update on the information about the suspect in this school shooting in North Portland, Oregon. Evan Perez, you have new information?

PEREZ: All right, we know that the FBI has now arrived at the scene. They're still calling this a local investigation as they typically do. Obviously they want to give the local police a chance to figure out what exactly happened here before they get involved, if there's anything that needs to be done from a federal standpoint.

We know they say they're still looking for a shooter and they haven't provided any update as to who they're looking for or what that suspect description is. But the FBI is there to provide any assistance. ATF is already there, as we mentioned already.

Typically, they're just there to lend assistance to the local authorities as they are trying to figure out exactly what happened here. Again, this happened outside of the school.

So it's a little different from some of the other shootings that we've seen, which typically have been inside. You typically don't see a suspect try to make a getaway as the police have reported here.

TAPPER: Right. Evan Perez and Pamela Brown, stick around. When we come back, we'll have more information about this school shooting in Portland, Oregon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. We continue to following breaking news in our national lead. A shooter, we believe, possibly shooters, on the loose after shooting and wounding three students outside Rosemary Anderson High School.

This is what we know. At least three victims, all students, teenagers, have been shot, we are told. It was roughly at 12:15 or just shortly before then Portland time, just before 3:15 east coast time.

We are told two males and a female are the victims, they were loaded into ambulances and police say the victims were transported immediately from the scene conscious and breathing to nearby Emmanuel Medical Center.

We're told from a witness who we spoke with earlier that at least one of those students was talking, which is always a good sign. We're told the hospital has received all three patients by now and they're treating them.

The hospital at this point is not indicating what condition any of these three students are in. Lieutenant Rich Tyler from the Portland Fire Department told us earlier in this hour that the injuries are being treated as if they're life-threatening, though it doesn't necessarily mean they are.

Police tell us that Rosemary Anderson is no longer an active shooter situation. That means the suspect or the suspects are no longer suspected to be on the premises or nearby. There is a manhunt for the shooter under way, we are told.

Let's go straight to Portland police spokesman, Sergeant Pete Simpson. Sergeant Simpson, thank you for joining us. First of all, can you tell us is it one suspect or more? And what should people in the area be looking for?

SGT. PETE SIMPSON, PORTLAND POLICE SPOKESMAN (via telephone): Well, preliminary information is one suspect. There may have been others with him when they fled the scene. We have investigative resources focusing exclusively on that piece right now as we continue this investigation.

We're obviously very early on. What we do know at this time and want to reassure people this is not an active shooter situation or an active shooting season. This is now a static environment, it's safe. And we are beginning the investigative phase.

TAPPER: Is there any indication that the police have gotten into a shootout with the suspect? Is there any indication the suspect might have taken his own life?

SIMPSON: No. No officers were involved in any kind of shooting or shootout. We responded after the fact, after the report of the shooting, very quickly. No indications about the shooter taking his own life or anything like that. It appears that the shooter --

TAPPER: How are the three victims, sir?

SIMPSON: Well, right now, all three are at legacy Emmanuel Medical Center. All three are receiving emergency treatment for gunshot wounds. They all were conscious and talking at the scene, which is always a good sign. Certainly with gunshot wounds, they can be unpredictable once you get to the hospital. But as of right now, they're all alive and being treated.

TAPPER: Sergeant Pete Simpson with the Portland, Oregon, Police Department, thank you so much. That is it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I turn you over right now to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" who will have more on this breaking story.