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Calls to Regulate Facebook Grow After Whistleblower Testimony; Police Say, Active Shooter Situation at Texas High School. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired October 06, 2021 - 11:30   ET

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

MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: Even in Congress, they knew that the Russian government was causing some trouble using their algorithms targeting Americans for their own malicious purposes.

[11:30:11]

And one of the reasons they didn't want to engage is it was advertising revenue they'd have to give up.

So I think there's a way forward on this. But I think today, I would be pointing out the fact that given this reporting, given the evidence, given their own documents internally, something has to change. You can't allow this to go on.

Who would sell a product knowing that 40 percent of the teens using your product are going to have emotional issues? We all ought to be outraged by that.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Unfortunately, guys, we need to cut this short. We need to go to some breaking news. I really appreciate you both. We're going to stay on that.

We are looking at breaking news. We're showing you some pictures from a Texas high school on lockdown right now after a reported shooting. We're taking a live look at aerials over Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. You can see a row ambulances right there. We've seen video of a big police presence.

I'm going to get over to CNN's Brynn Gingras. She is following more of these breaking details right now.

Brynn, this is very early on and all unfolding, as we speak. What are you learning?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate. I mean, we're still making all these calls just to try to get information. But what we know right now is that police have said that they are working on an active shooter situation at a high school in Arlington, Texas. That high school is Timberview High School, part of the Mansfield Independent School District. There are several high schools in that school district. And, as you said, they're now on lockdown.

And we're looking at the same images that you're just referencing to your viewers of the number of ambulances, police cars in that parking lot of that high school. If you kind of glean from what we're seeing, though, it doesn't seem a little too chaotic at the moment. Though now, we're actually seeing some armed officers running into that high school.

But, again, we're still just trying to get information of what is the current situation there on the ground at that high school. All we know at this point, Kate, is that this is an active shooter situation. We can't even get information about any possible injuries, the status of students at this point, only that it is a lockdown situation.

So, of course, this is something we're going to stay on, continue to monitor there in Arlington, Texas. And we'll bring you the latest as soon as we have more.

BOLDUAN (voice over): Yes, absolutely. We have been seeing just little bits of video and here is one thing that was just moments ago that caught my attention, for sure, kind of in a row formation officers with -- obviously with guns getting drawn, heading towards the school.

We've also seen -- obviously, it's in the parking lot. A lot of -- it looks like students -- I don't know if it's possibly parents -- kind of standing around wanting more information. There's a lot to be learned here.

This looks like a pretty big high school, Brynn. I don't know if you have any more information about this high school, where it is in location, if there are other schools nearby. But there's a lot to be learned here.

GINGRAS (voice over): Yes, absolutely. And like you were mentioning, you can see sort of in the corner when it pans a bit, that shot, you can see those students, as you referenced, sort of waiting there. We're not seeing what we sometimes see during ongoing active shooter situations where the students are sort of let out by law enforcement with their hands up.

But, again, it's unclear, the status of what's going on inside those walls right now. We're just seeing more sort of officers going in heavily armed, really. But it's not as chaotic as I've seen in the past. So, that's why we're trying to get more information, if this situation that is somewhat under control. But that doesn't answer the question then, of course, of what went on, how many people possibly could be injured at this point, has anybody been brought to the hospital at this point? Those are all the questions that we're trying to ask.

As big as this high school, we know it is one of many in that school district. However, I don't know how many students actually attend that high school. Again, we're trying to continue to learn information, this all unfolding very quickly, Kate. BOLDUAN (voice over): One thing we do know, unfortunately, as we've

seen it happen time and time again, is, first, the schools lock down. The students, teachers, staff, they lock down in place. That's standard procedure now in these lockdown drills. And then after police have been able to secure the scene, that is when they are kind of methodically, the student body, let out. Quite often, that is how it plays out.

And in these intervening moments, there are these very strange, I don't know, periods of what seems like calm from the outside. But you can be sure with that level of police presence on the ground, that there's nothing calm in terms of what I'm sure the students and staff and families and parents are feeling right now as they see this.

Remind me, when did first calls come in?

GINGRAS (voice over): Actually, we -- do we know when the first calls came in? Sorry, I'm just asking our producer here.

[11:35:01]

I don't think we exactly know that again, Kate. This is unfolding pretty quickly for us.

BOLDUAN (voice over): Absolutely.

GINGRAS (voice over): But it was recent. We got right on the air pretty much when this happened. That's how we have these images of people, police officers particularly, going in.

But you make very good points there. We don't know the situation inside those walls at this point. And you're right, it does take time for all the law enforcement, and especially an area like Texas, where schools aren't exactly on top of each other, they're spread out, to get there on the scene and then get inside these buildings and, like you said, go room to room, making sure everything is okay, trying to just completely assess what might have happened or what did happen inside the school.

So, clearly, this is a serious -- something serious has happened. It's ongoing. And as soon as we get more, we're going to update you.

And, actually, we're getting someone over here just giving me a little bit more information, Kate. This is the ATF headquarters saying that -- tweeting out that they are at the scene of a shooting at that high school, again, Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. And they're doing, as you just said, Kate, a methodical search and working -- I'm sorry, this is coming from Mansfield Police. They are working with the ATF doing a methodical search inside that high school. And they are going to be announcing soon a parent staging location once they have that identified.

So, this is the local police department sending out this tweet saying they're working with the ATF. So now bringing in more law enforcement to this scene to kind of get help about what's happening there, again, inside that high school.

BOLDUAN (voice over): One thing is these incremental pieces of detail do come out, and we are careful in all of these moments as it unfolds before our eyes and live on air, is that the police -- the Mansfield Independent School District Police -- I believe that's what it says -- is confirming to CNN that police are working an active shooter situation, so we do have that, but stressing they do not have additional details right now available about any confirmation of injuries or the extent and magnitude of what we're looking at right now.

So, this is Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. We're going to continue to follow this. We're going to take a quick break, see what more detail we can gather for you. But they've got breaking news out of Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas, reports of a shooting situation at the school. We're going to have much more on this after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:00]

BOLDUAN: We are continuing to follow and monitor breaking news out of Arlington, Texas. A high school there is on lockdown after reports of a shooting. What we're talking about is Timberview High School. We're going to show you some live pictures, live aerial pictures, also video from moments ago of a heavy police presence, police entering the building, a row of ambulance vehicles outside as well, very limited details coming in at this moment.

I want to bring in CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Anthony Barksdale on this. We do know, Anthony, the Mansfield Independent School District Police do confirm to CNN that police are working an active shooter situation. There's very little information though. In the video that you see, what is your sense and what questions do you have right now?

ANTHONY BARKSDALE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right now, I'm just thinking about what's happening on both sides of this, the police side and those kids and those teachers, administrators in the school. So, we have to think that there's a key theory that works for those trapped inside during an incident like this. Run, hide, fight. If you can run, get out of there. If you can hide, find the best hiding spot possible. And if you have to fight, you have to fight. And that means you have to give it your all to survive. And I just hope that that's not the case for them inside.

The police side of this is, the officers responding have to get in there immediately. No pause, no wait. We learned from Columbine that that's not the route. You have to go in. And you have to neutralize the threat, you have to stop them immediately. If it's a single threat or if it's multiple threats, the officers have to go in, neutralize the threat. And at the same time we've got to be worried about any victims. I just really hope that this -- I just hope that it's not so bad.

BOLDUAN (voice over): We all hope that. And we're going to be very careful in the information we bring to air because things are developing every second, and there are people still inside and there are families watching this play out live on T.V.

I want to check really quick, Lauren, control room, what you sent me, this is a tweet from Arlington, Texas Police? Okay. This just came out from Arlington, Texas Police.

[11:45:00]

I'll read it for you. It says we are on the scene at a shooting at Timberview High School. We are doing a methodical search and working closely with the ATF and the Mansfield Independent School District Police as well as the Mansfield Police Department and another police department and other agencies, they say. We will be announcing a parent staging location soon once the location is identified. So, we do know there are multiple agencies, Anthony, obviously, on the scene very quickly.

I do not know when first calls came in of reporting a shooting, but it's early on in the school day, right? I mean, the school is really -- has just really gotten probably under way at Timberview High School.

BARKSDALE (voice over): Yes. I mean, you never know when it's going to happen. The thing is right now, based on what I'm hearing from you, the reporting, the police responded immediately, and that's very important because you've got to get those resources there. You have to stack up and you have to go in. So that's a positive, and I'm going to stay positive that the police are going to do what they're trained to do. And I'm just really hoping that everybody is going to be okay.

BOLDUAN (voice over): I've got another update coming in from Arlington Police Department, and it's a message to all parents as a follow-up to what we just heard, that they're setting up a reunification area. And this tweet from the Arlington Police Department is that the school district is setting up a parent reunification point at the Center for Performing Arts, which is located at 1110 West Debbie, and officers will be at that scene and students will eventually be bused to that location after the school is completely secured.

So, one thing I will say is Arlington police, they are getting this information out quickly, and it does seem in a methodical way to communicate at least the steps that, unfortunately, you and I have -- all of us have become accustomed to when these very scary situations play out, the lockdown, the police heading into the building and then a reunification point being set up, Anthony.

BARKSDALE (voice over): Yes, yes. But this is -- like you just said, them getting this information out is a crucial part of an incident like this.

BOLDUAN (voice over): When you see -- there's always a part of this, Anthony, that we kind of dissect the posture of the police.

We're going to take this. This is a local affiliate. This is live coming in. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they weren't getting a lot of information. They couldn't tell me much. As a matter of fact, they were asking me what was going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just knew they were locked down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just knew they were locked down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What have they been telling you since while they're just waiting?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just want information there. Obviously, I mean, I can't imagine. It's got to be very stressful when you don't know what's going on and they tell you, you can't move. And you know what that means in this day and age when that happens. So, they just wanted information on what was going on. That's all they needed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how is it for you? I mean, you're trying to get the same information, I'm guessing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was trying to, yes, get the same information. It's just -- the police weren't really saying much and you're trying to just get questions, and it's hard to not know. It's just the not knowing. You just want to know your kids are safe, and when nobody can tell you that, it's stressful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stressful. I get it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get it. Okay, tell me your name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joel Benavides (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joel Benavides (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn't. Dude, I'm like -- I'm talking to you and I'm like you've got the glasses and the hat --

BOLDUAN (voice over): You just want to know your kids are safe, Anthony. And when you can't get that, it's stressful from one parent. That's absolutely an understatement, right?

BARKSDALE (voice over): Absolutely. And that's the thing, that's the problem. You want to know that your loved one is safe, that they're okay. The police have a lot of work to do once they enter the building. You've got to do a clear sweep, and at the same time, keep in mind that sometimes those involved in these acts set booby traps. They'll set secondary devices where the police have to take their time, be methodical, slow but fast at the same time in this type of incident.

So, I hear what he was saying, and I absolutely understand it, but the police still have to be right with what they report to the parents and to those that are concerned about those inside.

BOLDUAN (voice over): And as I was saying before the interview popped up from a local affiliate -- we'll continue to bring you that as we're waiting for more information from the police, from the school, any information we can get in.

[11:50:06]

Say that one more time? Oh, we have some more sound. Let me go to this now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thanks, Victor (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That came up right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can I get that scene?

BOLDUAN (voice over): It looks like they're cleaning up that shot. We'll go back to it with more from that affiliate when we do get more.

In these moments between getting information, clear and concrete information, Anthony, we look at these videos, and it's human nature to try to kind of dissect the posture of the police, what they're doing and what you can read from it. What do you say to folks about that?

BARKSDALE: Since Columbine, since so many of these incidents have occurred, police agencies throughout the United States train over and over again for these type of situations. Unfortunately, they have to train, and they have to be prepared for incidents like this.

The response of units that you cited, other agencies, et cetera, to me, that is a huge positive. That shows a united command that is deploying to the incident. And I know some say, well, why so many police think it's so bad? Well, that's a good thing, that's a plus. You want more units there to go in because you have a lot of space that you have to search. Somebody could be hiding in the ceiling. You don't know.

So, you have to just have faith in your police agency and believe that they're in there to keep everyone safe and get them out of the situation. That's what I would say.

BOLDUAN (voice over): Absolutely. Anthony, stick with me. I'm going to bring in CNN's Josh Campbell for more on this.

Josh, you and me and Anthony have been on together in many more other live shooting situations that have played out before, unfortunately. What are you thinking when you're seeing this situation unfold before us which, again, very little detail coming out, but confirmation that police are on the scene methodically working through what they say is reports of an active shooter scene?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Yes, far too many of these we've covered, Kate. And what we know from authorities right now is this went from a suspected shooting to now both the ATF and local police there in Arlington are actually calling it a shooting. And so that bit of information, we know how they're handling this situation.

One thing, as we look at these images, on the right of your screen, you see a video from moments ago where you have law enforcement arriving, but on the left side of your screen is what I want to focus on, where have this live video overhead our affiliate, WFAA. One thing we're not seeing that we often see in these shootings are the streams of students coming out. Sadly, that's something we see where they line them up. They have them with their hands raised as they try to bring them out as part of that processing.

BOLDUAN (voice over): What does that tell you, Josh?

CAMPBELL (on camera): Well, the reason I bring that up is because we really have to think about these students still in that state of lockdown, still in that being building. And you can only imagine the agony they're going through. In this day and age, obviously, these schools practice regularly for active shooter situations, the police do as well. But until that incident actually happens, it's impossible to predict just the feeling, how that experience is. And so, obviously, our hearts are with the students and the educators that are in the school right now.

We also know this is a very large complex. We're talking about a high school that covers many, many acres there. And so as Anthony was saying earlier, that's a lot of real estate that authorities have to work through methodically room by room, as they go through to try to determine whether they actually know where the shooter is. Obviously, if there is a shooting still in progress, the very sound of the gunfire will vector officers toward the sound of the shooter, but once that stops, if there hasn't been positive contact between the police and the shooter, if the shooter hasn't been taken down, that person could be anywhere. And so you see those officers in and around that building.

We also know from this aerial coverage that just a flood of officers brought in, including their mobile command center. We know that just a host of different agencies are all fusing together as we often see as they try to work through this situation there unfolding there in Texas.

BOLDUAN (voice over): Josh, is it significant, does it mean something that the ATF is on-site and involved?

CAMPBELL (voice over): You know, in this day and age, the ATF, the FBI, the DEA, all the alphabet soup of law enforcement agencies will immediately respond, what we call self-deploying. And that is if you get word that there is some type of violent incident, particularly a shooting, they're not going to call the police and say, hey, do you need our help.

They're going to respond because in these situations, we know, and as we were describing earlier, post-Columbine, officers will go to the sound of the shooting.

[11:55:00] And the first officer on the scene, regardless of what patch that officer wears on his or her vest, they're going to try to take down the shooter. And so you're going to see these agents flood in from different agencies, from different officers.

As we look there on the left of the screen, we see school buses now being brought out. We know that earlier the police had said that they're preparing for reunification. And so that's obviously a methodical process there as well, trying to get the students out of the building once it's declared safe and secure and bused to this reunification center.

But just to repeat, I mean, obviously an agonizing scene for the parents there, for the students, for the teachers waiting to learn more details about what's actually transpiring inside that building.

BOLDUAN (voice over): An important observation about the big line of school buses that are now entering that complex, so we can see what's going to be coming in the coming moments, potentially.

To bring everyone up to speed on what we are watching and what we're waiting to learn more about, we're looking at a high school in Arlington, Texas. This is Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas, where police in Arlington have confirmed that they are on the scene at a shooting at this high school. And the way that Arlington Police have put it is that they are doing a methodical search, working closely with the ATF and other police departments in the area and other agencies, and they've announced that there is a parent staging area, a reunification area, at the Center for Performing Arts, which is located at 1110 West Debbie. And officers will be on that scene and students, according to Arlington Police, will eventually be bused to that location.

As we can see right now, those buses seem to be getting in position. The police say after the school is completely secured. I don't know if that means that we will be getting some more detail on that very soon, but, Josh, we do see a bit more movement here.

But in these agonizing moments of uncertainty, you know, as one parent put it to an affiliate, Josh, before you jumped on that we listened in to, he said, it's just the not knowing. That's true on so many levels.

CAMPBELL (voice over): It is. And, you know, I've been in a different life with law enforcement and obviously covering so many of these violent incidents, the hardest part is dealing with the victims and the family members. And they always say to a person that it's this period of time that we're in right now. Not knowing is what's so difficult.

In this day and age, obviously, many students have cell phones so people are able to make contact oftentimes in that instance with some people, but others they may not be able to make that contact. And so it's just that point of waiting and not knowing.

One thing I want to point out as we look at these images as well, and, again, there is a lot that we still don't know, a lot of details about what's transpiring, but as we often analyze these incidents as well, it's worth pointing out that if an active situation is still emergent, if there is still a threat, I don't think that you would start we seeing them bring in these sources, like the school buses and others in and around.

And so, again, we don't know for certain that this shooter has been neutralized or taken into custody, but that's one additional data point there that you actually -- seeing them bring in, not the emergency resources but those who were non-sworn law enforcement. And, of course, we're waiting for additional updates from officers about the status of that search. Again, a very large facility that they have to go through and get all of the students out and educators that are still in there and move them over to that reunification area.

BOLDUAN (voice over): And that makes a lot of sense, Josh. Thank you for pointing that out. You're not going to bring more people into an ongoing dangerous situation, just even looking at this line of school buses. You're not going to bring them into the property, most likely, of an ongoing threat if they don't potentially have it under control.

Again, we don't know what's happening inside that building right now. We do not have a read yet. Let me bring back in Anthony Barksdale on if anyone has been shot, how many people have been wounded, if any, and if there's anything worse than that.

But, Anthony, you say it's good news that the ATF is on the scene.

BARKSDALE (voice over): Yes. Having the federal partnership, having the ATF there is a positive for local law enforcement. So, let's say that there is a weapon recovered there. The ATF can help run the weapon, trace it to the point of origin. Because, you know, there's still going to be a lot of work to do post-incident, and the ATF is huge, maybe some ballistics they can help. So, this is a good thing. So, I mean, it's a positive in a bad situation.

BOLDUAN (voice over): It's a positive in a very, very uncertain situation.

So, to recap for everyone as this continues, we're going to have much more of this breaking news, a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas.

[12:00:00]

More details to come. A parent/family reunification point has been located, has been decided. Police are on the scene. "Inside Politics" with John King is going to start right now.