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Girl and Father Shot After Basketball Rolls Into Neighbor's Yard; Severe Storm Threat; SpaceX Rocket Explodes. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 20, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:32]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: SpaceX, we have a problem. A midair explosion of the most powerful rocket ever built, a major setback, but not a total failure in the goal of sending humans to Mars one day.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: A basketball rolls into a man's yard, and he opens fire on the neighbors just trying to retrieve it. Now a 6-year- old and her father are recovering from gunshot wounds, and a manhunt is under way for the suspect. This guy is not a stranger to local police.

This is, just for the country also, a latest example of an innocent mistake leading to a shooting.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And, right now, more than 50 million people are under a severe storm threat after a tornado outbreak already tears apart ports of three states. At least three people are dead, as search-and-rescue efforts continue.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: We begin with liftoff in SpaceX's historic Starship rocket, but its planned journey around the Earth didn't last long. Just take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... was icing on the cake.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, so despite those cheers, it exploded. You saw it there, not the outcome that Elon Musk and company were hoping for.

This was supposed to loop around the planet and splash down near Hawaii 90 minutes later.

We have CNN's Ed Lavandera joining us now from the launch site.

Ed, do we know what caused the explosion? And what is SpaceX saying at this point?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elon Musk is saying that they have learned a lot from this launch today and that they will regroup and run another test flight in the coming months, so high aspirations about a quick turnaround here.

The NASA administrator, Bill Nelson,says this was a first -- a good first step in this process of trying to perfect the Starship rocket system. But it was a spectacular scene here as this rocket launch clearing the launchpad, and, for several minutes, it was a thunderous and exhilarating experience as we saw that rocket fly for some time.

But then, about three minutes or so in, the rocket started kind of spinning out of control. That was about the time that this massive booster with the 33 engines was supposed to separate from the Starship rocket. That did not happen. The rocket ship did not make it into orbit either. It exploded, coming apart, falling into the Gulf of Mexico.

And what is interesting, Brianna, is that today here, little known fact, but the first crew that will eventually ride in this Starship rocket, six of those eight members have already been picked. And six of those eight were here today witnessing them.

One of them is a man by the name of Yemi Akinyemi Dele. He is a Czech- Nigerian multimedia artist. We met with him after the launch, and he says, despite today's explosion, he says he is still undeterred and not scared of riding on this rocket ship eventually one day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YEMI AKINYEMI DELE, STARSHIP CREW MEMBER: I'm sure it will happen. It's not even a question of hope. I know what these people are -- like, how much energy is invested into this. The question is when.

And, also, the question is, how it's going to feel? This event today just adds up another layer of experience that I have to kind of process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: So, a spectacular sight, thousands of people here this morning, Brianna, gathering to watch this sight here today.

Everybody left, just a -- kind of an exhilarated feeling. You could feel the thunderous thrust of these engines, the 33 engines that were taking off even as we stood here five miles away -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much for us.

Boris, Yemi is braver than I. I will tell you that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it takes a special kind of courage to watch that explosion and think: I want that.

Let's dig deeper now with CNN aerospace analyst Miles O'Brien. Miles, ultimately, the rocket cleared the launchpad. We saw it get into sort of space. SpaceX tweeted out that: "Success comes from what we learn."

So what did they learn?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: Well, I think failure is an option at SpaceX.

[13:05:00]

They are a space enterprise that is all about rapid testing, failing fast, and moving forward. This is serial number 24 for Starship. They have had four -- actually, four-and-a-half fiery mishaps in the years leading up to this moment. And so it really doesn't come as too much of a surprise.

You're talking about getting 33 engines to work in perfect synchronicity with all the plumbing and pressurization and computers and electronics, doing all that well. It takes a lot. So, you can walk away from that and say, wow, what a disaster, or you can look at the half-full side of it and say, hey, they cleared the tower, they got pretty far to space, they didn't damage anything on the ground, which would slow down the process of the next flight.

SANCHEZ: The company definitely was looking at that glass half-full. I mean, it does make for an incredible video.

And I love the way that they describe the explosion -- quote -- "a rapid unplanned disassembly." What did you make of that, Miles?

O'BRIEN: I love it. I love it. NASA likes off-nominal, but I think SpaceX takes it to a new level.

Doing a little bit of armchair forensic work here today, Boris -- of course, we're going to know more much later -- when they lifted the pad, three of the 33 engines were not lit. As it ascended, as many as six or seven of them went out. And you can imagine, especially since it seems as if they were all weighted on one side, that would make the rocket much less stable, sort of asymmetric, difficult to maintain its guidance.

And so that's probably what led to what you saw. Ultimately, the explosion itself, was it the actual rocket breaking up aerodynamically or did they have to push the self-destruct button to ensure nobody got hurt on the ground?

SANCHEZ: Miles, we look forward to a few months from now, when we are anticipating another potential launch, at least according to Elon Musk.

Miles O'Brien, thanks so much for the expertise.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: Jim. SCIUTTO: Yes, just an enormous, enormous rocket.

Well, 50 million Americans live in areas under threat now from storms that have already proven deadly in Oklahoma, this damage you're seeing near the state's capital. Wow, I mean, you see the power of these things. The weather system that shredded these buildings spawned at least eight tornadoes. It's now heading east and south. It's also got rain, hail, damaging winds, flash flooding, more twisters as well possible from Texas all the way to Wisconsin.

It's believed that tornadoes killed three people in Oklahoma. And listen to this. A meteorologist came face to face with it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at the winds flowing into the tornado. Oh, big power flash. It's hitting coal right now. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. This is incredible.

Kyle, go ahead and back up a little bit more. We're fine where we're at. The tornado is getting stronger right back over here to the left. It's moving extremely slowly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Oh, my gosh, indeed.

CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray tracking the storm.

Jen, goodness, I mean, I will never understand why people get so close to that willingly, but tell us where it's moving. And where other folks might be in danger.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's moving to the east, so the threat today is going to be a little bit farther east than we were yesterday.

So we're already starting to see these storms fire up. And, as mentioned, we could see these storms fire up anywhere from, say, the Hill Country of Texas all the way up to the Midwest. And with the Storm Prediction Centers's latest update, it does put Chicago in that level two out of five risk for severe weather.

And so we're going to be watching that area tonight, as well as many areas across the central portion of the country. Already seeing showers firing up. However, they will intensify through the afternoon, when you have that moisture feeding in from the Gulf of Mexico. We have the daytime heating playing into this as well.

So, we have a lot of ingredients in place that are going to help fuel these showers and storms and cause them to be intense. So, very large hail, your damaging winds, that's going to be our primary threats. However, we're not going to rule out the possibility of a tornado. That is definitely possible as well.

Dallas, Houston included in this, Little Rock, St. Louis, Chicago, so we do have some big cities in the path of this, and so we're going to be watching throughout the night. As they travel to the east, we could see some overnight storms through the Mississippi River Valley. That will be something to watch closely. Make sure you have a way to get weather alerts throughout the overnight hours.

Greatest chance of hail two inches in diameter or more, these areas with the black lines. You can see that does include San Antonio, just on the southern side of the Dallas Metroplex. And we are going to see anywhere from, say, two to four inches of rain, especially through the Mississippi River Valley, some portions of Texas as well, guys, so flash flooding could be a possibility as well.

SCIUTTO: Yes, it feels like, every couple of days, we're talking about a particularly powerful storm system.

Jennifer Gray, thanks so much for us.

GRAY: We are. Thanks.

[13:10:00]

SANCHEZ: Yet another shooting again apparently over a minor mistake. A 6-year-old and her dad are recovering after their basketball rolled into a neighbor's yard, and he opened fire. Now that neighbor is on the run.

Plus, another payout over election lies. How much the MyPillow guy has been ordered to pay an expert who debunked him.

And, later, an ultramarathoner losing her trophy for cheating during a 50-mile race. Why she says it was all just a miscommunication. Right.

That and more ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A heart-wrenching question after a heartless attack: "Why did you shoot my daddy and me?"

That is what 6-year-old Kinsley White asked after she and her dad were seriously wounded. Police in North Carolina say this man, 24-year-old Robert Singletary, opened fire on his neighbor's for the most senseless reason. A basketball rolled into his yard. And, today, a manhunt is under way for Singletary.

[13:15:04]

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is joining us with more on this.

Dianne, before we get to the manhunt, just tell us how Kinsley White and her dad are doing at this point.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna I actually just a couple moments ago spoke with -- with her mother, Ashley, and Jamie White's wife. She tells me that her husband is still in the hospital and he has

several internal injuries, including injuries to his liver, his lung, and other places inside because of that shot through the back here in this neighborhood here on Tuesday night.

Ashley herself was shot in the elbow. She had a bullet graze there. Her daughter, they say they had to dig a fragment of a bullet from her 6-year-old child's cheek, where she now has stitches. So, all of this, according to police, was because of a basketball initially that had gone into the yard of Robert Singletary.

He is a 24-year-old that neighbors told me had recently moved to the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and had been having some issues with the neighbors because of all the children who live here. They say that he would yell at them, often curse at them for being in his yard, for playing in his yard, and that there had been some confrontations because of that.

But they say, on Tuesday night, some of the kids were playing actually at this basketball goal right here, saying that the ball went into his yard, he became upset, and started yelling at some of the kids. One of the kids went and got their parent. That child's father came, essentially, according to several neighbors here, told Singletary: "If you have an issue, please don't curse with my child. I can handle it. Come to me."

That's what the neighbor said that Singletary went back into his house, came out and began shooting at that man. They say that he missed that man, but then turned around and started shooting at the large group of children and other parents who were here.

Now, according to Kinsley's mother, her daughter had been on her bike. She was about three houses down, where the family was grilling. Her father came down to protect his child. That is when, according to witnesses, the shooter said to Jamie White, "I'm going to kill you," and then started running and shooting at the same time.

There is still a manhunt right now for this shooter. U.S. Marshals, other agencies from other counties are getting involved. Again, this is just a 6-year-old girl at this point who they say is very worried about her father and unsure as to why anyone would shoot her.

KEILAR: That is horrific.

Dianne, thank you for the very latest on that harrowing experience that community is going through -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, that shocking shooting comes after several recent tragic instances of young people falling victim to gun violence just for making innocent mistakes.

In Austin, Texas, it was a wrong car. Two team cheerleaders, you see them here, Heather Roth and Payton Washington. They were shot in a grocery store parking lot after Heather just tried to get in the wrong vehicle by accident. Payton, she's still recovering in an ICU. In Kansas City, it was the wrong doorbell; 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, a black teen, he was just trying to pick up his little brothers, is now miraculously recovering after he was shot in the head after going to the wrong address.

And, in Upstate New York, it was a wrong driveway; 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis -- there she is -- she was shot and killed when the car she was in simply turned around in a random driveway while looking for a party. They couldn't get a good signal on their cell phones. The man who shot her, 65-year-old Kevin Monahan, he's now facing second-degree murder charges.

CNN's Brynn Gingras, she's been covering the story.

So, Brynn, tell us where the investigation stands. I mean, the prosecutor says that more charges are possible?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're considering it, Jim.

In court yesterday, it was extremely emotional. And the assistant district attorney said, you know, it wasn't just Kaylin Gillis who was in that car when it was shot at. There was three other people, including Gillis' boyfriend. So, attempted murder is a possibility here, attempted assault.

So we will have to see what happens, what goes before a grand jury, and then if we see an indictment. But, as I said, court yesterday just for a bail hearing for the suspect, in this case, Kevin Monahan, was extremely emotional. There were rows of filled with Gillis' friends, with her boyfriend, with her father.

And the defense attorney in this case fought for Monahan, saying he's been as part of that community in rural Upstate New York for about 30 years. He has zero criminal history. This is a second-degree murder charge, but he tried to get him out, while the prosecution said this is a man who has a hot temper and, of course, he should stay behind bars.

And that's what the judge ordered.

But one of the things that came out in an emotional interview with Kaylin Gillis' father is a question I think a lot of people have. And I want you to take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW GILLIS, FATHER OF KAYLIN GILLIS: For this man to sit on his porch and fire at a car, with no threat, is just -- angers me so badly. And I just hope to God that he dies in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:20:19]

GINGRAS: Yes, when he was in court, he actually turned to Gillis' friends and said: "Guys, we got to trust the justice system."

He says that's how he is getting through this, so much pain, Jim. But, yes, this is a story we're definitely going to stay on.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GINGRAS: But pretty incredible that we're all asking the same questions here today.

SCIUTTO: Well, you would. I mean, look at that poor little girl. How can you imagine she was perceived at all as a threat?

Brynn Gingras, thanks so much.

But here we are. And I know it's hard keeping track, because there are so many shootings to follow up.

And let's get an update on the status of the injured cheerleader in Texas.

Rosa Flores, she has been following that story.

Payton Washington, there she is, another young woman brought down by gun violence. What do we know? How is she doing?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jim, we understand that she's still in the ICU, she is speaking, and she is breathing on her own account.

So that is the good news here. Now, this is according to Lynne Shearer. She is the owner of the gym where Payton Washington trains. Now, the other thing that we learned from Lynne is that -- is that Payton Washington is also FaceTiming with some of her friends.

They're competing in a big cheerleading competition this weekend. And she was able to FaceTime them while they were practicing. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNNE SHEARER, WOODLANDS ELITE CHEER COMPANY: She was awake and able to FaceTime with her team last night as they did their last performance before heading out to the competition this weekend.

So, that was hard for her to watch, but she was cheering them on. It was hard. They were crying, but they -- they finished strong. They did the routine. Payton -- it was very hard for Payton to not be there and not be able to compete with them, but she's just the ultimate competitor.

And, at this point, we have to do it without her, but we will be doing it for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, that competition is this weekend in Orlando, Florida. Social media has been flooded with messages, thoughts and prayers for Payton Washington. And here are some.

And this is from Heather Roth, one of her friends who survived the shooting. She said -- quote -- "So incredibly grateful for the love and support we have received the last couple of days. It's not been easy, but we will come out the other side stronger than ever. Everything we do is for you, P," meaning Payton.

As for the latest in the investigation, 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez is being held on deadly conduct charges in Bastrop County. Now, he fled the scene after the shooting. So, how did police find him so quickly? We were able to obtain the search warrant affidavit. And, in that affidavit, it shows that it was police work, Jim, that helped detectives find this individual.

They saw the license plate and surveillance video. They ran those plates, went to the home. And, lo and behold, the suspect just simply walked out of the house -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, goodness. Good they have a suspect. Another poor girl in the hospital.

Rosa Flores, thanks so much for calling -- for covering -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching for this hour.

K-pop music fans around the world are mourning the sudden death of the singer Moon Bin. The Astro boy band member was found dead in his Seoul home last night by his manager. Now, no official cause of death has been released, but investigators believe he may have taken his own life. Moon Bin was 25 years old.

Meantime, the U.S. Coast Guard is suspending its search for three Americans missing off the coast of Mexico. Officials say the trio of experienced sailors were sailing from Mazatlan in Mexico to San Diego with a planned stop in Cabo San Lucas, but they never made it to their destination. Officials say the last contact with the group was on April 4.

And ahead of next month's coronation, Pope Francis has gifted King Charles this silver cross believed to contain a relic from Jesus' crucifixion. Known as the True Cross, it's going to lead next month's procession into Westminster Abbey, where Charles will be officially crowned king -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, he challenged an -- experts, any expert, to prove him wrong for millions of dollars. And now he's got to pay up. Just how much is Mike Lindell on the hook for? That's next.

Plus, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has released his plan to end the high-stakes debt showdown, but the White House, even some Republicans, they're not on board for that plan. We're going to be live on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:29:27]

KEILAR: Now a look at some of our top stories.

An unmanned mega-rocket exploded in midair this morning. Still, it's been considered a major victory because it did take off. SpaceX's Starship, the heaviest, most powerful rocket ever built, cleared the launchpad in its second attempt today. But it was incinerated around the time that the spacecraft separated from the rocket booster.

Before the countdown, Elon Musk said -- quote -- "Success is not what should be expected. That would be insane."

And the National Weather Service office has confirmed that at least eight tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma on Wednesday. At least three people were killed, but officials actually fear that death toll could rise. More than 50 million people from Texas to Wisconsin