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Eight Killed After Driver Plows into Ground Outside Brownsville Shelter; Tomorrow, Pivotal White House Meeting on Raising Debt Ceiling; Jordan Neely's Family Says, Statement was Character Assassination. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 08, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Disturbing new details about the mass killer in Allen, Texas. Officials probe possible ties to right-wing extremist groups.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also in Texas, we are told that charges could be imminent after an SUV slams into a group of people outside of a migrant shelter. Several people were killed. We are live outside of the scene.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, attacks are intensifying across Ukraine as Russia unleash of its latest onslaught of death and destruction there, these major stories and more all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: We do want to begin this hour in Brownsville, Texas. Police are expected to give an update on that deadly crash involving several migrants. At least eight people are dead and several other people are injured right now. There are a ton of questions this morning still on why this happened. Hopefully, some answers will come in the next hour.

But here is what people -- police say that we know so far. An SUV plowed into a group of people outside of the homeless shelter and the horrifying moment was caught on surveillance camera. The video we're going to be showing you, it was -- we're going to pause -- it will pause just before the moment of impact. But at the top of the screen, you are going to be able to see just how fast the SUV appears to be going when it jumps the curb.

CNN's Nick Valencia is live at the scene. He is joining us now. Nick, you have new video that you were able to obtain of some of the moments after the crash. What does it show?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right. We have obtained it just about 24 hour since the incident happened. And the first large group of migrants was trying to get on this bus, the exact same spot where their friends, in some cases, were run over by this individual who was being investigated by the police.

And we want to share with you this new video exclusively shared with us by an eyewitness named Cesar Romero. He's a Venezuelan national who saw what happened. He said some of those that were killed by this crash were among his friends. He said, as soon as this happened, the driver got out of the car, in his words, he said the driver appeared to be impaired and shouted obscenities at the migrants in Spanish.

The driver, he said, tried to get away. The video you're seeing is those group of men who came, in some cases, from the shelter to try to restrain this individual, and that driver, according to Romero, shouting back at them not to touch him.

But this is part of the police investigation. I talked to the Brownsville Police Department about that this morning. They are saying they're launching a separate investigation to look into potential assault charges on the men that appeared to be assaulting this suspected driver. They are also expected to host a press conference in about an hour-and-a-half from now, where we will be hear the preliminary charges against this suspected driver.

The Brownsville Police Department not telling me what those charges are, only to say that they're looking at this crash three different ways. One, that this could have been caused by the driver being impaired, the second that it could have been a malfunction, or the third, that this act could have been intentional.

And when I talked to the eyewitness earlier, he said there was no doubt in his mind that this act was intentional. We want to be clear, though, although police initially made reference to this being potentially an intentional act, they have not determined that with 100 percent certainty.

We expect to hear more at this press conference, Kate, in coming hours, in the coming hour-and-a-half, all of this, of course, happening with just days left in the expiration of Title 42, that Trump-era COVID policy that shutdown the border, effectively shutting it down, stopping that migration flow. That is going to be lifted in a couple of days, making a lot of people and communities like Brownsville very anxious about what that means and the amount of people that are set to come. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Nick. And most imminently, we are going to learn of the potential charges coming in the next hour-and-a-half, John.

BERMAN: Standby for that. In the meantime, elsewhere in Texas this morning, the community of Allen is in mourning after a gunman's rampage at an outlet mall. Eight people were killed, at least seven others wounded, as the shooter targeted innocent shoppers.

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MAYOR-ELECT BAINE BROOKS, ALLEN, TEXAS: I think I'm going to put my script out and I'm just going to speak from the heart.

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Jesus, just please take the wheel. Our community has just been hit. And it hurts. It hurts. And I think prayer is going to be what we are going to need to go forward. Allen is going to heal.

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BERMAN: CNN has learned the names of two of the victims. Family members say Christian LaCour, on the left there, was a sweet, caring young man. And we are told Aishwarya Thatikonda, on the right, she was an engineering who lived in McKinney, Texas. Officials say, the victims, they range in age from 5 to 61 years old.

CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell is on the scene in Allen, Texas. Josh, I understand there is new information coming in about the shooter student.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That is right. We are learning more about this 33-year-old suspect. I will start with what we know at this hour. We are learning that he lived here in the Dallas area. He had previously worked as a security guard. He received some type firearms training as part of that certification process. A source tells me that he was here in this area living in some type of temporary housing.

I want to show you a photo that CNN obtained from someone who was there on the scene. This was the aftermath of that incident where you see the type weaponry that was brought to bear here during this shooting. You see the shooter there, he's dead. He was shot to death by a police officer. Next to him an AR-15-style rifle. But on his chest, you see multiple extra rounds of ammunition, magazines. And so, again, you have to wonder. But for that cop springing into action to take the shooter down, how many more people could have been killed here.

Now, investigators are certainly looking into the motive, and I am told in talking to law enforcement officers that they are currently investigating whether the suspect was motivated by right-wing extremism. And that is because on the shooter's chest after he was found deceased, he had an insignia with the letters RWDS, which authorities believe stands for Right-Wing Death Squad. It's the same type of insignia that we've seen other extremists wear at protests over the past few years.

Now, I'm also told that authorities are digging into the suspect's social media, trying to, again, get to that motive. He is deceased. They can't interview him, but they are trying to find out what it was that motivated him. And I'm told that he had extensive social media online presence, to include postings about white supremacist and neo- Nazi-type material that authorities, according to sources I'm talking to, they believe he posted that himself.

So, again, there is a lot we don't know at this hour, but the investigators certainly believe that they are zeroing in on a possible motive simply by looking at this past communications, John.

BERMAN: An insignia, Right-Wing Death Squad. And, Josh, we're looking at all the pictures of all the people who were there shopping at the mall at the time. What are the witnesses saying?

CAMPBELL: Yes. It was certainly chaotic situation after those shots erupted here, but we are also hearing about acts of heroism, including one man who spoke to CNN, his son was working in the mall and called and said, hey, there is this incident that's happening. The dad rushes to the scene, finds victims, immediately starts CPR trying to save lives, all the while his son is inside the building trying to shield and protect people as well. Take a listen.

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STEVEN SPAINHOUER, FIRST RESPONDER, SON WAS WORKING INSIDE MALL: He was in the break room. He said, if I had been behind the window then was shot out by the gunman, I wouldn't be here. He got his staff and his employees into the break room. They took one of the victims shot outside into the store and took care of that victim while they were waiting to be extricated by the SWAT teams.

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CAMPBELL: Now, you're looking here, John, at a live look. This is the makeshift memorial that has been set up for the victims, the eight people that were killed, including, as you mentioned, Aishwarya Thatikonda, as well as Christian LaCour. And just next to them, you see a scene that we've seen all too familiar. These are comfort dogs that have been brought in from Lutheran Services across the country. They bring them in to help those who are grieving, the victims, community members.

Again, it's one if the telltale signs of this epidemic of mass shooters, where you not only see first responders responding, investigators trying to get to the bottom of what happened, but the people in the community coming out, just trying to provide some sense of comfort, some sense of relief after yet another tragedy here in the United States involving firearms.

BERMAN: Yes, a shockingly familiar scene. Josh Campbell, keep us posted, thank you so much for being there. Sara?

SIDNER: Right. I would like to bring in former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to analyze what we are hearing about the gunman in that Allen, Texas, shooting. We are hearing about this insignia that he had that law enforcement source tells us, look, it looks like he was online looking at things like neo-Nazi ideology and white supremacist ideology. Does this give investigators a starting point as to what the motive might be and whether or not this is domestic terrorism or a hate crime?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It does, Sara. And, unfortunately, what we are hearing so far is a pretty familiar background in terms of a mass shooting suspect.

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And, in fact, I think it is consistent with the warnings that we have received repeatedly from the FBI and from DHS in the last few years about how this group of individuals particularly, people who are classified as right-wing extremists, who are motivated by maybe anti- Semitism, anti-immigrant beliefs or racist beliefs, fueled with grievance and rage, are the most concerning to those two agencies as we prevent these sort of attacks.

So, it should not be surprising that we are seeing this shooter engage in anti-Semitic or racist, white supremacist sort of posts in his social media, and we know that because investigators have a lot of experience in doing this now. That's where we go. They look to social media. They look to -- they execute search warrants at the shooter's house. They try to look in his electronics devices, his communications records, things of that nature, and this is often what we see.

SIDNER: Yes. Sadly, investigators have to do this so many times, they know exactly how to go about it now when it comes to mass shootings or any of these shootings.

Let me ask you about this insignia that was found on him, according to investigators, RWDS. The last time I saw this, and when I saw it, it sparked something in my head. It was on a member of The Proud Boys. And it turns out, and this is a picture of one of The Proud Boys with that insignia, Right-Wing Death Squad is what it stands for colloquially in most of the time you see that. He was the first to plead guilty, I think, of The Proud Boys to seditious conspiracy. What does it tell you about this prevalence of this idea of a Right-Wing Death Squad? I think it is a pretty horrible thing to put on your uniform or your body.

MCCABE: It is obviously a disgusting insignia and it indicates some sort of really vile motivation, right? But I think it is also a really good example of what many scholars and extremism -- folks who really track the extremism community refer to lately as the salad bar approach to extremist ideology.

So, in the past, decades ago, you had what you have always had these extremists in this country, but they were very much kind of cabined into their own group. You had the KKK or you had the Aryan Nation or these different groups that largely stayed among their own. But now, with the ubiquity of -- the availability, I should say, of all of this extremist propaganda on the internet, what we are seeing in the extremist community is individual who kind of take from multiple pots, right?

They share some symbolisms with other groups and then maybe have different ones that they have come to on their own. It is much harder to distinguish or label extremists group as a member one individual ideology, because they seem to kind of pick those things that they like across multiple groups and multiple ideologies, and that sort of fuels each of them in their own way. Very dangerous and also makes it harder for the law enforcement folks to stay on top of exactly who is doing what.

SIDNER: Yes, not a surprise that they are being radicalized online, as you have spoken before. Andrew McCabe, thank you so much, always giving us very good analysis in these cases. Kate? BOLDUAN: Ahead, a character assassination, that is what the family of Jordan Neely is saying about a new statement coming from the man seen on video putting Neely in a chokehold before he died in that subway. That development coming in, we'll have that for you coming up.

Plus, the debt ceiling deadline is approaching. Top lawmakers are heading to the White House just as a group Republican senators draw a serious line in the sand.

And as the NBA's post-season heats up, there was some action on the sidelines actually during the Suns and Nuggets game that we should talk about. What went down between a star player and a team owner, that's next.

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SIDNER: On our radar this morning, closing arguments get underway in E. Jean Carroll's civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump for battery and defamation. Carroll accuses Trump of raping her in a department store in the 1990s. Carroll and ten other witnesses for her testify during the trial. Trump did not put on a defense, did not show up to the trial and didn't testify. Jury deliberations are set to begin tomorrow.

China's foreign minister says relations with the United States are on cold ice, but he notes that stabilizing ties is a top priority. He met today with U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns in Beijing. The Chinese official urged Washington to deeply reflect on its misstep, his words, and to meet China halfway. Tensions between the world's two biggest economies soured in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States.

And the NBA Western Conference between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns is headed to game five tomorrow. But the Nuggets may have to play without star center Nikola Jokic. The two-time MVP received a technical foul and possible suspension for elbowing the owner of the Suns after the two wrestled over the ball last night. Jokic spoke on the incident post game, saying Ishbia initiated the contact.

BOLDUAN: So, today marks the start of a critical week in the showdown over the debt ceiling.

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Tomorrow, President Biden will meet with the top four congressional leaders, and this will be the first time really that the five have sat down together while serving in their current roles. And it can't happen a moment too soon.

June 1st is the date that the U.S. could default on its debt. The administration has warned that a default could wipe out 8 million jobs, and most outside economists warn a default would cause widespread and unnecessary economic damage.

CNN's Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill for us right now. So, Manu, ahead of this meeting, an important meeting at the White House, you now have Senate Republicans, many of them coming together to draw what seems like a pretty serious line in the sand.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. There is just a ton of uncertainty on Capitol Hill right now about how exactly Washington will avert the first ever U.S. debt default, something that could have drastic economic ramifications across the globe, because the two sides are, in fact, completely digging in. And negotiations really don't start until tomorrow at the White House. That's the only thing that we know for certain, that President Biden will meet with the top four Congressional leaders at the White House.

But what happens after that? What negotiations may take place, will they not take place, and will the battle lines continue to be drawn, and will the two sides continue to dig in? And in a significant letter over the weekend, 43 Senate Republicans signed onto a letter, including the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, indicating that they need conditions as part of any debt ceiling increase, which is the opposite position of Democrats and the White House.

They write in this letter, our economy is in freefall due to unsustainable fiscal policies. This trajectory must be addressed with fiscal reforms. As such, we will not be voting for cloture on any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.

Now, six GOP senators did not sign on to that letter, but they would need nine Republican senators to break ranks from that position in order to raise the national debt ceiling because you need 60 votes to overcome any filibuster attempts. So, if Democrats were to get their way to have without any conditions, so-called clean debt ceiling increase, they would need nine Republican Senators. And this letter indicates that they do not have just that.

And also, over the weekend, one independent senator, a former Democrat, Kyrsten Sinema, made clear that that push, the White House's push for a so-called clean debt ceiling increase, would not have the votes to pass.

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SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-AZ): The reality is, the bill that Kevin and his colleagues passed to the House is not going to be the solution. The votes do not exist in the United States Senate to pass that. But what the president is offering is not a realistic solution either. There's not going to be just a simple clean debt limit. The votes don't exist for that.

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RAJU: So, that is, in essence, the challenge here. The House Republicans did pass a bill with a slew of spending cuts that Democrats and the Senate say are dead on arrival. So, what will happen after tomorrow's meeting? Can they avert default? All major questions looming over Washington as both sides grapple about the prospects of the first ever debt default. Kate? BOLDUAN: I mean, yes, talking is happening, but there seems no more motivation or urgency to be giving one way or the other as they are barreling towards this. But let's see what the clock does to these negotiations. It's good to see you, Manu. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: Thanks, Kate. This morning, the family of a man who died after being put in a chokehold by another subway rider is lashing out at that man for a statement that he released. They say the statement was, quote, character assassination of Jordan Neely. There were protests over the weekend over Neely's death, some spilled onto the subway tracks. The man who held Neely down has been identified as 24- year-old Marine Veteran Daniel Penny. Prosecutors are still discussing if any charges will be filed here.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is at the subway station where some of the protests took place. Prosecutors considering charges, what is the consideration here, Omar?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. So, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has said they're continuing to look through photos, videos, interviewing witnesses, things of that nature, to likely help try and build a potential case. Now, over the weekend, we saw 13 people arrested over -- after protests over the killing of Jordan Neely's spilled onto the subway tracks at the station behind me here. Now, all of them have been calling for charges in this case, and, again, we have not seen any announcement one way or another.

Now, Neely was known to many as a Michael Jackson impersonator, dancing on the subways at times. But in recent years, friends and family had said he had fallen on hard times. And a law enforcement source told CNN he had been arrested more than 40 times, in some cases for things like jump in the turnstile, but also in a few cases for assault as well.

It's not likely anybody on the train car actually knew any of that history when this happened. But that goes to, of course, the crux of this case. Lawyers for Daniel Penny, the guy who put Neely in the chokehold, have been out with a statement where they claim when Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help others, acted to protect themselves until help arrived.

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Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.

Now, a witness who was there says that that Neely was acting erratically, though at the time, he had not attacked anyone. And the interpretation of those in the car will be a major difference.

Neely's family attorney are now out with their own statement saying, Daniel Penny's press release is not an apology nor an expression of regret. It is a character assassination and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan's life. It is clear he is the one who acted with indifference, both at the time he killed Jordan and now in his first public message.

They also said in a previous statement, passengers are not supposed to die on the floor of our subways. And that, of course, is going to be the main question as the district attorney's office considers these charges. Whatever threat may have been interpreted in this moment, should this have ended in death? And if so, how did this conclusion end the way it did? All questions that are being tackled right now, John.

BERMAN: All right. We should hear from prosecutors fairly soon on this. Omar Jimenez, thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: Fentanyl, it's what the DEA administrator calls the greatest threat to Americans today. Ahead, we speak with her one-on-one about a year-long operation that uncovered how cartels are using social media platforms, like TikTok and Snapchat to target Americans.

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