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CNN News Central
911 Calls from Deadly Jacksonville Shooting Released; Florida Gunman Seen in New Video at Different Store Before Shooting; Idalia Now Category 1 Hurricane and Strengthening; Rare Video Shows Paul Whelan Inside a Russian Prison; Interview with Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Chris Coons; Coco Gauff Survives Scare at U.S. Open in First-Round Match; Triumphant Return of Novak Djokovic to U.S. Open; After Fans Ran Onto Field, Acuna Jr. Knocked to the Ground. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired August 29, 2023 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:30:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Officials in north Florida have released 9-1-1 calls from the day of that racist attack in Jacksonville. We're also learning more about the moments leading up to the deadly shooting. Investigators releasing multiple videos, including this one of the suspect at a different store. So, just before he killed three black people at a Dollar General store, he apparently stopped at this Family Dollar store. The shooter killed Angela Michelle Carr, Jerrald Gallion, and AJ Laguerre Jr. Now, a federal hate crimes investigations is underway.
CNN's Brian Todd joins us live from Jacksonville. Brian, what's the latest on the investigation?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, you mentioned the 9-1-1 call and that is the latest, we just got that a few minutes ago. Very dramatic audio from this 9-1-1 call. It -- the call itself occurred at about 1:50 p.m. eastern time on Saturday afternoon, this was after the shooting had actually occurred. But the father of the suspect calling 9-1-1 to report basically that his son was missing and that he was concerned about him. The son had left the family's home a couple of hours earlier. Here's an excerpt of that 9-1-1 call with the father speaking to the dispatcher.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. And does your son go anywhere that you know of? Or is there, like, common places --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- that he goes to?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he doesn't go anywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he doesn't go anywhere? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he flunked out of Flagler College, moved home about a couple years ago. Had a job for a while at Home Depot. And lost that job and pretty much been living in his room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do know that he's getting -- receiving psychiatric help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: The father also told the 9-1-1 dispatcher that the son was on medications. And that he had stopped taking those medications, the father believed sometime in late July because the pill bottle was still full. Just, again, for the record here, this 9-1-1 call was made at 1:53 p.m. According to the timeline given by law enforcement, the last person at the Dollar Store here who was shot and killed was shot and killed at about 1:13 p.m. So, the 9-1-1 call coming -- what? About 40 minutes after the last shooting had occurred here at the Dollar Store.
We also did get that new video that Boris mentioned of -- from last night of the -- from the sheriff's office of, kind of, the sequence of events. You see video of the shooter stopping at another Dollar Store, going into the store, coming out with a bag. He was not in that store for very long. He then goes to the campus of Edward Waters University, just a few blocks from here. And the video shows him putting on a tactical vest, then getting in his car. Then a security officer from Edwards Waters approaches him, the suspect speeds off, jumps a curb, almost hits a column on the way out.
There's also video of the suspect going -- pointing a gun at a car in the parking lot of the Dollar Store behind where the shooting actually occurred, then pointing a gun at someone inside the store.
[10:35:00]
You can also see in another sequence of video released by police of officers rushing into the store and then flinching, kind of, visibly reacting when hear a gunshot. They -- the law enforcement now believes that is the self-inflicted gunshot wound when the shooter killed himself. Boris.
SANCHEZ: Wow. A lot of excruciating details there. Brian Todd, thanks so much for the update.
Rahel.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: All right. Boris, still ahead for us. A rare look inside the Russian prison where American Paul Whelan has been wrongfully detained for over four years. Why is Russian media releasing this now and what it could mean for Paul Whelan. That's next.
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[10:40:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. And we continue to follow Hurricane Idalia, now a category 1 storm, but gaining strength as it churns in the gulf, taking aim at Florida's West Coast. Idalia is expected to make landfall tomorrow morning potentially as a category 3 hurricane. It is forecasted to bring a life-threatening storm surge that could cause water to swell up to 12 feet in some areas.
Up and down the state's western coast, Floridians are preparing with mandatory evacuations underway in at least 22 counties. We should say, we heard from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this morning. Calling it potentially a major hurricane event. We will, of course, continue to follow it. Boris.
SANCHEZ: We will definitely keep an eye on that.
We have some rare new video to share with you from Russian state media. It shows American prisoner Paul Whelan wearing a Russian prison uniform and walking around in different parts of the prison. Remember, he's been in Russian custody since 2018 after he was accused of spying. His brother David said this was the first time he'd seen what Paul really looks like since June of 2020. Now, Paul briefly had an interaction with a reporter. We want you to listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN DETAINED IN RUSSIA SINCE DECEMBER 2018: Sir, you understand when I say that I can't do an interview, which means I can't answer any questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That was the extent of it.
Let's discuss this and more with Senator Chris Coons. He's a Democrat from Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and chair of the Senate Appropriations Sub- Committee for Foreign Aid.
Senator, thanks so much for being with us. This footage of Paul Whelan incarcerated, I think it's fair to say that R.T. wouldn't have this kind of access without approval from the Kremlin. So, what would you say is the intent here? Why broadcast this now?
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Look, it's hard to guess exactly what Putin's motives are. But once again, he is showing that he's got an iron grip on dissent within Russia and that he continues to violate human rights. Evan Gershkovich of "The Wall Street Journal" is in a Russian prison, the first American journalist taken hostage by Russia since the Cold War. And Paul Whelan, a Marine veteran, is continuing now, five years on, to serve a similar sentence for espionage. In both cases, these are folks that we believe are wrongfully detained.
And as you well know, there are folks around the world who are being wrongfully held in different countries, in different prisons. The Biden administration is working tirelessly to secure their release. Secretary of State Blinken did have a chance to talk to Paul Whelan not long very ago. And I'm working on two different bipartisan bills to try and elevate the issue. To try and create a National American Hostage Day, a bill I have with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. And a bill to stop the IRS practice of imposing fines and fees on Americans unjustly detained overseas.
Senator Rounds and I have introduced this bipartisan bill. And it was based on American journalist Jason Rezaian who -- when he returned from a year in Iranian prison faced tens of thousands of dollars of fines and fees from the IRS.
SANCHEZ: So, Senator, do you believe that the United States is getting closer to Whelan being returned?
COONS: I don't know the details of the negotiations. But I know that the administration is determined to seek the release of both Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and other Americans held overseas. It's difficult work. There is a dedicated unit working hard on this. And it's my hope we'll see him returned soon from this unjust imprisonment.
SANCHEZ: Senator, we also wanted to get your perspective on Yevgeny Prigozhin. We have new video of the site obtained exclusively by CNN where the plane crash took place that the Kremlin has confirmed killed the head of the Wagner mercenary group. What do you think his death means for the battlefield in Ukraine and for Russia's internal politics?
COONS: Well, I'll remind you, Prigozhin's assault on Moscow, his relatively short-lived mutiny was in part caused by strong disagreements with Russian military leaders. He was publicly and privately criticizing many Shoigu and Gerasimov and other leaders of the Russian military for their failures on the battlefield.
And that wouldn't have happened without President Biden's strong leadership and dozens and dozens of other countries joining us in supporting Ukraine on the battlefield. The United States has delivered more than $70 billion worth of military and economic assistance to Ukraine in the last year and a half in their brave fight against Russian occupiers.
[10:45:00]
And our partners and allies around the world have delivered about the same amount of support. I am watching closely their counteroffensive. And I think that Prigozhin and Wagner were critical to Russia's war effort. I'll remind you, it was only Wagner in the Bakhmut area that made any progress in the battlefield in the last year. And this incident in which Prigozhin and his two of his top lieutenants were killed leaves uncertain the path forward for Wagner.
SANCHEZ: On the question of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. I spoke with Former Ambassador John Bolton yesterday. And he had a unique read on how Vladimir Putin might move forward following Prigozhin's death. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER IN THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE: Putin said, look, this war has gone on long enough. Let's have a ceasefire in place. Let's negotiate immediately. What would Emmanuel Macron of France do? He might well jump in to be the peacemaker. Germany's position here is shaky. And let's face it, the White House has not aided the Ukrainians in the most effective way, they're about to go into a very shaky general election for President Biden. Maybe he wants to be a peacemaker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Bolton believes that there is a bit of exhaustion on both sides of this war. And notably, there are polls that indicate that fewer Americans are supportive of sending more aid to Ukraine. Do you think it's the right time for President Biden to layout a deal for Putin?
COONS: I think it's the right time for us to continue to signal our unwavering support for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian troops who are fighting so bravely on the battlefield. And if President Zelenskyy can make progress with his peace plan which he's put forward, a 10-point peace plan, there have been several delegations that have gone and met with Putin from around the world to try and make progress.
I think our role here frankly, Boris, should be for the United States to continue to lead our Western partners and allies in supporting Ukraine, and hoping that the exhaustion you referred to on the battlefield will lead to Putin suing for a ceasefire. In any event, we're going to have to provide long-term security guarantees for Ukraine so that Russia doesn't simply re-arm, retrain, re-equip and relaunch an offensive further into Ukraine.
Exactly what the contours of that will look like is something that our NATO allies have been discussing closely with the United States and with President Zelenskyy on several visits to capitols both here in the United States and around the West.
SANCHEZ: Senator Chris Coons, a lot more we would have loved to get to but, unfortunately, we are out of time. Thank you, nevertheless, for being with us.
COONS: Of course. Thank you, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Rahel.
SOLOMON: And still ahead for us, Boris. Some scary moments when baseballs fans rushed the field to try to hug a Braves' player in the middle of the game. We'll have the details straight ahead.
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[10:50:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. And the action is underway at the final tennis major of the year. Coco Gauff rallied to win her opening match, but she wasn't happy about how long it took.
CNN's Andy Scholes joins us live. Andy, it sounds like it was a frustrating night for coco.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rahel. You know, do you get frustrated at people that just move at different speed than you? You know, I know I certainly do.
SOLOMON: I live in New York, so, yes.
SCHOLES: Yes, exactly. Exactly.
I mean, Coco Gauff, you know, she said, you know, she doesn't play abnormally fast, but her opponent, Laura Siegemund, was just going super slow last night. You had Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, they were on in to watch opening night and all of this unfold. And coco was just not happy with how much time Siegemund was taking in between each point to just be ready to play. The crowd was even getting a little frustrated. And Coco had had enough by the third set and she confronted the chair umpire.
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COCO GAUFF, 5-TIME WTA TOUR CHAMPION: She's never ready when I'm serving. She went over to crop (ph), like, four times. You gave her time violation one. How is this fair?
MARIJANA VELJOVIC, CHAIR UMPIRE: OK. First of all, you are very --
GAUFF: No, you're calling the score after the point is over. It's not like we're playing on point. You're calling the score like six seconds after the point is over. That first set, every game. Second set, every game. I didn't say nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: As you can see, she had had enough. The broadcasters were even agreeing with Coco saying it was taking too long to play. And after dropping the first set, Coco did rally to win the next two to take the match in two hours and 51 minutes. Afterwards, Siegemund admitted that she does play slow but she, you know, she's disappointed. Saying, she felt that New York crowd treated her like a bad person.
All right. How about the men's side. Novak Djokovic, he cruised to an easy first round win over Frenchman Alexandre Muller. Wrapping up the victory in just one hours and 34 minutes. The 23-time Grand Slam winner is going to regain the number one world ranking with that win. Djokovic seeking his fourth U.S. Open title. He couldn't play last year in the tournament because he's unvaccinated.
All right. Finally, we see, you know, knuckleheads run on the field all the time in baseball. But rarely do we see them actually making contact with any of the players. But check out what happened during the Braves'-Rockies game in Denver last night in seventh inning. This fan runs out into right field to try and take a selfie with Ronald Acuna Jr. Security gets there rather quickly but he, kind of, just holds on to Acuna. Then a second fan runs out, and Acuna gets knock down as security tries to take him down. Acuna was fine after all this and here's what he had to say about it afterwards.
[10:55:00]
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RONALD ACUNA JR., ATLANTA BRAVES OUTFIELDER (through translator): I was a little scared at first. But, you know, I think the fans were out there and asking for a picture but, you know, security was able to get there and so I think everything's OK. Everyone's OK.
BRIAN SNITKER, ATLANTA BRAVES MANAGER: You don't want to see that happen, I know that, because you don't know what the people or -- you know, what they can do when they come out there. So, it's a scary situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Scholes: Yes. And, Rahel, it's like manager Brian Snitker said right there, you never know what those fans' intentions are. So, it's kind of scary that they got to Acuna the way they did.
SOLOMON: Yes, it is really scary watching the video because he looks pretty determined. But I like the way you phrased, the technical term, knuckleheads. Knuckleheads that run on the field. All right. Andy Scholes, thank you.
SCHOLES: All right.
SOLOMON: Boris.
SANCHEZ: All morning long, we've been tracking Hurricane Idalia. The storm moving further into the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida where it is expected to hit as a category 3. You are looking at live footage from the southern-most point of the United State in Key West, Florida. It is bad down there. And it's not just the wind, it's the storm surge that could be most dangerous. We're live with the latest updates for you. Stay tuned.
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