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UNLV Shooter Identified; Allister Dias is Interviewed about the UNLV Shooting; Stalemate over Funding; Trump Speaks Before Entering New York Courtroom. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 07, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:31:27]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, just a short time ago we learned the identity of the shooter at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who killed three people and critically injured a fourth. We also learned a possible motive.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov is in Las Vegas for the very latest here.

Lucy, what have you learned?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John.

Law enforcement sources telling CNN that the gunman has been identified as 67-year-old Anthony Polito. And a working theory on the motive. Investigators again telling CNN that they're looking into the possibility that he may have applied for a job, a position at the university, was -- but was passed over for this position.

Polito, of course, died at the scene after a confrontation with police, but he had previously worked for schools in both Georgia and North Carolina. And his LinkedIn profile actually lists him -- his most recent full-time employment as a business professor at East Carolina University. A position which had ended long ago back in 2017.

A University of Georgia spokesman did confirm to CNN that Polito had received a Ph.D. from the university's business college back in 2002.

But as for the terror that unfolded yesterday, reports of shots fired started appearing at around 11:45 a.m. local time near Beam Hall, which is home to the university's business school. We know that police said that the shooting -- the sheriff told us yesterday that the shooting began on the fourth floor. It moved down through several floors and then police said that they engaged and, quote, "neutralized the suspect" outside of that building, but not before he killed three people, a third victim suffered a gunshot wound. They were upgraded from critical condition to stable overnight. Two police officers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. And then four students suffered panic attacks from this horror.

The sheriff telling us yesterday that a lot more lives could have been lost.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF KEVIN MCMAHILL, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: And if it hadn't been for the heroic actions of one of those police officer who responded, there could have been countless, additional lives taken. Armed confrontation of the suspect by law enforcement stopped the suspect's further actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: Now, of course, this is an active investigation. The ATF and FBI are also assisting. And the students here, this was a packed university. This is study week right before finals, right before winter break, so a lot of folks were on campus preparing to take their tests. And students described hearing the gunshots, reading the terrifying messages, including one from the university in all caps, run, hide, fight. Some hid in classrooms. One student described how she had to hide in the bathroom of the student union behind me.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANA, HID IN BATHROOM AT STUDENT UNION: I jumped up on the toilet, trying to make sure my feet aren't shown. And I heard the gunman -- the gunman started like coming closer in the direction of the student union and they ended up going inside the building. And I have a clip of where I could hear them shooting and I was just freaking out, crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: And let's not forget, John, this is a city still scarred from one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history back in 2017. So far this year, 631 mass shootings here in America, John.

BERMAN: What a number.

All right, Lucy Kafanov, in Las Vegas, keep us posted as you learn new details.

[09:35:02]

Thank you very much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, I'm joined now by Allister Dias, who is a student at UNLV and the editor in chief of "UNLV Scarlet & Gray Free Press."

First of all, thank you for taking time this morning. I know that was an extremely terrifying situation you found yourself in. I am glad you're safe and with us this morning.

You were inside the student union building, I understand it. What did you see? What did you hear from your vantage point?

ALLISTER DIAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "UNLV SCARLET & GRAY FREE PRESS": Well, the newspaper office inside the student union is located on the third floor because there's three floors of the student union. Originally when things had kind of come to known that things were happening, I was in the newspaper office and there's a balcony, an open-air balcony, right next door to our offices. And originally I was hearing cop cars kind of rolling down our street, which is Maryland Parkway in front of UNLV. And when I stepped out there, I just saw like 50 to 60 kids just running across the parking lot, which was then followed by a string of consecutive gun shots, I'd say about five or six.

And so I ran off - off the - off the balcony back to the office. I grabbed the other staff member who was there and locked up everything and then we escaped through the interior stairwell of the student union.

During that period there was, I'd say, a few more gunshots. I could hear them very faintly, but you could still hear them kind of vibrating in the walls.

From there we exited through a side exit. And when we were in front of the student union, I'd say there was three more gunshots that were fired. They were very loud and very - very nearby.

I didn't get a chance to see the actual shooter himself. Mainly because my priority at the time was to get not only myself but my staff to a safe location.

This was, I think, very early on in the situation. So, I - you know, there's a lot of stuff that was in the air at the time.

SIDNER: Yes. I am so - I don't -- this is a weird thing to say because I'm not your mother, but I feel like I'm really proud of what you did. You helped save yourself. You helped save some of the folks that were there, the person with you on the staff with you, and you acted calmly and you did what the university sent out to students, which is, hide, run, or fight, whatever of the three you needed to do.

But I do want to ask you how you're feeling now and what you were sort of thinking through all this because we're hearing reports of students who have had panic attacks, who - you know, this is just another time where students on campus are not safe.

DIAS: Yes. Afterwards, it kind of -- I was telling one of my colleagues, it really much felt like a - like a fever dream. I almost felt like it -- you couldn't believe this was happening. I think afterwards I was pretty shaken up from the situation, but I was still kind of a little bit more calm and collected.

I know a lot of my peers, when they were kind of being led out by the police with their hands up, you know, it was very heartbreaking to see a lot of my peers crying to their parents on the phone or crying to their siblings. And it was pretty bad. But for me I'm doing OK. I'm doing all right for the most part. You know, I've been taking calls and everything over the days. And so, yes, it's been rough.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you, because of what you just said, where the students are coming out with their hands up, everyone's shaken -- literally shaking after you heard all of these gunshots. We have heard that -- from a source that the identification of the shooter was a former professor who worked at other universities but not at UNLV. In our CNN database there have been 80 school shootings so far this year. What do you want to say to lawmakers and to school administrators to have safer campuses? What are you also hearing from the students around you?

DIAS: Well, there's been a lot of calls to make UNLV a closed campus. In fact, just a couple hours after the shooting had occurred yesterday, a student had made a petition to make UNLV a closed campus because at the moment it is an open campus. That petition as of this morning has about 10,000 signatures already. And the idea of what's going on in the ground is that, you know, there's a lot of calls to make our university safer. And, you know, the fact of the matter is that UNLV, (INAUDIBLE) can just walk onto campus and we don't really know. You know, some security measures could have prevented what occurred yesterday but, unfortunately, they weren't present.

SIDNER: Allister Dias, thank you so much for what you did to - to help save yourself and the other student, and thank you for coming on and telling us your story after a harrowing situation there on campus. I appreciate it.

[09:40:02]

DIAS: Of course. Thank you so much for having me.

SIDNER: Sure.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up still for us, headed back to court today. The former Alaska Airlines pilot who's now facing more than 80 charges, accused of trying to turn off the engines of the plane midnight.

And also another courthouse, very different place. Moments ago Donald Trump arrived at the New York City courthouse to attend his civil fraud trial, as he's also getting ready to head back on - head back up to be on the stand himself as the defense's star witness.

We'll be back.

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[09:45:04]

BOLDUAN: Also on our radar this hour, authorities identified the man that they say killed six people, wounded three others in a shooting spree in central Texas this week. Thirty-four-year-old Shane James, he now faces capital murder charges with more charges expected to come soon. Police say that they think this tragedy began when he shot and killed his own parents. And he has a history. Officers arrested James last year on misdemeanor assault charges. They say that he was previously discharged from the military after a domestic violence incident.

Well, the off duty and now former Alaska Airlines pilot charged with trying to shut off a jet's engines in the middle of a flight, he is due back to court today. Joseph Emerson was indicted this week on 84 charges, one count of endangering aircraft in the first degree and 83 counts of reckless endangerment for everyone else on board. His legal team maintains that he was not trying to hurt the passengers, he simply thought he was in a dream and trying to return home to his family.

The U.S. military has now grounded its entire osprey aircraft fleet after the recent crash off the coast of Japan which killed all eight airmen onboard. They were conducting a routine training mission when the aircraft went down. And as has been reported and seen over time, the osprey has a decades long history of mechanical and operational issues. In August, three Marines died during a military exercise in Australia, and last year nine U.S. service members were killed in two separate crashes.

Sara.

SIDNER: The Biden administration is saying this morning that congressional Republicans are playing political games with national security after GOP senators blocked a bill overnight that would have sent billions of dollars in critical aid to Ukraine and Israel.

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SHALANDA YOUNG, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: This is not hyperbole. You've heard it from the president. There is a risk that if Putin is allowed to go through Ukraine, he is on NATO's door, and then our sons and daughters could possibly be a part of conflict. So this is, you know, these are political games. And, unfortunately, this is a - this is becoming a norm where Republicans know the stakes, like in debt ceiling, and continue to push for things that are unrelated, even though the stakes are too high.

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SIDNER: Republicans, of course, have a different take. They are demanding that any foreign aid package must be paired with new policies on immigration and border security.

CNN's Lauren Fox is joining me now from Capitol Hill.

Lauren, the congressional calendar not a lot of time left for negotiations. What are you learning this morning? I know there was a bang up behind closed doors before we heard from the administration.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are learning this morning that things remain in a really delicate position, given the reality that the administration is pointing out, which is, there's not that much money left from what Congress has previously appropriated to give to Ukraine. And this is a really critical moment for that country as they face a long winter battle.

Now, one of the questions remains up here whether or not negotiators on the Republican and Democratic side are going to be able to come back together. If you remember, those talks really stalled out over the weekend. James Langford, who's the top Republican negotiator on the border talks told reporters last night that he is not giving up. That he continues to try and have a conversation with his Democratic colleagues, but they are still really far apart.

And as you pointed out, next week lawmakers are set to leave for their holiday break. Not returning until the new year. That means it's very possible, and you're starting to hear this from Republican leaders as well, that they could leave without giving Ukraine or Israel additional funding at a time when both countries believe it would be critical for their future.

So, it's a really huge question right now. And we are just talking about the United States Senate. We still would have to deal with what happens in the House of Representatives. Mike Johnson has telegraphed that he needs a very robust border security policy to put anything on the floor. It's hard to imagine what that perfect cocktail is that would be a border package that could pass with bipartisan support in the Senate, then be enough border security that Mike Johnson would feel comfortable putting it on the floor of the House and not face potential upheaval from his right flank.

So, a lot of questions this morning. And, as you noted, time is running out.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes. And to be clear, all of these issues are important issues. But if they can't get the job done, everybody suffers.

Thank you so much, Lauren Fox. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Israel released a photo naming five of the Hamas commanders it claims it has killed. And at this moment the IDF says it has surrounded the main Hamas leader.

Also, Donald Trump has arrived at a Manhattan courthouse. You are looking at live pictures right there. We are awaiting for and perhaps expecting comments from him about the trial where he will testify next week.

[09:50:02]

And the Republican debate. His first comments on the Republican debate last night.

Stay with us.

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BOLDUAN: The Israeli military has released - oh, before we get to that, let's talk about these live pictures importantly.

This is - live pictures inside a New York City courthouse in lower Manhattan where we are waiting for Donald Trump, the former president, to head back in to sit in as his civil fraud trial picks back up today. Sitting in today to watch witnesses. And then on Monday, Donald Trump himself will take the stand to be the star witness in his defense.

We've seen and heard from the president many times as he's been going in and out of the courtroom. We're standing by to see if we can see -- if we will see him in - and he will speak this time. We'll bring that to you.

Also this, as I was mentioning, the very latest in the Israel-Hamas war. The Israeli military has released a photo of what it says are 11 senior Hamas military leaders gathered in one of the tunnel beneath Gaza. Take a look at this photo. In a statement the IDF claims that five of them, the ones that you see circled there, they have now been killed.

[09:55:04]

The IDF also saying that it's only a matter of time before they get Hamas' leader, Yahya Sinwar.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Tel Aviv with much more on this.

Alex, stick with me for one second. We're going to go back to the courthouse. Donald Trump about to speak.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) yesterday. What was your reaction to the governor's (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: Well, thank you very much, everybody. And we appreciate your being here. This is a witch hunt the likes of which probably nobody has ever seen. We've put on a case that is absolutely 100 percent. There's not a judge in the country that wouldn't have given us a total victory, but there's not a judge in the country that would have even taken this case. This is a witch hunt and it's a very corrupt trial.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: Now, we won this case - we won this case at the appellate division, most of it. We cover about 90 percent of the case. We won this case at the appellate division, and this judge refuses to acknowledge the appellate division. And he said very specifically, we're going forward, because there's something wrong here. We won this case.

Remember this, just put it into your heads, this case was won at the appellate division, and the judge refuses to do what the appellate division demands he do. Nobody's ever seen anything like this. When you win at the appellate division, that's your higher court, the judge has to be bound by what their decision is. But we won at the appellate division. Part of that victory was Ivanka was not having to put herself through this. And they ruled that. But the bigger part of it was that about 90 percent, because of the statute of limitations, about 90 percent of the case disappears. So remember this, we won the case at the appellate division, the higher court, and this judge refuses to acknowledge that victory or that demand. And that's very serious.

So, we're going in now. We have an expert witness. One of the greater experts in the country. And I hope you'll all be able to listen to him. But it will just be another day.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: If you look at it - if you look at the case, we did nothing wrong. There were no victims. The bank loves us. The bank testified. They love us. We did absolutely nothing wrong. We never even defaulted. We never had a default letter sent to us. The bank said we were perfect customer. The bank didn't even know why they were here. And yet you have people being murdered outside. All over the streets they're being murdered. There's violent crime.

And this attorney general, who's crazed, she's a lunatic, the attorney general sits here because she knows that she has a judge that no matter all the evidence the judge is going to rule in her favor. He ruled against me before the case even started. The case hadn't started. He knew nothing. And he ruled against me.

The other thing is this, he valued Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, because that was good for her case, at a value of $18 million, when in fact it's worth anywhere from 50 to 100 times that amount. Nobody has ever seen anything like it.

But just remember what I said at the beginning, we won at the appellate division, and this judge refuses to honor that victory or that decision or that demand.

Thank you very much.

QUESTION: Mr. Trump, why are you saying (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: All right, so we're listening in. Donald Trump having his say before he heads into court. And we've heard a lot of the same, his take on what he thinks this case is about, what he - how he thinks that he says he's won the case, which the judge has very clearly already ruled that he was liable for fraud even before this portion of the trial began. And now he's headed into court.

We're going to have much more on this and Donald Trump back in court -- back in a New York courtroom right now. And we're going to have much more after a break.

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