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Three People Killed, One Injured After Gunman Opens Fire At UNLV; House Launches Investigation Into Penn, MIT And Harvard; Off- Duty Pilot Who Allegedly Tried To Turn Off Engines Sparks Wider Conversation On Pilot Mental Health. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired December 07, 2023 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's where things are headed. More stalemate, as these wars persist, and these allies are calling for help -- Brianna
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, Manu Raju, thank you for that report.
And coming up what we are learning about why a gunman opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, killing at least three people.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're learning new details about the UNLV campus shooting that left three people dead and one person critically injured. Law enforcement sources have identified the suspect as 67- year-old Anthony Polito, telling CNN an online profile believed to be belonging to Polito shows he followed conspiracy theories and was fascinated with the city of Las Vegas. We're also learning that the suspect legally purchased the weapon used in the shooting. CNN's Camilla Bernal is following all the developments. Camila, what more have we learned?
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey Boris. So, the sources telling CNN that this was a pistol that was purchased about 18 months ago. And we know, according to that website and sources confirming that that website belonged to him, that he described taking multiple trips to Las Vegas over the years. He also described sort of a love for puzzles and for conspiracy theories. He said in that website that he was a member of a high IQ society.
So just a lot of new details in terms of who he was. His LinkedIn page also described him as a semi-retired professor. So overall this is a career college professor who had ties to universities in Georgia and in North Carolina and most recently was in Las Vegas.
And we know this shooting happened yesterday just before noon. According to authorities, the shooting started on campus inside of the building and the man went through multiple floors and eventually was killed in that confrontation with police outside of one of the buildings at the university.
This is where students were preparing for their final exams, which actually were supposed to happen next week. There was an event going on outside where students were eating and playing games when all of this happened. Of course, everybody hiding in terror, in shock as the shots rang out. And officials, of course, saying that they're continuing this investigation, but it has left a lot of people terrified in that area and on campus -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Camila Bernal, thank you so much for those details.
Still ahead, why Congress is now launching an investigation into Harvard, Penn and MIT after their presidents testified on Capitol Hill -- details next.
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KEILAR: Congress now launching an investigation into Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania over their handling of anti-Semitism on campus. Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, announcing the probe just a short time ago. And it comes just days after the presidents of those colleges struggled to answer her questions on whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates their school's code of conduct. Harvard and Penn Presidents have since tried to clarify their positions, but no comment yet from the President of MIT, Sally Kornbluth, here's some of her testimony at Tuesday's hearing.
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REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): Dr. Kornbluth does -- at MIT, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate MIT's Code of Conduct or rules regarding bullying and harassment? Yes or no.
SALLY KORNBLUTH, PRESIDENT, MIT: They've targeted at individuals, not making public statements.
STEFANIK: Yes or no, calling for the genocide of Jews does not constitute bullying and harassment.
KORNBLUTH: I have not heard calling for the genocide, for Jews on our campus.
STEFANIK: But you've heard chance for intifada?
KORNBLUTH: I heard chants, which can be anti-Semitic depending on the context. When calling for the elimination of the Jewish people.
STEFANIK: So those would not be according to the MIT's Code of Conduct or Rules.
KORNBLUTH: That would be investigated.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: And joining me now is Avi Balsam. He is vice president of
MIT's Halal Student Board. Avi, thanks for taking the time to be with us. What's your reaction to what MIT's president said there in the hearing?
AVI BALSAM, VP, MIT HILLEL STUDENT BOARD: Hi, thank you for having me here. I'm obviously very disappointed by the fact that during the hearing, President Kornbluth refused to say that calling for the genocide of Jews violates MIT's Code of Conduct, and especially that she refused to outright condemn the violent rhetoric which has lately been spreading around their campus. And that has made a lot of Jews on MIT's campus feel extremely unsafe and has led to a situation where many Jewish students feel traumatized and don't feel comfortable walking around their own campus.
KEILAR: What do you -- what do you see when you're listening to this testimony? And there's this sort of -- there's parsing, you know, between sort of the legal and between the moral. How do you see this?
BALSAM: It seemed -- it feels to me like a fundamental lack of empathy for the pain and suffering that Jewish students at MIT are going through right now. Just yesterday, a man came up to the to the window of the Hillel building and urinated on the window, and we went outside to confront him. And he started telling us that we came from the Mossad. And asking us if we had nuclear weapons. And this is not just an isolated incident.
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There have been count -- incredibly many stories of anti-Semitism and people who have encountered harassment and who have been made to feel unsafe. And it feels as if the administration is failing to recognize that, and failing to emphasize with the pain that are -- that students at MIT -- MIT are going through right now.
KEILAR: Do you think this is to the point where your President should resign?
BALSAM: So, I think that President Kornbluth -- President Kornbluth is doing her best and I think that she really has the best intentions in mind. But I think that this hearing should function as some sort of a wake up call for her. And I think that people who are listening to this hearing and people who were watching it for the first time and who didn't understand the extent to which this is a problem. And who didn't understand that there are people on our campus calling for Intifada and shouting for revolution and saying that they should use their own two fists to free Palestine.
People who didn't understand that there were thousands of protesters gathered on Mass Ave. -- which is the street right outside of MIT. Some of whom came into the religious studies religious center in which the Hillel Center is where the Jewish students go and feel that it is a safe space for them. And that these people were just kind of allowed onto our campus and that this, this rhetoric, this, this violent rhetoric, this rhetoric of intifada, this rhetoric of genocide has been allowed to promulgate with a lack of sufficient response by the administration.
I think that President Kornbluth should see this as a moment, as sort of inflection point in her response to this crisis. And really kind of demonstrate to the Jewish students that she cares about us. She emphasizes with us. And I think if she sets that example that people on the campus will see that -- students will see and that it will be made unacceptable to call for the genocide of Jews at MIT.
KEILAR: Avi, listen, we really appreciate your voice. Obviously, this is a debate that goes far beyond MIT and is being heard here in the nation's capital and beyond. Thank you for your time.
BALSAM: Thank you.
KEILAR: Still ahead, the case of an off duty pilot who allegedly tried to shut off the engines of a commercial airplane, it is sparking a broader conversation about pilots mental health. We'll discuss that next.
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KEILAR: Today, the off-duty pilot who allegedly tried to turn off a planes engines midflight is expected to be released from custody as his case continues to make its way through court. You may recall back in October, prosecutors say Joseph Emerson told officials that he believed he was dreaming aboard the flight after taking magic mushrooms two days earlier.
SANCHEZ: He was indicted this week on 84 charges, mostly reckless endangerment of his fellow passengers. The grand jury decided not to indict him on the attempted murder charges that he was initially booked on. Emerson's wife spoke about the hearing -- about how her husband's case sparked a broader conversation regarding mental health.
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SARAH STRETCH, WIFE OF JOSEPH EMERSON: I'm saddened and that this situation had to happen to my husband and to these people that it affected. But I know that this has created a movement and momentum to help thousands of other pilots and people in mental health situations in jobs that are in a sense silenced or it's disincentivized to go get help.
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SANCHEZ: We're joined now by CNN's Pete Muntean, our aviation correspondent. So Pete, what is the industry doing to try to address this?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is true that Emerson's case did really bring this issue into the spotlight -- a sad silver lining. But the reality is that countless other pilots face a bind when it comes to their mental health. Report any issue to the FAA and risk losing your license. Now their bind is in the spotlight with the NTSB, holding its first ever summit on this troubling stigma.
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MUNTEAN (voice-over): It is the latest and largest effort to fix a system of secrets in the sky. The first of its kind, National Transportation Safety Board summit, putting the mental health of pilots in the spotlight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mental health and aviation is our great challenge that we're facing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would you rather fly with? A pilot who's depressed? Or a pilot who's depressed on medication?
MUNTEAN (voice-over): The conversation ignited by the case of Joseph Emerson the off duty Alaska Airlines pilot, just indicted for trying to crash a flight from the cockpit jump seat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit. I think he's subdued.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy says pilots are trapped in a stigma created by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA mandates pilots report any mental health issue, but they risk losing their ability to fly. Homendy says some pilots lie to fly, though they could face five years in prison and a quarter million dollars of fines.
JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIR: Pilots are suffering in silence. That doesn't make our aviation system safer. In fact, it makes it less safe.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): United Airlines First Officer Troy Merritt says he decided to ground himself a year ago for anxiety and depression. Faced with the possibility of not being able to fly again.
TROY MERRITT, PILOT: Had the barriers that are in place today, not been there. I know I would have sought treatment earlier and would have avoided some of the most painful moments in my life.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): On the eve of this meeting, the FAA announced a new rule making committee that could suggest ways to, quote, break down any remaining barriers that discourage pilots from reporting and seeking care for mental health issues. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker.
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MICHAEL WHITAKER, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: It's fair to say that the approach we've had is a bit out of date. So, I think it's time for a refresh.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): The parents of 19-year-old John Houser had no idea their son was depressed until the student pilot crashed and left a letter. ANNE SUH, SON KILLED IN PLANE CRASH: If there's anything you can do
for me, get the FAA to change the rules on pilots seeking help with their mental health. I know it would change a lot of things for the better and would help a lot of people out. Love you, John.
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MUNTEAN (on camera): The bottom line here is never has this been talked about so openly. The ball now is in the court of regulators. The NTSB could put forth official recommendations, but it is up to the FAA to enact any changes on this troubling topic.
SANCHEZ: And really a powerful story and hearing from the family members of people that have been impacted by this. Wow.
MUNTEAN: Yes, very moving in -- during the summit too. And it's really incredible to note that this has really come a long way, this conversation. It has never been this out in the open before.
KEILAR: Pete, thank you for that.
MUNTEAN: Anytime.
KEILAR: And "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts after a quick break.
