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Two Students Remain Hospitalized After Colorado School Shooting; Flight Carrying South Koreans Detained at Hyundai-LG Plant is Now on Its Way Home; South Korean President Calls for U.S. To Normalize Visa Process; Trump to Award Charlie Kirk With Presidential Medal of Freedom; FBI Offering $100,000 for Info Leading to Arrest of Charlie Kirk's Killer. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired September 11, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:33:20]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Less than an hour after Charlie Kirk was shot in Utah, police in Colorado were responding to a school shooting near Denver. Two students were wounded and taken to the hospital, officials say the suspect was a male, a student who died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. A newly obtained doorbell footage shows that students ran to nearby homes seeking shelter. Some parents now are in shock. Listen to this.
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SHANNON TAYLOR, MOM OF EVERGREEN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: We got to fix this. It's our turn. We got to fix it. It's got to change. These kids deserve safety. The staffs deserve safety.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom, when you see that line of parents back there, I mean you have your little boy, you are assuming going home. But when you see that line, what do you think?
TAYLOR: My heart's with them. They're devastated. This is not OK. And I feel for them and I'm sending everybody love and I'm so sorry. It's going to get better. I have hope. We're going to fix this.
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SANCHEZ: This was the 47th school shooting this year in the United States. Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": More than 300 South Korean workers are now on their way home after they were handcuffed and detained after coming to America to work at a Hyundai- LG plant. South Korea's president is now warning that South Korean companies may question whether it's worth it to do business in America unless its "confusing visa system" is improved.
The South Korean president saying "This issue could have a considerable impact on foreign direct investment in the U.S. We are urging the U.S. side to normalize the visa process." Many in South Korea were dismayed at the images of workers shackled and led onto buses after an ICE raid at the battery plant in Georgia.
[13:35:00]
CNN's Gustavo Valdes is at the Atlanta Airport for us. Gustavo, can you tell us what the status is of these workers right now?
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, they're going home. We saw their charter flight depart shortly before noon. They arrived around eight o'clock, 10 o'clock this morning after a six hour drive from South Georgia where they had been detained for about a week. And we noticed a couple of differences from when other -- migrants from other countries are deported. For one, some of the workers waved at us from the windows as they approached the airport, which means they weren't shackled like other workers or other people who get sent out, out of the country.
Also, the plane was hidden from the camera, so we don't know how they boarded the plane, but we know that U.S. immigration usually boards the people that they sent out of the country in shackles. So, we think that this was part of the negotiations in which the North Korean government wanted this not to be a deportation, but a voluntarily return. So maybe that is what was negotiated with the United States. This would allow them to come back in the future to work if needed. In fact, there are reports that President Trump wanted some of these workers to stay and train workers, but that didn't happen. The South Korean government wanted everybody to go back as a group.
Now, there are still dozens of workers who were detained that remain detained. I've been talking to some of them from Columbia who said that they haven't been told when they could be released, if they will be released.
KEILAR: And Gustavo, the president of South Korea is urging the U.S. to clear up the visa process when it's related to investment. Tell U.S. a little bit about that because it does seem that there has been a lot of South Korean investment, but there is at least a sense from the South Koreans that the visa process has not caught -- sort of caught up with the demands of that.
VALDES: So, Hyundai President Jose Munoz just said at an event in Detroit that it is typical for Korean workers to come when the clients are being billed because they can supervise the work. This is not the first time a South Korean company in Georgia has gotten in trouble for hiring people from South Korea. In the past, it was in Delta (ph) where we saw this time, but we've seen this happen before in this state that has given millions of dollars in tax breaks so they can build and generate local work.
So perhaps, some of the workers I've been talking to say that most of the workers in the plant were Korean. Seeing that all the blueprints, all the instructions are in Korean and typically, they have to have a translator to help them do the work. And a lot of the work seems to be basic installation of air conditioning, electricity cables, perhaps South Korea is also trying to protect their proprietary techniques and that is part of this give and take on what visas are allowed for these workers. KEILAR: All right. Really interesting. Gustavo Valdes, thank you so much for the report. Ahead, as the manhunt continues for the killer of conservative political activist, Charlie Kirk, President Trump announces that he will posthumously award him with the highest civilian honor that a president can give. We'll have that next.
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[13:42:43]
SANCHEZ: CNN has learned that Charlie Kirk's remains will be flown back to his hometown of Phoenix later today aboard Air Force Two. Sources familiar with the matter tell CNN the vice president arrived in Utah earlier today to retrieve Kirk's body. President Trump says he will speak with Kirk's family later this afternoon. And earlier today, Trump announced his decision to give Kirk the nation's highest civilian honor awarded by the president.
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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Let me express the horror and grief. So many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on. I'm pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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SANCHEZ: CNN's Senior White House Correspondent Kristin Holmes joins us now with more. And Kristen, this just shows how close President Trump was to Kirk.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Boris. And they're watching this situation unfold. They're watching this investigation. And if you look at how President Trump reacted last night is an indicator that he believes all the words that he has said about Charlie Kirk. And it's also an indication of just how close he was, as you mentioned, to Kirk himself. He was the one who announced officially that Charlie Kirk had died from that assassination.
He was also the one who put out a video after announcing that on Truth Social to talk about Charlie Kirk. And now, you hear him talking about the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We know that inside of the White House, there is still a lot of devastation, a lot of disbelief, and they're watching this investigation very closely. We saw after the FBI put out pictures of a person of interest, all top officials within the White House were re-tweeting that photo. They are trying to get answers on this.
And it's been -- talking to these various staffers, these advisers, it's been difficult. They are having a hard time understanding how this happened to somebody who was so close to the White House, who they spent so much time with. [13:45:00]
And I think, we've talked a lot about his memory and his influence politically. But for so many of the people here at the White House, he was also a very good friend.
SANCHEZ: I should note to our viewers, Kristen, that CNN has just confirmed that an hour from now, so at 2:45 p.m. roughly Eastern Time, we are anticipating a press conference from the FBI in Utah, the state where Kirk was shot. We are anticipating more details to come from that press conference. And as we do that, Kristen, talk to us about this phone call that we're also waiting for between President Trump and Kirk's family.
HOLMES: Yeah. We heard from President Trump saying he was going to talk to Kirk's family later today, that he praised Charlie Kirk's wife Erika, saying that she was a wonderful person. We should note that Charlie Kirk's family, Charlie Kirk's team has been in touch with the White House since the first reports that these shots had been fired in Utah. They are very close. We know that. As we said, the vice president is traveling to meet with the family as well as then carry Charlie Kirk's remains back to their home in Arizona. They are treating this as though it is their family. And so we do expect, of course, we said President Trump to talk to his family today.
SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House. Thank you so much, Kristen. Again, we are going to bring you that press briefing in Utah as it happens live one hour from now. Still ahead on "CNN News Central" this afternoon, the story of one woman helping thousands of students' dreams come true with jazz.
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[13:50:25]
SANCHEZ: All this week, we're recognizing "Champions For Change." Men and women using their talents in areas like business, medicine and music to make life better for others. Today, we meet CNN Anchor and Chief Legal Analyst, Laura Coates' champion Melissa Walker.
KEILAR: Melissa empowers young people to develop life skills, foster creativity, and cultivate community through America's homegrown art form, jazz. Here's a preview.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two. Ready go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Growing up was tough. Music was really like the main thing that helped me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Music can allow you to feel things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was one of those students that really needed Jazz House to give them a future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jazz was the one place in society where I was celebrated for being Indian.
MELISSA WALKER, FOUNDER, JAZZ HOUSE KIDS: When you come to the Jazz House, you'll see who matters most, everyone.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Melissa Walker founded Jazz House Kids back in 2002 to try to bridge the gap in music education.
WALKER: Over 50 percent of the young people here, their families need some level of support. And for us, it's making sure kids have an instrument. They have a bus, they have tuition assistance. Part of our mission is to make sure that those doors are swinging wide open.
COATES: Hi.
WALKER: Can we visit you?
COATES: Can I hear a little bit of it?
WALKER: We allow far too many young people to not have access to the very things that would unlock their greatness. My greatest reward is seeing lives changed and transformed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Playing the saxophone has helped me in real life with school, with friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think people just need that one person to like, believe in them and push you forward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was able to have direction and make it to college.
WALKER: Jazz just improves and boosts their achievement. You have to have that focus, set goals, manage your time, be able to make real- time life decisions.
COATES: My son Adrian is a saxophonist. My daughter Sydney plays the trumpet. I have seen within them the confidence, the persistence, the improvement across other subjects in school by being able to use the skills that they learned through music. I want to take you back to when you were a kid. When you met jazz, something was ignited within you.
WALKER: I grew up in a family that loved music. It was rhythm and blues, and it was soul music. But when I heard the music of Billie Holiday, it was that pain, that emotion in that music. And that really became a journey of exploration for me.
COATES: The intergenerational communication that jazz provides is stunning.
WALKER: I always think of jazz as the only place where you can get an eight-year-old and an octogenarian on the stage together --
COATES: Yeah. WALKER: -- doing something productive. The guiding principle here at Jazz House is to be the best you there that you can be. And if we can do that and do it together, which is what you do on the band stand. You're now watching democracy in action.
COATES: Wow. Great job.
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COATES (on camera): You guys, this was such an unbelievable organization, a true "Champion For Change." The way that she focused on these students, on these young people, giving them lifelines and bridges and being able to have them tap into their creativity in a way that just blew your mind. As you know, my own kids, they play instruments, the sax, the trumpet. But seeing these kids in action and meeting the mind behind it, the creative force was overwhelming. And to have it accessible to so many people just made your heart truly sing.
[13:55:00]
SANCHEZ: It does. And I didn't know that about Laura's kids. Laura Coates, thanks so much for bringing us that story. Be sure to tune in Saturday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern for the "Champions For Change", one hour special hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We'll be right back.
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