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Shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital; Allegations Against PG&E
Aired September 16, 2010 - 11:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We're trying to round up as much information on this situation. It sounds like a really tense situation actually in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins Hospital. And a Johns Hopkins spokesperson is confirming a shooting at the hospital. That's in east Baltimore. Police receiving the call at about 11:12 a.m. Eastern time this morning.
Again, the hospital is on North Wolf Street, but it takes up a wide section of east Baltimore. It is really the anchor tenant of east Baltimore when you think about it. Johns Hopkins Hospital, the world-renowned hospital.
The shooter, we understand, is hiding inside of a patient's room on the eighth floor. We also are getting information from local media, local media.
You know what? Let me not -- let me get to Craig Bell, because Craig is following this story for us from our national desk.
Hey, Craig, we're getting a lot of information, some from the local media there in Baltimore, also from the Associated Press. But let me have you go through the latest information as you know it on this shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
CRAIG BELL, CNN NATIONAL DESK (via telephone): Well, Tony, just a few minutes ago, I got off the phone with Officer Kevin Brown from the Baltimore Police Department, and he tells me, he confirms to CNN that one person has been critically shot. He categorized that person as a doctor.
They said they had attack units on the scene now securing the building, but he also tells me the suspect, the gunman, is hold up, barricaded inside Johns Hopkins at this point.
There have been also been reports that this gunman may have a doctor or hostage. Kevin Brown did not confirm that to me at this point. He says that he's not sure where that information is coming from at this point, but they have no info or details that suggest that they have a hostage at this point.
HARRIS: OK, so Craig, and Kevin -- is it Kevin Brown?
BELL: Kevin Brown.
HARRIS: And he's with the hospital?
BELL: He's with the Baltimore Police.
HARRIS: Baltimore Police.
Have we heard anything from the hospital beyond confirming the shooting?
BELL: No, the only thing we've heard from the hospital at this point is that they are in a "sheltered" mode at this point, advising people to take shelter inside the hospital.
HARRIS: Right. Well, Craig -- and we're just talking through this together -- it sounds like police know where the shooter is, the eighth floor of the hospital. And there may be a hostage situation unfolding as well. Maybe, underlined exclamation point, correct?
BELL: Maybe, with a strong exclamation point. Again, Kevin Brown says they have no details on the hostage situation.
HARRIS: Right. Well, we won't take it beyond what we know. And the other reporting from Kevin is that it may have been -- I guess I'm just trying to tie up some of the loose ends that I'm getting here on my end from some of the affiliates, suggesting that it may have been a physician who was the victim of the shooting?
BELL: Yes, she confirmed that it was a physician who was critically wounded in this shooting.
HARRIS: OK. All right, Craig. If you get any more information or if you can pass Kevin through to us, we'd appreciate it.
BELL: Sure will.
HARRIS: Thank you.
So let's sort of recap where we are right now.
Baltimore City police are on the scene right now of a shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital. That's in east Baltimore, where I think we're getting more some information. OK, great.
WMAR Television, one of our affiliates in Baltimore, is doing some reporting on this, covering this live. Let's listen to their broadcast.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- includes staff, patients, all being told to stay inside their room. We're getting word now into the ABC 2 newsroom that the suspect has barricaded himself into an area of the hospital.
We're going to show you the map now, Johns Hopkins Hospital. As we said before, the 600 block of north Wolf Street and East Baltimore, 982 beds inside that hospital, with a huge facility there in the city of Baltimore. Lots of people, we're being told, were swarming to the scene, people coming and going. Police going in, according to "The Baltimore Sun," swarming that building as this emergency alert came out.
Once again, want to confirm you, Baltimore Police say a doctor has been shot at Johns Hopkins and a suspect is holed up inside. A police department spokesman says the hospital is on lockdown. Right now the doctor is in critical condition.
The suspect has been barricaded into an area of the hospital, as we've said. We have crews heading to the scene to learn the very latest from the hospital campus. Stay with ABC 2 News online and on air for the very latest on this breaking news. We'll bring you details as we have them.
HARRIS: Why don't we do this -- guys in the control room, let's pull up the Web sites of our various affiliates in Baltimore. Let's stay as current as we can on the reporting coming from the city itself, from Baltimore.
And let's see if we can get Kevin Brown on the line with us and talking -- maybe he can talk to us about more of what's developing right now.
Again, as you heard the reporter from WMAR tell us all, everyone inside the hospital who was not evacuated, hasn't been evacuated, is being warned to stay inside of rooms right now. A doctor has been shot. That's been confirmed by the Baltimore City Police.
That is a huge hospital. I think we mentioned it just a moment ago. If you're talking about facilities of Baltimore, it is one of the major facilities in Baltimore, the whole Johns Hopkins system, the hospital itself, the mothership hospital, if you will, and then all of the affiliate hospitals. I'm thinking of Johns Hopkins Bayview and all the other affiliated hospitals in the Johns Hopkins system.
It is a huge, huge hospital system in Baltimore, on lockdown essentially right now. People have been evacuated from areas where they could have been evacuated, so they're out of the hospital. Others who are in the hospital, patients in rooms -- 982 beds in that hospital -- being told to stay put and stay inside your room until you get further information and guidance from someone official on the staff at this point, probably police.
We're going to continue to follow this situation. Pretty tense. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, a doctor shot, confirmed by police. And the alleged shooter holed up in the hospital right now.
Let's do this -- let's take a break and let's get you more information. We're back in a moment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Let's update the breaking news that we have been following here in the CNN NEWSROOM now.
We understand that the alleged shooter who entered Johns Hopkins Hospital this morning -- police receiving a call at about 11:12 p.m. Eastern Time, that a shooting had taken place inside the hospital. We understand now that the shooter has been captured, subdued, apprehended, you pick the word here. Most importantly here, disarmed.
So, we have reached a place here where the alleged shooter is now in the control of Baltimore City Police. OK?
And -- so there you see the scene from our affiliate chopper view from WBAL. Thanks again to our affiliate there, WBAL, for those pictures.
Josh, you're with us as well. We've been trying to get as much information on this. The latest being that the shooter appears to have been captured, certainly disarmed, and no one's giving the all clear yet. We certainly won't do it here, but you're helping us gather information on this story.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I jumped on Google Earth right away just to get an understanding of the area that it's in.
Sometimes one of the first things you want to know when you hear about an incident like this, are there a lot of other major buildings nearby, is there another building this person might have gone to? Is there anything else going on in other buildings?
Obviously, we're not getting any reports, so I don't want to scare anyone. And we're not getting any reports of anything happening in buildings around it.
And I'm looking at Google Earth. It's a very busy area, a very busy section of Baltimore right there.
So, as you said, you have that information now. I'm also following what we're getting from our affiliates right here.
I was taking a look at the (INAUDIBLE) Web site. Nothing up there yet. But one of our affiliates that we've been looking at, WBAL, talking about there was some reporting that the shooter was holed up inside the hospital at one point, and a hospital spokesperson at one point saying that the emergency room had been closed off. And obviously that was a stage toward the more advanced news that you now have, Tony, about what's happening at this point.
I would also mention just the latest reporting that we have here. As you know, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police did say that this one doctor was critically injured in this shooting.
So what we're doing right now, we're following all our affiliates, we're keeping an eye on the aerial views as well to see what kind of traffic goes on in there and what happens in that area. And obviously the first thing we want to know is that there are no continuing security concerns in the building.
HARRIS: That's it, Josh. Yes.
LEVS: And that's something we're checking on right now.
HARRIS: Yes. Very good on that.
So, once again, as we recap this, let's leave the live image up. Boy, you can see that's east Baltimore, a very sprawling, very busy, densely-populated area.
Johns Hopkins Hospital is just a huge presence in east Baltimore. The other huge presence that comes to mind is University Hospital, on the other side, closer to the harbor. But Johns Hopkins Hospital, a huge presence there and the main hospital there, 982 beds in that hospital.
We understand that the doctor who was shot is undergoing surgery right now. Critically injured is our understanding at this point.
Police received a call at 11:12 a.m. this morning. Some confusion on the time here, but clearly, obviously, if we're covering it as breaking news, it happened this morning, 11:12 a.m., police receiving the call.
And we understand now that the alleged gunman has been disarmed. Police have that person in custody.
We told you that the building had been evacuated. We also told you that people who were inside the hospital were being told to stay in their rooms.
So that's the latest information that we have on it. We're going to continue to check for the continuing security situation at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Let's take a break.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, it is one of the major hospitals on the planet, really. I actually want to take a look at the campus with you here. The helicopter shot provided by our affiliate there in Baltimore, WBAL.
That's Johns Hopkins Hospital, 982 beds there. You think (INAUDIBLE) Clinic, you think Johns Hopkins. They're essentially one, two, when you talk about major hospitals in the country -- in the world, really.
And on that campus, in that facility, a shooting this morning. Police receiving the call at about 11:12 a.m. Eastern Time of a shooting.
We understand a physician was, in fact, the victim of the shooting, in the operating room right now, being treated for that gunshot wound. We don't know if it was one or multiple, but we understand that the doctor is in critical condition right now.
Josh, you're still working this for you, aren't you?
LEVS: I am, yes. Look, we're following all the angles we can.
And as we lay out for all of you what we know happened, one of the things we've gotten along the way into this situation at that hospital was that our affiliates were reporting that this gunman had apparently barricaded himself in a room. And what we were trying to figure out that point was whether there was someone else in the room. So, as we understand it, this was one person, one incident, that went to one room.
I pulled up the Google Earth, a much closer view here of the hospital itself. And one thing we're also going to figure out is the entrances that were used and at what point this person went in, and exactly the path that this gunman apparently took to get inside this building.
And obviously, lots of questions right now. Was there a specific target for this? And hopefully we'll learn a lot more from what the police find out.
And I'll just mention, people are going wild on Twitter, of course. Here's just one example. "Doctor critical after Hopkins shooting, suspect barricaded himself at hospital."
These days, as you know, Tony, a lot of people getting information via Twitter, and people in Baltimore, this is an example of a time if anyone was headed there, they would have gotten information like that on Twitter if they were on.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: OK.
HARRIS: I'm looking to a statement from the hospital, "Baltimore Police and Johns Hopkins security officers are on the scene," obviously. OK. We've seen those pictures. "And have asked employees, visitors, patients, caregivers to stay in rooms and offices." OK.
I would think that that guidance still holds. We haven't received any word of an all clear. It wouldn't be prudent at this point, it seems to me.
"Everyone in the hospital, in rooms are being advised to lock the doors where possible until further notice." OK, makes sense there.
No further information coming from Hopkins at the moment. OK. So that's the statement from Johns Hopkins at this point, but the reporting right now is that the alleged gunman has been captured, disarmed, and in police custody.
So we will continue to update this story, obviously, and get you the condition, the latest updated information, on the condition of the physician as soon as we can. And we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Another big story we're following for you -- we'll, of course, circle back on this -- is in California, where documents show PG&E knew its natural gas pipeline needed upgrades, but never did the work. The company asked for rate hikes to pay for repairs in 2007, 2009 and again this year, but money got redirected and projects rescheduled.
Now, some San Bruno residents say PG&E put profits ahead of a fireball that destroyed homes and lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's prioritized for here, it should have been fixed. There shouldn't have been any -- pushing it anywhere else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'd think they should be checking everything. If they knew this gas pipe was here, why didn't they check it all the time? And they knew there was something wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it makes me angry, because I think they should be more concerned about people that live around the neighborhoods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: CNN's Dan Simon looks deeper into the allegations against PG&E.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The line that exploded last week was lay down in 1948. It was so old, that for safety reasons, Pacific Gas & Electric made plans to replace a section of it in South San Francisco just a couple miles away.
In 2007, it got rate increases to do the work. According to a consumer watchdog group, PG&E got $5 million for the project, but the group called TURN, The Utility Reform Network, says it never happened.
MIKE FLORIO, SENIOR ATTORNEY, TURN: The money is spent on what they call higher-priority work.
SIMON (on camera): And what was that?
FLORIO: Well, you can't track the dollars one by one. But we do know that they spent $62 million more on management incentive bonuses than they had forecasted in 2009.
SIMON (voice-over): Mike Florio is a senior attorney for the watchdog. He says PG&E spent the money dedicated to replace the pipeline. So, it is now seeking rate increases again -- another $5 million to replace the same stretch of pipeline.
(on camera): And how do you know this? FLORIO: Because it's right in the documentation they file with the PUC to support the rate cases. You know, it's -- if you dig deep enough into these big, thick documents, this is what you find.
SIMON (voice-over): The California Public Utilities Commission or PUC is deciding whether to go with PG&E's request. Those documents provided by CNN by TURN say that section of pipe ranks in the top 100 for the highest risk of failure.
The PG&E documents also say if the replacement of the pipe does not occur, risks associated with this segment will not be reduced.
High-value natural gas lines snake through the San Bruno neighborhood. PG&E hasn't disclosed exactly where the problematic line is. But as we discovered, much of the line runs right through residential areas.
(on camera): This is another large section of pipeline. This one is about a mile away from where the explosion happened. It is also feet away from many homes.
The location of pipelines like this are generally kept secret to literally prevent terrorists from coming in and blowing them up. So, it's possible that people might be living next to them and not even know it.
(voice-over): The only way to tell may be from these yellow sidewalk markers that, for example, are used to alert construction crews of danger.
According to PG&E, it won't be until 2013 now until that section of pipe it identified a few years ago will be replaced.
FLORIO: If they would have fixed that section that they said they wanted to fix maybe they would have found something that would have led them to look a mile or two south of there. We don't know that. What we do know is: the project was slated for 2009. It didn't get done. And now, they're proposing to do it again in 2013.
SIMON (on camera): PG&E provided us with a statement and I'm going to read it in its entirety. It says, quote, "PG&E is committed to performing the work necessary to assure the safety of its gas transmission system. Accordingly, PG&E has constantly prioritizing its projects using the most recent up to date information available.
In this particular case, PG&E did identify this line section as being a high priority project in its 2008 gas transmission rate case filing. Subsequent to that filing, PG&E performed and External Corrosion Direct Assessment in 2009 and based on the updated assessment and the reassurance it provided us, we rescheduled the project accordingly. PG&E spent more on its gas transmission capital project than authorized for the period 2008 to 2009."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Dan Simon. Dan, where do things stand on whether or not that pipeline was leaking?
SIMON: Well, first of all, Tony, when you listen to that statement that I read there on camera, the bottom line is PG&E not denying the basic facts of this story, it's just saying that their priorities shifted, that they determined that they actually didn't need to repair that stretch of pipeline.
Your question specifically about the leak, the National Transportation Safety Board, as you know, is investigating this, and that's a really important point to their investigation. They have asked for members of the public to e-mail them if they smelled gas, if they thought there was a leak.
They've received 90 e-mails thus far, but according to the NTSB, only one person, just one person, has come forward and said that they smelled gas and that PG&E responded. PG&E is saying that they looked back at all of their phone records this summer over the past several weeks, or months, and determined, from their point of view, that nobody called PG&E to say that there was a leak in that area or that they smelled gas.
PG&E also saying that they never responded to the area. So right now it's still an open question, but this notion that this was a pervasive thing, that many people in the community were smelling gas, at this point the evidence doesn't seem to bear that out -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Dan Simon for us.
Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.
We are live from Glasgow, Scotland, where Pope Benedict is beginning his first mass on the first-ever papal state visit to Great Britain. That is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Let's do this -- instead of doing a list of top stories, let's focus on one top story, and that's the story in Baltimore.
Do we have the shot, the live shot from WBAL? OK. It's coming back in a second? OK, from Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Hospital.
There you go. From WBAL, the aerial view of Johns Hopkins Hospital there for you.
Baltimore City Police on the scene of a shooting inside the hospital. We understand that the suspect has been disarmed and is now in police custody.
A number of people on that campus, those inside the hospital were told -- look, we're talking about patients, we're talking about staff as well -- to get to a room, lock the door if possible, and just stay there until further notice. We understand for a period of time here, the shooter was hiding inside of a patient's room on the eighth floor.
Most critically here, a doctor apparently was shot and critically injured by this alleged shooter this morning, taking place in the 11:00 a.m. Eastern hour. We understand that the physician is in surgery right now. Again, in critical condition.
We're going to try to get additional information on the condition of that doctor, but again, police have the alleged shooter in custody. That person has been disarmed.
But as you take a look at Johns Hopkins here, just an enormous campus there. The main hospital is on North Wolf Street. The 600 -- if I remember my home city geography correctly, the 600 block of North Wolf Street there is where the main hospital of Johns Hopkins is -- 982 beds there.
And a very tense, very serious set of circumstances, situation unfolding there this morning. But it looks like, at least in the reporting that we're getting right now, that police have the situation under control and that the alleged shooter is in custody.
We will continue to update this story as we get additional information.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: We're still trying to get every bit of information we can out of the situation in Baltimore. I know that's a city that you like as well, and I love it.
Let's get the latest from, let's see, the chief of public information for Baltimore Police, Anthony Guglielmi.
Anthony, did I pronounce your last name correctly? And if I didn't, would you pronounce it for me?
ANTHONY GUGLIELMI, CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, BALTIMORE POLICE: Tony, you did a great job. It's Anthony Guglielmi, Baltimore Police.
I've got to be real quick because I'm missing a briefing, but here's what we know at this point.
Shortly after 11:00, we got calls for a gunman inside Johns Hopkins. A doctor was shot. He originally was in critical condition. That has been downgraded to non-life threatening injuries. He is undergoing surgery as we speak.
The suspect is in floor of the hospital. We have that floor contained.
I need to refute media reports that we have the suspect. We currently do not. We're in the process of executing a tactical operation, and there is a small portion of the hospital that's being evacuated.
However, if people are planning to be treated here, or coming here, that part of the hospital is open. The situation is contained to a small portion.
I have no information on the relationship between the suspect and the doctor or the motive at this point. Obviously, we want to get him and talk to him. So, that's pretty much what we have right now.
HARRIS: Well, Anthony, before I let you go -- and I want you to get the latest information, and thanks for doing this -- you do or don't have a suspect in custody?
GUGLIELMI: We do not have a suspect in custody. That report that was sent by Johns Hopkins is inaccurate.
The Baltimore Police Department does not have a suspect at this point, and we're in the process of executing a tactical operation. I would advise people to follow the Baltimore Police Twitter site. We are updating that regularly with situational updates so we can try to get everybody information as fast as possible and as accurate as possible.
HARRIS: All right. Well, then, we'll pull up that site. I think Josh is on it right now -- we'll pull that.
Anthony, appreciate it.
GUGLIELMI: All right, Tony. Take care.
HARRIS: We'll let you go get some additional information and we'll reach back to you. Thank you.
Anthony is with the Baltimore City Police Department.
So, let's just correct that information. The suspect in this shooting is not in custody at this point.
The good news here is that the doctor appears to be -- the victim in this seems to be doing a lot better. Non-life threatening injuries now, so that's a bit of good news. But police are now engaged in a tactical operation to apprehend the suspect.
So we will keep you posted on this story.
And still to come, criminals -- you know what? Let's not do the tease. I think we're going to come back to do more on this story.
Let's just get to a break. Let's gather the best information that we have. Let's go to the Baltimore City Twitter site for the latest, and we'll update everything for you on the shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital, not the college, but the hospital in Baltimore. We will update that story in just a moment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right, let's do this. Let's bring you up to speed on the latest information with respect to this shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital. It happened this morning.
We have received some information from let me see here, a spokesman for Johns Hopkins, indicating to us that the suspected shooter had been disarmed. And you just heard a couple of moments ago, from Anthony Gulioni with Baltimore police that that is not the case at all. That the suspect is not in custody.
So, a tactical operation is underway right now and you heard Anthony essentially indicate that they have an area where they are operating right now where I'm left to assume that they believe -- where they believe the suspect is right now. And that's the area they're working in right now. A number of people are still in the hospital. They've been told by Johns Hopkins, just get into a room, keep your heads down, lock the door if you can.
And Josh, Anthony also indicated that we should check in with the Baltimore City police department's Twitter account.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We jumped right on it.
HARRIS: You pulled that up?
LEVS: Yes. We actually have it. And they're right here. I'm taking a look at it. They're referring to the incident at 600 Wolf Street. You know Baltimore well. You're from there. That is where they're talking about. The Twitter site is Baltimore police. And what they're about -- okay, I understand we're getting some live reporting now from our affiliate, WMAR.
HARRIS: Let's (INAUDIBLE)
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inside the building, tell us this incident happened in the Nelson Building on floor eight, although we have not been able to confirm that yet. Right now, we're being told the doctor in this situation is in critical condition and that the suspect is still on the loose. Has not been caught.
We are told S.W.A.T. team is on the scene there. They are trying to deal with this suspect who we're told has been barricaded into a specific area of the hospital. As we said, though, the hospital on lockdown right now as they deal with this very serious crisis situation.
We're joined now by Rob Weinhold (ph) of The Falston Group (ph). He is a former Baltimore City police spokesman. He was with the city for 13 years, leaving in the year 2000. So, Rob, talk about how they're dealing with this in crisis perspective at this moment.
ROB WEINHOLD (ph), FORMER BALTIMORE CITY POLICE SPOKESMAN (via phone): Well, I think it's important for everyone to understand right now there's still a lot of unknown facts and certainly don't want to speak on behalf of the department, Hopkins at this point, but we're dealing with a very severe condition of instability and danger. And the first thing that must be done is to secure the scene and make sure that safety is paramount for everyone involved.
And so again, I think from a - (AUDIO GAP) needs to understand and be a little bit patient and that there's a lot of information that's not yet been released. And that will just take some time, but you can be sure that the very well-equipped Baltimore Police Department is doing everything it can to make sure that a suspect is apprehended and that anyone who may have been injured during this incident is receiving the proper medical care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, Rob, in your experience with this, tell us how the protocol for this works. Do they appoint a point person who is closest in line for the suspect and then they disseminate the information for the other forces that are out there? How does this system work when we're in a crisis like this and we have a shooting where everything, as you said, is so chaotic?
WEINHOLD: What you have to remember is that the officers are trained for this time of thing, so from a tactical perspective, they're going to use all their resources and really deploy to make sure the situation is abated. And that means that the suspect is apprehended, that those who are injured are cared for, that the crime scene itself is secure and that all can be processed in a very proper and detailed manner so that ultimately, the facts can be uncovered in the minutes, hours, days and weeks ahead to find out how this may have happened and what may have led up to the incident.
HARRIS: OK, let's do this. Let's step out of this because the guy speaking now is not even currently employed with the Baltimore Police, so we can do a little better than that.
We just spoke a short time ago with Anthony Guilielmi (ph) who is currently with Baltimore City Police, and he indicated to us that a tactical operation is very much underway right now. The suspect not in custody, but they do believe they have a fixed - fixed location, may have a - Jen, pardon me for just a second, I got that -- that they have the suspect in a fixed location. The word being used is sequestered. Let's just say cornered. The suspect is cornered right now.
We have no indication as to whether or not this shooter is alone or has someone with him or her at this point. We just don't know that. But at this point, we're getting from Baltimore Police that the tactical operation is underway, that the suspect is cornered. They know where the suspect is.
Justin Fenten is a crime reporter for "The Baltimore Sun." And Justin, you've got a view of this. Where are you exactly in proximity to where all the action is at the hospital?
JUSTIN FENTEN, CRIME REPORTER, "THE BALTIMORE SUN" (via phone): I'm in a building across the street. They had quite a wide area around the hospital cleared out so that people wouldn't be sort of in the line of fire, I guess, if the weapon was outside. I'm across the street and can see into the building. On the eighth floor, they appear to have placed big Xs on the windows where the suspect is not. What I'm hearing is that he's in there with his mother and was upset about some surgery that had taken place on her, and turned the gun on the doctor, who, last weheard, was in critical information.
HARRIS: Yes, we've gotten some information to suggest that the injuries are now being referred to as non-life threatening to the doctor. That's the latest information we have. We know you're checking your sources as well, but the information we're getting, the injuries to the doctor are non-life threatening at this point.
Let's go back to the information that you're learning about the alleged shooter in this case, holed up with his mother. Is that your information?
FENTEN: Right. We were hearing that on the police scanner (INAUDIBLE) unfold. I've since confirmed it with a source. That's believed to be the issue at hand right now.
HARRIS: Okay. Justin, appreciate it. Thank you. We understand -- guys, if you can, have we established a shot on the briefing? We understand there's a briefing about to take place with the Baltimore police. Is that what I'm watching now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we're ready.
HARRIS: Let's -- what am I watching right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, wait -- they're going.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
ANTHONY GUIGLIELMI, CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, BALTIMORE POLICE: -- Shortly after 11:00 today, we were called to a report of a shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A doctor was shot. Baltimore police responded to the scene. We have a suspect that is inside the hospital.
I want to correct any media reports that are out there. We do not have the suspect in custody at this point. He is in the hospital. However, he is contained, we believe, to a floor within the hospital. We're in the process of executing a tactical operation. Baltimore City Fire Department, Johns Hopkins security, the FBI, Baltimore State Police are all on board. The Baltimore Police Department is the lead agency.
One thing I want to stress is people coming to the hospital are encouraged to come. As you can see, traffic is flowing behind me. We have this isolated to a small section of the hospital and we have officers in place and a tactical operation being executed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does he have hostages?
GUIGLIELMI: We have no information on hostages. We don't know the relationship between he and the doctor that was shot. I do know the doctor is going to be okay. He's in the best place in the world that he could be, which is Johns Hopkins Hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have an identity on the doctor? GUIGLIELMI: No identity on the doctor or suspect at this point. So, we need to get this guy into custody and we have a lot of questions just like you guys have for the suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Other parts of the hospital -- the emergency room?
GUIGLIELMI: Absolutely. The emergency room is opened, as you can see. Traffic is flowing behind me. People are in the area. This is contained to one floor within the hospital, and we have a plethora of resources available to us to get the situation under control.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he with his mother?
GUIGLIELMI: I have no information about a mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us circumstances leading up to the gunfire?
v: All we know is that a doctor was shot. We need to talk to the suspect and witnesses. We're in the process of doing that. But I have nothing concrete yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you be more specific about what part of the building. Is it like the main entrance area?
GUIGLIELMI: We don't want to get into that (INAUDIBLE) just for tactical reasons. Ok?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the doctor hit?
GUIGLIELMI: Doctor was shot. He was shot. I don't know where. He was rushed to surgery immediate will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were told the hospital had been evacuated. Are you telling me now that's not true?
GUIGLIELMI: Portions of the hospital were evacuated, but the entire Johns Hopkins Hospital was not. This was isolated to one small section. And we're encouraging again people to come here if they have business. The situation is contained.
UNIDNETIFIED MALE: If you have the situation contained, what is the reason why the arrest hasn't been made?
GUIGLIELMI: We're in the process of getting the suspect. It's possible that he's barricaded in a room. I'll get the latest briefing in a couple of minutes from our tactical commander.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talking to negotiators?
GUIGLIELMI: All that's being done. I don't want to exactly - I have no information on that, either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
GUIGLIELMI: We're not going to comment on where it is. Okay? Thanks, guys.
HARRIS: Okay, that is Anthony Guiglielmi sharing with local media what he shared with us first here in the CNN NEWSROOM. First of all, that the doctor's condition has been upgraded. The initial reporting on it, as you know, and following our coverage of it, was that the doctor was in critical condition suffering from a gun shot wound. Now, we understand those are non-life threatening injuries to the doctor, so a bit of good news there.
Better news that the suspect has been in essence, cornered. It sounds as though the tactical operation is focused on a small number of possible rooms where the suspect could be holed up right now. And Justin Fenten is a crime reporter from "The Baltimore Sun." He is with us.
And Justin, Anthony could not elaborate on this question of whether the suspect is holed up with his mother, but that's information you heard on the police scanners, correct?
FENTEN: The scanner, and then from a source who has spoken with some people close to the situation.
HARRIS: Yes. And I don't know if I should even describe the situation of the suspect being holed up with his mother. That sounds like details that we don't have at this point. But Justin, I think we were able to pull up some of your pictures. You were able to snap some early on into this situation?
FENTEN: Correct. Yes, there's some snipers that were set up across the street. There's obviously a large number of emergency unit at the entrance of the hospital and currently, up in the school of nursing, where students are you know, being asked to get away from the windows as I speak, trying to clear them from the windows. They're all on cell phones, checking e-mail and people are calling them, asking them what's going on. We aren't getting updates here, but --
HARRIS: So, wait a minute, Justin. Let me fix your location again. Where are you?
FENTEN: I'm across the street in the school of nursing, which has a vantage point. Although again, we're being asked to get away from the windows and the blinds are being closed.
HARRIS: Who's in the room with you?
FENTEN: I'm here with students.
HARRIS: Have you spoken with any students who have given you an account of the initial moments of all this?
FENTEN: I'm sorry, can you say that again?
HARRIS: Have you spoken with any students who were able to give you an early account of what happened here, what they saw?
FENTEN: No, like I said, we are across the street. This is happening in the hospital facility. This is the school across the street. Probably about 100 yards away, 50 yards. We have a direct advantage point on the windows, like I said, have the Xs on them, the big Xs on them.
HARRIS: OK. All right. Kind of want to talk to someone in the room with you who could maybe describe what they're seeing here, but you've done a good job.
All right. Justin, appreciate it. Thank you. We're going to look at those pictures again.
Hey, Josh, are you on the Twitter site for Baltimore police?
FENTEN: I am. Yes. I've been following what they have been posting because they told us on our ear that that's the place to get updated information when there was some confusion earlier.
The latest we have here was from is from 14 minutes ago. They're calling it the Wolf incident. And you know geography, you know Baltimore well. They're referring to the hospital there because of the street. Saying suspect not in custody at this time and earlier.
And if you trace through what they were saying minutes ago, they've actually posted several tweets about this. We're talking about how they've set up media command posts and they talk about the adult shop location. But right now, their latest status is no one in custody at this time.
We've also been getting sort of conflicting or confusing stories about this idea of being barricaded in the area. Earlier, we had some affiliate reporting that said the shooter had barricaded himself in an area. Now, we're not sure if that was something the shooter had done himself.
We are hearing pretty much across the board that it is believed that the situation is contained. More details we're waiting for from the hospital and as we know now specifically from the Baltimore police. We're talking to them and following the Twitter site right here.
HARRIS: OK. So, yes, you can see the S.W.A.T. team -- well, the tactical team -- right now getting ready, preparing for whatever part in this operation they'll play.
I think you're right, Josh, the information we're getting from Anthony in his, the conversation with us and the subsequent briefing of reporters there in Baltimore, suggest that feel as though, Baltimore Police and Hopkins Security, feel as though they have the suspect contained to a particular area, certainly a particular floor, the eighth floor of this hospital.
And they feel they have the situation under control, so much so that operations in other areas of the hospital are ongoing right now. They're pointing to the fact that you know, traffic is flowing in and out of the area.
So that would at least leave you with the impression that Baltimore Police believe they've got the situation contained.
LEVS: And this hospital is part of a $5 billion medical system, a big place, a massive hospital. It consistently ranked one of the top ones.
I have some stats here, the facility has 982 beds and it consistently name one of the top by U.S. news and World Report and it opened in 1889.
It has risen to be one of the top hospitals in the country, as currently dealing with this security threat and yes, number of beds, up near 1,000 across the whole hospital.
HARRIS: OK, so what we'll do is we'll take a quick break and get you any additional information. I think that's Anthony right there working the phones. We'll get you anything that's new, that moves the story along and at the very least, we will update what we know. Let's take a break here in the "CNN Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, want to show you pictures again from the big vista wall of this enormous campus, right? Johns Hopkins Hospital there in Baltimore, North Wolf Street and you know what?
I want -- Jack, can we, maybe the shot will come back around. When you see the postcard view of Hopkins, the hospital, this is the building that you see. That's it there. Not the best view.
It's getting better, but that's the postcard view of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, that building right there. But as you can see, it's a huge, huge campus. I know I'm in and out of the light, but the picture is the important thing here. A huge campus, the main hospital building, 982 beds in that hospital.
Here's another shot. Here it is right here as well. It is such a huge presence in Baltimore overall, but on the east side, it is absolutely dominant. The university is not very far from the hospital, but it's in a different part of Baltimore, so you know, this is where the shooting took place this morning.
Somewhere in the 10:00 to 11:00 hour, police receiving the call of the shooting at about 11:12 a.m. Eastern time, police obviously responding to the location. A doctor had been shot. We understand, well initially, the reports were that the doctor was in critical condition, but that has been updated and the doctor's condition upgraded.
The wound, the injuries, non-life threaten, so good news there. One of the main entrances there to Hopkins. Anthony, the spokesperson for Johns, for Baltimore City police issued a statement to the media a short time ago. Do we have that wrapped up? Let's listen to Anthony.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUIGLIELMI: Today we were called to reports of a shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A doctor was shot. Baltimore Police responded to the scene. We have a suspect that is inside the hospital.
I want to correct any media reports out there. We do not have this suspect in custody at this point. He is in the hospital, however, he is contained, we believe, to a floor within the hospital. We're in the process of executing a tactical operation.
Baltimore City Fire Department, John Hopkins Security, the FBI, Baltimore State Police are all on board. The Baltimore Police Department is the lead agency.
One thing I want to stress is people coming to the hospital are encouraged to come. As you can see, traffic is flowing behind me. We have this isolated to a small section of the hospital and we have officers in place and a tactical operation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does he have any hostages?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no information on hostages. We don't know the relationship between he and the doctor shot. I do know that the doctor is going to be OK. He's in the best place in the world that he could be, which is Johns Hopkins Hospital.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Again, the suspect not in custody at this point. Police believe they have him sort of cornered in a particular area there on the eighth floor and you can imagine negotiations are ongoing right now to get him to surrender peacefully, but that is work that is ongoing. Let's take a break and get back here as quickly as possible. We're pushing ahead to T.J. Holmes at the top of the hour in for Ali Velshi. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, before we get back to wrapping up at least our portion of the coverage of the shooting incident at Johns Hopkins Hospital, some breaking news.
We tell you all the time anything can happen here at the "CNN Newsroom." It has been a busy, busy couple of hours here for you. The Senate, we understand, has just passed the small business package that the president had been pushing for, $350 billion and the vote on that, 61-38, all right?
Now, let's take you back to the situation at Baltimore, Maryland and the shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a doctor shot there. We understand, with non-life threatening injuries.
Now some CNN video of one of the entrances, one of the views of the hospital here, this is Madison and North Wolfe. What are we hearing on this tape? Can I listen? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somewhere on the eighth floor of that building, not sure what --
HARRIS: OK, we might be overhearing either some scanner traffic. We might be overhearing a reporter on that, but the information holds up that the suspect is believed to be on the eighth floor of hospital right now.
And Baltimore Police believe they have the suspect in a fixed area. Why that area is, we don't know. How big that area is, we don't know, but certainly Baltimore City Police indicating to us through spokesman Anthony (inaudible), that they believe they have the situation contained.
I believe that's the word that Anthony used, that the situation has been contained right now into that fixed area of the eighth floor of the hospital. The doctor who was shot by the suspect is in better shape now with non-life threatening injuries.
That's the description of the injuries at this point and that is a turn in the right direction for that doctor. Josh has been following a couple of things for us. Baltimore City Police's Twitter page and what have you up for us now, Josh.
LEVS: Also I've been following the Twitter site from the hospital itself. It says 28 minutes ago, they did tweet this they say as a precaution, the Johns Hopkins Hospital has temporarily restricted access to main hospital buildings following the report of the shooting. And they did not after that's not longer the case. The last thing we have from the hospital is that they have restricted access to main hospital buildings and we need to get more details on exactly what's happening with the various entrances and exits.
HARRIS: It's huge, Josh. It is a huge - we've been saying it all morning, it is a huge campus. The best news in all of this is that it seems to be restricted to one particular area, on the eighth floor.
You can imagine what kind of chaos if the gunman were truly on the loose and police had no idea of where the suspect was because it is such a huge campus in a densely populated, I can't tell you enough, densely populated area of Baltimore City.
LEVS: And part of a $5 billion medical system and certainly they understand why there's a lot for authorities to do in a situation like this. Just want to get the word out, restricted access to the main building, but just as a precaution. We're also following the latest from police nothing new since they said suspect not in custody.
HARRIS: All right, very quickly, let's get to the top of the hour. T.J. Holmes in just minutes right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
