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Six Confirmed Dead, 18 Wounded At Meet And Greet Event With Rep. Gabrielle Giffords In Tucson
Aired January 08, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I've been getting reports from various administration officials that they've been trying to dig in and get as much possible information as they can to pass it on to the president, other senior officials here to just get a hand on the situation as we've been doing, because there's obviously so much information flying around.
Now, a short time ago, the president put out a written statement saying "this morning, in an unspeakable tragedy, a number of Americans were shot in Tucson, Arizona, at a constituent meeting -
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Ed, we're going to interrupt. We're going to a press conference right now where the surgeon is speaking in Arizona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been a lot of people concerned about their family members. I'm going to try to give you a brief update, try to avoid giving too much detail. So we don't get the information to the families in the wrong order. So far what we have at this hospital is we have received 10 patients. Of those, one died. We have five patients in critical condition, and we currently have five patients in the operating room undergoing surgery at the current time period.
The rest of them are stable condition, without any life threatening or limb threatening injuries at this point. And actually that's all I have in the announcement and then I'll take a few questions at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you clarify, 10 patients, one dead, five critical, five in the operating room?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct. So again, 10 patients that we have received at the current time period. One patient is dead here at the hospital. We have five patients in critical condition, and five patients in the operating room right now undergoing surgery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, the congresswoman is not one of the deceased.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. The congresswoman is not decreased.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) condition currently?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is in critical condition. The neurosurgeons have finished operating on her. And I can tell you at the current time period, I'm very optimistic about recovery. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us where (INAUDIBLE) injuries?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was shot in the head.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not know that specific information at this point. I can tell you that the person that did die here at the hospital was a young child.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you give us an idea of what her condition was like?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which patient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gabrielle Giffords' condition was very optimistic and she was following commands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times was she shot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was shot one time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the head, through and through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: front lobe, back lobe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Through and through - I can't tell you right now. Obviously for forensic purposes what direction? But she was shot through and through on one side of the head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you say optimistic, are you optimistic for full recovery or too early to tell?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot tell what kind of recovery, but I'm about as optimistic as you can get in this situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is she currently being operated on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surgery has been completed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is recovery right now? Where is she?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She will go to our intensive care unit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is she in a coma, is she conscious?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's under anesthesia right now. So we don't know what it's going to be like for a while. What I'm anticipating is what her recovery is in the next 24 hours, I can give you a lot more information that can portray to you and let you know about her prognosis.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell you anything specifically about any of the other patients right now except for Gabrielle.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My understanding was that she was about nine years old.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry?
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the only child that came into our hospital. OK, well, thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Mayor, can you join us, please.
MAYOR BOB WALKUP, TUCSON, ARIZONA: Just clearly, it's a grave tragedy for this community. Grave tragedy for the state of Arizona and for this country. I think this is a time for all of us, all of us to give our thoughts and our prayers for the tragedy that just happened in front of us.
I want you to know what I have done is I have instructed our chief of police, that you're going to hear from in a moment, to give the absolute complete support to the sheriff's office, who is conducting this investigation. They are the ones, the incident officer in charge of this tragedy. Our police department, the responsibility is for the citizens of the city of Tucson, and for this university hospital.
I would like everybody to understand the significance of what this means to all of us. What it really means to our country. I did have a chance to talk to Gabby's father when he came in. And I told him that this community and this region, this state has Gabby's prayers and thoughts in our hearts for her recovery. I'm very, very pleased to hear the doctor's report to hear that she is still alive and fighting for her life.
So those that are fighting for their lives, it's time for us to really just say our prayers for a recovery. And for those that died today, they will not be forgotten. They are citizens of this country, and citizens of Arizona and Tucson. But now I would like to turn the mic over to the chief of police that will go into the details of how we can best serve the sheriff's department in conducting this investigation.
And I'll also tell you that you need to be sure as media that you have the collective information not only from UMC but from other sources to get to the total magnitude of this great tragedy. With that, I would like to introduce our chief of police Villasenor. CHIEF ROBERTO VILLASENOR, TUCSON POLICE DEPT.: Good afternoon. Unfortunately, I won't have much information I'm able to give to you. As the mayor pointed out, this is an investigation of the Pima county sheriff's department. I believe they have held a press conference giving out details about the investigation. Our role here with the Tucson Police Department and the city of Tucson is we have secured the offices and residences of Congresswoman Giffords' as well as other Congress people and members of the House of Representatives.
We did that as a precautionary measure. We had no information that there was any threat, but obviously we wanted to take every precaution needed to maintain the safety of all involved. We will assist the Pima County sheriff's department in any capacity that they need from us. I've been in direct contact with Deputy Chief Kasagar (ph) from Pima County Sheriff's Office in handling the investigation, and I've assured him that we are there to assist in any way possible.
So there's really not much other information I can tell you other than I do stress and ask that you verify your information, because you have two different press conferences, and you have different agencies involved. As far as the medical issues here at UMC and the investigation is with the Pima County Sheriff's Department. So thank you.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry?
(INAUDIBLE)
VILLASENOR: Like I said, as far as here or at the scene, it was the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Public Safety that handled the scene preservation and control of the scene and is still conducting the investigation. Here at the hospital, it was the Tucson Police Department with the assistance of the University of Arizona Police Department, as well as representatives from the Pima County Sheriff's Department to come down here to help conduct the follow-up investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you give us any information about the shooter?
VILLASENOR: No, I cannot. That has to come from the Pima County Sheriff.
(INAUDIBLE)
VILLASENOR: My understanding from the sheriff's department is that they do have one subject in custody, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What other representative's homes were secured?
VILLASENOR: I don't want to talk about that point. Right now, we just made an evaluation on who we needed to provide some security for and we took care of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does it include state representatives?
VILLASENOR: No, not to that level. Federal level.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Federal level.
VILLASENOR: OK. Thank you very much.
SAVIDGE: All right. We're listening to a news conference that is coming out of Northwest Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona. That is where many of the victims have been taken, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Let me just recap quickly for you.
We saw from one of the surgeons, he said that 10 patients have been brought in, one has died, that was a child which I believe he said was nine months old. Five patients are in critical condition and five are in surgery. I know the math adds up to 11 but presumably he didn't count the dead person as a patient.
As far as the congresswoman, he described her as in critical condition. She is not deceased, and he's very optimistic, this is the surgeon, about her recovery. She is following commands. She suffered a gunshot wound to the head, which he described as through and through, which means, of course, the bullet passed through. He couldn't say whether it was side to side or front to back. But, again, we're going to go back to the mayor right now in Tucson. Let's go listen.
WALKUP: Those citizens will never be forgotten. There are some people that have been injured that are near and dear to our hearts. We've lived with many of them. So it's a decent emotion, I think, to tear up when we lose people, and we have people fighting for their lives.
So as I said, this is a time for us to remember them, to put them in our prayers and wish them the very best, because they're near and dear to all of us. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayor, can you confirm or deny rumors that (INAUDIBLE) shooting?
WALKUP: I cannot do that. All I can do is report on and understand what has happened here at UMC. That's why it's essential that you put all of this together. You need to get the information from the sheriff's department. You need to put that together, which is a little complicated. But you must do that, and as the good doctor reported, we know exactly what has happened here. But you need to put it all together.
(INAUDIBLE)
WALKUP: Very well, I'm going to ask the chief to go into what he knows about the sheriff's office press conference, which apparently was just held. Sheriff.
(INAUDIBLE) VILLASENOR: We don't have any information on that. As far as the sheriff's department, my understanding is the press conference was held at (INAUDIBLE). They will be having information also, I think, in another press conference tonight. So they will be putting out that information to all media outlets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us if there's any reason to believe if there's anyone else out there at this point in terms of -
VILLASENOR: We have nothing that the sheriff's have relayed to us to indicate that that's an issue. But obviously, we take all precautions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But right now you think there's one shooter?
VILLASENOR: Like I said, right now, that's going to be answered by the sheriff's department.
(INAUDIBLE)
VILLASENOR: Absolutely not. We have officers here to provide security but there is no lockdown of any kind. Thank you all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, chief.
We have another speaker, President Shelton of the University of Arizona.
PRES. SHELTON, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: Good afternoon. I'll be brief because you've heard from the key people so far. In addition to conveying our thoughts and prayers to all of the victims and their families, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the extraordinary work of the security people, whether of the county or the city, the UAPD and in particular, the staff here at UMC. The physicians, nurses, all the people who are involved in providing the kind of care that is unique to this facility.
And so I just take this moment to acknowledge them and thank them for all that they've done, from Dr. Reid and all his team. Thank you again for being here. I'm sure there will be more information coming out.
SAVIDGE: And with that, that is the end -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. That concludes our briefing. I understand that at 6:00 p.m. this evening, I belief the sheriff's office is having another briefing at (INAUDIBLE), and we'll have a UMC representative there.
SAVIDGE: And there is another news conference that is expected coming out of the sheriff's department. That's going to be at 6:00 local time. That will be 8:00 Eastern time.
And as you just heard from the chief of police there in Tucson, Arizona, it is the sheriff's department, Pima County sheriff that is going to be the lead so far in this investigation although we also know that federal authorities are going to be involved.
Just to give you an idea what else is coming up, we anticipate we're going to hear a comment from President Obama himself, and we have a camera standing by when the president just makes his statement that we will be there and ready. So that we will bring that to you as soon as it happens. We are also expecting later the governor of Arizona is going to be making a statement and issuing some information to us.
But I want to go back to Ed Henry, who is also standing by.
Ed, it's clear that the White House and the administration has been very moved by what's happened here.
HENRY: Oh, absolutely. Marty, this started out as a pretty routine Saturday for this president. He went to a basketball game for one of his daughters in the morning with the first lady. This was a very routine thing that they go to a sporting event on a Saturday morning, there was nothing else planned, as far as we knew on his schedule.
But then immediately after this happened, the reports started coming in. I started talking to administration officials who said that they were trying to get a handle on the situation, trying to get as much information as they could from congressional officials to pass it on to the president and then you saw a short time ago, he issued that written statement.
But we do now have this new information that you just mentioned. The president in the next 10 to 20 minutes or so is going to be making a live statement here from the White House on camera, from the state dining room. That gives you an idea of the magnitude of this. The president has already spoken on it, just in the last hour, at least in a written statement.
For him to now come out on camera and speak to the nation, speak to the world suggests to all of us obviously the president understands the magnitude of this tragedy. In his statement earlier, he mentioned that the congresswoman was gravely wounded and suggested that at least others had died. But was very careful, obviously and rightly so, not to get into any names, not to get into anymore specifics.
As we've been speaking to administration officials here, they've been cautioning us all afternoon that they're getting very raw and unverified information and that's why they're being very careful, not to confirm deaths, not to confirm any medical conditions. All that being handled by the hospital you saw there. We just saw that surgeon saying five patients in critical condition, five still in surgery.
I believe he said the congresswoman was out of surgery but still in critical condition and that he was optimistic about her recovery. So obviously, everyone here right up to the president of the United States watching all this very closely, Marty.
SAVIDGE: And just for those who may be tuning in, we are talking about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others who have been wounded and some have died, as a result of a shooting that's taken place outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. It happened a number of hours ago.
You're taking a look at images that came to us from the scene from an eyewitness. And in fact, let me go back and play for you - hold on with this, Ed, while we wait for the president. But here is some sound we got from Jason Pekau. Jason is an eyewitness to what happened and he got on the phone to us shortly thereafter. Here's his description of what he saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON PEKAU, EYEWITNESS: What I first heard, I heard 15 to 20 gunshots in the parking lot. I came outside immediately. I did not see any vehicle or any people fleeing, I just saw people running, screaming towards where the shooting happened. Everyone screaming that it was Gabrielle Giffords. I did see them take her away on a stretcher to the life flight. She was moving from what I saw with my own eyes.
And right now, I just seen a bunch of people leaving on stretchers and life flights flying out of here at the moment.
SAVIDGE: And I imagine that people there including (INAUDIBLE) are in a state of shock.
PEKAU: Yes. From what I'm being told from people that had seen it, that she was shot point blank in the head by the shooter, and then after that basically all chaos broke loose. There was some bullets that went through the window into the safeway that I can see. How many people were hurt, I have no idea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: And as we just heard from Ed Henry, the good news, if you can describe it as that, is certainly optimistic news is that the congresswoman's wounds appear, at least according to the surgeon, that he's optimistic about a recovery. We'll take a break and we'll come back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Hello, I'm Martin Savidge at the CNN Center in Atlanta. We continue to follow the breaking news of a shooting that's taken place outside of a grocery story at a shopping center in Tucson, Arizona. We are told that at least 18 people have been shot. Six people have been killed. There was an event that was going on.
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was holding a meet and greet with her constituents at the time that the gunfire broke out. Witnesses say that they heard anywhere from 15 to 20 shots. CNN's Susan Candiotti has confirmed that a handgun had been found on the scene and has been recovered by authorities. A suspect is reportedly in custody.
And Representative Gabrielle Giffords is currently at the hospital. Conflicting as to whether she's just out of surgery or still in surgery. In fact, let's listen to a news conference just a few moments ago from the hospital talking about how she was being cared for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. The congresswoman is not deceased.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) condition currently?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is in critical condition. The neurosurgeons have finished operating on her. And I can tell you at the current time period, I'm very optimistic about recovery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us where (INAUDIBLE) injuries?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: As you heard, very optimistic and reportedly that gunshot wound was through and through. We want to bring in Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's medical expert. Sanjay, just in what you've seen and that account given by the doctor, he says he is optimistic. Is there a reason to be?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): Well, certainly I think given what he's saying at this point, typically - usually surgeons are pretty guarded in this sort of information immediately after surgery. So given that he said that he's optimistic, and more importantly from a neurosurgical standpoint that she's following commands, that's something else he said, Martin.
What that means is that while she's in critical condition, while she probably likely has a breathing tube still immediately after surgery, she is awake enough to hear someone say a command, such as raise two fingers. Do something that shows me that not only can you hear me, that you can process that information and you can execute a body function based on that information. Those are all very, very important signs to look for. And very good news that she's able to do that.
So it sounds like she is out of surgery. Critical condition for sure as really any patient after that type of procedure would be. But the key thing that I heard in that press conference, Martin, the following commands is a very important good sign for her.
SAVIDGE: And from your expertise, the description we had is that this was a gunshot wound close, meaning at close range, and as you heard the surgeon described, it was through and through. Does that mean anything different from your expert opinion as to whether if the bullet had remained inside her head?
GUPTA: Yes, when you think about a gunshot wound to the head, you want to get a sense of how much damage obviously it's going to cause to the brain, but also how much swelling is going to happen as a result of that injury, as well. Through and through injury might mean that it went actually went through the skin, through the skull and then right out, which may indicate that there was less actual damage to the brain. One piece of information that he did not provide, although he may not have known at the time, is exactly where she was shot in the head. She was shot in the head but where exactly in the head. That would be an important piece of information. There are certain parts of the brain where it would be more cause for concern. But through and through I think basically means she was - maybe it was more of a glancing shot or something that did not penetrate fully. It's unclear.
But it sounds like the outcome of all that, again, is that the operation that was performed was successful enough that she's following commands now.
SAVIDGE: What do we watch? What do we worry about over the next 24 hours with her condition?
GUPTA: The biggest thing really after an operation like this is that the brain, because of the injury, just either from the penetration or just the blast itself can have swelling. That's one of the biggest concerns.
The brain, you sort of think of that as a - it's almost like a fluid medium. It's like a big shockwave to that fluid medium. That often responds by swelling. So it has to be observed very closely. And in an ICU obviously, intensive care unit, monitoring her neurological exam very, very regularly and to see if there's any indication of that. If there was, then likely a CAT scan would be performed to try and figure out what exactly is going on and you know, does she need further surgery or just medication to try and reduce that swelling.
SAVIDGE: Sanjay, thanks very much. We'll continue to stay in close touch with you. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's medical expert.
Dana Bash has more for us now, from Washington. Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Marty, we reported earlier a release that went out from the Capitol Police to all members of Congress that we were given my sources. Now we actually have a press release from the Capitol Police. And I'll read you just some of it.
First of all, it says that they are working directly on this on-going investigation with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the capital police, it says does not specifically talk about security of members of Congress, but this does say that they've communicated with House members of Congress advising them to take to take "reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal safety and security."
It also says that the United States Capitol Police remains at high level of readiness consistent with our operational conditions on U.S. capitol grounds and continue to maintain a robust presence.
That's an interesting note to give our viewers but also to remind our viewers of maybe what I was reporting a little while ago about some aides in Congress, concerned that they didn't know what to tell their bosses who may have also have events or maybe planning events, whether they should continue with that.
Another notice that we just got, Marty, we've been reporting that we have seen statements pouring in from Gabby Giffords' colleagues on both sides of the aisle expressing their dismay and outrage and sadness about this. We just got one from the senior senator from her home state of Arizona and that, of course, is John McCain who also said that he's horrified by the violent attack on Congresswoman Giffords and says he's praying for her.
But listen to this, strongly worded sentence. John McCain said, "whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law." That from John McCain, senator from Arizona, Marty.
SAVIDGE: Dana Bash joining us from Washington. Thanks very much.
We want to go to the Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine who is joining us on the telephone. And she is not only a friend of Congresswoman Giffords but, of course, she is an associate in Congress with her.
First of all, thank you for being with us. And we're very sorry it's under these circumstances. I'm just wondering your thoughts at this particular time after a horrible day.
REP. CHELLIE PINGREE (D), MAINE (ON THE PHONE): It is a horrible day, and a tragedy obviously for Gabby, her family, her staff members and all the people of Arizona. I was thrilled to hear Gabby is now fighting for her life and doing well. That's just such wonderful news but I'm so saddened about the staff members who have been lost and other innocent people who were at the site.
Gabby and I sit near each other on the Armed Services Committee. She got elected two years before me. She has only been in Congress for four years and me in two. Gabby is a tremendous fighter, and I know that she's fighting hard right now. But (INAUDIBLE) by her colleagues. She's beloved, she works hard. Frankly, she loves to be home in her district meeting with people just as she was doing today. That's just such a terrible tragedy that for Gabby to be out there, giving people a voice right there in front of the grocery store, someone would do something this unthinkable.
SAVIDGE: Is there anything in her politics or in here nature that would make her susceptible that someone would want to do something like this to her?
PINGREE: I mean, this is just unthinkable. You guys are showing all the pictures of Gabby on TV today. You know, every time you see her, she's got a smile, she's got a wonderful thing to say. She and I had a great chat just a couple of days ago about her coming to visit me in my district. She works hard, she's full of fun. She speaks her mind. You know, there's nothing personally or politically about Gabby that you could say anything bad about.
And frankly, again, what's so tragic is she's doing exactly what we all believe is part of our job, being out there in public, meeting with people individually, you know, letting people know where you're going to be. I mean, this is something that Gabby does probably more than any other member of Congress. And it's just unthinkable that anybody would open a gun shoot her or shoot others.
SAVIDGE: Dana Bash was just reading a statement that came from the Capitol Police saying that notification had gone out to members of Congress. And I'm wondering did you, in fact, receive notification of this and also perhaps that, you know, you should be aware of your own personal security concerns.
PINGREE: Well, I'm actually home this afternoon. And funny as you were saying that, I was trying to see if I could quickly logon to my congressional system. I haven't see that. I'm sure it's been sent to all of us. I will say that, you know, many of my colleagues are burning up the internet chatting with each other, you know, crying for Gabby, praying for Gabby over the internet.
But we've also been discussing the fact that, you know, this is what we do every day. You know, we all hold these events. They're called congressman corner, you meet at a grocery store. You know, I sit down at a card table and people file in front of me. And the truth is sometimes it is frightening. Sometimes there are people who come before you who are angry. We take it as part of our job. And rarely, you know, just as they said today, I don't know even know that there was a local policeman in the space. We never travel with security. You know, it's out goal to be out amongst people but this is a horrible reminder that there are those people in our society who would choose to do things to undo that. I fear this is going to have a chilling effect for all of our staff, for all of us who like to be out there all the time.
SAVIDGE: Do you think this will change your own personal way of meeting with the public?
PINGREE: I hate to think so. But on the other hand, we are all subject to occasional threats, to angry letters, phone calls. And honestly this does give you pause for the security of our staff, our own families. It makes you think about, you know, how to best handle your job in a world that is increasingly unsettled, and these days feeling somewhat angry.
SAVIDGE: And just to extrapolate a little further. We know that Congress was facing a very difficult year. There had been substantial changes in the House. And there has been a lot of tough talk on both sides. Do you think this will have any impact on all of that?
PINGREE: Well, I certainly hope it gives people pause, both within Congress, and outside, about toning down the rhetoric, thinking about the language we use with each other, about how to -- as one of my colleagues, a Republican colleague, said earlier today, how to disagree without being disagreeable. And I think, particularly, those people on the outside, whether it is radio talk shows, or Web sites, you know, on the left and the right, just thinking about words have meaning. They can incite anger and bad behavior. I feel convinced this was the act of a crazy person who, you know, should be punished. But the fact is, I think we face increasing anger levels that many of us feel at times in the capital, with people who are outside, with protestors, and others. You know, I'm afraid this will bring about a very serious review about the security level of members when they're in public. And that's just, you know, not what we want to have happen in a free and open democratic society.
SAVIDGE: Representative Chellie Pingree, thank you very much for joining us.
She is a representative from Maine. And talking about Congresswoman Giffords and talking about possible security changes as a result of the shooting that's taken place.
We want to remind you we are anticipating that president Obama is going to have a statement shortly. We are standing by and of course, will bring that to you as soon as it happens. We have already had a paper statement but we are expecting the president himself.
And then we are also expecting the governor of Arizona to speak out. And that's the other location that you can see there, where we are anticipating to hear what information he can bring to us about this shocking chain of events that has unfolded in the state of Arizona.
If you don't know, it is a shooting that's happened at a grocery store. It happened around 10:00 local time this morning, a little after noon our time. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was holding a "Congress On Your Corner", that is a gathering where you would meet with constituents. Events like this are public and the public does know when and where the Congress person would be. A shooting broke out, a suspect has taken into custody. We have 18 people shot, six people dead. And the Congresswoman as you have heard is fighting for her life with a bullet wound to the head.
Kate Bolduan is joining us with more information on the suspect.
Is that right, Kate?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I'm getting this information from my colleague, Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve. She's learned from a law enforcement official that the shooter, this law enforcement official has described this shooter, the suspect, as a white male, born in 1988. That would make him 22 or 23, depending on his birthday. But we're at least now getting a few more details as the situation unfolds. Again, this is coming from my colleague Jeanne Meserve, on a little bit of the identity that we are learning of the suspect that we have learned from the U.S. Capitol Police, that the suspect is in custody. And from this source, a law enforcement official describes the shooter as a white male, born in 1988, making him 22 or 23 years old, likely 22.
SAVIDGE: And do we know at all whether this is the only suspect that's being sought or in custody rather?
BOLDUAN: From the sources that -- from a lot of what we're hearing, it seems that no one is going there quite yet, Marty, but it seems like it's being described, quite often, that that is the only person they have in custody, that's the only person they're looking at, at the moment. Again, very squishy. But what we were getting from that press conference, that you and I were both listening to, it sounds like they seem to indicate that it would be, as the way they're talking about and describing the situation, that they have the suspect in custody, rather than they're looking for more. Again, of course we always caution a very fluid situation.
SAVIDGE: Sure. Kate Bolduan, thank you very much for that update on the suspect.
Just going back to the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, that is where Congresswoman Giffords has been taken, as have a number of other people. We had a news conference that was held a short time ago. We were told that they had 10 patients. One has died. That was a 9-month (sic)-old child. And if we can, I would like to play for you again the sound bite that we have from the surgeon, who obviously had just come out of surgery. He had been working near Gabrielle Giffords' -- where she was being treated, and he had information regarding it and it was good news. So let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, the Congresswoman is not deceased.
QUESTION: Can you tell us her condition currently?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's in critical condition. She is-the neurosurgeons have finished operating on her. And I can tell you at the current time period I'm very optimistic about recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: All right. That's just what you heard coming from the surgeon that is at the hospital where a number of those who have been wounded have been treated. We're expecting more updates throughout this afternoon and into the evening. We'll take a break and come back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: We are continuing to follow the breaking news coming out of Tucson, Arizona. There has been a shooting that has taken place there, 18 people have been shot, six people have been killed. Among those who were wounded is Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She is currently in critical condition, undergoing treatment at the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Among those that have died, we understand, is also a child. We are standing by at the White House where we anticipate that President Obama will be having a statement. A paper statement has already been issued, but the president himself is going to give us some remarks.
We also are standing by for the Arizona governor Jan Brewer, who is expected to have a statement. In the meantime, let's go to Ed Henry. Ed, we still don't know exactly the motivation for the attacker here. But it has to go through many people's minds that we knew we were heading into a contentious year in Congress. I'm wondering do you think the president will address that in any way?
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question. I would expect he would, but we just don't know until we hear from him. Obviously, the current political climate is hanging over this entire tragedy, but you are right, no one wants to jump to conclusions, certainly as to whether this was politically motivated.
But the fact of the matter is she is a Democratic Congresswoman. She is in Arizona, as John King and others have been reporting earlier, there are a lot of volatile issues there, starting with immigration reform. She was in the middle of the healthcare reform debate, which obviously has also been very volatile, as Dana was pointing out earlier.
So that's hanging out there. You think back to other tragedies in this country, and I'm thinking personally about the Oklahoma City tragedy. After those 1994 elections and you remember then President Bill Clinton went to Oklahoma City and gave a very powerful speech at the time that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, all said was very pivotal in trying to get the country to heal and move forward.
Now, a lot more people died then obviously. That was a big, big tragedy, but so is this one. And it is still unfolding. We don't know all the details. So this is a kind of moment where a president can walk out in the middle of not just this situation, on the ground in Arizona, but take a step back perhaps and talk about the broader political climate.
Again, until he gets more facts, I would assume he's going to be very, very cautious about how far he's going out and talk about this. This is mostly about addressing the American people, letting everyone know what the White House knows at this very moment. But also perhaps trying to calm the situation down and reassure the American public right now, Marty.
SAVIDGE: What's the activity you've seen there at the White House?
HENRY: Well, what I've seen is a lot of White House staffers being called back, to come in. Many of them do work on Saturdays, I should point out, and weekends, just planning for the next legislative week next week, etc cetera. But I've seen a lot more come back who were not planning to work or had gone home after working this morning. They were coming back to help put together this statement the president will deliver in a few moments. There's been a lot of activity there in terms of getting ready for this statement, but also more importantly collecting information from all the various law enforcement agencies from congressional officials.
Very quickly, after this first started unfolding, I was talking to administration officials who said they were trying to gather just as much information as they could, and they were trying to get a handle on this situation to brief the president, brief other senior officials here. Just so they could be as careful and cautious and yet stay on top of the situation, Marty.
SAVIDGE: And I know that, of course, the sheriff's department out there is the lead investigator right now, but I presume the White House would say, look, whatever you need, whatever we can provide or help you with, you'll get, correct?
HENRY: Yes, as you heard local police, there at that news conference, referring to the FBI , other federal law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Capital Police, as Dana has been reporting, already involved in this investigation. When you have a federal official like a congresswoman in this case, who has obviously been targeted in some way, Dana reported that her district director has sadly and tragically died. Maybe there were other staffers who could have been shot as well. Again, we're still trying to sort through that.
Once you have federal officials who have been targeted, attacked, and some of whom appear to have died, certainly federal law enforcement is going to be involved. And maybe local police may take the lead in actual police investigation, but there's no doubt, as was referred to in that news conference, that federal officials are not only on top of it, but are assisting and are involved in this investigation, as Dana reported, the U.S. Capital Police already, but the FBI was referred to earlier, as well. The U.S. Homeland Security Department, Janet Napolitano put out a statement a short time ago, saying Homeland Security Department would also be helping, aiding, sending resources, any and all that they could to help in the situation.
Part of what the White House and the Obama administration, writ large, is trying to do right now is obviously making sure that this is an isolated incident and making sure there are not other members of Congress being targeted, other officials being targeted and any other connection with this. We heard those reports about a suspect being in custody, but very little information beyond that. So they obviously want to make sure there are not other people at risk right now, Marty.
SAVIDGE: Ed Henry, of course, CNN covering the White House for us, standing by where we're waiting for President Obama to deliver a statement on camera regarding the events that happened. There you see the camera location inside the White House.
We want to go back to the first moments after this tragedy began in Tucson, Arizona. And to an interview I did with Jason Pekau, who was an eyewitness. And here's how he described those first moments after he heard the gunfire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON PEKAU, EMPLOYEE AT SPRINT STORE NEAR SAFEWAY: What I first heard, I heard about 15 to 20 gunshots in the parking lot. I came outside immediately. I did not see a vehicle or any people fleeing. I just saw people running, screaming towards the -- where the shooting happened. Everyone screaming that it was Gabrielle Giffords. I did see them take her away on a stretch to the life flight. She was moving from what I saw with my own eyes. And right now I just seen a bunch of people leaving on stretchers and life flights flying out of here at the moment. SAVIDGE: And imagine people there, including, perhaps yourself, are in a state of shock?
PEKAU: Yes. From what I'm being told from people that had seen it, that she was shot point blank in the head by the shooter, and then after that, basically all chaos broke loose. There was some bullets that went through the window into the Safeway, that I can see. How many people were hurt, I have no idea.
SAVIDGE: All right. Stay with me.
What Jason saw now leads us to the next part of the investigation and the treatment of those that have been injured and wounded, and that takes us to the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, where a short while ago we got an update from a doctor who has been working on Congresswoman Giffords. Here's what he described, and he was optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, the Congresswoman is not deceased.
QUESTION: Can you tell us her condition currently?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's in critical condition. She is-the neurosurgeons have finished operating on her. And I can tell you at the current time period I'm very optimistic about recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Very good news indeed. We will continue. President Obama now ready to speak. Let's listen.
(BEGIN LIVE FEED)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A number of people were shot in Tucson, Arizona, including several who were meeting at a supermarket with their Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. We are still assembling all the facts. But we know that Representative Giffords was one of the victims. She's currently at a hospital in the area and she's battling for her life. We also know that at least five people lost their lives in this tragedy.
Among them were a federal judge, John Roll, who has served America's legal system for almost 40 years. And a young girl, who was barely nine years old.
I have spoken to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, and offered the full resources of the federal government. A suspect is currently in custody, but we don't yet know what provoked this unspeakable act. A comprehensive investigation is under way, and at my direction, Director Bob Mueller is en route to Arizona to help coordinate these efforts.
I've also spoken to the Democratic and Republican leaders in the House. Gabby Giffords was a friend of mine. She's not only an extraordinary public servant, but she's also somebody who is warm and caring. She is well liked by her colleagues, and well liked by her constituents. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is a navy captain, and one of America's valiant astronauts.
It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors. That is the essence of what our democracy is all about. That is why this is more than a tragedy for those involved. It is a tragedy for Arizona, and a tragedy for our entire country.
What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers. Those who have been injured we are rooting for them. And I know Gabby is as tough as they come. And I am hopeful that she's going to pull through.
Obviously, our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain. We are going to get to the bottom of this. And we're going to get through this. But in the meantime, I think all of us need to make sure that with we're offering our thoughts and prayers to those concerned. Thank you.
(END LIVE FEED)
SAVIDGE: President Obama speaking from the White House there regarding events that had happened tragically in Tucson, Arizona. We'll take a break and have more afterwards.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Here at CNN we continue to follow the tragic events that have unfolded in Tucson, Arizona, beginning at 10:00 o'clock in the morning there, local time, just after noon on the East Coast.
Gunfire erupted at a shopping center outside of a grocery store. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was holding a gathering there, what's known as "Congress On Your Corner". It's a chance to meet with constituents. She has been seriously wounded, and is undergoing surgery, or just come out of surgery from a gunshot wound to the head. According to the sheriff's office there 18 people were shot, six people have been killed, including a nine-year-old girl, and as we just heard -- I should say a 9-year-old child, excuse me.
As we just heard from President Obama, in a statement that he delivered from the White House, among the dead, Judge John Roll. There has been reaction coming in all across the country. Joining us right now, Jeff Rogers of the Pima County Democratic Party.
Mr. Rogers, thank you for joining us on what is an extremely difficult day for your state, but for the nation.
JEFF ROGERS, CHAIRMAN, PIMA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY: You're welcome.
SAVIDGE: Tell us where things stand right now as far as what you're hearing in the early stages of this investigation. ROGERS: Well, we don't know anymore than you know. We were gathered today for our bi-annual organization meeting to elect the officers that will lead the Democratic Party for the next two years. At that meeting, we were expecting to hear from Congresswoman Giffords later in the day, to arrive to probably a cheering crowd, because of how beloved she is.
And then we got the news. So we immediately shortened the meeting and tried to wrap things up quickly try to find out what was happening with the Congresswoman. And now all of her supporters have come down to the Democratic headquarters where we're watching CNN, as a matter of fact, and other sources, to just follow the story.
SAVIDGE: I imagine that there was just a complete sense of shock that overtook all of you, given the fact that you were gathered, and you were expecting to hear from the congresswoman in a matter of hours.
ROGERS: Oh, yes. It was stunning. People were crying. We had pastors and priests and now we have the Red Cross in our headquarters to attend to people who are pretty upset. Some of these people have known her since she was a baby and are close friends with her family and have spent the last six years working hard to elect her three separate times.
SAVIDGE: And I'm just wondering, we know that Arizona has been going through a very contentious time. I'm wondering the thoughts, of yourselves and others there who are gathered, as to whether this may have contributed to what has taken place.
ROGERS: Well, we don't know until we know more about the assailant, and whether others were involved, too. But the level of rhetoric and the anger that's fomented out there by some has troubled us all. I think we all need to take a step backward and have a more civilized discussion about the leadership and the politics of this nation, so that we can move forward and avoid these kinds of attacks.
I think often times many people are guilty of ratcheting up the rhetoric to a point that sometimes people who are naturally somewhat unhinged take steps like this. And we all need to be very careful how we do that, and try to have a more civilized discussion.
SAVIDGE: We also know the congresswoman just came through, survived a very contentious election, and campaign. I'm wondering what exactly -- I had heard reports she had been threatened, and there were even gunshots fired at one of her offices?
ROGERS: Yes, prior to the election there were gunshots fired into her congressional office in Central Tucson and the front door window was shattered by gunshot fire.
I think we-Congressman Grijalva has received more threats than Giffords down here, because of his very aggressive stance about the Senate bill 1070. So I'm a little surprised to see that it is Congresswoman Giffords. But I think we have to pause and wait and see what more facts turn up. Because one of our long-serving federal judges, appointed by the first George Bush, did not survive this attack. And he was quoted in the newspaper earlier in the week complaining about the caseloads down here, and how daunting it was on the judiciary. And asking for an extension of time for trials. It's my understanding that he and his family may have suffered some threats as a result of that. He was a fine, fine judge, and not only was he the presiding judge of this district, but we all recognized him as being one of the finer judges around.
SAVIDGE: All right. Jeff Rogers, I have to interrupt and stop you there. Thank you sp much.
ROGERS: You're welcome.
SAVIDGE: And our hearts go out and we will keep very close watch on events coming out of Tucson. We'll take a break right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
