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Killing Spree in Arizona

Aired January 08, 2011 - 21:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to reset, for our viewers here in the United States and around the world, who may just be tuning in. But I want to get your analysis, because I know you were immediately involved in treating some of the victims, of what you saw and specifically Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Stand by with us for a moment, if you can.

I just want to tell our viewers, we're continuing our CNN Special Coverage, a congresswoman has been shot. There's been a killing spree in Arizona. Six people are dead and at least 13 others are wounded. I want to bring you up to date on a the very newest details from a news conference in Tucson, just a few moments ago.

The Pima County sheriff says investigators believe that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was in fact the target of the mass shooting outside a Tucson supermarket. In other words and assassination attempt was made on a member of the United States Congress today. Giffords was shot through the brain but came through surgery and doctors now say they're, quote, "very optimistic" about her recovery.

The sheriff also says he's not convinced the suspect in custody acted alone. Authorities are looking for what they described as a person of interest, who may have accompanied Jared Lee Loughner to the gathering. Here is the sheriff only moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF CLARENCE W. DUPNIK, PIMA CO. ARIZONA: Well, he has kind of a trouble past, I can tell you that. And we're not convinced that he acted alone. There's some reason to believe that he came to this location with another individual. And there's reason to believe that the other individual in some way may be involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You heard that from the sheriff right there. Let's go to the scene. Ted Rowlands is over at the University Medical Center, in Tucson. That is where Congresswoman Giffords underwent hours of surgery today.

What's the latest?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the very latest is they are cautiously optimistic, the doctors that performed that surgery. She came out of surgery at about 1:15 this afternoon and following the procedure, as she was coming out of the anesthesia, she was able to follow commands. So they were telling her to do certain things, she wasn't necessarily speaking, but she was receiving those commands and following them. So they're very encouraged by that, but the next 24 hours are critical because of the possibility of brain swelling, etc cetera. They are watching her very closely. She's still in critical condition, one of 10 patients brought here. Five in critical, five in serious condition.

This is also the facility where that nine-year-old girl was brought. She later died, here at the facility, after a short period of time. As you can see out the hospital, here, there are hundreds of people. A lot of them with candles here that are just standing vigil, and there's a photograph of the congresswoman. And a lot of these people know her, a lot of people work with her, and a lot of them were constituents or people in the community.

One of the people who knows the family quite well is John Wesley Miller.

John, you have been inside the hospital all day with friends and family members. We have been briefed that she's doing well, that she came out of surgery well. What have you heard from the doctors during the briefings that were giving you?

JOHN WESLEY MILLER, REP. GIFFORDS FAMILY FRIEND: They were very happy with the surgery they were able to do. She was responding to commands, I don't know exactly what they were. But we're optimistic, we're hopeful. And we're asking for everyone that's watching this to please pray for Gabby. She's a wonderful, wonderful young lady. I love her like a daughter.

ROWLANDS: Set the scene inside the hospital. You say you were in a room with other family members, and you say you have been crying all day. Pretty emotional in there?

MILLER: Very, very. I mean it's such a shock to think that someone could want to harm such a beautiful person, inside and out. Gabby is just a treasure of Tucson and our community. She's done so much to help us, to help our economy, to help us to learn how to utilize solar energy, she's pro-business. I'm a Republican for Gabby Giffords, so I just love her.

ROWLANDS: Her husband, her parents, who you know quite well are at her side. What are you thinking? And what goes through you and the family at this time over the next 24 hours? Is everybody pretty optimistic because of the good news that's been reported?

MILLER: Yes. Everyone that I know here and I have probably seen 1,000 people here today, extremely optimistic; we're all praying for her, she won't give up. We know that. She's a fighter. She's a wonderful, wonderful person.

ROWLANDS: Thank you, sir. And I'm sure a lot of people will be praying for her. Appreciate it.

Again, Wolf, it is fairly optimistic, the mood out here because of the update that the hospital gave a few hours ago. But clearly she has a long way to go here in her recovery. Doctors have said they are not quite sure-you know, they don't want to speculate on what kind of recovery they're talking about, but the mood here somber, but I would say somewhat optimistic.

BLITZER: As far as she's concerned, Ted, but there's still, as we have been reporting, 13 others who were wounded, some of them in very, very critical condition. Six confirmed dead, are we expecting any formal briefing from hospital authorities, from the surgeons, the doctors any time soon? Have they told you, Ted?

ROWLANDS: They haven't scheduled any updates, if you will, like they had before with a full press conference. However we are in contact with the liaison with the hospital and are getting updates from that individual as there's any change. At this point within the last hour or so, there has not been any significant change, not only in the congresswoman's condition, or in any of the other patients' condition. There are now five in critical and five in serious condition. The critical patients here in the ICU unit here in the hospital, and that is also where the congresswoman is.

BLITZER: All right. Ted, we'll stay in close touch with you. Stay in close touch. You've got some more individuals who have been inside the hospital with the family, we would love to hear from them as well.

We're just learning that the new house Speaker John Boehner will speak at 8:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning, he's already through -- the new majority leader in the House, Eric Cantor, announced, they are going to forego substantive controversial legislation next week, scheduled- they had schedule to vote to repeal the health care law for next Wednesday. That's now been put on hold pending what's going on as a result of this assassination attempt, according to the sheriff, assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

We're going to continue our conversation with Doctor Steven Rayle. He was at the scene, an eyewitness. He was among those involved in holding the shooter down, after 19 individuals were shot. We're going to get his eyewitness account of what happened and how he specifically got involved in dealing with the wounds to some of those who survived.

Our conversation with Doctor Steven Rayle will continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A killing spree in Tucson, Arizona today; 19 victims, six confirmed dead, 13 injured, many of them critically injured, including Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was just reelected to her third term only in November.

Joining us once again on the phone from Phoenix, is Doctor Steven Rayle. He was at the scene, he had gone to the event outside a Safeway in Tucson, wanted to meet the congresswoman for the first time, happened to be there when the shootings started. He was among those who helped subdue the shooter in this case.

Dr. Rayle, walk us through what happened. You're on the ground, you're holding down the shooter, you're waiting for law enforcement to arrive. You're waiting for ambulances to arrive. But you start helping to treat some of the victims. Tell us what happened.

RAYLE: Well, Wolf, in treating gunshot wound victims it's basically, you know, stopping the hemorrhage and getting EMS there as soon as possible. That's basically the treatment. There's not much else you can do. Those who had actually stopped breathing, or had no pulse where CPR was initiated, it was pretty evident that very, very quickly, I think about three people looked to be mortally wounded if not dead already. We did CPR on those.

You know the scene was not as chaotic as you would think. I mean it was disorganized. When the shooting happened, there was not a lot of screams. Basically so many people were shot, most of the people that were there were shot. So those who were around close by, or right there like myself, who was not struck began to render aid. But again, there's not a lot you can do. It's just trying to stem the hemorrhage and give them any kind of support.

BLITZER: Congresswoman Giffords was shot point blank right into the head, the bullet went through her brain. Did you see her lying on the ground?

RAYLE: I did. I went and briefly checked on her. She was being held up by one of her staffers, she was in a half sitting up position. Her face was covered by a jacket. She had blood on her face. I could see that she was conscious and she was moving her hands and fingers and arm. So I was encouraged that she, you know, had not been fatally shot, at least immediately. However, some of the other people definitely were shot, you know, and were fatally wounded.

BLITZER: How long did it take approximately for ambulances and emergency medical personnel to reach the scene?

RAYLE: You know, Wolf. The medical -- the sheriffs, were there and it was at least another -- at least another 10, maybe 15 minutes, before any medical help arrived. And people were asking where's the ambulance? Where are they? And I don't know. I mean, again, I'm an emergency -- I was an emergency room physician. And, you know, EMS are golden. I don't know where the holdup was, somehow in the communication. Because the sheriff was there well before. And, you know, once EMS got there, of course they took charge of the scene. But whatever caused that delay, I'm just wondering if, you know, lives could have been possibly saved during that delay.

BLITZER: And just tell us what you specifically were doing when you saw somebody lying on the ground, a bullet wound, you were trying to stop the bleeding? Was that what you were doing?

RAYLE: I did nothing heroic, whatsoever. I mean, I was one of a number of people who were doing the same thing as I was, basically trying to render aid to these people that were stricken. And, you know, having done emergency medicine, I was trying to get a sense of who, you know, triaging, who the attention should be focused on, who was already-I know one woman was asking for an AED, which in this case really won't do anything. It's worth trying. But, you know, again, with a trauma of a gunshot victim whose heart has stopped, it's really not going to be much hope, especially if EMS is not directly on the scene.

BLITZER: Tell our viewers what an AED is.

RAYLE: It's an automatic external defibrillator. So that is something that oftentimes is kept in public places, that can defibrillate the heart. But if-

BLITZER: In case the heart stops.

RAYLE: In case the heart stops. Again if someone has hemorrhaged to the point, or depending on where they're shot, it's a trauma victim and their heart stops within mens of the event, it's pretty much a foregone thing that they can be revived. Although, we always try. And people were doing CPR on people who were-I could tell were obviously too far gone.

BLITZER: And it really wasn't a very big crowd that had assembled at this meet and greet that she organized outside the Safeway. Approximately how many people do you believe were there?

RAYLE: There were probably 20 to 25, I think, were there. So most of the people there got shot.

BLITZER: By the way, I just want to point out that the sheriff now says he misspoke, 18 is the correct number of individuals that were shot. Six of those 18 are confirmed dead. Originally at the news conference he said 19 victims. But they have now corrected it to 18. So what you are saying is that 20, 25 people were there and 18 of them were shot by this individual. You're just very, very lucky, doctor, that you weren't one of them.

RAYLE: I believe so. He started shooting and I-again, I froze for a second and then I jumped behind this concrete post and played dead for a moment. But it wasn't one of those things where he was walking around picking out people to shoot. He was just spraying gun fire and people were at close enough range that he was taking them out pretty effectively.

BLITZER: We also heard the sheriff say-and I want to be precise, Clarence Dupnik, he's the sheriff of Pima County, say that he doesn't necessarily believe this individual acted alone. That there was a second person who was there with him, that is on the loose right now, he's at large, he's described as a person of interest. Did you see a second person associated with this shooter?

RAYLE: I did not. I mean this is just speculation, but I can't imagine the shooter would have expected to run -- there was nowhere for him to run. I would have expected that there was somebody waiting for him in a car, or maybe he had his own car, but he didn't get away.

I did hear-the man who had parked next to me was pulling in to the shopping center at the same time this was going down. And he said that as they were pulling in, as the shooting was happening, at the very far end of the shopping center, there was a young man who looked to be at the same age as the shooter who was running as if for his life away. And continued to run away from the shopping center. And this would have been someone who -- he was wearing like a white shirt and dark pants, the man's wife actually commented to her husband saying oh, I wonder what he just stole, he's really running.

So I can imagine that this young man somehow was a part of this. And, you know, by the time the police got there, he was long gone.

BLITZER: Doctor Steven Rayle is a Tucson doctor who wanted to meet this congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, went to the event this morning. And we're hearing his eyewitness account.

Doctor if you can stay with us, I want to continue this conversation. Donna Brazile is here, Roland Martin is here. We're getting other information coming in as well. Doctor Rayle, stand by our coverage will continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news, a horrible story out of Tucson, Arizona today, 18 individuals shot, six killed in a shooting spree over at a Safeway, at a shopping center. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords among those shot; she is in critical condition. Her doctors are cautiously optimistic that she will survive.

The sheriff in Pima County, in Tucson, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, spoke out just a while ago and he blamed some of the political rhetoric out there for causing crazy people to respond. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF CLARENCE W. DUPNIK, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA: People tend to poo- poo this business about all the vitriol that we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. But that may be free speech, but it's not without consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He went on to say that Arizona, in his words, "has become sort of a capital, we have become Mecca for prejudice and bigotry. There's reason to believe that this individual may have had a mental issue. And I think that people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol." That's the Sheriff of Pima County.

Donna Brazile is here, Rollin Martin is here, our CNN contributors.

Donna, first of all, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, you know her. You know her quite well. And by all accounts beloved here in Washington by Democrats and Republicans.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: She's a terrific lawmaker, Wolf. She goes home every weekend, she enjoys having these "Congress On Your Corner" where basically members of the public line up to come and talk to their member of Congress. She is such a wonderful person to work with, the people love her on Capitol Hill. And let me tell you, she is the co-chair of the Motorcycle Caucus up on Capitol Hill, the Motorcycle Safety Caucus. So she's constantly talking to people across the political divide, and she's one person who believes that as a lawmaker, you got to go out there, you got to meet with your constituents. And that's clearly one of the reasons why she left Washington to go home and continue to serve her constituents.

BLITZER: You Roland, just spent some time with her and her husband?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I did some time with her and her husband. And opportunity to talk with them, share with them. Just a really pleasant woman. I mean, someone who-she's always smiling, she's always upbeat. I think people also forget that members of Congress are real people, they have families. I mean, her husband, Commander Kelly, he's the only active military spouse of all of the United States Congress. I had a chance to meet his daughter as well. And so here are folks who choose public service. Here a guy in the military, astronaut, folks who truly believe in where this country is going.

And so when the sheriff talks about the level of rhetoric that we're hearing, that frankly has been ratcheted, I believe, since the election of President Barack Obama. When you listen to these people talk about the end days, end of the world, how this country is being destroyed, and the whole sense of destruction. The sheriff is right. There are consequences to what you say. And it has gotten so overheated that it's stunningly unbelievable. And I think the individuals who say this on television and radio have to understand that there are people out there who listen to them, who believe what they say. And they don't parse politics, they simply see what they consider to be evil and good. And so for this to be, this political assassination, and not just her, a federal judge is dead, a child is dead, others are dead. Aids shot as well. This is a scary thought for any member of Congress.

BLITZER: A nine-year-old child is dead. Gabe Zimmerman, a long-time aid to Congresswoman Giffords is dead, as well.

Tom Fuentes is our CNN contributor, a former assistant director of the FBI.

The sheriff minced no words there in talking about vitriol and the impact it could have on unstable individuals out there. You have spent a career in law enforcement, Tom, when you heard the sheriff say that, what did you think?

TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I was a little bit surprised that he was as emotional as he was about that. And I think this makes a very important point. You know, when CNN or other media cover the public statements made by public officials or radio or television personalities that are hateful that talk about taking violent action, or very close to violent rhetoric, they don't realize, we just attribute that to they're exciting their base. Oh, this is just part of their political discourse.

And law enforcement executives out there know, like this sheriff, that it also excites the lunatic fringe. And unfortunately in this country, and actually throughout the world, but in this country, we have no shortage of mentally unbalanced people. And it seems, in case after case, they have no trouble obtaining firearms, so when they go over the edge and go public, and try to initiate an attack, this is what happens.

In this case it was a very emotional response by a very frustrated, hurt sheriff that was in pain because of what's happened to his community, and to friends of his, such as the congresswoman and the judge and others.

BLITZER: Tom, we heard the sheriff say, pointblank that this individual had mental issues, had a criminal record, yet now we have confirmed here at CNN that this individual, Jared Lee Loughner, who is the suspected shooter in this case, 22 years old, legally purchased this Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol only the other day in Arizona.

The question to you is: is that normal that someone could buy a semiautomatic weapon in Arizona even though they have a criminal background and a history of mental illness as the sheriff says this individual has?

TOM FUENTES, FORMER ASST. FBI DIRECTOR: I think my comment to that would be" what's new? I mean, we've seen this in other cases as well. The Virginia Tech massacre, that individual went into a Roanoke, Virginia gun shop and had no trouble obtaining the firearms and the ammunition even though he had been diagnosed as mentally unstable.

BLITZER: But I don't believe that individual had a criminal background. In this particular case, the sheriff says the individual had a criminal record.

FUENTES: Well, I don't know whether that's prohibited by Arizona law to prevent him. But I'm just saying that individuals who are very unstable apparently have no trouble obtaining a firearm and using it.

BLITZER: And I want to bring Donna in, because we don't know -- we see the rambling, the statements of this individual, the suspected shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, made on the Internet. We don't know if he's from the lunatic right or from the lunatic left. We just see a bunch of crazy words that are there.

So, we have no idea whom they have motivated him, where he was coming from, if he was -- in fact, he's still alive, he's in the in place custody. The sheriff says he's taken his rights -- he's invoked his rights, he's not cooperating with the investigation. So, we don't know what his politics.

DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it's too soon to draw any conclusions about the suspect or suspects out there. I think everyone at this time is praying for the congresswoman, praying for those who have been injured, praying for those who have been killed. And I think in the coming days, we'll have -- we'll have a lot of discussion about the heated political rhetoric and what role that might have played and the gun laws.

But, for now, I think everyone is just focused on the healing that needs to take place there in Tucson. ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: But we cannot forget the fact that even she talked about the death threats, she talked about her office being attacked. When you talk about, you know, this whole notion of, I think it's Sarah Palin's Web page, where there was a scope, he was one of the members targeted for defeat. She just had a very difficult re-election campaign.

And so, when you're talking about a member of Congress, when you say, wait a minute, I'm getting death threats because I'm taking a political position? What does that say about our country when that is happening? And also as the sheriff said, who's then going to want to serve? Who's then want to -- who's going to want to step out there and put their life on the line solely for the purpose of saying I want to represent the constituents.

That's -- I mean, this is so much broader than just in terms of the immediate impact. The chilling effect on political officials all across this country, congressional, local, and state as well.

BRAZILE: But as Americans, we should all work to restore civility in the public space, because that's what's missing today in al of our conversations.

MARTIN: Yes, agree or disagree.

BLITZER: All right, guys, stand by because we're going to continue our special coverage. Fuentes, stand by as well.

We're going to go back to Dr. Steven Riley (ph), who was an eyewitness. He was at the scene when the shooting took place. He was involved in subduing the shooter, and then he was involved in helping save lives at this shopping center outside of Safeway as well.

We'll also speak with Jeanne Meserve. She's getting new information from law enforcement sources on the shooter.

Ted Rowlands is at the hospital in Tucson.

Our special coverage will continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve is here. She's getting new information on the suspected shooter in this case.

Jeanne, what are you learning?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we've been asking a lot of questions about this second shooter that we heard the sheriff reference. According to a law enforcement source who we've been spoken to, officials don't really know if this individual who they are looking for knew Loughner or had any connection with him. This law enforcement sources says they do have a piece of evidence that places him near that store where the shootings took place. But at this point in time, they're talking to witnesses who were there to see if there's a connection between the two and, of course, obviously, trying to pursue this individual.

In addition, according to this law enforcement source, they are seeking search warrants at this hour for both a residence and a vehicle. At this point in them, they don't have them in hand, but they're trying to get those, of course, as quickly as they can. Meanwhile, evidence technicians are still working that scene trying to get more.

We've talked to a separate law enforcement source who tells us that Glock that was used by Loughner in these shootings was obtained legally. It is the opinion of this law enforcement source that he likely bought the extended magazine that we've heard talked about separately from the gun itself.

In addition, this law enforcement source tells us that the suspect had purchased another gun a few years ago, but law enforcement at this point in time doesn't know if he still had it in his possession.

And moving on, to YouTube, which, as you know, is often a window into the minds of individuals in these kinds of cases. This -- there are YouTube postings by someone by the name of Jared Loughner. We believe it is the same individual because we were referenced to these pages by law enforcement and they were taken down after he was named as a suspect.

In one of them, I'd like to read to you, it's called "Introduction Jared Loughner." It starts saying, "My final thoughts. Jared Lee Loughner, most people who read this text forget that in the next two seconds, the population of dreamers in the United States of America is less than 5 percent."

He then goes on to ramble at length about the government and about currency and any number of other subjects. But a second posting in here that's kind of interesting. He talks about going to a military entrance processing station known as MEPS in Phoenix. It said he received a mini-Bible before the test. "I didn't write a belief on my Army application and the recruiter wrote on the application, 'none.'"

Now, our Barbara Starr has spoken to the U.S. Army, and they have given us a statement. The Army has confirmed that the suspect was never in the Army. He attempted to enlist in the Army but was rejected for service. In accordance with the Privacy Act, we will not discuss exactly why he was rejected.

And then a third YouTube posting from this individual, Jared Loughner, which is kind of interesting, in which he references specifically the district, the congressional district where Representative Giffords served. It says, "The majority of people who reside in district 8 are illiterate, hilarious. I don't control your English grammar structure, but you control your English grammar structure." And then he goes on and on and on.

Another interesting thing that we've come across here is his postings of his favorite books, Wolf. It's an interesting collection. It includes some political tracks, including "Mein Kampf," and "The Communist Manifesto." But also a lot of fantasy here and a lot of other political books like "Animal Farm," "Fahrenheit 451." But in there also, "Peter Pan," "Alice in Wonderland," "Wizard of Oz," things that you might not expect a young man of 22 years old have posted as his favorite books, Wolf.

BLITZER: So, in going through all the rambling, the books, the favorite books, the documents, whatever, does it look like he was a lunatic from the extreme left or from the extreme right? If you're -- you've got "The Communist Manifesto" in there and you got "Mein Kampf" in there, you're spanning the entire political spectrum, if you will.

MESERVE: You know, I'm reluctant to use the word lunatic. We did hear the sheriff said that this was a man who he thought had some mental issues. These writings would seem to reflect that. But as to what edge of the political spectrum they come from, they're so jumbled. Quite frankly, it's very hard to tell. But he does express his dissatisfaction with the police, with the Constitution, and with district 8, this specific district at --

BLITZER: I wonder, Gabrielle Giffords is Jewish, is there anything anti-Semitic in there other than "Mein Kampf," and the references to Hitler or anything that would suggest an anti-Semitic motive there?

MESERVE: I have not come across that, Wolf. I will read this again and look again. But I haven't seen that.

BLITZER: Jeanne, thanks very, very much.

Ted Rowlands is over at the hospital at the University Medical Center in Tucson, where Congresswoman Giffords underwent hours of surgery today.

You're getting more information, Ted. Update our viewers.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we've been talking to people who have been here all day, friends and family of the congresswoman and people that have been inside the hospital, one of those people is Steve Farley. He actually holds the seat that Gabrielle gave up when she went to national politics here locally.

You've been in the hospital. Paint the picture for us upstairs. You said there was one point when this morning, the national media and local media were reporting that she had died. And you were right there with her and she was still alive. But it was so overwhelming you said that you almost started to not believe yourselves?

STEVE FARLEY, ARIZONA STATE HOUSE: We were inside basically a bubble of truth where everyone on the outside was just scrambling for anything. And it was very disturbing to the family when they start to hear text messages and voice-mails coming in saying that she died. And we know we just talked to the surgeons and there was not a problem at that point.

So, it was a tough situation. People did not know what's going on. We did know what was going on there, because everyone else is outside didn't know. It's been tough.

ROWLANDS: What can you tell us the latest you've heard in terms of her condition and the condition of the others that have been injured?

FARLEY: Well, in terms of the condition, I'm not necessarily qualified to say what's going on there. But the biggest issue that I would want people to understand is that this is not how Arizona is.

I just spoke to a group of people who are here on vigil and I told them that what I've been comforting myself with and others this morning is saying I just -- came to me and said that you can't stop hope with a bullet. You can't stop love with a bullet. And Gabby is somebody filled with such hope and such love for the future of our country, of our state.

The people who are all gathered here tonight, they're all friends and by extension, they're family. We are all family, that's the kind of person Gabby is. We know she is going to pull through. We just know that.

And it's been -- it's been -- the family in there, the pain has been going through. We have this great faith and hope that we can come out of this on the other side as a changed state.

ROWLANDS: She was not the only part of the team that is in this hospital now. She lost a member of her team as well, a young man who was part of the local outreach program here. Talk a little bit about Gabe Zimmerman who did die.

FARLEY: Gabe Zimmerman was a friend of mine. He was a friend of so many people in the Tucson area. He was so empathetic, one of the kindest individuals I have ever met. He's a brilliant, great strategist, just always knew what to do and always there -- such a hard worker and a huge rising star here in Tucson.

ROWLANDS: And his fiance is in the hospital?

FARLEY: His fiancee is in the hospital. It is such an absolute senseless tragedy that somebody that young and somebody that promising to be cut down in the prime of his life, it's hard to be even put that in words.

ROWLANDS: Your campaign director was at that scene at the time. And you say when he arrived, he was covered in blood and he actually put pressure on the congresswoman's head to help stop the bleeding. Tell us what he told you and what you saw.

FARLEY: Daniel is an amazing person, he's my campaign manager, he's also a trained nurse. He was interning for Gabby and staffing that event. He said that when he was in the back of the room, he heard shots in the front, he rushed to see what had happened, and saw that Gabby was on the floor. He was able to use his nurse training and snapped right into it and was able to apply pressure to the wound and keep her active and alert until the ambulance came, about 10 minutes he said. And then he rode with her in the ambulance to the hospital.

And I just really think he's one of the heroes here, because I think it's possible that that swift thinking and his training could have helped to save her life. ROWLANDS: Tell us what it's like up there. She's not the only one. There are other family members and I understand that they're in separate rooms getting updates. What is it like right now inside that hospital?

FARLEY: Well, everyone's very tense. Some of them know that their loved ones have passed unfortunately. And other ones are waiting and seeing what happens after surgeries.

Right now, everyone's just supporting each other. There's a lot of hugging. There's a lot of just listening. A lot of quiet contemplation and people are coming in who know the different family members and it really is important to emphasize that this isn't just about Gabby, it's about all the other people who were there at the time and how much this community can come together in a time of crisis.

We know we do that here in Tucson and we do that very well. The question is: can we come together as a state and can we come together as a country, and sort of put this harsh hyper rhetoric that has caused people who are a little unhinged in the first place to go over the edge. Can we put that sort of rhetoric behind us and come together and be one country again?

And I believe that we can. I think this is one of those moments where there's a before and an after, and the after is what we have to work together and build towards. And I believe that the spirit here tonight in the vigil, the spirit there waiting among the family and the friends knows that we will -- we are determined to move forward and change the game now. This country is something that deserves no less than the politics that rises above violence.

ROWLANDS: Are you expecting more updates tonight on her condition? Have you been told what to expect over the next 24, 48 hours?

FARLEY: We have heard that the prognosis is pretty good, but there's a lot of other tests to be done and we'll see how she responds as she comes out of the surgery. But we're going to be staying and holding vigil and doing what we can to help the other people who are there who are suffering. This is going to take a lot of people coming together and help each other recover from this more. But I believe that we can recover from this more strongly.

ROWLANDS: We also believe that her chief of staff was injured and underwent surgery and has come out of surgery, is still in critical. But can you update us?

FARLEY: As far as I know, Ron Barber is her chief of staff, another incredible individual that I have known for many years, is going to have a very good prognosis. He's come out of surgery successfully and it's going to be difficult but he's going to be coming back. And things look pretty good for Ron.

Additionally, there's another one of her staffer that people may know, Pam Simon who was also was seriously injured. And from what I have heard, she's doing fairly well at this point as well. So, pass on to her friends.

ROWLANDS: So, Steve Farley, one of the many people here, Wolf, at this vigil and inside the hospital, just waiting word for all of the victims, not only as he said, the congresswoman but her staff members and the other victims that have been brought here. Again, 10 total injured, five in critical condition, five in serious, those five in critical include the congresswoman who's in the ICU unit -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, eighteen people altogether shot in this incident, six confirmed dead. We're watching all of this very closely.

Ted, thank you so much. Don't go too far away, we're going to check back with you, we're going to continue our coverage. We're going to speak with an eyewitness of what happened right after this.

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BLITZER: We're continuing our coverage of the shooting spree in Tucson, Arizona, 18 people shot, six confirmed dead. The others, many of them are in very critical condition, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She was the initial target, according to the local sheriff of this assassination attempt.

Joining us now is Joe Zamudio. He's an eyewitness. He was there at the scene.

Joe, thanks very much. Tell us where you were when you came upon this meet and greet. We were told about 20 or 30 people had come out to meet Congresswoman Giffords outside this Safeway in Tucson.

JOE ZAMUDIO, EYEWITNESS TO TUCSON SHOOTINGS: It was just a normal Saturday. You know, I woke up and I had breakfast with my mom. I was planning on watching football.

I didn't plan on this. It was a horrible thing. I walked out and I went into the Walgreens to buy cigarettes and inside at the counter, I heard the gunshots. And it was like fireworks almost. It was pop, pop, pop, real fast. And then --

BLITZER: What did you do?

ZAMUDIO: As I said -- I said to the girl behind the counter, I said, is that -- because I was going to say, is that fireworks? But I knew it was a gun. I've been raised around guns all of my life. And I knew it was gun, and I carry a gun for my own protection. And I had it with me.

So, I ran back outside and there was a man with a camera who said, shooter, shooter, get down. And I ran towards the noise and that was after the last gunshot. At that point, another gentleman we spoke with, another gentleman and a lady were wrestling with -- I don't know what his name is, the guy, the shooter.

BLITZER: Jared Lee Loughner is the suspected shooter in the case.

ZAMUDIO: Yes. BLITZER: So, you ran toward -- you ran toward the suspect?

ZAMUDIO: I ran towards them. Yes, and they had taken the gun from him. He was struggling with them. I went over there, I'd pinned him down to the ground and waited with him until the police came.

It was just ridiculous. He had -- the gun was empty -- when you finish firing a semiautomatic like that, the top stays back, it was cocked off. It was locked open. And he was out of bullets but he had another extended magazine that he was trying to load into the gun that the woman was able to wrestle away from him.

And he was going to keep shooting. It was not over. He was -- he just ran out of bullets.

BLITZER: So, how long did you -- how long were you on him holding him down?

ZAMUDIO: Oh, I don't know, not more than five minutes. Probably about like three or four. It seemed like a really long time at first. But I checked my phone afterwards because I was calling 911. And it couldn't have been more than five minutes, three minutes, four minutes maybe.

The first sheriff's department officer showed up. And when he got there, we said, we've got him, he's right here, here's the shooter. He came and put him in cuffs.

Almost immediately, there was two or three more deputies there. They searched him in my presence. I saw them pulled two more magazines out of his pocket and a pocket knife. I mean, he was ready for war. He wasn't playing around. And --

BLITZER: Did he say anything during these five minutes --

ZAMUDIO: The only thing -- the only thing he said was, my arm, ow, my arm. They had his arm wrenched back, which I'm really glad. I didn't know he had a knife in his pocket. I mean, I had a gun and if he had been reloaded or something, I would have pulled it on him.

But I wasn't -- I wasn't trying to go that place and scare anyone if it wasn't necessary. But I didn't know he had a knife on him. He could have hurt us there holding him down. It was just scary.

And, you know, he said, ow, my heart -- I didn't care, we just kept holding him there. His basically expressionless, it was blank, he was callus almost.

BLITZER: Did you get a chance to see some of the wounded? And some of the

ZAMUDIO: They were everywhere.

BLITZER: They were very close, I take it.

ZAMUDIO: They were -- it was right there. I mean, between the entrance to that Walgreens and that Safeway isn't more than 50 feet or so. And between there was the whole thing set up and then he started near the Safeway. But he ended up where they caught him was closer to the Walgreens. And that's where we pinned him down, right there.

BLITZER: Did you see the -- did you see the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords?

ZAMUDIO: From a distance. Her head was covered. Like they said, they were, I think, trying to stop the bleeding, I'm not sure. But she -- there was a lot of people bleeding and the people crying. I saw -- I saw too much bleeding. I saw people I know were dead.

BLITZER: Joe --

ZAMUDIO: It was horrible.

BLITZER: Joe, if you can, I want you to stay with us because we have more questions for you, if you can.

That's Joe Zamudio. He's an eyewitness. He was there on the scene. We're continuing the breaking news coverage of this killing spree in Tucson, Arizona.

Much more of our coverage coming up right after this.

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