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Two NYPD Officers Shot And Killed In Patrol Car; RNC Chairman Addresses Movie Theater Owners; Obama Says Sony Should Have Consulted Him

Aired December 20, 2014 - 18:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Martin Savidge. We are following breaking news out of New York at this hour. Two New York City police officers in uniform sitting in their NYPD patrol car were shot, ambush-style, we're told today in Brooklyn. We are also told both officers were shot in the head and both have now died as a result of their wounds. We are also told that the suspected gunman has been found dead inside of the nearby subway station. He died, a law enforcement official says, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Here is how one witness described today's scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she just told me, you know, they got shot in the car, whatever, they were just sitting here. But my whole thing is, we've got to take back our communities. This can't happen. If you're mad at somebody, be mad at the person you're mad at.

Now we have two families that miss somebody for the holidays. Regardless to what, where is your humanity? I know there is a war going on and thoughts going out to the family and everybody else who lost somebody, but you're not at his house or his lawn. (INAUDIBLE). You don't even know if they were good or bad. I don't condone this and I'm not with it. I'm not with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The shooting comes in the wake of anti police protests that followed grand jury decisions not to indict officers involved in two controversial cases in both New York and Ferguson, Missouri. Two unarmed black men died in those incidents.

CNN's Alexandra Field now joins me.

And Alexandra, you're at the hospital where these officers and I presume now some family members were rushed to. What do we know about how this happened?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, Martin, what we're seeing is so many NYPD officers who arrived in here at Wood Hill hospital. And you can feel the heaviness in their parties. You can imagine the pain that they're feeling now, knowing that two of their fallen comrades rushed here.

What we know is that these two officers were in their patrol car. They were working in a precinct other than their own precinct. This has been described as an ambush-style attack, so there is really no way of knowing at all if either of either these officers had even a moment to sense this attack was coming or if they had any way at all, even a moment, of being able to react.

The sources say that both of the officers were shot in the head. They were then rushed to this hospital where they were later pronounced dead. And along with these officers who have been piling in to see them, we have heard that family members have started to arrive here.

The NYPD at this point not releasing the name of these two victims, certainly giving the respect that is owed and due to the families who need a moment to grief and to mourn privately.

The suspect, Martin, as you have reported, was found in the subway, apparently shot, believes to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We are not yet able to confirm that suspect's name, but law enforcement sources tell us the suspect had arrived here in New York after traveling in from Baltimore, Maryland.

We are expecting to hear more from the NYPD, along with city officials, hoping to hear from them shortly. It's expected we could hear from them right here at this hospital this evening, Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right, Alexandra. We'll continue to follow you.

We're also hearing -- CNN has now confirmed that the suspect came from Baltimore. So following exactly why and what was driving him to come from one city to another, and allegedly carry out this attack is, of course, at the utmost of this investigation right now.

Joining me on the phone from New York City is Mike Isaac. He lives in the Bedford neighborhood where all of this went down.

And as I understand it, Mike, you actually heard it first and then went out on the street to see what was going on, correct?

MIKE ISAAC, NEW YORK CITY (via phone): Yes, that's right. I live about one block away from where the shootings occurred. And came outside and saw the sort of police response in the past of the hour and they have been cordoning off the areas, I think it is like four or five square blocks now around the Vernon and Tompkins area. And they stopped the g train, which runs around here.

SAVIDGE: What was it you heard? I mean, did you hear gunfire, and if so, how many shots, or was it the amount of sirens that pulled you out?

ISAAC: I did not hear gunfire. Did I hear the sirens and the response afterwards, as well as the ambulances and the helicopter responds. I have been talking to people in the neighborhood, though, and I have to say, it's pretty tense around here. A lot of people are sort of acknowledging the recent verdicts or sort of outcomes of events in Missouri, and you know, that you, this is essentially reaching a boiling point and tipping over, and people in this neighborhood are not happy about it.

SAVIDGE: And how would you describe that neighborhood?

ISAAC: So, it's a predominantly African-American neighborhood. It's historically in the past has had, you know, high crime rate. It has been going down the past three years. I spoke to a local who has lived here for 27 years. He said it's been getting better recently. But, you know, with the recent protests in New York, we saw, you know, a few weeks ago after -- after Ferguson, things have just been a lot more it tense, frankly. And he and, you know, other citizens I have spoken to around here have just been really upset by this whole thing.

SAVIDGE: Michael Daly of "the Daily Beast," he is a special correspondent. He is also joining us on the telephone.

Michael, There has been reference to tensions in the community, tensions nationally, feelings against police departments. Are you hearing that any of that may have played into today's attack?

MICHAEL DALY, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, THE DAILY BEAST (via phone): Well, it's a little early to tell, but I will say that this was a moment of insanity. But the witness you just had on I thought was pure Brooklyn sanity where she said you don't know whether these were good cops or bad cops, and you can't just judge people, you know, by what they are rather than who they are.

And I think that one thing that did happen in this city after the Eric Garner grand jury result was followed by the result of Mike Brown was that people were shouting, you know, NYPD murders, racist murders. And, you know, there was a couple of the most decent cops I know withstanding on Broadway as people were calling them racist and murders. And it was really -- it was like they weren't making distinctions. And I think that that kind of thinking, that kind of -- you know --

SAVIDGE: Mind-set.

DALY: I'm a little upset. It's still hard to talk. I really think that kind of thinking leads to insanity. And I was very happy when you had that witness on, because I think she was saying exactly what should be said.

SAVIDGE: Right. This was the African-American female we had on with that sound bite.

So the tensions in this community are still being weighed as to whether or not it played into the mind-set of the shooter, and we don't know that yet, other than CNN has confirmed the alleged gunman did travel from Baltimore and came to New York to carry out this attack.

I'm wondering, Michael, was there a feeling -- you talked to a lot of law enforcement people, this was inevitable, something like this, and I'm talking to Michael Daly. DALY: I talked to -- I guess you would call him a senior law

enforcement official, I can't name who noted first of all, this is five days before Christmas. And then he said, you start shouting "shoot cops," some nut might listen to you. And you know, there were demonstrators exactly a week ago going through Manhattan, chanting, what do we want, dead cops, when do we want them, now. And now you've got two dead cops.

SAVIDGE: Right. And, again, we are still --

DALY: I don't know if you can necessarily make a connection between the two, but shouting what do we want dead cops --

SAVIDGE: That is, of course, the fear that takes this almost from what almost is a horrible tragedy in New York City to what is potentially a national debate.

Michael Isaac, if you're still with us on the line there, what is the feeling now in that community? You mentioned there was tension. Is it still tense or are there moments of, my God, what has really happened?

ISAAC: Yes. I think, you know, I was in a bow taking that is right across the street when a lot of it was going on. And you know, some citizens are just sort of talking about how this is definitely not -- at least one man I spoke to saying it's definitely not justified, but he sort of expected this sort of thing to happen, particularly because things have just been really tense around here lately, you know.

Still, you know a lot of traffic, no one really knows what's going on, a lot of the local police aren't really speaking. But it's tense, you know.

SAVIDGE: All right. Michael Isaac, who is a witness to events in the neighborhood there.

And just to recap for you, two New York City police officers have been shot and killed in Brooklyn, and it appears that they were ambushed as they sat inside of their police car, both men shot in the head, and they died sometime later.

We are expecting that there will be some sort of formal announcement coming from the New York City police department, a news conference. We will continue to be standing by for that and bring you other developments as they unfold.

Plus, we also will be bringing you new developments in the Sony cyber attack. All of that, still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Hello, I'm Martin Savidge at the CNN center in New York.

We are following the breaking news regarding the shooting deaths of two New York City police officers. It has been described that they were ambushed as they sat inside of their patrol car in Brooklyn this afternoon. Both men were shot in the head. Both men died a short time later as they were being taken to or being treated at the hospital.

Then we're also being told by authorities that the gunman in this particular case is believed to have killed himself with a gunshot wound.

I want to bring in Tom Fuentes. He is, of course, our law enforcement expert, and analyst.

And Tom, I should mention that, of course, our hearts go out to the families of these officers and to the New York police department for this horrible event. But there are reports that the suspect in this case came from Baltimore, and that there may be more to this than just an immediate crime of passion, if you can call it that, have you heard anymore?

THOMAS FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (via phone): Martin, yes, I have. And I think I heard very similar information to what your last guest said concerning the Instagram being sent of Kelly police officers and saying, you know -- or putting out intentions to put two pigs in the blanket, meaning kill two police officers.

So I think that, you know, the rhetoric on both sides has gotten dialed up. And I also agree with the idea that -- and friends have told me, that they're very upset about the kind of rhetoric that's been out there against the police, because it would possibly in site some lunatic to go ahead and carry out murdering police officers. And police officers already have the target painted on them, just by wearing the uniform every day, you know, in everyday course of action.

But, you know, in times like this where there's even more anti police rhetoric out there, it makes it only worse and makes them have greater concerns about possibly being harmed or killed in an ambush situation.

SAVIDGE: So what is the conversation that is likely to be had in the briefing rooms as the officers and communities across this country go out to protect and serve now? What does the sergeant say to the patrol officers going out on the beat?

FUENTES: Well, he says absolutely, be as historical as you can possibly be. You know, swivel around 360, and have eyes in the back of your head in case somebody comes up behind you and ambushes you. You know, there is going to be a lot of conversation about officer safety, officer carefulness, beware when you make traffic stops, a lot of things that actually, you know, sergeants and lieutenants say every day, you know, in the room as officers prepare to begin their patrol shift.

But, you know, and those police officers are not going to have to be told more than once about what's going on in the country and what the danger factor is. It's always been dangerous. There were over 70 officers killed in the line of duty last year, most with firearms, many with their own guns.

So, you know, people know, officers know that, you know, encounters can be extremely dangerous, but an ambush, you know -- what do you do? How do you prevent an ambush from happening?

SAVIDGE: CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes joining us on the telephone, again, reporting the ne news, two New York police officers shot and killed this afternoon in what is being described as an ambush as they sat inside their patrol car. We'll have more after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: There was a new political voice weighing in on Sony's decision to yank "the Interview" after Sony suffered a large-scale cyber attack and threats removed the planned release. The Republican national committee chairman, that is Reince Priebus, just sent a very strong message to movie theatre owners. And our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter got this exclusive story. He joins me now on the phone.

And Brian, what exactly is the RNC leader saying to theatre owners, and why?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES (via phone): He's saying, I want to speak clearly on behalf of the Republican party. I urge you to show the movie.

It's an interesting twist, Martin, because we are, you know, now seeing this sense of public pressure on Sony and on theater owners to have "the Interview" actually be screened in theatres. This comes a few days after Sony pulled the movie. And Sony says it pulled the movie only because theater owners, big chains like AMC and Regal, decided not to run the movie at all. Basically, Sony says they had nowhere to air it. So what is happening now is there is pressure being put on theater owners and that's where this letter is directed to.

We can put part of it on screen because this is the most interesting part, I think. Priebus says, as a sign of my commitment, if you agree to show this movie, I will send a note to the Republican Party's millions of donors and supporters urging them to buy a ticket, not to support one movie or Hollywood, but to show North Korea we cannot be bullied into giving up our freedom.

Martin, I think what's significant here is the Republican Party and perhaps other politicians as well are seeing this as an opportunity to stand up against North Korea and support freedom of expression.

SAVIDGE: Right. But they're asking Sony to basically bear the brunt of it here. I mean, how -- what is Sony supposed to say to something like that?

STELTER: Well, right now Sony has no comment. I actually just got a text message from the spokesperson there saying they're not going to comment on this RNC letter. What I'm curious about is to find out whether the theater owners, the AMCs and the Regales and the Cinemark's (ph), whether they are going to comment because there are active discussion this weekend between Sony and the theater owners and other potential distributors, maybe Netflix, maybe You Tube, to find out if any of them are now willing to step up and help Sony release this movie.

You know, Sony's point of view, rightly or wrongly, is they can't do it themselves. They need some help. And that's what I think is -- why it's interesting now that Priebus is coming forward, calling on the theater owners to help.

He said this, like many Americans, I'm deeply concerned we would allow a foreign regime to dictate the movies we can and cannot watch. It's that kind of rhetoric that we may see from others in the days to come also.

SAVIDGE: So how far do we go with this? Do we then say it's the patriotic duty of every American citizen to go to those theaters to watch that movie, because we are not going to take it from North Korea?

STELTER: You know, on one level it sounds absurd, doesn't it? On another level, though, it tugs at people's patriotism in a way that I think a lot of folks are feeling. I have been seeing this on twitter and facebook for the last two days. People calling on Sony to reverse these decisions.

The letter, by the way, also says that the Republican national committee suggests that a portion of the profits from the theater owners and Sony should be donated to the USO or the yellow ribbon fund if they do indeed decide to go ahead and release this movie now.

You know, it's been cancelled for a few days now, that Christmas release is off. But I do think we're going to see this movie come out in some way, some form, and the Republican national committee here is getting ahead of that with this letter.

SAVIDGE: And, you know, I'm in agreement with you that I think many people believe that it is totally inappropriate that some of the nation dictate what the American populists can get to see. It would be very interesting to see how this can twist, though, in the American commercial society of the movie business. I mean, essentially, now the pressure is going to be on the movie theaters, show that movie.

STELTER: That's right.

SAVIDGE: Or I may not come in the future.

STELTER: That's right. It's a very interesting situation. And it's a little bit of a strange bedfellow situation. And you know, the Republican Party isn't the closest to Hollywood. I think we all know the impression Democrats and liberals being much closer to Hollywood. And actually Priebus acknowledges that in his letter.

Maybe this is the rare issue that can actually unite almost everybody in the country. Nobody in the United States wants to feel bullied by a cyber hacker from anywhere whether North Korea or somewhere else.

SAVIDGE: Wow. That's an interesting idea.

All right, Brian Stelter, thank you very much. Let's bring in Mel Robbins, she is, of course, CNN commentator,

analyst.

And Mel, you've got to be chomping at the bit here. But this is an interesting dynamic that place out how a political battle between nations could boil down to whether you sit in the movie theater seat.

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR/LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, I heard Brian say something really interesting, which is he thinks that it's going to come out at some point, and it already has. Over the break, we noticed that the assassination scene of all scenes has already been leaked online. So if anybody wants to watch it for free, you can watch it online right now.

But you know, this is what I think is really important. Sony stood alone, Martin, for three weeks, the White House wouldn't stand by him, Hollywood executives would not sign a petition that George Clooney was circulating around, basically urging people to stand together in Hollywood. Movie theater owners would not stand with him, and why? The reason why nobody would stand with him is because the threat was credible. These hackers had terabytes of information. They have only released a tiny amount of what they have on hand. And they also, keep in mind, threatened anybody that goes to a movie theater to watch it.

And on top of it, you've got to weigh in the fact that Sony now has a class action lawsuit that's been filed against them by their employees, because of the information, the medical records, the salary information, the Social Security numbers that came out of the Sony employees.

And these hackers have made it very clear that they will do nothing else, as long as the movie isn't released. If Sony now buckles to public pressure and releases it, and they don't have the backing and the protection of the FBI and of the White House, and they're doing it solo, they are putting their employees, Martin, in harm's way. It's a really, really fascinating and I think difficult decision they have in front of them.

SAVIDGE: I agree. It's an extremely difficult and I can't imagine for the individual theaters what do they do, bring on extra security, are there supposed to be anti terrorist groups that are standing by to respond to the local multiplex theater? I mean, I just don't see where this goes. But it's an amazing development here.

ROBBINS: Absolutely. I mean, you know, the other question is you distribute it online. Are you going to log on to your Netflix account with your information online knowing there are hackers out there preying on people that are watching this movie, and they could easily, I'm sure, if they can find the Sony CEO's passwords, I'm sure they can find yours.

And keep in mind, this plays so well into the dictator's hands. Since 1990, North Korea has had a military first policy, martin, where they have basically starved and terrorized their citizens, and they have operated on a system of isolation. And so this is a very important piece of the dictator's narrative.

He's basically able to tell his countrymen that the U.S. is putting out a movie in which they have him killed. And he's also able to tell his countrymen that look, I am feared by the United States. I have defeated the United States. I have made the evil United States not release this movie where they're trying to kill me. And he has been able to put this message out there, without any kind of physical threat. And so this --

SAVIDGE: But I will --

ROBBINS: Part of a very strategic -- go ahead, I'm sorry.

SAVIDGE: Well, I will just point out that it may turn on him yet. I mean, we are still watching this develop. It is quite possible that suddenly the American public says, you know what, I'm going to go see that movie, and they're going to show up in numbers that Sony never would have dreamed.

Mel Robbins, thank you very much. We're going oh have to leave it there. We got other news we're following. We'll continue to follow Sony, as well. Thank you very much.

We'll have more on the police shooting coming up after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A New York City neighborhood and the nation's law enforcement community both are in shock right now. Two uniformed police officers are dead in Brooklyn. Witnesses say a man with a gun just walked up to their car and opened fire.

CNN's Alexandra Field is on the phone with me now from Brooklyn.

And, Alexandra, do you know when we are likely to hear from the police department? We are hearing something about top of the hour.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's right, Martin. We're at Woodhull Medical Center right now, where these officers were shot in the head and later died. It's the same spot where their comrades are here to honor them right now, and also to talk to us the events that unfolded this afternoon, New York City's top law enforcement brass getting ready to brief the press. We should hear from them shortly. We're expecting to hear from them around 7:00.

At this point, we are told they have identified the gunman, the suspect found dead apparently of a self inflicted gunshot wound in nearby subway stop. And at this point, law enforcement officers are saying that they are going through all of his social media accounts and profiles and they are looking specifically at a reference he made to officers or plans he laid out to attack police. A very careful investigation right now, what they might know about this topic, what could have motivated him.

It's deadly and chilling attack. These are two officers who are in their patrol car, Martin, shot in the head. We're told it was ambush style. They probably had no idea that this attack was about to unfold. We don't know if they had even a moment to see or sense the suspect in their presence. We know that one of the officers has been -- a police officer for two years.

SAVIDGE: OK.

FIELD: An officer for the last seven years. They're not identifying their names, Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right. Alexandra, I want to let you go, because it's important we get you to that presser, as well. Again, that will be at the top of the hour. So, 30 minutes from now, we are expecting to get the first official statements coming directly from the head of the New York Police Department, with more on the fatal attack on two of their officers.

Moving on now to other news. After a very painful cyberattack that was blamed on North Korea, Sony Pictures pulled the plug on its planned Christmas Day premier of "The Interview." President Obama says that he wishes they would have checked with him before doing that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sympathetic that Sony as a private company was worried about liabilities and this and that and the other. I wish they had spoken to me first. I would have told them, do not get into a pattern in which you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Sony Pictures' CEO says hold on a moment, they did talk to the White House about the entire thing months beforehand.

Again, here's CNN's Fareed Zakaria and head of Sony Entertainment, Michael Lynton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LYNTON, SONY ENTERTAINMENT CEO: A few days ago, I personally did reach out and speak to senior folks in the White House and talked to them about the situation and actually informed them that we needed help. We -- the FBI has been with us now for several weeks and has been great. But I did reach out and explain the situation at that time.

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: So, the president is wrong when he says that you did not reach out to him.

LYNTON: Well, I don't -- when he is asking about reaching out --

ZAKARIA: I wish they had talked to me first, is the --

LYNTON: Right. So, we definitely spoke to senior advisers or senior adviser in the White House to talk about the situation. The fact is, did we talk to the president himself? And talk to him about what was transpiring as the theater started pulling back and not -- and being unwilling to distribute the movie? No. But the White House was certainly aware of the situation.

ZAKARIA: Michael, let me ask you to go through the sequence of what happened. When did you first realize that you had a problem?

LYNTON: The first time we understood that there was an issue with the North Koreans was back in June of last summer when they came forward with various e-mails and statements and actually I think were in touch with the White House itself and described their disfavor with the movie.

At that point in time, we actually reached out to experts at various -- at think tanks, within the State Department, to try and get a proper understanding of whether or not there was a problem here, and whether or not we were providing a security risk. And we were told that there wasn't a problem here. And so, we continued to proceed.

ZAKARIA: Including the U.S. government told you there wasn't --

LYNTON: The U.S. government told us there wasn't a problem, that's correct.

ZAKARIA: So, when you and people ask, the North Koreans threatened you, why didn't you take it seriously?

LYNTON: We did take it seriously. We went to the people who we thought were most expert in the area, people in the U.S. government, people in various think tanks, and inquired as to whether or not this would be a problem. And they told us that it wasn't. And that actually is for the world to see, as my stolen e-mails have been presented in public.

ZAKARIA: There was an e-mail between you and someone at the Rand Corporation --

LYNTON: And somebody between me and the State Department, correct.

ZAKARIA: Do you feel that the U.S. government, the FBI in particular, and I gather you've been in touch with other agencies, the CIA, the NSA -- have they been helpful? Are you happy with the kind of cooperation you've gotten?

LYNTON: The vast majority of the interaction has been with the FBI. And they have been absolutely spectacular throughout. They came and stayed with us for the entire period. They came to a resolution as to who was responsible for this, and in a record amount of time. I can't speak more highly of the agency than that. The -- they were really the folks who we were in touch with in this process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE : And this is a story that continues to evolve.

Let's get our legal and political panel back in here.

The question before the break was, you know, how much did Sony underestimate perhaps the destructive potential of the cyberattack? And this has now become very much a cautionary tale for every company in the world.

Laurie Segall, let me ask you this. What will the attack -- what will the fallout be of this attack on corporate America?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: You know, I actually hope that we can look at this and say that we all think these huge corporations have great security, and the reality is, they just don't. You know, Michael has said this could have happened to nine out of ten corporations. Well, guess what, nine out of ten corporations need to have better security.

And I think, I've heard this from security analysts for a very long time. One described it to me as you're walking through the neighborhood. You're the hacker walking through the neighborhood want everyone has their door unlocked. It's not even the sophistication of the hack anymore. It's everyone's door is unlocked so it's really easy to get in.

So, hopefully, this will be a wake-up call to a lot of big corporations saying we need to invest in better security. I think that's something we can take away from this.

SAVIDGE: Gordon Chang, the United States, now that it's getting the help of China to begin I guess investigating or going back to North Korea and saying don't do anymore, how much is China really going to be a help here, and how much is China perhaps possibly involved in some way?

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN: NORTH KOREA TAKES ON THE WORLD": Well, China is definitely involved in the cyber attacks. These cyberattacks, many people believe, were launched from China by North Korean hackers who reside in China, specifically the Chinese city of Xianyang (ph), and we know that these attacks were routed through Chinese I.P. addresses, which means that Beijing knew what was going on.

I think what the president is trying to do is use some diplomacy to sort of push the Chinese in better directions and everybody, of course, hopes that will work. We've got to remember that in October, a senior Chinese official talking to Secretary Kerry at his home in Boston said China is not going to help you at all on cyber attacks. And I think that's the reality.

SAVIDGE: Ben Ferguson, you've heard the CEO there of Sony. He's basically said, you know, well, it wasn't really our decision. It was the movie theaters. They didn't want to carry it. If they don't want to carry it, what's the point of us putting out there?

What is the point? Or where is the responsibility of Sony here? Did they overreact, cancelling? FERGUSON: Well, I think they should actually put it out there, and

people would definitely go see the movie now, just because of all of the hoopla around it. And then once people realize that it's OK and safe to go see the movie after the massive numbers come in, even if it's a very few theaters, other theaters will jump on board to grab a part of these earnings, and the cash that they're going to make off of this.

But this is also an issue of you have a CEO here that really -- you've got to look at a leadership aspect of this. It's hard to quantify when someone comes in and says we need to spend more money on cyber security when you don't get to talk about the successes and now we see the big failure. So, the computer experts, the dorks in the back of the room that understand this stuff, they're now going to have a much bigger platform to get other CEOs and go hey, guys, we've been telling you we need to spend millions of dollars and you haven't been listening to us. Well, now do you want to listen to us?

And I think you're going to see the entire industry change, because of this.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. Yes, the I.T. guys have really gotten a strong hand now and women.

FERGUSON: Yes.

SAVIDGE: Let me ask you, Laurie, to Ben's point, which is this was really a small budget film, relatively. That most folks would never have gone to see. That now may become a blockbuster for all of the wrong reasons. What is Sony going to do with this film next?

SEGALL: I think this is the multimillion dollar question, right? I mean, either they figure out a place to put this online. They get -- or, you know, someone reverses their decision, they decide to put it back in the movies in a slower season or they completely scrap it.

But I will say is, no matter what, this movie will be seen. This movie will be leaked online so they should try to figure out some way to go about and get it out there.

Now, it's going to be hard, because people are fearing if -- I can imagine an online venue would be afraid to put it out there for fear they might be the next target for the North Koreans.

SAVIDGE: Right. I think in some point, Gordon, the U.S. government steps up and says, what, we protect the movie theaters, show the film?

CHANG: Well, they're going to have to do that. Otherwise, people won't go to the movies as President Obama wanted them to do a couple days ago.

SAVIDGE: So, the National Guard stands outside my movie theatre?

CHANG: No, I think what the United States government has to do start talking and have very candid conversations in public as well as in private with the Chinese. Because, you know, theoretically, if you got Beijing to move in the right direction, this would be over, they would eject the North Korean hackers. You know, China would cut off North Korea's Internet connections, which, by the way, all run through China.

So, yes, theoretically. But that's probably not going to happen, at least in our lifetimes.

SAVIDGE: We'll see. Gordon Chang -- Ben, I'm sorry, we've got to end it there. I promise, it's not the last time we'll talk about it.

We'll take a break and be back with more news right after this.

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SAVIDGE: We continue to wait for a news conference coming from the NYPD regarding the shooting of two officers.

Meanwhile, the bottom line, Sony got hit by the biggest cyberattack in U.S. history. And while there were heaps of criticism, especially piled on Sony on how it handled the situation, would any other U.S. company really have reacted any better or any different?

Sony Entertainment CEO talks exclusively with our Fareed Zakaria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAKARIA: When you began to experience the cyberattack, what was your response? There are a number of people who wonder, why did this happen? Did you have weak malware? Did you not have the kind of cyber security you needed?

LYNTON: No, we had absolutely sufficient cyber security. I mean, both the FBI and experts we brought in basically said that the malware was so sophisticated that 90 percent of American businesses would have fallen prey to what happened to us. So, no, I don't think we were inadequate at all in our cybersecurity.

ZAKARIA: So, what that means is that this is at a level that the attack is at a level of sophistication that perhaps no company would be able to withstand.

LYNTON: That's what I've been given to understand. And as a result, they stole all of our data. Wiped it -- wiped our computers clean and then destroyed the computers and the servers.

ZAKARIA: How damaging has it been that your e-mails, your personnel records, are out there in the open?

LYNTON: You know, it's hurtful to everybody at Sony Pictures. Everybody -- and, by the way, the folks who work with us outside of Sony Pictures. That part has been damaging and hurtful. It's not nice to have your e-mails exposed to the general public. It has had a real effect on the morale of the company, and many people are frightened because of it.

We'll recover. We have worked very, very hard to do so. And we're in the process now.

In this instance, we stood alone in trying to get a movie out. I think now, part of the reason for that, I suspect, is because the conversation got caught up in all of these e-mails, many of them were deeply unfortunate. A lot of them involved celebrities, and people didn't understand what the real issue at stake was.

And the real issue at stake was, you had -- we now discovered, it's North Korea. But we had a group of individuals who were hell-bent on making certain that this movie not show up in movie theaters. And we were hell-bent on making certain that it did show up in movie theaters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: All right. Now, again, talking about the Sony situation with the executives there.

But we now want to move on to our other breaking news story, which is coming tragically out of New York. Two police officers shot and killed as they sat inside of their squad car. This attack took place this afternoon in Brooklyn.

Alexandra Field of CNN is right now at the Woodhull Hospital, where the victims were taken, and also where we're standing by for a news conference from the New York Police Department.

Alexandra, who is expected to take part besides just the general police department in this news conference, and what do we expect to hear?

FIELD: Martin, we are expecting to hear from the top brass of the department. We're also now learning that a New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio, will also be here.

Family members, we're told, two of the police officers shot and killed this afternoon are at the hospital.

We have also seen just dozens of NYPD officers lining the halls here. It's been an incredible sight. A very somber sight. So many men and women of the NYPD with heavy hearts here to show solidarity, show support.

We were led through a big crowd as we were brought into the auditorium where the press conference will take place. We are expecting to hear a lot more details of what unfolded this afternoon.

To this point, the NYPD has not publicly released the name of the suspect involved in the death of these two officers. We know the suspect was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the nearby subway. Police say they have identified the suspect, they just haven't released the name, and we are told most pointedly that they are now analyzing the various social media accounts and pages of this suspect and they're looking at any information posted there about attacks planned on police officers or threats made to law enforcement officers. As for the two victims, and that's where the focus is here right now,

these were two officers, both part of the NYPD, they were sitting in a patrol car, Martin. It's hard to wrap your head around. Two officers sitting together in their car, both of them shot in the head. And then rushed to this hospital where they were pronounced dead.

One had two years of experience, one had seven years of experience. We're learning that they were in a different area than they're usually assigned to work, and actually in a different precinct. They're usually assigned to a beat in downtown Brooklyn and they were in the Bedford section of Brooklyn, a higher-crime area. They were working a special detail there when they were ambushed by this suspect.

So, what we're hoping to hear more about, when law enforcement officers come in to talk to us, when the mayor comes in to talk to us -- obviously, more about these two officers who gave their lives. And more about the suspect who has been identified in an attack that's truly hard for anyone to understand, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. Alexandra Field, thank you very much for that update. Of course, our hearts and prayers go out to the family of the fallen officers, and to the New York Police Department.

I want to bring in now Laurie Segall -- because as mentioned by Alexandra, social media seems to play a role in this. We have a suspect who according to authorities has killed themselves. By a self inflicted gunshot wound but may have posted something online.

What do we know?

SEGALL: Yes, I also checked a source on the ground and said cops are right now looking at Facebook and Instagram for a motive. Because, you know, in this new age, when a tragedy like this happens, and we're all sitting here asking why, oftentimes now we go online, because there is such -- people have such an extensive digital footprint. And we're being told that there's evidence online, and people are beginning to dig through that now.

So, it will take a little bit to be able to look through these posts to be able to make sure they are, in fact, the suspect.

A lot of them, I'm sure, are being taken down online right now. There are ways you can access them, even if they have been taken online. But, you know, what we're hearing is that maybe -- there could be motive, and there could be a little glimpse into why on some of these social media pages.

SAVIDGE: OK. Laurie, stay right here, because there is much more to talk about.

Tom Fuentes, who is also our law enforcement analyst, will be joining us right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Hello, I'm Martin Savidge. We are staying on top of developments in Brooklyn, New York. That is

where two NYPD officers were ambushed and shot today while they sat in their patrol car. Both of those police officers are now dead.

Joining us is CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes, a former deputy FBI director.

And, Tom, from what we understand, this gunman apparently just sort of creeped up behind these officers and started shooting as they sat in their patrol car. How can uniformed officers protect themselves against someone who appeared to have been so motivated?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: You know, Martin, it's just about impossible for an officer to protect themselves. They would have to be, you know, constantly watching front, back, side, every person that comes near them.

You know, it's wintertime, people can carry weapons under coats very easily, pull it out at the last second and start shooting. I mean, the police officers, you know, can't be in that kind of a position. We've heard much criticism of police officers when they're wearing protective gear, and, you know, helmets, shields, body armor. And yet, you know, here we see that when you don't have it, you can get killed even more easily.

And I think the -- this is going to get ugly. I've had several sources contact me with some of the information that's coming out about this. This is going to get very ugly in the next few days, Martin.

SAVIDGE: And I should point out, there is going to be -- we anticipate a press conference by the New York Police Department at the top of the hour. In other words, just a few minutes from now. We're monitoring and ready to bring that to you as soon as it occurs.

But Tom, all of this, of course -- excuse me. All of this, of course, is happening in the aftermath of grand jury decisions, Ferguson, Missouri, and also in New York, deciding not to indict police officers over questionable tactics involving African-American suspects who died. And this is, I think, what we're talking about here. This is that mood, and that concern that what is -- would be a tragedy for New York now becomes a national debate, because we wonder how much is feeding into whatever mindset carried out this terrible crime.

FUENTES: Well, the problem, Martin, if it turns out to be true, the Instagram that's been posted attributed to this shooter, that's what's going to make this so ugly, because if that's fact, it means that this is a premeditated murder, and of the ugliest sort. That the individual said that it was in direct relation, when he says rest in peace, Michael Brown, rest in peace, Eric Garner. They put one of ours in -- you know, in the grave, we have to kill two of theirs. And his intention to put two pigs in a blanket.

You know, that kind of rhetoric, when I was a street cop in the '70s, we heard that on a daily basis. Being called pig and being spat on. And I think that the events of the last few months, it's kind of brought that around 360 to back to the police are -- you know, very unpopular. There's a lot of rhetoric criticizing the police. And I'm not saying it's not all justified, but I am saying that that constant drumbeat that's been going on since both grand jury decisions, you know, many law enforcement officers, friends of mine, have indicated a concern that somebody out there will take action. Somebody out there will probably assassinate a police officer. And the question is, you know, will it just be one, will there be copycats, will there be a flood of this.

SAVIDGE: I know that officers are trained and experts. But they also are human. And I'm wondering, does this put them even more on edge in a job that's been risky?

FUENTES: I think it does. No question about that. What separates a police officer from most of the rest of us is they're worrying a bull's eye on their backs every time they go out the door, if they're in uniform. And there's no way to hide from that. And it doesn't matter if you're sitting in a patrol car or sitting in a coffee shop.

We had the two officers in Las Vegas, assassinated, having coffee, back in the summer. So, you know, we have police officers targeted, and it's not the first time. But if the Instagram is true, it means it's the first time we have had officers deliberately murdered because of what's happened recently in the grand jury decisions.

SAVIDGE: And we want to remind you, we are standing by for a press conference expected at the top of the hour from New York authorities. We'll bring that to you after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)