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Britain Halts Flights; Standoff in San Diego; Campus Stabbing. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 04, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:06] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go, breaking news at the top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me.

We're working a story right now in the San Diego area. If you're familiar with San Diego, this is Bankers Hill (ph), Little Italy area of downtown San Diego. Here's what we know. Right around noon Eastern Time some shots were fired here. A call came in to police, San Diego Police, regarding some sort of domestic violence incident. When police and SWAT arrived, we know that they were fired upon. This is according to San Diego Police. We know that the schools in this area are currently on lockdown. And we're working to get San Diego Police here on the phone.

But this is all unfolding. We don't have a ton of information clearly right now. We are making phone calls. And as soon as we can get an update for you on this situation, this active situation in the San Diego, California, area, we will bring it to you, of course, here on CNN.

Let's move along for now and talk about ISIS not backing off claims that it shot down this Russian passenger jet killing all 224 people on board. But new clues in this mystery crash, they're raising more questions than answers. You now have the British government halting flights to this airport this Egypt where this plane took off from saying they are concerned that the plane, quote, "may well have been brought down by an explosive device." And although they don't say precisely why they're saying this, we do know that a Russian news outlet is now reporting that passengers who sat near the tail section have metal pieces embedded in their bodies which could be a sign of explosion trauma. That is quite different from those who sat in the front of this plane who suffered burns and trauma from the fall. This as we learn that the plane's tail was found some three miles away from the wreckage.

So joining me now I have Richard quest here in New York, CNN aviation correspondent. Also with us, Nic Robertson, CNN international diplomatic editor there in St. Petersburg, Russia.

So, Nic, let me just begin with you here and what we're getting from the office of the PM there in Britain from David Cameron on, you know, the explosive - explosion. What - tell me more about that.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, what he's saying is that - that as more evidence becomes available, the - it's sort shifting the thinking of the British government that it hasn't over the last few days given any sort of change of advice for British tourists visiting the Sinai. They're now saying that they believe that this aircraft may have been brought down by an explosive device.

Now, let's just look at that statement for one moment there. That is a very, very strong diplomatic statement to make by the British prime minister's office. But let's take one step back from that again. It is incredibly strong because the president of Egypt is in London right now, who will be visiting number 10 Downing Street with David Cameron tomorrow. So he is putting this, if you will, right diplomatically, if you will, in the face of the Egyptian president. Egyptians so far say the investigation is going on. There's not enough evidence and information.

Yet here in St. Petersburg, the oldest newspaper, the most respected newspaper here, and I have to add on top of this, this is the city where Russian forensic experts are going through those several hundred bodies, trying to help identify them with relatives. So you have a lot of Russian forensic experts here in this city, access to that newspaper perhaps, that newspaper saying that those sitting in the front of the aircraft had trauma and burns, indicating that they had fallen from the sky. But those at the back had explosive trauma. That is metal fragments in their body.

Now, we've talked here to the spokesperson of the foreign ministry and what they're directing us on this is they're saying the experts are on the ground are investigating this. That you need to turn to them and ask them questions. That we need to let the investigation follow through. But what is, if you will, missing in all of this is a government official here in Russia knocking this down that it could have been an explosive device.

BALDWIN: So, Richard, they're knocking it down. You're nodding in agreeance I think with Nic saying it's an incredibly strong thing to say what just happened just a couple of days ago.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You don't - you don't come out and make this sort of statement unless either you've got evidence or you're pretty certain that something's afoot. Now, the British have got 2,000 tourists in Sharm el Sheikh at the moment. There are a handful of flights that are go to - due to go down and come back there in the next 24, 48 hours. So there's a heavy vested interest simply for the safety and security of British citizens who are there.

BALDWIN: Right.

[14:04:54] QUEST: And to the - that's one reason why they they've done it. But to say this, in this matter, at this way. And now if you take what you're talking about with this report of the explosion, any luggage that would have been loaded into the rear luggage compartment in the belly of the plane, that would explain the difference between the front and the back so to speak. And also, remember, the plane is moving forward in speed when the explosion takes place. So it tends to be those people that would be behind that would get that sort of brunt as the plane is - because of the velocity of forward motion. Overall, what we have seen in the last few hours, it's not conclusive, but it's certainly a game changer.

BALDWIN: The fact, though, that Nic pointed this out, I pointed this out, when you look at the bodies, the burns from, you know, and from falling, the injuries versus the metal embedded in them, what else would explain that?

QUEST: Right, but - right, but, well, some form of explosion.

BALDWIN: Right.

QUEST: Some form of detonation. Whether it - but it could also be - and I'm just, you know, going around the circles in this.

BALDWIN: No. Please do. Please do.

QUEST: It could also be an explosion from the fuel tank. If you have that sort of explosion, you would get a detonation-like experience and you would get metal fragments. Now, if those metal fragments are more akin to parts of the aircraft or nuts, bolts, shrapnel, the sort of things we saw with MH-17 where the cockpit crew actually had very specific pieces of shrapnel from the missile within them, distasteful to talk about and I apologize.

BALDWIN: But that what they'll be looking for.

QUEST: For viewers who may find it uncomfortable.

BALDWIN: It's gruesome. Yes.

QUEST: But that's what they're looking at. And you're now looking at where the bag would have been placed. Let's go back to Lockerbie. Lockerbie, the suitcase carrying the radio, which carried the bomb, was loaded in the front compartment of the aircraft. And, yes, that's where you got the passengers that had the shrapnel in them. So there's an enormous amount of experience at handling this sort of information. But what the British have done in the last couple of hours, to use a football - a soccer analogy, they've blown the whistle.

BALDWIN: OK.

QUEST: They've actually blown the whistle and said, for the first time, whoa, now we've really got to think about a bomb.

BALDWIN: OK. It's gruesome to think about, but this is what - think about what the investigators are having to look through and comb through with regard to the debris and the bodies.

Richard Quest, thank you so much. Nic Robertson for us as well, thank you. We'll come back to that.

Meantime, more on our breaking news here. This is another breaking story. Five people stabbed at a California college campus. We'll go there live.

Plus, breaking today, his death sparked a massive manhunt and fear across America about police officers becoming targets. And now we're learning this cop was not only crooked, he staged a carefully planned suicide. A lot of breaking news on this Wednesday. I'm Brooke Baldwin. This is CNN.

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[14:12:00] BALDWIN: Back to this breaking story here out of San Diego, California. Gunfire, active gunfire, being reported in the downtown area. If you know San Diego, Little Italy. We are just now - media getting briefed by the San Diego Police Department. Let's dip in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So about 12 minutes after 9:00 today, we received a call of domestic violence, the 2400 block of Brant (ph) Street. Initial officers that responded were trying to make an approach to the apartment complex. And when they came up to the door of the apartment, which was on the top of the building. It's kind of an older building. The elevator takes them to the top. They walk on the top roof. They get up to the apartment. They began to take several rounds from what we believe is a high-powered rifle at this point. The rounds very nearly hit the officers we're talking within inches. Right by the officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Lieutenant Scott Wall (ph) briefing us as what precipitated (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The officers were able to safely retreat, set up a perimeter around the apartment. We do have them contained in the apartment, which is on the southeast corner of the building. So what we've asked all of the media to help us out with is to have the residents in the neighboring homes, the neighboring apartments to shelter in place and not go in front of their windows or come out into their backyards or their front door as we believe he's armed with a high-powered rifle and they're safe inside their apartment or their home, but if they come out into the streets or in their - in their yard, it's very possible that they could be - could be struck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This man has been firing shots, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Immediately the - when the officer arrived on scene, they began taking rounds when they approached the apartment. When I got here 20 minutes later, he was still firing rounds. I haven't heard any rounds in the last 10, 15 minutes. We're still actively trying to mitigate the situation and use every option available to try to make this situation come to a peaceful resolution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you been able to make contact with him through a negotiator or through the phone? And oh, by the way, there was a woman taken into - at least questioned in the police car. Has she been helpful?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we do have maximum amount of our resources deployed in this situation. We have our SWAT team, which is surrounding the entire apartment. We also have our emergency negotiation team on scene. And we're exhausting every effort to try to bring this to a very peaceful resolution. We have no information on any injuries at this point. Again, this is all very preliminary information. This is - this incident is still rapidly evolving as we speak right now. But we want to try to get the important information to you that we need the residents to shelter in place. We have him contained, but if people start coming out of their homes, it's going to create some problems for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you identified the suspect?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect is known at this point. I don't have a confirmation on his name. We are still doing some background checks on this person and trying to do everything we can to get him to peacefully surrender at this point so we don't have anybody hurt.

[14:15:08] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without giving anything away in terms of tactics, can you be more specific about containment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when we talk about containment, we want to try to have all avenues of escape taken away so that this person cannot continue to create problems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) looking at you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You're looking at me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

BALDWIN: Yes, yes, yes. Forgive me, I'm talking to my former police officer here as we're listening to this news conference here out of San Diego. I've got Eugene O'Donnell, professor of law and police studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice here in the city, formerly with NYPD.

And so we were talking, when you hear what's happening right now in San Diego, they've got this guy, they've got his apartment, they've set up a perimeter, he's contained, they know where he is, shots have been fired barely, you know, inches from these officers. Walk me through tactically what's happening right now.

EUGENE O'DONNELL, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Sure. Isolation and containment, keeping him in place, making sure residents are staying in their homes, ascertaining there's nobody else there and that it's a waiting game. There's no urgency. They can wait. They'll have a negotiator come in. They'll talk to him. And it's a large police department. They can talk as long as they have to. Trying to do a nonviolent resolution. That's going to be their priority, as was just said.

BALDWIN: How are they communicating?

O'DONNELL: Unclear, but, I mean, they're going to try to make phone contact. Obviously it's a risky thing to get too close to the guy, but if they can make phone contact, make a phone available to him that they can talk to him, that is - that's what they're going to try to do. BALDWIN: Setting up a perimeter meaning setting up this - an area

where no one else can penetrate, right? But you have to assume that there are some people potentially in this apartment building. So what happens there?

O'DONNELL: Yes, I mean you're assuming - you're assuming that there are people there until you know otherwise.

BALDWIN: Right.

O'DONNELL: So they'll do everything they can. The reality is, if people are in a safe place, they should stay in a safe place. But they will do a door to door ascertainment to see who's there. Keeping him at by, keeping him where he is, that's the top priority. If he goes mobile, that's the concern.

BALDWIN: Right.

O'DONNELL: If he makes his way out of the - out of the apartment.

BALDWIN: With a high-powered rifle. You just heard it from San Diego Police. Stand by, if you will, sir.

O'DONNELL: Sure.

BALDWIN: We're going to watch that.

Also, more breaking news. Five people stabbed on a college campus in California. We'll take you there live, speak with someone on campus. That's next.

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[14:21:27] BALDWIN: All right, more breaking news out of California here. Five people have been stabbed on the campus of the University of California Merced. And the suspect, we can tell you now, has been shot and killed by police.

I have Dan Simon working this for us from California and on the phone with me James Leonard, he's the director of news and social media at this college.

So, Dan, to you first. What happened? What do you know?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Brooke.

What a terrifying situation, this occurring just before 8:00 a.m. on the campus of UC Merced. That's about two and half hours southeast of San Francisco. You had this deranged suspect who went on I guess what you can characterize as a stabbing spree, stabbing five people. Originally the university said that all five of these were students. They have now dialed that back saying they don't know how many of them were students. But we know that apparently all of them were conscious, so that is good news. Three of them were treated on scene, two of them airlifted to a local hospital. Now, we don't know if there is a connection between the suspect and

the victims, but what we do know is that police arrived about 15 minutes after this incident occurred, confronted the suspect, and shot him dead.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Dan, stay with me.

Let me bring in James Leonard. He is the director of news and social media at UC Merced on the phone with me.

And, James, to - on Dan's point about any kind of connection between the suspect, who you say is a male student, and these victims, do you - can you connect those dots yet for me?

JAMES LEONARD, DIRECTOR OF NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA, UC MERCED: No, we don't - we don't have any kind of information like that yet that's been confirmed. You know, obviously, the whole thing is under investigation right now. And, you know, I'm sure a lot of those details are going to, you know, come out in time.

BALDWIN: Where did this happen on campus?

LEONARD: It happened in front of the classroom and office building, which is one of our main classroom buildings on campus.

BALDWIN: And it's a campus about 6,700 students. Do you know any more about the suspect beyond the fact that he's male and was a student?

LEONARD: Not at this time, no. You know, like you said, we know that it was a male student and that he died after, you know, he was shot by campus police after the incident. I'm sure more information on the suspect will come out, you know, shortly.

BALDWIN: And the latest - I know Dan just updated us - any more you're hearing about the five who were - who were stabbed?

LEONARD: No, nothing yet, unfortunately. We're hoping to get updates on them soon. As Dan mentioned, they were all conscious. We're hoping that's a good sign, you know. This is a - this is a trying day for all of us and we're - our thoughts are with the victims and the families and really everyone on campus who's, you know, affected by this.

BALDWIN: So are ours, James, so are ours.

James Leonard, thank you so much, on the phone with me from UC Merced. And, Dan Simon, thank you as well.

[14:24:27] So from that breaking story in California to what's happening here in San Diego, this other breaking story, this standoff is underway involving this gunman who apparently has holed himself up in this apartment building in the Banker's Hill/Little Italy area of San Diego, has fired upon police officers, that has what's being described as a high-powered rifle missing some of these officers by mere inches. Happening right now. We'll take you back there live to San Diego, next.

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BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Just in to us here, the acting chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA, says the so-called Ferguson effect is real and is happening. Chuck Rosenberg (ph) telling reporters that FBI Director Comey's previous statements are, quote, "spot-on." Last month Comey told an audience at the law enforcement officer that a recent spike in crime could be linked to a slowdown in policing. He suggested last year's unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death of a black teenager there by a white officer is indeed having an impact on police. Rosenberg went on to say there is, quote, "trepidation by officers" who fear that being proactive in the field could end up making them stars of the next viral police video.

[14:29:55] Now to a stunning and quite honestly disturbing development here in a case that has put a city on edge really for months. It turns out, according to investigators, this beloved officer who was found dead during an apparent - this apparent chase was, in fact, a crooked cop who went to great lengths to stage his own suicide.