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Suspect In Hanukkah Stabbings Charged With Federal Hate Crimes; A Community Just Outside Of Fort Worth Is Reeling After A Gunman Opened Fire During Sunday Church Services; Bernie Sanders Releases Health Update After Heart Attack. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 30, 2019 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:43]

RYAN NOBLES, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Ryan Nobles, in today for Brooke Baldwin. Thanks so much for joining me. We are going to start with breaking news out of New York. That's where Federal hate crimes charges have now been filed against a man who burst into a Rabbi's home over the weekend and stabbed the guests who were enjoying a Hanukkah celebration.

A total of five people were injured, two of whom have now been released from the hospital. The suspect who was taken into custody in Harlem, about 30 miles from the attack site could appear in court as early as today.

Official say they found handwritten journals in his home that appear to express anti-Semitic sentiments. And in a CNN interview with one of the survivors, they offered chilling details about the moment the suspect entered the home and how the survivor tried to stop his attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEF GLUCK, SURVIVED ATTACK AT RABBI'S HOME: I was sitting in the Rabbi's dining room, just when the Rabbi finished the candle lighting ceremony when the attacker came in. He first stood in the entry room and started tearing people right and left with his big machete knife. I don't know what it was.

And then that's when I started to run out to a silo together with all the people in the dining room.

I came back in -- I came back in, grabbed the coffee table that was on the floor, hit him in his face and that's when he came back outside after me. He told me, hey, you, I'll get you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: CNN's Brynn Gingras is on the scene in Monsey, New York. Brynn, what can you tell us about the suspect's notebooks?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ryan. That's all detailed in a criminal complaint that was filed a little bit earlier today by the Southern District of New York, a special agent with the F.B.I. gave a lot of detail about the evidence that they have uncovered with this suspect, 38-year-old Grafton Thomas including evidence found inside his home and evidence they say also found in his car, again, like you said when he was pulled over in Harlem.

But yes at the home, authorities say in this complaint that they found journals with anti-Semitic writings in them. Also some searches -- online searches -- with the anti-Semitic undertones. One of the searches that they detailed was a search for German-Jewish temples near me or why did Hitler hate you? Those are some of the titles that they found in these searches.

It doesn't really give a clear picture just yet, necessarily by investigators, at least what they haven't said about the motive. Obviously, he has these writings of anti-Semitism. However, it's unclear why this particular home was targeted.

Again, as you said, the suspect, he lived 30 minutes from here and that's where investigators were searching his home for evidence. But why here? That's still unknown.

His family held a news conference, their attorney, and they've been saying this isn't about anti-Semitism or hate for that religion. It's more about mental illness. And that's what they say was the motive behind all of this, or at least, why this occurred. But that's all still to be determined in this investigation -- Ryan.

NOBLES: All right, Brynn Gingras live in Monsey, New York with the latest on that story. Now, we moved to Texas. A community just outside of Fort Worth is reeling after a gunman opened fire during Sunday church services, killing two people in the process. Just six seconds later, volunteers on the church's security team who are also parishioners returned fire killing the shooter.

The chaotic scene all captured a live stream video from inside the church. Afterwards, law enforcement along with the church's pastor, praising the swift action from those security guards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF WILLIAMS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF TEXAS PUBLIC SAFETY: The citizens who were inside that church undoubtedly saved 242 other Christians.

BRITT FARMER, PASTOR, WEST FREEWAY CHURCH OF CHRIST: We lost two great men today. But it could have been a lot worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: We go now to the town of White Settlement, Texas and to CNN's Lucy Kafanov. Lucy, what are we learning about the gunman?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ryan, more details about the gunman, the F.B.I. had described him as a transient individual who's had numerous run-ins with the law, several arrests in different municipalities.

We also heard just a few moments ago from the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who had some more details about the gunman, take a listen.

[14:05:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN PAXTON, TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: Actually, he'd been here, I think several times and they always are, I think my understanding is, they're very open to helping people that are, that are transient or homeless or they need help.

And so I think, they welcome those people into their church and they welcomed this guy to their church.

My understanding is, he is more of a loner, and probably going to be very difficult to determine exactly what his motivations were other than maybe mental illness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: He also said that in a case like this, when the gunman is dead, it's difficult to determine motive without any writings, and so far nothing has been uncovered.

But we are getting much more information now about the man whose heroic actions may have saved so many more lives. This is Jack Wilson. He was the head of security at the church behind me. He is running for local office. He actually also owns a local shooting range, the On-Target Firearms Academy, and according to folks here, he had trained several of the members of this community to shoot, to be able to defend themselves.

It was his quick actions that saved possibly more lives. Take a listen to how he described the terrifying moments after the gunman opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK WILSON, HERO WHO SHOT AND KILLED CHURCH GUNMAN: I know he discharged three rounds and possibly a third round as he was going down. One round went towards the front of the sanctuary when he shot Richard and Tony. He went and started towards the front of the sanctuary and that's when I, you know, I was able to engage and I fired one round.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: Now, the Attorney General praised Jack Wilson's actions. He said that this church and the way that they've trained members of the community to defend themselves should be a model here in Texas because of previous mass shootings.

There have been new legislation that's been passed into law that allows licensed handgun owners to bring weapons into houses of worship. That is why this community was prepared in this specific attack --Ryan. NOBLES: It certainly says something about the times we're living in

that a church feels the need to have armed security guards. Lucy Kafanov live for us in White Settlement, Texas. We appreciate that report.

This shooting comes just a few months after Texas updated its gun laws allowing licensed handgun owners to legally carry their weapons in places of worship. Those laws also allow churches to develop, train and plan for their own teams to provide security.

In Texas, the Attorney General there in Texas says the church put those new laws into practice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAXTON: Their current security team decided they needed to train people in the congregation and that's exactly what they did, and so not only did they have sort of professionals ready, but they also had members of the congregation. I think you can see from the video that that guy was surrounded rather quickly by more than just, you know, a few people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: I want to bring in now Isabel Arreola. She and her family are longtime members of the West Freeway Church of Christ. They were in attendance at Sunday's service when the shooting began.

Isabel, I can't imagine what you and your family are going through right now. Just first of all, describe for me what happened? You say that West Freeway is really not that big of a church, but one that's always full on Sundays. And one of the witnesses says that this actually took place during communion. Tell me what happened.

ISABEL ARREOLA, WITNESSED SHOOTING INSIDE CHURCH: We were getting ready to start communion and this gentleman came in and sat in the row behind us and just seemed weird. He got up one time, said something to Tony, as he was passing the first tray of communion and whispered something in his ear and then sat back down.

Then I noticed him get back up when we were getting ready to do the second part of our communion, and that's when he pulled out his shotgun and all I heard was one shot go off and I hit the floor and I then heard another shot from the same gentleman shooting.

All I could do was, you know, just try to cover my child, my husband. We were just at a panic. We didn't know what was going on. Once I saw the man fall to the ground, I kind of looked around to see, you know, who all was up. I saw a couple of members with their weapons drawn and that was when I told my husband, we've got to get out and I took my child and I ran.

NOBLES: Well, we're so happy that you're safe in and you talk about those fellow members of your church who rushed toward the gunman as opposed to running away. We've been telling their heroic story all day today and ended up --

and ending in just a matter of seconds. What can you tell us about them and how thankful are you for the effort that they made to protect you and your family.

[14:10:02]

ARREOLA: Oh, I'm so thankful. I just feel like if they weren't ready, on alert, it could have been worse than what it was. Unfortunately, we lost two members.

NOBLES: Yes --

ARREOLA: I just, you know, thank them.

NOBLES: If you can, Isabel and I know how difficult this is, you know, you had a daughter that was in the middle of all of this. And of course, your first instinct was to protect her. How is she handling the aftermath of this?

ARREOLA: Oh, she's doing good. Every now and then I see her playing with her toys and she is just talking about what happened and I worry about her.

NOBLES: Yes, it will likely take a long time for you to recover from all of this and I know you mentioned the victims. This obviously so emotional for you, but you had a relationship with one of the victims, your husband worked with one of them. What can you tell us about him?

ARREOLA: Well, I mean, my husband and him worked together and worked at the hospital and I mean, he was always such a nice man, always would say hi to us. He always said two benches ahead of us. Always had his grandkids, his daughters would come. He was just a really nice man. Always very welcoming. Pablo and him work together. He was a nurse. Pablo works in a different department.

But every time he would see Pablo at work, he would always you know, say hi and always greet them. And when they'd be at church, they would talk, you know about work and you know, just everything -- any changes that were going on at work, they would, you know, talk about it, and it's just sad.

NOBLES: Yes. I have to imagine, Isabel that, you know, church on Sunday is the last place that you would expect to find yourself in a situation like this. Obviously, your church leadership was prepared for a moment like this as terrible as it sounds, because they had security guards there who are trained to handle a situation like this. Did it ever enter your mind before Sunday that this was the type of situation that you would have to endure?

ARREOLA: No, never. You never think about that. I mean, you hear about it happening, but you never think that it's going to happen in our church. Yes, we had a security team. I'm thankful that they put that in place because, you know, we were -- they were ready to, you know, step in. NOBLES: So finally, we understand that tonight, your church is going

to hold a meeting to continue the service that was interrupted by the shooting. Are you ready to go back? And do you have any concerns about entering the building again?

ARREOLA: I don't -- I don't have any concerns. I think my daughter, she might have a little bit of trouble. We went back in yesterday, when all this had happened and she just was asking why do we have to go back? I don't know how she is going to respond. I don't know if she'll be ready.

I think me and my husband, we definitely will be ready to you know, come back. We'll just have to take it a day at a time.

NOBLES: Well, no doubt. Isabel Arreola, your perspective on this was so valuable. We so appreciate you sharing your story. We will continue to keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers as you and your congregation recover from this tragic incident. Thank you so much for joining us.

ARREOLA: Thank you.

NOBLES: Elsewhere, we are following some breaking news involving Bernie Sanders. New medical records just released by his campaign, how the Democratic presidential candidate is doing after having a heart attack in October.

Plus a stern warning from Iran after American airstrikes in Iraq and Syria -- is the conflict reaching a boiling point?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:19:01]

NOBLES: Breaking news this hour, the campaign of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has just released a summary of the senator's medical condition. The new information sheds light on Sanders recovery from a heart attack suffered back in October, and it also provides a prognosis for his health going forward.

The campaign releasing three different letters from three doctors who have examined Sanders since the heart attack. Among them the attending physician at the U.S. Capitol, Dr. Brian Monahan, and two different doctors from the University of Vermont. All three physicians agree that Sanders has recovered well since the setback in October.

In terms of his overall health standards weighing in at 174 pounds. His blood pressure was 102/56 with a pulse of 62 beats per minute. His cholesterol level was within a normal range, and a recent electrocardiogram demonstrated what the doctor described as a normal sinus rhythm.

Now according to Dr. Monahan, Sanders performed well on a recent stress test in fact, saying that he performed above average for a man his age. [14:20:04]

So joining me now, to talk more about this, Dr. David Munoz. He is a cardiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Munoz, I know just like you, just like us, you are having your first look at this information. But obviously there was a lot of concern for Senator Sanders after suffering this heart attack back in October. What is your overall impression of what you've read from these three doctors?

DAVID MUNOZ, CARDIOLOGIST, VANDERBILT MEDICAL CENTER (via phone): Yes, so in looking at the information provided by the very detailed account and these letters, I think that the overall thrust of the message is that despite what he experienced back in the beginning of October, Senator Sanders received what sounds like excellent standard of care for a heart attack.

And as a result of his receipt of that standard, modern care and the appropriate use of medications and preventive strategies thereafter, he has made what appears to be an excellent recovery from his event with a stress tests and an exercise test as you referenced that indicates that he is able to pursue and engage in a vigorous amount of physical activity, particularly for his age.

So I think all in all, the message that emanates from these letters is a positive one in terms of his recovery, and in terms of his ability to pursue a vigorous schedule going forward.

NOBLES: So Doctor, I was in Vermont shortly after Senator Sanders suffered that heart attack. I remember him coming out and telling us that he plan to actually scale back the nature of his campaign not do as many as three or four events a day. That plan was quickly scrapped.

He has two events in Iowa today. He has a busy schedule this entire week. It seems as though his campaign is just as busy maybe even more busy than it was before the heart attack. Is there any reason from what you've been able to read in these letters that you warn him against such a robust schedule? Should he be at all cautious because of his age and because he suffered this heart attack?

MUNOZ: That's a great question. So I think in general, following a heart attack, everybody should be cautious about how they recover, the nature of their recovery and making sure that they're plugged into good medical care.

You know, that said, one of the key medical lessons, I think, that we've learned over the last few decades is that resuming activities, particularly hard, healthy physical activities, can actually be beneficial and provide protection against future events.

And so in some ways, so long as the immediate recovery is completed, you know, sitting or being sedentary can actually be the enemy. And so if he is getting back to his schedule in a responsible way, is actually something we encourage many of our patients to do. NOBLES: One of the other things that struck me in reading this and

I'm not a medical professional, that's why we have you on, is that the doctor at the Capitol said that there was no evidence that he had suffered any type of congestive heart failure. How important is that diagnosis for you? Does that indicate the ability for him to bounce back from this in a positive way?

MUNOZ: The short answer is yes. Being free from any signs or symptoms of congestive heart failure is very important in terms of his favorable long term prognosis. That also helps him maintain a vigorous schedule without experiencing with any limiting symptoms.

The absence of congestive heart failure, I think reinforces the fact that Senator Sanders did the right thing by not ignoring the symptoms, getting timely care, and getting timely treatment because we know that when it comes to the treatment of heart attacks, the sooner we appropriately treat them, the better in order to limit any downstream damage or consequences.

And so not having congestive heart failure is a very positive indication of timely receipt of treatment but also in terms of his prognosis.

NOBLES: All right, Dr. David Munoz, thank you so much for giving us this insight so quickly as this news was just breaking. Bernie Sanders releasing an update on his health condition following his heart attack back in October.

Conflict in the West Wing, behind the scenes after the Trump administration halts aid to Ukraine, the pleas reportedly made in the Oval Office and how it could impact the President's impeachment trial.

Then later, the critical piece of evidence that could help police solve the murder of a Barnard College student, Tessa Majors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:56]

NOBLES: The President right now on Holiday break, but no break in impeachment drama.

A report in "The New York Times" shedding new light on the chaos that took place inside the West Wing during those 84 days and that critical aid was withheld from Ukraine.

According to "The Times," in late August, three senior advisers including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with President Trump inside the Oval Office to try and convince him to change his mind and release the aid. Pompeo now set to travel to Ukraine this Friday, just days before Congress reconvenes ahead of a pending impeachment trial.

CNN's Kristen Holmes with me now from West Palm Beach in the area where the President is on vacation. So Kristen, the timing of Pompeo's trip is curious to say the least. What are official saying? KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, curious certainly

is one word for it, Ryan. Pompeo will become the highest ranking official to visit Kiev since that now infamous phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky.

So obviously, raising a couple of antennas here given the fact that he will be sitting down with President Zelensky and one thing to note is that the administration is really kind of brushing this off.

[14:30:10]