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At Least Eight Killed in Mass Shooting at Indianapolis FedEx Facility; Pfizer CEO Says, Third Vaccine Dose Likely Needed Within 6 to 12 Months; Body Cam Video Released of 13-Year-Old Boy Shot by Chicago Officer. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 16, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: A good Friday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

We are standing by to hear from police officials in Indianapolis, this after at least eight people were shot and killed at a FedEx warehouse, yet another mass shooting in America. We're going to bring you that press conference as it happens for any new details we learned about it.

Here is what we know now. At least five other people were shot and taken to the hospital. At least one witness says that the gunman had what looked like a rifle. Police say the suspect died from a self inflicted gunshot wound and here's how witnesses are describing what happened.

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DEPUTY CHIEF CRAIG MCCARTT, INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN POLICE (voice over): The suspect came into the parking lot and I believe he exited his vehicle and quickly began shooting. There didn't -- it wasn't precipitated by any kind of a disturbance or an argument.

So the first shooting occurred in the parking lot and then he went inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: That was the deputy police chief of Indianapolis. This story is -- And I don't have to say it to you. You know it already. It's all too familiar in this country. By CNN's count, there have been at least 45 mass shootings in the last 30 days, 45 in the last 30 days. Look at the place that they took places across the country. Where? Massage parlors, a grocery store, an apartment complex, an office building, 45 in 30 days.

Let's begin with CNN's Jason Carroll. He is following the latest from Indianapolis. And, Jason, what are we learning this morning about the suspect and any information about the weapon? JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're hoping to get more information when this briefing gets under way in just about 30 minutes from now. But until then, I want to show you some new video that we're getting in of some of these families from FedEx employees, families of FedEx ploys who were finally reunited with their loved ones just a short while ago. Some of them waiting hours to be reunited with their loved ones. There was a reason for that, and that's because some of these FedEx employees are not allowed to have cell phones out on the floor.

And so as you can imagine, the shots rang out and then they ran out of the building, a lot of them didn't have their cell phones them. They were unable to contact their loved ones. So a reunification site was set up at a hotel not far from where the shooting took place. And FedEx has facilitated some of these family members finally getting back with their loved ones. So I wanted to show that to you.

The FBI, in terms of the investigation, has now joined this investigation. They're going to be lending their efforts. Based on what happened, what we can tell you, just a quick sort of recap, this started at about 11:00 last night. That's when police started getting the calls coming in of a shooter at that FedEx ground facility. Apparently, it started in the parking lot. He started shooting then, he got inside, a short wait inside, but kept shooting once he was inside as well.

Once police arrived, they say it was basically within two minutes, Jim, that the suspect took his own life. So you can imagine there were a lot of stories coming out, people who made it out, people who survived. One eyewitness who got out, he was not injured, but he talked about someone else that tried to engage with the shooter, tried to stop the shooter and ended up losing his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEVI MILLER, FEDEX SHOOTING WITNESS: I see a man, a hooded (INAUDIBLE). I was unable to see his face in detail. However, the man did have an A.R. in his hand. And he started shouting and then he started firing at random directions. But at first it was to his right. And I thought he saw me. And so I immediately ducked for cover.

My friend at the time witnessed a man who was not a part of the incident, but he pulled up, also pulled out a gun from his truck to try to engage the shooter and he died because of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Again, police say eight dead, five taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. But it's also clear there were a number of walking wounded people that were hurt that went to the hospital on their own. And so those numbers surely will be updated. Perhaps we'll get some more information about that when this briefing gets under way in just a little while from now.

A Federal Express spokesperson has released a statement. I want to read part of that to you. It says, we are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our team members following the tragic shooting at our FedEx ground facility in Indianapolis.

[10:05:03]

Our most heartfelt sympathies are with all of those affected by the senseless act of violence. The safety of our team members is our top priority and we are fully cooperating with investigative authorities.

Again, the FBI now joining this investigation, we're expecting to have a briefing. Perhaps we'll get more information about the suspect. That's going to get under way just about a half hour from now. Jim?

SCIUTTO: A familiar sequence, the statements, the FBI briefing, the police briefing, makeshift memorials, investigations, funerals, no action. Jason Carroll, thanks very much.

Let's speak now with CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Charles Ramsey to speak about this. Charles, good to you have back. And, again, there's a lot we don't know about the shooting but we do know some things. Police say it lasted one to two minutes, eight people dead, several others injured. What does that tell you about the weapon used here if you're able to fire that many rounds in a couple minutes?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: High capacity, high powered, some other witnesses say he thought he'd saw an assault-type weapon, probably accurate. You know, it's going to be -- they've got an indoor scene and an outdoor scene right now that they have to process. It will take a little time to process.

I'm sure they probably have already identified the offender even though he's dead. If he didn't have I.D. on him, they would have fingerprinted him by now and in a process of executing search warrants, going for the car, as well as home, or whatever to try to find out exactly what caused all this to occur.

SCIUTTO: You heard that eyewitness there say that he saw a so-called good guy with a gun confronted a shooter. So he went to the car, had a weapon and that person ended up dying. As you know, you will often hear after shootings like this that the best way to respond from gun advocates is to arm more people so they can confront people like this. From someone with your many years of experience in law enforcement, what is your reaction to that argument?

RAMSEY: Well, first of all, it's very tragic that an individual trying to help was slain in the process, but it can happen. I mean, whenever you're confronting an armed gunman, whether you're a police officer or a private citizen, you stand a chance of getting shot.

The other part of that though that is problematic is when police arrive to the scene, they don't know the good guy from the bad guy. All they see is a guy with a gun who may have actually shot somebody right in front of them, not knowing he actually shot the offender. And so it's dangerous all the way around when you have private citizens getting involved into an active shooter situation. But I do understand the -- I do understand it.

SCIUTTO: We, based on CNN's count, I should note that CNN defines a mass shooting as four or more people killed or injured in a shooting, excluding the shooter, so by that count, by that definition, 45 in the last 30 days. Of course, this is a familiar event. They've been happening for years and decades, really, in this country. It seems to be getting worse statistically.

Is it possible we're seeing something of a post-pandemic surge here as more people go out, go back to work, leave their homes, that you're seeing more shootings in environments that we've become used to seeing them?

RAMSEY: Well, I don't know if it's associated with the pandemic or not. I mean, you have got a lot of people that shouldn't have guns that have guns, they commit violent acts. And it's not just the mass shootings. We have homicides taking place every single day that don't have anything to do with the pandemic. It's just violent people shooting somebody and, in many cases, for no real reason at all.

So I don't know if it's related to that or not. I wouldn't make it that easy on folks to say that the pandemic has something to do with it. If that was the case, we're all, you know, shut down with the pandemic 300 some odd million of us. I mean, you should have 300 million homicides, I mean. So, you know, I'm not going to give excuses to these calls to get out there and start shooting people. There is no excuse for it, pandemic or otherwise.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I'm sure they're not looking for an excuse. I'm trying to just --

RAMSEY: No, no, I know you're not. I know you're not.

SCIUTTO: Yes, I get it, so point made. I do want to ask, as you know, listen, every time this happens, there is talk with gun control legislation, something. The latest to have some legs in Congress is just universal background check, right? Not even have some Republican support. And I should mention, a very large majority of gun owners who support that as well.

Just speaking as a law enforcement person, is there a law enforcement reason not to do background checks for any gun purchases?

RAMSEY: No, not at all. But I'm not optimistic that Congress would pass anything. I mean, you know, listen, these shootings are going to continue. It's just a question of when and where. That's all. It's not going to stop. I mean, 45 in the last 30 days, I don't know how many, you know, calendar year to-date but, you know, keep tabs of the numbers, just like you keep tabs of COVID deaths. Because, believe me, those numbers are going to be creeping up.

And people need to keep this on their radar in terms of what's going on out there in terms of the bloodshed and the violence. Maybe then there will be some pressure on some of these members of Congress to actually do something other than the typical thoughts and prayers, which people don't need their thoughts and prayers, they need their action to get off their butts and do something.

[10:10:12] SCIUTTO: Yes, and until it happens on your own doorstep. Charles Ramsey, thanks very much.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, again, we are expecting a news conference from Indianapolis Police in about 20 minutes. We will bring that to you live as soon as that begins. You can see the room there and we'll bring you those pictures live as it happens.

After yet another mass shooting in this country, will Congress, as we were just discussing there, finally act on some gun control legislation? We're going to be live on Capitol Hill, where the various efforts stand.

Plus, we're now at 100 days to the day after the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Capitol Police inspector general has issued a scathing report detailing the failures that left the building vulnerable. We'll have more on that.

And Pfizer is now starting vaccination trials on children as young as two years old. Could this be the key to getting kids back to school with the pandemic under control? We're going to speak to all the ramifications with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, next.

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[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Pfizer now says vaccine recipients will likely need a booster shot, not unlike the flu booster shots. The pharmaceutical giant's CEO says those third doses would need to come within 6 to 12 months, this as Johnson & Johnson vaccine clinics have been canceled through next Friday over concerns that that vaccine, keep in mind, a vaccine that's been used sparingly here compared to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but that the J&J vaccine could lead to rare blood clots in a very small number of cases.

CDC's vaccine advisers will reconvene next week to discuss the situation.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with me now. I want to begin, Sanjay, with the Pfizer's CEO word here. And this is not the first we've heard of it. You and others have said that, listen, because the virus changes, we may need boosters in the future to maintain protection. Does that sound reasonable to you and on what timeframe do you thing is most likely?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, it does sound reasonable. But I want to caveat by saying, Jim, we don't know for sure how long the immunity is going to last. It may last a long time and, obviously, you have pharmaceutical executive saying, hey, look, billions of people may need my product yearly for the rest of their lives. You understand why they would say that. But you've got to look at the data here. So we've been looking at some of that. We know that up to six months, there is still very strong protection. But, Jim, even if you go back look at things, like SARS back in 2003, people who became infected with SARS still had evidence of immunity up until even last year, 2020, so 17 years later. The real question is going to be are people becoming re-infected? If they are, then I think it's a pretty clear cut case. But if they're not, there's always these different components of immunity that may be important in protecting people. So we'll have to see if, in fact, more shots, boosters, yearly shots are necessary.

SCIUTTO: Smart to hear. So let's not take it as the gospel truth just yet.

I do want to ask about the future of the J&J vaccine here. Again, as I keep noting, very small percentage, about 3 percent of the vaccine doses so far delivered in this country. Given that they keep kicking this can down the road a bit on a final decision here, as a practical matter, is the FDA effectively killing the J&J vaccine as a major part of America's vaccination effort?

GUPTA: Yes, it's a very fair question. And some of it is the pragmatic, some of it is just going to be the interpretation of this. I think vaccine hesitancy is already a concern. People are going to look at this and say they are really pausing this, they are deliberating for a long time. Does that makes me even more hesitant? Look, I think that is correct, Jim. I hate to say it but I think that that is what happens.

You saw, for example, in France, with everything that went on with AstraZeneca's vaccine and the concern about clotting over there, there's only about 20 percent confidence right now in polling data towards the AstraZeneca vaccine in France. So we may see some of that here, and that's too bad.

I really think it's a tough decision that the recommendation they're going to make but they've got to do it. Right now, we know that they're not meeting until next Friday. They want to figure out are there more people out there that may have had this problem? As one committee member says, is this a needle in the hay stack or tip of an iceberg? I think this is still a very rare thing, to be clear.

And also is there something that ties the people who develop these blood clots together? Was there some medication or some pre-existing sort of condition that may have made them more likely to develop this? They're trying to figure it out. But they have to do it for the very reason you mentioned, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Understood. Okay, the other news, and this is good news. We always take the good with the bad, as we speak here, beginning of trials for children as young as two years old, two to five. And we've already seen very good results, for instance, in the teenage group 12 to 16, but both in terms of efficacy and low incidents of any problems with it. Where does this put the timeline on children, a broad swath of children in this country being vaccinated?

GUPTA: Well, I think the timeline is moving faster than we thought.

[10:20:01]

Because even for 12 to 15-year-olds, you may remember, Dr. Fauci said probably by the beginning of the school year in the fall, well, now, we're hearing that they're going to be applying for an amendment to the existing emergency use authorization. So emergency use authorization has typically been taking about a month after application, three to four weeks, an amendment can go even faster than that. So we could hear about 12 to 15-year-old this is summer.

Dr. Fauci also said younger children beginning of next year, it might be closer to fall or end of this year now. So we'll have to see what the data shows, obviously, Jim. But these are basically what are called bridging trials. They have got to make sure it's safe in this population but they have plenty of evidence of efficacy, of effectiveness so they bridge that data together. And that process can go pretty quickly.

SCIUTTO: Wow, that's good news happening quicker than expected. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, ahead, Chicago Police maintain that an officer was justified when he shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo, saying that he had a gun. The attorney for the boy's family calls the shooting, quote, an assassination. We'll look at the video here. We're going to do that and we're live next.

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[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: We are expecting officials to update us any minute now on the mass shooting at a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis, which has claimed the lives of eight people. That is the podium there standing by for a live event. It happened overnight. Authorities say the shooter later took his own life. Police are still working to establish a motive.

As of today, we can say there have been 45 mass shootings in this country in what time period, the last 30 days, all since the Atlanta spa shootings on March 16th.

The Chicago Police say that less than one second passed between that time 13-year-old Adam Toledo was seen holding a gun and the time he was then shot and killed by a police officer. Let me warn you that the video you're about to see of those is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please stop. Stop (BLEEP). Hey, show me your (BLEEP). Stop. Stop.

Shots fired, shots fired. Get an ambulance up here now.

Look at me, look at me, you all right? (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, the officer, Eric Stillman, was named overnight. A lawyer representing him says the officer feels simply horrible but believes he was justified in using deadly force in this case.

CNN's Ryan Young joins me now from Chicago. Ryan, tell us what we know about the moments leading up to that shooting.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, obviously, it's tough video to watch, and especially when you watch it over and over as much as we have in the last few days. You know that the family was actually worried about releasing the video at one point. They took some time after seeing it themselves before they sort of okayed the video being released.

What we do know though is that officers responding to a shots fired call. There is a technology called Shot Spot that's deployed here in Chicago. Any time gun shots are heard, they can deploy officers to that area. That shot spotter indicated eight gunshots. And then that officer responded to that scene. And this all took place in less than 20 seconds.

And then you had that reaction from the officer after giving those commands to the young man and then shooting him in the chest. That one bullet was a fatal shot. Of course, he went to render aid immediately. But there is so much speculation about this. The community really wanted to see this video.

As you play in real-time, it doesn't appear to show anything at first but when you watch it in slowdown fashion, you can see portions that are highlighted by the Chicago Police Department, which they indicate is a gun in the teenager's hands.

But this is still very tough. In fact, listen to the family attorney explain how they see it.

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ADEENA WEISS ORTIZ, LAWYER FOR ADAM TOLEDO'S FAMILY: Adam, during his last second of life, did not have a gun in his hand. The officer screamed at him, show me your hands. Adam complied. He turned around, his hands were empty when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Jim, this is very tough. Obviously, the city of Chicago is dealing with an epidemic when it comes to gun violence. We have talked several times about shootings in the city. I've been to the room where Chicago Police officers confiscate guns and seen the enormous amount of guns they pull off the streets every single week in the city as well.

And so when you put all that together, it's obviously a mistrust in the community as well. There are a lot of people who are worried about and concerned about protests that are scheduled for tonight. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Ryan Young, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Bakari Sellers, he's an attorney and a CNN Political Commentator. Bakari, always good to have you back.

You've watched these videos, I know. You've heard the arguments there and you've seen what the evidence shows. He appear to be carrying a weapon as he was chased by police. Until the final moment, it seems like based on the video that he dropped the weapon at the side and then raised has hands. Based on what you've seen of the instances, what is your reaction to the argument from the officer and the department that this was still justified?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, the first thing is I'm exhausted. I mean, it's just been a very long week, you know, from the Chauvin trial to another murder ten minutes down the road.