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NYPD Says, Frank James Now Suspect in Brooklyn Subway Shooting; Video Shows Likely Cluster Munition Explosions in Kharkiv; Russian Missile Hits Apartments in Donetsk Region, Injures Seven. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired April 13, 2022 - 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 very good Wednesday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN NEWSROOM: And I'm Bianna Golodryga.

We are following two major stories at this hour. First, an intense manhunt underway in New York right now for a gunman who shot ten rush hour commuters on a crowded Brooklyn subway train. Officials are now identifying 62-year-old Frank James as a suspect in that shooting. More than 50 agencies, including the FBI and NYPD, are poring over evidence in the case now to track him down.

A key to a U-haul van James rented was also found among the suspected shooter's possessions. That U-haul was recovered near the station.

This morning, New York Mayor Eric Adams tells CNN the gunman could still pose a danger to the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): We're going to prosecute whoever is responsible for this crime. Yes, it is a threat. And we're telling New Yorkers to be vigilant. If you see him, notify your authorities but be extremely vigilant as you move around your day-to- day. We want this person apprehended.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: 33 shots in a moving subway car, yet, miraculously, none of the injuries appears at this point to be life-threatening. All of this happening, striking so much fear there, as well as injuries, as people fled. We're going to take you live at the scene in a moment.

We're also keeping an eye on the war in Ukraine. Our team on the ground there now observing -- you can see it right there -- stepped-up shelling in a residential district in Kharkiv. New video appears to show several explosions from what are known are clusters munitions, one big bomb with lots of little bombs, this at a civilian area of that city.

Ukrainian military sources say more bodies have been found after Russia's retreat from the north, some showing evidence of torture.

So much to get into today. Let's begin with CNN's Jason Carroll in New York. He has been covering this. He's at the scene of the shooting.

So, Frank James, he is now officially a suspect in this. That means, as Andrew McCabe was telling us last hour, the police have more evidence of his involvement. What do we know about the investigation?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Clearly. And the investigation, you might well imagine, still is very much focused on trying to find out specifically where he is at this moment, anyone out there who may know him, and, obviously, anyone out there who may know where he might be at this time.

Frank James, again, 62 years old, talked a little bit about some of the evidence they found here, which included some of the items that belonged to him, including keys to a U-haul van. That U-haul van found just about a few miles from here from a different subway stop in NN subway station. That van rented in Philadelphia. Not only does James have an address in Philadelphia, he also has an address in Wisconsin as well. Investigators following up on those locations.

Police say that when James boarded the train, he boarded the second subway train, sat somewhere in the rear of the train, and with him was someone by the name of Claire Tunkel. She was there on the train yesterday morning and actually interacted with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAIRE TUNKEL, BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING WITNESS: My motive, getting on that train, is I look people in the eye. And I assess, are they okay, should I get close to them, are they crazy. And, honestly, when I locked eyes with this individual and did not get a sense that there was anything wrong with him, you know, he said there was urine in the seat, don't sit there. And so I took that as, you know, almost a courtesy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: And as investigators hunt for James, they're also taking a very close look at his social media. Some of the things that he posted very disturbing --

SCIUTTO: We lost Jason Carroll there from the scene of the shooting. We do have Alexandra Field also covering this story. Alexandra, the real focus now is on the manhunt. If he is indeed a suspect in this, as police say, they are doing all they can to find him quickly.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And we know that this is a massive effort that spans both federal and local resources. You've got to think about the victims who are waking up this morning and trying to pursue a path of recovery, and doing so without the peace of knowing that the person who unleashed this hideous attack on their subway car in the middle of their morning commute, not knowing that he has been found, not knowing where he is or whether he could be plotting anything else.

[10:05:03]

The police have found no indication of that.

As for the victims, it is absolutely remarkable, Jim, that they are all expected to make a recovery, positive signs already. NYU Langone, here in Brooklyn, received a majority of those who were injured. They took in some 21 patients. Just four remain in this hospital. We know that two patients are still being treated at another hospital, and there is a third hospital that may still have a few patients admitted. But, really, the vast majority of the 29 who were initially sent to be treated have been released.

Ten people were hit by bullets, seven males, three females. And we know that five of the injured were children, that's according to New York's governor, who met with some of those victims. They are as young as 12 years old.

And it's not just the victims who are reeling this morning. It's really a city that is in shock over the trauma of this. We heard from some witnesses who were there in the immediate aftermath. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KONRAD ADERER, BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING WITNESS: I saw a young man come to the station booth, and his legs were bloody, his pants were probably down, so I guess he was managing whatever wound he had, and he was -- you know, he was -- he was very distraught. You know, he was lucid but he was, of course, very distraught. And he was just telling the station agent that there was a big -- there was many people injured, there was people bleeding around the platform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Police are saying some 33 shots were fired before this subway car pulled into the next station. Witnesses who were on board the train estimated there were about 40 to 50 passengers who were in that car.

And, Jim, what we're hearing from so many of them is that the smoke was so thick that they couldn't immediately see or comprehend what was happening. They were hearing a popping noise that many thought were fireworks, and then they finally saw the blood that was spilling on the floor. And that's when they realized how serious and severe the danger was, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes, and likely the reason he used a smoke grenade, right, to help create that fear and confusion. Alexandra Field, thanks so much.

We do have Jason Carroll back, had lost him with some technical difficulties. But I've asked you, Jason, about the progress and the next steps in the manhunt now that there is a suspect rather than a person of interest named.

CARROLL: Well, again, Jim, police are going to be doing and investigators are doing all they can to try to find anyone who knows Frank James, anyone who knows about his past and might know where someone like this might be hiding at this point.

And a little bit more about what investigators found here at the scene, you were talking about some of the smoke that was on that subway. In addition to the 15 bullets that they recovered, investigators also recovered two detonated smoke grenades, their description, two non-detonated smoke grenades, a hatchet, a container with gasoline as well as that U-haul key, which, at first, that U-haul key investigators to the U-haul van that was rented by the suspect in Philadelphia where he also has an address.

In addition to that, Jim, investigators are also paying very close attention to the suspect's social media. Basically, he had a YouTube post on Monday, a day before the shooting, where he talked about killing people, also social media posts which talked about mass shootings and violence, also naming New York City's Mayor Eric Adams in one of those posts. And, as you know, Eric Adams speaking to CNN earlier this morning where he talked about that social media companies need to do more to protect the public in these types of situations.

SCIUTTO: Multiple extended magazines, a hatchet, it gives you an idea of just perhaps what more this gunman had planned.

Jason Carroll, Alexandra Field, thanks so much to both of you.

GOLODRYGA: In the last hour, we spoke to a survivor from his hospital bed. Hourari Benkada says that he was sitting right next to the suspect before the attack. He suffered a gunshot wound to the knee and is expected to be okay, but he says that he's scared to ever ride the train again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOURARI BENKADA, SHOT IN THE KNEE DURING NYC SUBWAY SHOOTING: I don't think I'm going to ever ride the train again. As a busy train station on 36th Street, trains going to all four boroughs, they're saying they don't have cameras, that's just ridiculous. That's unsafe. And the N train was an old N train. You can't even switch cars. That's unsafe as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCIUTTO: He was sitting next to the shooter on that car as he started firing. Just remarkable stories of survival here.

We will stay on top of that, particularly as the manhunt continues for the person behind the shooting in Brooklyn.

GOLODRYGA: Also ahead, we're learning more about what heavy weapons the U.S. is expediting to Ukraine, as President Biden officially calls what is happening there genocide.

[10:10:06]

And in Russia, Opposition Politician Vladimir Kara-Murza has survived two separate poisonings but now is in Russian detention just hours after an interview with CNN Plus. We'll speak with his wife later this hour.

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GOLODRYGA: This morning in Eastern Ukraine, at least seven people were injured after Russian forces launched a missile strike occurred in Donetsk.

[10:15:03]

Officials say residential neighborhoods in Kharkiv have also been targeted.

SCIUTTO: A pattern of this war, deliberate targeting of civilians and they've been suffering.

The U.S. is expected to announce today an additional $700 million in military aid and weapons to Ukraine, a draft list sent to Congress included new weapon systems not provided before, including sea drones made here in the U.S.

This extra aid coming as President Biden says that Russia's actions in Ukraine are, in his view, genocide.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian.

We'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Brianna Keilar, she is in Lviv, Western Ukraine.

And, Brianna, we're hearing more evidence as these Russian forces have pulled back of just what kind of thing they were up to, right, when they controlled these areas, Ukrainians saying bodies, some showing signs of torture, this in the northeast. What are we finding out? BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEW DAY: Yes, this is in the Sumy region. And I think you know a lot of global public opinion, Jim and Bianna. It was mobilize by what was seen in Bucha, and now what is being discovered is that Bucha, unfortunately, was not unique. That horror was not unique.

Officials saying that they found over 100 bodies in the Sumy region of dead civilians and in similar states as they were in Bucha, some of them with their hands tied, some of them shot in the head execution- style, some of them showing signs of torture, also that cars were found just fired upon.

You've seen those images out of Bucha, cars, would appear to be from civilians trying to escape, just riddled with bullets. In Bucha, we saw cars that had signs that read, children, on them that were just riddled with countless bullets as they were trying to escape.

And in the meantime, one of the atrocities now caught on camera in Kharkiv is a cluster bomb going off near a road in a civilian area. That's a new video that we have. We understand -- Amnesty International has been saying for some time now, for weeks, that these cluster bombs are being used. We've heard of them being used. But here, we are actually seeing the images and you can just imagine how terrorizing it is to be in this situation where a bomb drops and that it's spitting out other explosive devices, incredibly destructive, incredibly deadly.

As I said, this has been widespread. Amnesty International says that this has, in the past -- here, it's on a road, but it has actually injured people who were just doing basic things, like getting drinking water, or they were going shopping and they've been hit by these bombs.

Just to be clear about how bad these things are, there is actually a U.N.-backed treaty that bans the use of these. Over 100 countries have signed onto that treaty. Russia has not. Also worth noting, the USA has not, either, Jim and Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: I can never get used to seeing those images, Brianna, and it's another reason why Ukrainian officials are warning those that live in Eastern Ukraine to flee and get out as soon as they can.

Brianna Keilar, thank you.

Well, joining me now is Ukrainian Parliament Member Ivanna Klympush- Tsintsadze. She is also the chair of the committee of Ukraine's integration into the European Union. Ivanna, thank you so much for joining us.

So, here you have the president --

IVANNA KLYMPUSH-TSINTSADZE, MEMBER OF THE UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Thank you for having me.

GOLODRYGA: Here, you have President Biden yesterday doubling down on what he calls genocide committed at the hands of Russians and Vladimir Putin. Just this morning, the OSCE found Russia guilty of committing human rights abuses and breaking international humanitarian law during this invasion into Ukraine.

Given all of that, what should the western response look like at this point?

KLYMPUSH-TSINTSADZE: Well, definitely, we have to record all those atrocities that Russians have carried out on our land and ensure that all those responsible will be prosecuted in some specific special tribunal, which would be helpful to them.

But, definitely, today, we urgently continue need the massive military supply to ensure that our capacity to withhold this brutal attack and barbaric attack on our civilians, on our homes, on our cities and villages, and that is where we are very much dependent on all of our partners.

GOLODRYGA: You and President Zelenskyy have called for a full embargo on Russian oil flowing to Europe, and view this, call this atrocities as evidence as to why that should be supported. I know you met with German officials yesterday who said that they supported you and you found them very helpful in those talks. But just this morning, Germany officially rejected E.U. oil embargo against Russia at this moment.

[10:20:01]

What is your response to that?

KLYMPUSH-TSINTSADZE: I really hope that this decision will still be re-evaluated and revisited by Germany, because I think that every single hour is, not even a day, is revealing new and new barbarian actions of the Russian Federation's war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide against Ukrainian people.

And those politicians that we met, and those were three chairs of the key committees in the European Bundestag -- in German Bundestag, they were saying that we understand very well that you are fighting not exclusively for yourselves but you are fighting for what we believe in and you're fighting for democracy and for international order, as we know it. So, therefore, we will be ringing all the bells and we will be hoping, also, that citizens of Germany, the public opinion of Germany will influence their officials, because that has changed as well. And public opinion is very much in favor of helping Ukraine and pressuring on Russia's Federation.

GOLODRYGA: Listen, public opinion has changed in almost every European country. Now you have Finland and Sweden saying that they are likely to join NATO within the next few months.

You know, I can't stop thinking about President Zelenskyy calling Mariupol the heart of the country. We have yet to learn the atrocities committed there. But every day, we're getting more and more indication of the brutality, tens of thousands reported to have been killed there. What more are you learning about that city and what is happening there at this point? KLYMPUSH-TSINTSADZE: What we are learning is that Russians are trying to cover up all their crimes over there, and they brought in at least 13 mobile crematoriums that have been already noticed on the territory of Mariupol in order to -- probably already not only cover up the bodies of their victims, of their deceased soldiers and officers who died in the battle but also the civilians that they have been most likely also torturing and also have died from the shellings that have been pounding this city.

GOLODRYGA: You're doing such important work trying to document all of this, all the inhumanity associated with this, with this illegal war upon a sovereign nation. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, thank you, we appreciate it.

KLYMPUSH-TSINTSADZE: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Just after the break, the chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority will join us, this as we're learning new details about the camera system in and around the station where this shooting took place. What was working? What wasn't? More coming up.

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[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Right now, police urgently searching for the gunman who opened fire on a subway train in Brooklyn yesterday, shooting ten people, injuring more than a dozen others, including children on their way to school. Police have now identified 62-year-old Frank James as a suspect.

The CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority says investigators combing through lots of available video, even as we learned that the camera at the station itself -- some of those cameras malfunctioning during the attack.

I'm joined now by Janno Lieber. He's the chair and CEO of the MTA. Thanks for taking the time this morning.

JANNO LIEBER, CHAIR AND CEO, METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY: Good to be with you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, we know that at least some of the cameras in the station weren't working, perhaps the one at the turnstile. There are a lot of cameras. How complete a picture do police have access to in terms of the gunman's arrival and, crucially, his exit?

LIEBER: Well, we've got 600 cameras in just that section of the N train line in brooklyn, 10,000 cameras overall, way, way up, about -- we have got 5,000 cameras more than we had just a few short years ago. So, we have incredible coverage throughout the system, and especially on this line.

The result is that the NYPD has been able to comb through video from other stations and they actually have, as a result, overnight, identified three perspectives on the wanted -- the fellow who is wanted for this crime coming into the station.

So, again, our video has been a source of investigation for the NYPD, and they continue to come through other video because they're trying to track him through the system through New York.

SCIUTTO: Okay. So you say they have three images of him on the way in. Of course, the question is do they have images of him on the way out to get a sense of what direction he went and how?

LIEBER: Yes. They're still looking through all the -- again, there's so many stations. We have 472 stations and they're looking at all of it, as well as the cameras on our buses and all the other camera video. What I think is pretty clear is the NYPD has done an amazing job in this investigation in just a few short hours. They identified the guy. They identified the vehicle.

[10:30:00]

They had tracked the vehicle to south Brooklyn.