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Manhunt Underway for New York City Subway Shooter; Biden Accuses Russia of Genocide in Ukraine; Gathering Evidence of Potential War Crimes in Ukraine; Putin Vows to Press On with Invasion; U.K. Prime Minister Paid $65 Fine for COVID Lockdown Violation. Aired 4- 4:30a ET

Aired April 13, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world, I'm Max Foster in London, we're following two breaking news stories.

A manhunt is underway for (INAUDIBLE) and in New York City subway car, the latest from the investigation, plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The world must respond now, react preventatively, because after the use of weapons of mass destruction, any response will not they change anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dictator declares war and commits genocide to have a world away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The military operation will continue until it's fully completed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mariupol is still contested. The Ukrainians are still fighting defend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Russians have come up with a new tactic to ensure that the devastation of their attacks lasts far beyond first impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

FOSTER: It is Wednesday April the 13th, we begin with the mass shooting inside the New York City subway in Brooklyn. The city's mayor described it as a quiet Tuesday morning that turned into a war zone. And the gunmen is still on the loose. Authorities say he set off smoke grenades before firing 33 shots, ten people were hit though all survive, 13 others were injured by smoke inhalation, falling down or panic attacks. New York's governor says four children on their way to school were amongst those hurt. Police have identified the man who you see here as a person of

interest, because he's believed to have rented a U-Haul van, his keys were found at the scene. He has not been named though as a suspect.

That van cleared an initial bomb squad inspection and is now being towed away to a location where the NYPD and the FBI can further investigate it. CNN's Miguel Marquez described the scene earlier, as authorities searched the vehicle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is just a few blocks from the Kings Highway stop on the N train where one could have gotten on and then continued to where this shooting took place. Police have been going from door to door, both buildings and residential buildings and businesses, looking at security video, asking for security video, seen what else that they can find there. To try to figure out where this individual is.

It felt very much like they were on to something, greater at this point this afternoon. They have such a number of police investigators here, the bomb squad was here, fire, police and ambulance services as well in this area. They were really on the hunt, you can get a sense of just how they swarm this area, and how right now they are looking for this person of interest in this case, in other areas like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the man responsible. Brynn Gingras has more on the manhunt underway to find him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It happened during the morning rush aboard a busy New York City subway train in Brooklyn. Shots rang out and smoke filled the car. Witnesses say --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those people screaming for medical assistance. It was just a scary moment.

GINGRAS (voice over): Law enforcement arrived within minutes.

KEECHANT SEWELL, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: An individual on that train donned what appeared to be a gas mask. He then took a canister out of his bag and opened it. The train at that time began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway, and in the platform.

GINGRAS (voice over): Ten shot, five of them in critical, but stable condition with many more people injured according to the FDNY as photos from the scene show blood on the floor of the subway station.

YAV MONTANO, ON BOARD TRAIN DURING SHOOTING: We were stuck in the train right about to get to reach to the stop, and then thank goodness, the train moved within a minute. Or I don't know what would have happened if we were stuck there for longer.

GINGRAS (voice over): A gun, multiple high-capacity magazines, fireworks, and gunpowder have been recovered in the station law enforcement sources say, and they believe the gun jammed during the shooting. A motive for the attack remains unknown with a suspect still on the loose.

SEWELL: He is being reported as a male Black, approximately five feet five inches tall with a heavy build. He was wearing a green construction type vest and a hooded sweatshirt. The color is gray.

GINGRAS (voice over): Investigators located a U-Haul cargo van with Arizona license plates in connection with the shooting.

[04:05:00]

New York Mayor Eric Adams who is in isolation recovering from COVID-19 told CNN it is too early to dismiss the subway attack as not terror- related.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: This is terror of someone attempted to terrorize our system. They brought in what appears to be some form of smoke device. They discharged a weapon, and so I don't want to be premature in identifying that this was or was not, I think, at this time the investigators are going to do their due diligence to properly identify what happened here.

GINGRAS (voice over): New York Governor Kathy Hochul on scene called for an end to New York's recent wave of violent crime.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): We say no more. No more mass shootings. No more disrupting lives. No more creating heartbreak for people, just trying to live their lives as normal New Yorkers. It has to end, it ends now.

GINGRAS (voice over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: One man wounded in the attack said it all unfolded, after he unknowingly sat down next with a gunman. He described the moment to CNN, earlier, from his hospital bed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOURAN BENKADA, SUBWAY SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I just walked in and sat down, and the guy next to me, I got a glimpse of his face, and all you see is like a black smoke bomb going off, and then people bum-rushing to the back, this pregnant women was in front of me. I was trying to help her. I don't know they shots at first, I just thought it was a black smoke bomb. She said I'm pregnant with a baby, I hugged her, and then the bum-rush continued. I got pushed, that was when I was shot in the back of my knee.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: He tells us the pregnant woman he was trying to help, did make it out safely, the attack has him so shaken, he says, he's not sure he can ever ride a train again. We'll have much more on this story ahead here, on CNN as the investigation unfolds.

For the first time, U.S. President Joe Biden is accusing Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine. Mr. Biden made the comment when talking about an increase in gasoline prices and then doubled down on the accusation later.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I called it genocide because it's become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even be able to keep Ukrainian. And the evidence is mounting, we'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Mr. Biden's words were welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who called them the true words of a true leader. Meanwhile new satellite images reveal military equipment deployed on Russian soil not far from Ukraine's border and military convoys have also been seen moving through eastern Ukraine near the Donbas.

Ukraine is bracing for a new Russian offensive in the east and the military reported heavy fighting in the central Zaporizhzhia region on Tuesday, with fighting also continuing in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

The Pentagon says Ukrainian forces are still fighting to keep the city, where local officials estimate as many as 22,000 people have died since the war started. On Tuesday, the U.S. said it couldn't confirm if a chemical attack had taken place in Ukraine but warned it's a step Russia may be willing to take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: This could be a tactic they might employ, which is to try to mask a potential more serious chemical attack with riot control agents. Again, it comes from a mosaic of information we gleaned. That Russians have certainly proven more than willing to use chemical weapons when it suited them in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Evidence shows Russian forces have left behind a trail of death and destruction in northern Ukraine. On Tuesday, the bodies of six civilians with gunshot rooms were found in the basement of a home outside the capital city of Kyiv. The discovery was announced by the Ukrainian prosecutor general, who earlier spoke with CNN's Fred Pleitgen. A warning, the report contains graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Even as Russian troops mass in eastern Ukraine for what the U.S. believes will be a huge offensive, authorities in Kyiv continued digging up bodies. Painstaking work that goes hand in hand with investigating Russia's attack on Kyiv and possible crimes committed by Vladimir Putin's invading troops.

Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova is leading the charge. She spoke to me at the edge of a mass grave in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

IRYNA VENEDIKTOVA, UKRAINE GENERAL PROSECUTOR: For us, the best motivation is justice. And of course, we understand that all Ukrainian want fast justice, true and fast justice.

[04:10:00]

That's why we do everything, but to document all evidence, all facts of war crimes that we have here in Ukraine.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): French forensic investigators are now also on the scene, not because Ukraine lacks expertise but because Kyiv wants to be as transparent as possible in the face of Russian disinformation efforts.

VENEDIKTOVA: We want to do our job absolutely open with standards of international humanitarian law. It's a very high standards. That's why when here we have our international colleagues, we understand that they can see everything, they can see a real situation, here real graves, real dead bodies.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): After Ukrainian forces managed to expel Russian troops from around Kyiv and some other areas they'd occupied and Ukraine, authorities have discovered scores of dead bodies. Today, another six found in just one basement outside Kyiv. The prosecutor tells me they are collecting evidence in thousands of cases.

VENEDIKTOVA: Now we started more than 6,000 cases. It's cases -- it's crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity, aggression crimes. And we started on the first day so far, we started them case about genocide.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): All this as Russia still claims its forces that invaded Ukraine have not harmed any civilians.

On a visit to a spaceport with Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin again claimed his forces are fighting against would be Ukrainian Nazis in what he calls a, quote, "special operation."

The goals are absolutely clear and they are noble, he said. I said it from the beginning and want to draw your attention to that.

PLEITGEN: There are some in the U.S. at the top level who have spoken about a possible war crimes trial against Vladimir Putin, is that something you think could ever be possible and it's something that you're working towards to provide evidence for? VENEDIKTOVA: Of course, I think that everyone understands who is responsible for this war. That's why we do everything to fix, to document evidences. But we here in Ukraine actually understand who is responsible for all of this.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The investigators work is complicated by the fact that the war is still going on. And they can't reach many devastated areas like the encircled city of Mariupol where Ukraine's president says tens of thousands have been killed. But Iryna Venediktova says no matter how long it takes, she will press on.

VENEDIKTOVA: It's actually extremely important because if we will be successful as prosecutors, I assure that we can stop such aggressions in the future.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Bucha, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: As Fred was reporting, Russian President Vladimir Putin is defending his brutal war in Ukraine and is vowing to press ahead. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday he wants to swap a detained pro-Russian Ukrainian politician, Viktor Medvedchuk, for captured Ukrainian prisoners of war. Mr. Zelenskyy also warned Russia that Ukrainian forces have captured more soldiers. All signs that this war is far from over.

For more on this let's go to CNN's Clare Sebastian. So, this politician is a Ukrainian, but he's been arrested on the basis that he was found in fatigues?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and because he is known as very pro-Russian to the Ukrainians. He was named as someone that Moscow might even install to replace Zelenskyy, so pro-Russian. It was also said by the head of the SBU, the Ukrainian security services, in his statement on this arrest. That he was a pro-Russian traitor and an agent of the Russian intelligence services. So that's essentially the sort of line they're taking on this. And they're saying that they want to -- Zelenskyy now saying that he would propose swapping him giving him to Moscow in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war. So. That is a situation there. But meanwhile we have of course, Putin speaking in the far east of Russia, saying that, you know, this conflict is far from over and take a listen, Max, to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The military operation will continue until it's fully completed in the objectives that were set at the beginning of this operation are achieved. We are helping people. We are saving them from Nazism in the first place. And on the other hand, we are protecting Russia, taking measures to protect Russia's security. And it's obvious that we had no choice. It was the right thing to do, and I have no doubt the objectives will be achieved.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SEBASTIAN: None of this inspires much confidence, Max, it seems like that talks are deadlocked, the situation on the ground in many places is deadlocked. But he said that the objective set out at the beginning of the operation that he wants to see achieved. Those are very different from what it was talking about now. That was essentially taking control of the whole of Ukraine.

[04:15:00]

That was when he was talking about Ukraine as an inalienable part of Russia. Since then, we know that the focus has shifted to the Donbas region, where we see the Russian military buildup. So, there was a lot there. A lot that he said.

FOSTER: He's kept his focus on defeating Nazism, which also harks back, you know, very clearly in the memory of many people still in Russia. These accusations of the use of chemical weapons. They haven't been proven by any Western intelligence sources, but they keep coming back up.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, so what we're here hearing -- I mean it came from a commander of the Azov Brigade in the Mariupol, which as we know it's very difficult to verify anything that's happening in Mariupol. Pretty much no Western journalists there and the city is mostly destroyed, but they say that there is a chemical attack on Tuesday.

No one has been able to substantiate this but we do have a reaction from Russia this morning. This came by the Russian embassy in Washington. They said that this is disinformation, idle talk by the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, who said they were concerned by this not substantiated by a single piece of evidence. So that's the reaction.

FOSTER: Thank you, Clare, thank you.

Still to come, storms moving across the U.S. have produced tornadoes hail and snow, leaving lots of damage behind. The latest forecast after the break.

Plus, new details on the British Prime Minister's punishment for the "Partygate" scandal, that might cause -- some people are calling a slap in the face, let's say.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- on right now just to the southwest -- go, go. Punch it. I mean punch it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: A meteorologist in the U.S. state of Iowa there, speeding away from a tornado as it fully forms. Extensive property damage has been reported in nearby counties, and hundreds of customers lost power, in at least one city. Farther south and Texas, at least 23 people were injured by a tornado, which knocked down power lines and destroyed a number of buildings. That's just some of the severe weather sweeping across the U.S. at the moment. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us from the weather center, is not over yet.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not over yet, you know, we look at Wednesday, and it looks to be a far more significant day when it comes to the widespread coverage, Max, of the severe weather. As you noted, only about 14 or so tornadoes in the past 48 hours, some of which were rural, so that was at least the good news. But the vast majority of the damage we spotted were from the gusty winds. Winds over 70 plus miles per hour. We have about 150 large damaging hail reports as well with these storms. We're talking about baseball sized hail in diameter, two and a half inches across portions of Gilmore City there in Iowa -- which is where that tornado footage was coming from.

Parts of South Dakota, Kansas, even on into Minnesota. Golf balls to baseball and tennis ball sized hail reported in this region. Notice, rainfall was also significant, almost four and a half inches in a few observation points. And the concern is the severe weather threat is shifting a little farther towards the east. The population density picks up across this region, where upwards of 96 million Americans are at risk here for severe weather, as we're going into Wednesday morning and eventually into Wednesday afternoon as well.

The initial threat pops up early into the afternoon hours, where we see some of these storms flourish, and then eventually by late afternoon into the evening hours, another line of storm develops there that could bring with it again a few areas of a strong tornadoes. And that's a concern across this region, where you have a level four on a scale of 1 to 5 -- that's indicated in red. And again, cities such as Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, some of these fall in line with that zone, where strong tornadoes are possible. It's the strongest EF2 or greater in that forecast. And in fact, the hatched area for the significant threat for tornadoes is 15 percent in that zone. Meaning 15 percent chance that any area within 25 miles of a point could see tornadoes.

And notice widespread coverage of significant wind damage, as strong as 74 plus miles per hour in that zone as well. But the good news here, Max, is that this multi day threat for severe weather really dwindles getting into Thursday, and we do expect Wednesday to be the final day here for the most active weather, as storms really begin to die down into the next couple of days.

FOSTER: OK, Pedram, back to you for an update on that tomorrow. Thank you.

President Biden taking more steps to try to bring gasoline bases down, he announced an emergency waiver allowing year-round sales of gas, which contain a 15 percent ethanol blend. Sale of the blend is usually banned during summer months because of air quality concerns. Mr. Biden acknowledged it won't solve all the problems with rising fuel prices. The White House estimates it could save some consumers an average of ten cents a gallon. 50 pounds or $65 is said to be the amount the British Prime Minister

was fine for his role in the "Partygate" scandal. Boris Johnson apologized on Tuesday for breaching COVID lockdown rules, and issued an explanation, but there are still demands for his resignation. Nada Bashir has been closely following all of this for us. And he is the first serving Prime Minister to have broken the law, or to have been found to broken the law at least.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, and the reputational damage to the Prime Minister, to his party is key here. We've heard his repeated call since these lockdown parties sort of came to light over the Christmas period, for his resignation, for the resignation of other Downing Street officials. And we heard from the Prime Minister yesterday, he wanted to draw a line under the scandal. He issued a firm apology. He said that he respected the outcome of the police investigation.

As we, know the metropolitan police has been looking into numerous parties. The Prime Minister has been seen taking part in several gatherings, this is just one of them. We've heard from reports and seen photos that he took part in a Christmas quiz, he took part in a garden gathering at Downing Street, all during times when the country was either in lockdown or under strict coronavirus regulations.

Now, the party in question, or the gathering in question that he has been fined for was a gathering in the cabinet office. But according to Prime Minister, he didn't know that he was actually at fault and in breach of COVID regulations. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:25:00]

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And amongst all these engagements on the day that happened to be my birthday, there is a brief gathering in the cabinet room, shortly after 2 p.m. lasting for less than ten minutes. During which people I work with kindly passed on their good wishes. And I have to say, in all frankness, at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules. But of course, the police have found otherwise, and I fully respect the outcome of their investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: The Prime Minister, clearly there, backing the metropolitan police's investigation. The fine has been issued. He's said he's paid that fine. Now but of course, the Met has said the investigation is still ongoing, there are a number of parties that are a part of that investigation. There could still be more fines to come. And even though he has issued that firm apology, there are people asking for more, both from the opposition party, and the public calling on the Prime Minister to issue his resignation from not following the rules that he and his party set up.

Particularly when there were so many people at the time separated from friends and family abiding by those regulations. So many people dying at the time as a result of coronavirus. So, many won't be satisfied with this apology and will continue to call for his resignation.

FOSTER: Also, to his advantage that he's the one that decides whether or not the ministerial code has been broken and, whether not he should resign, as Prime Minister. Because that's in the code, right.

BASHIR: Yes, absolutely.

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you very much indeed.

You are looking at a video now shot from inside a COVID quarantine center in Shanghai. The video shot by a patient shows hundreds of people crowded together in a large room. The patients tell CNN all 1,000 beds in the quarantine center, filled up in two days.

Meanwhile deputy director of China's National Health Commission warns Shanghai's COVID outbreak has, quote, not been effectively contained.

Shanghai reported more than 26,000 new locally transmitted cases on Tuesday, with more than 240,000 new infections since March the 1st.

Now, Europe is uniting behind Ukraine. Several EU leaders are on their way to Kyiv to meet with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the block says nothing is off the table for the next round of sanctions. We'll go live to Brussels, next.

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