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Democratic Senator Pleads for Compromise on Gun Reform; Biden Confronted with Two Deadly Mass Shootings in 10 Days; Texas Governor, Officials Give Update on Elementary School Massacre. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 25, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But on the process, there's a dispute among Democrats about whether to gut the filibuster rule to allow legislation to pass by a simple majority rather than 60 votes.

But at least two Democratic Senators are opposed to going that route, including West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): A filibuster should not be needed. It's the one tool that keeps us working and at least talking together. Without that, we do nothing. We have no checks and balances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So Joe Manchin defending the filibuster there.

Also Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democratic Senator, telling reporters earlier, quote, "I don't think D.C. solutions are realistic here," when asked about calls to gut the filibuster to allow such legislation to pass by a majority of 51 Senators.

So, Ana, all pointing to just more legislative quagmire. Despite the massacre and the tragedy that everyone saw in Texas, still no signs of traction moving forward in the Senate -- Ana?

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: There just has to be common ground at some point. It is so unthinkable to hear some of those clips.

Manu, I know are you just the messenger.

Kaitlan, let me ask you about how the president is responding. He's planning a trip to Texas. What more are you learning?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're still in the early stages of that at the White House. But they are making plans for President Biden to go to Texas.

Obviously, that's not surprising. But they are mindful there are a lot of resources that go into a presidential visit. So I don't expect it will be anytime soon that the president will go. It will probably be likely in the next several days before he makes that visit, because they are being aware of the response that's still happening on the ground in the first 36 hours of this shooting and processing everything that's happened.

But they are planning for President Biden to go. It will be notable when he does, given it was just eight days ago he was at the scene of another mass shooting in Buffalo after that grocery store attack.

Meeting with families still grieving, talking to them and about what was happening, talking about white supremacy in that one. But also talking about guns and how the shooter was so easily able to get a gun.

And that is something that he is, obviously, talking about once again.

He learned about this shooting, flying back from his first trip to Asia. He was on Air Force One when staff were briefing him on this. He was immediately on the phone with the governor of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott, talking about what was happening and the response that was already underway.

You saw when he came back to the White House last night, the president had this pain in his voice as he was asking for commonsense action on guns, commonsense gun laws, saying they needed to turn this pain into action.

But as you heard Manu just say, it seems very unlikely --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Kaitlan, I've got to interrupt you.

Because we're going to go live to a press conference with the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): These kids will never attend school again. To say the least, Uvalde has been shaken to its core. Families are broken apart. Hearts are forever shattered.

All Texans are grieving with the people of Uvalde. And people are rightfully angry about what has happened. Events like this, they tear at the fabric of the community. Our job is to ensure that the community is not going to be ripped apart.

All Texans must come together and support the families who have been affected by this horrific tragedy. What they need now more than ever is our love. What they need is uplifting from all of their fellow Texans and all of our fellow Americans.

And let me emphasize something that I know you all know, but the reality is, as horrible as what happened, it could have been worse. The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do.

They showed amazing courage by running towards gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives. And it is a fact that, because of their quick response, getting on the scene, being able to respond to the gunman and eliminate the gunman, they were able to save lives. Unfortunately, not enough.

[13:34:59]

But I want to make sure that everybody knows all of the law enforcement agencies and groups that are involved and were involved in this process.

The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation and they are supported by the Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol, the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigative Division, DPS Aircraft, DPS Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, DPS Crime and Victim Support.

They're also supported by the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the FBI as well as multiple federal partners, including the DEA, ATF, HSI and Border Patrol.

And then, of course, the valiant local officials, the Uvalde Sheriff's Department, the Uvalde Police Department, the Uvalde Independent School District Police, Uvalde County Constables, Uvalde mayor, the county judge, Uvalde district attorney's office, local public works and surrounding police department. And the San Antonio Police and Fire Department also.

Let me walk you through some of the facts of what has happened. There has been a lot of things that have been said. Some are correct. Some are incorrect.

Let me tell you the best information that we have at this time, understanding, very importantly, that this is an ongoing investigation and ongoing investigations often reveal new information as those investigations progress.

The first thing that happened was that the gunman shot his grandmother in the face. She then contacted police. The gunman fled. And as he was fleeing, he had an accident just outside the elementary school and he ran into the school.

Officers with the Consolidated Independent School District approached the gunman and engaged with the gunman at that time. The gunman then entered a back door and went down two short hallways into a classroom on the left-hand side.

The gun room -- entered into the classroom. The classroom was connected internally to another classroom. Border Patrol Consolidated ISD officers, police, sheriffs and DPS converged on that classroom. A Border Patrol officer killed the gunman.

As I said, Texas Rangers are leading the investigation, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement officials.

At this time we know that 19 children, 19 children have lost their lives. Two faculty members lost their lives. In addition to that, there are 17 people who are injured but their injuries are not life- threatening.

All family members of all these students and faculty members have been contacted and informed about the circumstance. The officials are working with parents to ensure their parents will be able to see their children.

Parents should contact Victim Services at the County Fairplex. We know that there are parents still striving to make a connection. All parents are welcome and urged to contact Victim Services at the County Fairplex.

The gunman was 18-years-old and reportedly a high school dropout. Reportedly, there has been no criminal history identified yet. He may have had a juvenile record but that is yet to be determined. There was no known mental health history of the gunman.

He used one weapon, which was an A.R.-15 using 223 rounds.

There was no meaningful forewarning of this crime other than what I am about to tell you.

[13:39:59]

As of this time, the only information that was known in advance was posted by the gunman on Facebook approximately 30 minutes before reaching the school.

The first post was to the point of, he said, "I'm going to shoot my grandmother."

The second post was, "I shot my grandmother."

The third post, maybe less than 15 minutes before arriving at the school was, "I'm going to shoot an elementary school."

I mentioned that during the shootout that took place at the school, in addition to the students and the faculty, there were three officers who were injured, who all remain in good condition. One deputy sheriff lost a daughter in that school.

Before coming out here, we had a long discussion with law enforcement at all levels. We had a discussion with community leaders, elected officials.

And I asked the sheriff and others an open-ended question and got the same answer from the sheriff as well as from the mayor of Uvalde. The question was, what is the problem here? And they were straight forward and emphatic.

They said, we have a mental -- we have a problem with mental health illness in this community. And then they elaborated on the magnitude of the mental health challenges that they are facing in the community and the need for more mental health support in this region.

I want to make sure everybody understands the mental health services that are available at this time, with me making one clarifying point in advance that I will redouble in the aftermath.

Whenever anything is shocking and extraordinary and disturbing, as this event is, occurs, there's an urgent need for everybody affected to access mental health.

I cannot be more emphatic than saying with great urgency everybody in this community, I mean everybody, the victims, the families, family members, friends, the law enforcement involved, but the entire community is in utter shock about this.

Some physical wounds that were sustained by the officers, they're going to heal in the coming days. The mental and emotional wounds are far harder to see and last far longer.

The state of Texas, working with federal and local officials and agencies, we're going to be here for a long, long time.

And one key point that we will focus on is making sure that everybody in this community has the access they need for as long as they need it to address what the mental and emotional health care needs that they .

And I'll list various agencies and make sure these are made available to the public.

The mental health services currently available are from Victim Services from across the area from federal, state and local levels, including the Family Resource Center at the Uvalde County Fairplex.

Schools have crisis teams at the Uvalde Civic Center. They provide wrap-around services for families who are affected.

The Texas Child Mental Health Consortium, created by the state legislature in 2019, is available to assist. The Blue Bonnet Children's Advocacy Center is available to provide services for children.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is on site and will be available for ongoing provision of services. The Texas Education Agency is providing supplemental counseling services.

[13:45:08]

The Texas Department of Public Safety Council is providing counseling services for law enforcement. The FBI is also bringing in mental health services for law enforcement.

It could not be over emphasized the importance of law enforcement officers, all of them, seeking out and obtaining this mental health counseling.

The district attorney's Office for Victim Services has a phone number available for all victims. And the entire community, in a way, is a victim here.

And I was provided their number to give out to you publicly. This is the number for the district attorney's Office for Victim Services. The number is 830-278-2916.

And at this time, I will pass the mic to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.

BETO O'ROURKE, (D), TEXAS GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: (INAUDIBLE)

LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK (R-TX): Excuse me, excuse me. Excuse me.

MAYOR DON MCLAUGHLIN (R-UVALDE, TX): Sit down.

PATRICK: You are out of line and an embarrassment.

MCLAUGHLIN: Hey!

(CROSSTALK)

MCLAUGHLIN: Sit down. Get out --

(CROSSTALK)

O'ROURKE: The time to stop the next shooting is now, and you are doing nothing. MCLAUGHLIN: No. You need to get his ass out of here. This isn't the place.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLAUGHLIN: Call the police over.

O'ROURKE: This was totally predictable when you -- MCLAUGHLIN: Sir, you're out of line. Sir, you are out of line.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLAUGHLIN: Sire, you are out of line. Please leave this auditorium.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLAUGHLIN: I can't believe you are a sick son of a bitch who would come to a deal like this to make a political issue.

(CROSSTALK)

O'ROURKE: This is on you.

MCLAUGHLIN: It's on assholes like you. Why don't you get out here?

(CROSSTALK)

(SHOUTING)

(CROSSTALK)

(SHOUTING)

ABBOTT: There are family members -- there are family members who are crying as we speak. There are family members whose hearts are broken. There's no words that anybody shouting can come up here and do anything to heal those broken hearts.

We all, every Texan, every American has a responsibility. Where we need to focus not on ourselves and our agendas. We need to focus on the healing and hope that we can provide to those who have suffered unconscionable damage to their lives and loss of life.

We need all Texans to, in this one moment in time, put aside the personal agendas. Think of somebody other than ourselves! Think about the people who are hurt! And help those who have been hurt!

And this time, the Lieutenant Governor will speak.

PATRICK: I was just about to say that there will be plenty of time to discuss and analyze what happened yesterday and do everything that we can within our power to hopefully prevent it from happening again.

But now is a time, people watching around the world in this country and this state, to focus on these families as the governor just said. Right now, we need to future our arms around the families of these victims, the students and the teachers.

This is not a partisan issue. This is not a political issue. This is an unimaginable moment that will impact the lives of those who lost their children and those who survived, the adults, teachers, men and women of law enforcement who were there.

[13:50:06]

We are better than this as a country. We are better than this.

These types of crimes, when you see children killed, go to the very core of all of us who have or grandchildren. We can't imagine the pain that these families are going through. We saw it four years ago in Santa Fe.

So can we not be a nation that can stand together for at least a day or a week or a month? My gosh. To put these families first and everything else second? My gosh.

You know, we live in a time -- I said this yesterday -- when people at each other's throats everywhere we turn, whether it's on the Internet or an Oscar stage or two coaches arguing or in the political world or the media world.

Who are we as an American people? Who are we?

We all have to do our part. All do our part to make us a better people and a better nation.

Evil will always walk among us. And in times like this -- I've seen it. The governor has seen it. The speaker has seen it. The Senators have seen it. The attorneys generals have seen it -- in these other shootings - Sutherland Springs, El Paso, Odessa, Santa Fe.

It's God that brings a community together. It's God that heals a community. It's God that heals a shattered and broken heart.

And if we don't turn back as a nation to understanding what we were founded upon and what we were taught by our parents and what we believe in, then these situations will only get worse and happen more often.

So no matter what your thoughts are today, pray for these families. Pray for this community. Give us wisdom. Give us wisdom.

Right now, let's focus on the families. They deserve that. They need our love. They need our prayers.

Thank you, Governor.

ABBOTT: And now the speaker of the House, Dade Phelan.

STATE REP. DADE PHELAN (R-TX) & HOUSE SPEAKER: Thank you, Governor. I appreciate it.

Mayor, I'm sorry you had to witness that outburst.

Now is not the time to politicize pain and suffering. This time of year should be the happiest time in a child's life. Summertime, getting out of school, enjoying your family and friends.

And instead, this community is faced with an unspeakable tragedy of which there are no words. There are no words to ease the pain and suffering and the anger in this community.

I do want to reiterate what the governor said about the mental health of this community. This will take many, many years of pain and suffering and counseling.

And your mental health is like any other health. It must be treated. It must be diagnosed. It must be talked about.

And the legislature, when we reconvene, we'll have a long, very robust discussion about mental health, like we always have, and will continue to support mental health in the state and especially rural mental health.

Like the sheriff said and like the mayor said, every community has mental health needs, and they must be addressed. This crisis is another reiteration of the mental health crisis we have in this state.

I also want to thank the law enforcement for their work, DPS, Border Patrol, sheriffs, police officers, both locally in the school district.

I believe one school district's police officer lost his wife in the shooting, was there on the scene. And the governor mentioned sheriff's deputy losing a child in that building as well. Just unspeakable tragedies for this whole community.

And the mental health of our law enforcement is crucial in these times. And it's OK for them to say something's wrong as well. I do my deer hunting here in Uvalde County. It's a beautiful community

with beautiful people. And all we can say is how tragic this is and the support, the state will show and will continue to show.

And we just appreciate your resiliency. And let us know how we can help here in the state of Texas.

Thank you.

ABBOTT: And now the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steve McCraw.

STEVE MCCRAW, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Thank you, Governor.

On behalf of the sheriff and chiefs of police and the departments been asked to go through a timeline of the facts as we know, the investigation right now. It's preliminary. This information -- we'll provide out as much information as we can.

[13:55:07]

First, as already reported, Salvador Ramos was responsible for the horrific attack and killing of 19 school-aged children and two adults. He was 18 years, as previously reported. He was a dropout of the school.

He had no criminal history that we've been able to find or detect at this particular point. He lived with his grandmother, who is 66 years old.

On March 17th, Ramos purchased a semiautomatic rifle at a local sporting goods store. On March 18th, he purchased 375 rounds of ammunition for that rifle. On March 20th, he purchased another semiautomatic rifle at this same local store.

The FBI has been able to find information on his Facebook account that the governor provided you information on, that approximately 11:00 he announced, you know, on Facebook, a post, a message that he was going to shoot his grandmother. ]

He shot his grandmother. He re-reported that he had shot her. And after that, he reported that he was going to a school to attack it. He didn't identify the specific school. He did say elementary at that point in time. But the timeline is anywhere from 11:00 to 11:30.

His mother reported him to the police department, when she was able to run across the street to a neighbor and get help. And she was medevacked to San Antonio in critical condition at this point but she's still alive.

The subject, Ramos, at that point in time, used her vehicle, his grandmother's vehicle. He was living at their residence since March of 2022. Used her vehicle to drive approximately 0.29 miles which is a block and a half away from the school, Robb Elementary School. He crashed the vehicle at that point in time. He exited. He exited

with a backpack. He took a rifle with him. One rifle, a Daniel Defense, that he had previously purchased, as mentioned.

He went towards the west side of the campus, which is a backdoor. As he was approaching, as the governor mentioned earlier, there was a brave Consolidated Independent School District resource officer that approached him, engaged him, and at that time gunfire was not exchanged.

But the subject was able to make it into the school, as the governor reported. He went down a hallway, turned right, then turned left, and there were two classrooms that were adjoining. And that's where the carnage began.

As he was shooting, when the shooting began, we had Uvalde police officers arrive on scene, along with the Consolidated Independent School District officers, immediately breached. Because we know, to an officer, every second is a life.

They breached it and engaged the active shooter and continued to keep him pinned down in that location.

You know, afterwards, until a tactical team could be put together, comprised of Border Patrol agents on the front end, some members of their unit, which is a SWAT team for Border Patrol. Also there was a Uvalde County deputy that -- and to two Uvalde police officers.

They breached the classroom door. They went in. They engaged Ramos and killed him at the scene.

That covers it, Governor.

One thing I'd like to say, though -- and you hit the nail on the head -- is that the profession of law enforcement -- and it is a profession -- what looks right and how we measure ourselves is the absence of crime and disorder.

Obviously, this is a situation we failed in the sense that we didn't prevent this mass attack. But I can tell you those officers that arrived on the scene and put their lives in danger, they saved other kids. They kept him pinned down. And we're very proud of that.

At the same time, we're always looking to get better and look at anything that might have been out there. We have yet to find a clue, whether it's social media or other indicators that might have given us any type of idea that he was about to do something like this that gives us an opportunity to prevent it.

Because as we know, the overriding priority of you, certainly the legislature in Texas and the people of Texas, is that it's all about prevention, you know, prevent the next mass attack.

And thank you for your leadership.

And Speaker and Lieutenant Governor, thank you. ABBOTT: Thank you.

And now the superintendent for the Consolidated Independent School District, Hal Harold.

HAL HAROLD, SUPERINTENDENT, UVALDE CONSOLIDATED INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT: Thank you, Governor.

Thank you for being here today and thank you for your support. Appreciate your team coming and speaking to us and providing the services and resources that you have.

As superintendent, I could never imagine a day like yesterday. End of school, award ceremonies, the time of a second-, third-, or fourth- grader's life at that point.

[13:59:56]

It was a senseless and tragic event in this magnitude. Our community is -- it's heartbreaking. It really is.

We have had a lot of support here from our community, surrounding counties, surrounding districts and --