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Mass Shooting at Texas School; Interview with 97percent Executive Director Mathew Littman; North Korea Tests Three Missiles; America's Choice 2022; North Korea Launched New Missile Tests; Nuclear Threat by North Korea; Russia's War on Ukraine; Deadly Texas School Shooting; Red Flags for Gun Control. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 25, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary church. We are following breaking news this hour. 19 children and two adults killed in a shooting at an elementary school in southwest Texas. Authorities say the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos acted alone and was killed by law enforcement officers. His motive right now is unclear.

Three Sources tell CNN Ramos shot his grandmother before going to the school. A state senator says the woman was airlifted to San Antonio and is in critical condition. This all happened in the small town of Uvalde in Texas about 90 minutes west of San Antonio near the U.S. border with Mexico. About 90 percent of the students at Robb Elementary School are Latino. A Texas lawmaker says Ramos legally purchased the two rifles used in the shooting from a federally authorized dealer on his 18th birthday.

Just three days earlier, a photo of two A.R.-15-style rifles was posted on an Instagram account linked to the gunman. The massacre is the deadliest at a U.S. elementary school since 20 children and six adults were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. U.S. President Joe Biden says it is time for Americans and lawmakers to stand up to the gun lobby and pass common sense regulations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The president is just back from a trip to Asia. He ordered flags at the White House and other public buildings lowered to half staff.

Well, parents waited late into the night at the Civic Center on Tuesday hoping to be reunited with their children. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Texas with more. ED LAVANDERA, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Late into the night, many family members were at a civic center in Uvalde, Texas learning the grim news that their children did not survive the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas earlier on Tuesday. Families were told to go to the civic center where they could be reunited with their children. But as the hours have dragged on, many of the people left at that civic center now are the parents and families of the at least 19 children that were murdered senselessly on Tuesday.

We were told that authorities are using DNA swabs of family members and parents to help identify the victims. That is the reality of the gruesome scene that investigators are dealing with. Right now, what we know is that this attack was carried out by an 18-year-old named Salvador Ramos who lives there in Uvalde. At some point, he attended the high school there in town. This shooting came in just the last few days of this school year.

School district officials have said the entire school year is essentially over at this point. The high school is supposed to be having its graduation this weekend. But right now, there are dozens of family members desperately waiting for any kind of news and holding on to the slight glimmer of hope that perhaps their loved ones or their children are recovering in a hospital somewhere and just haven't been identified.

But the reality is that at this point, what many family members there are dealing with is waiting for authorities to give them the news they do not want to receive. We are learning a little bit more also about how this attack unfolded. We are told that the 18-year-old gunman drove up to the school actually wrecked his car and then got out was wearing body armor and ran into the school.

He engaged in a shootout with several law enforcement officers that were there at the scene. We're told that a border patrol agent suffered a gunshot wound but it is not life threatening. He will be OK. But the gunman was able to get inside the school where he carried out this deadly rampage. But right now, we really don't have much information on what might be the motive behind this attack.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles, retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Steve Moore. Steve, just unspeakable tragedy here and still so many unanswered questions about the gunman and why he did this. First shooting his own grandmother and then 19 children and two adults at this elementary school. But what about the actions first of the police at the scene just before the gunman was wearing body armor and entered the school, what is your assessment of how all this was handled?

[02:05:03]

STEVE MOORE, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Well, the first thing I've heard and it's so confused right now, we're trying to find out who did what, when. But it appears that on his way in, we've been told that two of the ISD, the district police officers engaged in and were shot by him. And that's what allowed him to get into the school. There are also conflicting reports that there was a long wait, possibly up to 45 minutes before anybody winning and routed him out from a barricade situation.

I can't verify right now that that's true. But if so, it raises some serious questions about the rapid act -- action tactics that are standard nationwide, and what exigencies kept them from using those.

CHURCH: And this shooting was very similar, wasn't it? To the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting of young elementary school children. What would authorities tried to piece together? What happened and find a motive in it to try to stop this from happening?

MOORE: Well, I think what we're going to have to do is just a very holistic approach to the whole thing. You can't just say that we're only going to work on guns. We need to work -- we can't have 18-year- old lunatics with assault rifles, we've got to do something. But at the same time, you can't just assume that gun control is going to solve the problem because it isn't. The -- we're just --we're dealing with a large -- significantly large group of people who have homicidal ideations who want to hurt people, who are violent.

And we've seen it over and over and over. And if we remove guns, if we were to just wave a magic wand, you'd still have these homicidal people out there looking for a different weapon. So, we can't just go after the guns, we also have to -- we have to harden the schools to make them harder targets. We have to train some kind of security system, police at the schools. And we need to do something about mental health, which is really a serious problem in this country.

And we need to learn more about how we as law enforcement can start predicting this behavior.

CHURCH: The problem is, of course, that other countries around the world don't have this issue with school shootings, mass shootings every single day almost there is some shooting that takes place. I mean, there were some 30 -- there have been some 30 school shootings this year and more than 200 mass shootings in this country. Other countries don't have those sorts of statistics. So I mean --

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: China to have some violence against -- China has some violence against student problems. I think the issue is, is not -- is the people that we're dealing with. Our nations are not exactly alike, and don't react a light to different things.

CHURCH: And I want to ask you this, too, because a friend of the gunman says that he was bullied at school about the way he dressed. How do defects like that play into an investigation and finding a motive? And even if this were the case, why would he choose an elementary school as his target? How does that make any sense? Not that any of this makes sense of course.

MOORE: No, you're absolutely right. None of it does, except in his mind. And so, we have to go into his mind to try to find out why these things were significant to him. And what we're find -- what I suspect we're going to find is that in all the shootings, we've worked, and I've had one -- as one of my cases, you find that the shooter has -- and this could be a touch point where we can start working but the shooter has researched other mass shootings.

And sometimes intricately, and they are always trying to better the last psycho. And so, this one is kind of interesting to me in that -- if you look at Sandy Hook which was the most violent or the most deaths recorded, you see that he -- the shooter there, first shot his mother and then went to an elementary school. Well -- and he did that in the morning. In this situation, we have a shooter who shot his grandmother and then went to an elementary school in the morning with similar weapons.

So we're going to want to find out if he modeled this after another attack. And if maybe that's a touch point, because these are similarities that I've seen in all these things in obsession with violence, homicidal ideation and a researching of the thing they're going to do.

[02:10:10]

CHURCH: Right. And is it -- way to the point that we need to lock down these schools and make them harder to enter. I mean, certainly, I know from our neighborhood that elementary schools are much more vulnerable than high schools. I mean, there are metal detectors in the high schools. That's not the case in elementary schools. Does something need to change now that we're looking at these two massive mass shootings at these two particular schools?

MOORE: Well, Rosemary, my thought on this is, if we stop gun production and stopped everything, there's already 20 million guns in society. So, should we not start protecting things that are potential targets? And what happens when you harden a college or you harden a high school, you're not preventing an attack necessarily but you're shifting it to the next -- the next least defended place that you can find.

And so, if the high schools and colleges are untouchable, then you're -- then you're moving towards the elementary schools, and so you have to protect them at the same level you protect the high schools and the colleges or they become the target of choice.

CHURCH: Yes, that appears to be what needs to be done since Congress doesn't seem to be stepping up to the plate. Steve Moore, thank you so much. Joining us live from Los Angeles. Appreciate it.

MOORE: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the nation in the wake of the horrific shooting at that Texas Elementary School calling on Americans to turn their pain into action.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:57] CHURCH: The United States is grappling with yet another horrific mass shooting. This one at an elementary school in southwest Texas. At least 19 children and two adults were killed when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. About 85 miles west of San Antonio. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the entire state is grieving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): When parents drop their kids off at school, they have every expectation to know that they're going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends. And there are families who are in mourning right now. And the state of Texas is in mourning with them for the reality that these parents are not going to be able to pick up their children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Police have identified the 18-year-old shooter who was reportedly killed by law enforcement. Officials say he also shot his grandmother before going to the school and she is reportedly in critical condition. One former classmate says he received a picture from the suspect a few days ago of a rifle and a backpack full of ammunition. According to a state senator, the gunman legally purchased two A.R.-15-style rifles for his 18th birthday.

In an address from the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden grew emotional as a call for more action on gun legislation to prevent future tragedies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I am sick and tired of it. We have to act. And don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage. I spent my career as a senator and vice president working to pass common sense gun laws. We can and will prevent every tragedy, but we know they were and have positive impact. We passed the assault weapons ban. Mass shootings went down. When the law expired mass shootings tripled.

The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons. It's just wrong. What in God's name do you need to solve it for except to kill someone? There aren't running through the forest with Kevlar vests on for God's sake. It's just sick. The gun manufacturers have spent two decades aggressively marking assault weapons which make them the most and largest profit.

For God's sake, we have to have the courage to stand up to the industry. Here's what else I know. Most Americans support common sense laws, common sense gun laws. I just got off a trip from Asia meeting with Asian leaders. I learned this while I was on the aircraft. What struck me on that 17-hour flight, what struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why? They have mental health problems.

hey have domestic disputes in other countries. They have people who are lost. But these kinds of mass journeys never happened with the kind of frequency that happened in America. Why? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why don't we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone? Have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies. It's time to turn this pain into action.

For every parent, for every citizen this country, we have to make it clear to every elected official in this country it's time to act.

[02:20:09]

BIDEN: It's time for those who obstruct or delay or block the common sense gun laws. We need to let you know that we will not forget. We can do so much more. We have to do more. Our prayer tonight was those parents lying in bed trying to figure out, will I'd be able to sleep again? What do I say to my other children? What happens tomorrow? And God bless the loss of innocent life on this sad day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Powerful words there from the president. And joining me now is Tony Montalto, president of the Stand With Parkland Group. His 14- year-old daughter Gina (ph) was killed in a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Thank you so much for being with us. And I am so sorry for your loss. It is incomprehensible.

TONY MONTALTO, PRESIDENT, STAND WITH PARKLAND GROUP: Thank you for having me. And, yes, we feel the loss of our daughter every day.

CHURCH: I just can't bear the thought of it. And now we watch another tragic school shooting take place in this country. What were your thoughts when you heard about Tuesday's Texas school shooting?

MONTALTO: Well, it brought my wife and I right back to the day that we learned that our beautiful 14-year-old girl Gina was murdered in her school. We remember the pain we felt. Our hearts break for the families in Texas that have gone through the painful process of reunification. And then some of them found out the worst news that a parent could ever hear. I'm very saddened by that.

CHURCH: Yes. Just so unbearable. And of course, gun violence occurs on a daily basis in this country. And we see very little action being taken to stop it. What progress has been made since the 2018 Parkland shooting that took your lovely daughter's life and what more needs to be done, do you think?

MONTALTO: Well, certainly more needs to be done. But we have seen some incremental changes. We saw the Fix NICS Act get passed on the federal level which helped fix background checks. We saw the STOP School Violence Act get passed in 2018 as well that provided funding for a single point of entry and securing the campus as well as the creation of behavioral threat assessment teams.

So, we have seen some incremental change. Various states 15 of which have added red flag laws. And of course, for those who aren't familiar with red flag or extreme risk protection order laws, what they do is if someone is deemed a threat to themselves or others, they must surrender their firearms after a due process hearing. And they were surrendered them until they're deemed not to be a threat to themselves or others.

This is very proactive measure. It keeps firearms in the hands of responsible owners yet removes them from those who are dangerous. It's this kind of proactive thing we need to see. We saw President Trump support these after the Parkland shooting. We've seen President Biden support these early in his administration. And now we need Congress to act. There's a bill S.292 which was a red flag act put out by Senator Rubio, Senator Scott, supported by Senator Reid and Senator King.

So, it's got bipartisan support. And that would provide money to states that enact red flag laws, which have been used over 5000 times here in Florida. And despite the naysaying from the -- from the extreme right, the world hasn't ended there. People are still able to purchase weapons, people are still able to hunt and do all the things that they love to do. Yet, over 5000 times we've helped protect Floridians with that law.

CHURCH: Right. It's good to see there's been some progress but we just heard from President Biden and he said in his address Tuesday, that action needs to be taken. They called on Congress to stand up to the powerful gun lobby. Do you have any faith that more will be done that that will happen particularly with the midterm elections just months away? Will we see courage or cowardice in Congress, do you think?

MONTALTO: Well, we've worked with good people on both sides of the aisle and we're hopeful that finally maybe this will be the thing that pushes people to action.

[02:25:03]

MONTALTO: Again, we've seen the leader in the last two presidents. One Republican, one Democrat supporting simple things like red flag laws. Yet we have failed to see Congress Act. So I urge congressional action on that. Another bill that's out there is the Eagles Act. The Eagles Act is named after the mascot at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That bill would provide additional funding to the U.S. Secret Service and the National Threat Assessment Center to investigate school shootings and how to prevent them.

Then they take that and they go out into the public and they train school districts, local school districts on how to do behavioral threat assessments to children that are exhibiting troubling behavior. And the purpose of that is to get people help before they resort to violence. These are two of the most proactive things we can do. These are two bills that have bipartisan support that need to be acted on so that we can identify people, get them the help they need and stop the violence before it happens. Because even one child who was murdered at school is one too many.

CHURCH: You're absolutely right. Let's hope we see some progress with those bills. Tony Montalto, thank you so much for talking with us.

MONTALTO: Thank you for having me. And let's pray for the people in Texas, please.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Thank you. Well, these tragedies always sparked a barrage of thoughts and prayer type cliches, many from Republicans who have no intention of supporting any meaningful gun before measure. So, what would it take to get something anything passed? I'll ask the head of a group working to reduce gun violence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:00]

ALEXANDER HOLMES, CEO, MONEYGRAM INTERNATIONAL: It is actually very complicated to move money around the world. A few companies can do it at scale. A few companies can do it in a number of countries that we do it. And so, these companies, they come together like MoneyGram and like our competitors do really provide a very unique service. And that is to instantly move money, get funds from the United States to Mexico literally in sub-seconds. For the ability to take $350 that you worked hard to earn and get it back to your mother so that she can pick it up in Mexico, use it for food and, you know, health care, housing is actually a very unique service.

If you're from many of the countries Mexico, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan some of the largest received markets in the world is absolutely critical to the lives aligned with those consumers in those countries. But many people don't appreciate that. It's not the life that you live then it's not something that you really ever -- really get involved in.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: Well, we are learning more about the days leading up to the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas. If you're just joining us, authorities say 19 children and two adults were killed on Tuesday, by an 18-year-old gunman. Local hospitals are treating more than a dozen children and two adults for injuries. A Texas State lawmaker tells CNN, the shooter legally purchased the weapons from a federally authorized dealer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D-TX): On his 18th birthday, he bought those two assault rifles that you're -- that you've been talking about, and they are assault rifles. That's the first thing he did when he turned 18, just some time ago. There was some social media interaction, some threats that, you know, kids should watch out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: As you heard there, authorities are investigating possible warnings on social media, an Instagram account linked to the shooter contained a photo of two AR-15 style rifles, just three days before the massacre. Following the attack, a Democratic U.S. Senator got choked up over the shooting and begged his Republican colleagues to work on gun reforms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CONN.): Our kids are living in fear. Every single time they set foot in a classroom because they think that they are going to be next. What are we doing? Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate? Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job of putting yourself in a position of authority? If your answer is that as this slaughter increases as our kids running for their lives, we do nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The school shooting in Texas is likely to be among the deadliest in U.S. history. I want to take a look at some of the others. In 20 -- in 2007, a student opened fire on the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg, Virginia killing 32 people before killing himself. In 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut a 20-year-old shot and killed 20 children, six adults, his mother, and then himself. Parkland, Florida, February 2018, a 19-year- old killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. And April 1999, Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher before committing suicide in the school library.

Well, from Los Angeles, I want to bring in Mathew Littman. He is the executive director of 97Percent, a nonprofit working to decrease gun violence. Thank you so much for joining us as we try to work through yet another mass shooting in this country. And this time at an elementary school. Most Americans, of course, want to see action on common-sense gun control laws and yet Congress appears paralyzed. Many members refusing to go against the powerful gun lobby. So, what needs to be done and what can be done to stop these mass shootings?

[02:35:00]

MATHEW LITTMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 97PERCENT: Hello, Rosemary. I was on with you 10 days ago, and I have to admit I was hoping not to be out with you for a while. You know, I can't believe we're back here this quickly talking about something so horrible. And what can be done? Congress is not passing universal background checks, right?

So, that's something that could've been done and the Senate won't vote on it. Red Flag laws -- we have Red Flag laws in many States in this country and we don't use that effectively. That could've prevented the shooting in Buffalo last week as an example. We have it in Florida, Governor DeSantis is leading that State. We could use Red Flag laws there. And no objections for the most part from Republicans for Red Flag laws, let's use them.

So, there are things that we could be using -- doing right now. But let me also say this, Rosemary, we have to bring gun owners to the table. We can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and then say, why didn't this work? We have to try something different. And the thing that we need to do is there are 400 million guns in this country, we need to get gun owners to the table to advocate for gun reform and we need to do that now.

CHURCH: Well, what sort of percentage of those gun owners will be on board with that though?

LITTMAN: Well, thank you for asking. So, we call ourselves 97percent, and I don't really mean to be self-promoting, but the reason we started this whole thing was because that's what we saw as the missing link. There are plenty of people doing great work on gun issues. Ranging from every town does a lot of work. The Heritage Foundation works on technology on guns. People who train people how to use guns properly. But there is no one set up to help gun reform -- to help gun owners advocate for gun reform.

90percent favored background checks of Americans. 84 percent of gun owners, 80 percent of members of the NRA favor universal background checks but they're not being heard. They don't trust the government, they don't trust the media, and the loudest voices are that minority of voices that get the time on air and on social media. And we need to work with them because, for example, we have two former NRA lobbyist on our board, they favor gun reform, but they say they're never included. They never had a seat at the table on things like background checks to write it in a way so that it will pass.

And that's what we need. We can't -- it's not going to be perfect. But we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In this case, we have to make progress.

CHURCH: Yes, because we seem to be stuck, don't we? I mean, as you mentioned, most Americans, they want to see those universal background checks put in place. They want to see a system that prevents those with mental illness getting access to guns. And the majority want to see assault weapons banned. So, if most Americans want this, why aren't those elected to represent the American people delivering some or all of these protective measures. As a foreigner living in this country, I do not get it.

And I get a lot of tweets from people all around the world saying, what is the problem? Why don't they just stop selling the guns? People outside of America don't understand the history, of course, that has brought us to this point where we can't take the guns away and no one's suggesting that. But to put some controls in place so that we're not seeing our children murdered in schools.

LITTMAN: Rosemary, I'm not a foreigner living in this country, and I could tell you I don't understand it. It is absolutely absurd. But we have to change what we're doing if we want a different result. So, we need to start bringing new people to the table so that they can advocate for gun reform. And the way that the Senate is set up, is that if you don't have enough votes, you're not getting a vote.

So, for example, the House passed background checks. The House could pass Ethan's Law tomorrow, which is a gun storage law, but we won't even get a vote on those things on the Senate. And as for the gun owners of the United States, many of them -- almost all of them are -- they don't want to see people getting killed with guns. They're almost all in the same place. But we don't utilize them. We don't bring them to the table and we need to start doing that.

This is the way to make some progress here because the way that we're doing things, and I understand how people feel in different countries, in the United States is different. There are 400 million guns in the United States, there are 340 million people. So, we're not getting rid of guns. So, what can we do? Train people to use guns more safely. Use smarter -- smart gun laws such as Red Flag laws. Lindsey Graham proposed Red Flag laws.

So, we have Red Flag laws in some States. Why aren't we using some better in the States that we have them? That will save some lives. Look, we have 42,500 deaths from guns. 26, 000, by the way, are suicides. We can lower those, we could save more lives by having things like background checks, by using Red Flag laws effectively. Those are things that we could do. And we could start doing that really quickly, but we need to bring everybody to the table which is something that we have not been doing. And I'm -- I really -- I pray that I do not have to come back here in 10 days and have another one of these conversations.

[02:40:00]

CHURCH: Yes, I feel the same. It's just unfathomable, honestly. Mathew Littman joining us from Los Angeles. Many thanks for talking with us.

LITTMAN: Thank you. Appreciate it.

CHURCH: Well, not long after the U.S. President left Asia, North Korea fired off a trio of missiles. What's known about these latest tests and how regional allies are responding. We'll take a look at that on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONATHAN BHAGAN, CHAIRMAN, CARIBBEAN COMMITTEE AGAINST SEX CRIMES: The data shows that the Caribbean and Latin America have some of the highest rates of sex crimes in the world and sex crimes tied into human trafficking in the world. My name is Jonathan Bhagan, I'm based in Trinidad and Tobago. I'm an attorney at law and also chairman of the Caribbean Committee Against Sex Crimes.

Say, 10 years ago, it was said -- and even in my own country that nobody should speak out about human trafficking because we will come to get you, you know, the mafia. Now that hundreds of people know about it and are speaking out against it, that darkness has been destroyed and now we're bringing the issue into the light. Schools across Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago. The students were really positive about it. They wrote poems, spoken word poems, they made videos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've risen and believed.

BHAGAN: And this -- those videos went on to the local media, onto the radio, and television.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On arrival, you are forced into captivity and a life of servitude.

BHAGAN: So, the students were inspired to see their fellow students being connected to CNN International. A lot of kids now know the signs of human trafficking. What it is and how to avoid it. So, we may have saved some lives. My Freedom Day helped raise awareness, educate children, and I hope it inspires politicians and governments across the region to do more to stop this crime from happening. It's impactful and important, and we hope to do even better next year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: It was a tough night at the polls for Donald Trump's handpicked candidate in the Georgia governor's race. CNN projects incumbent Brian Kemp will win the Republican nomination over Former Senator David Perdue. Kemp will face Democrat, Stacey Abrams, who he narrowly beat in 2018.

[02:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GE): And tonight, because of your support, Georgia Republicans went to the ballot box and overwhelmingly endorsed four more years of our vision for this great State.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Former Vice President Mike Pence campaigned for Kemp in a direct challenge to Trump's endorsement of Perdue. Trump's candidate for Secretary of State, which oversees elections in Georgia, has lost to incumbent Brad Raffensperger.

Meanwhile, the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat in Alabama will head to a runoff between Political Aide Katie Britt and Congressman Mo Brooks. And CNN projects former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will win the Republican primary for governor in Arkansas.

Well, right after the U.S. president finished his trip to Japan and South Korea, North Korea carried out three new missile tests and it's believed at least one of them was an intercontinental ballistic missile, that's according to the South Korean military. The North has now launched 16 missiles so far this year. And, there are concerns a nuclear test could be on the horizon.

CNN's Blake Essig is tracking all of this live for us. He joins us now from Tokyo. Good to see you, Blake. So, there have been concerns that North Korea might do this while President Biden was in the region. But, instead, Kim Jong-un waited until he returned to the U.S. What more are you learning about the timing? And what more do you know about these three new missile tests?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Rosemary, the threat of a weapons tests by North Korea missile or nuclear was a constant topic before and throughout Joe Biden's first trip to Asia as president. While North Korea didn't conduct a weapons test while President Biden was in the region, they did fire missiles before Air Force One touched down back in the United States after leaving Tokyo just yesterday.

Now, earlier this morning South Korean and Japanese military officials confirmed that North Korea did launch three ballistic missiles within about a 40-minute period that landed in the waters off the East Coast of the Korean Peninsula. Defense officials are still determining exactly what kind of missiles were fired. But they do say that the missiles launched flew at varying distances and altitudes. And according to Japan's Ministry of Defense, flew in an irregular trajectory, which is significant. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NUBOU KISH, JAPANES DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We cannot ignore North Korea's recent noticeable technological developments for nuclear and missile related tests. The repeated ballistic missile launches and their actions are a threat to our country. The region and the International Community's peace and security. And we absolutely cannot tolerate that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: And so far, this year, North Korea has conducted 16 weapons tests, testing various types of missiles in an -- on an almost routine basis. And South Korean and U.S. officials believe that the country's seventh ever nuclear tests since testing started in 2006 could be imminent. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Blake Essig, many thanks bringing us up to date on the situation there from Tokyo. Appreciate it.

Well, newly classified U.S. intelligence is shining a light on the Russian blockade in Ukraine. It shows the invasion has effectively halted all maritime trade at Ukrainian ports, cutting off exports and risking a global food crisis. This, as we're getting a better sense of the absolute devastation left behind by Russia's unrelenting attacks on the Port City of Mariupol. An adviser to the mayor says it's believed that at least 22,000 residents were killed during the last three months, though that number cannot be independently verified. He says that Mariupol is now, "A city of ghosts".

Meantime, in the Eastern Donbas Region, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration says Russian forces have taken the contested City of Svitlodarsk and Ukrainian forces have withdrawn. About 10,000 civilians remain in the city.

Well, still to come, our breaking news coverage continues at the deadly mass shooting at the Texas elementary school. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

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[02:50:00]

You're looking at the American flag at half-staff above the White House. President Biden has ordered all U.S. flags on federal grounds to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of Tuesday's mass shooting in Texas.

Authorities say, 19 children and two adults were killed in the tragic school shooting by a teenage gunman. The massacre in the small town of Uvalde is the latest in a long line of mass shootings in the U.S. Investigators believed the 18-year-old gunman acted alone. He was shot by law enforcement officers. Officials say the gunman also shot his grandmother before going on the rampage. She is hospitalized in critical condition.

On Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the mass shooting at an unrelated event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Normally saying, in a moment like this, we would all say naturally that our hearts break, but our hearts keep getting broken. You know, I think so many -- there's so many elected leaders in this room, you know what I'm talking about. Every time a tragedy like this happens, our hearts break. And our broken hearts are nothing compared to the broken hearts of those families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Both President Joe Biden and the vice president are using the tragedy to renew calls for gun law reform here in the United States.

[02:55:00]

Well, according to the Small Arms Survey, the U.S. fire exceeds other countries when it comes to civilian-held firearms per capita. In their 2018 report, they estimated there are 120 guns for every 100 people. Groups are already coming together to support those affected by the school shooting.

The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center has announced an emergency blood drive on Wednesday. Appointments and walk-in donations are welcome. The group tweets their hearts are with the Uvalde community.

And I want to thank you for watching. I'm Rosemary Church. Our breaking news coverage of the elementary school shooting in Texas continues after a short break.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

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