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CNN International: Officials Investigate Uvalde School Shooting After 21 were Killed; Ukrainian Soldiers Struggle to Hold on to Parts of the Donbas As Fighting Reaches New Intense Levels; Former U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger Suggests Ukraine Should Cede Territory to Russia to End War. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired May 26, 2022 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello everyone, I'm Lynda Kinkade, you're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta. Tonight, devastating grief and heartbreak in Texas. We hear more about some of the victims in America's latest mass shooting. Then questions remain about the police response as we learned the gunman was in the school for up to an hour before he was killed.
We'll have the latest on the investigation. And later, Ukrainian soldiers struggle to hold on to parts of the Donbas as fighting reaches new intense levels. We'll go live to Lviv.
Well, today was supposed to be a joyous day. The last day of school before Summer vacation at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. Instead, it's a day of deep mourning, shock and so many disturbing questions. Twenty one crosses now stand outside the school, each one with a name of the 19 children and two teachers whom an 18-year-old gunman murdered with a military-style rifle. Authorities say they are trying to piece together how Tuesday's massacre unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER OLIVAREZ, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: We're trying to establish every single timeline as far as how long the shooter was inside the classroom, how long did the shooting take place? But as of right now, we have not been able to establish that. We want to provide factual information as opposed to just providing timelines that are preliminary. We estimate anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: With some already questioning the police response. This video appears to show an anguished crowd outside the school during the attack. Some parents say they begged the officers to rush inside and even wanted to storm the school themselves. More than anything, there is mourning and grief. Amazing grave -- grace brought solace to many last night who attended the community vigil for the victims, a town struggling to cope with an unimaginable tragedy.
Well, amidst their grief, family members and friends of the victims are stepping forward now, talking about their little loved ones and the teachers who never came home from school that day. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Uvalde to share these stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For those who lost their children, pray for thee --
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A community grieving after 19 children and two adults were gunned down at Robb Elementary School Tuesday. This is the scene at a vigil held last night for the victims, as the community grapples with this senseless tragedy. The children who witnessed it trying to come to terms with what they saw. One third grader describes the terror.
CHANCE AGUIRRE, THIRD GRADER AT ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Everybody was scared. We were all panicking because we didn't know what was really happening, and we were all hiding behind a stage in the cafeteria when it happened.
BROADDUS: This as 21 families grieving the loss of loved ones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We loved her so much --
BROADDUS: Ten-year-old Lexi Rubio had just celebrated making the honor roll earlier Tuesday. Her parents, Felix and Kimberly(ph), were so proud, and attended the ceremony to celebrate their daughter. They say Lexi was kind, sweet and appreciated life. Felix Rubio is a Uvalde County Sheriff's deputy, he hopes change will come.
FELIX RUBIO, FATHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM LEXI RUBIO: All I can hope is he's just not a number. Hopefully something gets resolved. That's all we ask. Hopefully something gets resolved. I'm a cop. I'm a deputy here in Uvalde County. This is enough. This is enough. No one else needs to go through this. We never needed to go through this, but we are.
[14:05:00]
BROADDUS: Jose Flores Jr., also ten years old, was in the fourth grade and loved baseball and video games. His father tells CNN, he was an amazing big brother who, quote, "was always full of energy". Fourth grader Uziyah Garcia was ten years old. His uncle described him as a great kid full of life, loved anything with wheels and video games. Ten-year-old Xavier Lopez has been identified as one of the victims, his grandmother spoke to "ABC News".
AMELIA SANDOVAL, XAVIER LOPEZ'S GRANDMOTHER (via telephone): It's just so hard, you send these kids to school, thinking that they're going to make it back home and then they're not. BROADDUS: Ten-year-old Tess Murray Mata(ph) also lost her life. Her
elder sister Faith wrote on Twitter, "my precious angel, you are loved so deeply. May your wings soar higher than you could ever dream". Neveah Bravo(ph) was also identified by her family as one of the victims, her cousin tells "The Washington Post" that Neveah(ph) put a smile on everyone's face.
Amerie Jo Garza was 10 years old, her father, Angel Garza tells CNN she was trying to call 9-1-1 to protect her classmates. Garza is a med aide who arrived on the scene to later learn his daughter was one of the deceased.
ANGEL GARZA, FATHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM AMERIE JO GARZA: Two of the students in her classroom, she was just trying to call authorities, and I guess he just shot her. How are you going to look at this girl and shoot her?
(SOBBING)
Oh, my baby, I miss you, my baby.
BROADDUS: And two teachers were also killed, fourth-grade teachers Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia. Garcia was a wife and mother of four, a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for her funeral expenses and the needs of the family writes, "she sacrificed herself protecting the kids in her classroom. She was a hero. She was loved by many, and will truly be missed."
And Eva's daughter paid tribute to her mother on social media, writing, "mom, you are a hero. I keep telling myself that this isn't real. I just want to hear your voice. I want to thank you, mom, for being such an inspiration to me. I will forever be so proud to be your daughter."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Adrienne joins us now for more on this. And obviously, there's so much heartbreak and just so many questions about how you can possibly move on from this. I understand several students witnessed the massacre, are in hospital, and are now fighting for their lives. Can you give us an update on their condition?
BROADDUS: Sure. During this story, we received a new update from the hospital spokesperson. I can tell you at least, three children are still in the hospital, a nine-year-old, a ten-year-old, and I believe the other is also a ten-year-old. Their conditions serious, but good. And we talked a lot in this story about the deceased victims, but you have to think about the others who were injured.
Students who were there that day. Students who were also treated and released from the hospital. We spoke with the medical director at one of the hospitals about 85 miles from this town, and she told us, speaking broadly, they treated a lot of what she called destructive wounds.
And by that, she meant, when folks were transported to the hospital, when they showed up, they had large amounts of tissue missing from their body and significant blood loss, which required emergency surgery.
KINKADE: And we do have some of that sound from the children's medical director struggling to explain how difficult it has been to treat these children. I just want to play some of that sound. We don't have that sound right now. I want to ask you also about the grandmother who was shot. I understand she's still in the hospital. Do you understand, do you have any indication of what condition she's in and have investigators been able to talk to her?
BROADDUS: Investigators would like to talk to her, and that will hopefully help them piece together the timeline. Here we are, two days later, and there still are so many questions. The grandmother is a 66- year-old woman, we know she was shot in the face. She's still in the hospital when she was shot, according to investigators, she was able to leave the home, run to a neighbor's home and call for help, called 9-1-1 from a neighbor's house.
[14:10:00]
And you may notice that there are people behind me, just to paint a picture for you, we're about three minutes away from the school. Really a short walk from the elementary school, and they're holding space here. There's a number of therapy dogs here in the town center providing emotional support for members of the community and children if they need it.
KINKADE: And no doubt, the next step for many of these poor families will be planning funerals for these innocent little children.
BROADDUS: Yes, at least nine of the bodies we know have been released back to the families. They are at the funeral home. There are two funeral homes in town, at least, one funeral home has a few pictures of some of the deceased on its website with obituaries to follow, and it's -- there are also a note on the website says, pending funeral information.
So, this is the next step these families will have to make. They will have to choose a casket or an urn depending on their preference. Something that likely reflects the personality of their son or daughter. We spoke with a family yesterday, one of my colleagues did, and on their child's bed, they had already picked out the clothes they plan to bury their student in.
KINKADE: Unbelievable heartache. Adrienne Broaddus, good to have you there for us, thanks very much. Well, one of the biggest questions asked is why do these massacres keep happening in America? Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, so many more schools where innocent children and teachers are gunned down when they're supposed to be in a safe learning environment.
Well, for a look at how this is viewed outside the U.S., we're joined by Freddy Gray; deputy editor of "The Spectator". Freddy, we could scrap this interview right now and just replay one I did after the last massacre over a week ago in Buffalo, New York, or the last one in Colorado last year or you know, in Las Vegas. So many times we talk about this after horrific mass shooting, and nothing seems to change. Why not?
FREDDY GRAY, DEPUTY EDITOR, THE SPECTATOR: Well, you're absolutely right, we seem to be stuck in a sort of loop, and it's almost sort of media loop where we have a story that we tell every time this happens. And it gets sad and some are more tragic than others, and some have the racial element, we talked about that. And we talked about gun rights in America, and obviously, that's a huge important debate.
But I think also there's something more fundamental going on here, which is hard to address, and it's the question of evil. What is evil? How does it manifest itself? Is it religious? Is it not religious? Does it have a spiritual dimension? And I think they need to discuss these things seriously because these events keep happening.
I mean, there was 600 mass shootings in America last year. They went in schools. But these things happen a lot, and I don't think we have a really realistic way of talking about them beyond the sort of feedback loop pattern that we have. And it's a very depressing and very grim subject.
KINKADE: it is really depressing. And if you listen to the lawmakers, listening just to the lawmakers in Texas, the press conference yesterday, all endorsed by the NRA. We also heard today from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. I want to play a little bit of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I can't assure the American people there's any law we can pass to stop this shooting. This man had no criminal record, he shot at his grandmother in the face. He lawfully purchased a gun, I don't know how -- I can't tell people that I can't think of a law that would stop this particular shooting. Are there other things we can do? Yes, I'll see if we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: I mean, that's just mind-boggling to hear from a lawmaker saying, I don't know, there's nothing we can do. I mean, off the top of my head, I can think of several things. Age limits, this kid was 18 years old, not old enough to go into a pub and buy a beer, yet he could go and buy a military-style assault rifle. Red flag laws, apparently, this gunman bought these rifles and ammunition over several days, and the gun store didn't even flag it.
And obviously, the assault-style military rifles that we're seeing on the street. When you see who's at the school, they had the security guards, the police officers, those first responders don't have those sort of military-style assault rifles. Do you see any of these sort of changes happening?
GRAY: I mean, not really, because I mean, I think the Democratic Party has been making speeches about this for a long time. But they never want to pass these laws because quite a lot of Democratic voters support gun rights. And so you have kind of a political paralysis. And you know, Joe Biden makes very passionate speeches, and Barack Obama has made very passionate speeches about gun reform in America, and I feel uncomfortable talking about this as a rift because I don't think non-Americans really understand this issue very well.
[14:15:00]
We don't understand the Americans attachment to guns. But what I can see is that the Americans -- where Democrats seem to benefit from preaching about it without actually passing laws. And Republicans seem to benefit from accusing Democrats of politicizing the issue. And so you have a classic case of political paralysis.
And meanwhile, these shootings keep happening, and it's a terrible business, but I think, perhaps, the politics is the problem, and perhaps the politics feeds into the problem. And it's not just about gun reform. It's something deeper than that, it's even darker.
KINKADE: In the U.S. so far, this year, there have been more mass shootings than days in the year. And we can't just blame lawmakers. Obviously, we should be looking at the electorate as well. And I know young people have already said they're going to lead another march for our lives. They're saying it's going to happen June 11th, so in two weeks time on a Saturday.
Why isn't this a bigger issue when it comes to people voting? Why isn't this a bigger issue? Why don't people vote on this?
GRAY: I think people do vote on it. I think -- I mean, I think it is a rallying vote for the Democrats, as is abortion. You saw that with the Roe v. Wade used recently. And I think the Democratic Party seek to exploit it as a voting issue. But I think that very cynicism in itself -- society when a tragedy is not a tragedy, it's a political opportunity.
And I don't say that as a criticism of the Democrats, I say it as a criticism of Republicans, too. I think that people are dealing with tragedies now as though they are political footballs. And I think that is something very -- something has gone very wrong in our society. And in fact, I think that very sickness feeds into the culture that creates young men who are willing to do something as evil as to kill a lot of people.
KINKADE: Incidentally, have very easy access to the sort of guns that do this sort of damage. We'll leave it there for now. Freddy Gray, deputy editor of "The Spectator". Thanks very much.
GRAY: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, we'll get the latest on other -- our other big story of the day, the war in Ukraine. Russia making gains in the Donbas, bombarding dozens of towns as it fights to seize control.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
KINKADE: Outmanned and outgunned, and under constant attack. Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold on to the Donbas, saying fighting there has reached its fiercest level yet. They say Russia is using heavy artillery, ballistic missiles, rocket systems and tanks to bombard dozens of towns in the eastern region, focusing mainly on Severodonetsk and its surrounding areas.
Well, Ukraine says it now holds just a very small part of Luhansk, one of two of the Donbas provinces. He says his forces may have to fall back in several areas, acknowledging that losses are, quote, "inevitable." But a regional governor says Ukraine's focus is not on winning a battle, but the overall war. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is following the developments tonight for us from Lviv. Good to have you with us, Suzanne.
So, a momentum clearly building in the east, Russia bringing in a wide array of weapons on several fronts, that's according to Ukrainian officials. What more can you tell us?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, it really is a very sad situation, because the way Ukrainian military are describing it now, they are using the words like dire circumstances and they are doing so much more often. They now say in this eastern area of Ukraine, in the Donbas, the Luhansk as well as Donetsk regions, that the Russians are now outnumbering. They have the advantage to the Ukrainians when it comes to personnel, 8 to 1.
They also say Russians have the advantage twice as much when it comes to the equipment as the Ukrainians. So, they are outnumbered, they are outgunned, they are under bombardment constantly, day and night. They are describing this at least, more than a dozen towns that have been hit constantly within the last couple of days. They are throwing everything at this region. So, as you had mentioned before, we are talking about ballistic missiles, rocket systems, heavy artillery, and tanks that are going in.
One of the hottest spots now, Severodonetsk that is where you have a population of more than 100,000 people there now. And Lynda, it is down to we are told 15,000 civilians who are hiding in basements and bomb shelters as they just get pummeled, day after day. It only underscores really one of the main goals of the Russian military, to make that kind of forward movement, progress across the country from the east going to the west.
They have used many of the resources that they previously had focused on, in terms of those port cities, Odessa and Mariupol. Now to the east, where they are finally getting very close to breaking Ukrainians' defense lines. Even the Ukrainian military now saying, it may be necessary to pull back a little in that area, and of course, they're taking very heavy hits. Lynda?
KINKADE: Yes, all right, Suzanne Malveaux for us in Lviv, we will speak to you soon. Thank you. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is slamming a former U.S. Secretary of State who suggested that Ukraine cede territory to Russia as part of peace negotiations. He says Henry Kissinger's comment amounts to appeasement. Our Nic Robertson is in Geneva with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (on camera): So what Henry Kissinger is saying is that the Ukrainians should agree a peace with Russia that would give Russia territories to the east of Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula in the south. What the Ukrainians are saying is, that is an appeasement of President Putin.
That you saw what he did when the international community didn't stand up to him in 2014, he came back and tried and is trying to take more territory in Ukraine right now. And Zelenskyy -- President Zelenskyy made the analogy to the Munich agreement of 1938. This was widely seen as an appeasement of Hitler. It was over the border area of Czechoslovakia. He wanted that border area because there was a majority of German-speaking people, saying he made that case.
Britain, France, Italy signed an agreement with him. They thought that was going to head off a big war. The agreement was that Hitler wouldn't go off to any other territories. And of course, he did. And that's the appeasement part of it. And this is what Zelenskyy fears. He needs the international community to keep supplying him with weapons, otherwise he will have the terms of any peace deal dictated to him.
He needs to shoot down that notion right now. We know that the international community is broadly supporting Ukraine, and as much as Putin cannot dictate the terms of peace according to the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
[14:25:00]
We've heard from American officials saying that he has to come out of his weaker. But right now, Russia seems to be taking territory. So, the challenge is just for Ukraine to be able to push Russia back even to those 2014 lines that Kissinger is talking about, and then potentially take more territory back. And Zelenskyy making that analogy, and saying this is about real people on the ground, their lives. This is how he framed it.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): Let me remind you, it's 2022. And behind all these geopolitical reasons, those who advised Ukraine to give something to Russia, great geo- politicians do not always want to see ordinary people, ordinary Ukrainians, millions of those who actually live in the territory they propose to give in exchange for the illusion of peace. You always have to see people and remember that values are not just words.
ROBERTSON: And of course, the reality on the ground right now is that peace talks are nowhere near taking shape because both the Russians and the Ukrainians are fighting over territory they both think that there's more gains to be made on the ground. And President Putin in Russia on Wednesday announced that it was going to be easier for Ukrainians living in the Russian -- now, Russian-controlled region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, that they should be able to get Russian passports more easily. That is just part of Russia's playbook to take long-term control,
annex those areas for the future. There's a lot to play out on the battlefield. So, really talks of ceasefires and peace lines for future negotiations. That really does still seem a long way distant. Nic Robertson, CNN, Geneva, Switzerland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Still to come tonight, we're expecting an update from officials in Uvalde in Texas. You can see officials there getting ready for that. We will bring you that live when it happens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: I'm Lynda Kinkade. Officials in Texas are giving an update on the Uvalde school shooting. Let's listen in.
VICTOR ESCALON, SOUTH TEXAS REGIONAL DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: -- involved in this investigation. I'm going to give you a summary of what happened.
[14:30:00]
But before I do that, I was able to make it here during the event on May 24th, same with a lot of other law enforcement officers that came to this event, this critical incident.
I got to see the victims. I got to see the officers. I got to see the community members. It is -- it is so hard. It is very -- it's hard to take. It's traumatic.
We're all hurting inside. We're hurting inside for the community members in Uvalde, Texas. We're hurting inside with our local partners that have to live here and work here every day.
The victims, the family members, we feel for them. I'm a father. I can go home tonight, hug my kids. That hurts. The members behind me are family members, their kids. It's tough. It's tough. It's hard.
But that gives us the motivation to move on, to do good work for Uvalde, Texas, for the victims. We speak for the victims, and we take that dearly.
Before I get started, the Texas Rangers are leading this investigation. But we can't do it alone. We cannot do it alone. We have ATF, FBI, CBP, Border Patrol, Uvalde County district attorney's office. The list goes on and on and on.
But the agencies I told you, are the main ones that are assisting with this investigation. We want to know what happened, recreate the scene. That takes days. That takes hours. That takes time.
A lot of information. Then we have to do a lot of interviews. So we just started. We started on Tuesday. Today's Thursday. We're still grabbing a lot of information.
We also -- what's important to us is why? Why did he do this? Why did he do this? Who is this man, the suspect? We're going to find out.
With all the different agencies that are involved, we're working every angle that's available. We won't stop until we get all the answers that we possibly can.
So, again, I want to thank these men and women that are behind us, supporting the DPS and the Rangers.
So, there's a lot of information. I'm going to give you -- there's some new information as of Tuesday that I wanted to clear up. That we want to clear up that's been pushed out.
We'll continue to have updates in the coming days once the information is obtained and we're able to confirm and corroborate that. We want to make sure we're pushing out the right information.
Early on, when we came in, we were receiving a lot of information from a lot of different locations. That's a baseline. You start there.
We made some reports. But since then, we started doing interviews. We started working the crime scene, so we're corroborating. I want to share some of that. It's a small piece of information right now, but it will grow within days.
So, please, thank you for being here and being patient with us. It means a lot.
On Tuesday, May 24th, at 11:28, suspect just west of here wrecked his vehicle, pickup truck that he took from his grandmother. He had just shot his grandmother in the face. She's alive. She's stable at this point.
At 11:28, he's sitting there at the ditch. He jumps out the passenger side of the truck. According to witnesses, he's got a longarm rifle and a bag. Later, we find out it's ammunition.
He walks around, he sees two witnesses at the funeral home across the street from where he wrecked. He engages and fires towards them.
He continues walking. He continues walking towards the school. He climbs a fence. Now he's in the parking lot, shooting at the school multiple times.
At 11:40, he walks into the west side of Robb Elementary. According to reports, video we have obtained from outside, inside -- and again, we're still combing through that, so bear with us.
[14:35:11]
Multiple rounds, numerous rounds are discharged in the school. We're trying to do -- get a number. We're in the process of analyzing that video.
Four minutes later, local police departments, Uvalde Police Department, the Independent School District Police Department, are inside making entry. They hear gunfire. They take rounds. They move back, get cover. And during that time, they approach where the suspect is at.
According to the information I have, he went in at 11:40. He walked -- and I'm going to approximate -- 20 feet, 30 feet. He makes a right. He walks into the hallway. He makes a right.
He walks another 20 feet. Turns left into a school room, into a classroom that has doors open in the middle.
Officers are there, the initial officers, they receive gunfire. They don't make entry initially because of the gunfire they're receiving. But we have officers calling for additional resources.
Everybody that's in the area, tactical teams, we need equipment, we need specialty equipment, we need body armor, we need precision riflemen, negotiators.
So during this time that they're making those calls to bring in help to solve this problem and stop it immediately, they're also evacuating personnel -- not personnel -- students, teachers.
There's a lot going on. A lot -- complex situation. They're measuring. They're measuring.
Approximately an hour later, U.S. Border Patrol tactical teams arrive. They make entry. Shoot and kill the suspect.
But you also had a county deputy and Uvalde Police Department that made entry and killed the suspect. Immediately, immediately, numerous officers.
Now it turns into a rescue operation. How do we save these children? How do we save these children? Some made it out. We don't have a hard number yet. But that was a goal. And then continuing making the area safe continued. There's a lot of moving parts afterwards.
But during, they were taking gunfire, negotiations, and developing a team to make entry to stop him.
I'll take a few questions. And again, look, I summary -- one more thing I forgot to mention, that I want to clear up, that came out early on.
It was reported that a school district police officer confronted the suspect that was making entry. Not accurate. He walked in unobstructed initially.
So, from the grandmother's house to the bar ditch to the school, into the school, he was not confronted by anybody, to clear the record on that. Four minutes later, law enforcement are coming in to solve this problem.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So, Director, how is he able --
ESCALON: Stand by.
So, just want to clear that up. That's very important. And again, this will happen as we move forward.
So, thank you.
I'll take a few questions.
(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Director, how was he able to get in if it was a school that's supposed to be locked during the school day?
ESCALON: So, right now, during the investigation, it appears it was unlocked. So, we're going to look at that and try to corroborate that as best we can.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know why?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How many gunshots --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know why it was unlocked?
ESCALON: Please one at a time. And we'll address as many questions as we can.
(CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: Let me finish this question.
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: One at a time. Announce your name and announce your network, OK? Let's be respectful, please.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: My name is Josh -- (INAUDIBLE)
Do you know why it was unlocked?
ESCALON: So, Josh, thank you for the question.
[14:40:00]
Right now, it appears it was unlocked. Like I said, goes back to the investigation. It takes time. We will find out as much as we can why it was unlocked or maybe it was locked. But right now, it appears it was unlocked.
So, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: Yes, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Director, would you say at one point, when he was inside there, among the things you were attempting negotiation. Was he responding to negotiation? And in that period of time, was there continued gunfire?
ESCALON: So, during that time, right now, according to the information we have, the majority of the gunfire was in the beginning. In the beginning. I say numerous. More than 25. I mean, it was a lot of gunfire in the beginning.
During the negotiations, there wasn't much gunfire other than trying to keep the officers at bay. But that could change, depending -- once we Analyze the video. But right now, according to the information, we did he did not respond.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) -- with NBC News.
My question is this. Was there a school officer on campus? And was that school officer armed? Because that's what we've been told.
ESCALON: So, at this time, no. No. There was not an officer readily available, armed. No.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was there an officer --
(CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: No. Nothing. Nothing. I can't answer that yet. I'll circle back with you.
Again, as we do that investigation, we have all these questions we want to answer, but I'll get back with you, sir.
Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There's a 12-minute gap -- there's a 12-minute gap from when he crashes his truck to when he enters the school, 12 minutes. What happened in that 12 minutes?
ESCALON: So, you got to understand, 11:30 is the information we have at this point that we can confirm. At 11:30 a.m., we got a crash and a man with a gun. And then you have responding officers.
That's what it is. If it's 12 minutes, from 11:30 to 11:40 -- that's the information we have right now.
Look at the end of the day, our job is to report the facts and have those answers. We're not there yet.
(CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: Over here. Over here.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sir, when was the first 911 call?
ESCALON: Say it again?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When was the first 911 call? How long --
ESCALON: So, right now, the first 911 call was at 11:30. I will get the time what it took to respond. We'll have that answer.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Director? Director?
(CROSSTALK) ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Would a tactical team have gone in before an hour lapsed?
ESCALON: Could. There's a lot of possibilities. There's a lot of possibilities.
Until -- until -- until we receive an interview -- because there was numerous officers at that classroom. Numerous. Once we interview all those officers, what they were thinking, what they did, why they did it, the video, the residual interviews, we'll have a better idea.
Could anybody have got there sooner? You got to understand, small town. You had people from Eagle Pass, from Del Rio, Laredo, San Antonio, responding to a small community.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Information you have so far, sir, should the officers have gone in sooner? Should they have waited for those tactical team?
ESCALON: That's a tough question. That's a tough question. Again, it goes back, our job is to report the facts. Report the facts and later we can answer those questions.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Based on what you know so far, should those officers --
ESCALON: I don't have enough information to answer that question just yet.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Director? Director?
ESCALON: One more question, please.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is it accurate that eyewitnesses and potentially parents and students were urging the police to go in while you were waiting for a tactical SWAT team, even that some parents were asking to borrow police armor so they could make a counterassault on the school?
ESCALON: I have heard that information. But we have not verified that yet.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What part haven't you verified?
ESCALON: We have not verified is that a true statement or not, or is it just rumor out there?
You got to understand. We're getting a lot of information. We're trying to track down and see what is true. We want to vet it. That's all I have for questions. Thank you so much.
(CROSSTALK) ESCALON: Thank you so much.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you follow best practices?
ESCALON: Hold on, hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: So, look, we appreciate the questions.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What were the officers doing between 11:44 and 12:45?
ESCALON: I've got -- (INAUDIBLE)
Yes, sir?
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You guys said he was barricaded. Can you explain to us how he was barricaded and why you guys cannot breach that door?
ESCALON: So, I have taken all your questions into consideration. We will be doing updates. We will be doing updates to answer those questions.
PROKUPECZ: You should be able to answer that question now, sir.
ESCALON: What is your name?
PROKUPECZ: Shimon Prokupecz from CNN.
ESCALON: Shimon. I hear you.
PROKUPECZ: Because we've been given a lot of bad information, so why don't you clear all of this up now and explain to us how it is that your officers who were in there for an hour, yes, rescuing people, but yet no one was able to get inside that room.
[14:45:09]
ESCALON: Shimon, we will circle back with you. We want to answer all of your questions. We want to give you the why. That's our job. Give us time. I'm taking your questions. I'm taking them back to talk to the team.
(CROSSTALK)
PROKUPECZ: Can you tell us how the door was barricaded?
ESCALON: Look, thank you for being here. Have --
(CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: We'll talk soon. (CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: We'll talk soon.
(CROSSTALK)
ESCALON: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
KINKADE: Certainly a lot of unanswered questions there. You've been listening to officials in Texas giving an update, listening to police responding to questions about the school shooting. As we've learned today, the gunman was in a school for an hour before he was killed.
Now we heard there from the South Texas regional director, Victor Escalon, saying that -- he went through the timeline of the gunman entering the school. He said at 11:28. It took about an hour, from 11:40, from the time police were on the scene, local police, for the gunman to be shot. He said initially police who responded received gun fire. They called for backup. The tactical team arriving an hour later and finally killing the gunman.
He describes the situation as complex. Well, he most powerful gun lobby in America is of course the National Rifle Association, and the NRA is a nonprofit. Its advocating for gun rights ever since 1871. It boasts about 5 million members, but as we know, that is a small minority of the more than 260 million eligible voters.
I have lobbying research group, Open Secret, says that the group spent nearly $13 million on the 2020 election. And obviously, everyone in Texas today is reeling from this shooting that happened on Monday. We are going to take a quick break.
We will have much more in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
KINKADE: I'm going to take a moment now to remember the names and faces of all the children and teachers whose lives were tragically cut short at the school shooting in Texas, kids who just wanted to go to school, to learn and have fun with their friends, but now will never make it home. CNN's Lucy Kafanov has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are the faces of the future lost to a nation's violent present. Jose Flores Jr., a fourth grader full of energy, his father said, ready to play until the night. Uziyah Garcia, a 10-year-old who loved football and video games. Lexi Rubio, a little girl who wanted to go to law school just like her mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, LEXI RUBIO'S MOTHER: My baby.
KAFANOV: Lexi Rubio's family overcome as they recall her sweetness and to plea that her life has impact.
FELIX RUBIO, LEXI'S FATHER: I can only hope (ph) Lexi's just not a number.
KAFANOV: Lexi is one of 19 children that were all gunned down in a fourth-grade classroom whose parents held onto hope that they'd hold their children once again. Amerie Jo Garza's father, Angel, wrote on Facebook, "It's been seven hours and I still haven't heard anything on my love. Please help find my daughter." This morning the heartbreaking update. "She's been found. My little love is now flying high with the angels above," Garza wrote. "Please don't take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love. I love you, Amerie Jo."
10-year-old Javier Lopez had a smile his mother says she'll never forget. He was among the honor roll students who attended an award ceremony the morning of the shooting.
HAL HARRELL, UVALDE, TEXAS SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: And as I look at their pictures you can just tell by their angelic smile that they were loved, that they loved coming to school, and they were just precious individuals.
KAFANOV: The community also mourning two teachers. Eva Mireles, 44- years-old, loved running, biking, and being with her family. Undoubtedly her family says she died protecting others.
AMBER YBARRA, EVA MIRELES' COUSIN: She was a vivacious soul. She spread laughter and joy everywhere she went.
HARRELL: These two teachers I would say are the cornerstone of that campus to some great degree. They were two beautiful souls.
KAFANOV: Mireles' daughter writing an open letter to her mother. "I am so happy that people know your name and that they know what a hero looks like. I want to thank you, mom, for being such an inspiration to me. I will forever be proud to be your daughter. My sweet mommy, I will see you again."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well if you would like to offer support for t hose affected by the Texas school shooting, please go to CNN.com/impact to find several ways you can help their community.
Well the most powerful gun lobby in America is, of course, the National Rifle Association. And the NRA is a nonprofit that advocates for gun rights dating back to 1871. That means anyone that makes a donation gets it tax free. And it boasts (ph) about five million members. It's wills incredibly political influence, but, of course, those five million members just a small minority out of the nearly 260 million eligible voters.
However, lobbying research group, OpenSecrets, says the group spent nearly $30 million in the 2020 election. Despite that Texas is still reeling from Monday's shooting, the NRA's Annual Convention will still go ahead on Friday. It's being held just over four hours away from Uvalde.
Well joining us now to discuss this, CNN's Sunlen Serfaty, who joins us from Washington, D.C. And Sunlen, it's pretty hard to fathom that the NRA are going to hold this meeting in the same state, in the same week where, you know, 22 kids and teachers were massacred. And I understand the former President, Donald Trump, is going to attend.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Linda, and he's not only going to attend, but he's scheduled to give the headlining address, the big speech at the opening day of this three-day convention in Houston, which as you note is only 300 miles away from the site of the shooting in Texas. So certainly the proximity not only in time but in location is not lost on a lot of people, and that's why we're seeing a lot of Democrats called for this convention to be delayed or canceled in some sort.
Now the former president will speak there tomorrow, and since the shooting he's actually doubled down in saying that it's important to him to speak now more than ever. He says Americans in this moment don't need politics. Also scheduled to speak and attend are other high-profile Republicans, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican Texas Governor, Greg Abbott -
[14:55:00]
SERFATY: -- who notably he's really been at the forefront at least publically in the response in Texas to this shooting, and he was asked yesterday would you absolutely still attend this convention over the weekend, and he was somewhat noncommittal. He said that he's living moment-to-moment, but at this moment in his heart, his head, and his body is at the site of the shooting right now. The NRA defiantly really saying that this event is scheduled to take place and will go on as scheduled. That's as Democrats, of course, are calling for it to be delayed. The Houston Mayor says that he's not sure it could legally be cancelled and that certainly the city would not be able to cancel or break that contract with the NRA. Certainly it's going to be a very politically-charged moment outside that convention center.
KINKADE: And just really quickly, Sunlen, despite the fact the NRA pushed for relaxation of gun laws, they themselves don't want guns at their conventions.
SERFATY: Yes, this is a really interesting moment certainly underscoring the very tense dynamics politically of the moment. Since the former president is going to speak at this convention the U.S. Secret Service has overtaken security for the portion that he is there, and participants, gun-carrying participants who would typically bring in their guns to an event like this, they will now no longer be able to bring their guns because a former president, of course, is addressing the crowd. Linda --
KINKADE: Yes, quite remarkable, isn't it, that they push for lawmakers to allow anyone to bring guns, open carry, no background checks, no license, but at their own event no guns allowed. Sunlen Serfaty for us in Washington, D.C., thanks very much.
SERFATY: Thanks.
KINKADE: And thanks so much for watching tonight. I'm Linda Kinkade. Stay with CNN. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live from Davos is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
