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Biden Attends Mass In Uvalde After Visiting Memorial Site; U.S. Grieves With Uvalde After Harrowing Details Emerge; Bipartisan Group Of Senators Holding Talks On Guns; Hospital Treats Mass Shooting Victims For Second Time In Five Years. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 29, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:25]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Hi everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington, in for Fredricka Whitfield today. And I'm joined now by my colleague Dana Bash, who is in Uvalde, Texas where President Biden is meeting right now with a community in mourning.

Dana, I know you've been there talking with people all morning. People understandably still simply devastated by what happened. Tell us what you're seeing there.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: You can feel it in the air. I mean it is just heavy, as you can imagine, because of the unimaginable that happened here on Tuesday. And I'm here at a makeshift memorial in the town square in Uvalde. And it has just been teeming with people coming to pay their respects.

People coming from all over Texas, really, all over the country, to give gifts. I saw a woman who was a teacher who brought a cart full of stuffed animals for the families coming to pay their respects to lay at each individual cross that was put here for each individual person murdered. And that is 21 people -- 19 children, of course, and two teachers.

And President Biden is here as we speak in Uvalde. He is playing his all-too familiar role, comforting families following an unspeakable tragedy. The president and the first lady visited the memorial site at Robb Elementary School a short time ago before heading to a mass service.

They're going to spend the afternoon meeting with families and first responders. It is a solemn task made even more difficult by what appear to be some serious failures of law enforcement and its response to Tuesday's mass shooting.

The visit comes only 12 days after the president and first lady both travelled to Buffalo where they visited the site of another massacre. There it was one racially-motivated and it left ten people dead.

Yesterday vice president Kamala Harris attended a funeral, one for 86- year-old Ruth Whitfield, the oldest victim of that attack. And this just in, the Justice Department just announced -- the Justice Department just announced they're going to conduct a review of the law enforcement response to the shooting. Lucy Kafanov is here with me with that breaking news. So Lucy, what

are you hearing?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, this critical incident review of the law enforcement response was actually conducted at the request of Uvalde's mayor.

It is a significant development because, of course, the law enforcement response by officials here and Texas officials as a whole have been a source of concern. More than an hour, nearly 80 minutes of carnage before that shooter was neutralized by law enforcement officials.

And I want to read you a little bit of the Justice Department's statements. They say that the goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events.

The review will be conducted with the department's office of community oriented policing and as with prior Justice Department after-action reviews of mass shootings and other critical incidents. The assessment will be fair, transparent and independent. The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of the review.

Obviously, we don't know how long that's going to take. We know that there is a lot of frustration and frankly, anger among some of the families here who, again, many of them were outside of that school when this incident was unfolding, watching the law enforcement outside of the school.

The decision was made not to go in immediately, and that's certainly going to be one of the things that this review will be tackling.

BASH: It's a big deal for the federal government, the Justice Department, to take the lead, to take the initiative in doing this. Now obviously there were federal agents here as well. So that's part of it.

But I've been talking -- I know, you've been here longer than I have talking to local officials who say that they also want an accounting on a more local level and they want almost a minute by minute -- I was talking to a state senator this morning about wanting to know how many law enforcement officials were here and what each of them were doing and when.

I mean there's so much anger, but at the same time, I'm sure you're finding this as well, these law enforcement officials, the local ones, they're also part of this enormous community just as the teachers and the students were. So it's complicated.

[14:04:51] KAFANOV: Complicated it affects everyone. I mean one of the deputy sheriffs lost his daughter. Almost everyone here is affected in one way or another even if they don't have direct family members who were at that school, they are part of this tiny, tiny community -- less than 17,000 people.

It's a close knit one, and these answers, certainly these questions about why it took so long, what exactly unfolded? What was that minute by minute tick-tock? Certainly demands answers.

BASH: And I've had family members say to me, state senators say to me that the horror of it is that they worry that some of the children could have been saved.

Lucy, thank you for that report.

And I want to go now to Arlette Saenz who is at Robb Elementary School. Arlette, you were there when President Biden came by, he placed flowers on that memorial, took some time to pray and to talk to some local officials. What else did you see?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: well, Dana, it was a very emotional moment for President Biden and first lady Jill Biden as they came to the memorial here at Robb Elementary School. The first couple really taking some time to read each of the names on those crosses of those 21 lives lost in that massacre on Tuesday. They looked at the pictures. All of the flowers, the stuffed animals that had been left in honor of these young children and their two teachers who were killed.

The president, his advisers have -- found it important to come here directly to Uvalde to try to offer some type of comfort directly to the families and the community that has been impacted. Right now he is attending a Catholic mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church as he typically does on Sundays. But of course, it takes on additional meaning as he is worshipping in the pews with the local congregation, about 600 people gathered at that mass here today.

The president also will be meeting in just a short while for several hours with the families of those 19 families who lost their children and the families of those two teachers who were killed in the massacre.

But as the president and Texas Governor Gregg Abbott were here at the memorial site, there was also an onlooker who was shouting, saying that they want to see change, that their children are not safe.

And I spoke to him afterwards, his name was Ben Gonzales, 35 years old. And he says he wants to see change on a host of issues. More gun laws, more resources for mental health and resources for the schools. And he said ultimately, it is up to those who have been elected to Congress and to the state legislators to act. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN GONZALES, UVALDE RESIDENT: At a certain point in time, it's going to be on us because we vote these people in to represent us. And they're not representing us.

And it's heart breaking, because things like this happen. Because something needs to be done. Something. We need change. We need help. And my biggest fear is that nothing is going to change.

And six months from now, Uvalde is just going to be Uvalde, and it's just going to be history. And nothing is going to have changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And that is just one of the many questions facing the community in this moment.

Now, in just a short while, the president will be meeting with the families who lost their loved ones. Later he'll be meeting with first responders trying to offer some sense of solace, some sense of comfort as they're dealing with this unimaginable gut-wrenching loss, Dana.

BASH: Arlette, what a powerful interview with that Uvalde resident who was so frustrated. You could hear it, the desperation in his voice. Thank you so much, Arlette.

And let's bring in CNN political commentator and former special adviser to President Obama Van Jones and CNN political commentator and former Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Thank you both for joining me.

I don't know if you can see it, but our viewers can. And I'll describe what I'm holding out. This is today -- this is the Sunday paper, the local Uvalde paper. "Uvalde Leader News".

And so many people were murdered, and are being honored in this paper that -- on the front page -- that they had to continue it below the fold. And I think that is so telling, that they're telling these stories of these beautiful people who were gunned down but also just that there are so many of them. And that this is just the latest of these kinds of massacres.

Van, as you know, the president is praying right now and then he's going to go meet with families. What message do you expect him to give in a situation where you really can't use words? There are no words.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, the limits of the power of the presidency are really present in moments like this. The president can't bring people back to life. He can't changes laws overnight. He can't make all the guns disappear. But it is significant.

You know, there are always two audiences when a president speaks. There's the national and global audience, but there's the audience that's right there in the room with him.

[14:09:47]

JONES: And for those people who can't change the channel, who can't turn into politics who are in a nightmare they can never get out of to have the president of the United States there who has -- who is familiar with grief, he's buried his own children is, you know, in a world where there is no comfort possible, it's the most comfort that's available to have the president there.

I think it's important to remember Joe Biden, you know, he launched his campaign to run for president because of what happened in Charlottesville. There was a massacre that he didn't feel the president responded to properly. And that was a big reason everybody says that he wanted to run for president because of things like this.

And so it's -- again, there's no words of comfort, but the president as presidents can be, all the comfort available.

BASH: Mayor Bottoms, you were the mayor of a big city, Atlanta, one just like other cities across the country that experienced gun violence, and I know that you met with families who senselessly lost members of either their children or other family members.

What does someone like the president or you formerly, an elected official say to families at this time?

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There really are no words because you can't begin to imagine, I'm sure, what it feels like to lose a child. But if ever there were a moment that Joe Biden was made for as president, it is this moment. As Van has said, he has buried children. He knows what it feels like to lose a child suddenly, unexpectedly.

And I was recently reading (INAUDIBLE) devotional, he was a faith adviser to President Obama. And ironically he begins the month of May talking about what happened in Sandy Hook, the toll that takes on a president. And these moments that you don't see.

So I am sure as President Biden and the first lady visit with these families, there will be a connection that no one wants to have but one certainly that will resonate with these families, and I just hope that we don't lose this moment.

We've been here too many times before. As I picked up my kids from their last day of school, there was a sadness that the teachers, that I've never seen before. It's weighing on children, parents, teachers, and I couldn't help but (INAUDIBLE) how many of the teachers will return at the beginning of the school year.

BASH: Yes. Well, I talked to one nine-year-old fourth grader who said he's scared to go back in the fall.

Van, the mayor talked about faith. President Biden is at church as we speak. And one thing that I have noticed that is striking, and frankly, uplifting. You can't help but be moved by the faith that I have seen in this community. Talk about that as it relates to this president.

JONES: Well, you know, this is the kind of thing that will drive you to your knees even if you're not a person of faith. You know, a situation like this, they're so overwhelming, so shocking, so heartbreaking that it tends to bring people to a deeper place.

And Joe Biden is a man of deep faith, and he -- you know, you can tell when a politician is using their religious bona fides just for political purposes this. That's not Joe Biden. He goes to a worship service every chance he can.

You know, I got a chance to work with Joe Biden in the Obama White House. I was a part of the Middle Class Task Force, worked directly with him. You know, he exudes a kind of empathy, a kind of genuineness, and a kind of rootedness in that Catholic faith of his which really is the backbone of who he is.

And his sister is the same way. I think that that community is a small community. I think people know it's mostly a Latin community. There are a lot of Catholics in that community. So they're going to have -- you know, he's going to have an extra level of resonance and understanding of the rituals, the symbolism.

And this is a part of his duty. You know, Joe Biden at his best is almost a sort of grandfather in chief of the country, you know, a country that's really struggling. A country that's in a lot of pain. A country that's going through a lot.

In these moments he can through his faith, through his personal witness, he can remind us of the best in ourselves and also that tomorrow always comes. That there will be a time as I'm sure you'll say, that you know, the memory of these children will bring a smile before it brings a tear.

And you know, he can guide people through that process relying both on his personal witness and on his faith.

[14:14:51]

BASH: And Mayor Bottoms, meanwhile the vice president also had to pay her condolences. She went to Buffalo to the site of a racially motivated massacre. Talk about that moment yesterday.

BOTTOMS: It's so important to have the vice president in Buffalo, and also to not forget the victims of the Buffalo shooting. What tends to happen, we move onto the next tragedy. But that community is still hurting as are communities that have experienced this in the past, whether it was last month or ten years ago, or many years ago as we know with Columbine.

And what we do know is that there is an ability for us to do better. So our presence is important. That's why the vice president's presence was important in Buffalo. But it also has to be followed up by action. When we have tragedies in this country, whether it be a plane crash or whatever the matter may be, we pause, and we often say let's stop and take a look at what our laws are, what our policies are, so that this does not happen again.

No one wants to take away anyone's guns. No one wants to get rid of the Second Amendment. But when we talk about these large magazine capacities and these assault weapons, it's an opportunity for us to pause, take a look at where we are. Take a look at assault weapons. The assault weapon ban helped.

So I know it's important that the president -- the vice president (INAUDIBLE) it's important that our presence be followed up by action.

BASH: And we're going to talk a lot more about that later in the program. Keisha Lance Bottoms, Van Jones -- please stay with me. We're going to have much more ahead from Uvalde, Texas.

This hour the president is going to meet with families of the victims of the massacre.

Stay with us.

[14:16:52]

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BASH: Welcome back. I'm Dana Bash in Uvalde, Texas here at this memorial that has really grown at the town square. It's remarkable to see how many people are here, of course, from the community, but coming from all over Texas and frankly, all over the country.

Random acts of kindness happening here. Just people coming to pay their respects. Prayer circles and prayer groups just popping up around the square in an impromptu way.

And President Biden is here as well, along with the first lady, comforting families. Right now the first family is attending mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

They'll also meet with community leaders and first responders. Earlier today I spoke with the uncle of one young victim, Ellie Garcia, who was days away from her 10th birthday. Here's part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIAN ALONZO, UNCLE OF SHOOTING VICTIM ELLI GARCIA: Ellie was a beautiful little girl. She felt so much joy, so much life. She had a good heart. She was never angry at anyone. She loved everyone. She was just such a good kid.

BASH: What did she like to do?

ALONZO: She loved basketball. She loved to ride bikes. She loved to -- she loved going to church with us. She loved the Lord. She loved school, dancing, TikTok.

ELLIE GARCIA, SHOOTING VICTIM: Hey, guys.

ALONZO: What a nine-year-old kid would like to do.

BASH: She was about to have her birthday.

ALONZO: Birthday is next Saturday on the 4th. She would have been ten. She still will be ten.

BASH: That's so tough.

ALONZO: It's very hard.

That weekend will be a tough weekend for the family because her birthday's on the fourth and two days later on the sixth we will bury her.

When I got to the school, seeing the police presence there, a police officer, a border patrol agent, highway patrolmen standing every ten feet with a rifle in their hand. It started sinking in, like what is going on?

They were taking DNA swabs from all the parents. And I instantly knew she was gone. Why else would they need DNA swabs to find a missing child? And sure enough, an hour later my wife called me. They found her. She didn't make it.

BASH: I'm so sorry.

ALONZO: It's by far the worst day of my life. And I'll never forget that day.

BASH: What would you like to see happen so that another Ellie is not gunned down in school or anywhere else?

ALONZO: Change. I know we say that there needs to be change, and we can -- as a Christian, I'm not here to blame anyone. I don't want to point the finger at anyone. Yes, he was the one that pulled the trigger. But I forgive him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: You heard that right. He said he forgives the man who -- the young man who killed his niece. He said he's angry. He's very angry, but he forgives him, and he said that is his faith that allows him to do that.

He also said he's very angry at law enforcement but forgives them, too.

[14:24:50]

BASH: More importantly, Ellie's nine years of life, he said, will never leave their family, even in her death.

We'll be right back.

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BASH: As the president and vice president mourn with the families of victims of both Uvalde and Buffalo this weekend, more communities continue to deal with the pain caused by gun violence.

Just in the last 24 hours more than a dozen people have been involved in at least four reported shootings across the country. But back in Washington, the number two Democrat in the Senate says he has hope Democrats and Republicans might be able to find some agreement on new gun legislation.

[14:30:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): I can tell you I sense a different feeling among my colleagues after Uvalde. Of course, ten years ago it was Sandy Hook and Parkland and so many other instances, but it just is so compelling to see the photos of these young boys and girls and to picture your own children, or grandchildren, captives of this madman, as he's killing them off one by one and at school, and realize it is teem for us -- time for us to do something. America is sick and tired of political excuses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Let's go back to former special adviser to President Obama Van Jones, and former Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms.

So, Mayor Bottoms, I have spoken with actually Republicans and Democrats who sound like Senator Durbin, a little more hope, even the most skeptical and cynical of people in Washington.

Do you share that, or do you think that it's going to be hard for them to find a compromise on anything?

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I am hopeful, and if we can't protect our children as what we saw in Texas and we can't protect the elderly as we saw in New York, then what are we here for?

So I am hopeful that -- for all the partisan divide, that there's still common ground, and we can go back and look at the assault weapon ban of 1994, one that Joe Biden sponsored. People did not lose their weapons. They didn't lose their ammunition. But it did put parameters in place to limit access to assault weapons, and to these high-powered magazines, and it made a difference.

We saw mass shootings drop. It was not an on and off switch, but it made a difference. And if you think about it, had this assault weapons ban still been in place, then this 18-year-old likely would not have access -- gotten access to this weapon. So I am hopeful in this moment, and it cannot be lost. As a country, I don't know how many times we can be expected to endure this over and over again.

BASH: And, Van, that assault weapons ban, of course, expired, and they couldn't find agreement, there wasn't agreement in Washington to renew it, but the vice president when she was in Buffalo yesterday did call for a renewal of the assault weapons ban.

Realistically, do you think that's possible?

JONES: I don't know if that's possible now, but I do think that a I keep hearing people say nothing is going to change. I think this does feel different. I remember we had police killing and all kinds of videos, et cetera, going on, and then something happened with George Floyd. And it just brought people up short, and around that same time, Christian Cooper had been trying to do bird watching in the park, and he had the cops called on him, and people said enough is enough.

And we didn't get federal legislation, but there was a lot of change that happened in the national conversation, and state and local changes. I do think that this is different. I've seen a lot of pro-gun conservatives. Some on the back foot, and then I talked to some people who say I'm more open to doing something. It's just becoming more and more and more.

And at some point the dam does break. I think we could be in a position where at least universal background checks. Something just simple that won't solve every problem but could break the log jam is something I hope Senator Schumer puts on the floor of the Senate this coming week. Just give the country a chance to take an up or down vote on a very simple 90 percent approved idea like universal background checks and begin this process, begin this process of changing the laws to conform with the concerns of the American people.

The vast majority of the American people are open to common sense gun safety laws, and this -- I just don't believe that this many children going to an early grave under these circumstances will have zero effect. I think this is different.

BASH: Van Jones, Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you for being here this hour. Such an important conversation. We were looking at pictures of before of the president's motorcade. We're waiting for it to leave the church where he is attending mass in Uvalde and go to another location to meet with grieving families.

And still ahead, an emotional exclusive interview. A trauma doctor recounts the impact of treating victims of not one but two mass shootings here in Texas. Her story, next.

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[14:39:41]

BASH: In a CNN exclusive interview, a Texas trauma unit doctor opens up about the impact that not one but two mass shootings in less than five years had.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov spoke to the doctor at San Antonio University Hospital where several victims of the latest shooting were taken. This same place where victims of the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting were taken.

[14:40:03]

Yesterday I took this picture right here at this memorial. It's a teddy bear with a message from Sutherland Springs.

Lucy, it is unimaginable the first time. The second time for doctors? KAFANOV: You know, the team that I spoke to there described this

sickening sense of deja vu, and I can't help but think about these concentric circles of trauma that take place after a mass shooting like this. Not just for the community and families of the loved ones, but also for these unsung heroes, the first responders, the nurses, the doctors, they are responsible for keeping the survivors alive.

We spent time at the trauma unity at San Antonio's University Health Hospital, they are caring for a number of the victims. They're obviously trained to deal with something like this. They know how to compartmentalize, but as human beings and parents themselves, it's taking a toll, and like you said, it's not their first mass shooting. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get the glide scope in there, please.

KAFANOV (voice-over): At San Antonio's University Health Hospital --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of us will be in the level one alpha if one came in.

And anesthesiologists on their way, blood bank is on their way.

KAFANOV: Doctors and nurses prepare to receive the most critically wounded.

It's one of the busiest trauma centers in the nation.

As CNN got exclusive access inside, as pediatric trauma medical center director, Dr. Lillian Liao, and her team demonstrated preparations for a mass casualty event.

DR. LILLIAN LIAO, PEDIATRIC TRAUMA MEDICAL CENTER DIRECTOR: Anesthesia is here. Go ahead and get up there with Kelly so we can back her up in case it becomes a difficult air way.

KAFANOV: Today, it's a drill.

LIAO: This is one of the teams that we formed. And the day of the mass casualty event we formed multiple teams such as this.

KAFANOV: But it wasn't a drill on Tuesday, when a teenage gunman burst inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, murdering 19 children and two teachers, injuring at least 17 others, officials say.

LIAO: It's devastating. I think the same thing that every other person in this country is thinking, you know, how horrible their last moments were, right, and what that scene looks like.

KAFANOV: The trauma unit prepared to receive dozens of Uvalde's wounded.

Nurse Colleen Davis recalled the agonizing wait for patients and a grim realization. COLLEEN DAVIS, TRAUMA PATIENT CARE COORDINATOR: After a while you

start realizing more aren't coming and you start realizing why and then the weight of that sets in and it stays with you for the rest of the day and all the days after.

KAFANOV: Four of the victims were brought right here to university hospital, three little girls and the shooter's grandmother. To the doctors and nurses working here, it unfortunately wasn't their first mass shooting.

Less than five years ago, a gunman slaughtered 26 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, just 34 miles southeast of downtown San Antonio. Dr. Liao was on duty.

LIAO: None of us anticipated we would be involved in yet another mass casualty event. It's not something we imagined.

KAFANOV: Trauma nurse Kristell Flores was working alongside Dr. Liao in 2017 as patients wounded in the church massacre began to flood in. She can't believe it's happened again.

KRISTELL FLORES, TRAUMA NURSE: I immediately got like this horrible feeling, in the pit of my stomach, and basically because it was in the same location where we got notified from Sutherland Springs.

KAFANOV: Flores is haunted by the lives her team couldn't save.

FLORES: Just keep replaying things in my brain and thinking, what if they would have gotten here, like, 30 minutes after the first notification, probably would have saved a lot of people. But it is just very -- just what ifs, what ifs, what ifs, and it doesn't change the outcome.

KAFANOV: Like many of her trauma center colleagues, Flores is also a parent.

FLORES: He's in kindergarten and today is his last day of school. And I have a 1-year-old. It is just hard. How do you tell them?

KAFANOV: Dr. Liao says she copes by focusing on the good, her team, her family and her little ones.

LIAO: That's what you want to amplify at a time like this, is amplify the being grateful and the kindness that the world shows rather than focusing on the negative because that can really put you in a wrong place moving forward.

KAFANOV: She breaks down when talking about the invisible scars the surviving children will carry.

LIAO: I kind of thought back to when I was 10 years old.

[14:45:00]

And -- so when I was 10 years old, my family immigrated to this country and my biggest challenge was learning to speak English. And you just can't imagine what these children are going through. And it's really unfair. It's really unfair.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAFANOV (on camera): And when you walk into the hospital, there's a huge banner that was sent to them by the doctors in Colorado, the banner was sent after the Sutherland Springs shooting. The doctors in Colorado experienced their own shooting in 2012.

The spokeswoman at the hospital broke down, describing not knowing how many more of these banners she was going to have to make. I mean, these doctors, these trauma unit doctors are part of a club of their own, a club that nobody wants to be in.

BASH: They are. What an incredibly powerful piece, Lucy. Thank you. Really special people who do those jobs.

And one of the doctors talked about the invisible scars of the children who survived. We're going to talk about that coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:44]

DEAN: Earlier today, my colleague Dana Bash talked with a Uvalde student and his mother about Tuesday's tragedy. That student, Daniel, says he saw the gunman's face while hiding under a table and described seeing a classmate as well as a teacher being shot before he escaped through a window.

His mother Briana spelled out the reality. He now knows at too young of an age.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANA RUIZ, MOTHER OF SHOOTING SURVIVOR, DANIEL: The first night he really didn't want to talk about it, obviously, which, I mean, was okay. I toad him, you know, you need to try it out, you're scared. It's okay.

He hasn't really stepped foot into his room since the incident. I am working on getting him counseling and therapy long-term, because I know it's something that affects him. He does have a lot of night terrors. He does talk and scream and cry in his sleep, and I'll ask him, do you remember, what you were saying yesterday? He'll be like no.

BASH: you don't remember any of that?

DANIEL, UVALDE SHOOTER: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: I want to bring in Jody Baumstein. She's a licensed therapist at Children's Health Care of Atlanta. Jody, it's great to see you under terrible circumstances,

unfortunately. Hearing Briana describe her son's trauma response, which is what that is, what do students like him need right now?

JODY BAUMSTEIN, LICENSED THERAPIST, CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA: They need to know that they're not alone, because it feels so overwhelming and so confusing. They need to know that somebody else is in it with them, and that we can handle it. So whatever that looks like is going to be dependent on what the child is experiencing. For some, that might mean you can have conversations about it. If we can silent, we're telling them this is too big and scary, I can't handle it, or we shouldn't be talking about it.

So, exactly like she was saying, showing up and letting them know that you can be there with them, and also recognizing that their feelings are going to change moment to moment, so in some moments they might need you to start a conversation. Other moments, they might need a break from it. They might need to do something that's distracting so they don't feel completely consumed by it.

DEAN: Right. And these children are just children. They're so young. They're still learning so much about the world. And they may not have words to accurately explain those really adult, big feelings. What are some tips for how adults can talk to children as they work through this?

BAUMSTEIN: Part of it is starting a conversation. So if you know that they can be exposed to this in some way. We don't want to wait because they're not bringing it up. Just because they're not bringing it up, doesn't mean they're not thinking about it.

So, having open dialogue, it normalizes it and knows we can talk about hard things. This is important not just now but in the future. They say it's okay to talk about it. We so often think that it's going to make it worse or we're going to put ideas into their heads, but once we talk about it, it feels more manageable.

And then we need to help them name it like you were saying. When kids don't have the words, they're going to show us in other ways. It's going to come out in behavior. We want to teach them what are these words that they can use to actually articulate their experience?

So if they were to say something like I feel bad, it's a great starting point, but you might want to say, hmm, I wonder if you're feeling sad or I wonder if you're confused. And that just really opens up a space for them to explore and them to learn different words to actually explain what it is that they're feeling inside.

DEAN: And we've heard a lot of lawmakers talking about how they want to place a lot of emphasis on mental health and trauma support for the survivors for their families. How important is that moving forward? Help us understand that trauma is something that could last for these children for the rest of their lives.

BAUMSTEIN: Yeah. I think it's an important conversation to have, and this is just a reminder that long before this, long before COVID, kids were really struggling.

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This was already becoming a really big issue in our country. Mental health of youth was already ticking upwards. Trends were not going in the right correction.

So, it does beg the question of why are kids struggling to begin with, and it does also bring up why we need to be thinking about prevention. And how do we get all kids these skills that they're going to need? Because unfortunately, this is just one thing that's going to be scary and confusing q but they're going to experience a lot of things that are big and overwhelming.

So, how do we help them from a really young age get these supports? Well, part of that is everybody has a role in it. So whether you're a parent, care giver, a coach, teacher, pediatrician, we can all be having conversations with kids. Because when we do that, we're normalizing it. And we're letting them know it's safe and okay to talk about how we feel.

And even as adults, we need this. We need to know that it's okay, because we just feel this immense pressure to hold it together and be strong. But that also means we need to start redefining what does it mean to be strong? If kids are thinking strong means we suck it up and push through, that's going to be a problem. Because we know they're just going to keep pushing stuff down and eventually it's going to explode.

DEAN: Come out. Right?

BAUMSTEIN: So, we need to teach them. Right. How do you let this out in everyday conversations? How do you name it? And how do you cope and work through it, not around it?

DEAN: Yeah. Jody Baumstein, wonderful advice. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

And we're going to take you back live to Uvalde, Texas, in just a minute.

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