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Gunman Kills Four in Tulsa; Negotiator Tried in Uvalde; House Considers Weapons Ban; Judge Lalo Diaz Jr. is Interviewed about the Uvalde Shooting; Georgia's Secretary of State Testifies before Grand Jury; Michael Moore is Interviewed about the Grand Jury Probe in Georgia. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 02, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:59:55]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It's the top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

This morning, once again, the stark reality of America's epidemic of gun violence is hitting home once again, this time at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[09:00:09]

At least four people were killed yesterday when a gunman carrying a handgun and an assault-style rifle opened fire at the facility. The shooter is dead from what officials say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. RICHARD MEULENBERG, TULSA POLICE: This is not a random event. It's not as if he went to a hospital and was indiscriminately shooting at people. He very purposefully went to this location, went to a very specific floor, and shot with very specific purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: So, where do we stand? According to the gun violence archive, there have been 233 mass shootings in America, just this year. It's June. This is not normal. The prevalence of gun violence in the U.S. is egregious and it is unique to this country.

HARLOW: That's right.

And this latest tragedy just overnight comes as the country is deeply still mourning the 19 children and two teachers killed just last week at that elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the ten lives lost at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, just 18 days ago. This morning, we have brand-new details about the investigation into

the shooting at Uvalde. And the mayor there saying the negotiator tried to talk to the gunman during the massacre.

Also, the governor of Texas is now calling for a special legislative committee to address the shooting. What will that really mean?

Let's begin this morning, though, with that new mass shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Our correspondent, Lucy Kafanov, is near the St. Francis Hospital campus where that shooting took place.

Lucy, you literally went from one mass shooting in Uvalde, to the next, in Tulsa. And just moments ago we've learned more information about the weapon used here.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Poppy.

The victims haven't all been laid to rest in Uvalde, Texas, and yet here we are, Tulsa, Oklahoma, another mass shooting.

New details. Three federal sources confirming to CNN that the gunman here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, purchased the AR-15 style firearm the day of the shooting, yesterday. And we know that authorities received a 911 call just shortly after 4:50 p.m. local time. They arrived on the scene shortly thereafter.

The call was about a man with a rifle. When officers arrived to the St. Francis Hospital complex behind me, they heard gunshots that led them to the second floor. They ran up there. As soon as they got there, the shooting suddenly stopped, police sources say. When the officers got into the area, they found the first victim, they found the next victim, and then they found the shooter, who apparently shot himself with a pistol. One person was shot at the center behind me, transported out, died en route. So, a total of five dead, including the gunman.

And, yes, more details on the firearms. We can now confirm AR-15 style firearm bought the day of the shooting. There was also a handgun found on the scene. Both weapons were fired at one point or another. And sources tell CNN that the handgun was purchased on May 29th. So, we're talking about a semi-automatic rifle and a semi-automatic pistol.

But this was chaos on the scene. The building where the shooting took place, multistory building, hundreds of rooms, hundreds of people inside, witnesses describing chaos as law enforcement searched room to room trying to find survivors.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sad. It's so sad. I was coming to the doctor, and I got my grandkids with me, and this terrible scene. It's awful. It's sad. My daughter-in-law is from Buffalo. So now, so close to home. It's not even safe if you come outside anymore, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This really does happen. I mean you see it on TV, but you don't think it's going to happen right in front of your eyes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So now this is a wake-up call for my kids. Like, this can really happen anywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's very scary. You can't even go to a store.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't even go to school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now you can't even go to the doctor?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: Well, you see it on TV, and literally happens right here.

We know that the White House is following the situation. Joe Biden's been briefed, the president's been briefed on it. The Republican governor here, Kevin Stitt, tweeting out his prayer for the dead and the injured.

But, as you point out in the introduction, 233 mass shootings in America so far this year, including the one here in Tulsa.

Guys.

SCIUTTO: Well, it's hard to keep up. I'm sure folks at home are having trouble keeping up, from Buffalo to Uvalde and now to Tulsa.

Lucy Kafanov, thanks very much.

HARLOW: This morning we do have some new details to share with you about the police response to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

[09:05:06]

In a new interview, the mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin, says there was a negotiator who tried to call the gunman on the phone while he was inside of Robb Elementary, but he didn't answer.

SCIUTTO: This is key because part of the police explanation for not going in was whether this had changed from an active shooter situation to a barricade, or perhaps a hostage situation.

CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now from Uvalde.

Nick, what more can you tell us about this negotiator, how they got in touch, how many times they tried, do we know? NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Jim.

We know that the Uvalde mayor, this is the first time that he's spoken at length more than a week since this shooting, but he did fill in some key details, including telling us about this negotiator who he says tried multiple numbers to reach the gunman but was unsuccessful. He tried this while the shooting was ongoing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR DON MCLAUGHLIN, UVALDE, TEXAS: The only person I had communication when the negotiator was trying to get the shooter on the phone and so forth, I was in the room.

The moment he went in that classroom, they started calling for him. I wasn't there at the initial, but at the moment he went in that classroom, they were trying to get numbers and call him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The officials here that we've spoken to, Jim and Poppy, say that the focus needs to continue to be on those families that are grieving, but they provided very little information and help for closure for those families, avoiding major questions, principally, why it took police nearly 80 minutes to breach those two barricaded doors, or those two locked doors where the gunman was barricaded in a classroom.

Meanwhile, for those that were waiting for answers from police here, they're not going to get them today. Texas Department of Public Safety telling us last night that they will no longer be answering questions, directing all those questions to the local district attorney.

Meanwhile, the governor here, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, has called on the legislature here to form a special investigative committee to go over police training and school safety and much more.

Jim. Poppy.

HARLOW: Nick Valencia, on the ground, getting some answers, thank you very much for the reporting.

Also this, police in Berkeley, California, have arrested a 16-year-old boy accused of plotting a mass shooting and possibly a bombing at a high school. Police say they received a tip that the teen was recruiting other students to carry out this attack. Authorities searched his home and say they found assault rifles and parts of explosives. Jim, assault rifles, explosives, 16.

SCIUTTO: Well, there are commonalities here, right?

HARLOW: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Assault rifles, the AR-15, an assault-style rife it's sometimes called. It has been a common factor in so many of these. It is perhaps a mass shooting nearly -- only narrowly averted. The 16- year-old did turn himself in Monday. Will now undergo a mental health evaluation. The district superintendent credits the individuals who came forward with preventing a tragedy.

What they are calling (INAUDIBLE) response to the recent mass shootings and consider gun legislation called Protecting Our Kids Act, but we need a reality check on this because we've been here so many times before. The House is expected to pass the bill. That's the Democratic-controlled House. You need 60 votes in the Senate. They're not going to get them.

HARLOW: Also, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says next week she will bring forward legislation to ban military-style assault weapons. But, again, to our Lauren Fox, our congressional correspondent on The Hill, it is so key what Jim said. It doesn't matter if it can't get anywhere in the Senate.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, what you have here is House Democrats trying to make a point that they are doing everything in their toolbox to try to make the country safer from this kind of gun violence. But like you said, this is going nowhere in the U.S. Senate.

Today, the House Judiciary Committee will mark up that legislation, which includes several individual bills, including one that would raise the age at which you could buy an AR-15 from 18 to 21, across the country. Now, there are some states that are going to be trying to make that change on their own, but this would be a federal law. There's also legislation to try to ban future large capacity magazines, as well as other legislation for safe storage.

But this legislation is not going to be moving in the U.S. Senate, like you said. Instead, negotiations still ongoing there about a narrow set of proposals that could pass. Everything we are hearing from this group, both from Senator Chris Murphy's public statements, as well as Senator Cornyn's public statements, is that they are making progress. But that package is going to be so much smaller in scale.

And you've heard some Democrats say, it is not going to be enough to stop the kind of mass shootings that you are seeing across the country.

Jim and Poppy.

HARLOW: Lauren Fox, thank you very much. We'll watch, but we've watched so many times before with nothing happening.

[09:10:02]

Thanks very much for the reporting.

Next, we will speak to the man who acted that day of the Uvalde massacre as the county coroner. He saw the children and grandchildren of some of his own friends inside that building.

SCIUTTO: Plus, a former Republican staffer for the January 6th committee details what he calls absolutely damning, his words, evidence found in the committee's investigation so far. Particularly text messages.

And, later, President Biden says he cannot do much to fix rising food and gas prices in the short term, despite a plan he rolled out this week to help fight inflation over the longer term. I'm going to speak to one of the White House's top economic advisers about what's next. That's coming up.

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[09:15:10]

HARLOW: Today, several more services will be held for the victims of last week's massacre at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Family and friends who will attend funerals today for 11-year-old Miranda Gail Mathis, 10-year-old Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo and 10-year-old Eliahna Torres. There are also visitations and prayer services today for nine- year-old Jacklyn Jaylen Cazarez, 10-year-old Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, and 10-year-old Jailah Nicole Silguero.

We are also hearing from a Texas state trooper who was with teacher Eva Mireles, a friend of his, when she died. She was shot, as you know, while trying to protect her young students.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN MALDONADO, TEXAS STATE TROOPER: Eva's a fighter. And she did everything she could to protect her babies. And that's her students. So, we know she did everything she could and she protected them to her last breath.

It was an honor to spend the last moment with Eva as she left this earth and to a greater place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Let me bring in now justice of the peace for Uvalde County, Judge Lalo Diaz Jr.

Judge, thank you very much for being here, especially given the unimaginable circumstances you are enduring and so much a part of at this point. Because there's no official medical examiner, you are the acting one, right? You had to act that day as the county coroner. And that means you're the one who got called to the school to identify the 21 victims before they were autopsied.

And I know out of respect for the families, you don't want to share the details of what you saw. Of course, we understand that. Can you walk us through the experience that you went through, though?

JUDGE LALO DIAZ JR., IDENTIFIED VICTIMS KILLED AT ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Well, it's like something I never expected. I mean it's just -- I'm sitting in my office during the day, I mean I'm going about my business. I see that there's a report from the police on Facebook that there's an active shooter. And I keep sitting in my office because I'm not a first responder. So, you know, if there's not a death, then I don't respond.

So, I sit around the office waiting for the -- as I hear the ambulances and I hear the officers and the sirens, escorting buses to the civic center. By the time I'm called out, it's roughly around 2:30 by the time I get out there.

So, by the time I get out there, we assess the situation. I speak with the rangers in charge. And I make a phone call to the Bear (ph) County medical examiner to come down and assist me before I go in. By the time I go into the location, it's probably between 5:30 and 6:00, by the time we go in, and that's to assess. And at that time - I mean the whole time between 2:30 and let's say 5:30, my mind was just racing, knowing that I was going to see some that was just unbelievable, that I would not have ever wanted to see.

HARLOW: And, I mean, Judge, this is -- you, yourself, are the father of an eighth grader and a high school senior. This is the same elementary school where your children went and where you went.

DIAZ: Correct.

HARLOW: You saw firsthand what an AR-15-style rifle does to children. And no doubt that will haunt you for the rest of your life. How do you try to cope with that toll and do your job for these families?

DIAZ: Well, it's tough. I mean, I -- like I said, I - you know, like I said, there's a -- been reported that, you know, I really couldn't -- you can't really identify the children because I didn't know who they were. They didn't have any identification on them. But, you know, when you walk into a room and you start looking around the room to see what's a situation there, and I see that Irma Garcia, which is a classmate of mine, she was a year below me in school, was a teacher, and I've known her and her husband, you know, now probably 30 years or 30 plus years and known of them and I worked with Joe at a previous company, you know, it breaks my heart because I'm seeing this devastation that this -- that these weapons did to the children and to these teachers, and it just, you know, unbelievable.

HARLOW: You knew her. The couple, we see them right there, were so in love, high school sweethearts. Her husband died from a heart attack two days after she was murdered. And they leave behind four children. The youngest is 12 years old.

When you think about the lasting toll to this community, I just wonder what your thoughts are on the help that -- you've talked about needing mental - mental health help and some - you know, some help after this, after you're done being so busy trying to get through what you're doing now, the toll that it will take for so long.

[09:20:19]

DIAZ: Well, that's correct. You know, I wanted to come on today, like I said, to let everybody know that, you know, it's OK to go out and seek counseling. You know, I went out on Tuesday and had my first session. You know, I'm somebody who had never spoken to a counselor before. I'm also somebody who, you know, I spoke to somebody on Tuesday, spoke to somebody yesterday. I want to let the community know and everybody know that it's OK. It's OK to go out and speak to somebody because these -- this is a person that you can confide on that doesn't know you personally, that you can speak to and hopefully get some of that pain out of what you're feeling.

And, like I said, I'm not ashamed that I had to go do it. It's just that we -- we experienced something as a community that is unimaginable. And most people don't know how to cope with it. And I just -- I just ask everybody here, all our citizens of Uvalde, to ask for help. Don't think you're too tough to go out and ask for it. It's very important.

HARLOW: I'm so glad you said that because we know you're a tough guy and, as you said, you've never needed it before, but you need it now and you're willing to take the help. And it's so important.

What do you want to change, Judge? There's a whole lot of talk now on the national level, and statewide, the governor has called this special legislative committee. But if history's an indicator, nothing changes. What do you want to change?

DIAZ: Well, like I mentioned before, I mean, we're at completely opposite ends of the spectrum politically. And if we keep doing the same thing over and over, nothing's going to change. So, we need to find a way to meet in the middle. I know there's a common ground. It used to happen before in politics. It hasn't - it isn't happening now. And hopefully they can see it in their hearts, the politicians, and both sides to come together.

I know there's a common ground somewhere. I know that everybody has a heart and nobody wants to see this continue to happen.

HARLOW: Judge Lalo Diaz Jr., thank you for being here today and for the incredibly important work you've been doing on the ground in your community.

Thanks very much.

DIAZ: Thank you for having me.

HARLOW: Jim.

SCIUTTO: Still to come this morning, Georgia's secretary of state in the hot seat in front of a grand jury investigating former President Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

And it is a celebration fit for a queen. We're live at Buckingham Palace as festivities begin for Queen Elizabeth's platinum jubilee.

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[09:27:33]

SCIUTTO: A Georgia grand jury investigating whether former President Trump and his allies committed crimes in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election will hear today from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. You may remember Trump was heard on a phone call with Raffensperger in the days before the Capitol insurrection urging the state's top election official to, quote, find him more votes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: So, look, all I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Let's go to our political correspondent Sara Murray. She's live in Atlanta.

What's going to happen today, Sara?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we caught Brad Raffensperger as he was going in about a half an hour ago. He told us, you know, he hopes that it will be short, his appearance before the grand jury today. I think that's unlikely. You know, he was subpoenaed for his testimony, but he was also subpoenaed for documents. We have a copy of that subpoena. And when you look at the list of the documents they wanted, it's a good indication of what they want to ask him about. You know, any writings about that now infamous call between him and Donald Trump, any phone logs between his office as well as Donald Trump, any of the results, the audit, the recount results that show that Joe Biden won the state of Georgia, an audit of the Dominion voting equipment, and a transcript of this Senate hearing where Rudy Giuliani appeared before the panel and spread a bunch of election conspiracies.

So this shows you, of course, they're going to dive into the call. They're going to dive in to Donald Trump's efforts to try to pressure Raffensperger to overturn the results of the election. But they're going to go pretty far beyond that. So it's safe to say it's probably going to be a long day in these for Brad Raffensperger.

And, remember, this special grand jury is just getting started. Raffensperger is testifying today, but they've also subpoenaed a number of other officials from his office, as well as the Georgia attorney general.

Back to you.

SCIUTTO: Sara Murphy, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Michael Moore, former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.

Michael, good to have you back.

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA: Good morning.

SCIUTTO: You have the president on tape asking, I mean you can say pressuring Georgia's top election official, he is, at the time, the leader of the free world, asking him to find enough votes to overturn the result in that state. As I understand it, a lot of this depends on intent of the president.

What would prosecutors need to learn from Raffensperger to move the ball forward legally here?

MOORE: You know -- well, good morning to both of you.

[09:30:06]

I do think the tape is an incredibly strong piece of evidence.