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Police Says, Suspect Threatened Suicide, Said He Was Going to Kill Everyone in 2019, But Still Passed Four Background Checks to Get Guns; Uvalde Mayor Fears Investigation Cover-Up, Asks Texas Governor to Intervene; Democrats Demand Biden Act Faster on Abortion, Inflation, Other Issues. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 06, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, good morning, I'm Jim Sciutto.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Erica Hill.

Just one hour from now, the suspect now charged with seven counts of first-degree murder following the Highland Park mass shooting expected in court for the first time. Authorities promising, though, dozens more charges to come against the 21-year-old. We're also learning new details about the alleged gunman's past and there were plenty of red flags, including two encounters with police, one coming after a family member reported he threatened to, quote, kill everyone in 2019.

SCIUTTO: Missed warning signs.

Also this morning, new information from the ongoing investigation. Police say the suspect fired more than 70 high-velocity rounds, a rifle similar to an AR-15 which we've seen used in so many of these mass shootings. That was one of five firearms he legally purchased in just the last two years.

Authorities have released the names of six of the seven victims killed in the shooting so far. Two of them were a couple. The McCarthys there, whose toddler found alive underneath the father's body once the shooting stopped.

HILL: CNN's Josh Campbell is outside of the Lake County Courthouse where that bail hearing will take place just a short time from now.

Josh, what more do we know about these warning signs that have been detailed in his past and about the charges he's now facing?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: good morning. We learned quite a bit about this investigation in the last 24 hours. Prosecutors have now formally charged the shooting suspect. He's being charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, one count of each of those victims killed during that parade attack. We're also learning that the weapons that were purchased here were purchased legally. Authorities say that over the course of a year, he purchased five weapons, including one assault-style rifle that was allegedly used in this attack.

Police also releasing information about the planning that went into this attack, saying that they believe that this alleged shooter took weeks to plan, including on the day of the shooting, actually concealing himself dressed as a female. Police believe that was in order to try to blend into the crowd with the holiday-goers, and, of course, when the panic ensued, to try to make his way of escape. We know he did get away. There was a manhunt for several hours before he was eventually taken into custody.

And we're also learning details about two police encounters that the suspect had back in 2019. Obviously, after each of these types of incidents, we want to know, was there anything that could have been done to try to prevent this attack? Authorities say that they had two contacts with him, including in April of 2019 when a family member called police saying that the suspect had attempted suicide. Police responded. They ultimately determined this wasn't a police issue, but he was instead under the care of a mental health professional.

Now, in September of that year, police called back to the suspect's house, a relative reporting that the suspect had talked about trying to kill every member of his family. Police determined that there were a number of knives inside this home. There were 16 in total as well as a dagger, as well as a sword. Police say that they confiscated those. But obviously raising questions about, well, what could have been done if these warning signs were there.

We're also learning very troubling details and many critical questions that are now out there for the father of the alleged shooter. The state police told us last night that in December of 2019, the suspect applied for a firearms permit here, a license. Because he was under age, his father allegedly tested or swore on his behalf a sponsorship, if you will, for him to obtain that license. Over the course of a year, he obtained five firearms.

And I say troubling questions for the father because, obviously, if the suspect had shown these troubling signs of potentially engaging in self-harm or potentially the harm of other people, why would a family member then sponsor him, his ability to obtain a weapon. Serious questions that are out there that remain today.

Finally, I'm here outside of the county courthouse. The suspect will have his first appearance in court in just a short time. We will be bringing you those details as the prosecution continues. And, obviously, behind the scenes, investigators continue to get to that motive.

SCIUTTO: Josh, Campbell, thanks so much, do stick around.

Here to discuss with us, former New York Prosecutor and CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan. Paul, help me understand. I've covered countless number of shootings and investigations afterwards. He passed four background checks after he'd been visited by police twice in the year 2019, in one which they confiscated a number of weapons. And Crimo had threatened to kill his own family.

Can you to folks at home who say, wait a second, what do background checks check for them?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This is a shocking failure of the Illinois red flag law. It's also a shocking failure, I think, of police officials and Highland Park, Illinois. It's a town of -- it's a very affluent town, a town of 30,000 people.

[10:05:00]

I think they have 59 police officers on the force.

And I can tell you, Jim, that in most affluent towns in America, the police chief would know if a kid with a tattoo on his face who has attempted to commit suicide and subsequently threatened to kill every member of his family, the police chief would know if that kid had a permit to get a weapon. And there was a tremendous failure here that this wasn't picked up on, and we've got a lot of fatalities as a result of that.

HILL: Josh, to that point, I was watching you yesterday with one of the press conferences, and you were pushing for more information on what the chain of events was there. And the state police, I know, came out with a statement yesterday later in the day just clarifying what they knew at the time, how that information would or would not have shown up when he went to apply for this boy to get basically license to get the gun. Just walk us through, why would that information not show up? Why is it not deemed, I guess, important enough to be a part of his file, for lack of a better word?

CAMPBELL: Well, it's an important question. And I'll say it's important that we also distinguish between these two different police agencies involved here. What we're told by the local police is that they -- after interviewing the suspect, after interviewing the family members, after confiscating those knives, they then made a report to the state police. So, the local police are saying that they did what they were supposed to do, notifying the state police. Does the suspect have a firearms license? At that point in September of 2019, he did not have a license. And so there was no weapon, no firearm to confiscate.

But, of course, a serious question, as Paul mentions about the red flag laws themselves in December of 2019 when the suspect applied for a firearms license, whenever his father allegedly sponsored him for this license. If there are red flag laws in place, how could they not pick up on this past interaction with law enforcement, where you had family members reporting to police saying that there were troubling incidents, that he was not only threatening to allegedly killing himself but to kill other people. And so it appears at least as of now the local police did what they were supposed to do and notifying the state police, of course, a lot of questions about how state police handle these red flag laws or what constraints that they find themselves in. This is not just a local question, it's a national question. When you hear people calling for these national red flag law standards, it gets to this exact point. How do you detect the shooters before they actually conduct the attack?

SCIUTTO: Well, this seems to be a failure, not just the red flag laws but background checks themselves.

I wonder, we spoke last hour, Paul Callan, to Andy McCabe, former deputy FBI director, and he made the point that with red flag laws in particular that, in effect, the country, law enforcement to some degree is shifting the burden for policing this kind of stuff in advance to the population, to members of the family, the community, police departments who already have to make mental health judgments. We see that out on patrol all the time. You've witnessed law enforcement in action in your role as a lawyer for many, many years. Do you agree with his point there that there's kind of a shifting to folks who may not be prepared for this?

CALLAN: Yes, I do agree with that. They have shifted the responsibility to the citizenry and to family members to report people that they suspect of being dangerous. I think the police feel that their own hands have been tied though by court decisions and by laws in various states that are very liberal in allowing people to get guns.

And I'd just add one other thing about these red flag laws which have been portrayed as really helping us be very safe in the United States. These laws tend to focus on people who already have guns in their possession as opposed to somebody with some kind of a psychiatric history who's later applying for a gun license.

And I think that's why this one slipped through the cracks. When he applied for the license for the gun, probably, he didn't have the history of mental illness, or he hadn't been involved in those incidents and that's what the police will say.

HILL: Paul Callan, Josh Campbell, I appreciate it, thank you both.

Joining me now, Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider, it's good to have you with us, of Illinois.

We should point out this is your district, this is your town. There are so many questions this morning about what could have been prevented, what happens next. As Paul was just pointing out, these red flag laws tends to apply to people who already have a firearm. Your governor is saying yesterday it's a stark reminder, our gun laws often fall short of the rigorous standard that feel like common sense to most Americans. And he was calling on people in your state to better educate themselves about those laws and how they could use them if needed. Is that the only recourse you see at this point or is there another path, a legislative path to make things perhaps stronger?

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REP. BRAD SCHNEIDER (D-IL): No, there's no single recourse, but, certainly, people, we all need to educate ourselves about the laws and how they're applied. As I stated earlier, the Highland Park police did report to the state police at the time it's a dynamic situation. It was two years ago when they visited his house. There's a lot of information that needs to be gathered before we draw any ultimate conclusions.

But there's also so much more we have to do in our communities. The idea of having universal background checks, not a full-proof system but taking steps to try to make sure people who are a threat to themselves or their community can't get a gun.

Banning assault weapons, without a question, these are weapons of mass murder. They are weapons used here in Highland Park, in Buffalo, in Uvalde and other mass shootings. We can do so many things, so many steps along the way that are common sense that supported the American public, and that at the same time, we respect our Second Amendment rights. It's not an either/or. It's a both/and.

HILL: Vice President Harris in Highland Park. You were with her last night. She has been much more forceful in her remarks lately, specifically about assault weapons, which you have just brought up. How much of that was a conversation that you had with her yesterday?

SCHNEIDER: It's exactly what we talked about. We talked about a number of things. First, I told her how much her visit meant to our community. I told her about the heroism of our first responders, the ones who went as soon as the shooting happens to try to save as many lives as they could and then area law enforcement and the fire department who came and supported us as well as the state and federal authorities. They very quickly, professionally identified, located and apprehended the shooter.

But I also told her we need to move forward. We need to ban assault weapons. We need to pass the -- the House has passed twice back, let's pass it in the Senate.

HILL: As you point out, this doesn't have to be either/or. There is polling which certainly supports universal background checks. We're talking more and more about the assault weapons ban in the wake of every mass shooting, and there have been far too many. The questions come up, and there are questions about what can be done. And there are questions about whether this time is different.

Is there something here that gives you reason to believe this will be different and there will be not only perhaps action but real conversation?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. I want to believe that every time is different. I was first elected in freshmen member orientation when the Sandy Hook shooting happened. I thought we would make progress then. It took five months but the gun lobby was able to stop it. I am hopeful that this time. This is an attack on a Fourth of July celebration with families, parents, grandparents, grandchildren are gathered together. That was true in Highland Park. That's true in every community across the country, celebrating our nation's independence, our country's freedom, and that was shattered on July 4th. I'm hopeful that we can bring people together. I've been stopped on the street. Someone stopped me last night and said I'm a hunter, I own guns but we have to do something about this. And another person said, I'm a Republican but we have to find a way to work together across the aisle to keep our community safe And I think the sentiment of the American people needs to be reflected in the will of our elected officials.

HILL: It's an important point. I will note there's the polling and I will say it in my own reporting over the last couple of years on gun violence, it's clear that most gun owners, law-abiding responsible gun owners would like to have these conversations and are okay with some measures that will add to the safety here.

I also just want to get a sense of community this morning, because I think it's so important that we don't forget the lasting impact this will have on the families of the seven victims, on the survivors and on the community as a whole. How is Highland Park doing this morning?

SCHNEIDER: We're really hurting. You know, on Monday, there was someone posted on Facebook, does anyone know this young child? It was a two-year-old boy with this curly hair, a beautiful child that seemed to have been separated from his parents. On Tuesday, we discovered he wasn't separated. His parents were both murdered by the shooter at the parade. A young couple killed in the prime of their life, a young child left an orphan.

There's another story that came out, a young woman, 22-year-old woman was fleeing the scene with her mother, her mother shot. She turned and she said she saw that her mother was dead, she said, goodbye, mom, but I have to leave you, they're still shooting.

These are stories that no one should experience, no community should suffer through. Highland Park is a strong community. We love each other. We will come together. The community last night, there were vigils, churches and synagogues at the town center. We're going to help each other get through this but we're in a lot of pain right now.

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HILL: Yes, it is a long, long process, as you not move on but work to move forward. Congressman Brad Schneider, I appreciate your time this morning. Thank you --

SCHNEIDER: Thank you. Thank you for joining us.

SCIUTTO: -- so much healing to come there.

Still to come this morning, strong allegations from the mayor of Uvalde, Texas.

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MAYOR DON MCLAUGHLIN, UVALDE, TEXAS: I think it's a cover-up.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They're covering up.

MCLAUGHLIN: McCraw is covering up for --

PROKUPECZ: For who?

MCLAUGHLIN: For maybe his agencies.

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SCIUTTO: Cover-up. Mayor shares his concerns about the investigation into the Robb Elementary School shooting in an exclusive interview with CNN.

HILL: And new CNN reporting, Democrats frustrated with the, quote, lack of urgency from the White House. Details from a call with President Biden and his supporters, just ahead.

Plus, long lost Nazi tapes reveal the chilling confessions of one of the main architects of the Holocaust.

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HILL: In an exclusive interview, the mayor of Uvalde, Texas, says he fears there is a cover-up happening in the investigation into law enforcement's response in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.

SCIUTTO: Yes. It's quite allegation. You'll remember, 19 children and 2 teachers killed on May 24th. Mayor Don McLaughlin tells Shimon Prokupecz he has lost faith in the investigation and is now calling on Texas governor, Greg Abbott, to intervene.

Shimon joins us now. And, Shimon, I wonder what he's basing his concerns on.

PROKUPECZ: Well, one thing that he's basing it on is that the Texas Department of Public Safety, the DPS, he talked a lot about them. They're running this investigation. And he feels they're being very selective in some of the information that's been released.

And the other thing that he's concerned about is that they had officers. A Texas DPS had officers in the hallway of the school. And while the DPS is blaming everything on Uvalde and the school police, there's no mention of anything of what the DPS officers were doing in the hallway. And that is what he is concerned about.

Listen to some of what he told me.

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MCLAUGHLIN: I think it's a cover-up.

PROKUPECZ: On -- they're covering up?

MCLAUGHLIN: McCraw is covering up for -- PROKUPECZ: For who?

MCLAUGHLIN: For maybe his agencies or maybe he told the story he told, that, you know, it's hard, you know -- what do they say, it's always hard when you tell a lie, that you have to keep telling a lie. I'm not saying he's lying, maybe he was misled.

Every agency in that hallway is going to have to share the blame. And like I said, again, I'll go back to, when have you ever seen a federal or a state law enforcement officer take cues from local law enforcement?

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PROKUPECZ: And so he's talking there about Colonel McCraw who runs the DPS. Interestingly, the Texas DPS, the Department of Public Safety, they report to the governor, to Governor Abbott. And, certainly, he feels there's a lot of concern with how they're conducting this investigation. He's also concerned about the district attorney there in Uvalde who's told everyone to not release any information. He says his goal here is to get information for the families and he's hoping by fighting and to doing what he's doing that the information will come out.

HILL: I mean, there have been so many questions about this from very beginning, as you know better than anyone, Shimon, right, because you've been there from the beginning, even in that first initial press conference when they had the governor leading it. A lot of folks were scratching their head at that point.

The mayor just said every agency in the hallway is going to have to share the blame. Just remind us, who is a part of that initial response.

PROKUPECZ: So, it was a massive response and I think it's bigger than of us know, because all we keep hearing, really, are about the local police that were responding. But mayor said that he counted at least eight or nine different agencies being on scene. Of course, the Texas Department of Public Safety, he says, U.S. Marshals, we've heard about the border patrol, the Uvalde Police Department, the Uvalde school police and investigator from the D.A.'s office.

He was saying there are a number of these people in the hallway. And why is it that everything is being blamed on one person, this Chief Arredondo as being this incident commander. He wants to know what were the other people in the hallway doing and why weren't they taking action? And so that's what he wants to know.

And he says, all we keep hearing right now from officials who have talked is that this is one agency, this one police department, the small police department, this chief of the small police department who was making all the decisions. What were all the other people doing? And the blame, he says, should go everywhere, not just to the one police department, the school police department.

SCIUTTO: Yes. His question to you, when have you seen a federal agency or federal agencies sort of put themselves under the local law enforcement agency in a situation like this?

Shimon Prokupecz, thanks so much for joining us.

Rudderless, aimless, and hopeless, that's what one Democratic member of Congress is saying about the Biden White House. A look at growing frustration inside the president's own party, that's coming up.

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HILL: New CNN reporting this morning describes an overwhelming sense of frustration in the Democratic Party over what is being described as mismanagement inside the White House. One official comparing the handling of national crises on abortion rights, inflation, gas prices, to throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

SCIUTTO: CNN Senior Reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere joins us now. Isaac, you begin your piece with what you call a fatalistic call with Biden and the supporters after Roe was overturned. Fatalistic how?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So, if you remember, the Dobbs decision came on a Friday morning. It was the Monday following that. They had a number of celebrities and activists and influencer types on a Zoom call with a couple of Biden aides. And what came out of it, especially from Actresses Debra Messing and Alyssa Milano, who was also part of it, saying, we voted to get Joe Biden in office.

[10:30:04]

We did all the things we were supposed to do. Why aren't you doing more? Why are we just getting fundraising texts?