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Uvalde Teacher Describes Horror While Waiting for Help; Damning Report Details Missed Chances to Avert Uvalde Shooting; "United Shades of America" Premieres Sunday at 10 PM ET/PT; GOP Michigan Gov. Candidate Pleads Not Guilty to Charges Around 1/6; Gas Station Owner Dropped Prices to $2 a Gallon on 4th of July. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 07, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNULFO REYES, SURVIVED UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING: And that was one of them, where he -- like, as I him laying down, either like this, or like this, tapping it, but it was splashing on my face.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: : Blood?

REYES: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: Was he trying to see if you were still alive?

REYES: I think so.

PROKUPECZ: You were laying there for over an hour, right? No one is coming to help. What do you think of that?

REYES: That they forgot us. They probably thought we were all dead or something. But if they would have gone in before --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: The report appears to agree that some may have survived, saying, quote, "While we do not have definitive information at this point it is possible that some of the people who died during this event could have been saved if they had received more rapid medical care," end quote.

While speaking to Shimon, Reyes also realized recalled the moment he realized he lost his students.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REYES: The children were dead under the table. But there was nothing I could do about it. Just --

SHIMON: Your children?

REYES: Yes, my children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us now is former NYPD detective and law enforcement consultant, Tom Verni.

Tom, in this report, we learned there was a Uvalde officer who arrived on the scene even before the suspect entered the building. He had a chance to shoot. He didn't because he asked for approval to shoot and he didn't receive an immediate response.

I think there's some important context we also want our viewers to know. And this report says the officer was about 148 yards away from the target.

And there's this Texas standard that does not require officers to fire their rifles from more than 100 yards at a target. So he was 148 yards away.

This report says the officer worried about using his target and shooting into the classroom, injuring students. Hindsight is obviously 2020, Tom but, ultimately, the decision to deadly force lies with the officer.

Given the context I just laid out, what do you make of his decision not to fire?

TOM VERNI, LAW ENFORCEMENT CONSULTANT & FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: Good afternoon.

And my sincere regret is to anyone who is affected by this horrible, horrible tragedy.

And you know, this is a tragedy on multiple levels. We have, once again, someone who is possession of a firearm who shouldn't be, who makes their way into another location to cause chaos and mayhem.

And, you know, it was so reeling, I think -- at least after Sandy Hook, quite frankly. And that was almost 10 years ago. And, you know, here it is playing out all over again. So we have that.

And then the police response, which, I can't even -- those of us who are active or retired law-enforcement and pretty much any other place are also reeling from the type of response that played out.

Back in the olden days, you would wait for backup. You would wait to establish a perimeter. You would wait for a SWAT team or emergency service team and so on and so forth and make some sort of tactical entry and so on.

That is not the way it is anymore. You know, unfortunately --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: It changed after Columbine, right?

VERNI: Well, a lot of things from Columbine and every unfortunate shooting since then, since it seems to be commonplace -- there's nothing more American than a mass shooting, right?

So, unfortunately, police have had to rethink and think again about how to best tactically handle situations like this.

And we don't always have the ability to wait, especially when you have someone running around indiscriminately shooting people, teachers, students, staff and what have you.

So, myself, if I'm the first one on the scene, quite frankly I don't care what the procedure is. I'm going to go in and I and going to try to neutralize that threat and try to save as many as possible, even if it costs my own life.

That is one of the things of taking a job like that is that you have to, unfortunately, assume you may find yourself in a situation where you may have to sacrifice yourself for the many.

[13:34:59]

And even if it is just you being able to disarm or at least somewhat disable that active shooter until the calvary arrives, then that is what it is.

So, you know, there are a lot of police, unfortunately, Ana, with everything that happened in the last number of years, that start to second-guess what they are doing.

Should I wait for approval? Should I wait for backup? Am I going to get in trouble if I fire from this distance? Am I going to lose my job? Am I going to get suspended?

So that is a problem in and upon itself, you know.

CABRERA: Yes.

VERNI: And then, obviously, there's also self-preservation that plays out as well.

But nowadays, they have to go in. You have to go in and try to neutralize the threat as quickly as possible, even if it means just you or you and your partner.

And then, when everyone else arrives, they can assist at that time.

CABRERA: Have to think every one of those officers that were involved in this response wishes they had made a different decision and could have done something differently if they could just go back in time.

Tom Verni, I appreciate your perspective and insight into these matters.

VERNI: Thank you.

CABRERA: Thank you.

From the campaign trail to federal court, a Republican candidate for Michigan governor just pleaded not guilty for his actions during the January 6th riot at the U.S. capital. More on that.

Plus, what do a nurse, gymnast and tech billionaires have in common? They're all about to get the nation's highest civilian honor. The president is set to award the presidential medal of freedom to 17 Americans just minutes from now. We'll take it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:18]

CABRERA: W. Kamau Bell is asking questions about our country's most challenging questions like only he does about our country's most challenging issues.

In this season, the premiere of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA," he is tackling two polarizing concepts, Woke and Critical Race Theory.

Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA": What is Woke?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what that means so I can't answer either way.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like just hearing that word because, honestly, I know --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you just say, I feel old hearing that word?"

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know I'm only 16. Yet, I don't really understand some of the slang terms nowadays.

BELL: So it is not a word you are using? I would be shocked if it was.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BELL: but it is not a word you all are using?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. It is a word used against us. It's a word like, oh, I'm sorry, I'm not Woke enough to know what non-binary means or what any of that to use your pronouns. I even (INAUDIBLE). I use "it" pronouns.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP) CABRERA: Joining us now, W. Kamau Bell. He's also the co-author of a new book that you can get in just a couple of weeks, "Do the Work, An Antiracist Activity Book," coming out July 19th.

OK. Welcome Kamau.

BELL: Hi.

CABRERA: Thank you for being here.

I love that clip because they clearly were so comfortable talking with you. Made it such a vibrant discussion. Why did you decide to tackle these two words, these two concepts, Woke and Critical Race Theory?

BELL: I don't think I decided to. I think the country assigned it to me. I am the guy who has to race conversations.

And as much as I really didn't want to talk about Woke because, as those kids were talking about, I don't feel like Woke is a thing either.

But the media, the GOP, the school boards have made a big deal about this thing, which is just like slang for be educated, which I think we should all be educated.

CABRERA: Why does that have to be controversial?

BELL: Yes.

CABRERA: And has it been politically distorted or what?

BELL: You know, I think --

CABRERA: Where did it go wrong?

BELL: -- there are some of this country that want to create distractions and to divide us and separate us.

For me, this is like Woke is no different than the war on Christmas. This is year-round. Ways in which we figure out ways to divide people and separate people so a power can be accumulated.

And off of that comes as a way to target the black community, which is also what Woke is doing.

CABRERA: Where do you see this issue going? What does the path forward look like?

BELL: I think it is very simple. Do you want your kids to be educated about the history of the country and the present day in this country or do you not want your kids to be educated about that?

If you want your kids to be educated about that, you need to make sure that you're involved in your kids' education at school and make sure it is happening. Because the people who don't want your kids to be educated are very involved. CABRERA: Why do you people think it's radical?

BELL: I think there is a vision of America that has been created throughout its history of America is always the hero. And if you tell an honest history of America, America is not always the hero. It's often not the hero.

And I think that, for many people, that is controversial because that scares them. If America is not the hero, what does that mean for me? It means that sometimes you are not the hero.

CABRERA: I love that you're such a deep thinker. Thank you for giving us a --

(LAUGHTER)

BELL: Thanks.

CABRERA: Thanks for giving us a little snippet of what we can expect coming up in this season of "UNITED SHAKES OF AMERICA," with W. Kamau Bell. It premieres Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

Thank you again.

Meantime, in Michigan today, a Republican candidate for governor pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges for his alleged involvement in the capital insurrection.

Federal investigators say Ryan Kelley climbed up the scaffolding for then-President-Elect Joe Bidens inauguration stage during the attack and that he motioned for rioters to advance.

CNN's Sara Murray is following this for us.

Sara, what more can you tell us?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it has been quite an interesting 24 hours for Ryan Kelley. He is one of the Republicans who is in this hotly contested primary to figure out who is going to take on Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer come this fall.

[13:45:03]

So today, he was before a federal judge pleading not guilty. But, last night, he was on a debate stage with the other Republicans candidates standing by his activity in Washington on January 6th.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN KELLEY, (R), MICHIGAN REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: January 6, 2021, back when gas was under $2 a gallon -- those were good times.

You know, that was a First Amendment activity by a majority of the people, myself included. We were there protesting the government because we don't like the results of the 2020 election, the process of how it happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now come as you see, he is claiming his activities were First Amendment activity. Investigators are saying, actually, you climbed the scaffolding. We will see how the case comes out.

We should also note that in that debate, he double down on his belief that the election in 2020 was stolen from Donald Trump. He said he believes Doanld Trump actually won the state of Michigan, a state Trump lost by more than 154,000 votes -- Ana?

CABRERA: Those are the facts.

Sara Murray, thank you.

Just ahead, a gas station owner pays up so his customers didn't have to.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:33]

CABRERA: Welcome back. We have this just in. We've just learned beloved actor, James Caan, has died. He's best known for his work in films like "The Godfather," "Misery" and, of course, as Buddy, the Elf's father in the movie "Elf."

The family releasing a statement saying they appreciate the outpouring of love and condolences they've received so far. James Caan was 82 years old.

A Georgia gas station owner takes a big financial hit to help his customers. We're talking 12,000 bucks. But Ravi Patel says it was worth it.

Lucky drivers who pulled up to his station on Monday, on July 4th, got some serious sticker shock but in a good way. That's because $1.99 was on the pump.

Joining us now is Ravi Patel, the owner of that gas station.

Ravi, this is so fun. I like highlighting the good in this world. What made you decide to drop your prices and for how long did you do it?

RAVI PATEL, GAS STATION OWNER WHO DISCOUNTED GAS TO HELP COMMUNITY: Hey. How are you?

So, we dropped it from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. And we knew we, honestly -- we knew we weren't going to be able to cut it off at 3:00 so we actually kept it until 4:00.

And I just wanted to give back to the community, knowing all the stuff that's been going around in the world. Any savings is a blessing. And what better day to do it than July 4th?

CABRERA: What was the response like from drivers?

PATEL: Oh, man, we had the whole community out there. We have had customers since 8:00 in the morning.

The guys that were there the earliest actually stayed until 4:00. They personally stood there and filled up the gas for other customers so they didn't have to come out of the car.

CABRERA: How did it make you feel to see that kind of response and to just know you did something to help others?

PATEL: Oh, man, that was one of the best night's sleep I had in a long time.

CABRERA: Yes. I'm curious to get your thoughts on this tweet from President Biden, which was before the Fourth of July.

He said, "My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple. This is a time of war and global peril. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you're paying for the product and do it now."

What's your reaction to that?

PATEL: Yes, so, I saw that news on YouTube, and I was like, man, let me do something that can give an answer to President Biden. And he said, lower the gas prices, and that's what I did.

CABRERA: So, you were responding, in part, to that tweet?

PATEL: Yes. That was one of the initiatives. What we wanted to do was respond to that tweet as well, too.

CABRERA: But you lost $12,000 here. Was this an easy choice or a decision for you?

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: And I think some people might hear that and think, wow, he must have a lot of a cushion built in.

PATEL: So, I wouldn't say I lost it. I just gave back to the community that gave it to me. That's it.

CABRERA: What do you want people to know about how the pricing works, how prices are set?

PATEL: So, fuel costs, that certain amount of fuel that I had, it cost me $3.86 a gallon. And we set it at $1.99. So I want to say I lost $1 and some change on it.

But it's -- you know, we all can't take it home after we pass away. I'm not going to be able to take all the money with me, so why not just give back.

And seeing the smiles on everyone's faces, that's what made it worth it.

Who knows, just a few months down the road, I might do it again.

CABRERA: You have a very refreshing perspective. And I think a lot of people are saying, give me a heads-up next time you're going to do it.

Ravi Patel --

PATEL: Thanks. Appreciate it.

CABRERA: -- thanks for sharing. Thanks so much for what you did to give back and for sharing your story with us.

PATEL: Yes, ma'am. Thank you for having me here.

CABRERA: All right.

Trapped. Listen to this. They were trapped, they were left with no choice but to jump, and it was caught on video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. Come on! Come on!

Come on, come on. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

(GLASS BREAKING)

(SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got you!

(SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got you! We got you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: A family of six now safe after a fire consumed their home in Indiana.

And you see on this police body cam video, the dramatic moments as officers were desperately calling for the family to jump. Their outstretched hands ready to catch them.

And one by one, kids, and a grandmother as well, dropped from the second story. The youngest, just 3 years old.

Our affiliate reports one of the kids, a 10-year-old, wrapped her hand with a T-shirt to break through the apartment's window to help that family escape.

[13:54:58]

Just a quick programming note. Join CNN as we explore the diverse land, marine, and wildlife of Patagonia's desert coast. And it's called "PATAGONIA: LIFE ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD." It premieres Sunday night at 9:00 here on CNN.

That does it for us today. Thanks so much for joining us. I'll see you tomorrow, same time and place. Until then, you can always join me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.

The news continues. And Alisyn Camerota picks up our coverage right after this.

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