Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

"Unheard Voices" March Getting Underway In Uvalde, Texas; Former Trump Insider Steve Bannon Now Willing To Testify Publicly; Highland Park Streets Reopen After Deadly Shooting; Yosemite Wildfire Threatens Park's Giant Sequoia Trees; Police Say Suspect Used A Homemade Gun To Carry Out Killing Of Shinzo Abe; Illinois Man Sends Ambulances To Ukraine; Novak Djokovic Defeats Nick Kyrgios To Win 7th Wimbledon Title. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 10, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:29]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: A major reversal from Trump's controversial former adviser.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): We got the letter around midnight from his lawyer saying that he would testify.

BROWN: Steve Bannon, now telling January 6th investigators that he's willing to testify.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER DONALD TRUMP ADVISER: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.

BROWN: And that he'd prefer to do it publicly.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): I'm certain that the committee would be very interested in hearing from him.

BROWN: The broken community of Uvalde still demanding answers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to grieve when there's no closure.

BROWN: As the sheriff prepares to testify on Monday. Meantime, police in Japan say the man accused of assassinating Shinzo Abe had a cache of weapons in his home.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A number of homemade pistols made out of pipe and adhesive tape. And he had also considered using explosives.

BROWN: New details on what might have motivated the attack. And the scramble to save Yosemite's ancient sequoias as wildfires close in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm standing right in front of the Grizzly Giant and we've got a sprinkler system set up around it.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And we begin this hour with the congressional investigation into the attack on the Capitol and what could be a new star witness for the January 6th Committee. Steve Bannon, a former trusted advisor to Donald Trump, now says he will testify and he wants to do so publicly. His offer comes as he faces trial next week on criminal contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena.

Well, Bannon had argued he wasn't allowed to cooperate because Trump claimed executive privilege. It was an argument rejected by the committee and federal prosecutors. But in a letter to Bannon, Trump waived that claim of privilege.

The committee will want to focus on Bannon's conversations with Trump and what Bannon witnessed in the plot to overturn the election results. They will also want to know more about his remarks on the day before the insurrection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANNON: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this, all hell is going to break loose tomorrow. It's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen. OK? It's going to be quite extraordinarily different and all I can say is strap in. The war room, a posse, you have made this happen. And tomorrow, it's game day. So strap in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Strap in. Joining me now is Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor and now host of the "On-Topic" podcast.

Hi, Renato. So Bannon's ominous remarks came the day before the riot. They sadly seemed to accurately predict what would happen. How critical of a witness is Bannon to understanding the January 6th riots?

RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think he could be a very important witness if he testified truthfully. I don't, however, have a lot of confidence that he's going to be forthcoming with the committee. This is an individual who received a pardon from President Trump, who had been charged in a fraud scheme. There's a lot of reasons to believe that he's not going to be cooperative with the committee.

But he's obviously -- his back is up against the wall. He's been charged with contempt. And so now he's coming forward. And I think the committee should take him up on his offer and hear what he has to say.

BROWN: And he will be under oath. Right? It's one thing to be on a radio show and lie to the public, it's another thing to be under oath talking to a congressional committee. So it will be interesting what he has to say, although I will note, others who have testified in the committee under oath have pleaded the Fifth, such as Jeffery Clark. But what do you think Bannon's sudden reversal is all about? Do you think it's a stunt?

MARIOTTI: Absolutely. I think it's a strategy. You know, he, Bannon, he actually kind of thumbed his nose at the committee and really put himself in a position where he doesn't have a lot of -- a lot to say in his own defense in a contempt proceeding. His lawyer was trying to talk to the committee but basically when it came down to it, he wouldn't cooperate. He didn't even come in and assert the Fifth. He didn't come in and assert privilege.

He didn't give them anything. I mean, there's no privilege really over anything related to him because he wasn't in government at all. So he didn't really have much of a claim to begin with. So I think he put himself in a tough position. And now what he's going to say is he'll go before the jury in his trial and say, see, I did cooperate once Trump waived his privilege. I was willing to talk all along. And I really was doing this all in good faith. I think that's what he's trying to accomplish.

[18:05:08]

BROWN: So Bannon, through his lawyer, has said that he would prefer to testify in a live public hearing. Here's how one committee member responded on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOFGREN: We got the letter around midnight from his lawyer saying that he would testify and we have wanted him to testify. I expect that we will be hearing from him and there are many questions that we have for him.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Would it be a public hearing or would it be behind closed doors?

LOFGREN: Ordinarily we do depositions. You know, this goes on for hour after hour after hour. We want to get all our questions answered and you can't do that in a live format.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: If you would, explain why the committee wants to do these depositions behind closed doors first before going public? Clearly in the case of Bannon, that's what they're planning on.

MARIOTTI: Yes. So, ordinarily, I think the congresswoman is correct. Ordinarily, that is how you do this because, you know, we heard for example, Pamela, yesterday, Mr. Cipollone spoke and testified for over eight hours. The reality is that no one has the time to pay attention to an eight-hour hearing, even if you are very interested in the news of the day.

What the committee wants to do, and what frankly we do in real life trials when we put on cases, is we take long, let's say, eight-hour deposition and then you cut it down to the parts that really matter. And that is what we have seen in the public hearings so far. So I think that's going to happen here. But I think there's also Mr. Bannon, just the fact that he is a bit of a loose cannon, to put it mildly.

And I'm sure the reason he wants to testify publicly is to throw some bombs or, you know, move forward his own agenda. And I think, you know, having a deposition and doing it that way will prevent that as well.

BROWN: You brought up Pat Cipollone. Sources tell me the committee did not ask him, he is the former White House counsel, to corroborate testimony from the committee's star witness Cassidy Hutchinson about him. And here's what one committee member had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOFGREN: We never call in witnesses to corroborate other witnesses or to give their reaction to other witnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: But, Renato, it's one thing if you're a prosecutor or attorney and you don't want to ask for testimony that could undermine another witness in your case. It's another thing if there's an actual investigation and you're trying to get to the truth and verify information you have. What does that strategy that Congresswoman Lofgren laid out tell you about this committee's mission?

MARIOTTI: I have to say, I really don't understand that comment at all. No matter what their mission is, whether it's to present testimony or to investigate, I would think it would be in their interest to find out what everyone knows. I think the only charitable reading of which she said is it's a mistake, and I don't think there's any positive explanation for that.

BROWN: Well, and there are others -- but other committee members, I believe, Adam Kinzinger, also reiterated what she said as well. And so that is why, you know, I wanted to ask about that because a committee's goal, stated goal, is to investigate. And as you well know, as a former investigator, to investigate, you want to verify, corroborate information that you've heard elsewhere, unless you're working on -- you're putting someone on the stand and you're worried they're going to undermine what someone else does. Right?

MARIOTTI: Yes. I agree. I mean, Pamela, there's no question that if you want investigate and get to the bottom of the matter, you're going to want to ask everyone, and you're going to want witnesses to either corroborate or if there are differences, you want to explore those and figure out why the differences in recollection are and determine who's accurate, so you can get to the bottom of things. So I agree.

BROWN: Right.

MARIOTTI: As an investigator, you want to hear what everyone has to say.

BROWN: All right. I want to ask about what Congressman Jamie Raskin, a member of the committee, said about an upcoming hearing that it's going to focus on a White House meeting that reportedly discussed the U.S. Military seizing voting machines. How damaging to Donald Trump could this be?

MARIOTTI: Well, it's very serious. I mean, I do think it really, you know, potentially, obviously, I think it's the sort of thing that lends itself to conspiracy to defraud the United States' charge. I will say that, you know, I've been skeptical of whether such a charge will be successful. But I think, you know, we haven't seen any evidence yet that he was himself actually trying to push forward that scheme. We've seen PowerPoints that have been presented to him, but we have not seen testimony that he actually wanted to push that forward.

And I think if he did, I think that would be devastating because it would really suggest that he did not accept the results of the election. And it really I think leads to an implication that he wanted to alter them, physically alter the votes in some way.

[18:10:01]

BROWN: All right, Renato Mariotti, thank you so much.

MARIOTTI: Thank you.

BROWN: The recent hearings held by the January 6th Committee have helped flush out the horrifying attack on the Capitol. And you can find a fascinating minute-by-minute account from our own Marshall Cohen on CNN.com from that early morning phone call on January 6th to the actual certification of Joe Biden's victory the next day. This deep dive has it all. No one does it better than Marshall.

Well, a march that organizers call a display of solidarity, accountability and school safety is expected to get underway this hour in Uvalde, Texas. The march comes as the Uvalde County sheriff gets ready to testify before a Texas House committee investigating the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.

And this just in to CNN. A source saying the Texas House investigative committee's preliminary report into the massacre could be released within the next 10 days.

Let's bring in Nadia Romero. She is joining us.

So, Nadia, the source also says the chairman of the committee is pushing for the report to include that critical 77 minutes of hallway surveillance video. What more can you tell us?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the shooting happened on May 24th. And we're still looking for answers. The families will be gathering in about 20 minutes at Robb Elementary where 21 people were killed. You had two teachers and 19 elementary school kids that were killed that day, that were shot to death. And their families and survivors are still asking for answers.

And you're taking a look at people gathering right now. They're still asking for answers as to what happened. So we heard from the chairman of this Texas House investigative committee looking into this shooting, and one of the things the chairman really wants is to include in that report a 77-minute video. It's hallway video that shows law enforcement officers and their response outside of a classroom where the suspected gunman was inside.

The question, though, is why is this video 77 minutes? Why was the police response so long? And there are so many unanswered questions. Within the next 10 days, we could get more answers. After the rally at the school, then they will march to the downtown plaza and they want to keep the memory of those who were killed that day, of the victims, alive.

And I want you to hear from Ernie Reyes. He was a teacher who was shot twice on that day, many of his students were killed, and he wants the focus back on his kids. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNIE REYES, UVALDE TEACHER AND SHOOTING VICTIM: They were good kids. Funny. They were -- a lot of them were ambitious. I loved those kids. And my coworkers. I mean, I just can't believe it, they went down like that. That should never, ever happen. There's no excuse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And you can just hear the pain in his voice. Obviously very emotional. He has those emotional scars, but he's still physically very much still healing. And part of that healing process, when you talk to survivors and families of victims, they say, will only come with more answers. And perhaps they'll get some of those answers tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon, you should hear the Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco.

He is expected to testify in front of that investigative committee within those taxes lawmakers, and to testify about the police response. He initially refused to do so, Pamela. But now saying that he will testify as long as it doesn't interfere with the criminal investigation. But here we are, several weeks later, and still many questions unanswered -- Pamela.

BROWN: So many questions unanswered and we just hope those families get answers to their pressing questions in this testimony and the report coming out.

We're also looking at live pictures right here in Uvalde, Texas. About 15 minutes until that march starts there. Thank you so much, Nadia.

And another violent weekend in the U.S. In Chicago, at least 30 people were shot, one fatally. And the statistics are from Friday night to early this morning. In Akron, Ohio, police arrived at what they called a chaotic scene Friday night and found a 4-year-old little girl and a 40- year-old man shot. Both died at the hospital.

And New York police say five people were injured in an overnight shooting on the boardwalk near Coney Island. One person is in critical condition. No arrests so far.

Well, streets in downtown Highland Park, Illinois, are open less than a week after the July 4th attack. The area became a massive crime scene when a gunman opened fire from a rooftop, killing seven and injuring dozens of others.

Camila Bernal is there. She joins us live.

Camila, lots of people are on the scene. What are they doing?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pam. Look, a lot of people are just walking up and down the streets because a lot of these stores are closed.

[18:15:05]

Others just come here, they want to sit, they want to talk, they want to process, maybe say a prayer. For a lot of people, this is very difficult and it's because right here behind me is that building where that shooter was when he decided to open fire into the crowd. And then, right across the street, another memorial is forming, where you see the faces of all of those victims, the flowers, the candles, so many people here hugging, asking each other how they're doing.

And frankly, a lot people that I talked to have told me, I am not OK. And they say that that is OK for the moment. But it has been difficult for a lot of people. I spoke to a mother who was here on the 4th and she told me her grieving process is different. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA WEININGER, HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTING SURVIVOR: What I'm doing is I'm evolving. I'm not healing. I'm evolving. There is a new me that is coming out of this, that is embracing this pain, and embracing the newness of this, that is hugging this community closer, and in speaking louder. And I'm going to do that through acts of love and I'm going to do that with my voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And a lot of people are voicing their desire for change. Among them, the governor of Illinois, Governor Pritzker, who says he wants three things to change, three areas. The first one being a ban on assault weapons. He also pointed to high-capacity magazines, said, no one should be able to have 90 bullets at the ready. And then talked about changes in the red flag law, saying that family members should be able to go to court and sign an affidavit so that these laws actually work -- Pam.

BROWN: All right, Camila Bernal, thank you.

And up next on this Sunday, police in Japan say the man accused of assassinating the former prime minister initially wanted to use explosives. Our Blake Essig is live in Tokyo with new details on what his alleged motive was.

Also ahead for you tonight, firefighters are now deploying sprinklers as they scramble to save Yosemite's ancient sequoias. And our Christina Macfarlane has all the action from the Wimbledon Men's Final.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:23]

BROWN: Tonight, the urgent battle to save one of Yosemite's most valued treasures is heating up. The Mariposa Grove, home to the largest collection of giant sequoias in the park, now under threat from an out-of-control inferno that's been tearing through the drought-stricken forest since Thursday.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is in California for us. So, Paul, what is being done at this park to get this thing under control and protect those sequoias?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an all-out fight, Pam, and it's on a lot of levels. And let me describe for you some of them in just a minute to update you. They say that the fire has entered the famous Mariposa Grove with its Grizzly Giant, and the tunnel tree, but the good news is these efforts have basically ringed the trees with protection. Number one, they put up a sprinkler system to put into the Mariposa Grove where the famed giant sequoias are, and then they went at it with a ground attack.

This is extremely important. I am told by the public information officer that not only firefighters, but volunteers started going after any underbrush that could catch fire and then lead to these majestic giants catching fire. So they went through there and they cleared out logs, branches, all sorts of dead leaves and underbrush, and then I'm told that an ecologist with the park service is absolutely euphoric because he says it's clear in there.

And that's important because you don't want anything that can catch fire in there. So they've made progress. Containment was at zero percent. They expect that number to basically increase a little bit, to have some containment later in the day. They're fighting fires. They don't always update the numbers promptly for us, but they are encouraged by the progress that's being made.

And here is the headline. Not one single giant sequoia has been damaged in all of this. That is the good news. And then the firefight is also continuing from the air. They're going at it in a variety of ways. As we said, on the ground and in the air.

Let's take a listen to a park spokesman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT GEDIMAN, CHIEF PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK: The air support is certainly helpful, but we've got a lot of hot shot crews and firefighters there on the ground that are going in to suppress the fire. So it's really a ground and air attack, coordinated, that is going to get us to the suppression that we're aiming toward as soon as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VERCAMMEN: And as he was describing that, you might be wondering a lot, well, I have heard that there were some sequoias in trouble in Sequoia National Park last year, you're absolutely right. So the entire range of the Western Sierra has been ravished by both fire, which has been killing trees, and by bark beetles. These beetles get inside trees. The trees can no longer strip them with their protective liquids and resins.

Then the trees hollow out and the bark beetles will skip from tree to tree, causing vast swaths of trees to wind up dead. That makes them extremely vulnerable to fires. Sometimes they stay alive, they're like standing cadaver trees. But at other times, they fall over. They're in the forest and they can catch fire. So that's why it's so important that they cleared these dead trees out of the grove and we understand some volunteers, some wonderful young men, have also been helping out. So it's an all-out battle to save those majestic sequoias in Yosemite National Park.

Back to you now, Pam.

BROWN: It sure is. And so far it's working, it seems like. Hope it stays that way.

Paul Vercammen, thanks so much.

Well, we have new details about the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The latest on the -- Abe, I should say. The latest on the investigation and a live report from Tokyo up next.

[18:25:06]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, we have new footage from the president's home in Sri Lanka that has been overrun by protesters. As you see, many protesters, even getting a full workout in at the home gym. Wow. The

U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka is calling for a peaceful democratic transition of power after the president and prime minister agreed to step down. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now saying Russia may be partially responsible for the unrest we're seeing. He blames the Russian food blockade in Ukraine and says global food insecurity could have exacerbated the situation in Sri Lanka.

[18:30:05]

And now to Japan where the international community continues to mourn the loss of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A wake is plan for him on Monday and a memorial service will be held on Tuesday.

Let's bring in CNN's Blake Essig from Tokyo.

Blake, we're learning more about the plot to assassinate the former prime minister. What's this about a mysterious group the alleged gunman claimed Abe was a part of? BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Pamela, it's really a

strange situation that's playing out. I think we're going to learn a whole lot more in the days to come, but according to NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, the 41-year- old suspect considered carrying out the crime a day earlier at a campaign event in Okayama. CNN has contacted the local police there, but they won't name or provide information about this group.

You know, as far as this group is concerned, the alleged suspect believes that Abe was affiliated with this group that also had a connection to his mother. Again, a strange situation. Police aren't releasing any details, but it is something that we are following.

We've also learned that the suspect told police that he originally planned to kill Abe using explosives before deciding to use a homemade gun. Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing police, say that they found explosives and several other homemade guns at the 41-year-old suspect's home. These guns included the one used to kill the former prime minister, were made with iron pipes as the barrels wrapped with duct tape. Some of these guns have two, three, even six barrels.

It's important to note that the man suspected of murdering former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at this point has not been formally charged. Meanwhile, Kyoto News spoke with a former colleague of the suspect who described this man as totally ordinary, quiet, and that he seemed mild-mannered, not exact characteristics or description of the man that you would think would come to mind for this individual who admitted that he was determined to assassinate the former prime minister, but decided against it because he was looking for a space that was less guarded.

In the end Abe was shot twice from several meters away while delivering a speech in the city of Nara, Western Japan, in support of a ruling party candidate ahead of yesterday's Upper House election.

Now, in the days that have followed, Pamela, many questions have been raised about the former prime minister's security. The chief of police in the prefecture where Abe was assassinated says that he can't deny that there were problems and that he takes responsibility for the failures that led to Abe's killing.

According to NHK, a plan was actually in place involving dozens of police officers, security personnel, plain-clothed officers who are on site at the time of the attack, but didn't identify anyone as suspicious, only reacting after the fatal shots were fired. So to make sure, you know, a similar situation doesn't happen again, the national police agency is now looking into his security situation, again, to make sure that this situation never happens again -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Blake Essig. Thank you.

And we're learning more tonight about the mass shooting at a bar in South Africa. The death toll is now up to 15. Police say at least 23 people were shot when a group of men armed with rifles and pistols entered the bar and started shooting randomly. The South African president offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said in a statement, "As government, citizens and structures of civil society, we must all work together, even more closely to improve social and economic conditions in communities, reduce violent crime and stamp out the illicit circulation of firearms." Police have yet to determine a motive for that attack.

Well, Illinois' red flag law could have prevented the legend Highland Park government from getting guns. So why didn't it? CNN legal analyst and former L.A. County prosecutor Loni Coombs joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:38:12]

BROWN: Happening now in Uvalde, Texas, you see here these live pictures at the community rally at Robb Elementary School, where a gunman slaughtered 19 boys and girls and two teachers. They will soon march to city hall. They are demanding answers and accountability amid a morass of misinformation and conflicting claims. Organizers say they are not just marching for the unheard voices of the victims, but for improving the safety of schoolchildren who will return to classes in the fall.

Well, tomorrow marks one week since the mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, and among the many haunting questions there is this one. Why didn't Illinois' red flag laws prevent the shooter from obtaining his deadly weapons, especially after multiple incidents where the police were called to the Crimo family home?

CNN legal analyst Loni Coombs joins me now. She is a former L.A. County prosecutor.

So, Loni, in a statement on Wednesday, the Illinois State Police said the evidence available at the time that Crimo applied for a license would have been, quote, "insufficient" to secure a firearm restraining order under the red flag law.

What do you think about that? I mean, what evidence would meet the bar, given the fact that before he applied the police had been to his home so many times before, and there have been other issues raised with him?

LONI COOMBS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, right, Pamela. So usually what they're looking for is, you know, crime reports or some type of reports about mental health. But what the interesting thing here is that the red flag crime law in Illinois is actually this fire gun -- sorry, this firearm restraining order. Right? So what it says is that at any time a family member, a roommate or law enforcement can go into court and tell a judge, we believe this person is a danger to themselves or others because they have access to a gun.

They present their evidence. And if the judge agrees, the judge can institute this restraining order for either two weeks or six months, and during that time, this person cannot possess a firearm or purchase a firearm.

[18:40:08] And if they have one of these FOID cards, which is a gun owner I.D. card, they have that taken away from them. Well, we all know that back in September of 2019, police were called to the home and Crimo was saying I'm going to kill everyone. At that point, the family or roommates, there were people in the house, or law enforcement, could have gone to court and made this claim to a judge and present evidence.

Nobody chose to do that. In fact, we know that the family did not even make a complaint at that time, and when the police asked Crimo what was going on, he said he was not a danger to himself or to others. So essentially nothing was done.

The red flag law was not even invoked. And that's the problem with some of these red flag laws, is that people don't understand what they are or that they can invoke them. And usually it comes down to family members. They are the ones that have the most information about it, and they either don't know about it or they don't want to have responsibility of doing this to their family member.

But, Pamela, there's also another point which bears scrutiny and that is, after the 2019 September incident, the local police did submit a clear and present danger report to the state police, the Illinois State Police, and they used that to look to see if he had a FOID card or was applying for one. He didn't and wasn't so they didn't take any action. But the question is, what happened to that report afterwards?

Did it just go into the trashcan or was it put into a database or some file so that, if he applied later, would they know about that report? We don't know the answer to that question, but we do know that a few months later, when he went in to apply with his father sponsoring him, that he was allowed to have that FOID card granted to him.

BROWN: Yes. I mean, still no clear answer on that point. And you really raised the overall question here about the utility of these red flag laws. It's one thing to have them on the books. It's another for them to actually be utilized when there are clear red flags, when there are clear warning signs. I mean, it's up to the authorities in these places where the laws were on the books, and family members who see these warning signs.

You brought up the gun card. The shooter's father signed that gun card saying that he would be, quote, "liable" for any damages resulting from his son's use of firearms. Robert Crimo turned 21 nine months before the attack, and I spoke with the prosecutor working on this case. He said to me, suggesting that the father doesn't actually have criminal liability for essentially vouching for his son on that gun card application. What do you think?

COOMBS: I don't think that vouching on the gun card itself institutes liability criminally. However, we know from the Michigan case, Ethan Crumbley, there is potential criminal liability. It hasn't been done in the past until this case, where the prosecutor did file against their parents, four counts of involuntary manslaughter, saying that they should have been able to reasonably foresee what was going to happen, and they could have prevented it and chose not to. They failed to secure the gun away from Crumbley. They failed to act

when he was in this mental instability. They failed to do anything that might stop what he ended up doing. Now we don't know what kind of information is coming out in this investigation. We do know that prior calls to the home, we do know that there was violent things on his social media, but there should be more evidence to show if these parents could have reasonably foreseen what might have happened, and could they have, perhaps, prevented it.

A lot of the evidence might come from text messages or e-mails, but it remains to be seen where this investigation goes. I do believe that the state attorney general, if the evidence is there, will try and go after and hold anyone who is accountable legally liable for it.

BROWN: All right, Loni Coombs, thanks so much.

One American man has found a new way to help people in Ukraine. He is sending ambulances and the story on that is up next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:18]

BROWN: Tonight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is denouncing Russian strikes on residential buildings in Donetsk in the strongest terms. He says two high-rise buildings were destroyed, leaving rescue workers scrambling to find dozens of people missing under piles of rubble. Zelenskyy calls Russians who launched the missiles killers and vows to be relentless in holding them accountable.

And we're also getting pictures in tonight from a Russian missile attack on a residential area of Khakiv. Homes and the school destroyed overnight. The head of the Regional Military Administration urging people to stay off the streets.

And as the war in Ukraine rages on, an Illinois man is finding a way to help, delivering much-needed ambulances and other medical supplies amid an ongoing shortage.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At a warehouse just outside the city limits of Chicago the answers to the question, how can I help, are being prepared for a 5,000-mile journey to Ukraine. It's a journey that Chris Manson has just completed.

As devastating images from the first week in the Russian invasion of Ukraine flooded screens, like most Americans, Manson says he simply watched in horror. That is until his 7-year-old daughter asked a life- changing question repeatedly. How can we help?

CHRIS MANSON, AMBULANCE DONOR TO UKRAINE: I want to be able to tell my daughter I'm going to try to do something. So kind of got this crazy idea to go ahead and, you know, what if we -- I'm sure truly need ambulances, I see they're getting blown up.

GALLAGHER: According to Ukrainian officials as the war rages on, ambulances are in short supply with entire fleets stuck in territory currently occupied by Russian forces and hundreds of others destroyed.

[18:50:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pattern here is that health workers and hospitals themselves appear to be being deliberately targeted.

GALLAGHER: For Manson who works in government relations at a Catholic health system in Peoria, Illinois, getting the first ambulance was surprisingly as simple as making a call to a local provider.

MANSON: And the first words out of his mouth were, well, do you need gas or diesel? He didn't hesitate.

GALLAGHER: Getting it to Ukraine was another question. But Ellen Lopatkina, Ukrainian-American logistics specialist who also runs this warehouse, now full of donations, had the answers.

ELLEN LOPATKINA, NORTIA LOGISTICS INC.: A lot of moving parts were in motion at that time. And it so happened that we were able to get the first few on the plane. And once the first one came in, and we successfully delivered that to Ukraine, the next one came in and the next one.

GALLAGHER: Getting them to Europe by air or sea, Manson, a man who previously had no connection to Ukraine, has now twice visited the country behind the wheel of a Midwestern American ambulance.

YEVEGENIY DROBOT, DEPUTY CONSUL GENERAL OF UKRAINE IN CHICAGO: It was a simple gesture of like, how can -- how I can help.

GALLAGHER: So far, Manson says he's rounded up a dozen donated ambulances.

MANSON: Fire departments in Iowa. You've got hospitals in Ohio. You've got private ambulance companies in North Dakota and Minnesota, you know, El Paso, Illinois.

GALLAGHER: The ones Manson gets are usually older but they still run well. Each one is packed with desperately needed medical equipment and basic supplies.

OLGA MAHUTIAK, UKRAINIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA, ILLINOIS CHAPTER: They have ventilators. They have cardiac monitors. And also they're always stocked with wound care supplies.

GALLAGHER: And often include messages from the donors to the Ukrainian people.

DROBOT: An ambulance, like, it is a great guy, he's an ambulance guy, and then on the (INAUDIBLE) they're like an ambulance guy.

GALLAGHER: According to Ukraine officials, some 3 percent of all the ambulances donated to the country from all around the world have come from Chris Manson's efforts.

MANSON: As long as there's a need, we'll continue to keep working to get them and to get them over them, and you know, God willing, the war ends soon.

GALLAGHER: Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE))

BROWN: Well, people in Uvalde, Texas, are making a show of solidarity. At this hour, the Unheard Voices March is underway right now. The latest on the march and the fallout from the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School is just ahead on the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:11]

BROWN: Earlier today, tennis star Novak Djokovic won his seventh Wimbledon singles title, defeating the controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios in four sets. Djokovic's 21st grand slam title that puts him just one behind Rafael Nadal's all-time record of 22.

CNN's Christina Macfarlane was at the match for us.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, the sun is setting over the Old England Club after a day that has delivered drama and exceptional tennis. In the baking heat of center court behind me, one of the greatest of all time, Novak Djokovic, secured his seventh Wimbledon title after seeing off a threat from a player he had never been before or even won a set against.

Nick Kyrgios, the great disruptor, who has repeatedly made headlines this fortnight for his bad behavior, needed to keep his cool to stand any chance of a Maiden grand slam. But one set all into the third, it began to unravel for the Australian. Djokovic piling on the pressure, grinding his opponent down for a composed comeback, while Kyrgios roared in anger at his box, sensing the end was near.

With the royals including Prince George watching on, Djokovic charged through a four-set tiebreak for his seventh title and 21st grand slam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK DJOKOVIC, WIMBLEDON MEN'S FINAL CHAMPION: A loss of words for what this tournament and what this trophy means to me, to my team, to my family. I have said this, you know, many times, it always has been and will be the most special tournament in my heart, the one that motivated me, inspired me to start playing tennis in small, little mountain resort in Serbia, where my parents used to run their restaurant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: It's been a difficult year for the Serb, who was deported from Australia in January for breaching COVID-19 rules. But now, age 35, he is within one grand slam with his great rival, Rafa Nadal, with surely more chances ahead to surpass him -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Thanks to Christina for that report. Your next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.