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Two Students, Two Teachers Killed in Georgia School Shooting, Teen in Custody; Netanyahu Says He Won't Change Israel's Policies in Gaza; Pope Francis Strengthening Interfaith Bonds in Indonesia. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 05, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane. Here's some of the top stories we're following today.

Investigators are not yet discussing a possible motive for a school shooting in Georgia that killed four people. A 14-year-old suspect is in custody. Law enforcement questioned the boy about shooting threats last year, but did not take any action.

At least 21 people, including an infant, are missing after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Italy. The Italian Coast Guard rescued seven people and took them to the island of Lampedusa. They told rescuers the boat departed from Libya. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

And an asteroid about a meter wide struck the Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines on Wednesday, and it created this fireball as it burned up during entry. The European Space Agency says asteroids this size are harmless and pretty common, but they are rarely seen before they strike.

And more now on the deadly school shooting in Winder, Georgia. Authorities say two of the victims were 14-year-old students at the high school and two others were both math teachers. The suspect who opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle surrendered as soon as he was confronted by school resource officers.

CNN spoke with a student who sat next to the boy in an algebra class. She explained what happened on Wednesday when he abruptly left the classroom, came back a few minutes later and tried to open the door.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYELA SAYARATH, APALACHEE HIGHT SCHOOL STUDENT: They lock automatically. So you have to be let in to come back into our classroom. So I think he wanted to come to us first.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Come to you first to shoot?

SAYARATH: Yes, to shoot us.

ROSALES: And then he was at the door. Student went to open the door. And then what happened?

SAYARATH: She backed away. I think she saw him or maybe somebody said something, but I'm pretty sure she saw that he had a gun. And so she backed away.

ROSALES: So she was about to let him into the class. You think to shoot the students, saw that he had a gun, did not let him in. What happened next?

SAYARATH: He turns to the classroom to what would have been my right. And he just starts to shoot. And you hear like about 10 to 15 rounds back to back.

He never really talked. He was pretty quiet. He wasn't there most times. Either he just didn't come to school or he just would skip class. But even when he would have talked, it was one word answers or just short statements.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Investigators are talking to the suspect and his parents, but the motive is not known. At this point, the shooting sent students scrambling for safety as their parents rushed to the school, waiting for answers. CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Law enforcement officials say they got their first alerts of a shooting at just before 10:30 Wednesday morning at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, about an hour northeast of Atlanta.

SHERIFF JUD SMITH, BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: I never imagined that I would be speaking to the media in my career over something that happened today, the pure evil that happened today.

TODD (voice-over): Officials say four people were killed, two students and two teachers. Nine others were taken to local hospitals. The suspect, a 14 year old male who was a student at Apalachee, is alive and in custody.

SMITH: Obviously, the shooter was armed and our school resource officer engaged him and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, that it would end with an OIS or an officer involved shooting. He gave up, got on the ground and the deputy took him into custody.

TODD (voice-over): Officials say the alleged shooter will be charged with murder and tried as an adult. Multiple law enforcement officials tell CNN's Mark Morales and John Miller, this same high school had received a phone threat this morning before the shooting occurred.

The caller warning there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee High School would be the first. It's not known who placed the call. JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: What they are investigating now is, is it possible that that threat came from the student who is in custody as the alleged shooter? Is it possible that that threat came from someone that he asked to make that phone call at or about the time that he opened fire? The timing here is obviously going to be important.

TODD (voice-over): This video filmed by a student shows students being led down a hallway by law enforcement with their hands up as the school was being evacuated. Students recounting the horror and confusion inside the school as the shooting unfolded.

JANICE MATINEZ, STUDENT: I told everybody to get down, get down because there's like, you don't joke around with that. You know, we got in a corner, some girls started crying and then like I was like, calm down. And then the teacher was, she was shaking and everything. I was like, no, it's going to be OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Multiple gunshots, rapid fires and uh, like two times, maybe like two rounds. Like it was just constant and it just didn't stop.

TODD (voice-over): The mother of 17 year old Apalachee student, Ethan Haney shared with CNN, his text to her during the shooting.

[04:05:00]

School shooting right now. Ethan texted, I'm scared, please. I'm not joking.

I'm leaving work. His mother texted back.

I love you, Ethan replied.

His mother asks where he is.

Class. He replies. Someone's dead.

Sheriff Judd Smith says the shooter has been interviewed by law enforcement officials and that officials have also spoken with the shooters parents, but he would not give any specifics on what any of them said. Asked if there was a connection between the shooter and the victims. The sheriff said none that he was aware of.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, the Gun Violence Archive tracks, mass shootings in the U.S. defined as an attack in which four or more people are killed or wounded. So far this year, the group has recorded 385 mass shootings nationwide. The U.S. has seen more than 600 mass shootings a year since 2020.

Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doubling down on his handling of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Just days after the bodies of six hostages were recovered from the enclave. On Wednesday, he said he is not going to change his policies to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza and claimed the Israeli military is already taking unprecedented steps to do so. The prime minister again blamed Hamas for the lack of a ceasefire for hostages deal.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond asked him about the fate of the hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: I spoke to Aviva Siegel tonight, a former hostage whose husband is still being held in Gaza. She told me that she believes that you are sentencing her husband, Keith, to die by prioritizing the Philadelphi Corridor over a deal. And she has this question for you.

Is Keith going to come home alive or dead?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I'll do everything to make sure that Keith and all the other hostages come back. I'm telling you that if we relieve the pressure, if we get out of the Philadelphi Corridor, we're not going to get the hostages back. Certainly, we're going to condemn a lot of them to stay there. We could get a few out. They'll give us that. But they'll leave a lot with them.

We won't have the pressure point. And something else will happen. We will not be able to come back. So we won't release all the hostages. And we won't achieve the defenses that we must have to prevent more October 7th again and again and again.

I don't stand in judgment of these tormented souls because they're undergoing an agony that is hard to fathom. And I understand that. But the responsibility of leaders is not merely to share the sentiment, the emotion, but also to exercise judgment, the correct judgment, to make sure that these horrors do not happen again. I believe that our strategy is the best way to achieve both goals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: As soon as Paula Hancocks joining me now. Paula, a lot of this revolves around Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on sticking to an Israeli president's -- presence in the Philadelphi Corridor. How much is that becoming now a major obstacle to securing this ceasefire deal?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Christina. I mean, the past two press conferences we've heard from the Israeli prime minister, just in the past few days, he has doubled down and said that it is imperative for the Israeli military to stay on that, that border between Gaza and Egypt. And that's despite his defense minister, we understand, from multiple reports saying that it is not necessary, that if you stick to that rule, then you are not going to have a deal. Hamas will not agree and the hostages will not come home.

Now, a senior Biden administration official has spoken to CNN and has said about this, this insistence from Netanyahu that it is not constructive, adding, quote: Staking out concrete positions in the middle of a negotiation isn't always particularly helpful. They also say that they believe that this deal is 90 percent done. We

had more information on the deal than we have had for some time, which really speaks to the frustration that the Biden administration is feeling about the prime minister's stance, saying it's an 18 paragraph proposal at this point and all but four of those paragraphs have been agreed to between Israel and Hamas.

But it is this Philadelphi corridor that really does appear to be the sticking point. Hamas saying it will not agree to it. But Netanyahu is doubling down. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: We also agree to begin discussions about a permanent ceasefire. And the conditions that we shall have for a permanent ceasefire must include a situation where the Philadelphi corridor cannot be perforated. Somebody has to be there.

[04:10:00]

I said I'm willing to make a deal. The real obstacle to making a deal is not Israel. And it's not me. It's Hamas. It's Sinwar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: The official also says that the killing of the six Israeli hostages recently has colored the negotiations, also saying that it's raising the question as to whether or not Hamas is even willing to reach a deal, saying that Hamas is a frustrating negotiator.

Now, we've heard from Hamas as well. They have said, obviously, trying to take advantage of this, this divide they see between the Biden administration and the Israeli prime minister, saying that these new proposals, as they put it from Netanyahu, are unnecessary and an attempt to thwart reaching an agreement.

The Biden administration, though, according to this official, is continuing to try and push for this deal. The first phase of which, it's a three-phase deal, would mean that all of the Israeli military would move out of the densely populated areas in Gaza.

Now, Netanyahu is pointing out that this is not a densely populated area along the border, and it is something that he is determined not to veer away from.

But it does make it more difficult for this deal to be done, given the fact that we also heard that in this initial agreement, this bridging proposal that the U.S. had put to both Israel and Hamas, Israel had agreed to it, according to this senior official, and at no point in this agreement did it mention the Philadelphi corridor.

But there are ongoing talks to try and see if something can be done. We've heard from the Biden administration that this will be a final proposal to try and get this done -- Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes, we'll await the release of that final proposal. Paula Hancocks, for now, thanks very much.

Now, this just into CNN. A Ugandan marathon runner and Olympian has died, days after authorities say she was doused with fuel and set on fire by her boyfriend. Thirty-three-year-old Rebecca Cheptegei, who lived in Kenya, had been in critical condition after Sunday's attack at her home, with burns over 75 percent of her body. She had competed in the summer games in Paris just last month.

Also, just in, police in Munich, Germany, say they shot a suspicious person, who appeared to be carrying a weapon, and that person was hit and injured. Police say the shots were fired in a square in central Munich, where the Israeli consulate is located. Police say they cannot say if the person also fired shots and whether the suspect is alive or dead.

Munich police tweeted that there is no indication at this time that other suspects may be involved. Police say there is a large police operation underway in the area.

OK, still to come, Pope Francis prepares for a mass in Indonesia. More on his efforts to strengthen interfaith relationships after this quick break.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country's forces are making significant territorial gains after Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region. He claims the situation there has stabilized and that Russian troops are pushing Ukrainian forces out while also making progress in their offensive in Ukraine's east.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian parliament today is expected to consider the resignation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. He and five other cabinet ministers submitted their resignations Wednesday. If lawmakers approve it, Kuleba's departure will be part of a major government shake-up, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says is needed to give the war effort some new energy.

Now Pope Francis is set to celebrate mass in Jakarta in the coming hours. More than 80,000 people are expected to attend. It's the Catholic leader's third day in Indonesia and the first stop on a whirlwind tour of the region. Next, the pontiff will visit Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.

CNN's Anna Coren has been tracking the Pope's trip and joins us now. Anna, I understand this morning the Pope visited one of the largest mosques or the largest mosque in Indonesia, which I guess kind of underscores the mission of this trip, which is to promote interfaith harmony.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly what this whole visit is about, bridging divides and bringing different faiths together. And I guess what better place to do it than in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. This morning in the capital, Jakarta, we saw Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Indonesia, Nasaruddin Umar, sign a joint declaration rejecting religiously motivated violence.

That happened during a visit to the Istiqlal Mosque, which happens to be the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. Let's have a listen to what Pope Francis had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): I hope that our communities may be increasingly open to interreligious dialogue and be symbols of the peaceful coexistence that characterizes Indonesia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Now this mosque that they were at this morning, it happened to be designed by a Christian architect and it's linked by a tunnel, the Tunnel of Friendship, to the Catholic Cathedral, which is opposite the mosque. And Francis, he visited the tunnel before signing that agreement. Pope Francis has made improving Catholic and Muslim ties, you know, really a hallmark of his 11-year papacy and has prioritized traveling to majority Muslim countries.

Now this declaration also called for an action on climate change. He said it's an ongoing environmental crisis that's become an obstacle to harmonious coexistence of peoples.

Indonesia, of course, is a country that is certainly feeling the effects of climate change. It's moving the capital because it's sinking and it also deals with chronic flooding.

As you mentioned, tomorrow the Pope will head to Papua New Guinea, then to East Timor and on to Singapore. But he will be addressing that mass this evening before 80,000 people. We understand that people have been queuing up for hours to get into this stadium in Jakarta.

And also, Christina, we've learned that the government has asked for local broadcasters to suspend the Muslim call to prayer this afternoon whilst the mass is taking place as a sign of respect.

MACFARLANE: That's really interesting. Anna Coren there with the latest on this trip. We'll be tracking it further. Thanks, Anna.

Now it's a major change, or is it, coming to the Eiffel Tower? That's coming up after this quick break.

Can you guess what it is?

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Now, the Paris Olympic Games may be over, but the logo will apparently live on as part of a Parisian landmark. Paris's mayor has decided to keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower. But not everyone is happy with the decision. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: This was the iconic symbol of the Olympics this summer, but why is it causing so much controversy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's an eyesore. It's something different, but the Eiffel Tower has been there for years and years, and I don't think it needs to change.

VANDOORNE: These Olympic rings could soon be a permanent fixture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's OK for now, but not forever, because it's a historical monument also.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me, the tower is amazing, you know, it's so beautiful, but with the ring, it looks a little bit different. So I think it's not very aesthetic, you know.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): The city of Paris owns the Eiffel Tower, and officials say the decision is up to them.

PIERRE RABADAN, PARIS DEPUTY MAYOR: This event was a massive success probably all around the world, and it will be changing Paris forever in a good way. Visually, when you will be in Paris, remember that this moment was a key in the history of Paris, so that's why we chose that symbol.

[04:25:00]

VANDOORNE (voice-over): For descendants of its creator, Gustave Eiffel, they don't want his legacy to become an advertising platform.

SAVIN YEATMAN-EIFFEL, DESCENDANT OF GUSTAVE EIFFEL: So Gustave Eiffel is my great-great-great-grandfather. We were very happy to have the rings during the Olympic Games. It was a great moment. But if the rings were permanent with the -- the Eiffel Tower was never meant to be a billboard for any other company or brand, no matter how prestigious it may be.

VANDOORNE: If the plan does go ahead, it won't be these rings, but lighter ones designed to resist the harsh winter winds.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Performance by Charli XCX "360")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Did you know that Charli XCX could help you save a life? Yep, the American Heart Association said the hit songs 360 and Spring Breakers are 120 beats per minute, and that's the correct speed for performing hands-only CPR. On Instagram, they posted that bumping to the beat of 360 can help you remember the tempo. They also thanked Charli XCX for the vibe and for this life-saving beat. Whatever it takes, right?

Now, Halloween is closer than you think, and fast food chain Chipotle, with costume store Spirit Halloween, want to make sure you're ready for the season.

It's releasing a line of bodysuits designed to look like items you would see at Chipotle, including the brown napkins, burritos, and their instantly recognizable to-go bag. Yes, the idea started as a joke years ago, but the costumes will be available online and in limited stores this Friday. I intend to pick one up for Max Foster as soon as he's back on set. Look at those.

It comes as a key time for the company who just lost their CEO to Starbucks after revenue surged more than 800 percent under his watch. Gosh, I actually think that's fantastic.

Thank you for joining us here at CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane. Stay tuned CNN This Morning is up after this quick break.

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