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Authorities In Minnesota Hold News Conference; Israel And Iran Exchange Missiles Strikes; Manhunt Underway For Vance Boelter. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 14, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:50]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

We do begin with breaking news out of Minnesota, where police have identified the suspected gunman in what they call a politically motivated attack. He's identified as 57-year-old Vance Boelter. He remains on the loose. A massive manhunt is underway there in Minnesota. Police saying that the gunman went to the home of the top Democrat in the State House of Representatives, Melissa Hortman, killing her and her husband, Mark.

They say that same gunman then went to another house where Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife lived and shot them. The family has reportedly been told that a bullet, quote, "very nearly missed his heart" and that his wife had no organs pierced. Officials also saying they found a manifesto in the suspect's vehicle. They say that it included the names of many lawmakers and other officials.

It is believed the suspect got access to the victims, shot overnight by impersonating a police officer. Residents in that area have been told to shelter in place. Governor Tim Walz asking people not to attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until that suspect is apprehended.

We're expecting a news conference out of Minnesota with an update any moment now. We're keeping an eye on that. In the meantime, I want to bring in CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller, who has been talking to sources all afternoon.

John, what is the latest you're learning?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The latest is this manhunt is in full swing. You have the Minnesota state police, the police departments of Brooklyn Park and the neighboring towns. You've got the Hennepin County sheriff literally using every resource at their disposal to find the individual that they believe, that they allege, may be connected to these shootings.

And that, of course, is Vance Boelter. Vance Boelter also is connected with a security company that operates in the area, which could explain the vehicle that looked like a law enforcement vehicle, his dressing in what appeared to be police tactical gear, blue shirt, blue pants, tactical vest, obviously with a firearm, but also a taser.

And when he was confronted by police, as we know, they thought they might be looking at another law enforcement officer who got to that house to warn the speaker of the assembly first, but he opened fire on them, according to police, and then went retreating back into the house where he had already allegedly committed this murder and then apparently fled out the back as police were putting their perimeter together.

So again, that manhunt in full swing with the neighborhood of Brooklyn Park still being asked to stay indoors.

DEAN: Yes, it's a very scary moment for all of those people.

John, please stay with us. As I mentioned, we do expect that news conference.

I do want to speak some more with former Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo.

Thank you so much for being here with us. I first just want to get your thoughts on how police are trying to handle this situation. As John was just noting, this manhunt very much underway and trying to balance, making sure that everyone stays safe and protected, including their own men and women in law enforcement. Also, any potential people that could be targeted and people in the neighborhood, and knowing that this suspect had impersonated a law enforcement official.

MEDARIA ARRADONDO, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: Yes. Jessica, thank you for having me. As John noted this is going to be a very thorough and very methodical approach, a layered approach by Minnesota public law enforcement. Our Bureau of Criminal Apprehension who are sort of taking the lead to this. But as John mentioned, both local police departments, both our county sheriffs, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, and our state BCA and state patrol.

There's going to be a lot of assets, including our federal assets with the FBI. The most important thing right now is in a couple of phases. One is the apprehension of this suspect, as John mentioned, is identified as Vance Boelter. It's making sure that they get him in custody as quickly as possible. There is a current shelter in place in the suburb of Brooklyn Park, and so that's very important for residents there to stay safe.

[16:05:01]

Because of the unique impersonation that this suspect has done as law enforcement officer, our local police departments, and of course all of those assets out there, they know that. That can create some challenges. So they want to make sure that the residents are fully aware of that.

They've also put in place protocols that all officers who are engaged in that area will notify and show up in pairs of two. So there won't be any single officers. If residents have any concerns, they are to call 911 and 911 dispatch will walk them through, make sure that the persons that they see are actually police officers.

I also just want to say, too, Jessica, that, and John alluded to this earlier, too. The actual coordination earlier on from both the Champlin Police Department and Brooklyn Park Police Department was phenomenal in terms of trying to mitigate the threat. Chief (INAUDIBLE)'s officers who ended up engaging with this suspect at that home in Brooklyn Park, I mean, imagine had they not, they were able to engage this person.

The suspect has fled. They were able to secure his vehicle, this unmarked vehicle that he came in with the police lights and obviously were able to take in possession of numerous weapons, ammunition, this manifesto, this list that was so important.

But I just want to just note the heroism and the bravery of those Brooklyn Park police officers that engaged this suspect Vance Boelter and had they not, again, this could be a totally -- this could be expanded in terms of the -- just the hurt and pain that we've experienced so far. But Minnesota law enforcement, they train all the time, constantly. So the coordination between our local, state and federal partners and county sheriff's office.

It's one of the best in the country. So I'm very confident that they're going to ultimately get this person and any associates with his in custody soon.

DEAN: Yes. You make a great point about that. I believe the news conference is starting. Stay with us. Let's dip in and see what they're saying there.

COMMISSIONER BOB JACOBSON, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Bob Jacobson. I am the commissioner of public safety. It's my honor to serve in that position. We're here today to give some updates on the current investigation. First off, I would like to thank the law enforcement agencies and the public out there who are being vigilant. Our law enforcement partners who are watching out for others in our community.

The understanding and patience of the public as we work to find this individual and bring that person to justice. We know that it's been a difficult day for not only those who have worked with those legislators, but it's also a difficult day for those in the state of Minnesota who are working through this terrible tragedy.

Today, we have a few speakers who are going to, again, give some updates, and we will be available to answer some questions once all the speakers have had that opportunity to say a few words. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Superintendent Drew Evans of the BCA.

DREW EVANS, SUPERINTENDENT, MINNESOTA BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION: Thanks, Commissioner. And today we are asking for the public's help at this point in time in locating Vance Luther Boelter, who is a 57-year- old white male, who is six-feet-one inches tall, 220 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

I know this name has been reported in the media so far, and we are confirming he's a person of interest that we are looking to locate in relation to this. At this time, we would ask the public, if you do locate him, to see him to call 911. Do not approach him. You should consider him armed and dangerous, and you should call 911 immediately with the information.

He was seen last this morning wearing light colored cowboy hat that you can see up here in the clothing there with dark colored long sleeve collared shirt or coat, light pants, and carrying a dark bag. If you have any tips about the whereabouts or any information that would be helpful, you can call local police department or you can call our BCA tip line at 877-9966-222 or e-mail us at BCA.tips@State.MN.US. We still don't know if additional people are involved, but this individual is the one that we are looking as a person of interest right now, but there may be other people with him and we would like to speak to anybody that may have had contact with him at any point in time.

So please connect with us, even if this has been some time ago today, so that we can follow up and continue to work together to keep our communities safe. And we, as the commissioner noted, we'll take some questions at the end. But again, we are seeking the assistance of the public in locating him. I want to continue to say, as you see, there's hundreds of law enforcement officers working on this right now for the partners that you see up here today as well from Champlin, Brooklyn Park, the state patrol, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, FBI, ATF.

[16:10:08]

Just a myriad of partners working to try to locate this individual. And with that, I will turn it over to the mayor and will answer questions at the end.

MAYOR HOLLIES WINSTON, BROOKLYN PARK, MINNESOTA: So, hi, my name is Hollis Winston, mayor of the city of Brooklyn Park. First, I want to extend my prayers to the Hoffman family, but also to the Hortman family as well. You know, there will come a time down the road for healing within us as a community. But right now, I think what's required is a calming words and rhetoric.

I want folks to make sure they listen to the facts from credible sources like law enforcement, but also to resist spreading misinformation. And then, again, asking folks to listen to law enforcement in general. When law enforcement has those specific asks.

In Brooklyn Park and Champlin and our surrounding communities, in fact, the state we're very much a family. The Hoffman and Hortman families are very much our family. And so our prayers continuously go out to them, and it's very much a time for us to come together as a community and as a family. And I think people need to see it that way.

I want to thank law enforcement, Governor Walz, Commissioner Jacobson, Sheriff Witt, FBI, various counties, local law enforcement. Even with our city of Brooklyn Park, we're seeing a ton of local law enforcement and county law enforcement just supporting our city overall. And we want to thank them for doing that. They're dedicated to keeping us safe and to securing justice.

I would say to support them, again, if you have information, there'd be information behind me. Please share that information. And again, please look and listen for valid information and share that. There will be a time to come together. And I think specifically for the city of Brooklyn Park and within our area, there will be a time where we come together and we work through what we're going through now as a community.

But I want to say this. You know, this individual did this to instill fear into our community, but they also wanted to create a distinct and singular point of view. When I listed all of that law enforcement coming together, that was really us as a state, as a community from all different walks of life coming together to work on what's happening. And I received calls from folks across the state from all different ethnicities and communities as well, with an outpouring of support.

So I want people to understand that as a city, but as a state, as a community, we're very much going to come together. We're going to see this through, and we're all going to work together to figure this out. So again, I want to thank our law enforcement, and I want to turn it over to the mayor of Champlin Park.

MAYOR RYAN SABAS, CHAMPLIN, MINNESOTA: Good afternoon. My name is Ryan, mayor of Champlin. And on behalf of the city of Champlin, our police department and our city council, I want to extend a heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Senator John Hoffman and, excuse me, Representative Melissa Hortman and their families. We are deeply saddened by the senseless act of violence. And our hearts are with all those that have been affected.

Our police department is working in close partnership with state, local and federal agencies to pursue this active investigation. We are incredibly grateful for their swift and responsible professional response and for the collaboration of commitment of every officer involved. We ask everyone to stay attentive, report anything that feels concerning, and most of all, continue to show kindness, respect and care for one another.

This is how we move forward together. And again, thank you all for being here and again, I think Mayor Winston said it well, that Hoffman family and the Hortman family are very much part of our communities, part of our fabric of our communities, and we really wish the families all the best. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As folks have said, we'll take a few questions. Please don't forget -- first, your question. Introduce yourself and your media organization with whom you're with. And if you have a question for a specific individual, call that out. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you have an update on the Senator Hoffman's condition? EVANS: The question was, do we have an update on Senator Hoffman's

condition. We don't at this time. The last information we had is that he was out of surgery and was in stable condition at that time, but that certainly experienced significant injuries. So we'll have to continue to monitor that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You said person of interest. So not a suspect or is the same?

EVANS: He's a suspect. One and the same for this particular case at this point in time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK. So we can say suspect.

EVANS: You can say suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So you know this guy is at least affiliated with some sort of security company according to its own Web site, that has a highly trained security individual.

[16:15:07]

Can you speak to the level of knowledge this person might have about, you know, using a gun or, you know, different security tactics that might separate him from a typical person walking down the street?

EVANS: So the question was regarding the sophistication of the individual based on reports that he owned a security company. I certainly can't get into the details of the investigation. That will all be part of that, and we'll explore all of that. We're aware of the connections that you referenced, and the team will be dissecting that between the investigators, Brooklyn Park Police Department, and all of the state and local and federal partners that are working on that.

Certainly an individual have some familiarity, if that's the line of work that they're in with some of the tactics that you noted. But we'll be exploring that more fully.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: One question about the photo that we're seeing in the cowboy hat and the jacket. Is that photo taken today?

EVANS: That photo is today.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And is it from a ring camera at the residence of either of (INAUDIBLE)?

EVANS: The question is, is it from a ring camera? It's not. This is from a business. So this is at a business location. We believe, as noted, that we believe he was still in at this time. He was in the Twin Cities area and that we are continuing to work and follow up on that. We believe he's working to potentially flee the area. And so that's why we're sharing that with that information now so that we can safely apprehend him.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there a way that you're in touch with the TSA? I know Governor Walz has been in contact with federal agents, as you have mentioned, with the FBI.

EVANS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are airlines, you know, seeing his pictures so he doesn't board a plane?

EVANS: So the question is, are we in contact with TSA? We've been in contact with all of the federal authorities that are relevant to this investigation. We will continue to be.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you able to share time or location that that photo taken today?

EVANS: The question is, can I share the time and location? This was this morning when this was taken. It was in the city of Minneapolis. That's at this point, I think, all that we can share as we work to follow up on that and we'll put --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- surveillance video from either the residence for the shootings taking place?

EVANS: The question is, is there surveillance or ring camera? We do have various video from different locations. I don't want to get into specifics as part of the active investigation, but there is video that has been obtained by the investigators.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you talk about some of the other locations that you guys are working on? (INAUDIBLE)

EVANS: So yes, we can. The question is, can we talk about some of the other locations, you know, because our teams are very active as part of an active investigation, I can't talk about the specifics. What I will tell you is the two locations you noted in Minneapolis and in Green Isle, they are related to this investigation and the follow up that the teams are doing.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to give it to Ellen, and then we're going to have one more question.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you talk a little bit more about the manifesto and what kind of motivation it might be -- there might be. We're told that the pro-choice lawmakers are on this manifesto that has anything to do with (INAUDIBLE)?

EVANS: At this point in time it'd be premature. The question was is the manifesto and the information that we have received as their motivations. We are working diligently on that. There's certainly some indications within that, but there's no specifics enough. We have been -- this is a very active and fluid investigation throughout the day as you've been waiting, and these teams have been out working out in the field and they have been gathering more documents and information.

So it would be premature for me at this point to really say exactly what the motivation might be from these writings, but we will be continuing to work on that and provide that information when we're able.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).

EVANS: The question is do they know each other in any capacity. We are still exploring that. There's certainly some overlap with some, you know, public meetings, I will say, with Senator Hoffman and the individual, but we don't know the nature of the relationship or if they actually knew each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you. Thanks, everybody.

DEAN: You've been watching the latest from officials there in Minnesota as they update the public on this manhunt that is underway for that man right there, Vance Luther Boelter, who they say is the suspect and person of interest in this case that has left one Minnesota lawmaker and her husband dead, has gravely wounded a state senator and his wife in what officials call a politically motivated assassination.

The top line from this is that they are still looking for him, that they have not captured this individual. They didn't have an update on Senator Hoffman, only that he is out of surgery and stable, but had suffered a number of gunshot wounds. And they're also still looking into if Boelter knew any of these victims or what that might have been.

I do want to go, I believe we have John Miller standing by and Madera Arradondo both standing by.

[16:20:03]

John, let's go to you first as we listen to what officials were saying. I was just mentioning it doesn't seem like they have a huge amount of new information to give the public, but certainly they want people to take a look and see if they know anything about this person here. Call this tip line and we remember that while all that is going on, there are a number of people in Minnesota who are probably quite frightened right now who are in a shelter in place order as this manhunt is underway.

MILLER: Well, that's right, but we also picked up some interesting clues there. So we have these photographs. The one on the left is from his driver's license. The one in the middle is from his security company's Web site. But the one on the right, according to the police official who described it, was taken this morning, in the morning hours in Minneapolis.

Now, that's interesting because we know these attacks occurred at 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning in Brooklyn Park and in Champlin. But the question is, did he make it that 11 miles or 18 minutes from there to Minneapolis? And I'll defer to Chief Arradondo, you know, who's going to know the area better. But they did say it appears to them he is actively trying to figure out how to leave the area, which means the hat to basically disguise his look. Getting to the city, which offers multiple more places to find

transportation, especially if that was after those crimes, and it takes him out of the area where he would have thought the most intensive manhunt was looking for him. Question is, how did he get there? He left his car behind after the gun battle with police and fled through the backyards. Did someone pick him up? Did he get transportation?

Did he have an alternate vehicle close enough, a second car? Maybe not from the business, but from somewhere else that he used to get there. These are all up in the air still.

DEAN: And Chief Arradondo, yes. Let's please defer to you on -- in terms of the geographic location, him getting to that area, but also, too, how this might now involve Minneapolis police and kind of expanding this area where they may be searching.

ARRADONDO: Yes, Jessica. John brought up some great points and I was tuned in and keying on BCA Superintendent Drew Evans' remarks. We're hearing for the first time from him about Minneapolis. As John alluded to, Minneapolis is the largest city in the state of Minnesota. Brooklyn Park, where the assassination and the killings occurred there, and Champlin, they're just north of the Twin Cities. It's not that far of a distance to get from those areas into Minneapolis.

It is more populated, as John was mentioning. You could certainly, if you're trying to flee law enforcement, you're going to probably be able to blend in a little bit better with a larger urban population. So that was key. And I do know that Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis earlier today directed his commissioner of communities, excuse me, his commissioner of safety and the chief of police out there to provide extra, extra security and patrols for any elected officials residing within the city of Minneapolis.

So, so, as John mentioned, that was a key point that I got from Superintendent Drew Evans of the BCA. The other thing is, as he mentioned, both the word suspect and person of interest applies to the same with this Vance Boelter, but they're not ruling out any other individuals that could be helping aid this suspect, Vance Boelter.

I will also tell you, Jessica, knowing both the people of Brooklyn Park, the community of Brooklyn Park and Champlin, very close knit communities, they come together. They're feeling, as the mayors have mentioned, this pain right now. But those elected officials are part of their family.

And I know about the heart of Minnesotans. They will rally. They will support them. And so -- but they're going to move forward here. But the most important thing is John also mentioning they need to get this person Vance Boelter into custody and soon.

DEAN: And John, I also want to get your thoughts on just the role of the federal authorities in all of this as well, with the local authorities saying they've been in contact, obviously, with all the necessary federal law enforcement authorities that they need to make sure that they are doing everything they can to find this man. MILLER: So you've got the FBI, which is providing multiple different

kinds of resources. You've got ATF, which will be working on tracing those weapons, but also determining, OK, let's look at every weapon in that car and what they can be traced back to and whether they belong to the suspect. But let's look at any other weapons that we can trace to the suspect that aren't in the car, meaning that could then -- that could give them a picture of other weapons he could still be armed with or have access to.

[16:25:04]

You've got the United States Marshals. Really this is an all-in affair, as Chief Arradondo underlined, where everybody is going to bring different resources and the FBI resources can extend to a lot of technology that's not usually available to police departments like Champlin or Brooklyn Park. So they're going to be providing that as well.

DEAN: And Chief Arradondo, what are you going to be looking for? I mean, obviously time is of the essence when you're trying to find someone like this, what are you going to be watching for over the next two, four, six hours as we head into tonight?

ARRADONDO: Well, if there's -- the first thing, Jessica, is if there's been any advancement gained on the ground with those law enforcement agencies making any progress on getting close to the suspect here Vance Boelter. The other thing is going to be critically important, John mentioned this as well, is any sort of digital forensics. The Superintendent Drew Evans mentioned they were able to capture that one photograph from a business camera. They clearly will be going door to door if there's any ring cameras availability.

But I also think the other important piece will be if we start to hear that this person of interest, this suspect, Vance Boelter, is now outside of the Twin Cities area. If he was able to, by vehicle or other means, get into another part of Minnesota, or if he's out of the state. So I think that that's some of the key things that I will certainly be keyed in on as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension provides their next briefing.

DEAN: Chief Arradondo and John Miller, our thanks to both of you. I'm sure we'll be talking more about this. We really appreciate you both.

We are also following breaking news tonight out of the Middle East. Israel has launched a wave of strikes targeting different areas in Iran. This is according to the Israeli military and Iranian media. We also know that there are things happening in Tel Aviv as well.

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is live for us there in Tel Aviv.

Clarissa, what is the latest?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So I guess about half an hour ago, Jessica, the IDF put out a warning, essentially telling people to make sure that they were able to be near a shelter. And then there was another warning saying that missile launches have been detected.

Now, we haven't heard sirens or anything like that, but certainly the streets of Tel Aviv behind me now are completely empty. You could literally hear a pin drop. Everybody just getting to a place where they know a shelter is close by.

Now we have no idea what exactly to expect, if anything, but the broader sense is that there will likely be more strikes, both from Iran coming over in the form of ballistic missiles, as we saw last night, and potentially as well, more Israeli strikes on Iran as well. We did see from a different vantage point what looked possibly like either tracers or some kind of an intercept, although we couldn't hear any noise, so not clear if that was in the far distance. But certainly a state of very high alert here.

And we're now approaching that -- those late-night hours, if you will, which last night proved to be very active indeed. Throughout the day it was pretty quiet, which gave us an opportunity to actually go and visit the site where one of those missiles actually made impact in a city outside of Tel Aviv, a residential area. And the damage from that missile was pretty extraordinary, something that Israelis are certainly not used to seeing here in Israel.

Many houses were completely destroyed. There was debris everywhere. Cars were crumpled up and sort of tossed down the street like Coke cans. And people were gathering at the police cordon, sort of craning their necks, Jessica, trying to get a better look at the scale of the damage because, as I said before, this is just not something that Israelis have seen on their own turf, so to speak.

So everybody now waiting to see what comes next, whether we will get further alerts, whether they will hear those sirens, which are an indication that in 90 seconds you should try to take shelter in your nearest possible shelter. And of course, we'll keep you posted as and when we hear more.

DEAN: Yes, and one quick note, Clarissa, to your point about Israelis not really experiencing at this point, you had mentioned the notification system has been altered as well, kind of underscoring how serious this moment is for that, for those people in that country.

WARD: There is now like four steps. So this warning that just came out is the warning before the warning.

[16:30:03]

Then there's another one at 15 minutes, another one at 10 minutes, another one at 90 seconds, and then a final one to tell you that you can come out of the shelter. So, they're taking every precaution because when you look at the damage that's done with this kind of a ballistic missile as opposed to the damage that we're more used to seeing here in Israel from a Katyusha rocket or from a mortar, for example, you can see that this is an entirely different ballgame.

And particularly with regards to the area that we visited today, which is a civilian area, there's also, I think, a broader concern that effectively with this massive escalation and with Israel's actions inside Iran, that the gloves have come off and that it's not necessarily military targets that are being chosen, that it's potentially more of a free for all.

So, people here are not taking any chances. The streets of Tel Aviv very quiet as people wait to see what the night brings. Jessica.

DEAN: OK. More to come. Clarissa Ward, standby. Thanks so much. We appreciate it. We're going to have much more on our breaking news when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:00]

DEAN: More now on our breaking news out of the Middle East, as the IDF in Israel has identified incoming missiles coming toward Israel. This as Israel has launched a fresh wave of attacks on Iran. Joining us now, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much for being here with us. I know you are in Tel Aviv right now that you just had to take shelter. Just give us a snapshot of what's going on right now.

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, good evening or good afternoon. We -- it -- the IDF home front has it down to a science. We get a buzz on our cell phone when the rockets are seen by Israeli observers in Iran leaving their launchpads. So, that gives us about 10 minutes. And then, 90 seconds before that we get another buzz telling us to get nearer to our bomb shelters. And then 30 seconds. And then 10 seconds. And 10 seconds is a siren.

Now, the missiles didn't hit Tel Aviv tonight, they hit Haifa. Apparently, 45 missiles were fired at Haifa. So far, no reports of casualties. But we're sticking by our shelters nevertheless because we don't know if there's going to be subsequent waves. Last night there were three waves.

DEAN: All right. So, we wait to see what unfolds. And of course, you'll let us know if you need to take cover while we're talking, please do so, and you just let us know. I do want to -- while we have you -- '

OREN: You'll hear the siren.

DEAN: Yes. Zoom out and talk a little more broadly about what we're seeing unfold. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said the goal is to eliminate Iran's dual threat, referring to both Tehran's nuclear capabilities and ballistic missile arsenal. Would you say the ultimate goal here by the Israeli government at this point is regime change there in Iran?

OREN: Can't rule it out. The prime minister gave a statement yesterday. It's not the first time he's gave such a statement where he called on the people of Iran to rise up and overthrow the oppressive Iranian regime. And the regime is very, very unpopular. It has suppressed several attempted revolts over the years very, very brutally, most recently by Iranian women, all of whom were killed.

And so, people are very, very fed up with the corruption, with the oppression of the Iranian government and the Iranian government knows that. So, it becomes a factor in their calculus. Israel has not, for example, and it probably could, using cyber-attacks, inhibit the supply of electricity in Iran, the supply of water in Iran, which could bring the people out to the street. So, for the time being, Israel is holding fire from using those particular means of putting pressure on the regime.

But I think that now there's almost no anti-aircraft systems that are operative in Iran. Israeli aircraft are operating with impunity over Tehran, that can't be very comfortable for the regime. So, what's on here is basically a game of chicken. A game of chicken where both sides are seen how long they can endure a war of endurance. Basically, a war of attrition, where every night a hundred rockets could hit Israel, keep our airport closed, keep us indoors, schools are closed and to see which side is going to sort of cry uncle first.

In any case, this is going to end up back at the negotiating table. And the big question is whether the Iranians will come back to the negotiating table with a strengthened position or a much-weakened position.

DEAN: And what might this mean for the ayatollah specifically?

OREN: Well, for them, it could be a matter of life and death. And I think Israel -- and I think with the significant fact in the United States would like to present the ayatollahs with a simple question, you either stay in office and alive, or you give up your nuclear program.

You can't have it both ways. Iran is going to try to do everything possible to prevent reaching to that fork in the road. They still want to go back to the negotiating table, but they want to go back to the negotiating table to negotiate something similar to what the Trump administration was negotiating early in these talks, this is in February, which is an agreement that was very close to the 2015 agreement between the United States and the International Community in Iran, which basically just put a cap on Iranian enrichment but didn't dismantle a single facility.

DEAN: And so, knowing all of that, kind of setting that stage, what does this conflict look like? And I mean, it's -- I know it's really hard to know at this point, but just your experience, who you're talking to, what is your best estimate about what this conflict looks like a week from now? What might truly be achievable by Israel in all of this?

[16:40:00]

OREN: Well, I think Israel's going to continue to degrade the nuclear facilities to the degree it can. We don't have strategic bombers. We can't destroy -- we can't deliver 30,000-pound bunker busters, but we have F-15s, F-16s that deliver 2,000-pound bombs in succession, which can get through an awful lot of concrete. And the reports that Israeli planes were actually attacking the deeply embedded nuclear facility at Fordo, which is under a mountain. It's that deeply embedded. So, they'll continue that. But I think much of the emphasis is going to be on eliminating Iran's ability to fire these missiles at Israel.

It's locating the launchers, locating the arsenals. Tonight, Israeli news reported that an underground missile arsenal that had been the subject of a very popular YouTube clip from the Iran, they gave a tour of this underground facility, that facility no longer exists. It's been blown up.

So, again, it's going to be a war of attrition. How long can Iran continue to fire 100 or 200 missiles in Israel every night at a time when it has really no defenses against this really aerial activity? And again, I'm at the risk of sounding redundant. At the end, the Iranians could signal to the United States as saying, OK, we're willing to come back to negotiate. We're going to be more flexible this time, and we're willing to discuss dismantling facilities, not just -- not just capping them, dismantling facilities that in a certain -- to a certain extent have already been dismantled by Israel.

DEAN: And do you see a scenario where the U.S. becomes militarily involved beyond assisting Israel in defense as we saw Friday and overnight?

OREN: OK. So, bear with me. This is going to get even more complex. There may be people in Tehran who are thinking the following. As a desperate sort of Hail Mary move, we'll attack an American base or an American destroyer and get the United States to respond, because the Trump administration has said, and Secretary Rubio said in his first announcement that if Iran fires in any American assets in the Middle East, United States will respond very robustly.

Now, why would Iran want to invite an American military response, it's already fighting off Israel? The answer is this, the Iranians are watching very carefully the internal political situation in Washington, particularly divisions within the Republican Party. And looking at that isolationist MAGA part of the Republican Party that doesn't want to get involved in another Middle Eastern war and is already putting pressure on the president.

So, if the United States is perceived to be getting dragged into this war, there's going to be actually more pressure on the president. And then, the hope of the Iranians will be that the president will then pressure the Israelis to stop the war. I know that's kind of convoluted, but welcome to the Middle East.

DEAN: All right. Ambassador Michael Oren, listen, we really appreciate it. Please take care of yourself tonight.

OREN: Thank you very much. Goodnight.

DEAN: We continue to follow breaking news right now. This breaking news back home here in the U.S. out of Minnesota where a major manhunt is underway for the person suspected of shooting two lawmakers and their spouses. We've got the latest breaking details from that case here in the CNN newsroom. We'll be right back.

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DEAN: This is a moment in time. We're following several major stories breaking this hour. The first, just moments ago, a fresh exchange of missiles between Iran and Israel. Then in Minnesota, an intense manhunt underway for Vance Boelter who's wanted in connection to the shooting of two lawmakers.

Longtime Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband shot and killed in their home. State Representative Jared -- or State Senator Jared Hoff -- John Hoffman, rather, and his wife were shot and seriously injured. All of this occurring as nationwide protests are now underway in hundreds of U.S. cities as people voiced their upset over Trump policies and the military parade that is going to be held later today.

CNN's Senior National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem joining us to discuss the active manhunt for that suspect in Minnesota. Juliet, thanks so much for being here with us. We did hear from authorities just a short time ago. They released some additional information about that suspect who, clearly, they're still trying to find. But as John Miller was zeroing in on earlier, this idea -- that this piece of information that the suspect had made it to Minneapolis, that is what authorities now know. What else stood out to you?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST AND FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY, DHS: I mean, one is just his background that in terms of the premeditation, in terms of the -- of seeming to be like a police officer, he has some security training background and he clearly spent a considerable amount of time, not just obviously finding out where his victims lived, when they would be available or how he would enter their home, the dress, the car, the manifesto. This is someone who was hellbent on killing a lot of people on his target list.

He got disrupted. We now know -- do not know his plan. And Minneapolis is a big city that's having protests today. So, obviously, people need the -- police need help in terms of identification. And if anyone sees something, not to engage him, but to obviously tell the police.

DEAN: And look, this is -- this becomes harder, it becomes more of a needle in a haystack. Even with all of the incredible tools that law enforcement have at their disposal.

[16:50:00]

KAYYEM: That's right. I mean, just time is not in law enforcement's favor. Obviously, in those moments, immediately after when there was a chase, when they had a -- they basically found him at the scene of the crime. That is better. The timing in terms of more time there is. We're entering nighttime, he can get into urban areas. He can even get to a U.S. border if he has enough time. He can steal cars. He can steal things from people and he can harm other people. What I think we can be confident in is that his original goals, which were political in nature, targeting Democrats and high-level Democrats, as far as we know. There may be others on the list. That has been thwarted because his access to more weaponry, which was in the car, is no longer available. We don't know what he has on him.

On the other hand, he is desperate. His exit strategy or his strategy did not work. He does not have easy access to either weaponry or the car that he clearly had ready for more harm. And what that means whether he's hiding or he is going to go out in a way that he thinks is appropriate. Here he did -- you know, he wrote a manifesto. We do not know. So, it's a very, very serious, and we're -- and you know, within a few hours it'll be dark and that even makes it even more difficult.

DEAN: And, Juliette, you mentioned that manifesto, that evidence that they were able to collect out of that car, how does that factor into all of this? How are they kind of threading that into this search, if at all?

KAYYEM: So, I mean, one is just the premeditation. This is someone who created a list, and I want to be careful on what we can validate versus what is out online. But in terms of what we know from what was said by the police department, this is a manifesto with politicians, most of them appear to be Democrats or maybe others on it up to 60. Causes and also a focus on those causes that he may not have been -- that he was not supportive of.

What we don't know is what was his radicalization process? Was he in communication with others? What was he looking at online? Was he doing this because he thought someone wanted him to do it? That we don't know, right -- at least at this present moment. But we do know that the motivation was political in terms of an ideological focus and to harm or silence those that he did not agree with.

I will say the other thing is that manifesto -- every person on that manifesto has a detail tonight, as they should, or every organization. They can -- they may choose not to sleep at home. They may choose to just lay low for a little bit, and that's understandable. But that is what political terrorism is, right?

It keeps people from wanting to engage run for office or support causes that may cause harm. That's a bigger issue than this particular case, but it's an issue that we have to confront as a democracy time and time again in this era when violence is sort of -- is not shamed or not often enough shamed, I should say, as an extension of our discourse and that we have to address today and in the future.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Juliette, thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

DEAN: Right now, thousands of anti-Trump protests are taking place across the country. Opponents of the president have organized No Kings demonstrations in all 50 states. And CNN's Michael Yoshida is in Los Angeles. Michael, you're at ground zero from where those ICE protests happened last week. And now, from that, so many protests going out across -- going on across the country. What's happening there in Los Angeles?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good to be back with you, Jessica. We started here at L.A. City Hall. We marched through the streets and now thousands have returned. You can see behind me just the sea of people, the sea of flags, and more signs than I can count. Plenty of No Kings signs for the No Kings protests.

We have resist and a variety of other more colorful signs as well. Again, you can see people filling Grand Park here right outside of L.A. city hall. You can see city hall there off in the distance, up the steps. We have a giant constitution that people created and marched through the streets with as well.

And as we swing the camera around, I want to show you, again, thousands turning out today to share their message against the Trump administration, against a lot of the policies related to immigration and enforcement. And as we turn back this way, again, we just have more and more people filling the streets near City Hall, continuing to turn up here. Again, this is one of thousands of these No Kings events going on across the country.

[16:55:00]

In terms of here in Los Angeles, the expectation was potentially 20,000, 25,000 or more people taking part in this event. We did hear from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass yesterday along with law enforcement talking about how they encourage people to come out, use your voice, do so peacefully. I got to tell you, we've been here for hours now. We started here at city hall. We walked the streets and it's been peaceful. We've been out here as people have chanted, been singing, dancing.

Now, again, they were gathered right back here as a roar going through the crowd right now. So, thousands out here in Downtown L.A. We are expecting this to continue for some time, as you can see, kind of a party atmosphere behind me. So, again, people out here sharing their message peacefully here in Downtown Los Angeles. Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Michael, thank you very much for that. We appreciate it. Coming up at the top of the hour, more on the Manhattan now underway for the suspect wanted for several politically motivated shootings in Minnesota.

Plus, there has been a fresh exchange of missiles between Iran and Israel as nuclear negotiations are officially stalled. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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