Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Two dead, 5 Injured After Shooting At Seattle Food Festival; Berlin Police Kill Suspect In Pride Festival Attack After Manhunt; Iran Says Progress Made In Talks With Oman On Strait Of Hormuz; Tehran Denounces Ukrainian Strike On Iran Vessel; France Wildfires: Massive Blazes Force More Than 220,000 People To Evacuate; New Heat Wave Threatens Conditions in France and Spain; Zelenskyy to Meet with Trump at the White House Tuesday; India PM Modi to Establish Task Force to Overhaul Exam System; International Alphorn Festival Fills Swiss Alps with Sound; Cuban President Slams U.S. Policies on Rebellion Day; Misuse of Liceense Plate Reader System. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 27, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:33]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Ben Hunte. This is CNN. We are following breaking news out of Seattle, Washington, when a city's mayor reports one suspect is in custody after a deadly shooting at a summer food festival. Officials report at least two people are dead and more were injured in the attack.

One witnesses tell CNN affiliate KOMO, they heard, quote, seven to eight shots inside the venue and saw people fleeing. The event hosts hundreds of local vendors and live music performances, too.

Let's bring in CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore. He's also a retired FBI supervisory special agent.

It is good to have you with us, sir. What are investigators focused on in these first few hours and what are the key questions that they're trying to answer right now?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, excuse me, number one is going to be motive. Motive is going to inform every other part of this case. Do we have an active shooter here or do we have a gang situation? Do we have a personal dispute? Do we have a spousal problem?

There's so many things that can go on. And you say, well, how do two people get killed and five get wounded? Well, you know, bullets travel a long way.

So there's a lot of questions still out there. It's a lot of casualties for a personal dispute, maybe not so much for a gang dispute. And it's kind of small for an active shooter.

HUNTE: This all happened at one of Seattle's biggest public festivals. From a security perspective, how difficult is it to protect events like this?

MOORE: Well, it's going to be very difficult, Ben, because you've got, I believe, 70 acres, something like that in this center here. And you have to balance the choices you make about security between making it a hard to get into and miles of lines event or a more casual get in quickly type event. And obviously, the less security you provide, the more able somebody is to get in with a weapon.

HUNTE: Witnesses do say that many people initially thought the gunfire was just fireworks. How much can that kind of confusion affect the immediate emergency response?

MOORE: It can affect it a lot, Ben. As you know, so many of things start out, it's a common thing to hear. I thought they were fireworks. I thought it was a backfire. People's minds don't want to believe that they're near an actual shooting. And tragically, the one thing that actually tends to get police response and emergency response moving quickest is when somebody says, yes, I'm hearing these pop noises and I see people on the ground. That changes it from some kind of fireworks set off to we've got a mass casualty event.

HUNTE: At this stage, what evidence will investigators be looking for to determine whether this was a targeted attack or a random act of violence?

MOORE: They're going to -- they're going to be seeing, number one, did anybody recognize the shooter? In a targeted event, it is very likely that somebody would recognize the shooter. Whether it's a family dispute, a personal dispute or a gang shooting, somebody might recognize that the individual. Number two, whether any of the individuals, the shooter and the individual victims were related or coworkers. And number three, whether any of the victims or the suspect were in gangs.

If none of these are happening, you know, your active shooter situation is a total stranger and they are just trying to cause mass casualties. With the high end number of 12 shots being fired, that's very low for an active shooter.

[01:05:07]

I don't mean that's very low for humanity. I mean, it's just somebody who does an active shooter scenario tends to shoot dozens of rounds, unfortunately.

HUNTE: OK, thank you so much for that insight, Steve Moore. We really appreciate it. I'm sure we'll speak to you again very, very soon. Thank you for now.

MOORE: Thank you, Ben.

HUNTE: Let's keep going. Joining me now is Justin Smith, who was at the food festival when the shooting took place. Firstly, sir, we are very glad that you are safe. Thank you so much for speaking to us.

Can you just describe to us what the scene was like when the gunfire erupted?

JUSTIN SMITH, EYEWITNESS: It was pure chaos. I was in line with two girls that were younger, like 50 to 25 years old. We've been talking for about 15 minutes and it's a really long line. And my friends were on the other side of the pond area.

So in between, this is where the shots were fired. Because after the first round it sounded like fireworks, like everybody's mentioned it was like that. And then that's when I turned to look down the corridor and that's when I saw flashbangs happening for the second round. And there was two rounds lasted within the first, I would say 10, 15 seconds.

When that second one happened, I started pushing people because right where I was, right behind me was like an area where I had been previously to that where there's a bunch of kids in that area. And so my mind went directly to kids in that vicinity. And it's really, really close to that area. And the two girls that were with me, I didn't know them 15 minutes before, but they're younger and they're freaking out.

So I started pushing them and telling them where to run to, which is a way towards the Space Needle and away towards the road, which is away from the shooting. And it was pure chaos. It was pandemonium. And I was grabbing a kid had fell. I picked him up. And then after that, the girl had dropped her shoe. Her slippery came off when she was running and she tried to go back for it. I was telling her, don't go back for, let's go. And they're trying to take the right. I was telling, no, we got to go left away from the shooting. It was pure pandemonium.

HUNTE: We are so sorry that you've gone through this experience, but thank you for speaking to us on CNN. In what you experienced there, you sound -- you said that you heard all of these different gunshots are you surprised that more people haven't been reported killed or injured at this point?

SMITH: Yes, I mean, between me and the shooter, because when I saw those bangs, there was hundreds of people between me and the shooter. And I saw the flashbangs happening, and in my mind I'm thinking it's going to continue. And when the second round of shots stopped, I thought somebody must have tackled the guy or the kid. So I was really surprised.

There wasn't a single shot. I was listening for a single shot that they had taken this guy out. I didn't hear that either, but we just continued to run. But I was listening for more gunshots. I did not hear more gunshots. So my mind, I was just hoping and praying that minimal shots and people had been -- had been injured seriously.

I was hoping that nobody died. And come to find out that we've lost a few people. It's just -- it's a tragic thing that in our country, these things can happen in groups in huge areas. I mean, I was thinking this out of premonition, this was going to take place today. I was thinking that as I was walking through and seeing a massive amount of people with no security. There was a lot of police officers there, but there was no security measures to stop people or check people coming in. Right.

HUNTE: Wow.

SMITH: So it's just a big community event. Every year I've been to 10 or 12 of these events in the same every year. And we've been lucky to not have had this happen previously in Seattle. But I had this premonition today as I was walking through.

HUNTE: Were you surprised to not see more security then?

SMITH: There was. There was quite a few police officers. I mean, as we were running away, two police officers passed us running towards the shooter. And I felt like, hey, there's help here. And I'd seen people, police officers, and every time I see a police officer, I always say, thank you for your service. Because you can't stop a bad guy with a gun without a good guy with a gun.

And I'm not sure how they took this individual without shots being fired. We'll find this out later. But they did their job. And I'm just praying for the victims and their families that they'll be safe. I'm glad that the two girls are safe and the kids that I had saw that had got out were safe in my vicinity.

I did the best I could.

[01:10:00]

You don't really know how you're going to react your body. So you're just reacting at that point. You have no other thought process as to anything else but just go and run and get as many people out as possible. That's all you can think about.

HUNTE: Well, again, we are so sorry that you went through this, but thank you so much for speaking to us and I'm sure we'll be speaking to you again later. So thank you for now. Justin Smith, thank you.

SMITH: Appreciate you.

HUNTE: Going to some other stories now. The suspect in what German authorities are calling an Islamist terror attack at Berlin's pride celebrations shot dead by police following an extensive manhunt. At least one person was killed and nearly 30 others injured in Saturday's van ramming and stabbing at the German capital's Tiergarten Park.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other government officials visited the site of the attack on Sunday to pay their respects to the victims.

The attack came just hours after hundreds of thousands attended one of Europe's largest and longest running LGBTQ Pride parades in the area.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back. The mayor of Seattle, Washington is calling Sunday's deadly shooting an act of horrific violence. She says a suspect is now in custody after at least two people died after a shooting at a summer food festival. Journalist Chase Hudson Hutchinson was at the festival and joins me now from Seattle.

Thank you being with us. We are very glad that you are safe, and we appreciate you being here. Can you just take us back to the moment that you realized that something was seriously wrong? What did you hear and what did you do next?

CHASE HUTCHINSON, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: Yes. So I was standing outside of the film center, which is a local theater, had been there to moderate a Q and A of a film that was playing and meeting a friend, and heard gunshots and immediately knew what it was. It was a short burst and then a rapid succession. People began running away from it as quickly as they could pass me, and it was all happening very fast.

HUNTE: What do you remember about the people that were around you? How did families and vendors react to this?

HUTCHINSON: I didn't see many vendors, but the people around me. There was a young kid that fell, dropped a bag. I helped them up. People were trying to be there for each other and help each other and warn people nearby to travel the opposite direction as quickly as they could.

But it was chaos, and everyone was just trying to move as quickly as they could without really having a full understanding of what was the best thing to do at that time. But everyone was trying their best they could to help each other.

HUNTE: And did you see any of the attackers? Did you see any victims?

HUTCHINSON: No, I only heard it from a distance. I was slightly up a staircase, could see the vendors from afar, could smell the food. This was a community festival that brings out families, that brings out a whole community, and was considering going down there myself.

[01:15:07]

And moments later, the shooting started.

HUNTE: What can you tell us about the security presence and the police presence, though?

HUTCHINSON: Shortly after I heard the shots, police were quickly driving by into the area. Subsequently, there was a very large police presence surrounding things, telling people to leave, escorting people out, and just overseeing the entire area.

HUNTE: And once that immediate danger did pass, what was the scene like? HUTCHINSON: It was very quiet. It was eerily quiet. What had been this massive gathering and a real moment of celebration after the World Cup. People still coming out and being in community was a ghost town and something that was very surreal to see how quickly things had changed.

HUNTE: Considering you are a journalist in the area, how surprised were you to see something like this happen on your patch?

HUTCHINSON: I wish I was more surprised. I think that's the biggest thing, is that I immediately knew what was happening and could immediately tell and that it took a moment before everyone else began running because you almost don't want to accept it to be true. I wish I was more surprised.

HUNTE: And a final question. It's only afterwards that people realize how close they were to danger. How are you processing all of this right now?

HUTCHINSON: I think I'm doing OK. I've had friends that have reached out, and I want to be clear, there were people that were much closer and much more affected. The main way I've been processing is trying to share what I saw, to provide good information to good journalists, doing good work, to try and push back at the misinformation that can spread. But it's something that I'm still working through, I would say.

HUNTE: And just on that, what kind of misinformation are you seeing? What have you seen online so far?

HUTCHINSON: There are always going to be people kind of making assumptions, and I hesitate to even say them because saying misinformation, even while correcting it, can be dangerous because then people take that out of context or spread it around.

But for the most part, there have been good colleagues doing good work at the Seattle Times, at KOW (ph), trying to put as much good information out there as they possibly can with what we know now, which is that two suspects are in custody. And it's something that obviously I'll be looking at and other colleagues will be looking at in the days ahead.

HUNTE: OK, Chase, thank you so much for that. We appreciate it. And please do something to take care of yourself this evening after. This is obviously an awful experience you've gone through. Keeps updated.

HUTCHINSON: Thank you so much.

HUNTE: Onwards now. After nearly two weeks of strikes against Iran, U.S. military operations appear to be on hold in the Middle East. Ukraine U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz says diplomatic efforts have ramped up and President Trump is giving talks with Iran some space.

Meanwhile, sources say the U.S. vice president and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have raised concerns about escalating the war. This all comes as Iran confirms it held talks with Oman about controlling the Strait of Hormuz. CNN's Nic Robertson has more on the ongoing negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It gives them an opportunity. We heard from the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman today saying that there was progress, that the talks were constructive, that they'd continue at a political and technical level. But it's key to understanding the details and we just don't have them. The talks were all about the Strait of Hormuz, of course.

And the key point here is do the Iranians finally agree that they give up control of the Strait of Hormuz and allow traffic to pass through marine traffic and not try to get any tolls and not tell them which passages and pathways to go down through the Strait of Humus? And there's no indication that's about to happen.

So it will be the output of that meeting, what the Omanis pass on to the U.S. diplomats, what the White House gets back from those talks is going to determine the next moves. Clearly, the implication we've from the Pentagon, from the indications from the White House is this is a sort of unannounced, temporary cease fire type deal to make the space for diplomacy.

But it's not clear, just because you're talking, that there's actually going to be an outcome that's good enough for the White House. I think on the Houthi front in the Red Sea and trying to stop the Saudi oil getting out to world markets. It's having a chilling effect. But as far as we know today, the Houthis haven't fired any additional missiles to Saudi infrastructure, so perhaps, you know, they're aligned with Iran.

[01:20:03]

So perhaps they're taking a beat on all of this at the moment as well. And then, of course, tomorrow, Prime Minister Netanyahu will leave Israel. He'll head to the United States for the funeral of Lindsey Graham. But it also is meeting at the White House with President Trump on Tuesday.

We can expect the Israeli prime minister to thank the president for announcing that Saudi Arabia has to normalize with Israel before it can have this civilian nuclear deal. But also the key thing there will be what intelligence does just Prime Minister Netanyahu share with President Trump about Iranian nuclear assets.

Where are they? Of course, it was the Israelis that had a lot of information about leading towards the Pickaxe Mountain as being a storage facility for some of the highly enriched uranium, another nuclear storage sites that the Iranians have. So what else is Prime Minister Netanyahu going to put on President Trump's desk that then may influence where this war goes next?

(END VIDEOTAPE) HUNTE: Tehran is condemning Ukraine's strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the weekend. Ukraine said it struck ships that were transporting military cargo from Iran to Russia. CNN's Larry Madowo has more on that for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iran is accusing Ukraine of violating the United Nations Charter and seeking to expand its war with Russia after Ukraine said that it hit ships transporting military cargo from Iran to Russia and a warship in the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian Sea is more than 1,000 kilometers away from Ukrainian controlled territory and Ukraine has been touting this as a symbol of its long range drone capability. But Iran says this was a commercial vessel and that Ukraine's attacks caused an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another. Iran calling it a hostile and criminal act and that it will defend its territory.

It has summoned the charge d' affaires at the Ukrainian Embassy as this escalates between Russia and Ukraine. That development came as President Zelenskyy claimed that President Putin is setting the stage for an expanded mobilization in Ukraine in the fall that would include, According to Zelenskyy, 30,000 troops from North Korea and several ballistic missile launches. Listen to what he said in his nightly address Saturday.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is a threat not only to Ukraine. Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons and gain real combat experience in using them. All of this poses a threat to every country in Asia that lies within range of North Korean missiles.

MADOWO: President Zelenskyy appeared to suggest in that nightly address that even the extra Russian men would not make a difference in this war. He claims that in 2026 alone, Russia has enlisted 221,000 soldiers, but has lost 131,000 soldiers at the same time in that same period.

Hours later, the Ukrainian military gave even more numbers, claiming that since the start of the war in 2022, Russia has lost more than 1.4 million soldiers in this war. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers, and Ukraine does not release its own casualty figures. So we don't have a way to compare Russian losses against Ukrainian losses.

But President Zelenskyy is expected to meet with President Trump on Tuesday, and he at least has something that he will be bringing to President Trump the ability to disrupt this flow of weapons between Iran and Russia, which would be useful as it tries to get more American support as this war drags on. Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: The latest developments on this deadly shooting in Seattle. We'll of course have that and other stories after this short break. See in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:28:25]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. More now on the breaking news out of Seattle, Washington. The mayor of Seattle reports a suspect is in custody after a deadly shooting at a summer food festival.

Officials report at least two people are dead and more were injured in the attack. Witnesses tell CNN affiliate KOMO they heard, quote, seven to eight shots inside the venue. Another witness says he heard, quote, at least two dozen shots. We'll bring you the latest on that as we get it.

Another European heat wave could worsen conditions for France and Spain as they battle destructive wildfires that have forced more than 300,000 people from their homes. French fire crews are trying to take full advantage of lighter winds to get a hold on containment.

The country is facing its biggest evacuation since World War II, with about 220,000 people forced to escape as flames engulf communities, forests and fields.

Many are fleeing from France's southwest region, specifically the Gironde and Landes departments. The fires are now just nine miles, or 15 kilometers, from the historic wine city of Bordeaux, where thousands of people are sheltering. The city's mayor says while communities around the city have been evacuated, it's not yet directly threatened.

In Spain's Castellan province, thousands of hectares have burned. This is just one of several regions in the country fighting to push back the flames. Officials say the fires in Avila Province are the biggest in Spain's recent history. Firefighting aircraft have been sent by Greece and Italy to help emergency crews.

[01:30:03]

It is now a waiting game for residents anxious to get back to their homes and check what the flames have left for them.

CNN's Pau Mosquera is in Spain with more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What you see behind me is the aftermath of the wildfires that are burning since Thursday in the autonomous community of Madrid. Have a look at the surroundings of the forest area in San Martin de Valle de Iglesias, located 60 kilometers west of the city of Madrid.

You can see how the ground is still smoldering. There is smoke still coming from the pine trees in the area. And also, if you look closer, you can see how some pine trees still have flames on it.

This is such a dramatic situation. All the people around these areas have been already evacuated, and in some cases they have been locked down inside their towns.

I can tell you that the smoke in this area, it is so thick that it is impossible to be here without using a face mask like the one that we are wearing right now.

The most curious thing about the image that you're getting now on your screens is that this area was already scorched a few days ago, but because of the temperatures, because of the intensity of the fire, there are still some pine trees that have fire on them.

This is why we are just seeing how emergency workers are using these roads to try to contain the fire around as quickly as possible. But this is no easy task because of the wind that is blowing and changing the direction depending on the hour.

Nevertheless, we're being told by the authorities that they will keep doing their best as to contain and control this situation as soon as possible.

Pau Mosquera, CNN -- San Martin de Valle de Iglesias, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. His pleas for more aid may fall on deaf ears, and that's because the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, is appearing to blame the United States' dwindling munitions stockpile on military provisions to Ukraine.

Earlier, William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, addressed those comments with CNN's Erica Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Ukrainians are on the front foot. The Russians are on the back foot. The support from the United States has not been coming in terms of weapons. But this license to manufacture Patriots is a good signal.

It's not going to solve the problem right away, but it's a very good signal of support for Ukraine from the United States. Ukraine is getting great support from the Europeans. And if the -- if the Americans will support -- will support that, that will help as well.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: When we talk about support, there were certainly, I would say surprise, to put it mildly, among a lot of people, when Laura Loomer, of course, went to Ukraine, had this sit down. The impact that that has had back in the United States, also leading to some speculation about whether this is a bit of a shift when it comes to Ukraine's messaging strategy, if you will.

Recognizing that perhaps in the United States for support and specifically the support of this administration and the president, that Ukraine may need to look to alternate sources to help get that message out. Do you see this as an effective messaging move for Ukrainians moving

forward?

TAYLOR: So Erica, I don't think this is a messaging change. I think what is -- what we're seeing is a change on the battlefield. And that's allowing the Ukrainians to demonstrate that they are actually winning on the battlefield.

They're taking the war to the Russians, deep into Russia. Putin is on his back foot, as I say. He's got problems on the battlefield. He's got problems economically. He's got a big political problem coming up if he institutes a draft, which he's threatening to do after his elections in September.

So no, I don't think it's a messaging change. I think it's a substantive change that the Ukrainians are actually winning at this point.

HILL: And that is an important message to bring to President Trump, right.

TAYLOR: And President Zelenskyy will have that top of mind. President Zelenskyy is not asking for things right now. He is demonstrating that the Ukrainians have things to offer. We have the Ukrainians are offering to the United States drones and drone technology.

So the Ukrainians are demonstrating that they are actually a net provider of security.

[01:34:47]

HILL: President Zelenskyy did say this weekend Ukraine has solid reports that Putin is preparing now an expanded mobilization in the fall, saying that this actually includes Russia receiving some 30,000 military personnel, several ballistic missile launchers from North Korea.

This comes on the heels of some really devastating casualty reports a few weeks ago highlighting significant Russian losses.

What does this tell you when you talk about, you know, how well Ukraine is doing in this moment. But when you see this warning from President Zelenskyy about what Putin may be planning, how would you assess the military position of Russia in this moment?

TAYLOR: Clearly, the military position for Russia in this moment is dire. They are having great difficulties that one of those reports, Erica, that you mentioned, suggested -- analyzed that the ratio of Russian soldiers killed to Ukrainian soldiers killed is 8 to 1, 8 to 1 Russians killed versus one Ukrainian.

And the numbers are coming out in various things. So, yes, you mentioned this possible mobilization, this draft. This could be Putin's undoing, political undoing. He's got big problems. He's not sure where to go. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Former Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernandez, is back in his home country after receiving a controversial pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. His family and supporters were there to welcome him at the airport.

Hernandez has returned eight months after the pardon, which he received while serving a 45-year prison sentence in the U.S. for drug and arms trafficking.

He now faces fraud and money laundering charges in Honduras, but won't be detained before his court appearance next week.

After massive protests across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is creating a task force to overhaul India's exam system. The youth-led demonstrations were a response to the leak and sale of exam papers.

Two million students had to reset the entrance exam for medical schools. That galvanized anger over the lack of prospects for young Indians.

Mr. Modi said exams should be trustworthy and that legislation would be introduced to tighten laws and increase penalties for exam leaks.

India's education minister resigned over the scandal, fulfilling a key demand of the Cockroach Janta Party, which was behind the protests.

Flooding has killed at least 65 people in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. State government data shows more than 60,000 people have now been affected. Farmlands have been covered in mud and many rivers are swollen.

Authorities say the Brahmaputra, one of the world's largest rivers, is above its danger mark in some places. Many families are staying in relief camps after their homes were inundated.

One mother described how she and her child narrowly survived.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank God that my child and I survived this flood. We really didn't think that we would survive when we saw the flood waters. We saved ourselves by climbing onto a tree.

I have no words to describe that moment. I had an eight-year-old child with me, including the two of us. We were a total of five people who took shelter on that tree for around 13 hours before the rescue team came to save us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Dozens of nude volunteers gathered outside the cathedral in Spain for an American photographer's project. With their bodies covered in paint, they stood together in lines representing the colors of the Pride flag. The images made will be featured in Spencer Tunick's project, called

"Grand Spectrum".

Over the weekend, the Swiss Alps were filled with the sounds of bells ringing, whips cracking, yodelers yodeling, and the ensemble pieces of around 100 alphorn players.

The Annual International Alphorn Festival attracts players of the ancient horn from all around the world.

Here is my report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Warming up for the big event.

Playing the alphorn, an ancient wooden instrument over three meters long isn't just tooting your own horn, it's mastering the sounds of the alps.

PHILIPPE CHEVALIER, ALPHORN PLAYER FROM GSTAAD, SWITZERLAND (through translator): What's beautiful about a piece is thinking that the audience sees a story in it.

And that's the most beautiful thing that can happen. Playing something that gives people goosebumps.

HUNTE: And when more than 100 alphorn players come together for a musical performance on a Swiss mountain plateau, more than 2,200 meters above sea level, it's a stirring symphony of the instruments past and present.

PHILIPPE BABAZ, ALPHORN PLAYER FROM FRANCE (through translator): It's refreshing, it's magnificent, and we're in a truly superb mountain setting like this. And it's really where the instrument lends itself to being played.

[01:39:48]

HUNTE: Players from around the world gathered over the weekend at the Annual International Alphorn Festival in Switzerland to perform together using the iconic instruments the mountain folk once used to call their cattle and communicate across valleys.

OLIVIER BRISVILLE, ALPHORN PLAYER FROM FRANCE (through translator): People imagine that the alphorn is always played in the mountains, but in fact, most of the time it is either in towns, in villages or in halls. So playing it outdoors in its natural setting is really a pleasure.

HUNTE: A sound that carried across the alps for centuries still resonating today by calling people together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: All right. That's all I've got for you for now. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is next. And for our viewers here in the U.S., CNN NEWSROOM continues after this short break. See you in a moment.

[01:40:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Cuba's president is slamming the U.S. for its oil embargo and sanctions on the island nation, calling President Donald Trump's policies, quote, "political genocide". His attack also compared the U.S. to authoritarian regimes of the past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The officials at the State Department, experts in drafting sanctions, making lists, inventing pretexts or a modern version of the drafters of edicts and military proclamations who were so feared and hated in the dark times of the Middle Ages or during the Nazi occupations in World War II, as if the rest of the world were from their colony. They dictate how things should be done under threats of punishment or aggression.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The president's speech was part of a celebration marking Cuba's Rebellion Day. That is the anniversary of the start of the Cuban Revolution. It's one of the most important national holidays on the island.

CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL CHIEF: CORRESPONDENT: People are leaving this plaza in Pinar del Rio on the western part of the island. Every year, different province organizes it July 26th commemorations.

What happened on July 26th? It was 1953. A group of rebels attacked military installations in Santiago de Cuba, on the other side of the island. And that's seen as a precursor of the Cuban Revolution that came to place in 1959 with Fidel Castro, heading that movement.

Now, today's act happened very early, 5:15 in the morning. According to the organizers, it had to do with the time the attack happened.

So you had people congregating at this very plaza very early in the morning. The act took only one hour and the main speech was by Miguel Diaz-Canel who rejected U.S. foreign policy, said U.S. foreign policy will not make him leave government.

He called it a genocide and criticized the U.S. for imposing a recurring number of sanctions that include the restriction of fuel supply to the island where fuel is very scarce. Rolling blackouts are the norm. Finding fuel is very difficult, and

it's very expensive. But he said they are keeping their promises and they are trying to overcome this crisis with political reforms, economic reforms that will be discussed by the national assembly the following week.

Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN -- Pinar Del Rio, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: You may be hearing more lately about flock cameras. That's automated license plate readers. Now, according to the nonprofit public interest firm Institute for Justice, cases of police misusing the readers are growing.

Multiple law enforcement officers are accused of using those cameras to run unauthorized personal searches, including searches for romantic partners and exes.

CNN's Rafael Romo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There has been a series of cases nationwide involving the alleged misuse by law enforcement officers of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs that were originally designed to locate vehicles and drivers potentially involved in a crime here in Georgia.

Employees of multiple law enforcement agencies have been accused of misusing flock safety and other ALPR systems. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that a police dispatcher supervisor in Conyers was arrested Wednesday after it says a GBI investigation revealed she had access to system more than 30 times between April and July for non-law enforcement purposes.

Earlier this month, the GBI also said it arrested five former Albany Police Department officers as part of another investigation into the misuse of their access to the flock safety system.

Officials say the Albany Police Department requested the GBI to investigate the officers following an internal audit of the flock license plate reader camera system.

Earlier this month, a former Milwaukee police officer was --

[INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT]

KATIE WILSON, SEATTLE MAYOR: We're having to gather here tonight --

HUNTE: Seattle police are holding a news conference. Let's have a listen in.

WILSON FEMALE: -- at the Seattle Center was an unbelievable tragedy, and a horrific act of violence. My heart right now is with the victims and their families and with everyone in our community who is reeling from what happened here today.

[01:49:50]

WILSON: We have far too much gun violence in this city and in this country. And we're coming off of a week in Seattle where we've had three major incidents of gun violence in just a few days. We have a lot of work to do as a city and as a country to make this better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get your passion, Mayor, but we need to know what happened tonight please.

WILSON: Yes. So our focus right now is with this investigation, with learning what happened, so that we can provide accurate information to the public, with supporting the victims.

And I'm going to turn it over to Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis to tell you what we know.

ASSISTANT CHIEF TYRONE DAVIS, SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: So this afternoon, we had officers working by the Seattle event. At 6:01 p.m. gunshots were heard. We had officers in the area -- in the immediate area When these gunshots went off.

Officers responded and addressed one of the shooters. That person gave up and was taken into custody. There was another person that we believe that was also involved that fled the scene. And officers began an active search for that person.

We discovered, as we got to the scene, that there were a total of seven victims that suffered gunshot wounds at the scene. Officers immediately began to perform CPR and first aid on several victims.

We had a total of four victims that were transferred -- transported by the Seattle Fire Department to Harborview Medical Center.

We had another -- two more victims that remained on the scene and were unfortunately unable to survive their injuries. So that's a total of seven victims.

We had another victim that later showed up at the University of Washington Medical Center with a gunshot wound. One of the victims at Harborview Medical Center did not survive their injuries.

So now we have a total of three fatalities out of those seven victims. This is a tragedy. I'm really sorry that this happened.

The Bite of Seattle is a very positive event. We haven't had any issue in recent years. And, you know, thankfully we had officers on the scene that were brave, went to those shots and prevented more victims from being injured.

This is going to be an ongoing investigation. We're going to be out here for several hours trying to figure out exactly what happened tonight.

Right now, we believe that we have no outstanding threat to the community. We do have one suspect that is being interviewed. We've recovered two guns.

It's one thing to note. One of the four victims that was taken to the hospital was a toddler.

Again, this is a terrible, terrible event. All four victims that are being hospitalized are in stable condition.

And again, we're going to be out here for several hours trying to figure out what happened tonight. We have a number of agencies that are here to support us with our criminal investigation, and it's ongoing.

We're not going to have a lot of information to share at this time, but we will have more information for everyone in the coming hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You only have one shooter in custody.

DAVIS: We have one shooter in custody at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anyone else outstanding?

DAVIS: We are -- we believe there is one outstanding. That is part of our investigation. We are still trying to gather more information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this was a shootout --

(CROSSTALKING)

DAVIS: We do not have a suspect description for you at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this was a shootout in Seattle.

DAVIS: There were two people who we believe were shooting at each other.

(INAUDIBLE)

DAVIS: We are still working on that and we'll have more information for you when we have them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are surveillance cameras in the area. Are any of those city-operated surveillance cameras.

DAVIS: There were no surveillance cameras in the immediate area where the shooting occurred.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any idea on a motive?

DAVIS: Not at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old is your suspect in custody right now.

DAVIS: I'm not able to disclose that at a time. They're a young person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe that the shooters were shooting at each other, and those who were hit were innocent bystanders?

DAVIS: We believe that there were two people shooting at each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a weapon recovered?

DAVIS: We have recovered two weapons so far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were the people hit innocent bystanders?

DAVIS: We don't know their involvement at this time. Obviously, again, we had a toddler that was shot, so I don't believe they were involved with the actual incident or involved with the violence that was led up to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the toddler alive?

DAVIS: All -- all victims are in stable condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe the two shooters knew each other before?

[01:54:49]

DAVIS: We are working to determine that.

(CROSSTALKING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were the weapons that were recovered?

DAVIS: I don't have that information for you at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was the gun unit called out?

DAVIS: So we have several detectives here on scene. We have our homicide unit, our gun violence reduction unit, our CSI unit is also here at the scene, as well as some local partners from King County, Washington State Patrol, and the FBI.

So yes, we have a couple -- we have a lot of people helping us with this investigation.

(CROSSTALKING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you say you're also interviewing a suspect?

DAVIS: I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you say one person is in custody, but you're also interviewing a suspect?

DAVIS: We are interviewing one person at this time that we believe is a suspect in this incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that person detained?

DAVIS: Yes. We have them in custody at this time. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So who is the person that's outstanding then?

DAVIS: We are working to determine that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So is that a third person?

DAVIS: No. There's one other person that we're looking at so far. There may be more. We're still trying to figure this out. There's -- we have a limited amount of witnesses. So one of the things that really could help us out is if people would call our violent hotline, which is 206233-5000. So if you can call our hotline. Again, that's 206233-5000.

HUNTE: So that's us tuning into the press conference. Police have now confirmed three people were killed in a shooting at Seattle's Bite of Seattle Food Festival.

We will bring you the latest on CNN newsroom in just a moment after this quick break. Thank you for joining us.

[01:56:23]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)