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At Least Four Dead In Florida And Alabama After Isaias Slammed Gulf Coast; Isaias Damages Parts Of Alabama Power's Electrical Grid; Outrage, Protests In New York City After ICE Shooting Of Undocumented Immigrant; San Diego Braces For Rachel Under Rare Tropical Storm Watch; Trump To Speak At Rally In Deep-Red Tennessee; Man Dies After Entering Tiger Enclosure In Wildlife Park. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 10, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Our communities are cleaning up after a deadly and destructive hurricane smashed into the Gulf Coast last night, leaving nearly 700,000 people without power across the region. Last hour, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke about ongoing emergency efforts in the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: We're going to continue working. I know that this was a storm that had a broad impact. It's not just Okaloosa County where it made landfall and we understand that there was damage that stretches really from the Alabama-Florida line all the way into the far eastern part of the Florida Panhandle. So we'll be working with the locals to be able to provide the support that they need.

We've got a lot of people stayed for this storm. Right now I think clearing those trees, clearing the debris, that mission continues. Our utilities are working hard to get everyone reconnected back on the grid. And I know that will be a breath of fresh air for everyone when that happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Authorities say at least four people died in storm-related incidents, two in Florida and the other two in Alabama. And now Isaias is bringing threats of tornadoes and flash floods as it moves inland. The storm is now a post-tropical cyclone, but officials are urging residents to be cautious.

CNN's Rafael Romo rode out the worst of Isaias in Pensacola, where the storm made landfall, and he walks us through what he saw overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're standing outside the Rest and Relax Inn here in Pensacola, Florida. And as you can see behind me, this is what remains of the roof of this structure. During the peak hours of Hurricane Isaias when the winds were at their strongest, the hurricane ripped off that part of the roof of this structure. And as you can see now, the debris are littering all this area in the parking lot.

The good news is that as far as we know, there were no injuries reported. And that's not something that we can say here in Escambia County because officials say that at least one person died when a tree fell.

Now, if you can see on this side of the parking lot, there's a lot of debris all over the place, including heavy stuff. And as you can imagine, it's going to take weeks before all of this can be cleaned up. At one point, officials say that as many as 860 households in the Gulf Coast region were without power on Saturday morning. The situation has been improving over the hours, but definitely is going to take a while before people here, residents in Florida and other states affected by Hurricane Isaias go back to normal.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Pensacola, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Rafael.

Meteorologist Melissa Nord is tracking the latest path.

Melissa, I mean, Isaias no longer a hurricane, but its impact will be wide-reaching. What's going on?

MELISSA NORD, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Indeed, and it moves up the East Coast, the remnants of it, as we head into tomorrow as well. So, Fredricka, right now I'm watching the center of the remnants here, kind of over northern Alabama. But what we've been watching is on the eastern side of this storm system, a little more heat and humidity added in to the equation. Some spin coming off the Atlantic.

So the tornado threat is starting to materialize for the afternoon. Tornado watch in effect until 8:00 Eastern Time for the low country of South Carolina, east central Georgia as well, including Vidalia, Georgia. We've got two tornado warnings. So one right here in Screven County. That earlier did have confirmed pictures, videos coming in from emergency manager, storm spotters, trained storm spotters there.

Another one just popping up south and west of Augusta as well. So it's these little cells where we watch these little areas of rotation in landfalling tropical systems. They can spin up really quickly, but then they can only be on the ground for a couple of minutes and then it's done. So we're watching these very closely. Again, there's that one right near Sylvania, Georgia, and that is moving northeast at about 30 miles per hour.

Level two risk of severe weather today for that area. That includes that brief spin up tornado possibility. Watch the rain, though. I mean, it's wide reaching and it stretches up the coast of the Carolinas through the Appalachians, arriving in the D.C. area by first thing overnight tonight and then going up the 95 corridor to New York. So it's going to be a wet Sunday morning in the northeast.

Some of those additional rainfall totals will be highest in the higher elevations or on the east side of the mountains. That's where we could see six to 10 inches of rain. A lot of other spots, though, across the Carolinas down into east Georgia could pick up another inch or so of rainfall. There's that risk of excessive rainfall today, kind of what's your basis for flooding, right? And that red color that's a level three out of four, moderate risk for excessive rainfall today, including Asheville, North Carolina. But of course, Isaias a much different storm than Helene two years ago -- Fredricka.

[15:05:04]

WHITFIELD: Yes. But this one nonetheless sure has a whole lot of reach, doesn't it?

All right. Melissa Nord, appreciate it.

All right. Now to Alabama where at least two people died in the storm, including one person officials say died after a tree fell onto a home in Birmingham. Two people were trapped in the home as Isaias lashed the state, and now power crews in the state are dealing with widespread outages.

This video from Dothan, Alabama, shows trees ripped from the ground and power lines twisted around massive branches. The number of customers without power has dropped to below 700,000 across the southeast.

Let's bring in now power delivery engineer with Alabama Power, Meredith Morgan.

And Meredith, I'm wondering from where you are, I mean, we're hearing about 200,000 customers are still without power? Is that the case?

MEREDITH MORGAN, POWER DELIVERY ENGINEER, ALABAMA POWER: Yes. There was over 275,000 of our 1.6 million customers that did experience the service interruption. But at this point, about eight plus hours into restoration, we've already restored over half of our impacted customers.

WHITFIELD: Oh, well, that's good news for a lot of folks. And clearly, you know, we're seeing big branches, trees that have gone down. That's, you know what has taken down a lot of these power lines. But talk to me about, you know, the real obstacles on trying to address all these downed trees, downed power lines, you know, maintaining people's safety.

MORGAN: Yes. That's right. Safety is our most important value here at Alabama Power. So we are very cognizant of the work that's before us. Our crews are prepared for this. We bring in outside resources to help all of our crews that are here already. Everybody is already all hands on deck. So we have outside resources that are here also ready to assist.

WHITFIELD: So talk to me about, you know, what parts of your electrical system might have taken the biggest hit and how you address those things. MORGAN: So we address them as we find them. Really the trees, like you

mentioned before, are probably the biggest concern. Those large limbs or the trees themselves coming across the line. So that's what you'll probably see the most just out on the street or in your neighborhoods, and what it takes to get to those is probably a little slower than you would expect because you have to have the safety clearances in place in order to get the vegetation off of those lines before our crews can even get there to begin that service restoration.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Preemptively, were you already receiving a lot of assistance or support from other areas, I mean, outside of Alabama?

MORGAN: Yes, we were. You know, having a storm coming. We have a forecast for several days. We began preparing. We have great partnerships across the nation with other utilities. So we actually brought in peer utilities from across 25 states, including our sister company in Mississippi Power. They have sent crews over. So we were ready and prepared. We had folks stationed across the state knowing probably the path of the storm and where the most devastation would be. And we had folks sitting ready. Once it was safe to do so, they got to work.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meredith Morgan, thanks so much, of Alabama Power and all the best in your continued efforts to get everyone's power back going.

MORGAN: Thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. And don't forget CNN's new weather app has all the insight you need about conditions in your area and beyond. You can get it now in the Apple App Store.

All right, coming up, New Yorkers expressing outrage over the latest ICE shooting.

Protesters and elected officials demanding answers after ICE agents shot a man in the Bronx with his 5-year-old son in the car.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:13:33]

WHITFIELD: Officials will hold a press conference at the top of the hour in Erie, Pennsylvania, where police say eight people, including two children, are dead after a mass shooting in a home last night. Police responded to the scene after getting reports of shots fired outside the residence.

CNN's affiliate in Erie reports two women were found dead in the street and after the suspect refused to surrender police then entered the house, discovering other deceased victims, and the suspect, who apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

And in New York City, more outrage and protests after ICE agents shot and wounded an undocumented immigrant in his car while his 5-year-old son was in the backseat. Federal officials say the agents shot the man in self-defense.

CNN's Mark Morales is following the story.

What more do we know?

MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we have now a video image of just what happened in the moments after this shooting and what led up to it. And this kind of backstops with what we've been talking about with this sense of outrage, because it's not just so much about the incident itself, but it is about also how this -- this child, this 5-year-old child that belonged to Mr. Oscar Belgal was inside this car when this happened.

So we got some body camera footage from the NYPD yesterday that actually shows the perspective of the NYPD officers who arrived on the scene to figure out what's happening because they got 911 calls saying that there was somebody who was shot.

[15:15:04]

So they find Oscar Belgal who was handcuffed behind his back. And they decided to render aid. They took him, they actually threw him in the back of their police car. And you see them in real time driving as fast as they could to the nearest hospital so that he can get treatment. And later on, we also see the events that led up to that actual shooting. You actually see from this overhead camera vantage point, you see the officers from ICE that come up onto the car.

You see Oscar Belgal parking his vehicle and then out of the corner, you see both these officers, one coming up to the side panel, the other coming up close to the front of the vehicle, and that's when you see the incident really unfold with Oscar Belgal trying to pull away. Now you don't actually see the shooting take place, but you have enough from -- and you can see how quickly this whole incident unfolded.

Now, Tom Homan was talking about this incident this morning, and he -- he talked about how it's not just this incident, but they also want to look for charges related to this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: The men and women of ICE perform -- they perform exactly as they're trained. This man tried to run an officer over. He feared for his life. So he took action. And now this person is in custody. He'll be charged with a federal crime of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. But many of these instances could be avoided if they simply give us access to the bad guy in the safety and security of the jail, rather than release them in the community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Now, aside from that, there is still this giant question about the deportation itself. Now, Belgal has a team of attorneys that were from an immigrants rights group that are defending him now. But before we can even get to the question about deportation, there is this question about venue, specifically where can we actually hear this. And this is a little bit in the weeds, but ICE was actually taking Mr. Belgal out of the -- out of his hospital room and were taking him to Newark once his attorneys were filing the motion to try and get him out of ICE custody.

But that happened while he was in New Jersey. And of course, his attorneys filed this in New York. So now attorneys on both sides are going to have to haggle where they can actually hear this. And while this is all happening, Mr. Belgal is in custody. He finally had the chance to speak to his attorneys yesterday and said that he still had a bullet wound in his neck. He said the bullet lodged in and at the same time he was still very worried about the condition of his son -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. This is the second time we're hearing about a bullet wound still being untreated or a bullet still in the body of a suspect.

All right, Mark Morales, thank you so much.

All right. Still to come, the remnants of Isaias moving inland, bringing the threat of flooding, damaging winds and more power outages across the southeast. And here's a live earth cam picture from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where you can see strong winds and rain still hitting the area there. Despite that, some people have been out walking and strolling and enjoying the elements. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:38]

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, a tornado watch is in effect for parts of Georgia and South Carolina as the remnants of Hurricane Isaias move inland. The storm packed a powerful and deadly punch as it made landfall last night, leaving four people dead in Florida and Alabama.

And you can hear the fierce winds there drowning out meteorologist Reed Timmer as he tried to report on the storm. One business owner talked about the damage his restaurant suffered in Panama City Beach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN PALAMARCZUK, CO-OWNER, ANGRY TUNA SEAFOOD COMPANY: It definitely, you know, takes a toll on you. You know, we work so hard to get everything working, you know, perfectly and get everything in good running order. And then just to come and see it all just mangled and shattered is a little bit depressing.

It's hard to put a value on it at this moment. A lot of it is cosmetic, thank God. Not real structural damage. Obviously we haven't had a chance to look into a lot of the different elements, but we're probably, you know, right now we're probably looking at about, you know, 50,000 canopies, another 20,000, and just, you know, TVs and chairs and just all the different things that add up when it comes to what's back here.

So, you know, maybe between 50,000 and 75,000 is a good start. So, you know, time to get the doors open and start rebuilding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. It is a lot all at once, isn't it? Nearly 700,000 people are still without power as crews work to restore service to the region.

And turning to the West Coast, where Southern California is bracing for powerful winds and coastal flooding. A rare tropical storm watch is in effect for San Diego, as Tropical Storm Rachel is set to make landfall near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Melissa Nord.

Oh, my gosh. The hits keep coming. Just one big storm after another.

NORD: They really do. I mean, it's been coast-to-coast, Fred, that we're watching tropical systems this weekend. And this is the Pacific. It's been a really active Pacific season thanks to the warm waters with El Nino. That is Hurricane Simon not to be forgotten. It's a big deal, but it's this little storm here, Tropical Storm Rachel, that is going to be making landfall and bringing significant rain for this part of the country over the weekend and start of the week.

[15:25:01]

Here's the track, landfall happening over Baja, California, probably about 100 to 200 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border tonight. There is in yellow that tropical storm watch for San Diego, only the second time in recent history for one of those. But the steering currents actually pull the moisture with Rachel inland, helps to steer it, and it brings a lot of rain all the way up into the great basin as well.

So tonight, even tomorrow, both days, we have this level three out of four risk of excessive rainfall. And these are areas that typically see, for example, Palm Springs, less than five inches of rain for the whole year. Palm Springs averages 0.2 inches of rain for the whole month of October. They could see one to two inches of rain over the next 48 hours. So concern about desert flooding, flooding in San Diego as well. And we're also going to be dealing with some of those strong gusty winds and coastal erosion.

So you can see on radar right now the moisture just starting to move on shore. But the center of Rachel still several hundred miles offshore. Let me show you forecast radar. There's landfall happening. This is overnight 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time. So about midnight Pacific Time and then moving inland, the remnants of it still helping to fuel a lot of those heavy tropical rain showers to start the week as well.

So we are watching that. You can see that forecast rainfall. Again we've got San Diego there. We've got the Cleveland National Forest. And then we have the desert. So these areas in the desert could see, you know, one to three inches. There could be a few spots there that get five inches, and that will be a flood threat to watch.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. All right. More danger on the horizon.

Melissa Nord, thank you so much.

All right. Straight ahead, President Trump is taking his midterm message to traditionally red states. A look at why he's shoring up support in areas his party has long counted on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:27]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

At any moment now, President Trump is expected to take the stage there at a campaign rally in deep red Tennessee. He canceled a planned trip to Alabama today because of the hurricane and is instead in Tennessee to boost GOP candidates in that state just about three weeks now before the upcoming midterm elections.

And CNN's Steve contorno is there.

All right. Last we spoke last hour was about third full. How's it looking? Now, we know that the president has landed in Tennessee and will be there shortly.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he has landed, Fred. We are expecting him to take the stage any moment now. It is filling up in here and in talking to folks inside the room many of them haven't had the chance to see the president before this. You know, if you are a Republican from Michigan or one of these other swing states, you've had plenty of chances to see Trump over the years.

People from Tennessee, not so much. And so that is one of the reasons why he has chosen to come to some of these Republican states that don't necessarily have competitive races this fall. They want -- this is sort of a last hurrah for the president, where the last chance he will have to meaningfully campaign while president. And so GOP officials tell me that is some of the purpose behind these events in Republican-leaning states.

Now, they also are trying to gin up energy on the GOP side because there is certainly a lot of questions whether or not Republicans who have supported the president in his elections will show up for him in these midterm elections, and all these stops he is making he is trying to encourage Republicans to vote as though he is on the ballot. We heard that from him in Syracuse. I've heard that from him multiple times in recent weeks.

The challenge, though, is that Republicans are -- many of them are concerned, and many of those first-time voters who came out for him remain somewhat disenchanted by his return to office because of this war with Iran, because of the cost of gas and groceries. You know, the president himself likes to say that affordability is an issue created by Democrats to make his economy look bad. But all of the Republicans or most Republicans who have taken the stage already today have at least nodded to the economic pain and anxieties that many voters have, and realizing that this could be potentially a major headwind for Republicans heading into these final weeks now.

Coming out of this event in Tennessee, we do expect President Trump to spend more time in traditional battlegrounds. Some of these states that have very competitive races that could determine the future of the Senate and the House. But today, there are not very many competitive races in Tennessee, at least ones that we're watching nationally -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Contorno, thank you so much, with the backdrop of always fascinating playlist to get the crowd warmed up. We'll check back with you. Thanks so much.

All right. Joining me right now also to talk about the upcoming midterms is Bill Britt. He is the editor-in-chief at "Alabama Political Reporter." He's also the executive producer and host of the "Voice of Alabama Politics."

Bill, great to see you.

BILL BRITT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ALABAMA POLITICAL REPORTER: Great to see you, Fredricka. I love watching you on television and enjoy your reporting.

WHITFIELD: Well, thank you so much. I'm so glad that we get a chance to reconnect today.

[15:35:02]

All right. So the president, he was supposed to be in Alabama today for a football game, but stayed away because of the hurricane. So he's now campaigning, as we see there in Tennessee, getting ready to take the stage there at any moment. So what are you seeing and hearing on the ground in Alabama about how voters in that state are feeling about Trump and Republicans overall, and, you know, if they feel like it is impactful for the president to have face time?

BRITT: Well, you know, this is a very red state. You know, we have some blue areas and some purple areas coming on, but it's a very red state. And he held a rally here in '15, 2015 in Mobile, and people were so welcoming to him and supported him. Jeff Sessions, of course, at the time, the junior senator from Alabama, endorsed him, one of the first major people to endorse him. So he has a special place in the heart of Alabamans.

WHITFIELD: And later become his attorney general. But go ahead. Yes.

BRITT: Well, that didn't work out so well.

WHITFIELD: Didn't work out so good.

BRITT: No, no, not at all. But, you know, I think the president likes to come to Alabama because Alabama is kind of a mirror for him. You know, it's like a flattering mirror. He looks at the crowd. They cheer, they stand, they applaud. They salute. And he likes what he sees. Right now his polls even here in Alabama are falling and failing. So privately -- go ahead. I'm sorry.

WHITFIELD: No, no. Go ahead. You're making a great thought. You're actually -- you're already answering my next questions. So I'm like, go ahead.

(LAUGHTER)

BRITT: Well, let's go, so I've been married 37 years. I just tried to get it out of the way. But he likes it here, but the polling here in many areas has shifted dramatically against him. Madison County, Jefferson County, Mobile, Tuscaloosa. These are -- and Madison is huge. That is the rocket space and rocket center, our technology hub. And it is the fastest growing spot in Alabama. And he's deeply underwater there.

Now very -- still very popular in the rural communities and in the redder districts of our state. But this is a total contrast to anything we've ever seen because these are high quality polls from corporations that share their data with us from time to time. And so they're watching what's going on. I mean, we've seen ads change in the congressional races where it's gone from Trump, Trump, Trump, to a guy standing in front of his tire store talking about the price of gas and the, you know, he's going to work hard to bring it down and grocery prices down.

So this is what we're seeing on the ground in Alabama and I think across the country.

WHITFIELD: All right. So the polling is showing, you know, the president is underwater. However, you know, and you say a lot of the voters are kind of in sync with some of that polling. The president did just hire a new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, and she is trying to make the TV rounds.

And it sounds like she is also casting doubt on the polls, just as we have seen from the president of the United States. And she continues to defend Trump's record. And maybe this is a prelude to what we're going to see more of when she steps into the job officially on Monday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE ZACHARIA, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Trump has made the case and delivered historic results. I would have loved to see more from our congressional Republicans and Senate. I think President Trump has done everything in his power to do that.

Look, I believe -- I don't know how much I believe all of the polling numbers. President Trump has come out behind these candidates and said, I'm going to support them. I'm going to support the America First candidates and those who are going to deliver results. And so that is going to, I hope, be effectuated by the time the election rolls around in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So that's just kind of maybe a sample of more to come, Bill. I mean, is it going to be kind of an echo chamber in that press room?

BRITT: Well, naturally there's going to be that. And this is the world we live in now. You know, it goes back to the you repeat the lie often enough and loud enough that people start to believe it. And again, I'm not accusing her of being a liar, but polls are real. They aren't something that is subject to the whim of a candidate. You know, people don't pay hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporations because they don't believe the results that they're going to get are factual.

And that's what we're seeing here in Alabama. Again, Alabama is not going to turn blue or purple anytime soon. But, again, to just deny the reality has been, let's say, a hallmark of this administration.

[15:40:05]

And now the reality is that he promised that gas would be lower, groceries would be lower. The prices of housing would be lower. He made these promises. And they've not come true. I mean, of course, he also said if we voted for Kamala Harris, that we'd have wars in the Middle East and the gas prices would be high and that, you know, groceries would be high. And people voted for Kamala Harris, and, you know, that's what we've got right now.

WHITFIELD: So as you just underscored, you know, Alabama still very red. And I wonder, even though, you know, you're talking about the gas prices and the grocery prices, people are very upset. Do you feel like many of those Republican voters in that state, because they are upset, and you said they're dismayed because, you know, the president has not delivered on some of those promises, will they refrain from voting altogether, or do you see them crossing the line and voting for Democrats or do you see them sticking with the president and his agenda, even though they're disappointed that some of these promises were not fulfilled?

BRITT: Well, one of the things that, you know, we hear and see and talk to people is that they're not going to turn and vote for a Democrat necessarily. That's not necessarily going to happen. What they are going to do is stay home. And we saw those in the primary elections. The Republican turnout was way lower than in any general primary we've seen in recent years. While the Democratic turnout was like 100,000 more, the Republican turnout was about 100,000 less.

So that tells me that people are staying home because they're not happy with the candidates that they have. And again, that's what is most likely that people are going to just stay home. And because they don't want to vote for a Democrat, because, you know, Alabama has spent years denigrating what it means to be a Democrat. So they'll just stay home.

WHITFIELD: All right.

BRITT: Now, could I be surprised? Yes, but I don't get surprised very often.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bill Britt, we learned so much. Thank you so much. With the "Alabama Political Reporter." Great having you.

BRITT: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you.

All right. In this news just in to CNN, a Philadelphia police officer has been shot and killed, another officer injured after responding to a report of a man with a gun. We've got details after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:39]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Breaking news out of Philadelphia, where officials say a police officer is dead and another injured after a gunman shot them multiple times. Police say 40-year-old Shane Sieber was shot early Saturday while responding to a report of a man with a gun. Sieber, a 10-year veteran of the force, died after undergoing surgery. The second officer is in stable condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BETHEL, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: He fought valiantly, but he lost his life today. I want to say I appreciate all of the calls and all of the support we received. When we left out of here this morning we had an immense amount of hope. I'm grateful to the staff of Presbyterian. They worked valiantly, but fortunately, his wife was able to be by his side before he passed, as well as family. And we're grateful for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A suspect is in custody. Governor Josh Shapiro has ordered flags flown at half-mast to honor Sieber, who leaves behind a wife and two young children.

New today, a man has died after he entered a tiger enclosure at a wildlife park in the U.K.. Police are short on details but said emergency workers were unable to save the man, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The tiger was not injured in the incident. The wildlife park in Northern England has been closed for the remainder of the weekend.

And with us now is Ron Magill, conservation liaison for the Zoo Miami Foundation and the former communications director at Zoo Miami.

Ron, glad you could be with us. So your reaction when you heard what happened today that someone would go into a tiger enclosure and die.

RON MAGILL, CONSERVATION LIAISON, ZOO MIAMI FOUNDATION: Well, I'm terribly sorry for the family. This is a horrible tragedy. But the fact that he entered the enclosure and then died does not really surprise me. I unfortunately lost a colleague, a worker with me at our zoo in Miami back in the '90s when he mistakenly walked into the exhibit with the tiger, and the tiger also killed him.

So I understand the tragedy that this is. But having said that, the tiger was simply being a tiger. And what we're seeing here is, I think, I don't know the whole story behind why this man went in there.

[15:50:00]

But so many people look at animals in zoos and think that they're pets or that they're tame, or they're some ways not wild. And people need to remember this. There's an old saying that says you can take an animal out of the wild, you can never take the wild out of the animal. And the reality is tigers in zoos are probably even more dangerous than tigers in the wild because they've lost that natural fear of humans.

And what this tiger did was, to draw an analogy, is this gentleman went into its territory. You know, we have what we call your stand your ground laws here for human beings, right? If somebody goes into your house, you're able to defend yourself in your house. That's all this tiger was doing.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Yes. I mean, again, we don't know the whole story and the circumstances, but you're right. You paint the picture of, you know, how territorial this tiger might have been and how when people go to these wildlife preserves or zoos they're looking at these animals and think, oh, they're so beautiful and cuddly, and I want to get close. And even though there were likely barriers all around the habitat, somehow people are curious enough to, you know, try to challenge that?

MAGILL: And sometimes, Fredricka, the problem is you can't just guarantee against human error or human desire to do something. You know, we try to make this, and I say this with profound respect for my profession, but we have to do a better job in making people understand that these are not Disney animals. This is not just a play exhibit. We do not play with these animals. They are not our pets.

And on the contrary, they can be much more dangerous because they have lost that natural fear of people. This is not the first time we've heard of an incident like this. Unfortunately, this one ended very tragically. But I want to make people understand this was in no way the tiger's fault.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, most recently, you know, two people were arrested for breaking into the enclosure of Punch the Monkey. I mean, he was, you know, kind of the darling out of Tokyo. People have been fascinated with how he would cradle this, you know, stuffed animal, and had really become a viral sensation. I mean, so what does need to happen in your view? Maybe adding enclosures or zoos to remind people, you know, that you just can't get close. Don't do it under any circumstances, whether it's a little baby monkey or whether it's, you know, a fierce tiger.

MAGILL: You're absolutely correct. I mean, monkeys, as a matter of fact, can really give you some very, very serious injuries. The bottom line is we have to make our habitats where we're trying to create the most secure barriers possible without making it such an obstruction of a view but you get to appreciate the animal. You know, there's an old saying that says, in the end, you protect what you love, you love what you understand, and you understand what you're taught.

Our job at zoos is to teach people about the beauty of this wildlife. But at the same time, we've got to make sure we're doing a good job of making them understand that it is wildlife. There's a big difference between domesticated animals and wild animals. And a tiger, and its instinct is going to defend its territory. So this tragedy does not surprise me. It makes me terribly sad, but it does not surprise me.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You know, and you said, you know, the tiger was not harmed. You know, in some instances we have seen, you know, where officials will euthanize the animal, even though, you know, they were in captivity.

MAGILL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I mean, what are the assessments now drawn on whether to do that? And I'm with you. I'm an animal lover. I'm glad they didn't euthanize this tiger, because, like you said, it was his territory.

MAGILL: Right.

WHITFIELD: But what are the assessments made when a decision like that is rendered?

MAGILL: Well, people have to understand, first of all, what caused it. This gentleman obviously went into the tiger's habitat. Now they may reassess what the barriers are around the habitat. You know, we had an incident a few years back where a little boy fell into a gorilla moat at the Cincinnati Zoo. They ended up having to shoot the gorilla. Thankfully, the boy survived, but tragically, the gorilla had to be shot. And Cincinnati Zoo then had to make bigger barriers, greater barriers.

It's just so hard to do something to guarantee against someone who's determined to do something. We see this over and over again. People trying to get close to animals, trying to cuddle the animals, trying to think of some anthropomorphic that this is their pet, you know, Spot the Dog, and it's not the case. So we have to make people aware. Hopefully with stories like this, people can see this and say, look, these animals are not something that should be approached.

WHITFIELD: Yes, they're real, not toys.

MAGILL: Yes, they are. Yes, they are.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ron Magill, great to talk to you. Thank you so much. We'll be right back.

MAGILL: Always a pleasure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:59:01] WHITFIELD: All right. What will the "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" crew have to say about the week's biggest headlines? Comedians Rosebud Baker and Larry Wilmore are the special guests on tonight's new episode. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., HOST, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU": Ossoff hit Collins hard over his ties to white nationalists. Correct, Michael? Including Collins' son-in-law, who was a neo-Nazi social media influencer.

Let's say it again. Collins' son-in-law is a neo-Nazi social media influencer.

Amber, every organization needs a digital and social strategy to have outreach. It's not unrealistic for this organization to also need to reach the youth.

AMBER RUFFIN, CO-CAPTAIN: How easy is that guy's job?

WOOD: Hey, you guys, get ready with me before we go to a march. Now, today I'm wearing --

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, CO-CAPTAIN: Check out the look. I've got my khakis. I've got my tiki torch.

WOOD: Make sure you hate and subscribe.

LARRY WILMORE, COMEDIAN: Exactly.