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CNN This Morning

Search Underway for Suspect in Mass Shooting That Left 18 Dead; Moments Ago, Rockets Fired Toward Tel Aviv; Remembering the Victims of the Mass Shooting in Maine. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 27, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: What would you make of the response?

ANNMARIE HORDERN, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: Well, so he's going to have, I think, a little bit of trouble with some of these 18 Republicans that are in Biden-led districts because of his remarks in the past when it comes to issues that those districts really care about, but also the fact that it does feel like he is trying to do a little bit of moving to the center.

Someone quipped to me in Washington that the speaker, Johnson, above his door should have been a little bit to the right, not the center above his door. But it does look like he is trying to speak for the conference as a whole. And he has those 18 Republicans he has to look out for.

MATTINGLY: That's true.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: He was also behind in effort. I know we've got to go, but to criminalize homosexuality as well.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He's in for real education. He can only afford to lose 5 of those 18 members. And they're going to give him a near fall about what he needs to change on and how quickly he needs to change.

MATTINGLY: All right, Errol, Annmarie, thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

CNN This Morning continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The desperate manhunt continues with a terrified community and lockdown.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Federal and local officers combing the streets.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: He was known as an expert marksman.

LEROY WALKER SR., SON JOEY KILLED IN MAINE SHOOTING RAMPAGE: My son picked up a butcher knife and went after the gunman. That's when he shot my son to death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're coming to try to find him in a game of hide and seek.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Israeli military planning more raids after they launched the biggest assault on Gaza in ten years.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Those will focus on killing Hamas commanders, as well as destroying Hamas infrastructure.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The impetus is still on Israel now to allow fuel in and to stop people from dying.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: The United States striking two facilities in Syria, targeting Iranian-backed militias following attacks on US forces.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Lloyd Austin describing these as self-defense strikes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no mystery in terms of what the message is from the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Well, good morning. I'm Phil Mattingly with Poppy Harlow in New York.

This morning, the urgent manhunt continues for a mass shooter in Maine nearly 36 hours after the shooting rampage that left 18 people dead at a bowling alley and a bar and grill. At least 80 FBI agents have joined the hunt for the suspect, Robert Card, a U.S. Army reservist who is considered armed and dangerous.

The Coast Guard is also helping search by air and sea after Card's car was found at a boat launch. The suspect owns a small power boat, according to public records.

HARLOW: Last night, we did see SWAT teams with armored trucks converge on Card's last known address. They spotlighted the house and got a bullhorn to say, come out with your hands up. Nobody was inside. And police tell CNN they will be back in that area today.

As for the motive, there is a key theory that is emerging this morning. Law enforcement sources tell CNN that Card recently broke up with his girlfriend in the bowling alley and the bar and grill, the two places that he committed these mass murders were places that they liked and frequented and his ex-girlfriend was apparently signed up to play in a tournament at that restaurant tonight at the shooting.

MATTINGLY: And we're also learning the names of three more victims. Reuters reports a father and his 14-year-old son, Bill and Aaron Young, were among those killed at the bowling alley. In Michael Deslauriers II, his dad said he died charging at the gunman at the bowling alley.

Joseph Walker was the manager at Shemengees Bar and Grill. His dad says Walker died a hero trying to stop the gunman with a knife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Picked up a butcher knife and went after the gunman to try to stop him from killing other people. And that's when he shot my son to death, trying to save some more lives that he ended up losing his life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: John Berman and Omar Jimenez are live in Lewiston this morning at the two shooting locations.

John, to you first, you went up immediately after this happened. And it's sort of remarkable you've covered so many mass shootings. To have the suspected shooter on the loose still, John, this morning, what does it feel like there?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Very different. It's a very different situation to have this city. The second most populous city in Maine, Lewiston, Maine, some 40,000 people here, basically shut down because there is an active manhunt.

And residents here waking up to this second morning of an active manhunt, including right here in Lewiston, Shemengees Bar is right behind me. That is where eight people were killed. And now we know some of them heroically trying to stop the shooting as it was taking place.

Most of the search operations, the manhunt, that we've seen have not been taking place here in Lewiston where the shootings happened. They've been happening about 15 minutes east of here in two towns, Lisbon, Maine.

Lisbon is where the suspect, Robert Card, his car, his white Subaru was found near a boat launch on the Androscoggin River. We saw a lot of search activity around there in woods and neighborhoods yesterday. And then in dramatic fashion, in Bowdoin, Maine, which is south of Lewiston -- north of Lewiston, last night, we saw that operation at one of the last known residences of Robert Card, where law enforcement set off flash bangs.

[07:05:08]

They had loud speakers, they were saying, Robert Card, if you're in there, please come out.

Now, we're now told that standard operating procedure, they basically wanted to clear out that house to make sure that he wasn't there. It's possible they saw some kind of movement inside that house, but as of last night, did not turn up anything. And we are told we'll go back to that neighborhood, no doubt other neighborhoods around that area today.

Now, as you said, this is an operation that's taking place on the ground as we saw last night, but also from the air. There were helicopters going by. In fact, we just heard one a short time ago going by searching from the air and on the water as well.

Poppy, you mentioned the Coast Guard is involved over the ocean, which is, you know, a half hour east of here. There are all kinds of inlets and waterways there, but also rivers. The boat launched that his car was left on as the Androscoggin River. They've been searching by air up and down that.

The Kennebec River is north of here. The Coast Guard has been on the Kennebec, searching that river for possible escape routes for this man, Robert Card. And we know that a rifle was found in his car. He is still very much considered armed and dangerous this morning, which is why there is still that shelter in place order for a lot of people.

Let's get more on that now. Again, I'm at the bar where the second of the two shootings took place. Let's go to the Just-in-Time Bowling Alley, the recreation center, where it all began.

And, Omar, you know, this, this shelter-in-place order, people are waking up to this second day of it. What are you hearing?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. I mean, look, you can't go far without feeling a bit of unease in the community. There's not panic or anything like that. I think unease is probably the best word to describe it here.

And as you mentioned, just to give people an idea, we are about as close as police are allowing us to get to the bowling alley. This is where police say 40-year-old Robert Card first began shooting Wednesday night before making his way minutes later over to your location, John, where that bar and grill is.

But when you talk to folks in the area, but also when you look at their cell phones, which is where they've been getting a lot of these emergency alerts, the shelter-in-place order is going to continue today. Schools are going to continue to be closed, all out of an abundance of caution, but also to make sure law enforcement can do what they need to do.

And when you drive around town, even just last night, especially last night, places you think would be packed and open on a Thursday night, restaurants, convenience stores, all closed or at the very least empty. So, people are taking the shelter and place orders very seriously. And we are at the beginning of what is going to be a long recovery process for this community.

Take a listen to a mother and daughter who survived when the shooting began at the bowling alley at my location here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw someone get shot and like I saw blood splatter everywhere and they just fell off their chair and they weren't moving.

TAMMY ASSELIN, WITNESS: We got a table to flip over and we had a booth in that corner that we used to put a wall up but there really isn't much protection.

And, you know what, you know, in the whole time, I'm thinking we're sitting ducks.

Any minute I was waiting to see his face come around that corner and that was the most daunting part because I'm laying there on my back, laying flat and there's a table in front of me but I've got nowhere to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And that's the thing. I mean, look, at least 18 people were killed in these shootings but so many more lives were changed forever, even just trying to process what they just went through in those awful, awful moments.

And Lewiston isn't the biggest town around. It's the second biggest city in Maine but still just a community of about 35,000 or so. It's hard to go far without meeting someone who either knows someone directly affected by these shootings or they know someone who does.

So, it is going to be a long process of trying to get through this long after they find the suspect in this case, which many in the community hope happens soon. Phil, Poppy?

HARLOW: Omar Jimenez, John Berman, thank you very much.

And joining us now, retired Chief Deputy of the U .S. Marshal Service Matt Fogg. During his time in the Marshal Service, he served as the inspector in charge for International Criminal Police Organization. He helped track down more than 300 of America's most wanted fugitives. So, I really appreciate your time, Chief. You have so much experience trying to find people to do what these authorities are doing right now.

It is 35 hours since the shooting and we have not heard about any leads. It doesn't mean they don't have them. We haven't heard about any leads and he has not been caught.

[07:10:02]

Why?

MATT FOGG, RETIRED CHIEF DEPUTY, U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE: Well, first, thank you, Poppy, for having me on, and, certainly, condolences to the family and all those who lost individuals by this maniac.

But the bottom line is this. I think there are a lot of leads that are out there, but when you're searching for these people, you cannot tell it to the media, because whatever you tell the media, they compromise the lead.

But it tells me that they are doing all the right things, all the protocols that we have, and that we search for fugitives. You cover the area. At this point in time, they're following leads, looking to family members, anybody that might have an intimate contact with this guy, somebody from the inside.

But in the meantime, they just have to cover all the diverse urns (ph) that he's been to. So, that's what they're doing, using the technology, the infrared, the thermal machines and so forth. The bottom line is they're searching just about everywhere they can think of this man might go.

MATTINGLY: Matt, in your experience, how would a bio like what the suspect has, he's weapons trained, he's an outdoorsman, according to what we've been told, how does that change your approach trying to find him?

FOGG: Well, I mean, bottom line, I remember we were looking for Bernard Welch back in 1985 in that area, and we figured he was an avid woodsman. So, we hit several wooded areas searching for this guy. The reality of it is, is that when you're talking about moving out into the woods, this manpower, can you get enough people into areas that you think this man might be?

So, it's, they've got a real arduous task here, because the fact that, I mean, they're talking about he had a boat, maybe he did get that boat, maybe he was able to go to another location in the woods. I think somebody like this one, an expert that he was, when it came down to the military and so forth, that he kind of knew what he was going to do once he went in there and killed these folks. Because even if you look at the type of weapon he used and shooting those two, two, three rounds that really is round, that is very small, it can go through people just like a butter going through the knife and it's not a high recoil on it. So the bottom line is you could tell this man knew what he was doing.

So, I'm saying from that, authorities have to know that he had a plan. He had a plan that after he went and did what he did, he was going to go somewhere and maybe hunker down. And that could be what he's doing right now, just land low hoping that authorities will begin to back off at some point.

HARLOW: How long do people need to shelter in place there? I mean, at some point, kids got to go back to school and people have to go back to work.

FOGG: That's true. And the reality of it is, I guess, the municipalities, they just going to have to make that determination how long they want to stay in that mode. But the reality of it is as long as he stays out there, I mean, we look for Bernard Welch for three months And we end up catching him up in Pennsylvania somewhere and where the shooting was done in Rockville, Maryland.

So -- and I've tracked people around the country, and at some point, if it takes a while, life has to go back to normal.

MATTINGLY: Right. Retired Chief Deputy Matt Fogg, we appreciate your time and expertise, sir. Thank you.

FOGG: Thank you. MATTINGLY: Well just moments ago rockets fired toward Tel Aviv. Our crews on the ground there just saw some of the explosions. We'll go there live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

MATTINGLY: Just moments ago, rockets fired toward Tel Aviv. Our crews on the ground there saw some of the explosions.

CNN Anchor Erin Burnett joins us live from Tel Aviv. Erin, put in context what's happening right now. We saw the second targeted raid by IDF forces into Gaza. We've seen continued rocket strikes coming towards Israel. Where do things actually stand?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Well, yes, there was the second significant ground assault by the IDF forces on Gaza overnight. They were targeting command control centers as well as commanders within, they say, the most significant Hamas brigade. That was the target overnight. And we did just, in response, Al-Qassam Brigades did take credit for what we just saw, which was a strike of about five rockets here on Tel Aviv.

The alerts you get from the Iron Dome are very specific to a very small geographical area. So, it was near here. We could actually see there were about five rockets that came in from Gaza. Obviously, they come from the south to Tel Aviv. And there was at least either a rocket or part of a rocket that did break through. So, we could see -- I don't know if we have the video for you, but we could see some smoke not far away from that impact site.

And, obviously, you don't have an Iron Dome in Gaza. It's very different there. You know, you've got hundreds of Israeli strikes a day. But, nonetheless, it is still the complete randomness that causes the broader fear.

I was speaking with someone that I see here every day, and the apartment building next to them was hit by one of those rocket attacks from Al-Qassam Brigades that actually came through. So, the apartment building next door was hit. Everything shakes, glass breaks, children are terrified. And that is the reality of daily life.

But, again, here on the Israeli side, they are protected by the Iron Dome, at least from those rockets that are coming out of Gaza over that very short distance, Phil and Poppy.

HARLOW: Can you just, Erin, explain what it's like because Tel Aviv was such a bustling city, right? I mean, people are out around all the time. And now there are -- so when these rockets are coming in, and I know that they get the sirens, but do they all go into their bomb shelters? Is that what they do?

BURNETT: They mostly do. They mostly do. So, I've been in various places. I mean, when we've been even further south and we've come under a barrage with you -- actually went live with you all, about 60 rockets came in, people do absolutely go for shelter. They do in Tel Aviv as well because they know that the sirens are localized.

So, I've been out on the street and people literally just start sprinting. So, I've ended up in the closet of sort of a place where donations are gathering for people to send to kibbutz in the south. I've ended up in a restaurant cooler, different areas and people do definitely run.

[07:20:01]

And, obviously, they generally know where to go, right? You want to take shelter on the north side of a building because these rockets that are coming from Gaza are coming from the south. That's a reality of daily life here of what they know.

Again, they're protected by the Iron Dome. I mean, that is the reality. I have the success rate of those is 95 to 97 percent. I have those seen, you know, when we came under the 60 rockets barrage, rockets get through. Rockets hit part of a hospital. Rockets sit in apartment buildings. So, that definitely is the reality of it. And but the Iron Dome protection system, again, emphasizing four rockets from Gaza over that short distance is extremely effective.

HARLOW: Wow. Erin, that really -- you can visualize just what it's like, and you've experienced it yourself multiple times. Thank you for the reporting from Tel Aviv. We'll get back to you very soon.

MATTINGLY: Well, authorities in Maine are still searching for the suspect in the mass shootings there, the challenges they face in the massive, urgent manhunt for Robert Card. That's next.

HARLOW: Of course, this morning, we're learning more about the victims. You will hear from family members who lost their loved ones.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Welcome back. John Berman here in Lewiston, Maine, down the street from Shemengees Bar, which is the site of where eight of the 18 people were killed here in Lewiston in these dual mass shootings.

[07:25:10]

This is where part of it took place. And we are learning so much more about the people at these two locations, which, by the way, are really pillars of this community. It's where people would go on average nights to hang out. They had regulars at the bowling alley and the bar. At the bar, Wednesday nights was known as Cornhole Night for the deaf community. You get a sense of how integrated they are to this community, the second most popular city in Maine where everyone knows each other.

Let's get much more information on the victims that we know about so far, Jason Carroll here with that. Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, what we're learning is that these victims come from all walks of life, all ages, one of the victims just 14 years old.

And it's becoming more and more clear that some of these victims fought for their lives and tried to stop the shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice over): The magnitude of what happened coming into focus as authorities removed the bodies of some of those who perished in the shooting at the Shemengees Bar and Grill restaurant, police say of those who were killed, eight died at the bar, including Leroy Walker's son, Joseph.

His father says his son died when he tried to stop the shooter.

WALKER: My son actually -- because he's manager of the bar and everything else -- picked up a butcher knife and went after the gunman to try to stop him from killing other people. And that's when he shot my son to death, trying to save some more lives that he ended up losing his life.

CARROLL: 40-year-old Bryan Macfarlane also identified as one of the victims. His sister says he was deaf and was there for a regular Wednesday night gathering of members of the deaf community and a Cornhole Tournament. His sister who is also deaf says his death is deeply felt from her family and the community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want people to know how big this has impacted the deaf community that you know we've lost four community members not only just, Brian but we've lost three other friends as well from this tragic incident in this community. It's a huge loss.

CARROLL: Another tournament participant, 39-year-old Peyton Brewer- Ross was killed, his brother confirmed to CNN. He leaves behind a two- year-old daughter, Elle (ph).

Also killed 42-year-old father of five Arthur Artie Strout, his father confirmed his death saying they were together right before the attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crazy part is just being with him just before it happened minutes, I mean ten minutes before it happened.

CARROLL: Minutes away from the bar more victims and more tragedy. Police say seven were killed at Just-in-Time Recreation Center, a bowling alley in Lewiston, including its manager. 34-year-old Tommy Conrad, he is survived by his nine-year-old daughter. Also killed 53 - year -old Tricia Acelin.

BOBBI NICHOLS, VICTIM'S SISTER: We were bowling and we heard a big bang and I wasn't sure what it was until I heard another shot. And we just kept running and running and running. And I kept asking, where's my sister, where's my sister, to like two hours later somebody came out and said that she called 911. And when she called 911 to save everybody, she lost her life because of it.

My sister is a hero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (on camera): And that's what we're hearing, John, just one painful story after another.

I want to give you some more updated information about those who were killed. According to Reuters, Bill Young and his 14-year-old son, Aaron, were among those who died at the bowling alley.

When it comes to mourning for so many in the community, it's very difficult for them to do that knowing that the shooter still has not been caught. John?

BERMAN: Jason, fathers, sons, brothers, sisters, you know, all lost here, so much lost in this community, which is grieving this morning, trying to grieve even though they're shut into their houses right now and fearful of what could come next as this shooter very much still on the run, this manhunt underway.

Jason Carroll, thank you very much.

Poppy, Phil, I'm going to go back to you.

HARLOW: But, John, you're so right because they can't even gather for vigils. They can't even really come all together to comfort one another because of this ongoing manhunt. It makes it even more excruciating for them.

John, thanks. We'll get back to you very soon.

And in Jason's reporting, you just heard from Leroy Walker speaking about his son, Joey, and how he died trying to go after the gunman to be a hero.

[07:30:07]

He's with us next.