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CNN This Morning

K.C. Police Say, 1 Dead in Super Bowl Rally Shooting, 21 Shot; U.S. Has Intel on Russian Nuclear Capabilities in Space; Today, Trump Court Hearings in New York and Georgia. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 15, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is absolutely a tragedy, the likes of which we would have never expected in Kansas City.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One person dead, more than 20 shot and injured at a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody started running, there was screaming. We didn't know what was happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parades, rallies, schools, movies, it seems like almost nothing is safe.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: New concerns about Russia's nuclear capabilities in space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The House Intelligence Committee chairman sounded the alarm on a, quote, serious national security threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is highly sensitive intelligence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's put our national security at risk, and he's really inhibited our ability to respond.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Steady hands are at the wheel, we're working on it and there's no need for alarm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: CNN embedded with the U.S. Navy in the Southern Red Sea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 80306, I assess an anti-ship cruise missile inbound.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, U.S. warships try to shoot down the Houthi missiles before they can cause any real damage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could have seconds or we could have minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are prepared for anything that they might throw our way.

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everyone. It's the top of the hour. I'm Phil Mattingly with Poppy Harlow in New York.

And we are now learning 9 children are among the 21 people hit in yesterday's deadly shooting after the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City. One person has been confirmed dead. She's been identified as local radio D.J. Lisa Lopez-Galvan by her station. You can hear the gunshots ring out in this video.

Watch as the huge crowd begins running for safety, a swarm of police, state troopers, FBI agents and paramedics with gurneys rushing in. Around 1 million people were downtown and Chiefs players somewhere still on stage for the victory rally when the gunfire erupted nearby. Police say three people are now in custody for questioning.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And take a look at this video. It shows the moment that one of them was tackled by a couple of fans who were in the right place at the right time. They held him down until police arrived. One of them described the intense moment to CNN.

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PAUL CONTRERAS, SUPER BOWL PARADE SHOOTING WITNESS: I just heard somebody yelling to stop this guy, tackle him.

You don't think about it. It's just a reaction. He got close to me. I got the right angle on him and I hit him from behind. As I'm taking him down to the ground, I see the gun on the ground. So, I take him down and I put all my body weight on him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Whitney Wild is live in Kansas City. Good morning, Whitney. Glad you're there. What is the condition of the children injured and also I wonder what you're hearing from witnesses as this investigation goes on?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, fortunately, those children are expected to be OK. Not one of them is in critical condition. Not one of them has a life-threatening injury. So, if there is any glimmer of good news, certainly it is that those children will recover from their injuries.

Here in Kansas City, what we hear from witnesses is that it was just scene of total chaos. It was a perfect day that was destroyed in an instant when gunfire rang out.

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WILD (voice over): A Super Bowl celebration marred by tragedy. In Kansas City, gunfire rang out following the parade, celebrating the Chiefs' back-to-back Super Bowl wins. CHIEF STACEY GRAVES, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI POLICE: I'm angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment.

WILD: Kansas City Police say three people are in custody for questioning. One person was killed and at least 21 others were shot.

In a statement to CNN, Kansas City area radio station KKFI confirmed D.J. Lisa Lopez-Galvan was killed, writing they are devastated by this loss as Lisa worked to bring a voice to the K.C. community.

Children's Mercy Hospital confirms at least nine of the gunshot victims are children. Kansas City schools were closed Wednesday to allow students to attend the celebration. Kansas City's mayor spoke about how he even considered bringing his child to the event.

MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS (D-KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI): I don't want us to have to in our country for every big event think about a concern of being shot.

WILD: The Kansas City Chiefs also speaking out, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes and defensive end Charles Omenihu, who posted on X, when are we going to fix these gun laws? How many more people have to die to say enough is enough?

An estimated 1 million people gathered in downtown Kansas to celebrate. When shots rang out in quick succession, just steps from where the team was holding a rally.

ALYSSA MARSH-CONTRERAS, SUPER BOWL PARADE SHOOTING WITNESS: You just hear pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And like I said, we're at a celebration and I think a lot of people thought it were fireworks because nobody really ran or anything.

WILD: Witnesses in the crowd spotted the alleged shooter and gave chase.

[07:05:01]

TONY, SUPER BOWL PARADE SHOOTING WITNESS: Once he took off running, like, instinctually, I just took off running after him. He was hopping barriers, I was hopping barriers, just trying to stay in somewhat distance of him. In that way, I could I could see a cop and help him identify that was the guy.

WILD: Good Samaritans tackled the individual. Moments later, police detained him. One of those Good Samaritans says he saw a gun.

CONTRERAS: You don't think about. It's just a reaction. He got close to me, I got the right angle on him and I hit him from behind. And when I hit him from behind, I either jarred the gun out of his hand or out of his sleeve because as I'm taking him down to the ground, we were fighting him to keep him down. We didn't want to let him up and take off on him because he had one gun, he may had another one in that big, bulky jacket.

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WILD (on camera): Those good Samaritans absolutely critical to making sure that there is justice for this tragic event.

Justin Reid tweeted this. Kids are being shot. Somebody didn't come home tonight. We cannot allow this to become normal. Poppy, Phil?

HARLOW: Whitney, thank you very much for the reporting. We'll get back to you soon.

And later this hour, Missouri legislator Manny Abarca joins us. He was there with his five-year-old daughter, Camila.

Multiple sources tell CNN there is new U.S. intelligence on Russia's ability to put a nuclear anti-satellite system into space. House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner is warning it is a, quote, serious national security threat.

MATTINGLY: Now, U.S. officials say the system is not in orbit yet and would not be a weapon to drop on Earth but it could possibly be used against U.S. nuclear command and control satellites. Some lawmakers think President Biden should declassify all the information about it and make it public.

CNN's Katie Bo Lillis joins us now. Quite a whirlwind day of reporting yesterday, and it was fascinating to watch the reporting play out as you guys were unraveling various pieces of this hour by hour. Where exactly do we stand on what this is all about?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: So what we know right now is that this intelligence describes what officials tell CNN is a Russian effort to develop a new nuclear anti-satellite system for use in space.

Now, important to emphasize here that it is not clear at this point whether or not this is in reference to a nuclear armed anti-satellite system or a nuclear powered anti-satellite system, which is obviously a pretty critical distinction.

But we do know that this kind of system, in theory, is designed to target America's vast network of both commercial and military satellites, to include the satellites that provide vital command and control for the United States over its nuclear arsenal.

Now, also important to note, as you mentioned, that we are told that this system is not yet operational, it's not in orbit, and it's not clear at this point how far the Russian technology has even progressed.

And so officials describing this to us as a concerning long-term strategic threat, something important, something America should be responding to, but not necessarily an immediate emergency, as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee had originally portrayed it in his very cryptic public statement yesterday that he had information on a national security threat.

So, take a listen to what the chairman -- or, sorry, the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, had to say later in the day, trying to take down the temperature a little bit.

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JOHNSON: I want to assure the American people there is no need for public alarm.

Steady hands are at the wheel, we're working on it, and there's no need for alarm.

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LILLIS: Johnson -- excuse me, Turner now actively pushing for the Biden administration to declassify and release as much of the information as he can about this intelligence, but still lots of questions, Phil and Poppy, about why the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee moved at this point to try to push this issue into the public sphere.

MATTINGLY: Yes, a couple of key legislative debates ongoing as well, which I think some people have been pointing to.

Katie Bo Lillis, I'm sure another very busy day ahead for you. Thanks so much.

Let's bring in CNN National Security Analyst and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Director, I appreciate your time this morning.

I want to start with kind of how Katie Bo laid out the dynamics of the House Intelligence Committee chair putting out a statement that is very cryptic, surprising everyone and definitely surprising the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who was supposed to brief the gang of eight today. He said it was on the books. What's your sense of why here?

JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, a couple things, Phil. It could be either Chairman Turner, who is a very serious-minded member of Congress, is trying to garner support, perhaps, for support aid to Ukraine. That's one possibility.

At least one media report in The Washington Post speculated that it's an effort to gain support for what's called Section 702, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is a crucial, maybe the crucial tool used for the collection of foreign intelligence.

[07:10:01]

That's quite important for the intelligence community. And The Washington Post report says that this intelligence was derived via Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

I don't know that but that's certainly a possibility because what he did is certainly attention-getting and very unusual, particularly in light of the forthcoming briefing that Jake Sullivan talked about. So, I don't know what the motivation was. There's a very crucial part of the U.S. National Intelligence Community called the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, which is at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, which is in his district. Chairman Turner is very connected and supportive of that organization. So, I wonder whether he got a briefing or something on this threat.

The other thing I would say, Phil, is -- in context, is that both the Russians and perhaps even more so, the Chinese have very capable array of space weapons, meaning to space, in space or from space. And so I think a lot of them are quite scary if you consider them, if you think about them. So, I think this is one of those threats, and it is apparently, according to Katie Bo's reporting, not yet operational.

HARLOW: What do you make, Director, of Mike Turner's call for the Biden administration to declassify this? Is that necessary? Is that wise?

CLAPPER: Well, this is, Poppy, a classic problem you have with intelligence, being transparent with it. And if you do so, are you compromising sources and methods? And I think that's somewhat the dilemma that the intelligence community would face by declassifying everything about it or even some things about it. I think potentially even this revelation is potentially damaging from that standpoint. Again, we don't know the details here.

And this administration has been pretty aggressive about the use of intelligence and declassifying it. And so I think it will lean forward, but it will be tempered by the concern about protection of sources and methods.

HARLOW: Yes. Well, Director Clapper, thank you very much for joining us this morning on all of this.

CLAPPER: Thanks.

MATTINGLY: Well, in just a few hours, Donald Trump will be in yet another courtroom, this time here in New York, for his Stormy Daniels hush money case, the other case in his orbit making news as well today. That's next.

HARLOW: A new body camera footage of a Florida officer opening fire on a suspect inside a patrol car after he thought he heard gunshots. It was actually an acorn.

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MATTINGLY: Welcome back. This morning, two pivotal court hearings for Donald Trump, one in New York, the other in Atlanta. In a Manhattan courtroom, a judge will hear arguments as Trump's legal team tries to have his hush money case thrown out. Trump is expected to personally attend.

And in Georgia, he wants Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis disqualified for having an improper relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade. He's expected to be the first witness there today. Willis is also set to take the stand, not clear when he's currently. This hearing is part of the Georgia election interference case.

We have team coverage on both of these cases, Kristen Holmes in New York, Zach Cohen is down in Atlanta for us. Where in the world is Kristen Holmes will usually tell me whether we're doing courthouse or campaign in Trump world today. Today, it's courthouse. What do we expect? Why did he decide to go to this case or to this courthouse specifically?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Phil. Today, is courthouse and it's also freezing and not West Palm Beach. I just want to note that I'm no longer in West Palm Beach and I am very aware of that.

Now, Donald Trump did choose to go to this trial because he was convinced by his advisers that this was more important. This is a very critical day for the former president because he is likely to learn whether or not he's going to have to sit through a criminal trial during the campaign season ahead of that November 2024 election.

Now, his lawyers are calling on the judge to dismiss this case entirely. They argue that it's political, but I'm told by legal experts that that's not likely to happen.

The other crucial thing that we are learning today is whether or not that March 25th trial date is going to stand. That is the big question. Are Donald Trump and his team going to have to try and figure out how to navigate a campaign for president while he is also sitting in a courtroom in New York?

So, let's talk about what exactly this case is. Just a reminder, this is one of the four criminal cases that he is facing. It is the hush money case. He is accused of alleged cover-up scheme and it is falsifying business records essentially to hide reimbursement payments to Michael Cohen, payments that Michael Cohen allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair ahead of the 2020 -- 2016 -- excuse me, I used to say 2024 -- election.

Now, Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges. He has denied having the affair. But, really, the big crucial thing today, does that trial date stand? Do we learn that Donald Trump is likely to sit through a criminal trial while again on his third bid for the White House?

HARLOW: It's astonishing. Zach in Georgia, another astonishing thing is going to happen today. The lead prosecutor in this Georgia election subversion case is going to be in the witness box, is going to take the stand and testify about whether basically there was impropriety, right, whether there was financial gain for the D.A. in this case that could lead to dismissal. What do we need to know?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: That's exactly right, Poppy. And that was something that Donald Trump almost couldn't pass up. He, of course, did decide to go to New York and attend the hearing in the hush money case.

But here in Fulton County, we are going to potentially see Fani Willis, the district attorney who is overseeing the Georgia conspiracy election subversion case here in Fulton County.

[07:20:08]

We could see her have to take the stand and testify about this personal relationship she has admitted to having with her top prosecutor, Nathan Wade.

And, really, the question at hand here is not if they had a relationship. She's already admitted they did, but it's whether she benefited financially from that relationship. That's what defense attorneys in this case are alleging.

And listen to what the judge in this case, Scott McAfee, said on Monday when he told lawyers on both sides that we need to have this hearing today.

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JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE, SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY: I think it's possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification. I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations.

The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit, again, if there is, if there even was one.

So, because I think it's possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations.

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COHEN: If those allegations are proven, the judge ultimately decides to disqualify Fani Willis. Sources inside the D.A.'s office have told me that they feared that could derail this entire case. So, really, it's not an understatement to say the Georgia elections subversion case could hang in the balance with this hearing starting today.

HARLOW: Yes. It's so interesting. It really could. Zach, thank you in Atlanta, Kristen Holmes in New York, sorry, it's not warmer but we're glad you're there.

So, the actual courtroom where Trump will continue to hash out all of this and then there's the court of public opinion, right, you guys the voters and the relationship between the two. There's only one person qualified to break all that down for us. That is our Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten. Good morning.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Good morning.

HARLOW: What do we need to know? ENTEN: Yes, what do we need to know? I think what you need to know is that the public views these cases very, very seriously. Let's start here. Charges against Trump are very serious. The Georgia election case, look at this, 53 percent of Americans, the majority believe that the charges in that case are very serious. So, if those charges perhaps got dismissed, that would be very, very bad news for perhaps those who want Donald Trump to be in trouble.

In the New York hush money case, on the other hand, even if he's more legal trouble there in terms of the charges against him being very serious, just 31 percent of Americans believe that they are very serious.

Now, if you look on a slightly different question, did Trump do something illegal? Again, look here, the majority of Americans believe, in fact, he did do something illegal on the Georgia election case, while in the New York Cush money case, just 34 percent, just the third believe he did something illegal there. So, very different cases when we're looking at this from the public point of view.

MATTINGLY: Yes. I mean, where public opinion really matters, in my view, is how does it impact the election, right? Like, how are voters viewing those things? They may think he's guilty and still vote for him. We've seen that over the course of the last couple of years. How does that carry over?

ENTEN: Yes, how does that carry over? So, take a look here. Charges disqualified Trump from the presidency, if true, nearly a majority, 49 percent say that if the charges are true in the Georgia election case, they would, in fact, disqualify him, compare that to just 30 percent in the New York hush money case.

And perhaps most important, as I want to break this down among undecided voters in the Biden-Trump matchup, look here, in the Georgia election case, if the charges are true, they would disqualify Trump from the presidency, among those undecided voters, 58 percent say they would disqualify him in the Georgia election case compared to just a third in the New York hush money case. So, the fact is the Georgia election case could be the one if, in fact, he was, in fact, convicted that could change the tie of this election versus the New York hush money case, perhaps considerably less so.

MATTINGLY: Great numbers. Harry, Thank you, as always.

And be sure to watch CNN special coverage of both trials. That starts this morning at 9:00.

HARLOW: Authorities are on the hunt this morning for more information and a motive in the mass shooting of Chiefs' Super Bowl Parade. Up next, a Missouri legislature who was at that parade with his child joins us to tell us what he saw.

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[07:25:00] MATTINGLY: This morning, police in Kansas City are trying to figure out who opened fire and why at the end of the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory rally.

HARLOW: So, one person was killed, more than 20 people were injured. It is estimated that more than a million people were there yesterday afternoon for the celebration, including Jackson County, Missouri, legislator Manny Abarca and his five-year-old daughter, Camila. You see them right there. Look at all those smiles. It was supposed to be a day of so much joy.

Manny joins us now. Thank you for being with us. And I'm so sorry about what happened in such terrible circumstances to join us on.

You were there with your child. I don't think anyone can imagine what that's like. Can you take us to those moments?

MANNY ABARCA, SUPER BOWL RALLY SHOOTING WITNESS: Yes. I was collecting confetti to chaos within moments. We were there, thankfully, as a sponsor for the parade and we were celebrating with the team, with the Hunt family, with Coach Reid, and all of a sudden, through the partitions, a wave of people come rushing through, screaming, gun, run, police are coming, and I immediately grabbed Camila because she's so little and I was watching people being trampled.

I picked her up and I ran into a restaurant along with members of the team, with Hunt family members, and we hid. I ran into the bathroom and I blocked the doors and she continued to ask me the truth. And it broke my heart to think about the reality that my daughter knows what this is.

MATTINGLY: That was -- to be honest, it made my heart stop last night when I read that that happened to you. And I'm trying to figure out as a parent how to get your head around being in that moment, hearing that from your child. How is she today?

ABARCA: She's sleeping. But it was difficult because my wife called immediately when she found out, and I had to decline it, right, because this is the protocol. Don't answer the phone. Don't make noise. And I was frantically trying to text her as my phone was dying because, naturally, it was the end of the parade, end of the celebration. And I turned to Twitter because I was getting more text from people telling me what was happening on the outside while we're locked in a bathroom in the basement of Union Station.

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HARLOW: You posted on X yesterday that you knew Lisa Lopez-Galvan, who was the woman killed in all of this. Can you tell us about her?