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Sheriff: Shooting Suspect Told Investigators 'I Did It'; J.D. Vance Weighs in on School Shooting; Hunter Biden to Plead Guilty in Federal Tax Trial; Flood Threat for New Orleans Area. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 06, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, September 6. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING --

[06:01:21]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The GBI has arrested Colin Gray, age 54, in connection to the shooting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The father of the Georgia high school shooting suspect now under arrest, facing multiple charges.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Now is the time to do the work. Sleep when you're dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The clock ticking to election day, just 60 days to go.

The Harris campaign releasing a massive fundraising haul.

And a surprise announcement from Hunter Biden as he decides to plead guilty in his tax evasion trial.

Plus, got to love it on a Friday. Taylor Swift shows up to support boyfriend Travis Kelce at the NFL's season opener, of course, amid swirling rumors of a looming breakup.

Six a.m. on the East Coast, a live look at New York City on this Friday morning. Morning, everyone, we made it. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

We do begin once more in Winder, Georgia, where the father of the 14- year-old suspected of killing four people at his high school is now under arrest. Colin Gray is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree murder. Police say he bought his son, Colt, the weapon that was used in the school shooting, an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, for Christmas last year.

A gun for Christmas, given just months after the teen was investigated by police in connection with a threat to commit a school shooting that was posted on an online forum. As part of that investigation, police spoke with Colin Gray about his son's access to firearms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have weapons in the house?

COLIN GRAY, FATHER OF COLT GRAY: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they accessible to him?

GRAY: They are. I mean, there's nothing loaded, but they are down. But we actually -- we do a lot of shooting. We do a lot of deer hunting. He shot his first deer this year, you know. So, like, I'm pretty much in shock, to be honest with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well --

GRAY: I'm a little pissed off to be even really honest with you. In fact, if that is what was said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: At the time, investigators were unable to definitively connect Colt Gray to the threatening post.

But now, a little over one year later, the younger Gray is once again speaking with police, and it's a very different conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JUD SMITH, BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: I saw Colt in custody with handcuffs on. He is cooperating with it, as far as I know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still talking?

SMITH: He's still talking. He was -- he described, you know, "I did it."

But the thing that goes -- that we're trying to figure out, as a 14- year-old, why? Why would you -- why would you do this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. Our panel is here. We have Charles Ramsey, CNN senior law enforcement analyst, former chief of police for Washington, D.C.; Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor; Jeff Zeleny, CNN chief national affairs correspondent. We also have Meghan Hays, former director of message planning for the Biden White House; and Brad Todd, Republicans strategist and partner at the public strategy firm On Message.

Chief Ramsey, let me start with you about what we saw here from police charging Colin Gray. This is obviously something we also saw in the Michigan shooting with the parents of Ethan Crumbley. Is this, in your view, something that's warranted, considering the facts of the case? And is this something we're going to see more of?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I don't know how much more we'll see of it, and hopefully, we don't, because we don't have these kinds of incidents take place.

[06:05:04]

But in this particular case, I do believe it's warranted. I mean, when you look at -- at the totality of circumstances, this isn't just him buying an assault weapon for his son.

Months earlier, he received a knock on his door from the Jackson County sheriff, informing him that there had been a tip that his son was threatening to commit a school shooting.

Of course, they denied it. Police didn't have sufficient probable cause to take it any further. But he was on alert, and it would just seem to me, if that happened to me, the last thing I would do would be to go out and buy an assault weapon for my son just months later. And I would pay very close attention to him, even though he's denying it.

I mean, there is some -- there's a great deal of responsibility on the part of parents here. I mean, we're quick to take a look to see whether or not law enforcement did something wrong or anybody else. Government cannot raise someone else's child. You have some responsibility there, too.

And the fact that not only did you buy the assault weapon, you were negligent, and that you didn't properly secure it.

And so, you have all these facts that are coming up regarding this particular case, I think is more than appropriate that the father was charged in this particular case.

HUNT: Chief, you mentioned failing to properly secure the weapon. I guess I have some fundamental questions about -- and maybe this varies state to state. But is it legal to buy -- I mean, a 14-year-old can't drive a car. They can't buy cigarettes. They can't drink.

Are they allowed to have unfettered access in the home? I mean, is that -- because if he's buying this gun for his kid, it would suggest that it doesn't -- he's not going to be securing it from his child. What are the rules around that?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, first of all, Georgia has very weak gun laws. It's my understanding that in Georgia, you have to be at least 18 years old to purchase a weapon like that.

So, the father buying the gun, if something would have had to have happened, if he was the one that was going to purchase it, the boy wasn't old enough to do it.

But it's just common sense, in my opinion, that you've got young people in your home. And even though, in Georgia, it's not illegal to properly secure it, especially after you've been given a warning.

I mean, at some point in time, we just have to be logical about what should have taken place under these particular circumstances.

Why would you have an assault rifle or any other weapon that was accessible to an individual after you learned that there were threats being made, even though you may not believe that those threats were true?

You're around this kid every day. It's hard to believe that you had no indication at all that there was something, that the kid had some issues that needed to be addressed.

Now, I may be wrong on that, but personally, I'm glad to see that the father was charged, because I think it sends the right message. Parents do have some responsibility for their children, and they need to take it seriously.

And if there are guns in the house, make sure you take steps to keep the guns out of the hands of the kids, even -- even to prevent an accidental shooting between siblings or anyone else.

I mean, you know, I've been a policeman a long time, and I know a lot's been made of this fact that this kid is 14 years old. When you deal with crime on the streets of the cities, 14-year-old is not all that unusual for him to be involved in very violent crimes. Here in Philly, we've got a crew that was responsible for numerous carjackings.

One of those children was believed to be as young as 10 years old. I mean, this is the kind of stuff that happens every single day. The only time we talk about it in the media is when it's something high profile, like a school shooting.

We have got to get serious about dealing with the issue of parental responsibility.

HUNT: Really important perspective. Let me bring my panel into this. Elliot Williams, from your legal perspective here. I mean, obviously, this is like every parent's worst nightmare.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely.

HUNT: I mean, I think I have almost burst into tears looking at my Instagram feed, because all of the people in my life are posting that text message thread between one of -- a student at this high school and her mother. And the mother says, "I'm leaving work right away. Like, where are you?"

And yet, there are other parents that are not taking responsibility for their own children, like Mr. Gray in this case. WILLIAMS: Yes. I think the bigger gut punch is the daughter sending

the text message: "I'm sorry I wasn't a better daughter to you, and I love you," thinking that that was the end. It's heart-wrenching.

Now, in terms of the liability for the parent and what matters here, one word -- it comes down to one word, and that's negligence. It's -- was there a duty of care that the parent had that they failed at? Right?

And I wouldn't even focus that much on whether it's right to buy a gun for a kid or not, because you can buy a kid a gun and put it in a case and lock it up and have the kid use it.

If I bought you a car under the age of -- under the age of 16 or 18, it could be your car, but you can't drive it lawfully, right? As long as it's -- you know, this will be yours on the day that you hit the age of majority or whatever else.

[06:10:08]

Now, it seems that we're going to hear in the record that there was some evidence, in addition to what the chief talked about there, of getting warnings about the child's behavior and all the problems that he had, that they failed to lock it up, that they failed to keep it out of his hands.

And that's where the parent gets in trouble. Just like in Michigan, that Crumbley case that we talked about, the parents failed. They knew of the firearm. They knew of the kid's mental health, but still allowed him to get it, didn't adequately do their jobs. You can go to jail for that.

HUNT: Yes. Brad Todd, can I ask for your perspective on this? J.D. Vance, the vice presidential -- Republican vice-presidential nominee, was asked about what he was going to do about school shootings, to try to reduce the number of school shootings, on the trail yesterday.

I just want to play his answer, and we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Clearly, strict gun laws is not the thing that is going to solve this problem. What is going to solve this problem -- and I really do believe this -- is look, I don't like this. I don't like to admit this. I don't like that this is a fact of life.

But if you're -- if you are a psycho, and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, he called these school shootings a fact of life.

Now that may, unfortunately, be true, but as someone who is running to be in charge of the country, is that the right thing? The right way to be kind of approaching it?

And also, I think it is worth noting. He says you've got to bolster security in our schools. In this case, there were armed guards at the school.

BRAD TODD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: They save lives. They save lives. The teachers had a button on their wrist.

HUNT: But it didn't save four lives. I mean, there were still four lives lost.

TODD: There is no question the security system did save lives. You know, this child was failed long before his parent, his dad -- his father gave him access to a gun.

He was failed because they weren't getting him mental help. His aunt's in the paper already saying the child had asked for help with mental health, and his parents wouldn't give it to him. The family's in turmoil.

We have a parenting crisis here. This is a great example of it. And I think that's what J.D.'s talking about. He's talking about we have a mental health crisis. We have a parenting crisis.

HUNT: Right. Charles Ramsey, before I let you go, is there anything else here, you know, when you look at the facts of this case, if we are talking about trying to prevent these -- these horrible tragedies going forward and make them not a fact of life?

The political debate, obviously, is typically the same, day in and day out. You have the law enforcement perspective here. I mean, what -- what should we be doing?

RAMSEY: Well, first of all, I -- I don't think laws necessarily will totally change things, although I am in favor of reasonable laws to protect people from gun violence. There's no question about that.

But some of it has to be common sense, too. I mean, if you've got kids in your home, if you have an adult in your home who is showing signs that they're mentally unstable, or have other types of issues secure the weapon. Secure the weapon.

As far as schools go, we can't look for Congress to do much of anything when it comes to passing any kind of meaningful legislation.

But at least fund all schools to a point where they can get the kind of security in their schools to help keep themselves safe.

I mean, they had security in that school. Had it not been for the school resource officers, had it not been for the fact that they were able to lock the doors remotely, we would have had a higher body count than we're talking about right now.

So, this stuff does matter. And I think there are ways in which we can better secure and protect our kids beyond just passing laws. Although that's necessary, too. Just facing a reality of a dysfunctional Congress that will not do what they need to do.

HUNT: All right. Charles Ramsey, very grateful to have your perspective on the program this morning, sir. Thanks very much for being here.

All right. Up ahead next here on CNN THIS MORNING, the final sprint is on to election day. The Harris campaign announces they more than doubled her opponent's fundraising number in the month of August.

Plus, the Russian-backed effort to tilt the scales in the race for the White House, and the political influencers caught in the middle of it.

Plus, Hunter Biden avoiding federal trial, pleading guilty in the tax evasion case against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBE LOWELL, HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY: This plea prevents that kind of show trial. Hunter put his family first today, and it was a brave and loving thing for him to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:58]

HUNT: All right. A shocking twist in Hunter Biden's latest legal drama. President Biden's son pleading guilty in his federal tax case to all nine charges.

The surprise plea coming just as jury selection was set to get underway, his lawyer telling reporters he made a decision to, quote, "protect those he loves from an unnecessary hurt and cruel humiliation."

This would have been Hunter's second public trial this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOWELL: Hunter put his family first today, and it was a brave and loving thing for him to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The sentencing is now scheduled for December 16.

Hunter could face up to 17 years in prison and a more than $1 fine if he's not pardoned. That's a possibility that Joe Biden had ruled out during Hunter Biden's federal gun trial earlier this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Let me ask you, will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.

MUIR: And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?

BIDEN: Yes.

MUIR: You have? (END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Now, yesterday, the White House press secretary reiterated that message, telling reporters the answer is still no.

[06:20:05]

But Jeff Zeleny, there is one critical difference between the Joe Biden there that said he would not pardon his son, Hunter, and Joe Biden today, which is that he is no longer running for reelection.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Without question. I mean, so, we'll see how this goes. Everything has changed in President Biden's world since then.

He was seeking reelection or, in that interview with David Muir, in a very tough reelection fight. Now he's not.

So, look, this is going to be -- it's one prerogative a president has. I guess some would say why not use it? We'll see. I mean this has to play out, but really, a stunning turn of events.

It just kind of -- I was sort of awestruck by suddenly Hunter Biden realizes, I don't want to put my family through this. Suddenly.

I mean, after that trial in Wilmington, which was so seedy, in some respects; sad in every other respect. You know, they knew it was coming to this.

So, we'll see. We'll have to wait and see what the president says.

We know that -- I was struck yesterday that no one was with Hunter Biden from the Biden family, aside from his wife, in court. So, was this sort of coming and planned?

Because Jill Biden, the first lady, was at every day with the exception of one, I believe, in Wilmington.

So clearly, a decision was made before that he was going to make this decision. But look, he's facing prison time. I'd be stunned if he ever serves it.

HUNT: I mean, Meghan Hays, what light can you shed on all these dynamics, as someone who has -- has known many members of the Biden family?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING FOR BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: I think that the Wilmington trial was stunning for the family. I think it was more humiliating and more, like, very sad for the family, with Naomi testifying and Hallie and all the different family members having to testify to all these things that Hunter had done or been accused of.

So, I think that they don't want to go through that again, and I think that they have had enough. And I think that the president is not running for reelection. And I think they are just ready to go back into their private life as much as they possibly can.

There were some family friends that were there that are close to the Biden family that have run -- worked in the White House when we were in the vice president's office. So, he was not completely alone in what they would seem.

So, he did have a lot of support there. But I do think that this is to avoid more, like, public humiliation for the Biden family as they sort of go off into the retirement.

HUNT: Brad, as the Republican at the table, I mean, if you're Joe Biden, is there a reason not to pardon his kid at this point?

TODD: I don't think there's a person in the country that believes he won't pardon his kid. You know?

But if Hunter's -- let's go back a minute. Hunter says he didn't want to put his family through it. He should have thought of that before he sold access to his father to some of the seediest corporations and entities in the world.

He -- he's put his family through plenty on purpose for a long time.

HUNT: OK. Well, I guess -- guess we will find out. The sentencing, again, December 16.

Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, we are 60 days away from election day. The Harris campaign raking in campaign cash. We'll see how that stacks up against former President Donald Trump's total.

Plus, a mountain lion spotted roaming the streets of a California town. That is just one of the five things you have to see this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:19]

HUNT: All right, 26 minutes past the hour, five things you have to see this morning.

A bizarre accident involving a tractor trailer and a sign creating some serious, serious traffic problems in Virginia. This is just insane.

Police say the bed of the trailer was raised while the truck was moving, and then it hit this sign -- my gosh -- causing hours'-long delays, obviously, while crews cleared the scene.

The truck driver is facing reckless driving charges. Wow. All right. This may look like footage from a video game, but it is

actually a real scene in Florida. Police night vision cameras caught crowds at an illegal street takeover, showing fireworks and cars doing donuts at the intersection.

Hey, look, it's like "Fast and the Furious," except real life.

Ten people were arrested.

A terrifying scene in the streets of downtown Salinas, California. You can see a mountain lion just out for a stroll. Wildlife experts are working to capture the animal and return it to its natural habitat.

And this is a helicopter in the middle of a South Los Angeles freeway. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing, shutting down the Southbound lanes for a couple of hours last night. No injuries were reported, and no word on why the pilot was forced to land.

Because the traffic in California isn't bad enough already.

And lightening flares -- flashes across the sky in Southern China, where a powerful typhoon made landfall this morning. The storm is the strongest to hit that area in the last ten years.

All right. Now, to weather on our side of the globe. Roughly 55 million people still under a heat alert as temperatures are forecast to hit the triple digits in part of the Southwest U.S. today.

Plus, flood threats in effect along the Southern U.S., including for New Orleans.

Let's get to our meteorologist, the weatherman, Derek van Dam. Derek, good morning to you. What do you got?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kasie.

I want to show our viewers why we've been dealing with so much heavy rain across the Gulf Coast states, particularly Texas and Louisiana lately.

Because the National Hurricane Center has identified this area here in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico as potential tropical development.

So, we were focusing on this yesterday. There was some spin, some rotation in the upper and lower levels of the atmosphere. So, we were curious whether or not something was going to develop.

This is the time of the year, the peak season where things can spin up so quickly.

But one thing's for sure. This has led to just heavy rainfall for many locations, about 6 million American. There are flash flood warnings in place just South and West of New Orleans. This is very low country across extreme Southern Louisiana.

But you can see the heavy rain inundating the area. Some of that spin and the radar. So, we have the potential here for more flash flooding extending across the Florida Panhandle, as well.

Lots of rain, kind of elongated frontal system that's going to eventually spread more precipitation through the course of the weekend from Atlanta Southward --