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CNN This Morning

Michigan Church Attack: 4 People Killed, Several Missing; Trump Meets Today with Party Leaders at White House. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 29, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:20]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Four people are dead and several others missing after a deadly shooting and fire at a church in Michigan. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're working tirelessly to find additional bodies.

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HILL: The search for the missing as investigators dig through the suspect's past.

Two hundred National Guard troops ready to deploy to Portland. But the city doesn't want them there. The new lawsuit to keep them out.

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J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We're at the one-yard line, and all of us are very hopeful we can sort of punch through to the end zone.

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HILL: President Trump promising something, quote, "special" is coming on Gaza. Is the Israeli prime minister, though, on board? The two will meet today.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams ends his reelection campaign. So, where will his voters go?

Bad Bunny, fresh off a historic residency in Puerto Rico, now prepping to perform on one of the biggest stages in music.

It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look for you there at the Capitol, of course.

Good Monday morning, everyone. It's nice to have you with us. It is September 29. I'm Erica Hill, in today for Audie Cornish.

This morning, several people are unaccounted for after an attack on a Michigan church. At least four people are dead, eight others injured.

Police say the attacker rammed his truck into the church entrance, then began shooting with an assault rifle before setting the building on fire. He was ultimately killed in a shootout with police about ten minutes after the attack started.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I -- I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't know if we were going to have to get down. Because we couldn't see anybody.

To worship my savior, Jesus Christ. And I didn't expect this to happen, of course. And I've lost friends in there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so sorry to hear that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And -- and some of my little primary children that I teach on Sundays. I -- I joined the church 38 years ago in that building, and now it's gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Well, the FBI is now taking over the investigation, describing this as an act of targeted violence.

Meantime, the search for additional victims in that rubble continues this morning.

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CHIEF WILLIAM RENYE, GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP POLICE: We're working around the clock now, so we're working tirelessly to find additional bodies.

The entire church has not been cleared, because it's a total loss due to the fire. So, these first responders right now, they're in recovery mode.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now is Jillian Snyder, former NYPD officer and also a resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute. Jillian, it's good to have you with us this morning.

Where we are this morning. Just talk to me about the significance of the FBI now taking the lead in this investigation so quickly. What does that change? And also, what does it signal to you?

JILLIAN SNYDER, RESIDENT SENIOR FELLOW, R STREET INSTITUTE: Good morning. Erica. So, the FBI is going to get involved in situations like this due to the sensitivity of the targeted location.

So, with this being an institution of faith and worship. The FBI is going to come in and going into a local law enforcement, because as we know, this is now a recovery situation, where they are going to go in and they are going to try and find all of the lost souls that are in there.

But the FBI is also going to be working in collaboration with other federal agencies, as well as local and state law enforcement, to make sure that they are constantly updating the public on that the situation is now safe, that the threat has been neutralized.

So, to give people and reassure people that they can go back and worship.

HILL: This is also -- the fact that the response was very quick, and much has been made of that, thankfully, that officers were able to arrive on scene so quickly. But they were dealing, of course, with an active shooter at the same time as this massive structure fire.

In terms of the complications there, just walk us through what that means when they arrive on scene, when you're dealing with these two major incidents at once.

SNYDER: Well, as you just said, law enforcement was on scene, from what I heard, within 30 seconds. And the suspect was neutralized within under ten minutes.

But law enforcement is going to deal with the active threat, the active shooter. And simultaneously, when there's a fire, you are going to have both fire departments and responding EMS, because those individuals are going to be dealing with the fire.

Law enforcement typically does not run into fire scenes. They are not trained to do so. But they have to make sure that the scene is safe enough for law -- for fire department and EMS to go in and try and put that fire out and recover people.

[06:05:09]

HILL: State police last night were also noting in one of the briefings that they are still responding to additional bomb threats at other locations.

In instances like this, it is not unheard of for, sadly, for other threats to be called in. It also, of course, raises concerns about what are actual threats and what could perhaps be, in some ways, copycats?

SNYDER: We do know that the suspect yesterday did have IEDs, they believe, in the car. So, now with that news being out, as you just said, unfortunately, other people are going to make these prank calls; and they're going to call in, just almost to distract law enforcement from the active investigation.

But that is why it's imperative that the FBI and local police make sure to keep the community constantly updated so that they know what's going on, and that they can feel safe in their community.

HILL: As we noted, of course, the FBI describing this as targeted.

We don't have a ton of information about the suspect. And -- and I will say law enforcement last night was very clear that they did not want to speculate in this moment. What we do know, though, is that this is -- the suspected gunman has

been identified as a 40-year-old Iraq War veteran who served in the Marines.

How does even just that little bit of background, how could that potentially shape the investigation and where investigators will be focusing today?

SNYDER: Again, I don't like to speculate at all, because we don't have that much. We know who the individual is, and we know his career past.

I also believe that we heard that he has a young child that has special needs. Other than that, I don't know anything about this individual. They haven't released much based on his social media.

I know that they went back and spoke to people that he went to high school with, and that he knew in the community. None of whom even articulated that this person posed a threat.

So, it is definitely too early. But what I can say is, due to his prior military experience, we could assume that he is trained with weaponry. Other than that, I would not be able to give you a clear motive or understanding on why this happened.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Still so much to come in this investigation. Of course, less than 24 hours since this horrific tragedy. Jillian, appreciate your insight this morning. Thank you.

SNYDER: Thank you. Erica.

HILL: Just ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, top military brass heading to Virginia for this mysterious meeting. Is it really just a pep rally for the troops, or is something else going on?

Plus, Dolly Parton now postponing her Las Vegas shows due to health concerns. Her message to fans.

And the remarkable rally from Team USA at the Ryder Cup. The comeback that almost was.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We showed the world today that, really anything is possible. That was -- that was a coin flip there for a second; and never been more proud of anything in my life.

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[06:12:25]

HILL: It is 11 minutes past the hour. Now here's your morning roundup.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams ending his bid for reelection, and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who's now running as an independent, hoping that may benefit him, perhaps even free up some black voters in his favor.

Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani has been leading, of course, in the polls.

A rally for Team USA coming up short at the Ryder Cup, Europe managing to keep that title for another two years after pulling off the upset, while also dealing with an American crowd that was openly hostile at times to these European golfers.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With all that in mind, everything you go through, how satisfying is it to turn around to someone and say, quote, "Shut the 'F' up" and then stick it to two feet?

RORY MCILROY, PGA GOLFER: Very (EXPLETIVE DELETED) satisfying.

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HILL: How do you really feel, Rory? Europe's set to host the Ryder Cup when the event heads to Ireland in 2027.

Dolly Parton is postponing her Las Vegas residency. The country music legend telling fans it's because she needs a few procedures to deal with some ongoing health challenges, going on to joke that it wasn't the usual trip to her plastic surgeon.

The 79-year-old was set to begin her six-show stint in December, but those shows have now been moved into next year.

Still to come here on CNN THIS MORNING: with a government shutdown looming, the finger pointing over who should take the blame is in full effect.

Plus --

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GOV. TINA KOTEK (D), OREGON: We have this under control.

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HILL: Oregon's message to President Trump: "Stay away."

And how about a little good morning. It's just about morning there. Just after 3 a.m. in Seattle. A beautiful shot there of the space needle and plenty of twinkling lights.

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[06:18:14]

HILL: The Senate returns to Capitol Hill today ahead of tomorrow night's deadline to avoid a government shutdown. President Trump set to meet with both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders today. The shutdown, though, would be unlike what we've seen in recent

history. So, just as a reminder here: Democrats want to make sure that the spending bill extends subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. For Republicans, that is a nonstarter.

Of course, we can't dismiss the politics clearly at play here. This time around, though, too, there are also threats of government job cuts. It's also another test in just how far President Trump can go with his laundry list of partisan demands.

The typical blame game over the looming shutdown, that is already in full swing.

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VANCE: Well, look, we don't want to shut down the government, Martha, but it's really up to the Democrats.

I think it's preposterous, Martha. And I think the American people really should pay attention to the fact that Democrats are threatening to shut down the entire government, because they want to give hundreds of billions of dollars of health care benefits to illegal aliens.

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HILL: The group chat joins me now. Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter; Catherine Lucey, Bloomberg news White House correspondent; and Sara Fischer, CNN senior media analyst and senior media reporter at Axios.

So, Isaac, I'm going to start with you in terms of where we stand this morning. The meeting is now back on the calendar, but is there any indication that there's actually some room for compromise here?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, it doesn't look like it. The president does not seem interested in doing a real negotiation here. We'll see if that changes over the course of this.

But we do need to remember that, though there is an issue with the number of votes that the Republicans need in the Senate, the Republicans are in the majority in the Senate and the majority in the House and control the White House.

Talking about the Democrats shutting down the government is not, if anything, it's equal share. But really, this is the president who has talked about the mandate that he's had. And we've seen how much control he has over the Republicans in Congress. They can choose how they decide to proceed here.

[06:20:08]

HILL: To that point, the fact that the meeting is now back on after what we heard about -- what we heard when it was canceled late last week. What's the incentive here for Donald Trump to put that meeting back on the calendar, especially given what we're hearing out of the White House? CATHERINE LUCEY, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Well,

certainly, yes, the White House is arguing publicly and privately that they have a good hand here. They think that they can blame this on the Democrats.

And the president is thinking a lot ahead, you know, to the midterm elections and wants to pick these kinds of fights.

That said, he likes a negotiation. They want to show that they are doing work here. This will be the first time -- I think it's pretty notable -- the first time we've seen one of these kinds of meetings since he's taken office. He has not spent any time negotiating with Democrats so far.

But the Democrats are also under a lot of pressure from their base to show fight here. And a big part of what's happening with the Democratic leaders is that they are hearing a lot from Democrats who feel like Democrats are not pushing back hard enough on Trump's agenda. And so, they are really feeling a lot of pressure.

HILL: Which has certainly been the message for some time, I guess since January, is what we could say.

Sara, in terms of how this is playing out, because there is the messaging issue, because you're hearing from both sides. This is not -- Republicans wanting to point the finger at Democrats. Democrats saying very clearly, you control it all. It's on you. Where is the message actually getting through?

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: Well, I think for the general public, they don't look at this as Democrats and Republicans. They're just like, government is broken. We're at this point again.

You have to remember, every time the government shuts down, there's a lot of jobs that are being impacted, local businesses that are being impacted.

I live on Capitol Hill. My coffee shops, grocery stores, all of that tends to shut down with the government shutdown.

But from a targeted messaging perspective, when you made the point about Democrats want to show force here, I think there's always a question of to what extent is it will -- are people willing for you to show force to get the government shut down? That is never a message that sits right with people.

People want you to defend principles. Yes, they want their Obamacare subsidies, but not at the expense of the government not functioning.

HILL: And to your point, like just -- just a reminder for people of what this means. The White House has warned of these potentially mass firings. We're talking about the Department of Education in terms of furloughs.

Nearly 1,500 workers could be furloughed, along with some 650 staffers in the Office of Federal Student Aid. There are questions, as well, about the federal courts.

The furloughs are one thing. Threatening mass firings is another. The fact that we don't have a clear idea of who would be impacted from OMB, that's also out of the ordinary.

DOVERE: It is. And look, the -- the negotiating position that the White House has gone with here is go along with everything that we say. Otherwise, we will fire lots of people. And we're even not going to tell you who it's going to be. And we're going to try to blame you for it.

And the Democratic position is, yes, they want to show that they're -- their base they have a fight. But also, they don't want to just go along with it.

It is really striking that we are -- what does it say on the countdown clock? A day and 17 hours here. And we -- we're still hours away from this first ever meeting between the president and congressional leaders.

HILL: It does --

DOVERE: Not first ever meeting on this. First ever meeting in this term --

HILL: Yes.

DOVERE: -- for the president.

HILL: Which also speaks to, right, which we've been discussing, speaks to the way that Donald Trump runs his government, frankly. And -- and it has always been in terms of get in line. I mean, this is why it has always worked well for Republicans, because they have been given the message, frankly, for decades, not just from Donald Trump, Fall in line.

LUCEY: That's right. And he hasn't needed to work with Democrats very much. The Republicans on the Hill have been in lockstep behind him and have managed to be able to pull along enough Democratic votes so far.

But this has not been a -- this has been a government that has really leaned into the divisions that we see in Washington and throughout the country, and has not shown a lot of interest in trying to bridge divides or bring people together.

HILL: Yes. And we'll see if health care is the thing that does it. But all signs point to -- if I had my magic eight ball, it would probably say, "It's cloudy. Come back later."

Still much more to come here on CNN THIS MORNING. Kamala Harris is back in the spotlight. So, what is next for the former vice president? Some new reporting just in here to CNN.

Plus, a bit later this morning, Israel's prime minister heading to the White House. Can the president get him to agree on a ceasefire in Gaza? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:29:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENYE: The entire church has not been cleared, because it's a total loss due to the fire. So, these first responders right now, they're in recovery mode.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The search, though, overnight for the missing paused. This after a gunman earlier Sunday started shooting at a church in Michigan before setting it on fire.

Thanks for joining us on this Monday. I'm Erica Hill, in today for Audie Cornish. It is 6:29, just about here on the East Coast. Let's get caught up on what else is happening right now.

Four people are dead, several others missing after that shooting at a church in Michigan. Police say the shooter rammed his car into the church, opened fire, and then set it on fire.

Fire crews are expected to pick up the search for the missing soon.

The man who is accused of killing Charlie Kirk returns to court today. His lawyers can decide to waive a preliminary hearing and instead schedule an arraignment. He's been charged with aggravated murder. Prosecutors do plan to seek the death penalty.

Israel's prime minister meets with President Trump at the White House today. The two are expected to discuss a Trump proposal that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all remaining Israeli hostages.

Well, first, it was Washington, D.C. Then it was Memphis, Chicago.