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CNN This Morning
Providence Police Release New Images, Video of Person of Interest; Nick Reiner's History of Addiction Before Alleged Murders. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired December 17, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:10]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The urgent search for a mass shooter. Are police any closer to identifying a suspect in Rhode Island? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER NERONHA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF RHODE ISLAND: Once we identify who this person is, I believe we'll be able to locate them.
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CORNISH: Anger boils over in the community five days after the attack at Brown.
And Rob Reiner's son arrested for murder. Past interviews shedding light on his struggle with addiction.
And blocking oil tankers surrounded by an armada. The president is ramping up his pressure on Venezuela.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be.
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CORNISH: "Not meant to be." House Speaker Mike Johnson refusing to vote on extending ACA subsidies, which will leave millions of Americans behind.
And an alcoholic's personality. Not the best way to describe your boss, but President Trump standing by his chief of staff after a dishy interview.
It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. This is a live look at New York City.
Good morning, everybody. It is Wednesday, December 17. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin. Day five in the search for a person of interest in the mass shooting
at Brown University. Students are packing up. They are leaving campus for winter break as anxiety over the manhunt grows.
Investigators are asking for tips from the public, which might help identify the person seen in these newly-released surveillance videos from the FBI. Police say these images show a suspect stalking a neighborhood Saturday for several hours before the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NERONHA: There's no specific threat that we're aware of, but we have a murderer at large, and we don't know whether he's in Rhode Island or somewhere else.
So, I think common sense is what has to drive us here.
We're making progress, and I believe that by pulling on the threads of evidence that we have, we will get to a conclusion, a successful conclusion, I think relatively quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: We're hearing from survivors who were hit when the gunman opened fire inside the classroom on campus Saturday. One victim tells CBS News he's grateful to be alive after getting shot while leaving a study session.
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JACOB SPEARS, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: First, I was confused, but then I realized what was happening. I ran. He got me in the back, but adrenaline did me good, and I was able to get up and run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now, John Pistole, former deputy FBI director. Welcome back to the program.
JOHN PISTOLE, FORMER DEPUTY FBI DIRECTOR: Thank you Audie. Good morning.
CORNISH: So, I wanted to talk to you, because you've got a great history in counterterrorism work. You've done a lot of investigations.
And I'm wondering what you see in these videos that are being released, because we don't see a face. And this is what we're hearing from police on what they want the focus to, to look, to be on.
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CHIEF OSCAR PEREZ JR., PROVIDENCE POLICE: You want to focus on the body movements, the way the person moves their arms, the body posture, the way they carry their weight. I think those are important movement patterns that may help you identify this individual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: What's going on? Can this be helpful? Or does this show that they're kind of behind on this investigation?
PISTOLE: Well, I think it shows a lot of things, Audie.
One is that the person was planned -- planned well, in terms of concealing their identity and making sure that the presumably his but the person's face is not visible. Aware, presumably, that there are a number of security cameras around the area, although not in the building where the shooting took place.
Also indicates at least a familiarity, or perhaps gaining greater familiarity with the neighborhood to make sure, perhaps, about exits, how he could, again, if he could escape, get away safely.
Which begs the question: was there a getaway vehicle in the area that this person got into? In which case there should be some license plate readers that would be able to help identify.
So, it indicates a level of planning and preparation and anticipation of being able to get in and get out after the shooting.
A number of other things have been considered that obviously the FBI and the local police, the state police, Rhode Island, they released certain details, but presumably, are not releasing all the details that they have.
[06:05:07]
And I think, as others have mentioned, once identified, they'll be able to -- to locate and apprehend him fairly quickly.
CORNISH: I also want to ask you to read the tea leaves on what's going on between local officials and the FBI.
I think we've always heard about the idea sometimes that there's friction with law enforcement agencies, but people have been criticizing, for instance, Kash Patel. He's been doing his usual sort of media appearances.
He was, you know, on a podcast talking with his girlfriend.
Here's Andy McCabe, obviously formerly of the FBI, and what he had to say about that.
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ANDY MCCABE, FORMER DEPUTY FBI DIRECTOR: Right now, in the middle of this massive crisis that they're -- that his people are working, you're forcing them, expecting them to work 24 hours a day for days and days on end, to be appearing like this, talking about your personal life is -- it's really a dispiriting message to the troops.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: John, can you talk about that? We've been hearing reports
elsewhere, right, of FBI staff who are disappointed with the leadership for various other reasons.
PISTOLE: Well, Audie, in my almost 27 years in the FBI, including serving as the deputy director for almost six years, it was rarely, if ever, the FBI director's job to give updates on an ongoing investigation. That's for people who have the -- the latest facts and details on the ground.
I used to have oversight for the Rhode Island office of the FBI when assigned in Boston. And so, you leave it to the people with the best information.
And the whole idea is, yes, keep the public informed; keep the public safe. But the idea is to help generate leads. There may be multiple leads coming in. I'm sure there are. Only one needs to be accurate to identify this person. So, leave it to the experts to do that type of information sharing.
CORNISH: Lastly, you have a lot of anger building up on social media over officials' handling -- local officials' handling. How would you help people understand what's going on here? Because unlike other kinds of shootings, where sometimes it might end in the death of the suspect, this person is still at large.
PISTOLE: Yes, I think that's the -- the concern, Audie, is that this person is out there, and it raises a number of questions. Was this person working by themselves, the proverbial lone wolf, or were they motivate -- and were they motivated by a personal grievance or ideology?
And if they weren't working by themselves, obviously, the shooting took place by themselves. But were they directed by somebody, equipped by somebody? Get a gun provided by somebody else? And to what end?
And so, those are all questions. And obviously, everybody's on edge. There's a shooter. There's a killer out there that has not been apprehended.
And so, it's an all-hands-on effort. I've worked with the Providence P.D., the Rhode Island State Police. They're terrific in terms of working with the FBI and others to find out who this person is.
Again, once the identity is confirmed, and I think it will just be a matter of hours before they are located and brought to justice.
CORNISH: OK. Let's hope people are able to send in some of those leads. John Pistole, thanks so much.
PISTOLE: Thank you, Audie.
CORNISH: Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, a total and complete blockade. The president once again ramps up his pressure on Venezuela.
Plus, the president's son-in-law backs out of his part of the bid for Warner Bros.
And a no-holds-barred interview. Trump's chief of staff dishes on everything from Epstein to Venezuela and, quote, "the president's addictive personality." The group chat is here to talk about that a little later.
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STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": "She keeps a freestanding video monitor next to the fireplace in her West Wing office with a live feed of Trump's social media posts."
So, there's fire and a constant stream of Trump's social media posts. Are you sure that's your office? Because it sounds like hell to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:13:58]
CORNISH: It's almost 15 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
Palestinian officials say torrential rains and floods in Gaza have killed at least 17 people, including children. Others have died due to building collapses.
The Health Ministry says approximately 90 percent of shelters for people displaced due to the war, well, they're completely flooded. And now thousands more families are without shelter.
According to "The Wall Street Journal," Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to tell its shareholders today to reject Paramount's latest offer and instead back their existing deal with Netflix.
President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was part of an investment group involved with Paramount's bid, according to Axios. Kushner and his investment firm have now backed out of the deal.
Warner Bros. Discovery is, of course, the parent company of CNN.
And if you think a penny is just worth $0.01, think again. The U.S. Mint sold 232 three-cent sets for a whopping $16.7 million at an auction last week. That includes a set containing the last three pennies ever made, and that sold for $800,000 alone.
After the break on CNN THIS MORNING, devastation in Australia. Mourners come together to remember those killed in the Bondi Beach attack.
Plus, the Reiner family seemingly had all the resources in the world. Yet, addiction still plagued them. We're going to talk more about that ahead.
And good morning, Seattle, Washington. The state's facing a slew of bad weather. We're talking rain, snow, wind, flooding and landslides. So, please, stay safe. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here to announce that our office will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, actor/director Rob Reiner and photographer/producer Michele Singer Reiner. These charges will be two counts of first-degree murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:20:15]
CORNISH: Nick Reiner being held without bail this morning in Los Angeles. It's not clear when he'll have his first court appearance.
Officials have called him, quote, "responsible" for the stabbing deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele. And now his past struggles are at the center of the controversy. He's spoken openly about his struggles with drug addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK REINER, SUSPECT IN MURDER OF PARENTS (via phone): I kind of knew that I wanted to relapse, basically. I didn't even want to call it a relapse. I just wanted to get back to my old life of, like, smoking weed, kind of taking some pills, like doing whatever I wanted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And Nick Reiner and his father even collaborated on a film inspired by the impacts of addiction on their family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB REINER, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: I made mistakes, in that I didn't go with my gut instinct and the feel -- and I know Nick better than, you know, some expert who's never met him. And I think, had I listened to my own instincts, I would have done a lot better by Nick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now, Susan Raphael, an addiction specialist and author of "What's Wrong With My Teen?"
Susan, thanks so much for being with us.
SUSAN RAPHAEL, ADDICTION SPECIALIST/AUTHOR: Thanks, Audie, for having me.
CORNISH: So, first thing we want to say is kind of no matter where you are, income-wise, people deal with these challenges. We're learning from a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 66 percent of Americans have struggled with addiction or have a family member who has.
And I want to talk to you about the dynamics within families, because it's always a push-pull, right? Do you support? Do you protect yourself?
RAPHAEL: Absolutely. And I think you have to do both: support yourself and protect yourself.
And I just want to say my condolences go to the family and friends and colleagues of the Reiners. Addiction is a horrible disorder, disease that affects the whole family.
CORNISH: And do families feel, I guess, trapped? I mean, this is the kind of thing where you can end up in the cycle, along with the person in your family dealing with substance abuse.
RAPHAEL: Absolutely. Trapped, I think, is a good term. They can feel very trapped and very powerless to help, powerless to -- to save, often, family members; want to fix and help and caretake. And that can be dangerous territory, because they didn't cause it. They can't cure it. And they -- you know, they didn't -- they didn't create this condition.
They can contribute to conditions for change and influence conditions for change. And I think we see that with multiple treatments that the family would have supported. And my guess is they would have undergone family components of treatment, as well.
So, it seems like they really did what they could. And when families engage and show that humility that maybe they're wrong and maybe they've made some mistakes along the way, that can be tremendous for healing and compassion, rather than judgment.
CORNISH: What are some -- yes. And what are some of the warning signs that maybe what is a substance abuse problem is escalating into something more dangerous?
RAPHAEL: Well, absolutely. The impulsivity and these -- in this case, the symptoms started in adolescence or -- or prior. We don't know. Treatment started in adolescence.
And my resource talks about the adolescent onset of addiction. Signs, symptoms, mental health struggles. The brain is still developing until 25 or so. And if substances are involved, the development of the brain is delayed even more.
So, there are a lot of factors happening during adolescence, and the signs are there.
And escalation and having safety plans and -- and thinking about and talking to people and professionals to understand. You may know your young person better than anyone, but addiction specialists understand the disorder of addiction better than anyone.
So, it's -- it's balancing the knowledge with knowing your -- your family member or loved one, as well.
And it's a terrible struggle -- struggle. I'm a person in long-term recovery myself, and I've also had clients and loved ones that I can't cure and can't fix. And it's a terrible struggle. And I have so much compassion for families who are going through this.
And there are resources, and there is help. And that's why I'm so grateful that you're having me on today to talk about the building the awareness, and breaking stigma, and having these conversations about how things can really escalate.
[06:25:08]
CORNISH: OK, that's Susan Raphael. Thank you so much for your time and congratulations on your recovery.
RAPHAEL: Thanks, Audie. Much appreciated.
CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to go back to that manhunt. We're going to be live from Brown University. There are new questions this morning about why there weren't cameras in the building where the shooting actually happened.
Plus, FIFA responds to fan backlash over expensive World Cup tickets.
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