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American Morning
Interview with Lt. Margaret Mims
Aired October 01, 2002 - 09:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Want to move from Washington to the West Coast, specifically California, this bus we talked about near Fresno last night. Police in California now saying they have a man in custody. They believe he is the one who attacked the bus driver, causing that bus to crash. About 50 passengers on board ran off a highway near Fresno. Two people are dead, ten people said to be in critical condition.
James Hattori live on the screen now with more on what we are learning through police there -- James, hello again.
JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. As you can see, it's very much an active crime scene still behind me. The Greyhound bus on its side in the middle of a cotton field. The coroner was here within the last hour. Investigators still looking for evidence, although they did find key piece, a pair of scissors. Not a knife as was previously thought, but a pair of scissors that was used to attack the driver.
Now, it was a chaotic scene last night as emergency crews attended to about 46 passengers aboard the L.A. to San Francisco bus. Two female passengers dead, three seriously injured, including the driver, whose throat was slashed. He's reported in stable condition. The suspect in custody, 27-year-old Arturo Topia Martinez (ph), a transient from Los Angeles, who tried to run away after he -- after the bus came to a halt.
With us is Lieutenant Margaret Mims of the Fresno County Sheriff's -- you talked to the suspect. Can you describe his frame of mind, what he said to you?
LT. MARGARET MIMS, FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Detectives that talked to the suspect reported that he has given several stories about why he did what he did. We're trying to figure out what the true story is, and why they may be changing. We are looking at things like he was under the influence of something, if there is some mental health issues, if he is trying to cover up another incident, but now that we have a good identification on him, we'll be able to check for prior criminal histories, maybe contact other law enforcement agencies, so there's all kinds of options, and we just need to find the right one.
HATTORI: A lot of unanswered questions as to what really motivated him still?
MIMS: That's right. HATTORI: Thank you, Lieutenant. This -- the bus here will remain for several hours as investigators wrap up their investigation. It likely will be towed away to a different location so it can be gone over more thoroughly as this investigation is not just over an accident, but now a homicide -- Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: James, quickly, have the passengers told investigators or police anything about what this man may have said, prior to -- before the attack went against the driver, or anything he may have done in terms of behavior on board that bus?
HATTORI: Well, this was 9:00 at night. Many of the passengers were asleep, first of all. But apparently, he just rushed out of nowhere. He was sitting in the back of the bus, said nothing, and attacked the driver with this pair of scissors. So, there is not a whole lot of clues there, not a whole that the passengers had to say about...
HEMMER: All right, James, thanks. James Hattori hustling to the scene there near Fresno late last night into the early morning hours for us. Thank you, James.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 1, 2002 - 09:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Want to move from Washington to the West Coast, specifically California, this bus we talked about near Fresno last night. Police in California now saying they have a man in custody. They believe he is the one who attacked the bus driver, causing that bus to crash. About 50 passengers on board ran off a highway near Fresno. Two people are dead, ten people said to be in critical condition.
James Hattori live on the screen now with more on what we are learning through police there -- James, hello again.
JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. As you can see, it's very much an active crime scene still behind me. The Greyhound bus on its side in the middle of a cotton field. The coroner was here within the last hour. Investigators still looking for evidence, although they did find key piece, a pair of scissors. Not a knife as was previously thought, but a pair of scissors that was used to attack the driver.
Now, it was a chaotic scene last night as emergency crews attended to about 46 passengers aboard the L.A. to San Francisco bus. Two female passengers dead, three seriously injured, including the driver, whose throat was slashed. He's reported in stable condition. The suspect in custody, 27-year-old Arturo Topia Martinez (ph), a transient from Los Angeles, who tried to run away after he -- after the bus came to a halt.
With us is Lieutenant Margaret Mims of the Fresno County Sheriff's -- you talked to the suspect. Can you describe his frame of mind, what he said to you?
LT. MARGARET MIMS, FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Detectives that talked to the suspect reported that he has given several stories about why he did what he did. We're trying to figure out what the true story is, and why they may be changing. We are looking at things like he was under the influence of something, if there is some mental health issues, if he is trying to cover up another incident, but now that we have a good identification on him, we'll be able to check for prior criminal histories, maybe contact other law enforcement agencies, so there's all kinds of options, and we just need to find the right one.
HATTORI: A lot of unanswered questions as to what really motivated him still?
MIMS: That's right. HATTORI: Thank you, Lieutenant. This -- the bus here will remain for several hours as investigators wrap up their investigation. It likely will be towed away to a different location so it can be gone over more thoroughly as this investigation is not just over an accident, but now a homicide -- Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: James, quickly, have the passengers told investigators or police anything about what this man may have said, prior to -- before the attack went against the driver, or anything he may have done in terms of behavior on board that bus?
HATTORI: Well, this was 9:00 at night. Many of the passengers were asleep, first of all. But apparently, he just rushed out of nowhere. He was sitting in the back of the bus, said nothing, and attacked the driver with this pair of scissors. So, there is not a whole lot of clues there, not a whole that the passengers had to say about...
HEMMER: All right, James, thanks. James Hattori hustling to the scene there near Fresno late last night into the early morning hours for us. Thank you, James.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
