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Nine Killed In "Hate Crime" Church Massacre; New Surveillance Images Of Church Massacre Suspect. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 18, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It's good to have you on the show, sir, not for this reason, though. We've read the statement that came out, what is your understanding of why this happened?

CORNELL WILLIAM BROOKS, NAACP PRESIDENT, CEO: Well, first of all, let me extend condolences to the community and the family of Emanuel AME Church. On behalf of the NAACP and as minister within the AME Church, this is a heartbreaking tragedy.

We understand based on the statements of the mayor and the police chief that this is, in fact, a hate crime. The facts are not yet known. The search for the suspect is ongoing, but it seems very clear that this is a hateful act. It is a desecration of not only a sanctuary, but our spirit as a country.

I mean, it is -- make no mistake about this. This is like Columbine coming to a church. I mean, as a minister, I have taught bible study, it is a relaxed moment. It is not like on Sunday. People are not particularly alert. There's a smaller group of people in the sanctuary often in a meeting room or a chapel. And so this is a very, tragic moment.

CUOMO: We understand also from the authorities that the gunman may have entered the bible study and remained as long as an hour before this violence taking place. One of things the authorities are doing is trying to see if there are any connections to any other threats that were placed in that community, maybe involving churches like this. Do you know anything about that or is there any history of this in that area?

BROOKS: So we are in touch with our local NAACP branch president, the state conference leadership and our people on the ground. There is a concern that the cause of the killing of Walter Scott and the heightened tensions that this may be an act of revenge or a reprisal.

But the fact is that we don't yet know the facts. So we don't want to get ahead of the facts and the focus here must be on apprehending this suspect and witnesses coming forward and being helpful to the police because Emanuel AME Church is a historic church. It is a much revered church.

And it is a church, like the entire AME denomination that was born in social justice and social protest, so that someone might target it as -- for a hate crime is tragic, but not altogether surprising. CUOMO: This particular church is also known for that. There are many churches in that community, literally, within blocks of each other, but this one stands out and would be a target for someone who is trying to make a point like that. But then again, the shooter also fits a common description that we see with mass shooters in this country recently. What will be the response of the NAACP? What is the message and what will be the actions?

BROOKS: Well, our response always is to deploy our people on the ground to assess the situation, to assist in any investigation. Two is to reach out to the Justice Department and local authorities. Three, we always play a critical role in pursuing justice even as we encourage and increase the peace as it were.

But we have been in that community for many years and will continue to be in that community, and we will continue to assist, support and I dare say minister to the community because that's what we do. That's what we are about. That constitutes our character.

At this moment, we really have to stand with those families there. For example, Chris, Norvill Golf (ph) who is the presiding elder there, an official within the AME church is my brother in the ministry. So this is his home. We intend to wrap our arms around the community and being supportive and being the kind of people that I believe we are called to be.

CUOMO: And we have heard the same message from the mayor there saying that this is a holy city and that the members of this church or members of this community and their arms as you say will be put around them and that love will find a way through to what was definitely an act of hate by any designation.

Mr. Brooks, thank you very much for joining us on NEW DAY. Let us know how the work goes going forward and we'll stay on this story. Thank you, sir.

BROOKS: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Mich.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the community of Charleston in mourning, as is the nation. Nine people shot and killed at a historic church. Police have labeled this a hate crime. We're going to take you back to Charleston for more information about this young man they are seeking. He is the suspect.

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[07:38:53]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, more on our breaking news now, nine people shot and killed in what police call a hate crime at a historic church in South Carolina. At this hour police are still in pursuit of this suspect. They believe this is the gunman. They have just released this new image. It is much clearer than what we had seen an hour ago. The church's pastor is one of the victims. He also served as a state senator. He is among those nine dead. CNN's Nick Valencia is back with us from Charleston with the latest. Tell us about the new image that authorities just put out.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Yes, these new images just into CNN right now, probably the most clear image that we have seen of this alleged shooter, and we want you to take a good look because police need your help in tracking this suspect down.

These images, likely taken from a surveillance camera outside the church show the 21-year-old approaching the door sometime last night. That dark colored four-door sedan that he allegedly drove to the crime scene is parked right behind him.

Police need your help at a press conference, they have encouraged the public. Any tip is welcome according to police. An active manhunt for this dangerous individual they say.

[07:40:02] What they did tell us is sometime after 8:00 p.m., this gunman arrived at the historic Emanuel Church here and stayed an hour with the bible study group that was happening and also a planning session for an upcoming conference that was supposed to be held at this church.

Sometime after 9:00 p.m., police received a call there was a mass shooting, nine people killed. What we can tell you is one of those confirmed is State Senator Clementa Pinckney, who was also the pastor at this church described by his colleagues as a giant among men.

Police locally, regionally, as well as the FBI, as well assistance from Washington, D.C., all hands are on deck according to police. They describe this as a hate crime, and again, this individual, the police needs your help in tracking him down.

They described him as a white male, 21 years old, a slender build and 5'9" in height. The pictures we just received, Alisyn, Chris, and Michaela, are perhaps the clearest images of this suspect still on the loose at this hour. Back to you, guys.

CAMEROTA: Have police given any more insight into what they see in these pictures? I mean, we can now see this fabric hanging down from his shirt and we also see some sort of dark, maybe a trap of some kind on his right shoulder. Have they given you anymore insight into the clues they are seeing?

VALENCIA: We wish we could tell you. It only can be assumed that police have much more details than they are releasing to the public, probably holding those cards pretty close to the chest, but they say that this individual that they are looking for has a distinctive haircut, a sort of a bull shaped type haircut as well as a distinctive license plate.

Those details of what was on that license plate have not been released. We also understand that there were some words exchanged between the suspect and those individuals praying at that bible study session, which has led police to believe that this was a hate crime and that this target was intended by this individual still on the loose -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, Nick.

CUOMO: All right, and it's not so much of fabric. They believed it's a fanny pack that he has on there and it's going to be one more aspect of the investigation as they forward.

Let's figure out what is going on in the federal side. We have CNN's Michelle Kosinski is live at the White House. Michelle, we know that the FBI is involved here that they are tracking this individual, and also looking to connect it to any threats and other domestic terror groups to see if that's part of the play here. What do you hear?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, that's always a big question here before many details are known. Does this have a nexus to terrorism? So we know that that is going on, on the justice side.

As for the White House, we know they are aware of this and are working on a statement currently. We can only assume, though, that the president has been made aware of this because for now his press staff isn't confirming that.

So we do expect to hear from them soon. But you know, many, many times over the last several months and beyond, we've seen this White House put out statements involving incidents of violence and race in this country.

The shootings by police, the shootings of police, the DOJ investigations that have resulted, but very recently too we've heard the president talk about the communities themselves. The tensions that are there, the healing that needs to go on within communities and within individuals.

And just yesterday, we saw the president at investiture ceremony for his new attorney general, Loretta Lynch, and there, both of them talked about issues of race and justice in this country. Here's the attorney general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Many of our greatest advances and equal rights and the human rights have come after periods of heartbreaking loss. But they come because we choose not to give in to the twin pulls of revenge and retribution, but we turn to the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: Yes, some of what she said there seems extremely pertinent to what is going on now, but because the FBI is looking into this, we may hear from the Department of Justice later on today. We're waiting to hear more from them as well as from the White House. Back to you.

PEREIRA: All right, Michelle, thank you for that. We'll continue to follow our breaking news as we watch what happens there in Charleston as a manhunt continues for a gunman who shot and killed nine people. They are calling it a hate crime. We're going to take a look more at these incidents and if other churches potentially are facing threats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is unfathomable that somebody in today's society would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:48:24]

PEREIRA: We are watching our breaking news, nine people killed inside a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. The alleged shooter is white, a young man, and 21 years old. Officials are deeming this a hate crime.

Joining us now is Marc Lamont Hill, CNN political commentator and host of "Huff Post Live." Michaela Angela Davis is a cultural critic and writer is here. A heavy day and I know we all have heavy hearts when we see any kind of violence, but this particularly in a house of worship is causing so many people to struggle with this.

I am wondering -- I know you're shocked by what you see, I think all of us are, is this an attack on religion? Do you think it is an attack on African-Americans?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, obviously, once we find out exactly what happened in the church, exactly what was said and what his intent was, we'll know more. But historically churches have been a site of black organization, black politics, black faith, black hope, and so when someone attacks black people in a black church, it has an extraordinary impact on the community, and it may seem like terrorism.

MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS, CULTURAL CRITIC, WRITER: Again, we were talking earlier about how it seems strategic and targeting leaders is also something very strategic that say, for instance, another terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan was intentional about taking out certain leaders in the community to de-stable them. The senator being one of the murdered, I think, is also adding to the magnitude of this.

And I was in the green room when one of the investigators was talking about how when you're at a scene like this and peoples cell phones start to go off. And it made it very real that there are people all over.

[07:50:01] I just talked to a friend that has family in South Carolina. They're in a state of -- they're in a state and people's families and communities are being de-stabled. This is what a terrorist does. He takes and rocks a community at their core. And this is core domestic terrorism. I said earlier too, I'm glad any grandparents aren't alive, but some of my family is alive that lived in Jim Crow in South Carolina. What is this doing to them? This has opened up a gaping wound in American history. No one gets out of this without being hurt, right?

CAMEROTA: And this church in particular -- this was a particularly historic church. Martin Luther King spoke there and this church was instrumental in trying to free slaves. It has a long and storied and impressive history. So it seems that you have to conclude this was a target. This was a message they were trying to send.

HILL: It seems. Again, I'm always reluctant to make too many conclusions until we find out this could be something different. But again white man enters church, kills nine black people in a historic site in abolition and religious freedom, et cetera. It does have an impact on the community and that's what's stunning to everyone.

CUOMO: Authorities didn't have to call it a hate crime. They don't have to call it anything right now. What do think the message is in the resistance that we are seeing online, the people seeing it called a hate crime? Why does it have to be about race? Why can't it just be a crime? Why do you see that as?

HILL: Well, I think it is part of a broader consistent narrative in America that we don't want to deal with race. We don't want to name race. We don't want to out race. Let's be color blind even when someone comes into church and kills nine people. Unfortunately, it only seems to happen on the black side of things.

CUOMO: We're color blind, but at the wrong times.

HILL: Exactly. This would be a time to walk and say, wait a minute, this could be. This is a hate crime. This could be terrorism. Again, depending on his intent, depending on what hit the broader, social political ideology.

I think if it happened in the LGBT spaces we'd be having a different conversation. If it happened in a synagogue, we'd be having a different conversation. If that were a Muslim doing this right now, we would be calling terrorism immediately. I think we have to think about that.

PEREIRA: Mark and Michaela, thank you so much for sticking around with us today, a tough conversation, series of them to have. I'm glad you're here with us.

We are going to continue to watch this breaking news out of South Carolina. A manhunt continuous, nine people killed at this historic black church in Charleston. The mayor, the police chief, calling it a hate crime. We're going to tell you what we know about that gunman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: We are following breaking news out of Charleston, South Carolina this morning, nine people killed at a historic church in what local leaders call a hate crime. The FBI is now joining the investigation.

Officials releasing these images of the suspected gunman who apparently went to a bible study group at the church and sat there for an hour before opening fire.

The church's pastor, Clementa Pinckney who was also a state senator is among those nine killed. Police are trying to apprehend the suspect right now. There is an active manhunt underway. We have developments for you live from Charleston. We will speak with the relatives of the late pastor. That's moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. We do have breaking news this morning, a gunman opening fire inside of an historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people have lost their lives. They were there for a bible study class last night.

Authorities are labeling the massacre a hate crime because of what was done and said inside. Insisting they will respond as a community of love and make sure that the murderer pays the price.

CAMEROTA: Please take a look at your screen right now. Police are releasing this picture of the suspect. This is the clearest picture that we have. This rampage came at the Emanuel AME Church. This is the older AME Church in the south. The church's pastor who is also a state senator is among those killed this morning.

So let's begin our coverage with Nick Valencia. He is live outside of that church in Charleston. What have you learned this hour, Nick?

VALENCIA: Good morning, Alisyn. An active manhunt underway for this alleged shooter that left nine people dead in a mass shooting last night here in downtown Charleston. What police have been saying is that they believe this gunman sat for an hour while a bible study session was underway.

We can confirm to you among the nine killed is a state senator, also a pastor here, Clementa Pinckney.