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19 Children, 2 Adults Are Killed In Texas School Shooting; Texas Nominee For Attorney General Discusses Gun Violence; Senate Democrats Take Steps To Bring Gun Reform To Vote. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 25, 2022 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I just want to touch personally on the fact you are the daughter of two public school teachers. You're also a new mom as I understand it. What are you thinking right now as your state is going through this?

ROCHELLE GARZA, (D) NOMINEE FOR TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm devastated. I know that every single Texan was devastated yesterday and we woke up again this morning incredibly devastated, but also angry that our leadership has done nothing to protect the children of this state.

I'm a -- I'm a fifth-generation Texan. I'm a new mom. My baby just turned two months old yesterday. And when I learned I was pregnant, I -- the first thought I had was I'm going to have to send her to school someday and this might be some reality that we might have to face.

This is why I ran for this office to unseat a corrupt attorney general, Ken Paxton. We need new leadership in Texas now more than ever to change what's going on, and that's what I'm doing. That's what I'm focusing on come November.

KEILAR: It also has to do with the intensity, right, that voters feel for the issues -- and right now it isn't enough. I wonder if you think this mobilizes them into a critical mass that might actually change things.

GARZA: Absolutely. Texans are tired of the leadership that we have right now.

The 6-week abortion ban that we experienced at the -- at mid-last year and then the potential fall of Roe have been at the top of mind of voters. And now, this is just another example of failed leadership that we have. Texans are ready to have something better.

KEILAR: But -- sorry to interrupt you, Rochelle but on -- but on guns, right -- I mean -- and I ask you this specifically because you saw in the last year, despite rising rates, right, in gun violence that actually Texas adopted some more pro-gun laws. Do you think that not just in Texas but around the country that this is going to sway voters who are in the majority when it comes to some of these measures? GARZA: I do think so. Texas -- you know, we have very unrestrictive laws. We have open-carry, permit-less carry, constitutional carry here in Texas and clearly, it's not made us any safer.

You know, Ken Paxton, yesterday, suggested that we arm teachers and that the solution would be more guns. That's absolutely not true. We need to close the gun hole loopholes that we've got here in Texas and we have to have sensible gun policies.

Look, I love Texas. I'm a Texan. I grew up hunting with my dad. But I learned gun safety.

We need to have licensing requirements to make sure that people aren't misusing firearms. We need to do better and we can do better.

KEILAR: I want to play what -- you just referenced it, but here's what Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: You can't stop bad people from doing bad things. They're going to violate murder laws. They're not going to follow gun laws. I've never understood that argument.

We can potentially arm, and prepare, and train teachers and other administrators to respond quickly because the reality is we don't have the resources to have law enforcement at every school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: What would that look like, practically speaking, arming teachers?

GARZA: It's a ridiculous notion. Arming teachers is not the solution. We all know that. I know I wouldn't feel safe. When my -- when my daughter becomes school age, I'm not going to want to send her into a school building where everyone is armed with firearms. That's not the solution.

We need to ensure that we do not get guns in the hands of folks that are going to do things like this. There are children that are dead. It's absolutely devastating and it's -- I'm outraged by what happened. Every single Texan should be outraged.

And we need to look at the leadership that we have in Ken Paxton and we need to get him out of office because he is not making us any safer. These policies are only making things more dangerous for our families.

KEILAR: Rochelle Garza, we do appreciate you being with us this morning. We're so sorry for your state and what you are enduring today. Rochelle Garza, the Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General. Thanks for being with us.

GARZA: Thank you. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Just in, we are learning from officials here in Texas that the two adults killed along with 19 children inside the school are both teachers. The family of Eva Morales confirms that she is one of them. Eva taught fourth grade at the Robb Elementary School and spent 17 years as an educator.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:39:03]

KEILAR: The massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas prompting renewed pleas for Congress to do what it has failed to after so many mass shootings -- take action on guns. Senate Democrats have moved to bring a House-passed bill on background checks up for a vote. So what are the chances that it's actually going to happen?

CNN's Lauren Fox is live for us in Washington on this. What are the chances, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these bills were passed in the House of Representatives back in March of 2021, but the Senate had yet to act. And that was for a couple of reasons, one of which is the fact that there just are not 10 Republican votes. And this became a calculation for Democratic leadership about whether or not to hold these messaging votes at all given the fact that this was seen as a futile effort.

[07:40:00]

This also happened as Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who represented the state of Connecticut back when Sandy Hook first happened -- he was trying to work behind the scenes with Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, to find some kind of middle ground on background checks and closing the so-called Charleston Loophole that allowed that shooter to purchase a gun when his background check had still not cleared.

So there were some negotiations transpiring for months. But at the end of the day, Republicans just never got on board with any kind of middle ground.

So now, the question becomes will Schumer bring these bills up for an actual vote? Yesterday, he took a procedural step that would enable him to go ahead and take an additional vote in the future, but there's no guarantee that this is actually going to come to the floor for the Senate. I'm told Democrats still need to have some conversations about what these next steps are.

But you heard yesterday, from Sen. Murphy, an impassioned plea on the floor of the Senate to his colleagues to take some action on gun reform. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I'm here on this floor to beg -- to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues. Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely. I understand my Republican colleagues will not agree to everything that I may support but there is a common denominator that we can find.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And I talked to many Republicans yesterday in the wake of this horrific shooting, asking them is there anything that they could support. So many of them, Brianna, told me we need more answers. We need to figure out what the facts are before we take any action. That pause, of course, something that we have heard over and over again from Republicans in Congress -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, time is the enemy of action on this one, I'm afraid.

Lauren Fox, live for us in Washington. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, joining us now, the fathers of two victims of the 2018 shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Fred Guttenberg and Manuel Oliver.

Fred, I want to start with you. And I know it's hard to ask you to relive the worst day of your life but these families here in Uvalde this morning -- what are they going through?

FRED GUTTENBERG, FATHER OF PARKLAND VICTIM JAIME GUTTENBERG: Trying to figure out how to get from one second to the next. I remember that week and honestly, I -- my wife and I talk about this a lot now. We don't even know how we ate that week. We don't know where the food came from. I don't know who fed my son.

So, in many cases, they're just -- it's basic necessities and just getting from one second to the next. It's -- this reality and necessity to have to plan a funeral, to write eulogies, to embrace one another and hold each other up just so you can make it to the next day, it's brutal and it's hard, and it's violent. And you start learning about the violence that took the lives of these children that you love. It's not easy.

And I just want those families to know there is an army of survivors like Manny and I who are out there. We are there for them. We will continue to be there for them. And if they need us now, we're there now. If they need us in a few weeks, we'll be there in a few weeks. But these next few days -- I can't sugarcoat it.

Because of this country's failure to deal with guns, because of the political environment in that state, and people like Sen. Cruz and Gov. Abbott, this happened. And it's just -- I apologize for rambling. I didn't sleep last night.

BERMAN: How could you? How could anyone sleep last night after what happened here? And these families are going to need you. They're going to need both of you -- to lean on you. Manuel, again, to take you back, how hard -- how hard was it for you to believe what had happened? How hard will it be for these families to just believe the horror?

MANUEL OLIVER, FATHER OF PARKLAND VICTIM JOAQUIN "GUAC" OLIVER (via Skype): I will say to understand you can't believe this just like that. I mean, it's a whole new reality for your life, for your future. Some of these parents might think that they don't want to live anymore. The whole meaning of life is gone in such a terrifying way.

[07:45:05]

So it's going to take a lot of time, and crying, and years, and pain. And I would love to say that they will find their own path. We all try to do our best. It's a very personal decision what you end up doing.

But it's a matter of time and understanding that you -- we are here as parents. We -- this is not about Fred or me; it's about Jaime and Joaquin. And we are fathers until the last day that we are here. Our role is not over. So, I think that thinking that parenting is not over, it helps a lot to keep them going.

BERMAN: Manuel, what about you personally? What's it like for you to see the news alert on your phone -- 19 kids killed in an elementary school?

OLIVER: Well, it might sound silly but I'm used to news like that one on my phone. I belong to a small universe of people that are very concerned about -- very concerned about gun violence. And that's my daily basis (ph).

So, it's just not an exception. I wish it was. I wish I could be surprised about what happened yesterday but we live in a society that it shows us that we shouldn't be surprised by this. It's going to vanish at some point. It's going to lose attention. And if it's not for the people that are ready to raise their voices and not stop -- again, like Fred, like me, like some kids out there and some other parents -- nobody will be speaking about Parkland today.

So, sometimes we need to take things by our hands if we want to accomplish goals. We have to do way more. I am not happy with our result as of today but that doesn't mean that we're not going to keep on doing it tomorrow and after tomorrow.

BERMAN: Fred, we -- the victims haven't been identified yet. We know the names of two of the children. But we learned details --

GUTTENBERG: Yes.

BERMAN: -- about their lives -- their young lives, and these kids were just 10 years old. We learn about the smile of Xavier.

For these parents, how important is it -- we're looking at a picture right now. That's Amerie Jo, 10 years old. Her father was searching for her for seven hours last night before learning this morning that she had died. He asked the angels to watch over her this morning. GUTTENBERG: I remember those moments.

BERMAN: It's so hard. It's just so hard.

That's Xavier. His mother said he was always smiling. Never saw him without a smile. Just made the honor roll yesterday. The honor roll ceremony was just hours before the shooting itself.

GUTTENBERG: You know, my daughter should have just finished up her first year of college. I spent the past year watching pictures of all of the kids that she was friends with living out their first year of college. And so, I tell you that because my rabbi said at Jaime's funeral we don't move on; we move forward.

And my hope for these parents is that they find a path moving forward where they can live and be there for those they love who are still here, and having what I call a new normal. But always, always, always remembering that which you no longer have with you. And new things will come -- new memories, new people.

Listen, I've told Manny this before and others. I hate that I know Manny Oliver. I did not know him before this. But I love him like a brother now and I'm thankful for that.

And these families will have moments and new people like that. But they will always, always, always have to visit their child at a cemetery, and that will never be normal.

[07:50:00]

BERMAN: How do you balance, Fred, the love -- the need for love? The need to hold onto that love. How do you balance that with the anger, the rage that you must have?

GUTTENBERG: I suppose it's why people like Manny and I do what we do, traveling the country, fighting to reduce gun violence. Calling out the politicians who just do horrible things. Because my love for my daughter and what led to her loss gave me mission and purpose.

And, I mean, listen -- again, you're in Texas. Three years ago I sat with Sen. Cruz begging and pleading him to be different. He chose a different path. And so, that's where my anger comes in because I don't want to give him any grace anymore. There's no begging. I want him gone. I want him to lose. I want him out of office.

The same thing with Gov. Abbott. My love for my daughter and for these kids who were just killed demands me in this moment of anger to call on him to resign. He is the person who put out a tweet a couple of years ago saying we don't have enough guns in Texas. We need more. He is the person who pushed through laws that made shootings like this more likely.

So my love for my daughter has turned me into a fighter for others because I don't want to watch more 10-year-old kids die.

BERMAN: Fred Guttenberg, Manuel Oliver, I mean this in the nicest possible way. I long for the day when I don't have to talk to you in the mornings. I wish for that day.

But I appreciate the efforts that you both are making. I appreciate the availability you both give to the families who are going through this here in Uvalde, Texas this morning. Thank you for being here.

GUTTENBERG: Thank you.

OLIVER: Thank you.

BERMAN: We have new details on the investigation here in Uvalde, including what crews did in those terrifying moments to rescue children.

You're going to hear an emotional plea from Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr who says he's just fed up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE KERR, HEAD COACH, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: And now we have children murdered at school. When are we going to do something?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:57:06]

BERMAN: All right, good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Wednesday, May 25. I'm John Berman live in Uvalde, Texas. Brianna Keilar is in New York.

And behind me is the Robb Elementary School. Nineteen children who went to school here are dead this morning along with two teachers. We're talking second, third, fourth-graders.

We've just learned the identities of two of the young victims. Ten- year-old Amerie Jo Garza has been identified by her father. He had spent seven hours trying to find her in the wake of the shooting. He now says my little love is flying high with the angels above.

And 10-year-old fourth-grader Xavier Lopez. His mother snapped this photo of him at an honor roll ceremony just a few hours before the shooting. According to The Washington Post, she told him she was proud and that she loved him before hugging him goodbye for the last time.

And a family member confirms to CNN that Eva Morales, a fourth-grade teacher, was one of the teachers killed.

I'm joined now by CNN's Shimon Prokupecz. Also joining us is Lt. Chris Olivarez. He's a spokesperson with the Texas Department of Public Safety, South Texas Region.

Lieutenant, I just want to start with you here. Give us the latest on the state of the investigation in terms of the number of victims and the latest we know. LT. CHRIS OLIVAREZ, SPOKESMAN, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, SOUTH TEXAS REGION: Right. So the latest (INAUDIBLE) we have is 19 children are deceased as well as two adults, two of those being teachers, for a total of 21 victims.

We are still processing the scene at the school with our Texas Rangers, as well as working with federal partners and local law enforcement. We do know now that all the victims have been removed from the school. All the families have been notified as well.

BERMAN: All the victims have been removed. All the families have been notified.

OLIVAREZ: That's correct.

BERMAN: So, all the victims have been identified.

OLIVAREZ: That's correct.

BERMAN: OK.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: How difficult has that been for the -- a lot of what I want to -- for me, the families and how difficult that must be for them. And your officers have been doing a lot of the notifications, I assume.

OLIVAREZ: Right.

PROKUPECZ: How has that been going?

OLIVAREZ: You know, I could tell you it's just hard to put into words. As a parent myself, just to even think of what these families are going through right now -- not only the families but the entire community here in Uvalde.

But yes, we are working closely with the local law enforcement here and with school officials trying to identify. And, of course, we made those identifications during the night.

And right now, we're trying to provide further closure for the families by having a thorough investigation, trying to exactly identify what caused this mass shooting. What triggered this. That's what we're trying to identify right now.

BERMAN: Do you have a sense of how many people were wounded here and how -- what their condition may be at this hour?

OLIVAREZ: So, I don't have an exact number. I do know there's multiple children that were inside that classroom that were wounded as well, but I don't have the exact number at this time right now.

PROKUPECZ: Lieutenant, there's a lot of questions about the timeline here.

OLIVAREZ: Right.

PROKUPECZ: It starts with the grandmother at the home.

OLIVAREZ: Right.

PROKUPECZ: What happens there?

OLIVAREZ: Right. So, the initial incident was a domestic disturbance involving a shooter with his grandmother, in which the shooter actually shot his own grandmother. From that point, he fled the scene in a vehicle.

[08:00:00]