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Questions, Criticism Mounts Over Police Response to Shooting; 10-Year-Old Survivor: 'I Don't Want to Ever Go Back to School'; Husband of Teacher Killed in Shooting Dies from Heart Attack; McConnell Directs Cornyn to Work with Dems on Gun Violence. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired May 27, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Today was supposed to be the first day of summer break for 19 children and two teachers. Instead, the families are planning their funerals.

[05:59:45]

I'm John Berman in Uvalde, Texas, this morning. Brianna Keilar is in Washington.

This morning, our exclusive conversation with an 11-year-old girl who survived the worst of the attack here at the Robb Elementary School. She saw her teacher killed.

For the first time we learn what the killer said before he fired his gun in that classroom. We hear new details about what he did. This witness says he played music during the massacre. And we learn what this brave 11-year-old did to stay alive while it was all happening.

All of this at the top of the next hour.

In the meantime, the police response to the tragedy that took place here is facing intense scrutiny. And there are new questions about the timeline. This is what we know.

The 18-year-old gunman was not -- not -- confronted by law enforcement before he entered the building. This contradicts what we were told repeatedly by law enforcement.

Officers at the scene, we are told, were calling for backup as shots were being fired inside the school. A source close to a teacher who was inside says the school was not on lockdown before the shooter entered, even though he fired shots at two people near the school 12 minutes earlier.

Frantic parents arriving at the scene were held back by police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Officials say they were holding the parents back because of the volatile nature of the situation.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And this morning we are learning the identities of more young victims.

Layla Salazar was 11 years old. She loved to run, film TikTok videos and dance.

And 10-year-old Alithia Ramirez loved to draw. She wanted to be an artist.

For many of the young survivors, the experience left them shaken and scarred. Here's how a second grader described his ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD TIMOTHY SILVA, ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SECOND GRADER: I was praying, thinking why is this happening? I have the fear of guns now, because I'm scared someone might shoot me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: President Biden and the first lady will be visiting Uvalde on Sunday to comfort families who lost loved ones and to speak to community leaders.

BERMAN: Again, in just a little bit we're going to hear the story of an 11-year-old girl who saw the worst of it. First, though, CNN's Adrienne Broaddus with me.

And Adrienne, you spoke to a young boy who lived through this, as well. What did he tell you?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's a survivor. He doesn't remember much about that Tuesday, but he does recall certain moments. For example, the moment he heard the gunfire. He said his teacher quickly locked the door and told the students to hide and be quiet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROADDUS (voice-over): Jayden Perez is better today.

JAYDEN PEREZ, SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Still sad about some of the -- some of my friends that died.

BROADDUS (voice-over): And the 10-year-old shooting survivor says talking helps.

PEREZ: It was very terrifying, because I never thought that was going to happen.

BROADDUS: Inside a fourth-grade classroom, the 10-year-old said he and his classmates hid near the backpacks. This photo of the classroom was taken long before the shooting. PEREZ: Five of us hiding there and the rest under a table, but that

didn't stop one of my friends getting hurt. The shooter shot through the window and hurting my friend and my teacher. Like my teacher got hurt like on -- like on -- I don't know which side, but she got hit -- like hit on the side.

And then -- and then my friend got, like, shot through the nose, and they had -- and they both had to get surgery.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Perez said an officer helped him and his classmates escape through a window, but not before the shooter had killed his friends.

PEREZ: Makenna, Tess, Annabell. Basically almost some of them -- basically almost all of them.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Jayden's pain not physical but emotionally paralyzing.

PEREZ: Because after that happened, no.

BROADDUS: Do you ever want to go back to school?

PEREZ: I don't want to, no, because I don't want anything to do with another shooting and me in the school.

BROADDUS: You're scared it might happen again?

PEREZ: Uh-huh. And I know it might happen again probably.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Jayden's mom Crystal shared these pictures, taken about 90 minutes before the shooting. She's with her son at the school, celebrating Jayden's honor roll achievement. His mom said waiting, not knowing, was tough.

BROADDUS: What did you tell your mom when you finally saw her?

PEREZ: I left my water bottle at school.

BROADDUS: Your water bottle. Did you hug her?

PEREZ: Uh-huh. Well, she hugged me first. She was like --

[06:05:02]

BROADDUS: Was she so happy to see you?

PEREZ: Yes, and my dad, and my grandma.

BROADDUS: What do your parents mean to you?

PEREZ: A lot. Because they brought me into this world.

BROADDUS (voice-over): A world where schools are also crime scenes.

BROADDUS: Did you hear the gunfire? PEREZ: Yes. You never know whenever you can lose -- lose someone close

to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROADDUS (on camera): And at 10, he is reminding everyone to hug people that you love while you can. This after witnessing what he saw inside of this school behind us.

He said -- he told me before Tuesday he wanted to become a police officer as an adult. Now that's changed. He says he wants to be a surgeon, because he wants to help people after witnessing what he saw here.

BERMAN: And I'm sure he will. Look, when he describes the hug that his mother gave him, I just can't imagine what that hug must have been like.

BROADDUS: It meant everything for mom. She said, Yes, he was concerned about his water bottle, but I don't care about the water bottle. That's material. A water bottle can be replaced. And she said it felt like an eternity waiting to be reunited with her son.

BERMAN: And to see the picture, she was in the school. She was in the school with him --

BROADDUS: Yes.

BERMAN: -- an hour before this all happened. Adrienne, terrific reporting. Thank you so much for being with us.

We do have more information about the investigation this morning. For that, let's bring in CNN's Shimon Prokupecz.

Shimon, look, there are still a lot of unanswered questions here, and now we have direct contradictions, as well.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We have direct contradictions. We have a timeline, finally a more fuller timeline. But despite all that, John, there are still significant questions here about the police response.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Growing outrage as more details emerge about the crucial hour a shooter had barricaded himself in a classroom at Robb Elementary School.

ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D), TEXAS STATE SENATE: You go in, and that didn't happen here. I don't want to Monday morning quarterback this thing, but at the end of the day we have to find out for the future, so that this never happens again, what kind of failures happened. And I feel in this situation, standing back was not the thing to do.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in Tuesday's massacre. (SHOUTING)

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): And new video reveals parents frantic outside the school begging law enforcement to enter.

VICTOR LUNA, FATHER OF ROBB ELEMENTARY FOURTH GRADE STUDENT: I told one of the officers myself if they didn't want to go in there let me borrow a gun and a vest, and I'll go in there myself to handle it, and they told me no.

I mean, they -- like they say they were doing their job, but they could have done it quicker before that man went in the school.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Criticism over the police response is mounting.

ANTHONY BARKSDALE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Since Columbine we've known that law enforcement has known that you don't have a second to waste when you're dealing with an active shooter.

Police engage the teachers. Get the kids out of here and you hold that ground. You bang it out with them until heavier weapons arrive. Those parents were right.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Further law enforcement is now backpedaling earlier statements made to the public in the hours after the shooting. On Tuesday, the public was told that the shooter engaged with the school resource officer, but that was not the case.

VICTOR ESCALON, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, SOUTH TEXAS: He was not confronted by anybody, to clear the record on that.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): There was no school resource officer at the school when the shooter entered the building. Here is where the timeline of events stands, according to law enforcement.

At 11:28 a.m., the gunman crashed his vehicle in a ditch near the school. Onlookers nearby saw the crash and the gunman emerge, weapon in hand.

ALBERT VARGAS, SAW SHOOTER BEFORE HE ENTERED SCHOOL: Came out with an automatic weapon, shot at least twice, maybe three times at them. And then that's when he spotted me and, boy, I mean, I was already in motion to run, and that's when he bam, bam.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): At 11:40 a.m., the gunman seems to have walked into the school through an unlocked door.

Inside, the gunman entered the classroom and fired more than 25 times. At 11:44 a.m., law enforcement entered the school. They immediately received fire and took cover.

Officers say the shooter was barricaded in a classroom, and they were talking to him. They also called for backup. Officials defending the response to the shooting. LT. CHRIS OLIVAREZ, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: At that point

they had the suspect contained within the classroom. If those officers weren't there, if they did not maintain their presence, there's a good chance that gunman could have made it to other classrooms and commit more killings.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): There is still a crucial hour where details are sparse as to why officers were not able to breach that barricaded classroom and apprehend the gunman.

[06:10:07]

ESCALON: We will be doing updates. We will be doing updates to answer those questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Answer that question now, sir.

What is your name?

PROKUPECZ: Shimon Prokupecz from CNN.

ESCALON: Shimon, I hear you.

PROKUPECZ: Because we've been given a lot of bad information, so why don't you clear all of this up now and explain to us how it is that your officers were in there for an hour, yes, rescuing people but yet no one was able to get inside that room.

ESCALON: Shimon, we will -- we will circle back with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ: And, John, it's really that hour that this gunman was inside that has law enforcement experts raising all sorts of questions, because people want to know. They want to know what did the police do to try and engage, to try and stop the gunman in that hour.

And there are still so many questions, because the police are not revealing what they were doing. Yes, they were taking kids out. They were rescuing some of the kids that were not in that classroom. But what efforts did they make in that crucial hour to try and stop that gunman?

BERMAN: From right here you were trying to figure out how the classroom was barricaded, which is the word they keep on using, but they still haven't told us, right?

PROKUPECZ: That's right. And it's raising serious questions, because if you hear some of these explanations, I'm not -- it's not entirely clear that the initial officers even approached this classroom door where we've been told was somehow barricaded or locked.

Because the explanation keeps being that they were taking gunfire, and then they had to take cover. So how close to this door did they get? And did they, in fact, try to breach this door and get inside this classroom to stop the gunman? BERMAN: Again, we are going to speak once again to Lieutenant Chris

Olivarez, who we've spoken to repeatedly. We're going to get a chance to talk to him next hour and put some of these questions to him as this story -- and I'm putting this charitably -- evolves.

PROKUPECZ: Certainly. And look, the thing is that we were given bad information early on, and it sort of has taken on this narrative. And then they're saying, well, we need to talk to other people; we need to continue to talk to witnesses.

But the fact is that these investigators should have a better timeline by this point, John.

BERMAN: The school -- either the resource officer was there or not. And that's something that could have been known, should have been known within hours.

Shimon Prokupecz, thank you for asking the questions. Thank you for your reporting.

So the husband of one of the teachers who was killed here has died. Family members say it was from a broken heart. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:49]

BERMAN: Such a tragic development here in Uvalde. We've learned that Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the fourth-grade teachers killed here at the Robb Elementary School, the husband Joe has died from a heart attack.

His death came shortly after he left flowers here. His family said he died of a broken heart after losing the love of his life for more than 25 years. They had four children.

Our hearts go out to that family that has suffered so much. Their larger family here in the Uvalde community standing behind them all this morning.

So as they mourn, there are still questions about the investigation and the timeline. Joining me investigative reporter for the "Austin American-Statesman," Tony Plohetski.

Tony, thank you so much for being with us. This timeline now, days after the event, law enforcement laying it out there. What questions do you still have this morning?

TONY PLOHETSKI, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN": Well, I think there are several critical -- critical minutes that happened once about a handful of officers, municipal and school district police officers arrived at the scene.

And I think one of the main questions is exactly what they did to try to confront that gunman as he barricaded himself in that classroom. We understand that there was, in fact, an exchange of gunfire, but that is something, too, that is part of the investigation as officials are trying to build the timeline themselves.

One of the things that I'm told they're going to be relying upon is ballistics -- are ballistics in terms of using ballistics to try to figure out which police officers may have fired and at what point during the sequence of events he or she may have fired.

BERMAN: It's not crystal-clear at this point to what extent they fired before he even got inside that classroom. We had been told -- look, initially we were told there was an exchange of fire with him outside the school, but then we were told that officers fired at him before he got in the classroom. Now I'm not sure that's clear.

PLOHETSKI: It's absolutely not clear. I mean, again, we've seen this story shift since the very beginning of this tragedy on Tuesday.

And I think another question that is almost uncomprehensible [SIC] -- uncomprehensible [SIC] to think about, and that is once he was inside that classroom, how were the officers then trying to stop the bloodshed that happened inside?

Law enforcement officials -- law enforcement experts tell me at that point, you've got to do almost anything possible, even if it means putting your own life in the line of fire to protect those children.

And so the degree to which that happened or why it may not have happened is, I think, a huge unanswered question at this hour.

BERMAN: Tony, you also cover guns here in Texas. It's interesting. It will be interesting to see how all these questions about the police timeline figures into the discussion about guns and gun safety.

PLOHETSKI: It certainly complicates it. I mean, here in Texas and particularly in small-town Texas like Uvalde, you have a "back the blue" sentiment that runs really deep, as well, as well as pro-Second Amendment rights.

And so some of the people I was talking to on that town square yesterday evening were trying to just reconcile all of this. They certainly did not like the fact that they were having to challenge their own beliefs about police officers and police conduct.

I do think it is important to mention and underscore that, according to what law enforcement officials told us yesterday and in the previous couple of days is that once those officers retreated after taking fire, they did, according to officials, then begin assisting in the evacuation of other students and teachers.

But, again, a huge question about what they were trying to do to preserve the lives of those children and teachers inside that barricaded classroom.

BERMAN: Tony Plohetski, thanks so much for being with us this morning and talking us through these issues. Great work you've been doing here.

PLOHETSKI: You bet. Thank you. BERMAN: So in Washington Mitch McConnell seems to have opened the door

to a bipartisan response to the shooting here. What the Republican leader is telling CNN.

Plus, federal judges appointed by former President Trump have ruled against limiting gun sales to people younger than 21. Stay with us. Our special live coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:08]

KEILAR: There is new CNN reporting this morning Senate Majority [SIC] Leader Mitch McConnell says he directed Texas Senator John Cornyn to collaborate with Democrats for a solution on gun violence to see if they can maybe find a middle ground on any legislation to respond to the Uvalde shooting.

CNN correspondent Lauren Fox broke this story. She's with us now for the latest on this. The question always is, is this movement theater or is this actual movement?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and we don't know the answer to that definitively yet, whether or not McConnell is trying to encourage John Cornyn to start these conversations, maybe realizing that they may not lead anywhere, or are they really trying to seek a solution?

I will say it's significant that McConnell wanted to talk about this, that he stopped and answered a question about this, because you've covered the Hill. McConnell goes back and forth from the floor to his office, often completely ignoring reporter questions.

He wanted to answer a question about this, and he told me directly yesterday, "I have encouraged Cornyn to talk with Senator Murphy and Senator Sinema and others who are interested in trying to get an outcome that is directly related to the problem. I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution."

Now, the keywords there, directly related to the problem. What does he mean by that? We are not talking about changes in gun laws that would address, you know, limiting AR-15s in this country. We are not talking about a debate on limiting the size of magazines on these kinds of guns.

Instead, what he's talking about is a more limited universe of solutions, things like red-flag laws, background checks, access to mental health. That seems to be the area that Republicans are more willing to engage on.

In fact, when Senator Cornyn got back from Texas yesterday, I talked to him, and he directly said that mental health was something he thought lawmakers should start having a conversation on.

He was a little more skeptical on the questions of background checks, because they want to know more information about what happened in this shooting. Republicans often, you'll see after these mass shootings will pivot to what was directly related to stopping the last mass shooting that we are watching unfold in the United States.

KEILAR: When really we should be looking at all of them together, right? What the trends are that we're seeing. So they're going away or they left already, right?

FOX: Yes.

KEILAR: They're back in a week and change.

FOX: Yes.

KEILAR: It's amazing how quickly momentum can slow, right? What do you think is going to happen?

FOX: Well, you saw some bipartisan conversations happening yesterday on the Senate floor, some more formal conversations happening after votes yesterday.

But the reality is, can you keep this discussion up when lawmakers return? Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from the state of Connecticut, who has led on these issues, he told me he is going to be having phone conversations next week. He is not just going to just take next week off and come back to this when they return.

He views this as there's momentum; we need to act now. I want to be ready to have some kind of framework in hand when we get back.

And Schumer said this yesterday on the floor, the majority leader: if Republicans do not make a decision on what they're willing to support or they continue to use delay tactics, we're going to bring those House-passed background check bills to the floor.

We are not just going to give them unlimited amounts of time to delay this negotiation and delay this debate. They know that time is the enemy here.

KEILAR: Lauren Fox, thank you so much. Great reporting.

These high-profile mass shootings perpetrated by gunmen in their late teens coming at a time when the federal judiciary, many of them Trump appointees, have increasingly ruled against gun-control limits aimed at people who are under 21 years old, citing historical record that teenagers were in the militia when the Second Amendment was adopted in the U.S.

Let's bring in the anchor of "EARLY START" and CNN correspondent Laura Jarrett.