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Today: NRA Convention Will Go On In Texas, Trump To Speak; U.S. Preparing To Approve Long-Range Rocket System To Ukraine; Questions And Criticism Mounts Over Police Response To Shooting. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 27, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Was going on inside the classroom. It obviously was only an hour. She also said she was under the impression at the time that the police just weren't there. She kept waiting for them and became emotional over the last few days when she was aware that the police were outside.

Obviously, there is this new timeline now being provided by law enforcement where they are correcting some of the things that were erroneously told to us by them. There was no school resource officer outside this building. No one who engaged with the shooter before he got in the locked door. And we now know that he was inside for a full hour. An hour inside this building as anxious parents were outside -- some of them trying to get in themselves.

Again, we're hoping to speak to a public safety official -- a local official - to try to get a sense of where they are now in this timeline in this investigation.

We did just get some new information into CNN. The mother of the shooter was interviewed by CNN affiliate Televisa. Listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIANA MARTINEZ, GUNMAN'S MOTHER (through translator): I have no words. I have no words to say. I don't know what he was thinking. He had his reasons for doing what he did and please don't judge him. I only want the innocent children who died to forgive me.

REPORTER (through translator): What do you tell their families?

MARTINEZ: Forgive me. Forgive my son. I know he had his reasons.

REPORTER (through translator): What reasons could he have had?

MARTINEZ (through translator): To get closer to those children instead of paying attention to the other bad things. I have no words. I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Only grief here -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: So, just days after that mass shooting that claimed 21 lives, the NRA, undeterred, will kick off its annual convention in Houston today. Some scheduled performers have dropped out, but former President Trump is all in as the featured speaker.

CNN's Camila Bernal is live for us in Houston. Camilla, tell us what we're expecting.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna. Good morning.

Look, a lot of people wanted this to be canceled or to even be postponed, but it is going on as planned, as you mentioned. And we're also expecting protesters here in downtown Houston later on this afternoon.

In terms of the convention, they have not met in the last three years. The NRA had canceled their convention in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.

So this time around we are expecting influential conservatives and as you mentioned, President Donald Trump will be speaking this afternoon. One of their most important events is the leadership forum.

Not only is the former president going to be speaking but we're also going to hear from NRA leadership, from Sen. Ted Cruz. And we were expecting to see Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas. He is, instead, going to stay in Uvalde and is going to send a prerecorded video message for those attending.

Now, in terms of security, because President Donald Trump will be speaking later on this afternoon, it is the Secret Service that will be in charge of that hall where he will be speaking. No guns will be allowed inside of the hall according to Secret Service.

But outside of the convention the Houston Police Department saying they're going to be able to -- or going to try to protect both the people going to the convention and also the protesters. They say they're going to have two zones -- one for protesters; the other for counter-protesters. The one thing they did say is that they're not going to tolerate the disruption of property or any type of assault.

Now, in terms of those attending the protests today, organizers say between 1,000 and 5,000 people. Among them, gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke here from Texas. But a lot of the organizers that I spoke to told me that it's not just to express their frustration and their anger; they also want to register people here to vote -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Camila, thank you for that, live in Houston ahead of this NRA conference.

And at least four musicians who were set to perform at this conference by the NRA have canceled in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde. Don McLean, Larry Gatlin, Lee Greenwood, and Larry Stewart, those artists among them.

Joining us now is Pam Brown -- Pamela Brown, anchor "CNN NEWSROOM" and senior Washington correspondent. So you actually spoke with one of these artists, Larry Gatlin, and he told you -- he talked to you about this -- why he pulled out of the convention. I want to talk about that.

Let's listen to part of what he told you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY GATLIN, COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER: I did not cancel it in protest against the NRA. I'm a card-carrying member of the NRA and have been for 40 years, as was my father and as are my two brothers. I canceled it because I didn't think it was a good time to go down to Houston and have a party with them digging 21 fresh graves in the valley of my precious beloved Texas. I just did not believe it was the right thing to do.

[07:35:08]

It would have been kind of a classy move on the NRA's part -- and they need some good P.R. right now -- if they'd canceled the whole thing and said hey, we're going to go in here for one big moment and say a prayer for those folks or have a moment of silence, and we'll come back and do this later. We can always have our big convention. They decided not to do that.

And, you know, they just didn't ask this old simple country singer. My choice was to do that. Every large corporation makes good decisions and they make bad decisions. I happen to think this was a bad decision to carry it on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Yes. He says they're making the wrong move.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and he clearly supports the NRA. He is a card-carrying member of the NRA. He said that he was a proud gun owner.

But he made very clear that this was the wrong move for the NRA. That it should, at the very least, be postponed. Because look, the bottom line is this meeting is happening nearly 300 miles away from Uvalde, Texas where those 19 children and two teachers were killed. And as he said, it is in poor taste in his view to be carrying on this convention -- this meeting while these children and these teachers are being buried.

And so, it is notable that someone like Larry Gatlin, who is such a strong supporter, is not only pulling out of the meeting this weekend but he's also essentially, as you heard there, condemning the meeting this weekend as well, saying it should be postponed.

But I do want to note he said he would be open to going to future NRA meetings and being involved, and so forth. It was just -- his big issue was that it was happening in such close proximity of the shooting and obviously, how close it is to where the children are being buried.

KEILAR: Yes, geographically.

BROWN: Yes.

KEILAR: What else did he tell you?

BROWN: Well, I asked him about background checks because he actually supports background checks. The NRA does not. And he made the simple point of the fact that look, this is a time where you need to make concessions. You need to make compromises. You need to figure something out to prevent future gun violence like this.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GATLIN: I think there should be some way. You know, people want -- they talk about negotiating. Well, let's get together. Both sides of the aisle are always saying let's get together. They don't mean that. They really don't. They mean I'm going to come in there and tell you what to do.

If you're going to get together, inherent in that is that you leave some of your crap outside in the hall and that the other bunch leaves some of their crap outside in the hall, and you come in and take what crap you've got left and see if you can make something out of it. That is what negotiation and what coming together really means. It never has meant I'm going to get all of my stuff and you're going to get all of yours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Yes. I mean, it's a basic principle, right? But you see time and time again lawmakers failing to do anything about this. We see shooting after shooting -- school shooting after school shooting and nothing happens, essentially.

KEILAR: So I know -- you also spoke with just a heartbroken father whose daughter was killed in the massacre. This is part of that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE RODRIGUEZ, FATHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM ANNABELLE GUADALUPE RODRIGUEZ: As a father, I would have -- I would have just went in. I don't need nobody to tell me to go in and defend the harmless (ph) children. Why wait? Just take it upon -- your job -- you're officers serving in the peace and protect us and protect our children.

And one hour being in there too long. That's just too much. It should have been within minutes.

This man -- this man took it upon himself and harmed our children here, one at a time in an ugly way. They didn't do nothing to them -- to him. Now we're all scarred here.

I believe the officers, at that point, should have went in and took control -- not let this man finish off with them one a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: This is the pressing question at this point.

BROWN: Right.

KEILAR: Also because at that point, children were injured. And there is a very real question about whether if they'd gotten medical attention sooner would they have survived.

BROWN: Right, because we know of children who were taken to the hospital with wounds and then died. And it does raise all sorts of questions. Also, had they gone in sooner, would other children have been saved? I mean, these are like the tough questions we have to be asking.

[07:40:07]

And you can only imagine this grieving father who lost not only his daughter but his daughter's cousin in that shooting. He said why police were outside the classroom door for an hour? Why didn't they go in?

I mean, that -- and we still do not have answers from law enforcement. There is still not a clear understanding of why -- a clear accounting. And it's -- frankly, it's unacceptable. It's unacceptable. We're now more than 48 hours after this shooting and he is asking the question we are all asking today.

And you heard this child speaking to John Berman's producer, Nora, saying that she was in the classroom with the gunman and she understood later that police were outside the door. And she started crying during the interview with the producer because she didn't understand why the police did not come in to save her. She didn't understand.

KEILAR: She thought it was just taking them time to get to the school. She didn't know that they were there but hadn't come in, and it was so incredibly distressing to her.

Pam, thank you so much for sharing those interviews with us. We do appreciate it.

BROWN: Thank you.

KEILAR: Berman.

BERMAN: All right, thank you so much.

Listen, we're going to have much more of our exclusive conversation with a survivor from inside one of the classrooms. What she says the shooter did, the music she heard him play, and the lengths she went to survive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:47]

KEILAR: Multiple officials tell CNN the Biden administration is preparing to step up the kind of weaponry that it is offering Ukraine by sending advanced, long-range rocket systems that are now the top request from Ukrainian officials.

Joining me now with her new reporting is CNN White House reporter Natasha Bertrand. What are they talking about here?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. So this would actually really, according to experts and according to lawmakers who have been pushing for it, really be a game-changer in the war that Ukraine is fighting against Russia. Because these systems can launch rockets extremely far. They're extremely long-range, up to 186 miles.

And this is something that Ukrainian officials have been pushing for weeks because they are saying that they are outgunned and outmanned in Eastern Ukraine. That Russia is really kind of going scorched-earth in Eastern Ukraine and they are managing to take some territory back from the Ukrainians.

And so, the Ukrainians have been saying that they need these systems -- these heavy artillery systems that, again, have a very long range -- in order to turn the tide of the war there against the Russians.

And what we're told is that the administration has been very reluctant to send these systems because of the long range. Because of the possibility that Ukraine could actually launch those systems into Russia itself and thereby expand the war, and just kind of provoke Russia even further.

But what the Ukrainian officials have been saying is look, if we don't get these systems then we are essentially doomed here.

Take a listen to what the foreign minister Kuleba said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINE FOREIGN MINISTER: We need heavy weapons. The only position where Russia is better than us is the amount of heavy weapons they have. Without artillery, without multiple launch rocket systems, we won't be able to push them back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: This is really startling words that we've been hearing from the Ukrainians in recent days. They are becoming really increasingly desperate here for the United States to actually make a decision and to move on actually sending this equipment over. What we're told is that the administration is preparing to approve that and that it could be done as soon as next week even. But they are still very concerned about this possibility that the war

could expand even further. That Ukraine could use these systems to launch attacks inside Russia. And, of course, about the United States' own military readiness. Because, of course, every system that we give away to the Ukrainians is one less for the U.S. Army.

KEILAR: Yes, but Russia's making gains. You can't ignore it. It's there on the map.

Natasha, great reporting. Thanks so much.

And even more heartbreak in Uvalde, Texas as the grieving husband of one of the teachers killed dies of a heart attack. We are live in Texas, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:31]

BERMAN: All right, welcome back to the Robb Elementary School. Today, the first official day of summer vacation in this school district. Think of that.

Of course, these families -- instead of celebrating, instead of looking for a few days off, at this point, so many of them planning funerals. Nineteen children and two teachers gone.

Joining me now is Uvalde County Commissioner Ronald Garza. Thank you so much for being with us.

I just want people to know you went to school here. Your father was a teacher here. This school is part of you.

RONALD GARZA, UVALDE COUNTY COMMISSIONER: Yes, yes. Thank you for having me this morning, John.

Yes, I attended school here. And my dad's second teaching assignment was here at Robb Elementary years ago. Countless students have walked the halls of this elementary school and have gone on to become teachers and professors, and doctors and lawyers, and dedicated teachers.

BERMAN: Just to give people a sense of how closely entwined everything is in this community and through this school, we learned the awful news yesterday. Irma Garcia was one of the teachers that was killed here. We learned yesterday that her husband Joe died of a heart attack.

GARZA: Yes.

BERMAN: You knew them.

GARZA: Yes.

BERMAN: Tell me about that. GARZA: Yes, good people, hardworking. Of course, Irma dedicated her life here to teaching students and improving lives. Joe working with the local grocery outlet here for many years and dedicating his life to working for our local H-E-B grocery store here in Uvalde and then being transferred. Both come from good families -- good families.

BERMAN: And Joe, his family said, died of a broken heart --

GARZA: Yes.

BERMAN: -- which I think we can understand. I think this town -- this community has a broken heart this morning.

GARZA: Yes, we're hurting, we're hurting.

BERMAN: Let me ask you -- and I know how proud this town is and has been of its law enforcement and it stands behind the law enforcement here. But there's been so much confusion and so many questions. And we hear from parents anger and frustration about what they don't know now about the police response. And they're asking questions about what took so long for police here to go in.

What questions do you have?

GARZA: Yes. First of all, rightly so, the parents do demand answers. Lots of questions. Hopefully, we'll get lots of answers. I think the community deserves answers.

[07:55:00]

And, you know, it's just something that, right now, that -- a lot of mystery out there as to what took place. What went down.

BERMAN: Are you frustrated?

GARZA: Yes. I'm frustrated to a certain extent, yes. But I'm optimistic that in the days coming we'll have some answers. We'll have more answers and more details.

BERMAN: At least the parents -- one of the things we hear from the parents who were congregating here -- I don't know where you were that day but parents were saying let me go in.

GARZA: Yes.

BERMAN: If you're not going to go in, let me go in. I just have a hard time even imagining that pain.

GARZA: And that's the love that the parents have for these kids. We had two families -- two tenants rent from us and both are great families. They did the best to raise their kids. They groomed them well. They supported their kids. Jailah Silguero, one of the victims -- one of -- a cute little girl.

BERMAN: There's a cross there --

GARZA: Yes.

BERMAN: -- for her.

GARZA: Cute little girl. She would ride her bike around the apartment complex. Every time she'd see me she'd -- hi, Ronnie. You know, that was her line. She was riding her bike around the apartment complex.

BERMAN: What questions do you have for police here now?

GARZA: Well, I guess response time is a big thing that's coming up. There was a big gap there as to what went down -- what took place during that one hour where -- I mean, who was on duty? Who wasn't on duty? There's lots of questions that need to be answered and I'm hoping that once the answers are provided that we can all learn from this and move forward.

BERMAN: President Biden is coming here on Sunday. What do you want the president to see when he's here?

GARZA: I think that the president is -- you know, has a big heart. He's been through this. He knows what it is to lose family. I think we just need from the president -- and I welcome his appearance here in Uvalde. We need hope. We need empathy, sympathy from him -- understanding.

But then, we also want him to engage Congress to start talking and addressing the issue.

BERMAN: I hope you don't mind me saying before we came on air you were excited by the idea that there are at least discussions about bipartisan discussions.

GARZA: Yes, yes.

BERMAN: And why does that excite you?

GARZA: Well, for so many years there's been talk about this and they're actually going to sit down now. They're actually going to be reaching across the aisle -- Democrats, Republicans. And I heard on T.V. that Mitch McConnell instructed John Cornyn to -- hey, let's see what the Democrats have to offer.

And I'm praying. I'm optimistic that hopefully, something -- commonsense legislation will get done to prevent.

BERMAN: Listen, I can see the optimism in your -- in your face.

GARZA: Yes.

BERMAN: I hope they are worthy of the --

GARZA: Yes.

BERMAN: -- optimism you are showing now.

GARZA: Yes. BERMAN: I know you are looking to Washington for help, for answers.

Ronald Garza, so nice to meet you. Thank you so much.

GARZA: Thank you, John, for having me.

BERMAN: I just want to tell you this community has been so welcoming to us and everyone here. I know it's hard when the media comes in. But look, we're trying to get answers for all of you and --

GARZA: I do want to ask the nation -- the eyes of the nation are upon our community of Uvalde. I want to ask them for their continued prayers and support here in Uvalde.

BERMAN: Everyone's behind you.

GARZA: Thank you.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Ronald.

GARZA: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: All right. NEW DAY continues right now.

OK, welcome back. I'm John Berman in Uvalde, Texas. As I said, today was supposed to be the first day of summer break for the 19 children and two teachers. Instead, this community grieving, planning funerals.

We are here in Uvalde. Brianna Keilar in Washington.

And this morning, our exclusive conversation with an 11-year-old girl who survived the worst of the attack here. Eleven-year-old fourth- grader Miah Cerrillo was in class watching "Lilo & Stitch" when the shooter came to the door. She says he looked her teacher in the eye, said goodnight, then shot and killed her.

Miah also says she heard music during the massacre. She thinks the shooter was playing music from the other room. She described it as "I want to kill people" music.

Miah says one of her friends was lying beside her, bleeding, already dead. Miah took that blood and smeared it on herself so she could play dead to protect herself. She was concerned the shooter would come back into the room and kill her.

Miah also told us that she, herself, got a phone and called 911 -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Now, in the meantime, the police response to the tragedy that took place three days ago is facing some intense scrutiny. And there are new questions about the timeline here.

Here is what we know. The 18-year-old gunman was not confronted by law enforcement before he entered the building, and this is something.