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4 Dead after Gunman Opens Fire at Tulsa Hospital Building; Mayor Reveals 'Negotiator' Tried to Call Gunman Inside School; Buffalo Supermarket Gunman Indicted on Terror, Hate Charges; JPMorgan Chase CEO: Brace for Economic 'Hurricane'; Jury Sides with Depp, Orders Amber Heard to Pay Millions. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 02, 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: Good morning to viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Thursday, June 2. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar.

[06:00:08]

And we do begin with the deadliest mass shooting in America since last week. Four people killed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this time at a hospital complex which, of course, follows mass shootings at an elementary school, a grocery store and a church.

This is what we know. Tulsa police say the gunman opened fire with a handgun and a rifle before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Fewer than ten people are wounded. None at this point, we are told, with life-threatening injuries.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: This is now the 20th mass shooting in America since Uvalde just nine days ago, according to the Gun Violence Archive. And this comes as we learn dramatic new details about the police response at Robb Elementary school during the standoff there. We'll have more on that in a moment.

BERMAN: Let's begin, though, in Tulsa with the latest developments there. Lucy Kafanov is on the ground. Lucy, tell us what you're learning.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, guys. Dispatchers received a call about an active shooter at a physician's office here at the St. Francis Hospital campus shortly after 4:50 p.m. local time yesterday.

The call was that someone was at the facility with a rifle at an orthopedic center. Officers said they responded quickly. They heard gunshots. That's what directed them to the second floor, where the shooter was.

Sergeant Richard Meulenberg telling CNN that when officers ran up the stairs, the shooting suddenly stopped. When they got into the area, they found the first victim. They found the next victim, and then they found the shooter, who had shot himself, according to officers, with a pistol.

One person was shot here at the facility transported out and died outside of the facility, so a total of five dead including the gunman.

The suspect was found, as you point out, with two firearms, described by Meulenberg as a semi-automatic rifle and a semi-automatic pistol. Police say both weapons appeared to have been fired at some point during this incident.

Police also telling CNN multiple people were wounded, fewer than ten. No one had wounds considered to be life-threatening as of this hour.

But take a listen to what the police sergeant said. He said this was not a random attack. The shooter knew exactly where he was going and exactly who he was targeting. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. RICHARD MEULENBERG, TULSA POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is not a random event. It's not as if he went to a hospital and was indiscriminately shooting at people. He very purposefully went to this location, went to a very specific floor, and shot with very specific purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: And this is a multistory facility. Hundreds of rooms, hundreds of people inside. Witnesses and police describing madness and chaos as authorities searched the facility room by room, finding people hiding there.

Take a listen to the fear and the chaos described by two witnesses. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHELLE NATHAN, WITNESS: It's sad. It's so sad. I was coming to the doctor, and I got my grandkids with me, and this terrible scene. It's awful. It's sad. My daughter-in-law is from Buffalo, so now it's so close to home. It's not even safe if you come outside anymore, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like this really does happen. When you see it on TV, you don't think it's going to happen right in front of your eyes.

NATHAN: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now this is a wake-up call for my kids. Like, this can really happen anywhere, and it's very scary. You can't even go to a store. You can't even go to school.

NATHAN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now you can't even go to the doctor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: You heard the eyewitnesses there: You see it on TV. My team and I literally came here from Uvalde, Texas, where we covered the other mass shooting, 19 little children shot there, including their -- in addition to their two teachers.

Now here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma's second largest city. We know that the White House has been briefed on the situation. They're actively monitoring it.

Republican Governor Kevin Stitt tweeting his prayers -- his thoughts and prayers for the dead.

We are expecting another update from the police at around 10 a.m. local time. We'll be bringing you all the details then, guys.

BERMAN: More information coming on this. We know you'll be there. Lucy Kafanov, thank you so much.

KEILAR: We do have some new details this morning about the initial response to the Uvalde school massacre.

Uvalde's mayor says a would-be negotiator frantically tried to get the gunman inside the Robb Elementary school on the phone, but he didn't answer.

CNN's Nick Valencia is live for us there in Uvalde with the latest on this.

Nick, what can you tell us?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Brianna.

The mayor of Uvalde sitting down for his first on-camera interview more than a week since the shooting, helping fill in some of those details of the horrific day last week.

But for those of us waiting for more answers from police, we'll have to wait. The Texas Department of Public Safety announcing that they're no longer answering questions about the incident, referring all questions to the local district attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[06:05:07]

MAYOR DON MCLAUGHLIN, UVALDE, TEXAS: Our hearts are broken. Our hearts are broken for 21 family members.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin speaking out in an interview, saying he rushed to Robb Elementary School once he heard of the shooting but heard no 911 calls from students or shots fired.

MCLAUGHLIN: Look, when the call came out that there was a shooter at that school, I left and I went to that scene within 15 minutes.

And while I was there, you know, I did not hear the 911 calls. I can assure you, had we been aware of it, or I would have been aware of it, I would have been screaming. I did not hear them. That doesn't mean they weren't blaring on every radio there.

VALENCIA (voice-over): He says he was at the nearby Hillcrest Funeral Home with a negotiator who was trying to get the gunman on the phone.

MCLAUGHLIN: The moment he went in that classroom, they started calling. I wasn't there at the initial, but at the moment he went in that classroom they were trying to get numbers and call.

VALENCIA (voice-over): McLaughlin maintains trust in the law enforcement investigation, despite his frustrations with the changing narrative.

MCLAUGHLIN: They've had three press conferences, and at all three press conferences, something has changed. I'm not part of the investigation, but, I mean, what I am part of, I think the truth will come out. And if we made mistakes, we'll own those mistakes.

VALENCIA (voice-over): The Texas Department of Public Safety says they are no longer answering questions on the matter. All questions and inquiries from now on will be fielded by the district attorney's office.

The Uvalde D.A., Christina Busbee says once the investigation is complete she will, quote, "review it and see if there are any criminal charges that need to be brought."

This as there is mounting criticism directed at Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo. Arredondo spoke to CNN earlier Wednesday and says he is cooperating with the investigation, despite previous reports saying otherwise. He refused to give any substantive response to why he decided not to apprehend the gunman sooner.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You had an opportunity --

PETE ARREDONDO, FORMER UVALDE SCHOOL POLICE CHIEF/UVALDE COUNCIL MEMBER: And we're going -- oh, sure, and we're --

PROKUPECZ: -- to explain yourself to the parents.

ARREDONDO: And just so you know, we're going to do that eventually, obviously.

PROKUPECZ: When?

ARREDONDO: Whenever this is done, when the families quit grieving, then we'll do that, obviously.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Mayor McLaughlin says he has not spoken with Arredondo since the shooting but confirmed he is cooperating with DPS.

MCLAUGHLIN: Mr. Arredondo is not a Uvalde police officer. He works for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. I have no jurisdiction or -- over him whatsoever. I've reached out, but, like I said, I haven't -- I haven't -- I haven't talked to -- to Pete.

VALENCIA (voice-over): This as the community continues grieving and burying the 21 victims.

On Wednesday the funeral for Irma Garcia and her husband took place. Garcia shielded her fourth-grade students from the bullets.

Garcia's husband Joe died just two days after the shooting after a medical emergency.

This picture shows mourners around the pair's caskets.

DPS trooper Juan Maldonado also honored his friend teacher Eva Mireles and says he was with her the moment she died at Robb Elementary School.

TROOPER JUAN MALDONADO, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: It was an honor to spend the last moment with Eva as she left this Earth into a greater place. Eva is a fighter, and she did everything she could to protect her babies, and that's her students. So we know she did everything she could, and she protected them to her last breath.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (on camera): This still broken community trying to make sense of what happened last week, while there are still major questions as to why police waited nearly 80 minutes before breaching two locked classroom doors to kill the gunman -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Nick Valencia, live in Uvalde, thank you.

BERMAN: New this morning, the 18-year-old accused of killing ten people in a racist attack in a Buffalo supermarket has been indicted by a grand jury on 25 counts. He is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon.

Let's bring in CNN's Alexandra Field. What are we expecting, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So look, this is the second arraignment for the suspected shooter. The 18-year-old was previously in court. He entered a plea of not guilty related to the massacre. Now, a Buffalo grand jury handing down a slew of new charges. According to court documents, he's likely to face some of the following: ten counts of first-degree murder; ten counts of second- degree murder as a hate crime; three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime; along with a weapons charge; and a charge of domestic terror.

Investigators from the local, the state, the federal level have all been working together on this case. They say that this is a shooting that was thoroughly planned, based on the suspected shooter's statements and his writings. They say it is very clear that this was an attack that was motivated by hate and by racism.

The victims of the attack were 11 black people, two white people. Ten of them were killed. Three of them were left injured.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the Justice Department said that they, too, would investigate this as a hate crime and as a case of racially-motivated violent extremism.

[06:10:07]

Those injured, those killed ranged in age from 20 to 86 years old, all of them beloved members of this Buffalo community, which will clearly be carefully watching the court proceedings at 2 p.m. today.

BERMAN: Again, still dealing with the aftermath of Buffalo, even as the investigation continues in Texas; and this morning, we're learning more from Tulsa.

Alexandra, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

Brace yourself. That warning from the head of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon. Why he's worried an economic hurricane is on the horizon.

KEILAR: Plus, a big legal victory for Johnny Depp in his defamation case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

BERMAN: And the queen goes platinum. This huge celebration under way in Britain at this moment, marking the queen's 70 years on the throne. We have special live coverage, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:08]

BERMAN: A hurricane warning for your money. Here's JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, JPMORGAN CHASES CEO: Right now, it's kind of sunny. Things are doing fine, you know. Everyone thinks the Fed can handle this.

That hurricane is right out there down the road, coming our way. We just don't know if it's a minor one or Superstorm Sandy -- yes, Sandy or -- or Andrew or something like that, and you better brace yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Here now, CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans. Romans, Category what hurricane are we looking at?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Exactly. Look, Jamie Dimon as meteorologist. But look, a meteorologist for your money. So let's unpack his metaphor here.

First, he said that things right now are sunny and fine. Well, he -- I mean, he's right on that, right? American workers are in a strong position. The jobless rate near a 50-year low, 3.6 percent. There are 11.4 million open jobs in the country, also near a record.

And despite higher prices, consumers are still spending like crazy. They're in a better position than after the financial crisis of '08 and '09. But Dimon says that the economy is distorted by inflation. Inflation is running hot, the fastest price increases in 40 years. Airfares, by the way, up 33 percent when you look year over year.

Inflation, of course, is the result of a whole bunch of stuff: The economy roaring back after the COVID crash; supply lines tangled; energy prices surging. Putin's invasion of Ukraine, one of the factors Dimon is so, so concerned about. And in fact, gas prices are up a buck 18 since the war began; and overnight they reached another record high: $4.72 a gallon.

Dimon warned that wars go bad, wars go South. And he predicted oil prices could go as high as $150 to $175 a barrel. That would mean much higher gas prices.

Also brace yourself for disruptions in the grain and wheat markets, too. That means higher prices, shortages and suffering.

And then there's the Federal Reserve, right? Already raising interest rates to try to cool inflation, John. Dimon is worried about the Fed starting to unwind its bond portfolio here, too.

During the COVID crisis, remember, the Fed bought up all these securities to cushion the financial system, something called quantitative easing, QE in Wall Street speak.

Now it's selling the, tightening, QT. It's something we've never seen before. Dimon says, quote, "People will be writing about this in the history books for 50 years."

In May, he warned about big storm clouds. Now he's warning about a hurricane. We just don't know exactly the path or the size, John.

BERMAN: Yes. Right now he's mostly focused on Fed actions, right? The Fed is the agency that deals mostly with inflation.

But then there's the question about what the president, what the White House can do. And a pretty stark admission from President Biden yesterday that he can't do much when it comes to gas prices and food prices.

ROMANS: He doesn't have a magic wand to lower grocery store prices or to lower prices at the pump. In fact, we live in a country where we don't have a government setting prices. I mean, that happens in Venezuela. That happens in other -- it doesn't happen in the United States.

The president wants to focus on lowering the prices where he can, like child care and drug costs. And that's what I think we're going to be hearing more from him about today.

He's being very frank with the American public: I feel your pain. Inflation is issue No. 1, but his hands are tied in certain cases here.

When I talk to economists and experts, look, they say the Russian invasion is this new uncertainty, this new problem that will keep food and energy prices elevated for some time, until we see what the way out is there.

BERMAN: Pandemic, war, a whole lot of uncertainty.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Christine Romans, thank you so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

BERMAN: So a jury sides with Johnny Depp over Amber Heard in the defamation trial. We have a breakdown of the verdict and how it could affect both stars going forward.

KEILAR: And we're live from Buckingham Palace where Britain is celebrating the queen's 70 years on the throne. We're actually expected to see the royals soon with our special live coverage, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:23:23]

KEILAR: This morning, a big legal victory for Johnny Depp in his weeks'-long defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, and she will have to pay him millions of dollars.

Jurors sided with Depp after he sued heard over a 2018 op-ed in the "Washington Post," where she claimed that she was the victim of domestic abuse.

Heard countersued over statements that Depp's attorney made about her abuse claims.

The jury awarded Depp $15 [SIC] million in compensatory and punitive damages. Fifteen million in compensatory damages -- 10 in compensatory, 10 in punitive, which will be capped at a much lower rate in Virginia.

The jury also found that Depp, through statements by his former attorney, defamed Heard. And as a result, the jury awarded her $2 million in compensatory damages; nothing in punitive damages.

Now, following the verdict, both stars released statements. Heard said that she was, quote, "heartbroken." She said, "I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously."

Depp released his own statement. He said, "The jury gave me my life back. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me."

Joining me now is Judge Glenda Hatchett, the founder of the Hatchett Firm and the host of the show, "The Verdict." Judge, just put this verdict here into context for us. Obviously, a

win for Johnny Depp, but Amber Heard did receive damages here.

[06:25:00]

JUDGE GLENDA HATCHER, FOUNDER, THE HATCHETT FIRM/HOST, "THE VERDICT": Right. Yes, Brianna. First of all, I want to make it clear to all of us that this was not a case concerning abuse. And I think that that's been a lot of what has caused such polarization about this case and the verdict in this case.

It was a case of defamation. And what the jury had to find in terms of the Depp claim is that there was defamatory -- inflammatory intent, No. 1, but very importantly, the second part of that, Brianna, is that under the law, because of his public status, the jury had to then conclude that it was done with malice intent. And that's a very important distinction from a case with ordinary citizens.

And so that's a high bar.

And the court did find on all three of those matters that that was what happened.

So with Johnny Depp there was a verdict of $10 million in compensatory damages, as you have said, another 5 for punitive damages. And punitive damages are designed to punish.

And I'll make this really brief, but under Virginia statute, the judge has to cap that at $350,000.

Conversely, on the other side, people are saying, well, it's a split decision, a split verdict. Yes, there was a verdict for both sides, but it was not as we think of in half. She got $2 million, as you said, but not punitive damages.

What she had to be able to establish and the jury had to conclude, that the attorney was acting as Depp's agent at the time he made the statements that she -- that they concluded were defamatory, and that they were done with knowledge that they were incorrect in that situation.

And so it's interesting that the jury did not award her any punitive damages in this case, but only compensatory.

KEILAR: Yes.

HATCHETT: So you do the math, gets down to he's going to get $8.35 million on that.

KEILAR: Yes. It's a lot of money. So it is a defamation case, but at the heart of this case, as we watched it, was who was abused.

HATCHETT: Right.

KEILAR: Who was the abuser?

HATCHETT: Right.

KEILAR: Did they both abuse each other, right?

HATCHETT: Right.

KEILAR: And I do wonder, how do you square what the jury here found with what a British court found, which was that Johnny Depp was a domestic abuser and that Amber Heard was a victim?

Because that was the thing that she pointed to --

HATCHETT: Right.

KEILAR: -- and her camp pointed to over and over again to defend her.

HATCHETT: Right. And we also have to understand that there are very different court systems. And I don't know that we'll ever be able to completely square the two.

And you're right. In that case, the case was brought in London, in Britain in that situation. And then you have a jury trial here.

And there's been a lot of talk, Brianna, about whether the jury was influenced because of his status, because he's well-known. And, you know that is correct debate will go on for a very, very long time.

But the underlying piece of this, if we look back and we peel back the layers, is that this has been a difficult relationship. I mean, they got married in 201. She then went to get a restraining order against him in 2016.

And then they both later put out a statement. She withdrew it.

KEILAR: Yes.

HATCHETT: And if we had time, I'd read it to you, but in essence, it said, you know, we've had some difficult times, but we -- but there was no intent of both -- neither physical or emotional harm in this case.

And so the -- I think the fact that there had not -- he had not been criminally charged or found guilty on this may have played a big factor in this.

But I do not think, at the end of the day, that this is a major blow against women. I don't. I think this is one case. I don't think that this says summarily that women are going to be at a disadvantage in bringing these kind of cases against men who are famous and/or powerful.

KEILAR: Yes, that is the overarching question, I think --

HATCHETT: Yes.

KEILAR: -- that lingers from this, so I'm glad you addressed that.

HATCHETT: Yes.

KEILAR: Judge Hatchett, it is always wonderful to get your perspective.

HATCHETT: Thank you. Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you so much.

HATCHETT: Absolutely. Good to see you.

KEILAR: Great to see you, as well.

So we're hearing for the first time from a key adviser to the January 6th Committee about how big their findings might be. And he tells CNN exclusively that what he saw scared him.

BERMAN: Happening now, both pomp and circumstance at extraordinary levels. The U.K. kicking off four days of festivities celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 70 years on the throne. We have special live coverage of the Platinum Jubilee, next.

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[06:30:00]