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Embattled Uvalde Schools Police Chief Resigns From City Council; Source: TX House Committee Report To Reveal New Details About Uvalde Tragedy; Russia Claims Key City Of Lysychansk In Eastern Region; At Least 3 Killed In Shooting At Shopping Mall In Copenhagen; Cruise Ship Hits Partial Iceberg On Its Way To Alaskan Glacier. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 04, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: In Texas, embattled Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo has resigned from his city council position after the botched police response to the Robb Elementary School mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers. CNN's Ed Lavandera is with us live now from Dallas. Ed, what can you tell us?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna. Well, Pete Arredondo was elected to the City Council there in Uvalde just a few weeks before the massacre at Robb Elementary. He never made it to a single city council meeting. And just in the last few days, Arredondo has submitted his resignation from the city council. In his resignation letter in part he wrote, "After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down. The mayor city council and city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde."

Now, you can imagine in the last few weeks how the frustration and anger among mostly the parents of the victims' families, related to the victims in the shooting have really been frustrated by the lack of answers the lack of transparency and clarity into this investigation. And, of course, Pete Arredondo at the forefront of all of this because Texas Department of Public Safety investigators have essentially described him as the on-scene commander that he was one of the most responsible people there at the scene. And the police response to that shooting has been described as an abject failure.

Now the lack of clarity and information coming from this investigation has been a source of intense frustration for many residents there in Uvalde. A Texas House committee is investigating. They're expected to release a report on their findings into this investigation sometime later this month. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, it was really difficult to see how he was going to remain on that city council and here we have his resignation. Ed, thank you so much for that.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Let's bring in Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez. Uvalde is in his district and we've been speaking on and off since the shooting happened. Roland, first your reaction hearing that Arredondo resign from City Council?

ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D), TEXAS STATE SENATOR: Yes, we're certainly to have at least that bit of accountability. I know my constituents were asking for that to happen. They were demanding for that to happen. They did not want to see him take that seat. They were very upset that he did in the dark of night. And I think that this will begin to at least begin that part of the healing process with regard to this gentleman.

But I think that we also need to forget that accountability doesn't just lie with him, it lies with Operation Lone Star, the 91 troopers that are on scene and the eight other agencies that were in that hallway. We need to know what kind of systemic failure happened here so that it never happens again.

SANCHEZ: We heard Ed mentioned that there is a report coming from the state legislature potentially later this month. What are you anticipating will come out of it? Do you trust their findings?

GUTIERREZ: If it's anything like the Senate presentation by DPS, I cannot believe that I would trust that finding. If it's anything that is a sugar coated presentation, put forth by the Department of Public Safety, I just -- I cannot. And that's why I filed a lawsuit to get the information that we all need to get in a courtroom.

At the end of the day, it was very quick for this DPS Director Steve McCraw to point the finger at Arredondo. Pointing the finger at the cop with six people under him. And I don't know Pete Arredondo don't need to know them, don't want to know them. But at the end of the day, we had so many DPS troopers on scene, 12 of them more -- of the 19 that were in that hallway, 12 were DPS troopers.

What are the systemic failures? Why didn't all the radio communications come in? You know, the governor's office knew that that radio system was failing in the community for seven years. Why are we not looking at the broader systemic problems that created probably the worst mass shooting? I say the worst not because it was the highest in number, but it's probably the longest and having to wait for law enforcement to go in. We don't know how many children possibly bled out, but the systemic failures and the human error here were abound.

[08:35:07]

SANCHEZ: You recall that shortly after the shooting took place, officials came out and praised the law enforcement officers that responded to the scene. But as details started emerging about what actually happened, even the governor himself, Greg Abbott, came forward and said that he was lied to about what officers did. Have you seen anything in the way of accountability for those initial answers that proved to be wrong from law enforcement? GUTIERREZ: Well, some were proven to be wrong and some were clearly in his wholesale imagination, because the Texas Tribune showed an open records request when he submitted his notes. He said, don't say this in a section of his notes. He ended up saying that.

You know, the governor had a narrative that he wanted to dispel and that narrative -- or that he wanted to put forward and that narrative was his hero's narrative, and how the Texas Department of Public Safety, his own operation Lone Star task force within and save the day. That isn't what happened. His own task force was part of the systemic failures that happened, the management failures.

His own command and control people from Operation Lone Star were there. We are not even -- have not even begun to scratch at the levels of accountability that we need to have here. And it starts at the very top in Texas, people need to continue to ask and demand for change and demand accountability.

SANCHEZ: Roland, you've been vocal about the district attorney in that area, telling local officials that they can't speak, they can't come forward and answer very basic questions about what happened. Why do you think she's asking folks there to stay quiet? Do you think there is potentially a criminal case that's being built?

GUTIERREZ: If there isn't, she must be arresting a whole bunch of police officers. And we know that that's not going to happen, right? Pete Arredondo was placed out there as the scapegoat for sure, for a tremendous amount of failure that happened at every possible level. And she, the district attorney, was the first to come out and yell stop to everybody and tell people they were ordered not to communicate.

She continues to tell the mayor that he cannot talk to the media. Continues to tell city officials that they -- that if they talk to the media, they will be committing a crime and they potentially could get themselves in deity. That, to me is just a travesty of him. If we don't have transparency in government, then we don't have democracy.

SANCHEZ: Roland Gutierrez, we appreciate the time, sir. I know it's a difficult period for the city of Uvalde, the town of Uvalde but we hope you get to enjoy the 4th as best you can, sir.

GUTIERREZ: Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Up next, we have a live report from Copenhagen where three people were killed at a shooting spree in a shopping mall.

KEILAR: And a fourth day of protests following the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker during a police chase. New details ahead.

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[08:42:42] KEILAR: Time now for five things to know for your New Day. The July 4th celebrations off to a rocky start for some travelers. Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed because of storms, overwhelming travel demand and critical staffing shortages.

SANCHEZ: More protests underway in Akron, Ohio after police released body cam footage in the shooting death of Jayland Walker, who suffered 60 wounds during a pursuit last week. Walker was unarmed as officers opened fire when he fled. Police say they heard what was described as a gunshot coming from his vehicle during that shoot.

KEILAR: The British Grand Prix got off to a scary start yesterday when rookie Zhou Guanyu's car made contact with another driver. That caused his car to flip upside down, slide across the gravel and slam right there into a fence. He did come out of that rock unharmed, he was stretchered off though. He says the halo which is the titanium barb of the cockpit of his car saved his life.

SANCHEZ: Just incredible. The bullet that killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh has been returned to the Palestinian Authority after U.S. officials examined it over the weekend. Shireen was killed by a single shot to the head back on May 11th. Both the Al Jazeera and the Palestinians accused Israeli Defense Forces of firing the fatal shot.

KEILAR: And Russian forces have taken control of Lysychansk, the last Ukrainian held city in the eastern Luhansk region. Ukrainian military officials say Russia is now preparing for an assault on the nearby Donetsk region.

SANCHEZ: That's five things to know for your New Day. You can find more of these stories all day at CNN and cnn.com. And, of course, don't forget to download the 5 Things podcast every morning. You can go to cnn.com/5things to find it. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts.

KEILAR: Chaos breaking out in a busy shopping mall in Copenhagen after a gunman opened fire, killing three people and sending crowds running for their lives.

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KEILAR: Just a terrifying scene there. The suspect, the gunman, is now in custody. Let's go now to CNN Sam Kiley, who is live outside of that mall. What have we learned about this shooting and a potential motive, Sam?

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Brianna, that is exactly what the police are digging into right now and they're being relatively tight lipped in terms of his background, but we know that he's 22. He's a -- of Danish descent. He's a Dane. There is, they say, no racial or gender-based. In other words, this does not appear to be a hate crime.

They're saying, though, that he has been known to psychiatric services. The extent of his engagement with psychiatric services or his other aspects of his mental health are at this stage, still being investigated by the police. And also, Brianna, we know that he used a hunting rifle, a form of firearm here. Although Denmark has very, very strict firearm rules, you can own a hunting rifle here.

He himself did not have a firearms license. So they're going to be investigated or they are investigating where he was able to obtain or steal or somehow get hold of a hunting rifle in a country where weapons are very strictly controlled. Now, one Russian national, a resident here of Copenhagen and two teenagers were killed. Another three or four were also injured. Their injuries are no longer believed to be life-threatening, but this has been a really devastating moment for the Danes.

This is not a country that has any real experience of this kind of gun crime, this kind of random shooting. They've been spared, indeed, previous to terrorist attacks, unlike so many other European countries. So this has come as a really devastating shock here in the Danish capital. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right, Sam, thank you so much for the latest there from Copenhagen.

SANCHEZ: Celebrate the Fourth of July alongside CNN and a host of incredible artists including country music band Old Dominion. The band's lead vocalist is joining us next live ahead of CNN's The Fourth in America concert special.

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KEILAR: That is award winning country music band Old Dominion, just one of the several artists performing live at CNN's July 4 primetime musical special. Old Dominion is out on tour now joining Kenny Chesney on the Here and Now 2022 stadium tour, which is hitting 20 cities through the summer and where they'll be performing hits from their latest album, "Time, Tequila & Therapy." Doesn't that sound great?

And Matthew Ramsey, the lead singer of Old Dominion is joining us now. That is like the best album name ever, Matthew, I have to say. But, you know, talk to me about this concert. It's so special because this special is honoring the U.S. military frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic, and citizens across the country demanding equality.

MATTHEW RAMSEY, LEAD VOCALIST, OLD DOMINION: Yes, yes, it's going to be a -- it's a special night, obviously. You know, it's going to be a huge crowd, probably one of the biggest crowds we've ever played for. Hundreds of thousands of people from all different walks of life, all different backgrounds, all different beliefs. So, you know, we're there to hopefully spread some joy and offer some levity throughout that.

SANCHEZ: And it's got to feel good to have an audience, right, Matthew, because during the pandemic, you probably missed having fans there to cheer you on.

RAMSEY: Yes, absolutely. We've seen, you know, the energy levels throughout this tour with Kenny that you mentioned, have been elevated quite a bit because people have been waiting for years now to gather and have a good time with live music. So it's going to be amped up tonight for sure.

KEILAR: What is the difference compared to before the pandemic, just all of that pent up desire that people have to finally get back to normal and see you, guys?

RAMSEY: Yes, there -- you know, there's a need to be together, you know? People, you know, as hard as it is sometimes to come together. There's a need to be together with your, you know, fellow humans. And when that was taken away from us, it was tough. And now it's just when people gather again, it's just joyous, it's happy and that people are ready for a party and I think that's what we're in store for tonight.

SANCHEZ: You're going to be sharing the stage later tonight with some other big names Carlos Santana, Pat Benatar, my favorite people is going to be there. Pretty good company to be in, right?

RAMSEY: Yes, man. It's not that, we've worked for a long time. And now we kind of like, look around and like, look where we are, you know, so yes, great company.

KEILAR: And so what is your message to all the viewers who are going to be out there tuning in tonight watching you guys?

RAMSEY: You know, like I said, hopefully, we just spread some joy, you know. Fourth of July for me is sort of like Thanksgiving in the summer. So, you know, I think I take this time to be grateful for what I have. And hopefully, we can, you know, let people put it down for a minute, put the weight down for a minute and be together and have a good time.

KEILAR: Did you name your album? Was that your idea, by the way, "Time, Therapy and Tequila?"

RAMSEY: We did name it together. We always have a long discussion. So we made it together.

SANCHEZ: It doesn't seem like it needs to be a long discussion. That is a great record title.

KEILAR: I love it. I love it, Matthew. Matthew Ramsey, thank you so much for being with us. We do appreciate it and happy 4th to you.

RAMSEY: Happy Fourth, guys. KEILAR: And you can catch coast to coast fireworks and incredible music from some of the biggest stars tonight on CNN including Old Dominion celebrate The Fourth in America live at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

And ahead, more of the holiday travel trouble on this July 4th. This is the not so fun part here and how much travelers by car are having to pay at the pump.

SANCHEZ: And this week, one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military is going to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We've got some good stuff for you straight ahead.

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KEILAR: Time now for the good stuff. This week, 92-year-old Air Force Brigadier General Wilma Vaught, one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has repeatedly broken gender barriers as she rose through the ranks. When she retired in 1985, she was one of only seven female generals in all of the Armed Forces. She and 16 others will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Thursday.

SANCHEZ: A Norwegian Sun cruise ship on its way to an Alaskan glacier had to cut its trip short after hitting a piece of an iceberg. Watch this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks God. Titanic 2.0. Oh my god. Oh my. We hit some iceberg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hit some ice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hit some ice. Oh my God.

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SANCHEZ: Love that live reporting.

KEILAR: Amazing.

SANCHEZ: That commentary from passengers. This ship sustaining damage. It was determined seaworthy enough to return to its home port in Seattle. Fortunately, passengers disembark. No injuries reported. The sequel is never as good as the original and you and I have a dispute because I think that Jack could have fit on that door.

KEILAR: No, he couldn't have. Jack could not have fit on Rose's door. In fact, I'm reading an article and it doesn't matter where it comes from.

SANCHEZ: Right, right.

KEILAR: I'm just reading it. Unless the wood was pine, mathematically impossible.

SANCHEZ: That's fake news. She let him die because she wanted to keep that jewel.

KEILAR: OK, Boris. CNN's coverage continues right now.