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Quest Means Business
Trump on Fed Chair: If You Want Him Out, He'll Be Out Fast; Meloni Says Trump Accepted Invitation to Visit Italy; At Least Five Injured in Florida State University Shooting; Police Give Update on Florida State University Shooting. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired April 17, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:07]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street today. The day has been really strange. A lot of
news, a lot of market movements. Look at the Dow and you'll see, it has been trading down all session and this is on worries about the Fed and
independence, et cetera, et cetera, tariffs of course as the hour comes around closing bell and hitting the gavel, oh, start them young is what I
say. There we go. Good gavel. Day is over and those are the markets and these are the events that we are following.
It is the President versus the Fed. Donald Trump lashes out at Jerome Powell saying if he wants him out, he will be out there real fast. Europe's
Central Bank cuts rates and cites rising trade tensions.
Tonight on this program, the governing council member, Robert Holzmann from Austria is with me, and all aboard, the Island Hopper living out in Av
geek's dream. We are going across the Pacific as never before.
Now live from New York on Thursday. It is April the 17th. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.
Good evening.
We will be keeping an eye over the course of the hour on the breaking news from Florida State University. You'll be aware there has been a mass
shooting which has left five people injured. As we get more details on that, we will bring you, and including a news conference is due to happen
in the next hour, which we will join in, but we wait for that to come along and then I will give you all the details.
We will start, though, with the extraordinary showdown taking place between the U.S. President and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
Donald Trump repeatedly attacked Powell throughout the course of the day at a presser. He called for the Fed Chair too late, too slow, playing
politics, terrible, and described the people at the Fed as not very smart people.
Mr. Trump started the day by posting that the Fed's Chair's termination, in other words, out of a job, cannot come fast enough. It is actually due up
in the middle of next year.
The President, and listen carefully to this, the President said he thinks he could get Powell out earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Oh, he will leave if I ask him to. He will be out of there, but I don't think he is --
I don't think --
I don't think he is doing the job. He is too late, oh, he is too late, a little slow and I am not happy with him.
Let him know it. And, oh, if I want him out, he will be out of there real fast. Believe me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Gillian Tett, columnist and member of the editorial board at "The Financial Times," also Provost at Kings College, Cambridge.
If I want him out, he will be out there real fast, believe me. Now, the only reason the market hasn't taken this worse is the market knows that
Trump doesn't have the power to fire him, but it is very damaging nonetheless. Explain why, please.
GILLIAN TETT, EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR AND US EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "THE FINANCIAL TIMES": Well, let me say, first of all, this is not the first time that
Donald Trump has done this kind of thing. In fact, during his first term as Wilbur Ross, the former Commerce Secretary recounts in his memoirs, the
President actually asked Wilbur Ross to tell Powell to essentially go and Wilbur Ross very sensibly said, well, that's not really the right thing to
do because it will spook markets and calmed everyone down.
So we've got to hope there is somebody like Wilbur Ross trying to calm Donald Trump down right now, because it would be very bad indeed for market
confidence to have the President push out the Chair of the Fed.
In terms of whether or not the President is actually able to push out the Chair of the Fed, it is a very interesting question because in fact, inside
the Fed, there has been a very lively debate in recent months and years, including in the first term of the presidency around the constitutional
implications of this and it is important to distinguish between the Fed's mandate in financial regulation and the Fed's mandate in monetary policy.
What people inside the Fed seem to think is that when it comes to the question of financial regulation, they are actually on quite weak ground to
maintain their independence if it comes to a full blown clash against the President, because essentially, it does seem that the President has quite a
lot of power.
On monetary policy, though, they think. And in fact, most people around the Fed think that they do have a high degree of independence under the
Constitution.
QUEST: But the mere threat, of course, that this independence, particularly "A," since he gets to replace Powell next year, if he wishes to, when his
term is up and "B" because another Fed Governor, there is only seven of them actually comes up in January of next year.
[16:05:02 ]
So Donald Trump could, over the course of the next 18 months, make a sizable difference to the, if you will, the complexion of the board.
TETT: He absolutely can make a sizable difference to the complexion of the board and simply by speaking about the independence of the Fed and
appearing to challenge it, he is undermining them just through so-called verbal intervention, which, of course, is what the federal reserve likes to
do, verbal intervention in the markets, so that is absolutely a threat.
What is not clear from his comments today is whether he felt that Fed -- Powell's departure could not come a moment too soon in the middle of next
year as planned, or whether he actually wants to try and push for him to leave earlier.
I do not think that Chairman Powell is going to go willingly at all. So we could be heading for a very nasty showdown.
QUEST: We had today -- I mean, you know, one of the perks of my job is I get to listen to all the original taped material coming into the building
of President Trump. So today with Prime Minister Meloni, have a listen to once again, Donald Trump blamed President Biden seven times over the course
of 33 minutes.
I think we've got some of him speaking. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're making a lot of money. We are taking a lot of money. Don't forget, we are taking in 25 percent on cars, 25 percent on steel, 25
percent on aluminum. We put penalties on Mexico and Canada, 25 percent for allowing fentanyl and allowing the borders to be weak.
No, we are taking in billions and billions of dollars while I sit here and talk to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: So 25 percent, 25 percent, 25 -- this is why the market is so unhappy, isn't it? Because even though the 145 and the reciprocals, there
is an enormous amount of tariff activity weighing down the economy at the moment.
TETT: Well, the reason why Chairman Powell has got into this battle with the President is because he has pointed out the obvious, which is that none
of this is good for business confidence. All of it is bad for inflation, and it can add up to a very nasty combination known as stagflation.
And so, it is not just the tariffs, which are causing so much business and market uncertainty, it is the fact that the tariffs keep changing every few
minutes. And yes, we are seeing some rollbacks and pauses as with the import of consumer electronics from China. Yes, we are seeing individuals
lobby to get exemptions. There is an awful lot of grift happening around the White House as a result of that.
But we just don't know what the overarching direction is right now in terms of what the tariffs exactly are going to be and how businesses and
investors can or cannot plan for that.
QUEST: I am grateful. Thank you very much, Gillian Tett. Good to see you as always, ma'am. Thank you for that.
TETT: Thank you. Good luck making sense of it all. Thank you.
QUEST: Thank you.
Now Donald Trump says he is 100 percent confident in reaching a trade deal with the E.U. as the Italian Prime Minister was visiting the White House
almost as an embassy, if you will, for the rest of the E.U. The meeting was cordial, but Giorgia Meloni quickly moved away from uncomfortable topics.
Italy, after all, has one of the highest trade surpluses with the U.S. in Europe, and it does not meet NATO's requirements of spending two percent of
GDP on defense. Miss Meloni interrupted an interpreter when the subject of defense spending came up.
John Hooper is the Italy and Vatican correspondent for "The Economist." John is with me now.
What role was she playing today, in your view? Was she there at the behest in a sense, of the E.U., of Ursula von der Leyen?
JOHN HOOPER, ITALY AND VATICAN CORRESPONDENT, "THE ECONOMIST": Not on the behest, I would say. She was there on her own initiative, but she had a
long telephone conversation with Ursula von der Leyen before setting off for Washington, and she was very clear at the beginning that she was not
negotiating in any way on behalf of the E.U. where trade is a competence of the union and not of the individual countries, and her game plan, it was
quite clear, was to get trump to Europe with an invitation that she said he had accepted to come to Rome, and there set up a meeting with E.U.
representatives, something that she said he was considering, which is rather different.
QUEST: Right. The idea that Donald Trump, again, as you know, he said it a million times that the E.U. was set up to compete against and to do damage
to the United States. Now, clearly, Meloni is not going to agree with that. However, she is walking a very -- I mean, she is, absent Viktor Orban, who
is not considered to be mainstream within the E.U., at least Meloni is considered to be on the right side of sort of sane within the other members
of the E.U.
[16:10:10]
HOOPER: Yes, she is. She is seen as being more moderate than the likes of Orban and she nevertheless has this ability to get through to Donald Trump
and that was very clear from the mood music during their meeting in the public. Part of that meeting, she at one point, though, said something that
was really a way of throwing out a line to the President. She said that she intended to -- her goal, rather, was to make the west great again, trying
to inure the president into the idea that there is still a transatlantic alliance that's worthy of its name.
QUEST: I am grateful to you, sir. John, thank you very much for joining us tonight. We will talk more because it is a fascinating subject of what is
happening within Italy. Thank you.
Now, I need to take you to Florida, where there is new video into us, which shows the moment of that shooting on the campus at the Florida State
University. Have a look at this, and I do warn you, if you're of a nervous disposition, this video could be a bit disturbing.
These images, which I am showing now, are what appears to be at least one victim on the ground and people running in the sound of gunfire. The police
are expected to give a news conference.
We know that five people are hurt. One is said to be critical. A suspect has been arrested in connection with all of this. We will get to it all in
just a moment in more detail.
The European Central Bank President, Christine Lagarde, says the U.S. trade war is taking a toll on business. The ECB is citing the tariffs as it
lowered rates for the seventh time, in about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now, more on the breaking news from Florida State. At least five people were hurt when the gunman opened fire.
John Miller is in New York. What can you tell me?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, Richard, what we know now is that the suspect was shot in the course of the
shooting. We don't know whether he was shot by police or someone else on the college campus who may have had a weapon. We do not know his condition,
but we do know that six people were taken to the hospital in various conditions.
[16:15:08]
We understand there may be a fatality. And of course, we are watching those numbers closely because of course they could change. Don't know the
shooter's motive, but we are aware that police have established his identity. They are doing a background investigation into him, but appears
to be from the Tallahassee, Florida area.
Not clear, Richard, as to whether he is a student at FSU where the shooting occurred. Other than he is from the local area.
So those wheels are turning. Traces are being done on guns that were recovered at the scene to determine who they belong to and whether they
match his identity or his families or someone else's, and right now, they are reviewing video of the incident, and they are confident that despite
early reports of possibly a second or third shooter, that this was carried out by that one individual.
QUEST: And, any reason? Any thoughts? Any --
MILLER: What they have been looking into is his background. He is apparently affiliated with a couple of causes, in terms of protest, but
that picture right now is decidedly unclear. I think they are going to have to go deeper into his background to determine what is behind this.
But listen, you know, this, Richard, which is in 85 percent of these cases that have been studied by the FBI, the Behavioral Science Unit and the
Secret Service, you find what they call leakage, which is there were tells, there were signs, there were clues that this person likely gave before it
happened. And, you know, I was looking at the FBI Behavioral Science Teams material today, and they said, when you know something is wrong, but you
don't want to say it, talk to someone about it, even if they're your friend, your brother family, don't let that hold you back from doing the
right thing.
That was a quote from a close friend of one of these active shooters in their interview with the FBI and what they are saying is they've got an
entire page on their website that give those signs and clues so that people can come forward earlier before you see something like what we see today.
QUEST: John, I am grateful for that. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Keep watching and when there is more to report, please come back to me. Thank
you.
MILLER: Thanks.
QUEST: Now to our business agenda.
The European Central Bank says Donald Trump's trade war is one reason why it lowered interest rates by a quarter percent. It is the seventh cut. The
benchmark is now two and a quarter, and as the bank has been cutting, inflation is largely tamed in the Euro area coming in at 2.2 percent in
March. The main issues are tariffs and growth. And President Lagarde says that businesses are in a difficult situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE LAGARDE, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: The economic outlook is clouded by exceptional uncertainty. Euro area exporters face new
barriers to trade, although their scope remains unclear. Disruptions to international commerce, financial market tensions and geopolitical
uncertainty are weighing on business investment.
As consumers become more cautious about the future, they may hold back spending as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Anna Cooban is with me from London. How much of this rate cut is insurance that they are just making sure that they know this slowdown. They
know Germany particularly is going to be the largest economy, is going to be very badly hit by these tariffs. And so, you know, this is taking a bit
of insurance against a full throttle recession.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well, I think Christine Lagarde said it very well herself. The levels of uncertainty are
exceptional. So of course they have to have to have this insurance policy and what she means by uncertainty, Richard, is that businesses in Europe,
that export to America, for example, just don't know how much more expensive their products are going to be on the shelves for consumers in
America, how much demand there is going to be and if there is lower demand, then of course, that has an impact on whether or not those businesses
invest or hire new workers.
And so it is really a paralyzing time for businesses around the world, but also in Europe. So of course, this rate cut is designed to have that
insurance policy to try and juice the economy.
QUEST: Right. But how much -- I mean, what more can be done in Europe? Because we do know that if we look at Germany, a recession; we look at the
export problems and we have Meloni in Washington today trying to -- she is not negotiating but Europe, I guess -- well, how would you describe the
European situation economically at the moment?
COOBAN: I describe it as middling. I mean, inflation has fallen down from record highs in 2022. It is now within striking distance of the ECB's two
percent target.
[16:20:10]
So that's very good. But also, we are seeing fairly lackluster growth. The IMF predicts that the Eurozone will grow about 0.9 percent this year, which
is below what it expects the USA to grow. So it is a pretty middling situation, and Donald Trump's tariffs and again, the uncertainty that
they've unleashed have not done any favors for this situation.
QUEST: Anna, grateful. Thank you.
With me, Robert Holzmann, the Austrian Central Bank Governor. Governor, good to see you, sir.
You're joining me tonight from Vienna.
Last week, Governor, you were sort of saying the ECB has no reason to cut interest rates. I grant you, sir, a week is a very long time in the Donald
Trump trade environment. I grant you that, sir. But clearly today, we are led to believe unanimous at the ECB Governing Council. So what changed your
mind?
ROBERT HOLZMANN, AUSTRIAN CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR: Well, what changed my mind is the different messages coming in about the situation in the world and in
Europe and what also emerged is very clearly that in order to come forward with useful contracts between Europe, the U.S., but also the rest of the
world, it will be a dizziness pass as a result of it given this high uncertainty, given what it means, sir. That we will be not be prepared for
the worse. That's the reason why I changed my mind, and is certainly a main reason was that when I saw the various messages coming out from the U.S. or
about some of the legal issues there, which --
So, I think it is time now to come down and be with the others, sir, all I have to say I still believe on economic terms, the cut was not justified.
QUEST: The economic situation in Europe was getting better, but not brilliant before major exporting countries like Germany and your own high
end exporters are threatened to be clobbered.
Do you have real visibility yet, do you think on how say, Austria is going to be affected?
HOLZMANN: We will be affected, particularly with regard to the car export to the U.S. talking about with U.S., with a number of industrial projects
there. It won't be a mess. So I think we can survive. But the estimates, what we have are our growth rates will come down by 1.2 to 1.3 percentage
points if this would go ahead.
QUEST: And in terms of, you know, the independence of the Central Bank. Now, obviously, President Lagarde guards her independence as indeed do you,
sir, you all guard your independence jealously. When you look at these attacks by President Trump on Jerome Powell, Jerome Powell, of course, is
independent as well. But it is somewhat astonishing for seasoned observers like yourself to see this going on, isn't it?
HOLZMANN: Attacks on the independent institutions are always something which is disquieting. But as I say, the good news is that one can show very
strongly, empirically that independence of the national bank of a country is highly correlated with economic progress.
So there is no country in the world in which independence of Central Bank has been ruined and it was able to prosper.
So this is a strong part of it, and I think that's maybe the reason why some people, even perhaps President Trump is still hesitating because this
is something which could play bad for the economic development.
QUEST: Governor, it is late for you now, sir. It is 10:30 at night. I am very grateful that you've taken time to talk to me tonight. Thank you, sir.
Good night.
HOLZMANN: My pleasure. Thank you.
QUEST: The Governor, Robert Holzmann.
Coming up, we are waiting for that news conference, police conference after five people have been injured in the mass shooting at Florida State
University. Its QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, with you for now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:27:41]
QUEST: Now to the case of that Maryland man who has been wrongly deported to El Salvador and is now in the mega prison there.
A federal appeals court rejected Trump administration's request to halt the next steps that the judge is seeking. Okay, so you remember, the circuit
court had a stern warning for the White House. It wrote that the administration's claim that it should be shocking, but not only to the
judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.
So let's just go through this, Evan. We had the Supreme Court facilitating. We've then got the judge saying, no, you're not facilitating, and I am
likely to hold you in contempt and I am going to do this, that and the other, and therefore.
Now you've got what?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, now we have the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has weighed in, and they are refusing to
put a stay on this judge's order, which was essentially to start doing more fact finding to figure out what really -- what really the U.S. government
is doing to facilitate -- that word "facilitate" as you know, Richard, you could drive a truck through that word and that is one of the things that
that Harvey Wilkinson, who is an appointee of Ronald Reagan, he immediately weighs in on this.
He says that the government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process. And
he also says that there is no indication that the U.S. government is doing anything to actually facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia.
QUEST: Now, last night on "Newsnight" with Abby Phillip, we were having a discussion exactly about this and really what it comes down to is the
Supreme Court chose that word, "facilitate" very carefully. They didn't just do it by accident. They could have mandated.
Is it the thinking in legal circles that somehow, maybe naively, the Supreme Court is hoping that the administration, having seen the warning
that it has given, is going to do the right thing, but if necessary, will come back in again and hit them over the head?
PEREZ: Well, the last part of what you said right there is not entirely clear, but I think, yes, I think what you keep seeing from the Supreme
Court and even from Judge Wilkinson, they are hoping to avoid a constitutional crisis.
They are trying to give the administration, the Trump administration, the opportunity to do the right thing, which is to find a way to bring this man
back so that they can go through the right process and give due respect to the courts and look, this ruling, this, this order from Judge Richard
Wilkinson is incredibly scathing and it is really written, if you read it, Richard, it is written for -- essentially to be studied for the ages.
I mean, he talks about how the Executive will lose much from the public perception of its lawlessness and all of its attendant contagions. Those
are words that are intended.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Evan. Forgive me, Evan, I do need to interrupt you. Do forgive me as always, sir.
PEREZ: Sure.
QUEST: Let's come to Tallahassee. There is a new, that news conference is taking place.
PEREZ: Yes. Absolutely.
QUEST: We do need to hear what they're saying about the mass shooting that's taking place and get an update on those who have been injured and
what the situation is. There you see the police authorities getting ready, the final bits of the jigsaw being put into place. We know that the gunman
was shot. We're not really sure of the conditions. In fact, we're not sure on a lot of facts about this.
But I think we're about to become a lot more informed as this news conference gets underway. The lockdown that took place earlier, we'll find
out whether that's been lifted. We'll find out the nature of the assailant, whether or not the condition. And here we go.
JASON TRUMBOWER, CHIEF OF POLICE, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: My name is Jason Trumbower, and I'm the chief of police at Florida State University.
All Florida State University classes and business operations on the main campus in Tallahassee are canceled through Friday, April 18th. Essential
employees should check with their supervisors for further reporting instructions. All FSU athletic events in Tallahassee are canceled through
Sunday.
At approximately 11:50 a.m. Thursday, April 17th, a gunman opened fire on the main campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, shooting
multiple individuals in the vicinity of the Student Union Building. FSU Police responded immediately, engaged, neutralized, and apprehended the
shooter. Two victims of deceased -- are deceased and five individuals have been transported to a local hospital with gunshot wounds. The shooter is
also been transported to a local hospital.
The two deceased are not students. The shooter is believed to be a current FSU student. I do not have additional information on the shooter's identity
at this time. Students who need assistance can go to the Donald L. Tucker Center, where the university is providing counseling, health care, and
other support services. Family members are also able to go to the Tucker Center for assistance. Students, faculty and staff are asked to call their
loved ones as soon as possible to update them on their status.
The student union and the surrounding area is still considered an active crime scene. Individuals should avoid the area. Students should not return
to the student union to retrieve personal property at this time. Students may return to their residence halls, but they should otherwise stay indoors
on main campus to allow first responders and university staff to do their jobs and respond to those needing assistance. Students may depart campus
for the weekend. All classes have been canceled through Friday.
Before I turn this over to Chief Revell, I want to thank all the brave men and women of the FSU PD for responding immediately to the scene. I also
want to thank the responding agencies who have provided assistance to FSU today big time, including the Tallahassee Police Department, the Leon
County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, Leon County Emergency Medical Services, FDLE and all other responding agencies today. We really
appreciate your support.
That's all the information I have at this time. We'll have additional update for you later today. Chief.
CHIEF LAWRENCE REVELL, TALLAHASSEE POLICE: Good afternoon. I am Chief Revell with the Tallahassee Police Department.
As the shooting occurred today, our officers, as well as every single other officer in this city and county responded immediately to this scene. Once
on scene and once we began working through what was occurring and what we were working in consultation with FSU, Tulsa Police Department was asked to
take lead on this. So we will be the lead for this investigation in both the officer involved shooting portion of this, as well as the homicide
portion of this.
I will come up after the last speaker and entertain just a few questions, but needless to say, we have multiple crime scenes.
[16:35:04]
This is a very large area we're covering. We have thousands, hundreds of thousands or hundreds or thousands of witnesses. And again, this is an
active, ongoing investigation. So the information that we will be allowed to release right now may be fairly limited. I'll answer what I can at that
time, but I will assure you that as soon as we can, any information that becomes available, we will make that available to you.
One of the things in the process, and again, understand that this is an ongoing active investigation. So things are happening as we are standing
here and as we are speaking, we have identified the shooter obviously, he's at the hospital. So with more on that, I'm going to allow the sheriff to
come up and speak on that portion of it.
SHERIFF WALTER MCNEIL, LEON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Thank you, Chief.
As Chief Revell indicated, I'm Walt McNeil, Leon County sheriff.
First and foremost, let me express our gratitude to the responding law enforcement agencies in this community. Our citizens should feel some
degree of comfort knowing that your law enforcement agencies are going to respond and do exactly what we did in this case, that is, bring the
offender to justice and to make sure that we do what we can to make sure we lock him or her up.
Let me say to you, this is obviously a heinous crime. Our deepest condolences go out to the FSU family, the families of the students who are
here. And we understand that you all have been devastated because of this person's actions. The question as it relates to who is the shooter, the
shooter is 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner. And he's a son of a Leon County sheriff deputy. Our deputy, Deputy Ikner, has been with the Leon County
Sheriff's Office for over 18 years.
She has a tremendous job that she's done. Her service to this community has been exceptional. Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons.
And, that was one of the weapons that was found at the scene. And we are continuing that investigation into how that weapon was used and what other
weapons perhaps he may have had access to.
The alleged shooter was also a long standing member of the Leon County Sheriff's Office Citizen Advisory or Youth Advisory Council. So he has been
steeped in the Leon County Sheriff's Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have. So it's not a surprise to us that he had
access to weapons.
This event is tragic in more ways than you people in the audience could ever fathom from a law enforcement perspective. But I will tell you this.
We will make sure that we do everything we can to prosecute and make sure that we send a message to folks that this will never be tolerated here in
Leon County. And I dare say, across this state and across this nation. Thank you.
Let me bring up the FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Hubert Reynolds.
HUBERT REYNOLDS, FBI ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Thank you. Chief.
Good afternoon. My name is Hubert Reynolds, and I'm the acting special agent in charge of the Jacksonville Field Office. I want to echo those
standing with me what a horrific crime this is. And we stand with you fully. We have an office here in Tallahassee, and we are fully engaged with
providing any resources that we can bring to bear to help with this investigation moving forward.
We've established a digital tips media line where you can upload photos, videos prior to and during the incident. If you're there from social media,
please upload all of that. I will give you now the Web site address. You can upload any tips to www.FBI.gov/FSUShooting. Again, that's
www.FBI.gov/FSUShooting. I want to assure you that we are going to bring every available resource to be able to help the community and the local
people here. Thank you.
RICHARD MCCULLOUGH, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Richard McCullough, the president of Florida State
University.
[16:40:00]
This is a tragic day for Florida State University. We are absolutely heartbroken by the violence that occurred on our campus earlier today. Two
have died. Five other innocents are being treated for their injuries. We're working to support the victims, their families and everyone affected by
this traumatic event.
I just returned from the hospital with the first lady and I met some of her students who were the victims. We, our hearts go out to our students and
the victims of this terrible tragedy. I have to say that our law enforcement, our FSU police officers are absolute heroes in this regard.
The call went out. Someone called it in, and immediately they responded to the scene and immediately neutralized the suspect and prevented this from
being a bigger tragedy.
I want to thank them so much for what they do to try to keep our students safe. I want to thank all the law enforcement partners, FSU Police,
Tallahassee Police, Leon County Sheriff's Department, Florida Highway Patrol, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement and all other responding
agencies for their rapid and courageous response.
I want to thank everybody that came out to visit with the students and to help us and to be here today for this press conference. And I appreciate so
much the support that you're all providing to our university and to our students. We're fully cooperating with the investigation, and we defer to
law enforcement, as they continue their work.
I'd also like to thank all the healthcare providers at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital that are treating and providing outstanding care to our victims.
Right now our top priority is safety and well-being for all the people and our campus. As it was said, classes are canceled on the main campus today
and tomorrow and all FSU athletics events on Tallahassee are canceled through Sunday.
We also want to tell you that counseling and psychological services are available to students, faculty and staff and anyone that needs that should
call 850-644-2003. We're also providing support for faculty and staff through our employee assistance program. And so if you need any help,
please, please reach out.
We'll continue to communicate with the campus community as we know more. This is a deeply emotional time, but we're all here to support each other.
We're going to do everything we can to support our community. We're a strong and united community. We're a family. And so we'll take care of all
of you. And we'll get through this together. Thank you.
REVELL: All right. At this time, we will take a few questions. Let me just reiterate, this was a massive response, a massive response of law
enforcement personnel. Our federal, state and local partners have continued to build relationships that long preceded this event. And that came into
great play today in the seamless way that we all came together to work these events.
But I know you'll have some specific questions. I will tell you right now, we are not going to talk about the victims, other than the fact that there
are six of them. Two additional deceased and then the suspect. So nine total persons. Nine total persons.
Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you all been able to talk to the suspect at all? Any idea about motive?
REVELL: The suspect invoked his rights not to speak to us.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, do we know if the weapon that was used was his parents service weapon? And if so, what are the rules around storing
service weapons?
REVELL: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Storing service weapons.
REVELL: No, that's a good question. This weapon was a weapon that the deputy previously used. A lot of times, many agencies, mine included, when
we transition to a new handgun, the officers are allowed to purchase the handgun they used prior. And correct me if I'm wrong, Sheriff, but I
believe that's the case here. This was a handgun that that deputy used prior to them transitioning to a new handgun and so it was her personal
handgun.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has she been put on leave, or --
REVELL: The sheriff would have to speak to that.
MCNEIL: We will do a thorough investigation to look at all aspects of it.
[16:45:04]
There's no cause right now that we're aware of that would require her to be placed on any kind of suspension or otherwise.
REVELL: Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We've been hearing stuff that it was a deputy who was a school resource officer. Is that true?
REVELL: That is correct, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, those injured, those killed, or any of those members of law enforcement?
REVELL: I'm sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Anyone who died in the shooting or was injured in the shooting, were any of them members of law enforcement, whether it be --
REVELL: No, they were not. They were not. Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When law enforcement arrived, did the suspect engage with them, or did you surrender immediately?
REVELL: No. They challenged him and ended up shooting -- he did not comply with commands and was shot.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did he fired at officers?
REVELL: I do not believe he fired at officers.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Phoenix may be autistic. Are you able to confirm that detail?
REVELL: I do not have that detail.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there an I.D. of the victims yet?
REVELL: I'm sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I.D. of the victims?
REVELL: We're not releasing any of the victim information at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was the officers aware of any behavioral conditions or concerns or threats prior to this incident?
REVELL: We were not.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How quickly did officers arrive on scene from the 911 call to engage the suspect?
REVELL: We will get you that information. I don't have that currently. I assume that would be a question that was asked, but, I mean, it was almost
immediately, that FSU, obviously this is their campus and they patrol it very well. So they were on scene almost immediately, engaged almost
immediately. And then everyone else again was a massive, very quick response.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I know you said that the two deceased were not students. Do we know of those five that were injured are any of them
students?
REVELL: Again, we're not releasing any information on the students at this -- on the victims at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Specifically what firearm was used?
REVELL: I'm sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What kind of firearm was used?
REVELL: It was a handgun. I don't know what type of handgun that was. It was a probably a 40? I don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, I've heard report that a shotgun was also recovered on campus. Was that used in the shooting?
REVELL: We do know that he had a shotgun with him. We have not confirmed anyone was shot with a shotgun at this point, but, again, that could change
as we, again, there are hundreds and hundreds of witnesses. And as we piece all of this back together, information will come to light that we may not
have at this point. So I do not believe so at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll take one more question.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Will dispatch or any logs be released in the near future?
REVELL: I'm sorry. Say again.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Will there be anybody cam footage or radio dispatch logs or incident reports being released anytime soon?
REVELL: We will work with the state attorney's office, which we always do in pulling together all the information, all the investigative evidence
from this case, and then collaboration with State Attorney Campbell. We will make that determination obviously after the case is over. We will
certainly -- it all becomes available at that point. But as to what we can and will release at that point, like I said before, we're very open,
transparent on these things.
Again, the officers did an incredible job. But again, some of this is very horrific. This is a horrific incident. And so we will again collaborate
with the state attorney's office and determine which of that evidence could be released or will not be released. But, again, I will let you know that
as soon as we make that determination.
So thank you all very much. Appreciate you being here. And just let me reiterate what's already been said. The collaboration between all of the
agencies, the federal, the state, the local, all of our first responders, our EMS personnel, our fire department, again, just a massive response,
immediate treatment to the victims that were there, the transport of them.
Again, it was a very seamless, seamless response to this tragedy. And that goes to the training that we all do repeatedly, individually, as agencies
and together, the incident command came together very, very quickly. And again I could not be more proud of the response and more horrified at the
act. So thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you please just real quick verify that one more time, the number of people injured and dead? Our number was eight.
REVELL: Sure. Total number of nine. That includes the suspect. So there are six victims that are injured, two victims that are dead, and one suspect.
And that's -- let me just reiterate this because I'm not sure we said this. We have no reason to believe at this point that he did not act alone. So
there is no further threat to our community at this point. So thank you very much.
QUEST: I think we can all agree that was a model of clarity in the facts that we were given.
[16:50:06]
Let me just recount that. Nine people in total seem to have been involved. Six victims have been injured, two people are dead. They wouldn't say --
they only told us that the two dead are not soldiers. And they said they weren't law enforcement. So one, I mean, one can speculate whether they
were teachers, whether they were employees of the university. We don't know. And the suspect who has been -- sorry. I beg your pardon. I misspoke.
I meant, I should know that the two dead are not students.
And then there was the suspect who apparently did get into a shooting match with the authorities, was shot. According to the authorities, the gunman
had a handgun. Also had with him a shotgun. But wasn't -- that shotgun wasn't used, we believe. And perhaps the most surprising, John Matthews
with me, former Dallas police officer and author of "Mass Shootings: Six Steps to Survival," in this very sad and sorry matter.
The appears the gunman is the son of a local deputy. His mother is a deputy in the local law enforcement, and the handgun used was her old service
handgun, which she had bought having received a newer model.
JOHN MATTHEWS, FORMER DALLAS POLICE OFFICER: Yes. I was absolutely amazed at how open and transparent the sheriff was about that. I think that's
great. Immediately he came out. Identified the suspect was the son of his deputy, and that the suspect had been part of the Leon County Youth Law
Enforcement Program. So I think that's a really commend him for coming out in the very beginning and saying, we know the suspect. He was one of our
own in our youth academy, a son of our deputy, and used a weapon that belonged to the deputy. That way nobody can say anything negative going
forward. He released it right here. First press conference right in the beginning.
QUEST: And we don't know the -- who those who have been murdered. We don't know who they are. We don't, you know, speculation of course. We'll know in
an hour or two, I imagine who they are. And the victims again, no, no details were given, which is completely understandable. But the whole
horror. I mean, FSU is a huge institution in -- particularly in Tallahassee. It's an absolutely massive institution.
And I think what I take from what I heard is that it's awful to say, but the system worked in a sense if they practiced for this thing because it's
so frequent in the United States, and that seems to have paid off at one level.
MATTHEWS: Absolutely. Yes. Our training throughout the United States for all law enforcers has been ongoing for years. Every single officer is
instructed in what to do to in active shooter situations that we immediately respond, that we immediately neutralize the threat that we
contain the area, process the crime scene, and try to mitigate any harm to victims.
So the shooter obviously knew the campus is an open campus. He went to the student union, one of the most -- the busiest locations on campus, where
you've got students, staff, everyone, and law enforcement responded and mitigated the threat.
QUEST: The interesting thing is, quite often these very large events, law enforcement, through no fault of their own, they all end up tripping over
each other because everybody arrives and getting that sort of command and control structure in place, can be very difficult on a large campus like
this, but they seem to have done that remarkably well.
Unfortunately, because they've practiced it, unfortunately, because we know it happened so frequently in the United States.
MATTHEWS: Yes, we do. We practice with other agencies. Our dispatchers work together. Communications is linked. And so we know who the primary agency
is.
QUEST: Right.
MATTHEWS: Who's responding, what rally points to go to, how to secure the scene and how to neutralize the threat. Unfortunately, we've been working
together in the United States and law enforcement a very long time, and we're very good at responding to these active shooter events, which saves
lives. Many, many lives are saved because of the heroes in law enforcement.
QUEST: John, can you just tell me, in the hours ahead, what should I be looking for? What do we need to know? Guide me as to what the next thing I
should cover.
MATTHEWS: Well, they're going to secure the area. There's going to make sure there's no further threat to staff or students. They're going to start
processing the crime scene as the FBI special agent in charge said. They're going to start processing all of the video, all of the data, all of the
posts that you see on Instagram, social media, Facebook.
[16:55:07]
They're going to look at all of that from every angle. So they get a good picture of exactly what happened. How did the shooter enter? What did he
do? What actions did he take? Who were his victims, who were potential victims? So they want to paint an entire comprehensive picture of that
scene so they know exactly what happened, especially since we know the shooter invoked his right not to speak.
You're not going to get answers from him so you got to piece together all of the footage, all of the video and all of those witness statements from
literally hundreds of witnesses that saw this event.
QUEST: John, I'm very grateful to you. Thank you for helping me guide me through all of this. Thank you.
Allow me just to recap exactly what we've been talking about. We now know two people have died in the shooting at the Florida State University. There
are six people who have been injured. The gunman himself is now in custody after a shooting out with the authorities. We're not sure exactly his
condition.
We'll have more details in the hours ahead. I'll take a moment and then we'll have a thought at the end of the day with a profitable moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." I want to bring the strands together, if I may, of a couple of our stories. The ECB cut interest rates for the
seventh time by a quarter point because they're worried about economic growth, things slowing down. Jerome Powell we know has warned about prices
going up and growth slowing down.
You want to know the reasons regardless of the uncertainty from what's happening with U.S. tariff policy, today President Trump made it clear, he
gave us the road map. He showed us exactly why. Even now, there are serious worries. 25 percent on cars, 25 percent on steel and aluminum, 25 percent
on Mexico and Canada, 20 percent general tariffs, and 145 percent on China.
That is there. That -- these are winds that are actually pushing against the U.S. economy at the moment, and the global economic growth. That is why
everybody is now saying we have to take steps, not because they're worried what might come or what is going to come, or 90-day warnings, but because
at the moment the wind is blowing with all that tariff power against you, and that is the reason that so many people are now saying we're in trouble.
And that also means us.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight, I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it is profitable. I'm off tomorrow.
I'll see you on Monday.
END
