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Special Counsel Urges Supreme Court To Deny Trump's Request For Delay In Immunity Case; News Conference On Shooting At Super Bowl Rally; KC Police: One Dead, 21 Gunshot Victims In Super Bowl Rally Shooting; Democrats Shrink House GOP's Majority By Flipping Key New York Seat; New Details On White House Handling Of Special Counsel Classified Docs Probe And Fallout For The Biden Team. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 14, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, a Super Bowl victory celebration turns deadly as shots ring out in Kansas City after a parade honoring the Chiefs' big win. We're standing by for a new update from police this hour. It's expected to start momentarily.

[18:00:00]

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

We're following the breaking news. We're standing by once again to hear directly from Kansas City Police as so many questions remain unanswered about the Super Bowl rally shooting earlier today. We know at least one person is dead and 10 to 15 people are injured.

Brian Todd has been covering the breaking story for us. Brian, a celebration of sports triumphed rocked by gun violence.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. We have new information tonight on how this incident unfolded and the information that police are now piecing together in the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): In the middle of a citywide celebration, panic, shots fired in Kansas City, Missouri, as a rally for the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs was wrapping up. Multiple people were struck. Officials say one person is dead, 10 to 15 injured. Police say the shots were fired near Union Station in Kansas City in the vicinity of the garage.

CHIEF STACEY GRAVES, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI POLICE: As soon as the rally concluded, there were shots fired on the west side of Union Station. Officers were on scene in the area. I know one of the suspects was immediately pursued on foot.

TODD: Police say two armed people who were at the rally have been detained. Witnesses described scenes of chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, people started crushing forward. Everybody started running. There was screaming. We didn't know what was happening, but this day and age when people run, you run. And so I put my arms around her and we tried to push through so people wouldn't run on top of us. And there was a woman crying, saying something about somebody had been shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But when we were heading west trying to get back and away from it, we saw the police swarm a stairwell, and then we heard another pop from there. And that's when I was like, okay, we're gone.

TODD: Police say they're still trying to determine what prompted the shooting. It's not clear whether the people struck by gunfire were specifically targeted or whether the shooting was planned in any way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Kansas City Chiefs All Pro Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the MVP of Super Bowl LVIII, posted on X after the shooting, quote, praying for Kansas City. Chiefs Linebacker Drue Tranquill posted, quote, please join me in prayer for all the victims in this heinous act. Pray that doctors and first responders would have steady hands and that all would experience full healing.

Now, authorities are now appealing to the public for more information. They want people who are at the scene to share information including any video they may have taken. Wolf?

BLITZER: So, important indeed. Brian Todd reporting for us, Brian, thank you very, very much.

I want to bring in CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell. Right now, Josh, police gave a briefing, a brief update just a little while ago. We're waiting for another briefing momentarily. Major questions are still unanswered. What are you watching for?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. We're learning the what, what occurred here. Obviously shots fired ringing out at the conclusion of this celebration. We're learning the number of victims. We still don't know who did it or why.

Authorities have indicated that two people have been taken into custody, but as I've been saying all along, it's unclear right now, at least from authorities and sources, whether this event was specifically targeted or whether this may have been exchange of gunfire between two parties, or perhaps these were people who had guns at that rally and drew their weapon in order to try to help stop a shooter and they were then taken into custody. So, a lot of questions that we're still waiting to have answered by police.

So, often after these events, we will hear a definitive update from authorities saying there is no current threat to the community. We have not received that definitive update yet here. And so that's the big question is one or both of the people that were taken into custody responsible for the shooting or is there possibly another person that might still be out there that they are looking for?

Now, as far as answering that question, as Brian was just mentioning, police are appealing to any witnesses who were in and around that scene. They will also be gathering CCTV surveillance footage from around that area. I'm sure that's already underway. That processing now in order to try to not only localize the actual shooting event itself, but who may have been in and around that area again to try to determine that the people that they have in custody were actually responsible.

And then finally, Wolf, this is the behind the scenes part. We know from the attorney general that the ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has now been brought in. You and I, Wolf, have covered so many of these shootings. The key role that ATF can play here involves ballistics, actually going through the shell casings that are left behind at the scene in order to determine where did they come from. Did they come from one of the weapons that those two individuals had in their possession, or is there another weapon that has not yet been accounted for, all critical pieces of evidence that they will be processing and trying to put together? We are waiting an additional update from authorities to help answer some of these questions.

But, again, the big threat now, is there currently a threat to this -- or, excuse me, the big question now? Is there a threat to this community right now or not, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, good question. Now, we know the FBI has been brought into this investigation as well.

[18:05:01]

Josh, stay with us. I also want to bring in CNN Sports Analyst Christine Brennan and former NFL wide receiver Donte Stallworth.

Donte, let me start with you. We know the chiefs players, the coaches, the staff, we're told by law enforcement authorities in Kansas City they are all safe, but as a former player yourself, how do you think they are feeling right now, seeing what has just taken place and what was to be -- was supposed to be a huge celebration?

DONTE STALLWORTH, FORMER NFL WIDE RECEIVER: When you're celebrating a Super Bowl, you're not only celebrating amongst yourselves, you're celebrating with all of your fans, with all of your hometown fans and people who traveled to come see you celebrate. And it's a family affair. And it's a sad day. I mean, it's just -- for players, you saw some of the heartfelt tweets go out to the victims and just everyone that was there in attendance. It's really sad because, like I said, it's a family affair and you never expect anything like that to happen at such an event that's supposed to be about celebration and bringing people together and having a good time.

BLITZER: I keep thinking about the young kids who were there with their parents who have to go through this right now as well.

Christine, will we always think about this deadly shooting now when we look at the Chiefs' Super Bowl win?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: We will, Wolf, I think history, we will see that linkage forever. Less than 72 hours ago was kickoff and now this tragedy. And, of course, our hearts go out to those who were killed and family members and injured. That's a much bigger topic than sports.

But if we look at it from that perspective of sports and culture, Wolf, there are three examples in history. The Munich Olympics, 1972, 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed by terrorists in the Olympic Village or at the airport in September of 1972 forever. You say Munich and the Olympics and you think of that terrorist attack, that ultimate tragedy of the 11 lost athletes and coaches.

The Atlanta Olympics, 1996, a woman was killed by the pipe bomb left by Eric Rudolph. And another photographer died in the aftermath, a cameraman, as he was rushing to the scene. So, a woman killed at the Centennial Park in Atlanta, a moment of celebration, turned deadly and tragic.

And, of course, the Boston Marathon, the bombing there in 2013. I covered a lot of Boston Marathons and the word Boston and Marathon is now always linked to the tragedy of 2013. And, again, I do believe, sadly, we will now think of that Super Bowl and this glorious moment, the parade, the joy, seeing Travis Kelce and all the guys running around. It will now forever be linked to this tragedy that, of course, we're just starting to find out about --

BLITZER: You give us good historic examples of this, very important, thanks Christine.

Josh Campbell, let me get back to you. As I've been mentioning, police will hold another press conference momentarily. What questions do you have -- and I know you used to work at the FBI, what questions do you have that you're hoping to get answered?

CAMPBELL: Well, first, are the people who were taken into custody, are they willing to talk? Are they describing what exactly happened? We've seen in a number of incidents where people who are involved in shootings will willingly tell police what occurred. Sometimes they will lawyer up. If these were indeed innocent bystanders who were just there with concealed weapons that were then discovered, that could quickly be ruled out. And as I mentioned, the ballistics, but really getting to a sense of what did witnesses see around that scene, about who was coming and who was going, who was holding the weapon when it went off, big, big questions.

And then, finally, Christine mentioned the Boston Marathon bombing. I was in the FBI when that occurred. That was a real test of modern technology, using sophisticated technology to process tips from the public. They essentially went out, the FBI, asking the public, if you were in and around the finish line of the Boston Marathon, we want to see your media, we want to see any type of images, any type of photographs. Even if you don't think it might be important, we need that information as investigators to try to cull through all that information, determine if we can pinpoint the actual suspects. They did just that, getting tips from the public, identifying who they believe was responsible, and those people -- ultimately, one taken into custody, one neutralized, but leads from the public, very, very critical, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, that information from the public is so, so important.

Donte, you're a former NFL player, do you think the NFL should rethink the way these sorts of rallies take place in the wake of this deadly shooting?

STALLWORTH: That's a good question, Wolf. You would hate to not be out there with your family, with your friends, with the fans of the city, you would hate to not be out there. I just don't know if having this celebration in the other way is going to really encapsulate the season that it takes for you to get to the Super Bowl and to win the game.

[18:10:01]

It's a tough feat. And the fans are there with you every step of the way and they deserve to celebrate just as well as the fans do or just as well as the players do.

So, I hope there's something that can happen to where these events are made much more safely but until then, you know, the NFL does have to look at this from a security standpoint as well.

BLITZER: Reassess all of this. All right, guys, thank you very, very much. Don't go too far away, much more of our breaking news coverage coming up right after this. And we're once again standing by momentarily for the start of this news conference from Kansas City Law Enforcement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's a lot of breaking news we're following right now. Stand by for more on the Super Bowl rally shooting in Kansas City. We're standing by. We're awaiting a new update from local law enforcement. We'll have live coverage of that. That's coming up momentarily.

Right now, there's other important news we're following as well, including the special counsel, Jack Smith, just responded to Donald Trump's filing to the U.S. Supreme Court in the legal battle over his claim of presidential immunity.

I want to go to our Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid. She's joining us with details right now. And, Paula, I want to warn you and I want to warn our viewers that if this news conference in Kansas City starts, we will need to interrupt you and go to it right away.

[18:15:05]

But while we are waiting that news conference, what does the special counsel say in this new filing to the high court?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the special counsel, Jack Smith, wasting no time responding to Trump's request asking the Supreme Court to intervene and put on hold a scathing unanimous appeals court decision that found Trump does not have immunity that would shield him from the federal election subversion case that Jack Smith is bringing against him.

Now, we know timing is really at the heart of this controversy because Trump wants to delay, delay, delay, try to push this case back until after the November election. But Jack Smith, he wants to bring this prior to the election, and here, he's asking the Supreme Court to reject what he describes as a quote novel theory of absolute presidential immunity.

But he also tells the court, look, if this is something you want to take up, hear arguments on, please do it quickly. In fact, he asks them if they're going to do that to schedule arguments in March and decide the case and move it along on an expedited basis. He says that the charges here, the allegations, quote, strike at the heart of democracy and says that there is a public interest in having a speedy trial. He describes this case as having, quote, unique national importance.

Now, we'll be watching to see ultimately what the Supreme Court does here. But the big thing here is timing, Wolf, how long does it take the Supreme Court to give the parties and the country some guidance on what they're going to do because every day, every week makes it that much harder for Smith to bring this case, which was originally scheduled to begin in early March before the presidential contest in November.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll see what happens. Paula, stay with us. I also want to bring in Legal Analysts Elie Honig and Jennifer Rodgers.

Elie, first of all, what do you make of this special counsel's filing?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this is Jack Smith's best and potentially last effort to try to get this case back on track in the trial court and, in fact, tried before the election.

Now, Jack Smith makes a couple arguments. First of all, he says, Donald Trump does not have any realistic probability of succeeding on his immunity claim, and that's something you have to show at this point in order for the Supreme Court to put the brakes on and take the case.

And then Jack Smith says, and there's a broader public interest in getting Donald Trump tried. He does not say before the election, Jack Smith continues to refuse to acknowledge that he's motivated by the election, but he says there's a broad public interest in getting Donald Trump tried quickly on these charges.

Now, the other thing Jack Smith says to the Supreme Court is, if you are not going to put this on pause, if you are going to take this case, please, please, please rule -- give us as short and quick a schedule as you possibly can.

Jack Smith obviously wants to cover himself at every turn and give himself the maximum possible chance to get this case tried before the election. BLITZER: Jennifer, what stands out to you?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I agree with Elie. All of those points are important. To me, I think the critical point and the one that Jack Smith has started with is this notion that you can't stay this matter if you don't have a likelihood of success on the merits. Really, what he's saying to them is the D.C. Circuit got it right. He's not going to win if the Supreme Court takes this up on the merits. So, don't take it up. That's the primary point. And the others, of course, are, but if you do, let's do it quickly and all of that.

But, really, I think his strongest argument is the one he led with, which is it's not going to win on the merits of the matter, so just leave it where it is right now.

BLITZER: Important. Paula, how does this intertwine with Trump's other legal cases unfolding this week, including the Manhattan hush money case, which could ultimately be tried first?

REID: Well, Wolf, I hope your producers have that complicated calendar graphic at the ready, because tomorrow, there is a hearing on a case a lot of people have kind of forgotten about. This is the criminal case brought by the Manhattan district attorney related to hush money payments that Trump made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Now, that criminal case is currently scheduled to go to trial on March 25th. It was widely expected that that would get pushed back because Jack Smith was on the calendar for March 4th. But now that the Jack Smith case is on hold right now, it is possible that the Bragg case could be the first criminal trial that former President Trump faces.

And tomorrow at this hearing, they will deal with a motion to dismiss this case, unclear if that will be successful, but we're also looking for any guidance, any confirmation that this will indeed happen on March 25th.

Now, if, hypothetically, the Supreme Court were to weigh in quickly and allow Jack Smith to go forward, it is possible, it's possible that the Alvin Bragg case would move, and the Jack Smith case would go first. But that calendar, as we've reported for months, is an ever- evolving, changing document. And it's just not clear right now when Smith's case will go. So, as of now, the only trial that is actually on the calendar that we are confident will start is March 25th. Alvin Bragg, we may, though, we may get an update on that timing tomorrow at this hearing.

BLITZER: We shall find out. Elie, now that both the special counsel's and Trump's responses are in, what is the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court actually takes this on as opposed to letting the lower court ruling stand?

[18:20:09]

HONIG: Well, Wolf, first of all, in terms of when we'll hear from the Supreme Court, the answer to that is any time. They can rule tonight. They can rule tomorrow. They can take a week. They can take two weeks.

If we're trying to sort of count heads at the Supreme Court here and figure out will they ultimately take this case, it takes five justices to keep the pause on in the district court, but it only takes four justices to actually grant certiorari to actually take the case and rule on it.

And if we're sort of doing the rough math here, to me, it's going to be a very close call. I don't see any of the three liberal justices, Sotomayor, Kagan or Jackson wanting to take this case. I think there's a good chance Alito and Thomas would want to take this case. So, if Alito and Thomas can get two more out of the remaining justices, Roberts, Kavanaugh and Barrett, then they can -- and Gorsuch, if they can get two of those four, then they will take this case and it will cause some delay.

BLITZER: Yes, it will. Jennifer, do you think it's likely the Supreme Court takes this case on? And what would that mean for the special counsel's case?

RODGERS: Well, if they do take it, it means a delay, of course. I mean, they would decide it likely within the next few months before the term ends in June. But if the decision doesn't come till June, then they're talking about mid to late summers and the earliest for a trial, I don't know whether they'll take it or not.

The complicating factor is that even justices who think the D.C. Circuit maybe got it right might think, listen, this is an issue of first impression. This is an issue that the Supreme Court of the United States needs to speak on so that it's binding on all courts across the land, and not just the D.C. Circuits and the district courts they're in.

So, you know, it's not only about what do they think is best for President Trump, to put it kind of in the crudest sense, it could also be about this notion of what law do we want to make. And so that complicates it when you think about who might actually vote to take this up at this stage.

BLITZER: Interesting. Paula, what are you hearing from your sources, and I know you have excellent sources on all sides -- hold on one second Paula. The news conference in Kansas City is just beginning.

MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: -- the Kansas City Fire Chief Ross Grundyson.

One thing that we want to note at the outset, the situation continues to have updates. Things will continue to change throughout the night. It's why we are here to give you an update right now.

The chief, both chiefs will be giving more information both on the numbers of victims, the status of victims. The chief of police will give more updates on the investigation.

A few things to note that we talked about earlier, in terms of who was in danger, what existed, it is my view as someone who did have to run at the sound of shooting that there were a number of people who were, in the very least, caught up in the incident in some way, myself, my wife, lots of families, players, Chiefs staff, and others, their spouses, their families, a number of people who were in or near Union Station. So, many people have been touched by this incident and we recognize that.

We also pray not only for the victims, including the decedent that was discussed earlier in their family, but also the victims of the shootings right now that we hope are recovering inside our hospitals.

We'll continue to give you updated information. At this point, we've talked to our federal partners. We have also talked to the Kansas City Chiefs. We will be talking to the National Football League and others more so just to hear that all are safe. We were with those institutions and we continue to hope that all of those were impacted are safe.

To the extent you have information about suspects or others, we do encourage you to call the police. However, if for whatever other reasons you have information about the incident, we will be looking to share that through different methods. So, if you have information about the incident, suspects and others, please call the police. If you're looking for other information, we'll try to continue to give you regular updates.

I'll say this final thing and then we'll come back for questions at the end. Today was tragic for everyone who was part of it. I had the chance to talk to my wife just a moment ago who said we became part of a statistic of too many Americans, those who have experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting. That is something that I hope we all recognize is highly problematic for all of us.

I continue to commend our police officers, our firefighters and others who were there to respond instantly, but we also need to figure out a way to make sure that things like this stop happening in our country.

With that, I turn it over to the chief of police, Stacey Graves.

GRAVES: Thank you. I just want to echo the mayor's thoughts and his prayers and also to acknowledge that not only the victims who were actually hit by gunfire, but there are a lot more people who are going to be forever impacted by what happened here today.

[18:25:00]

You know, as people were running, you know, a lot of us law enforcement who are running towards the danger also guided those who were in fear of their lives and that's something to be said of how impactful today's event truly was.

Again, we have confirmed there is one deceased person. Our gunshot wound total has went up to 22, and Chief Grundyson will provide a little bit more context to that. Right now, we're still working on a total of number of victims. This is still an active investigation.

I do want to comment on the question that I got earlier about a video of some fans tackling someone. We do have three persons detained and under investigation for today's incident. We are working to determine if one of the three are the one that was in that video where fans assisted police.

Our investigators are working with all of the surviving victims to connect them with loved ones. We are also working to identify our deceased victim so we can notify their family as soon as possible.

We are also in the process of staffing a centralized phone number. The centralized phone number will be for those who are victims, witnesses, and if anyone has video or any information about what led up to what happened here today.

Again, we are continuously receiving information minute by minute, which is part of the delay of us coming down here. But I do want to pass this on to Chief Grundyson to give a little bit more context to some of the status of our victims.

CHIEF ROSS GRUNDYSON, KANSAS CITY, MISSOUR FIRE DEPARTMENT: I just want to say that all of KCFD's thoughts and prayers are with those families that were affected by this tragedy today. And while we were not expecting it, we were ready and prepared for an event such like this.

Our KCFD units, along with our mutual aid partners that were working to assist us at this event, touched a total of 22 gunshot victims. One of those was a fatality. We had eight what we considered immediately life-threatening patients. We had seven with life-threatening injuries, and we had six that were at minor injuries. Of the most serious, the immediately life-threatening injuries, we had eight of those. Those were all transported and off the scene and route to hospitals within ten minutes. So, we felt the response was certainly adequate and appropriate, and I commend all our staff working there today, along with P.D., that did an excellent job in their difficult circumstances.

We transported them at three different hospitals. We transported at Children's Mercy, Truman Medical, and also St. Luke's in the plaza.

LUCAS: Questions?

REPORTER: Yes. So, we're getting --

LUCAS: Who are you asking?

REPORTER: Anyone that can answer the question. So, we've heard people talk about not just (INAUDIBLE) near the west side of the Union Station with also gunfire and situations that happened near the fountain and stoplight over there near the intersection version. Was there two separate scenes? Was there one big scene? Do you know the answer to that question?

GRAVES: That is still an active scene. That is a large ground to cover, as you know the size of the Union Station. I will tell you we have located that crime scene on the west side of Union Station. As far as in the front of, that is still under investigation. We have crime scene investigators as well as the detectives.

We had a lot of our assault squad detectives and our homicide detectives that were actually in uniform today working the assignment. So, not only did you have uniform presence immediately responding to the scene, rendering aid, going towards danger, but you also had detectives that were immediately on the scene that are still there and actively working.

REPORTER: Are you investigating any sort of connection with the earlier shooting of the day at 27th and 15th?

GRAVES: At this time we don't know if that's connected, but that is something that we are looking at.

REPORTER: He says that they want parents to contact them if they don't know where their children are. Do you know that there may be -- like are there kids there who --

GRAVES: I can tell you we have detectives at all of the local hospitals that are investigating, like I said earlier, trying to connect our victims to their loved ones. Should that be the case and it's a child, someone could either contact police, or if that is what Children's Mercy is requesting, of course, they can contact them as well.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)?

GRAVES: Right now, we do not have a motive. But we are asking those who may potentially have any kind of information, a witness or video to contact, that's one of that -- what I talked about that phone number that we're setting up that's going to be centralized for victims, witnesses and potential video evidence.

[18:30:10]

REPORTER: Any age range (INAUDIBLE)?

GRAVES: I do not have that yet.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) for family and then (INAUDIBLE)?

GRAVES: I have not been able to confirm another death.

REPORTER: You mentioned that there were some victims taken to Children's Mercy Hospital. I understood from staff at Children's Mercy Hospital that they received -- they have nine shooting victims and they did -- it's possible that one of them was an adult. Do you know how many children were shot if it was eight or nine? And when we're talking children, are we talking about little ones or 17-year-olds?

GRUNDYSON: Children's accepts patients up to 17 years old, but we do not have that information currently on the exact ages of the patients who were transferred.

REPORTER: But you do believe (INAUDIBLE)?

GRUNDSYON: Yes. I mean, Children's confirming that we did transport the Children's Mercy, but we do not have the ages of those patients.

REPORTER: Mayor, how scared -- you had over 800 officers deployed to work this parade, to work outside of Union Stage, and still in a matter of moments, 22 people were shot?

LUCAS: I mean, that's what happens with guns. I won't get in a big debate right now. I think we're still doing an investigation. But, I mean, what you saw happen was why people talk about guns a lot. We had over 800 officers there staffed, situated all around Union Station today. We had security in any number of places, eyes on top of buildings and beyond. And there still is a risk to people. And I think that's something that all of us, who are parents, who are just regular people, living each day, have to decide what we wish to do about it.

Parades, rallies, schools, movies, it seems like almost nothing is safe. And we had hundreds of law enforcement there working hard today. And I do want to echo what the chief said, who are running towards danger. But in a matter of seconds, someone who wants to disrupt anything, someone who wants to create any type of situation, or someone who is very simply reckless, can change not just one life or two lives, but almost two dozen.

And that to me is absolutely devastating and it makes me feel vastly more concerned as a parent just in the world today, thinking about them.

GRAVES: What was the question?

REPORTER: Can you tell us more about how you were able to detain those two suspects in custody?

GRAVES: Officers, uniformed officers were on scene. I don't have all the information of exactly what they witnessed, but there was a pursuit, apprehension, slight injuries by our officers taking someone into custody.

But as far as the -- your direct -- directly answering your question, I don't have that information right now.

REPORTER: You were talking about weapons earlier. Please tell me how many and what type of weapons were involved.

GRAVES: I don't have the exact on the weapons, but we have recovered firearms. I don't have a number for you or a caliber. We have recovered firearms, at least one.

REPORTER: You have two gunmen in custody. Do you believe there are any others still unaccounted for?

GRAVES: We have three people that we have detained. And that is what we are asking for is if anyone has any information, is a witness or has any kind of video that may provide us if there's anybody else that was involved in this.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)? GRAVES: No, at this time, the scene has been cleared, it's being held. And when I say cleared, I say the scene has been made safe and it's been cleared. Right now, we are in the investigative portion of that, collecting evidence, whether that be digital evidence or physical evidence, that is what we are doing right now. And we're also conducting interviews. Obviously, we have several victims that we need to have a conversation with, to ask questions, also witnesses.

So there's a lot of work ahead in this, but this is just the beginning stages, but we are moving as fast as we can.

REPORTER: Can you explain that there was like five minutes between the first shots and the second?

GRAVES: All of that has all of that has not been determined just yet. The number of shots, the time in between them, the motive, all of that is still actively being investigated.

REPORTER: You don't know if there were two separate things. You don't know the answer to that as well?

GRAVES: I cannot confirm that yet.

REPORTER: And just did I miss?

[18:35:00]

This is inside or outside Union Station?

GRAVES: This was all outside Union Station.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you all.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). I just want to make sure I'm right with my back because if you have three people in custody --

GRAVES: We have three people that are detained for investigation.

BLITZER: All right, we just got some more information from the police chief, Stacey Graves, the mayor, Quinton Lucas, and from the fire department, Ross Grundyson, and important information, indeed, 22 gunshot victims, 7 of whom are described now by law enforcement as having life-threatening conditions and they've all been taken to hospital. Some of the children have been taken to the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. We're told, three persons have been detained for questioning. Three suspects have been detained. Lots going on, we're watching this very, very closely.

I want to bring in Josh Campbell right now, our CNN law enforcement reporter who knows what's going on, who's reported on all of this, formerly with the FBI. What's your reaction? What stood out to you from what we just heard from these Kansas City authorities, Josh?

CAMPBELL: Well, Wolf, at this point, authorities have still not indicated whether they believe there is an ongoing threat to the community. I mean, in so many of these incidents that you and Andy and I have covered, we will hear police come out and at least provide some type of reassurance to the public that, look, we believe we have in custody the person or persons that are responsible, or there is someone who is at large who we are still trying to find.

Now, in the immediate aftermath of an incident, the so-called fog of war, it's obvious why they wouldn't be able to answer that question. And even now, as they're trying to piece together who are these three individuals and how do they potentially factor into the shooting, one thing that I find quite interesting is that even in a case of what's called an investigative detention, where you're detaining someone for further investigation, the officer has to have some, what's called reasonable suspicion that the facts are a crime may have occurred and this person may have information.

Even providing that little bit of information could help allay the public. What was the suspicion of the officers who took these people into custody? Did they see them actively firing? Were they simply holding a weapon? Again, the question we're all asking is, did they get the person or persons who are responsible?

So, I think the quicker that authorities come out and provide that information, certainly that will provide some sense of calm to the public.

And, again, I say this as someone who worked in law enforcement, Andy, as well, I certainly understand holding information close to the vest as the investigation is underway, but you certainly have to balance that public aspect as well, providing that information at least to give them some sense that there's not still a threat out there, Wolf.

BLITZER: And it's important, Andrew McCabe, and you're the former deputy director of the FBI. The FBI is currently involved clearly in this investigation as well. It's important that originally they said there were two suspects detained.

Now they say there are three persons that have been detained. And they say 22 gunshot victims, 7 of whom have life threatening conditions right now. What stood out to you from what we just heard, the new information?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Wolf, exactly what you said. And if you remember, initially, we heard, or the Kansas City Police released information that they had two armed persons in custody. So, that tells us they've got two and that they believe both of those people were armed when they were apprehended or near there too.

Now, what they've said is they have three people in custody. So, we don't know from that variance, we can't tell if the third person is also suspected of having been armed at any point and having participated in the shooting.

So, there's really a lot of gray area here, and I think Josh is exactly right. My suspicion is that the police don't really know at this point who was involved in the shooting, who was shooting at who, what was the purpose behind the shooting. And that's why they're being very deliberately vague. But we'll find out pretty soon because you can't hold people in custody for investigative purposes for very long in this country. If they're going to want to hold onto those folks, they're going to have to charge them with some sort of offense.

Now, it's possible that they could charge the two that they found armed with firearms-related offenses that might not be the actual shooting, but we'll see that unfold over the next several hours, certainly by tomorrow morning.

BLITZER: Yes. And the way the police chief phrased it, three persons have been detained. I assume they're suspects, that's why they've been detained, three persons detained. Yes, go ahead.

CAMPBELL: Yes, no, I was just going to add as well, I think a key component coming out of that press conference is just also to remind people that, to this point, we've received no information, no reporting, nothing from sources indicating that this shooting specifically targeted this event.

That's worth pointing out, obviously, just to understand the actual nature of the shooting, that so many of the incidents that the three of us have covered have often involved people settling disputes with guns.

[18:40:06]

I mean, I think about past incidents. Here where I'm in California in 2022, there was a mass shooting where nearly 20 people were shot by five separate people who were shooting at each other. Of course, last year in August in Boston, there was a festival that was disrupted by people shooting at each other, multiple people injured.

And so we don't yet know the motive. That obviously is something that we also want to know, but too soon to tell whether this was targeted, obviously no less tragic.

BLITZER: Yes, Police say 22 gunshot victims, one of whom is dead.

Everybody stand by, we're going to get back to you. We're continuing to follow the breaking news.

I want to bring in right now, Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

And I'm curious, knowing your history, what's going through your mind right now, seeing this truly horrific Kansas City shooting today when you were marking, what, earlier in the day, six years since the Parkland School shooting in your district that killed 17 students and staff members?

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Wolf, thanks for having me on this Valentine's Day, which I don't celebrate anymore because of the shooting at my high school and in my city in the city of Parkland six years ago. And now there are going to be other families on Valentine's Day that will forever remember their Valentine's Day and won't celebrate anymore either, because now we're going to add more families to a list that of an exclusive club of families that no one wants to belong to, which is just going to school or going to church or going to a grocery store, or going to a Super Bowl parade and not coming home.

I mean, to hear that obviously one loss of life, seven people on life- threatening conditions and 22 people shot. I mean, this is just a horrific event. It is exclusively only in this country. A lot of countries have mental health issues, but for some reason in this country, you know, we have no will to try to limit this. It's thoughts and prayers, and then we move on. And it's just horrific to see in general, but obviously horrific even more so to see on the sixth anniversary of the shooting in Parkland.

BLITZER: Yes, you make important points. Let me follow up because we're waiting for more details on the three people who have been detained, I assume they're suspects. We're also waiting details on the type of guns that were used.

What policies, Congressman, do you support right now to stop these kinds of mass shootings like this one, like the one in Parkland in your district? What is realistic right now, given the nature of the U.S. Congress?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, look, I would just repeat what we did in Florida six years ago after the shooting. Within three weeks, we passed what was called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Bill. We put hundreds of millions of dollars into mental health and to school resource officers and to school safety, but we also raised the age to 21 to buy a gun. We did three-day waiting periods and we did red flag laws, red flag laws, by the way, which have been used 12,000 times in the state of Florida in the last six years.

Think about that, Wolf. 12,000 times law enforcement determined someone was either a danger to themselves or a danger to others. We can do those things while also still respecting the Second Amendment.

We passed this in Florida, the Gunshine State, did it with Republicans leading the way, A-plus-rated members of the NRA signed by Rick Scott who became a U.S. senator. So, Florida is proof that it can happen on a bipartisan basis. And six years later that law is not only still there, but it's even stronger.

But, Wolf, let's not pretend that I don't serve in the 118th Congress, which the only thing we're known for is suspensions and expulsions. We're not passing any bills to help the American people. We're breaking history by removing speakers, removing cabinet members, but we're not doing anything to keep people safe in their neighborhood or reduce the cost of food or to help the economy.

And so this is going to have to wait until the 119th Congress until we can get like-minded people around the table to first decide that we want to help the American people.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens with what so many people are calling common sense gun reform in the United States.

Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida, thanks so much for joining us.

And we'll be right back with more on the breaking news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:39]

BLITZER: Our breaking news. Kansas City police just giving an update on the Super Bowl rally shooting. Authorities now announcing a total of 22 gunshot victims and that three people have been detained for questioning.

Meanwhile, other news we're following up on Capitol Hill tonight. Republicans are grappling with their new reality. Their razor thin majority in the House of Representatives is even thinner after the Democrats won a special congressional election in New York, flipping a seat previously held by the GOP.

CNN's Lauren Fox has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Democratic victory in New York shrinking an already narrow Republican majority in the House.

REP.-ELECT TOM SOUZZI (D-NY): Let me just enjoy this for one moment, okay?

FOX: As the GOP grapples with what it means for their chances in November.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The result last night is not something in my view that Democrats should celebrate too much. So there was a weather event that affected turnout. There are a lot of factors there. That is in no way a bellwether of what's going to happen this fall.

FOX: Many in the party arguing former three-term Congressman Tom Suozzi won in a district where he had high name ID against a relatively unknown GOP opponent.

REP. NICOLE MALILOTAKIS (R-NY): I think it was a little bit of the devil, you know, versus the devil. You don't know. But the special election in the New York suburbs, still a key opportunity for both parties to test drive their messages, and assigned for Democrats so they may be able to play offense on immigration.

[18:50:07]

One of the most difficult issues facing them this cycle. If the Democrats are going to now going to try to campaign on wanting to secure the border, we should actually call their bluff and make them do it right now. On the trail, Republican Mazi Pilip hammered Suozzi on the border in a

district where a migrant shelter was built just last summer.

MAZI PILIP (R-NY), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: We ought to fight this.

FOX: But Suozzi attacked his opponent for not having solutions, and instead embraced a bipartisan Senate bill aimed at cracking down on asylum claims and more quickly processing and deporting migrants that come to the U.S. illegally.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), MAJORITY LEADER: Tom Suozzi talked about issues fixing challenges solving problems.

FOX: The district which Biden won by eight points in 2020, has emerged as a key battleground for Republicans in recent years, with a powerful party apparatus that helped elect George Santos and a new class of GOP congressman in 2022, both parties view those suburb districts as key to winning the majority in 2024.

REP. SUZAN DELBENE (D-WA): Even with all the different points of view that might be contained in that district, they want folks to govern, they want folks to listen and then to find a path forward.

FOX: Republicans also casting blame Wednesday on colleagues who pushed out Santos as he faced federal charges, including money laundering and lying to investigators.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): He had not been convicted of a crime. And in my opinion, he shouldn't have been expelled and he was a good Republican vote.

FOX: But those who led the charge, defending the decision.

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): He was unfit to serve in Congress. I'm sorry, you have to have standards in the halls of Congress

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Our thanks to CNN's Lauren Fox for that report. And we'll have more on the breaking news just ahead. We're getting new information about the fallout also over at the White House after the president's interview with the special counsel in the classified documents case proved to be a political embarrassment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:13]

BLITZER: We're following the major breaking news on the deadly shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, during a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory.

Police revealing just a few moments ago that there were 21 people wounded in addition to the one person who was shot and killed. Authorities also saying eight of the victims were experiencing, quote, immediate life-threatening injuries, including some children. Police saying three people have been detained and are now under investigation.

Right now, there's another breaking story were following. And we're getting new details on how the White House handled the Biden classified documents investigation, and the fallout after the special counsel's report portrayed the president as a forgetful, elderly man.

CNN's senior White House correspondent, MJ Lee, is part of the team working the story for us.

M.J., you're getting new information. What are you learning?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Wolf. Well, as you know, very well. And as we've seen over the last week, the White House has been furious about this report and how the report was conducted, and handled, saying that it was gratuitous, it was inappropriate.

But since the reports release, we have seen a fair amount of finger- pointing both at the legal team here at the White House and the communications team with a lot of concerns and questions being raised about how the team decided to handle the release of this report. As far as the legal strategy is concerned, something that we have heard from allies of the president of this White House are questions about two things in particular, one, the decision to let the interview with the president and the special counsel that goes back to October letting that be recorded. And then the second concern has been about the decision to go ahead with this interview that lasted some five hours over the course of two days.

That weekend of an October -- excuse me, when the Israel war was breaking out folks close to the White House sort of questioning that as a legal strategy and what is clear has its been central to this legal strategy and talking to folks familiar with the thinking behind all of this, is this desire to draw a clear contrast between the president's handling of classified information and Donald Trumps handling of classified information.

What we are told is that all of that sort of led to this final decision to sit down for this thorough interview with Robert Hur. We're also told that there were some initial discussions about maybe postponing the interview given that things were so hectic that weekend, we were told previously by the White House officials that the president was understandably distracted, that weekend, but they decided to go ahead and with it anyway because in part, they wanted this investigation for one to come to an end.

And they also weren't sure if they were to postpone it, whether they would be able to find another time quickly where the president would have a chunk of time to sit down for this interview. And this is what one source close to the Biden legal team told CNN, they said after a hostile prosecutor investigated the president for 15 months, trying to find something to charge the Biden legal team strategy ended with zero indictments and total exoneration. That is an unequivocal win.

So, in other words, they're trying to say, you know, observers can second guess all they want, but at the end of the day, they ended up having no charges being brought against the president -- Wolf. BLITZER: MJ, the legal decisions aside, what else you learning about the communication strategy/

LEE: Yeah, a lot of questions about sort of the public facing handling of all of this, including the decision to have the president make remarks that evening hours after the report came out, taking questions from reporters and older so just some frustration from White House officials and other Democrats close to the White House about the lack of a clear and forceful pushback.

The White House has pushed back on all of this has been that they did have plenty forceful pushback, including the president going out. Ian Sams from the White House Counsel's Office taking questions from reporters. But there's no question, Wolf, that all of this has brought a lot of concern and questions about how this will feed into the political narrative that the president has issues in terms of his memory and his age as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: MJ Lee reporting from the White House, thank you very much.

And to our viewers, thanks for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.