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The Situation Room

Brown University Shooting Person of Interest Released; Manhunt for Brown University Shooting Suspect; Bondi Beach Shooting; 15 Dead After Attack on Australia's Jewish Community; White House Responds to Shootings. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 15, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- back to their dorms, locked themselves in their rooms. We could hear helicopters overhead. Cop cars going by on the streets pretty fast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously shocking but also just like very disappointing and scary. I think like all of us are just trying to get out of this area as soon as possible. My flight is, I'm leaving in like two hours, most of my friends have changed their flights. So, it's definitely just a little scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, to know that he may still be on the street is extremely scary and worrisome for a lot of people.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Where did you spend last night? I mean, do you feel safe here right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel safe here whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The first student you heard from, Tristan, was talking about the fact that last night there was a brief scare on the campus. People thought they heard something and students for a moment panicked and it didn't turn out to be anything, but you get a sense of just how nervous they are. And all three of those students, Tristan, Anika and then Cole there at the end, they've all made plans to leave campus today. In some cases, almost a full week earlier than they had planned, but classes canceled, finals canceled, time to go home to be with loved ones. Wolf, Pam.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, you really can't blame them for wanting to get home as soon as possible. John, thank you so much.

So, let's get more now on the investigation. With us now is CNN's Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez. So, Evan, where does the investigation stand now? EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think what they're doing now is going back to look at some of the other leads that they had previously before they had the person of interest. Clearly they put a lot of a lot of stock in the initial analysis that was done here, believing that this person matched who they were looking for and when they went and did all of the things, the forensics, some of the other tests that they did over the last 24 hours, they realized that they did not match with this person, which is why they and they had reached the limit of number of hours that you're allowed to hold somebody like this without bringing charges and so that's why we are where we are.

I don't know that we're necessarily back to square one because they know a lot more now than they did on, you know, certainly on Saturday when this shooting happened, but it is a very big setback because you can see them trying to figure out how to explain to students and to the community that there's no present danger, but also that essentially there's still a manhunt for a killer on the loose.

BROWN: Yes, how do you square that, right? You know -- they don't know where that person is. And it's unusual too. I mean, you've had these examples where you've had the FBI director come out and basically claim victory that someone has been arrested and then that person is released. What is the dynamic right now between the FBI and the local authorities there?

PEREZ: It's a bit of a mess. I mean, that is actually one of the things that I think, you know, you've seen emerge in a couple of these instances where you saw it in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk murder where the FBI director was out quickly with information that ended up not being correct. In this case, he went out and took credit essentially for the analysis that was done, the cell phone tower analysis.

And that's really good, important information. It's actually very -- a lot of crimes are solved using that. For instance, the pipe bomb investigation, the analysis of cell phone towers was, you know, important information that ended up helping to resolve that case according to the FBI. So, it is important information. It did get them to a person of interest, but then all of the other investigative steps did not really match that up.

Now, you know, it's hard, you know, for the FBI because, you know, they're trying to help, but there clearly is, there are some tensions there. You saw last night at that late night press conference that they were not present, which gives you a sense of how things are working with them.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, lots going on. All right. Evan, thank you very, very much. Evan Perez reporting for us.

Meanwhile, the Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed is standing by to join us live right now. He's the top Democrat on the House -- on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator, thank you so much for joining us. Do you have any, first of all, any updates on where the search for the suspect in Providence, Rhode Island, your state, stands right now?

SEN. JACK REED (D-RI), RANKING MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE AND INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, as the mayor has indicated, and he's doing an excellent job along with state officials and all of our law enforcement personnel, they have gathered a great deal of information. They thought it pointed towards the individual they took into custody, and then they were able, I think, appropriately to determine that was not accurate, but they are relentless.

This crime has touched everyone in Rhode Island, particularly our law enforcement officers, and they will not rest until they have brought this individual to justice. And they are working overtime, triple time, to get the job done. So, I think we'll get there, but this is a disappointing setback at the moment.

[10:35:00]

BROWN: We were just talking to our colleague, Evan Perez, about the dynamic between federal authorities, the FBI, and local law enforcement, and Evan reported that there was some tension between the two, of course. We know that the FBI director, Kash Patel, came out and basically claimed credit for finding who they thought was the person. Turns out that person was released and is not a person of interest anymore. Have you heard anything about that kind of tension between them?

REED: No, my observation has been going on for many years, that there is a very close coordination between the local FBI and every police department in the state and the state police. They work constantly together, they know each other. I know there's been some experts flown in to Rhode Island to help the investigation, but I'm not detecting any type of divisiveness. I think they're all committed to getting the job done. They want to get this person off the streets and then let justice take over from there, but I'm not picking up any of those signals.

BLITZER: Senator Reed, have you heard any updates at all on the conditions of the nine people injured in this attack? What can you share with us about them?

REED: Well, they are receiving the best care possible. Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital is the premier medical facility in this state, I would argue in the region, and they're getting exceptionally good care. They appear to be improving. I have not heard anything recently, but all of them were admitted as critical and now I think they're all stable, those that are still in the hospital, and they've already released one.

So, they're getting all the care they need, but this is an appropriate time to stop and think about their families and their friends, to take a moment, if you know them, to reach out or just collectively offer a prayer for their well-being and their rapid recovery.

BROWN: Well, even as this manhunt is underway, authorities are not recommending a shelter in place at this time. What do you say not only to the students who are scared, but also just your state's residents and others across the country?

REED: Well, what we've -- they've done is determine that shelter in place is not necessary, but they've intensified police operations in the city, particularly around the campus. They have many more police officers on duty on the roads. They have detectives that are out among the people here. So, there has been an increased police activity, but people have been allowed to go about their daily tasks.

But this is not an unconscious sort of forget about it moment. This is, we're focused, we're looking for the individual, and we're also providing extra protection for our community.

BLITZER: You know, this is just coming into the Situation Room, Senator. I want to read to you what our reporters are learning. An Alabama church says one of its parishioners was killed in the Brown University shooting that took place on Saturday. Ella Cook was identified as one of the victims by the Cathedral Church of Advent during services on Sunday and was described as a, quote, "faithful bright light student at Brown University." I just wonder if you've heard that and you can add anything to that.

REED: Well, I'm not going to get ahead of the authorities because this is not only a question of one family, but of all the families who've been injured. And they are making attempts, I think, to clearly notify every significant member of the family of what's happened. So, I will not jump ahead of the authorities, particularly President Paxton Brown.

BROWN: I'm want to ask you about another topic that is very important and I know that you're very focused on today. Your Republican colleague, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, says the U.S. should reconsider its military presence in Syria after that attack on two U.S. soldiers and an interpreter. You disagree with him. Explain why.

REED: Well, we have now an opportunity, the first one in decades, with a leader who appears to be sympathetic, if you will, towards the transition of some Syria from being a tyrannical state, and I've had the opportunity to visit there a couple of times, to one which is much more, I hope, comfortable being a stabilizing force in the region.

[10:40:00]

There are many, many problems, but by withdrawing our presence, and particular our diplomatic and soft power presence, that would be, I think, a mistake. I think we have to seize this moment. We have to provide, if necessary, additional forces, particularly to train local Syrian forces. And the other factor, too, is we can play a role in moderating the divisions. And there are many, many ethnic divisions in Syria.

So, I think rather than stepping away, we have to step in, again, more soft power than hard power. But our presence can make a real difference.

BROWN: All right. Senator Jack Reed, thank you so much for your time.

REED: Thank you.

BROWN: And coming up, the breaking news from Australia. The country mourns after a deadly terror attack on Jewish people on the first day of Hanukkah. The latest from Sydney when we come back.

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[10:45:00]

BLITZER: Australia is a country in mourning right now after 15 people were killed and dozens injured in the country's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years. Police say two gunmen opened fire as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah near Sydney.

BROWN: CNN Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley is in Australia and has the very latest. Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The authorities have been very busy in the immediate hours after the attack. They went to a house here in Sydney, and police raided that house. So, they ended up bringing out three people, two women, one man, believed to be family members of this father and son. The father moved here to Australia back in 1988. He came first on a student visa and then around the year 2001 that was transferred to a partner visa.

His son was born here and his son went to school here. His son reportedly at one point was studying the Quran and studying Arabic with a teacher here who has actually gone on Facebook to publicly condemn this act of violence and distance himself, disassociate himself from this young man. No idea, authorities say, yet, at least not publicly, how these two were radicalized.

In addition to raiding that house where the family members were taken out and briefly detained and then they would return to their home and they basically have closed the blinds and been camped out in the house all day. The police went to an Airbnb, a rental property where the father and son were believed to be staying in recent days. Neighbors told us that tactical police came, basically ordered everybody in that house to leave. People that were staying at the rental house, there were five or six different separate rooms that were rented out separately. They had to pack up their belongings and get out.

We know that the father was killed on the scene. There's that video of a very heroic Muslim unarmed bystander basically without any consideration for his own safety just approaching the father as he held the rifle in his hand, grabbing it from him, pointing the rifle at him, not firing, but getting the father to walk away and go back to that bridge over there where his son was. That's where he was -- the father was shot and killed by police. The son was shot and critically injured, but he is at the hospital expected to survive and being closely guarded by police at this hour.

BLITZER: All right. Will Ripley reporting from Sydney, thank you very, very much. And coming up, how the White House is now responding to the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia as well as that deadly shooting here in the United States at Brown University in Rhode Island.

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[10:50:00]

BROWN: Well, breaking news. The Army has identified the two soldiers killed over the weekend in Syria. 25-year-old Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres Tovar and 29-year-old Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard. The Army said in a statement that they died December 13th in Palmyra, Syria of injuries sustained while engaged with hostile forces. President Trump paid his respects to the victims of the mass shootings at Brown University and in Sydney, Australia over the weekend.

And at a White House holiday reception, the president said the two people killed at Brown, quote, "Are looking down on us right now from heaven." And he called the shooting that left 15 dead in Australia a terrible attack. And he praised the hero who tackled and disarmed one of the two gunmen.

BLITZER: Let's go live right now to CNN's Alayna Treene over at the White House for us. Alayna, what else did President Trump say about these mass shootings?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, look, I mean, it was clearly a horrible weekend of news from Australia to Rhode Island. And the president acknowledged that when speaking alongside the first lady, Melania Trump, at that Christmas reception. Take a listen to the words he used to express his condolences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We also pay my respects to the people, unfortunately. Two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from heaven. And likewise, in Australia, as you know, there was a terrible attack, 11 dead, 29 badly wounded. And that was an anti-Semitic attack, obviously. And I just want to pay my respects to everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Wolf and Pamela, one thing that didn't get caught there in that clip was that he also went on to say, you know, that acknowledging it yesterday was the first day of Hanukkah and saying that he hoped that the Jewish community here in America could celebrate open and loudly.

But look, one of the things that has struck me in some of the response we're seeing here from this administration compared to what we're seeing globally, particularly if you look at Australia, just the Australians' intense focus right now on wanting to change gun laws in the aftermath of that horrific mass shooting. That is, so far, I should update the figure that the president gave in that clip. It's now 15, we know, that are dead from that shooting in Australia.

And look, the prime minister there, Albanese, he has said that they want to make their already very strong and tough gun laws even tougher in light of this. One of the things they've talked about was restricting who could get a license, only limiting those who were able to get a license to Australian citizens in the country. Very different from, of course, the conversations that often happen in light of shootings here in the U.S.

[10:55:00]

And just, of course, we are also acknowledging the people who died at Brown University. There's not been a big push on the other end of Capitol -- or excuse me, the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue on Capitol Hill or here with this administration to do anything as it relates to gun laws in light of that. So, just something striking to me that I've been picking up on through all of this.

BLITZER: All right. Elena Treen over at the White House for us. Thank you very, very much.

BROWN: And coming up right after the break here in the Situation Room, a JetBlue pilot describes a near collision with a U.S. military plane over the Caribbean.

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