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CNN Sunday Morning
Congresswoman Shot: Mass Killing in Arizona
Aired January 09, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This mystery man catching the attention of police investigating a mass killing Arizona. One of its victims, a congresswoman killing to life right now, while six other families mourn the loss of their loved ones at the hand of a would-be assassin. That is not him by the way. That's just the man police would like to talk to. We've got up-to-the-minute details of the investigation and much more on the victim.
We're also keeping an eye on Ohio. That's where House Speaker John Boehner is expected to speak about the tragedy. We will take you there live as soon as it begins.
I'm Carol Costello at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Thank you for joining us.
Let's take a moment to bring you up-to-speed on the tragic events. Here's what we know right now: police say the target of the mass killing was Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, a veteran lawmaker who was back in her home district for a run-of-the-mill meet-and-greet. It was anything but.
She was hit in the head with a single bullet. Giffords was one of 12 people wounded in the attack. Several of those people are still in critical condition this morning.
In all, six people were killed in the gunfire, among them a 9- year-old girl, a federal judge and one of Giffords' aides.
We'll hear more about them a little later on in this hour.
But let's get back to Gabby Giffords now -- shot in the head, the bullet actually going right through her brain. Here's Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. surgeon general, who was on staff of the hospital in Tucson where Giffords was taken. He's talking about her prognosis and about some feeling of optimism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RICHARD CARMONA, FMR. U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: She has a severe wound. But he's cautiously optimistic that it is a possible that she can survive. But make no mistake: this is going to take a little while to see how she does after her surgery. She could need more surgery. There are lots of complications that occur with problems like this. And so, you know, she's in our thoughts and our prayers and we're all hoping the best of her. But I've been taking care a lot of people like this before. I know how difficult a path it is to recovery.
I saw the CT scan and MRI, I saw what was done. I know the surgery that was done. With guarded optimism, I hope that she will survive. But this is a very devastating moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Local and federal police are looking for this man now. Police want to figure out who he is. They want to talk to him about the shooting. He was caught on surveillance video in that Safeway supermarket. We know very little about him other than he's believed to be somewhere in his 50s.
This is the man police actually have in federal custody, Jared Lee Loughner. He's the suspect in the attack. But CNN learned that he is not cooperating with police at this time. We'll learn more about him in a few minutes.
CNN's Susan Candiotti live outside the hospital in Tucson, Arizona, for us this morning.
Susan, any updates on the patients' conditions?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Good morning.
No, at this time the hospital is not providing any additional information until a couple hours from now, when they hold a press briefing to update everyone. All we know is this: most of the people who were shot are being treated at this hospital, and then there is another hospital that's handling two of the 12, 10 of the 12 are being treated here. Five are in critical condition, including the congresswoman, and five more are in serious condition.
This, of course, is the center of attention for so many people, especially those who live in this area, and they've set up kind of a memorial or a tribute to those who lost their lives, as well as to remind everyone of the people that they haven't forgotten about who are the survivors. And you can see perhaps those candles that are lit that are over my shoulder.
In addition to that, of course, needless to say, this is the front page headline, this is the only story that people are talking about for the most part, this day, in Tucson, of course, and across the country as well.
You would ask me a question earlier about whether we've noticed any additional security at the hospital. Well, in fact, there is. They now have had throughout the night and will throughout the day local police officers who are standing guard right inside the front door as you go in, no one gets past them, information counter under normal circumstances, but now a police officer, more than one of them standing by there and they are also stationed throughout the building, I am told -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can understand that, because as you said the sheriff of Pima County kind of cagey when asked if more than one person was involved and very early this morning, the sheriff's department released this surveillance video of this mystery man -- they want to talk to him for some reason, although we don't quite know why.
CANDIOTTI: That's right, we don't. And all we know is what you had pointed out, that earlier this morning, just a couple hours ago, they released video of a security camera that shows this individual and authorities are saying that he was in the vicinity of Loughner, who was seen inside the Safeway store before the shooting began and evidently this man was in the vicinity as well. So, that's why they're curious about who he is, what he was doing there, and whether he has any possible connection to Mr. Loughner, who is in custody right now.
All we know is that he's between 40 and 50 years old, white male. And he was last seen in that supermarket wearing a dark blue jacket and jeans. And now, now authorities want to find him.
COSTELLO: Well, it will be helpful, because there's pictures out there in the public view now. Hopefully, someone will recognize this man and give a call to the sheriff's department there in Arizona.
Susan Candiotti, thanks so much.
We know there could have been far more victims had the suspected triggerman not run out of bullets. But witnesses say Jared Loughner was trying to reload his weapon when he was tackled by bystanders and held down until police arrived.
CNN's Nick Valencia has been combing through the suspect's background. Nick joins us live now.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL DESK EDITOR: Hi, Carol.
COSTELLO: What more have you found out?
VALENCIA: Well, not much. We haven't heard much from him, he's not speaking. Very mum as Susan reported there. Federal authorities have him in custody. But he's not saying anything.
What we have learned, Carol, about him comes mainly from the Pima County sheriff as well as messages on his YouTube page. We have video of that YouTube page, if we could bring it up here.
COSTELLO: He was very prolific online.
VALENCIA: He sure was. And, you know, long stream rants, a stream of conscious rants, non-sequitur, putting together ideas. One of the things he said here, he speaks of government. He's saying, "I cannot trust the government. The current government because of the ratifications, the government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar." He also went on to write about currency, saying he's not wanting to contribute to anything backed by gold and silver. He spoke a little bit on his Facebook page about adoration of "Mein Kampf," and "The Communist Manifesto."
Very troubled past here and as we're figuring out more details about him, he's unveiling, unfortunately, a very unstable character.
COSTELLO: He's 22 years old. He did attend a college. And tell us about that, because he got in trouble there, too, right?
VALENCIA: He did get in trouble. He was suspended from college and he was asked to take a medical evaluation, a health evaluation, mental health evaluation. And then he would be readmitted. He never took the test.
Of course, authorities saying that he's a very unbalanced man. In fact, yesterday, sheriff -- Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik spoke to reporters and spoke a little bit about his unstable character.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF CLARENCE DUPNIK, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA: When you look at unbalanced people, how they are -- how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government, the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country, is getting to be outrageous. And unfortunately, Arizona, I think, has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: Now, he had been on the radar of the Pima County sheriff's department. He has a criminal history. As I mentioned last hour, in 2007, he had been arrested for drug paraphernalia. Those charges later dropped.
One more thing, Carol, that I wanted to bring up here that was written on his YouTube page and its apparent reference to Representative Giffords' congressional district. He writes, "The majority of people who reside in district eight," that being her congressional district, "are illiterate, hilarious." Not very hilarious --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: -- from all of the gobbledygook, you know, that he posted online, that he fancied himself a philosopher who is far more with it than most people, right?
VALENCIA: He really -- also we're hearing from his classmates, from some of his classmates in community college, some saying his eccentric behavior in class made them very uncomfortable. Some actually even alluding to suggesting that he may have been on hallucinogens, may have been on drugs while he was attending class -- very unstable character that caused other people to feel uncomfortable around him.
COSTELLO: So, you say the sheriff's department was aware of him. He had -- you know, maybe I know there were drug charges, I don't know if he was ever convicted, right?
VALENCIA: Charges dropped.
COSTELLO: But there was enough in his background to make you wonder why he was able to legally purchase a gun.
VALENCIA: And that's the question right now. We have a lead right now on the gun shop where it was purchased there in Tucson. He is a Tucson native. We're trying figure out what the restrictions are for Arizona.
There are no gun registration laws in Arizona. That may have contributed to him buying this .9 millimeter Glock as authorities have said that was used to carrying out this mass killing and attempted assassination on Representative Giffords.
COSTELLO: Nick, thank you very much.
VALENCIA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
As we've said, we're awaiting live comments from John Boehner. That will happen later this morning.
But here are some of the other events we're keeping an eye for you this morning. At 11:00 a.m. Eastern, there's going to be a prayer service at Congresswoman Giffords' synagogue. We're expecting an update from officials at the UMC Hospital in Tucson at noon Eastern, that's where 10 of the victims, including Gabby Giffords, were taken.
At 1:00 p.m. Eastern, we're expecting to hear from the Pima County sheriff's office about the investigation, all of these times Eastern -- Tucson local time is two hours behind.
Standing by still for House Speaker John Boehner to make his remarks. He's expected to talk live about Congresswoman Giffords' shooting. We'll take you live to West Chester, Ohio, near Cincinnati, when that happens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: You're taking a live look at candles that are set outside -- set up outside the Tucson hospital where those victims of yesterday's shooting are hopefully recovering, including Congresswoman Giffords. As we said the House speaker, John Boehner, will hold a news conference soon. We're thinking it might happen at 8:30 Eastern Time. He'll make a statement on these shootings.
He did issue a statement earlier on the shooting yesterday. He said, and I'm quoting here, "An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congressman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured and their families. This is a sad day for our country."
CNN congressional Brianna Keilar joins us from Capitol Hill.
Brianna, it's tough to talk about this, but we were wondering -- since it probably will take a lengthy period of time for the congresswoman to recover, how does that work in Congress? Who takes her place?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's obviously -- this doesn't happen very often, Carol, so that's not really a question that I can answer definitively. But it all depends, obviously, on exactly what the prognosis is for recovery, how functional Congresswoman Giffords will be.
In some instances, where members of Congress have suffered certainly illnesses that have incapacitated for them some time, there's patience in the process for them and they're able to retain their position in Congress. I think we're really going to have to get a lot more details about exactly where she is at in this process and what her prognosis is. If for some reason it is determined or she decides that you know, she's not able to serve, certainly Arizona, the way they deal with someone who, you know, would basically give up their seat, would be through a special election process.
But again, these are all questions that are very open at this point, because we just don't know the details of her prognosis, even as doctors are saying that they are optimistic or at least guardedly optimistic, Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, we hope so. I wanted to ask you, too, about security procedures not only in Arizona but on Capitol Hill, and, you know, the security surrounding members of Congress.
KEILAR: Yes. This is so interesting, because leaders, Democratic and Republican leaders have security details. You can't even miss them. In fact, we tend to know when they're coming, because we know who their security details are but most members of Congress, most senators don't have a security detail. Congresswoman Giffords did not.
There's a question now about, you know, what is this going to mean for other members of Congress? Certainly, there is going to be a look at security and who might need it, depending on circumstances.
But I think one of the most, I guess, interesting things of this whole situation, Carol, is that this is very normal for members of Congress to be going out, they go to events, they go to public events, their constituents have access to them, and that's just kind of the way it goes. And there is no security detail.
COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much, reporting live from Washington this morning.
Talking about the weather now, the storm that just passed through the Northeast didn't have quite the impact of the Christmas blizzard -- thank goodness for that. But people here in the Southeast, watch out because it could get nasty. We'll head to the severe weather center next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Some serious snow in the forecast from the Deep South to Colorado's Front Range. Yesterday, it was the Northeast getting the brunt of winter weather. This is what it looks like in Trumbull, Connecticut, where iReporter Andreina Sosa-Keifer six inches of snow fell. Oh, it's awfully beautiful, though, isn't it?
Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider has the winter weather lowdown in the CNN severe weather.
So, that was pretty, wasn't it, in Connecticut?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is beautiful and note in Connecticut, because Connecticut is not a big deal. Six inches no problem.
What about when you get six inches of snow in cities like Atlanta, Georgia? Well, then, it's a big deal. Let's show you a live picture of Atlanta, outside right now, beautiful sunrise, it's a beautiful morning. Cold out there for sure, a little windy, too. No snow yet.
But the winter weather advisories are in place, not just for Atlanta where we could see three to six inches of snow but also all the way to the west, we have advisories posted from Dallas, through Shreveport, Louisiana, up into Memphis and Nashville. And incidentally, Memphis and Nashville will see more substantial snow further north. Some of the computer models are predicting up to 10 inches south of city of Nashville. So, we will see pockets of heavier snow at times across the Deep South.
Winter weather advisories all the way into Louisiana and I'm talking about southeast Louisiana, as well as lower sections of Alabama and Mississippi. This area you see right here highlighted across parts of Alabama, including Montgomery, this is an ice storm warning, a really serious scenario because ice is much more dangerous and much more treacherous to drive on than snow because you can't get traction on it and, of course, the heavy ice weighs down the trees and we get a lot of power outages.
We're already seeing the storms take shape. Heavy rain is pummeling the Houston area, working its way across into Lake Charles, Louisiana, and then when you start heading north and this moisture comes into the colder air, that's when the ice will form and it will begin this afternoon for areas further west and into tonight, as you head eastward, that's when most of the winter weather advisories for places like Georgia and Alabama are going into effect starting at 6:00 tonight.
Here's the area of low pressure, it will work its way eastward, bringing snow and ice, measurable snow and measurable ice across this region and will be monitoring it for you here on CNN -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bonnie.
Checking on some of the other top stories this morning:
Two people, one of them a police officer, were killed in a shooting outside of a Baltimore nightclub, four others wounded. Police were responding to a call about a disturbance early this morning. The officer was an 11-year veteran.
Former Senator Bob Dole in Walter Reed Army Medical Center this morning. The former Republican presidential candidate is being treated for a fever that started earlier this week. The 87-year-old Dole served in the Senate from '69 to '96, when he resigned to run for president.
Engineers working at the Trans Alaska pipeline are trying to find a leak that's slowing the rate of oil. The pipeline passes more than 640,000 barrels of oil a day. Operators say the output has dropped to about 5 percent of that.
An election going on right now could change the face of Sudan. Voters decide today whether to seek independence or remain united with the government that's in place right now. It's widely expected the mainly Christian south will choose to separate from the Muslim majority in the north.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We were going to look at a live picture outside of a Tucson, Arizona hospital. There it is. You see candles have been set up, sort of a makeshift vigil for those recovering in the hospital, those wounded in the terrible shooting in Tucson yesterday.
We are also remembering the six people killed during that shooting. Gabriel Zimmerman was the congresswoman's director of community outreach, he set up the meeting yesterday; 76-old-year Dorwin Stoddard also killed, 63-year-old Federal Judge John Roll also among the dead, 76-year-old Dorothy Morris also died; and so did Phyllis Scheck, she was 79. Also dead, also killed, 9-year-old Christina Greene. She had recently been elected to the student council at her school.
This is just such an unspeakable tragedy, you know, especially when it involves a 9-year-old girl or anybody for that matter. But that killing, though, of that 9-year-old girl, Christina Greene, especially hard for people to take. Her devastated father, John, spoke to a local Tucson news station earlier.
Emily Guggenmos from affiliate KVOA is joining us on the phone with more on how that family is coping.
Emily, thank you for joining us.
EMILY GUGGENMOS, REPORTER, KVOA (via telephone): Hi, Carol.
Yesterday, we talk with both her father and uncle who said she was a bright, young girl. She was excited about the political process and as you said, she was just elected to be on her student government at her elementary school. And yesterday, she went to Congressman Giffords' Congress on Your Corner to learn more about the political process. Her family says she was the only girl to play in the Canyon Del Oro Little League baseball team, she loved baseball, along with horseback riding and swimming.
Christina was born on September 11, 2001, and featured in the book that was called "Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11." She was born on a day of tragedy and her life ended in tragedy.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOHN GREEN, FATHER OF 9-YEAR-OLD VICTIM: She was born on 9/11. So, she came in on a tragedy, and now, she's gone out on a tragedy. But the nine years in between were very special. We're all going to miss Christina.
We were four people and now, we're three. So, all I can say is that we're going to be strong, strong for each other and we're going to honor, honor Christina.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, it's just so hard to listen to, Emily. It's just -- it's just up unbelievable. I know you've been getting a lot of calls in to your television station from devastated people, including this father.
GUGGENMOS: Yes. I mean, it's very, very heartbreaking.
And just to give you a little more background on where it took place, at a strip mall at a grocery store, on the northwest side of town, newer part of the city. There's a lot of shopping there on the weekends. There were a lot of people there for the event but probably a lot of people just there to do their grocery shopping as well.
COSTELLO: And I wanted to ask you more about the suspicious package that authorities found near Congresswoman Giffords' office. Have you been able to find out more about that suspicious package, what it was and who might have put it there?
GUGGENMOS: At this point, all I know about that is that it was a can -- kind of look like a cookie tin, the sheriff's department is describing it as. And they said at this point, it is no longer suspicious.
COSTELLO: No longer suspicious, no danger -- they've removed it?
GUGGENMOS: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK. Thank you for joining us this morning, Emily. We sure appreciate it. And we just want you to know that CNN has not been able to independently confirm details about that suspicious package and what it actually was.
We're standing by for House Speaker John Boehner. He's expected to speak from his congressional office in suburban Cincinnati on that shooting yesterday in Tucson that, of course, left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded. We'll take you there when John Boehner begins speaking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And welcome back and good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. It is 28 minutes past the hour.
I want to take this time now to bring you up-to-speed. Police say the target in those mass killings in Tucson was Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, a veteran lawmaker who was back in her home district for a run-of-the-mill meet-and-greet, but it was anything but. She was hit in the head with a single bullet.
Giffords was one of 12 people wounded in the attacks. Several of them are still in critical condition this morning. In all, six people were killed in the hail of gunfire, among them a 9-year-old girl, a federal judge and one of Giffords' aides. We'll hear more about those victims a little later in this hour.
Congresswoman Giffords remains in the hospital in critical condition. As I said, she was shot in the head, the bullet going right through her brain.
Here's Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. surgeon general, who's on staff at the hospital in Tucson where Giffords was taken. He's talking about her prognosis and he does use the word "optimism."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RICHARD CARMONA, FORMER SURGEON GENERAL: She has a very severe wound. But she's cautiously optimistic that there is a possibility she can survive. But make no mistake; this is going to take a little while to see how she does after her surgery.
She could need more surgery. There are lots of complications that occur with problems like this, and so you know, she's in our thoughts and our prayers, and we're all hoping the best for her.
But I've been taking care a lot of people like this before her. I know how difficult a path it is to recovery. I saw the CT scan, and MRI, and I saw what was done. I know the surgery that was done. With guarded optimism, I hope that she will survive. But this is a very devastating moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Local and federal authorities are now looking for this man. Police want to figure out who he is. They want to talk to him about the shooting. He was caught on surveillance video inside the grocery store.
We actually know very little about him other than he's believed to be between 40 and 50 years old. If you recognize that man, give a call to the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona.
Now, this is the man they do have in custody, federal custody, he's Jared Lee Loughner. He's the suspect in the attack.
We believe Congressman John Boehner, the House Speaker, is speaking now in Cincinnati. Let's hear his remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: -- Gabe Zimmerman, a member of Congresswoman Giffords' staff. And I've directed that the flags on the House side of the Capitol be flown at half mast in honor of Gabe's death in the line of duty.
An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serves. Such acts of violence have no place in our society. I want to commend the federal, state and local officials as well as the Capitol police and for all of their efforts, and I've told the FBI director that the House stands ready to assist in any way possible.
Now, last night the Majority Leader announced that the normal business of the House in the coming week has been postponed so that we can take necessary action regarding yesterday's events. The Majority Leader will announce a revised schedule.
To the members of the House and their staffs, I ask that you, on this Sabbath day, that we keep Gabby and her staff in our thoughts and prayers. Public service is a high honor, but these tragic events remind us that all of us in our roles in service to our fellow citizens comes with a risk.
This inhuman act should not and will not deter us from our calling to represent our constituents and to fulfill our oaths of office. No act and no matter how heinous must be allowed to stop us from our duty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Very brief remarks from House Speaker John Boehner. He did release a statement last night basically saying the same things, although he added a few other things like he said "no act must stop Congress from doing its duty". He realizes there is a risk to all of us, and also he said an attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve.
Let's check in with Candy Crowley now, she's with "STATE OF THE UNION" of course which starts at the top of the hour. Candy, you heard John Boehner's comments. They were very brief; I guess I was a little surprised by that. CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, CNN'S "STATE OF THE UNION": Well, listen, no good can come of talking for a lengthy time on something for which there are no words. And the Republicans right now, they've pulled the agenda for next week on the house floor. There will be no action on anything controversial.
This is just not the time to be out there making speeches. The longer you're out there, the more it turns political and what all of these politicians, Republicans and Democrats, most of these politicians, Republicans and Democrats are trying to do right now is to stay out of the political.
I mean, we have people who have been killed. We have people who are in critical condition, and those in serious condition, so it's not really a time you want to be out there for too long.
COSTELLO: It's sort of the elephant in the room, though, isn't it? I mean, there isn't any concrete evidence that this shooter acted in the way he did because of political reasons but it is the elephant in the room and it is the first thing that comes to mind in many people's minds.
CROWLEY: Well, there is absolutely no percentage in the Speaker of the House getting into a discussion about who or what caused this to happen. It -- it -- it looks as though a gunman who was not in his right mind -- certainly you have to not be in your right mind to try to take out at least 18 people -- so there -- there was no political percentage and there is nothing a politician can gain by being out there talking about what the motivation was when the police haven't even done it.
And there's -- there's nothing -- look, there's going to be -- there's already conversations all over the blogs, you know it, I know it. There have been statements put out blaming directly the Tea Party, blaming directly in -- in some ways, you know, saying it's this kind of rhetoric that we've heard from, you know, the Tea Party or the right.
And it just is not something that if you're a politician you want to get into at this point because what happens is, then this becomes political. The fight over who -- who "caused" this becomes political, so I -- I'm actually not at all surprised that he came out, gave a statement and -- and -- and left, because this is just, you know, timing is everything in life and it's also in politics.
COSTELLO: Candy Crowley thanks. "STATE OF THE UNION" by the way starts at the top of the hour. We'll look -- oh should I ask you who your guests are this morning, Candy?
CROWLEY: We're going to continue the coverage here. We want to talk to Senator Dick Durbin, Lamar Alexander among others and we're also going to talk to a former House Sergeant at Arms about what sorts of things are -- are being done to kind of see if there's anything further that can be done to protect some of these rank and file House members.
COSTELLO: Candy Crowley thanks. "STATE OF THE UNION" begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
We'll take a short break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Doctors are closely watching the conditions of those 12 people wounded in yesterday's shooting, among them Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who, of course, as you know by now was shot in the head.
She underwent surgery at the University Medical Center; she's in critical condition now. Former Surgeon General -- former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona is on the hospital staff. He talked about Giffords' prognosis and another surgeon's optimism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARMONA: She has a very severe wound. But she's cautiously optimistic that there is a possibility she can survive. But make no mistake; this is going to take a little while to see how she does after her surgery. She could need more surgery. There are lots of complications that occur with problems like this, and so you know, she's in our thoughts and our prayers, and we're all hoping the best for her.
But I've been taking care of a lot of people like this before her I know how difficult a path it is to recovery. I saw the CT scan and the MRI and I saw what was done. I know the surgery that was done. With guarded optimism, I hope that she will survive. But this is a very devastating moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I'm joined again by CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And Sanjay, you're a brain surgeon so you know a lot about these types of injuries.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.
COSTELLO: How did Dr. Carmona sound in your mind when he was talking about her injuries and the sense of optimism he says he has?
GUPTA: Yes I mean, I think he's clearly just -- he's -- he's talking to the doctors that are treating her and trying to get a sense from them about her condition now. I think what he's sort of talking about specifically is, you know, it's a dynamic situation. There are so many variables at this time.
And now you know we talked about the -- the possible swelling of the brain, bleeding that can still occur just because of the injury to the brain at that time so I think it's you know, it's probably people can't and maybe should not speculate really too much and I think that's what you're sort of seeing from Dr. Carmona there.
COSTELLO: She's unconscious right now, is that by design? GUPTA: Yes, I think so. That's a good point. Because I think when people think unconscious they think as a result of the injury; it could be by design. Sedation, you just want to let the brain rest if you will. So you give medications, to sort of -- it -- it's not a coma per se, it's just letting her sort of sleep and maybe pain medications as well which can be quite sedating.
COSTELLO: So the bullet passed through her brain. According to the Arizona papers this morning, the bullet passed through the front of her brain and exited the back of her head.
GUPTA: Yes, yes that's what I heard as well, a through and through injury, you know, exactly, it -- it doesn't mean necessarily that it went straight from the front, straight off the back. It might have gone sort of off the side over here.
We have a brain model just to give you an idea and we don't also don't know which side, Carol as you know, but it sort of coming, you know the brain is sort of convex over here and pass out in this area maybe through the skull.
An important thing though, that that they told us that it was through and through that the bullet has so much momentum, so much energy to it, if it passes through the head a lot of that energy is dissipated out into the air as opposed to within the -- the skull cavity and into the brain.
So --
(CROSS TALK)
COSTELLO: Because then it would -- it would bounce around and cause a lot more damage.
GUPTA: Yes and you think about the -- the brain sort of as a -- as a big fluid medium and it gets in there and just sort of causes lots of swelling and lots of damage just because all that energy is sort of absorbed at that point.
COSTELLO: Now, I have heard so many things about a bullet passing through a certain part of the brain that might be more detrimental or more, or have a more positive outcome for the patient; so which part of the brain?
GUPTA: Well you know, one -- one of the things I'm just going to spin the brain around here to show, but you know, people talk about the left side of the brain, for example, really controlling a lot of speech, you know, your ability to not only speak but your ability to receive any communication. That can be in this area over here.
You know, there are -- there are lots of different -- the brain's different areas have different functions. So there are some areas which are more responsible for strength on one side of the body or the other so the back of the brain more responsible for vision for example, the frontal area is more responsible for your judgment, personality to some extent. But you know, a lot of the brain could be redundant as well. So certain parts of the brain can -- can take over for others.
But keep in mind you know that the three things that we're so crucial is that she, if this was a through and through injury, she was talking at the time that she got to the hospital, a very important. And after the surgery she was able to follow commands, hear something, process it and execute a command.
So regardless of what exactly happened or where the injury was now you know sort of moving forward -- these -- these are good and important signs.
COSTELLO: But it's a very low percentage of patients who undergo this kind of injury that come out unscathed.
GUPTA: Yes, you know, it -- it -- you're right and you know, it's funny because I wrote -- I wrote a paper on this a couple of years ago. And it's like most things in medicine, every -- every patient and every injury is going to be a little bit different.
But you can have patients and we have had lots of patients in big urban centers with civilian injuries, not in a war zone setting, civilian injuries that really make a -- can make a good recovery from something like this.
And again, Dr. Rhee, who -- who spoke right after the operation, I just want to listen again really quickly to what he had to say because I thought it was so important.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you give us an idea of what her condition was like?
DR. PETER RHEE, TRAUMA SURGEON: Which patient?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giffords?
RHEE: Gabrielle Giffords condition was very optimistic because she was following commands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was she lucid?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times was she shot?
RHEE: She was shot one time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is it?
RHEE: In the head through and through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Front lobe, back lobe?
RHEE: Through and through from -- I can't tell you right now for obviously for forensic purposes whether on what direction, but she was shot through and through on one side of the head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: So we hear it's a handgun. We hear it's a single shot. We hear it's through and through, and then again this important point about following commands afterwards.
I don't want to overstate or understate that but, you know, I think that's the thing more than anything else when a patient comes out of the operating room, they may still have a breathing tube in even; but they are, you know, awake enough where we can say hold up two fingers. Do it in your other hand. Wiggle your toes. That tells us so much about, A, the cognitive process of the brain but also her motor strength in her arms and legs.
COSTELLO: I know her husband is there at the hospital. Is it possible for him to see his wife right now?
GUPTA: Probably. Probably. In these types of situations you know, right after the operation, probably being transported to the intensity care unit. But within an hour or so, usually in most hospitals they let family members in.
She may have even been awake enough to recognize that it was him, but then again to your point earlier, sedation is put on board by design. It's -- not only makes her comfortable but also lets the brain sort of relax a little bit which it needs to do after this.
COSTELLO: And quickly, I mean that's the surgeon we just heard from that's actually working on Congresswoman Giffords. Is it distracting for a surgeon to have to come out and talk to the media in midst of all these craziness?
GUPTA: Probably, to some extent. But I think, you know, given the high interest obviously and also I think probably with permission from Congresswoman Giffords' husband, he did that, maybe just to put out a statement, because there's lots of people, A, making assumptions, and B, making phone calls. So but I'm sure he got right back into there and was back to work.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: President Obama took a personal tone in his reaction to the mass shooting. We'll hear what he had to say in a live update from the White House. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A visibly shaken Governor Jan Brewer spoke shortly after the shooting at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' event in Tucson. Both the governor of Arizona and the congresswoman had served together previously; Giffords in Arizona State House, the Governor in the secretary of state's office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: I am just heartbroken. Gabby is more than just a colleague. She's actually a friend.
She has always been a noble public servant, and my thoughts and my prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords and her family, the congresswoman's staff and their families as well as other victims of this senseless and cruel violence.
I've ordered the flags to be flown at half staff in honor of those.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Reaction also from the White House to the event in Arizona. Here is CNN's Ed Henry. Ed, do you think the President will go to Tucson?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol. It's a good question. I've been asking senior White House aides that very question. They say look, it's too early to make that determination. They're still just monitoring events right now, also making sure they don't get in the way of the situation.
Let's remember we've seen that before both with President Bush, President Obama when there are tragedies whether it's a natural disaster or something as horrible as this, a lot of times the President wants to hold back and not have his huge security detail strain the local and state resources, while they're still sorting through a tragedy like this.
There's no doubt that they're going to take a look at that and potentially -- I stress potentially -- attend one of the memorial services later in the week or something like that. But for now, what they're doing is trying to monitor the situation.
Interesting you mentioned Governor Jan Brewer, that's somebody who has sparred with this president before on issues like immigration reform but yesterday the President reached out to her, spoke to her by phone, made clear the federal government's going to add all the resources they can to help the state and local government and also the President making clear that he has personally sent the FBI director, Robert Mueller, to the scene there to oversee this now sprawling investigation to get to the bottom of this.
And the President after getting some briefings in the White House Situation Room from his top officials including his new chief of staff Bill Daley, who just happened to be in the building, he's not even officially taken the chief of staff post; he was part of the high level briefings that were going on to give you the idea of the magnitude of their reaction.
And the President made clear that he was pulling for Congresswoman Giffords who he knows personally and all of the families and victims are in their thoughts. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time, I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families including Gabby in our thoughts and prayers. Those who have been injured, we are rooting for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, the President also made one more important phone call, he reached out to the husband of the Congresswoman, Mark Kelley, the NASA astronaut. He was not able to reach him but left a message. Obviously the White House understands that he's got a lot more to worry about than just returning a phone call. But it's an idea of how the President was trying to react both personally, but also the official levels of government, making sure that this administration does all it can to help people there on the ground -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understood; Ed Henry reporting live from the White House this morning. Thanks.
The storm that just passed through the northeast didn't quite have the impact of that Christmas blizzard but people in the southeast better watch out because it could get really ugly. We'll head to the severe weather center next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Some serious snow is in the forecast for the Deep South as well as parts of the Midwest. Yesterday it hit the northeast. It got the brunt of that winter weather -- this is what it looks like in Trumbull, Connecticut this morning where CNN iReporter Andreina Sosa-Keifer says six inches of snow fell.
Bonnie Schneider is in the severe weather center and we could get that much in Atlanta.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's what's unusual.
COSTELLO: Shocking.
SCHNEIDER: I know. New England no problem; six inches, that's not a big deal. But when you have six inches of snow in places like Georgia, Tennessee and even the Carolinas, it really does cause problems because this storm will not only bring snow but unfortunately ice.
Dangerous enough that in Alabama we have an ice storm warning that will go in effect tonight. That includes the city of Montgomery. For measurable ice that can knock down trees and power lines and coat the roads to the point where they're impassable.
The advisories stretch all the way from Texas, all the way across Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and well into the Carolinas. Some of these begin now, they're in effect at present but others will start tonight and then carry through Monday. And I think Monday will be the worst of it in terms of weather.
Notice the individual snowfall totals, three to six inches right here in Atlanta. Looking outside in Atlanta, Georgia now you wouldn't expect the snow is coming. It looks like a beautiful day but there's a brisk wind out of the northwest blowing in that cold air that's pretty much in place where it's only going to get colder as we go through the day so we are tracking that as well.
And I mentioned the ice -- you can see the change over just starting to happen. Now, notice you see a lot of pink on the map here. We've just been checking the latest observations. There isn't ice falling right now but as this system energizes and taps more into these warm moist waters of the Gulf of Mexico we are anticipating that change over to occur from rain to freezing rain, sleet, and eventually snow as well.
Here's a look at the temperatures and you can see how varying it is across Mississippi, Louisiana and then back up towards areas into Oklahoma where it's colder and then, sort of right around the freezing mark across into Jackson, Mississippi, for example. All of these place will drop down to much colder temperatures tonight and as this low works its way to the east we are anticipating a snow and ice -- a very dangerous situation in the overnight hours and into Monday.
In terms of accumulations we are looking at substantial ice accumulations and snow. Notice we could see one inch of ice. That is a thick amount of ice covering roads and that is across parts of Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, I think, Bonnie. But we'll be careful. Thank you.
Before we say good-bye this morning we want to bring you up to speed on the deadly shootings in Tucson. Police say the target was Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, a veteran law maker who was back in her home district for a meet and greet event. She was struck in the head with a single bullet. Giffords was one of 12 people wounded in that attack; several of them remain in critical condition this morning.
Six people were killed in the gunfire, among them a 9-year-old girl, a federal judge, and one of Giffords' aides. Just minutes ago you heard House Speaker John Boehner's comments on the mass shootings. He also talked about working with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Here is some of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEHNER: To the members of the house and their staffs I ask that you on this Sabbath Day that we keep Gabby and her staff in our thoughts and prayers.
Public service is a high honor. But these tragic events remind us that all of us in our roles in service to our fellow citizens come with a risk. This inhuman act should not and will not deter us from our calling to represent our constituents and to fulfill our oaths of office. No act, no matter how heinous, must be allowed to stop us from our duty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Here are some of the other events we're keeping an eye on for you today in connection with this tragedy.
At 11:00 a.m. Eastern, there's going to be a prayer service at Congresswoman Giffords' synagogue. We're expecting an update from officials at the UMC hospital in Tucson at noon eastern, that's where ten of the victims, including Giffords, were taken. And at 1:00 p.m. Eastern we're expecting to hear from the Pima County sheriff's office about the investigation.
All of these times that I'm telling you are Eastern, just keep that in mind. Tucson local time is two hours behind.
"STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.
