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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Torrential Rain, Intense Winds Pummel Gulf Coast As Hurricane Closes In; Storm Surge Along Gulf Coast Could Climb To Nine Feet; Interview With Mayor D.C. Reeves; Protests In NYC After ICE Shoots Man With Child In Car; NYPD Releases Officer Bodycam Video Of ICE Shooting Aftermath; NYC Mayor: "Immigrant New Yorkers Belong Here, ICE Does Not"; Bipartisan Criticism Over Plans For Public Execution Of Fort Hood Shooter. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired October 09, 2026 - 20:00   ET

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

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: In fact, in these purple boxes, these are extreme wind warnings. They do this when we have landfalling major hurricanes, when the winds could be in excess of 100 to 110 miles per hour. So, we're seeing right now the worst, the core of the northern eyewall moving onshore at the moment and, Erin, we are expecting that landfall here between 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. Eastern. Conditions are really going downhill.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right, Melissa, thank you very much and thanks to all of you for being with U.S. Anderson starts now.

[20:00:42]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening, from the Newsroom. We are tracking Hurricane Isaias, the larger than expected fast moving storm, which has already begun coming ashore along the Coastal Florida Panhandle and Alabama Gulf Coast.

This is what it looks like right now in gulf shores, Alabama, near the mouth of mobile bay, part of the hurricanes inner core started hitting about an hour ago, and conditions will only worsen from here. So will the damage and destruction. In the words of the National Hurricane Center Forecaster, just before air time. The National Weather Service issued a rare extreme wind warning for more than 500,000 people in the Western Florida Panhandle. That's the highest level of alert of its type.

The agency calling this a, "extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation." In addition, areas in the region could see as much as nine feet of storm. Because of how quickly it is moving places as far north as Detroit, Pittsburgh, New York even could be hit by heavy rain from the storm as soon as Sunday.

You can see right now localities from Mobile, Alabama to Pensacola, Panama City, Florida, all in the path of this. And a short time ago, Alabama and Florida officials began telling people to stay at home or stay wherever they are, saying it is simply too late to safely leave. We'll be talking to local residents, officials and first responders on the scene all throughout the region. CNN's Rafael Romo is in Pensacola Beach, Florida for us tonight. In Gulf Shores, Alabama, CNN's Isabel Rosales and in the CNN Weather Center, meteorologist Melissa Nord with a new bulletin from the National Hurricane Center.

So, I want to start with CNN's Isabel Rosales. What's the latest where you are?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson, yes. Here in the last couple of hours, the rain has improved. So, it was actually slapping us in the face, coming in sideways. That has gotten better. But the wind has not. Right now, we're seeing gusts approximately 56 miles per hour. And after speaking to our meteorologist, it's only going to get worse here in the coming hours before the eye passes over us here in gulf shores.

So, we're looking at 60, 70, up to 80 mile per hour winds here in this part of Alabama. Even worse, to the east where Rafael is at in Pensacola Beach, triple digit wind speeds.

As I move here to the corner and we zoom in, you can see what the power of these gusts. You can see that canopy moving in the wind and you can't see it because the sun is down. But over in the gulf that I'm looking at right now, those waves extremely choppy and the wind direction right now, Anderson, actually pushing that water back. But once the eye goes over us, that wind direction will turn. And we are going to start seeing that storm surge six feet expected for our area here.

And as we come on the air, Anderson, there is a curfew now in place here in gulf shores and in nearby Orange Beach. The messaging here from leadership is stay home, get off the roads. It is not safe. You spoke to the mayor earlier. What are local officials most concerned about right now? Yeah. And as you're mentioning that the time of preparation has passed, it is simply too late.

They're saying this is the time to hunker down to weather the storm and also, not cause confusion in these roads. They want to keep these roads clear for first responders. And indeed, the mayor was telling me there's going to be a point here where it's not even safe for them with these wind gusts, that continues to get worse. And they're going to have to make that call to pull back the first responders and not answer these emergency calls, but they're going to wait until the very last minute until these roads are impassable or the winds are simply too strong.

But for now, they're saying, hey, just please respect the storm, respect your lives. Everything else is replaceable.

COOPER: Isabel Rosales, thanks for checking in with you throughout the evening.

We're trying to establish contact with CNN's Rafael Romo in Pensacola Beach Florida, which is getting hit especially hard right now. In the meantime, the national hurricane center, they are out with a new bulletin for that I want to go to CNN weather center, get the latest from meteorologist Melissa Nord.

So, how close are we to landfall and can you pinpoint exactly or have we learned anything new in the bulletin? I guess that you should start with.

NORD: Well, we have so, Anderson, we knew that wind shear was going to be playing an impact on Isaias as it crept closer to landfall. And that's starting to happen. So, the eye the structure of the storm is looking a little bit different than four or 5 hours ago. But it's still a dangerous, powerful storm. It's now a Category two, winds of 110 miles per hour. But that landfall is only one to two hours away from now.

But even though we're still an hour or two away from landfall, the Western Panhandle of Florida is in the core. The worst part of this storm in terms of the winds that we are expecting. It's this Northern eyewall which is moving on shore that has prompted a high wind warning.

We're seeing some of those wind gusts just South of Pensacola that were 83 miles sustained gusts of 97 miles per hour. So, that's already within that Category two range. The center of the eye, so to speak, still about 35 miles off the shore. But they are in the worst part of it at this point and it's a big storm.

[20:05:45]

The tropical storm force winds extend over 200 miles outside the center. We're seeing the power outages go up. And, Anderson, there's also this tornado threat that were going to be watching to the East of where landfall is, and that will be closer to Tallahassee through the evening, into the overnight stretching into Southern Alabama and Georgia, where tornadoes could spin up. But we've got that high wind warning right now where those wind gusts are very high.

COOPER: Yes, Melissa, we'll check back in with you. I think we have Rafael Romo in Pensacola, Florida. What's it like, Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson, we were having all kinds of issues because the hurricane is so powerful right now that it's been difficult to establish a connection. And the easiest way to describe it for me right now, it sounds like a freight train going by.

You hear the howling of the wind. I am, the only reason why I'm standing here is because there's a building on the other side that is right now, serving as a barrier for our team. And that's the only reason why we can do this, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to stand right, there.

It is just very, very powerful. I was reporting earlier that so far, the power, the utilities were holding in the last few minutes, I have seen the lights flicker multiple times. And I don't know that they are going to still be on by the time this is over.

So very treacherous conditions. Also, in the last few minutes we were seeing the wind going that direction behind me. At some points, we are starting to see that turn that you always see when the eye starts to approach the area where you are, that what you just saw, Anderson, the lights are gone.

We also see some lightning here. So very, very treacherous conditions here in Pensacola -- Anderson.

COOPER: So, Rafael, those flashes, is that lightning? Are those like transformers or that's lightning?

ROMO: It's a combination of lightning and lights flickering. I'm talking about public lights, street lights that have been flickering for the last, I want to say 30 minutes to an hour, this on and off going on and off. But when everything gets dark, then that's when you start seeing the lighting here, which, to be honest with you, it's something that I hadn't seen.

This is the most powerful hurricane that I have covered since Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. This is this is incredible, this is insane. The power of this hurricane, Anderson, is just very difficult to describe.

COOPER: How prepared and by the way, obviously, any time you or your crew needs to move or come inside, feel free. But how prepared are local officials for what's going on? What comes next?

ROMO: Yes, that's a very good question, Anderson. I was talking to Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves yesterday and he said, listen, everything under our control we have done, we have shelters opened, we have deployed personnel, we have high water vehicles, we have resources from the state. But the one thing that we cannot control is the intensity of the hurricane. And that's what we're seeing right now.

Anderson, a moment ago, I also saw a part of a, a branch of a tree of was flying by, things like, the plastic barriers that you see on the street are no match for the powerful winds that were seeing right now. And there was a wooden bench that was pushed by the wind against our car. That gives you an idea of how powerful the winds are.

COOPER: And Rafael, how far are you from the water? Your background is obviously completely black, so it's hard to tell where you are. How far are you?

ROMO: Yes, so we're in one of the barrier islands here in Pensacola. On my left is open ocean and on my right is the bay. it's a very narrow barrier island. That's where we're standing. I at one point, I'm assuming that the wind is going to start changing direction and it's going to start blowing from that direction towards us.

See, what I was telling you before the lights are back on. And we have seen a little bit of that. The direction of the wind changing in the last few minutes. But again, that's an indication that the eye is getting closer to the area where you are. And that's why we're seeing these conditions -- Anderson.

[20:10:34] COOPER: All right, Rafael Romo, we'll check in with you shortly. I want to check in with -- on conditions East of where Rafael is. We're joined now by storm chaser Jonathan Petramala, who is farther East along the Gulf Coast tonight in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Jonathan, talk about what you have been seeing. We're looking at live pictures. Where are you right now? And what are you seeing around you?

JONATHAN PETRAMALA, STORM CHASER: I'm on the Eastern side of Fort Walton Beach, just over my shoulder is the Island Hotel. Were right off of the beach. Obviously, it's a black hole back there. Power has been knocked out for much of this beach area. These winds have been vicious over the last hour and a half. Really, as the inner core of Hurricane Isaias begins to make its final approach on landfall, probably in the next hour or two nearby here.

And with it, those wicked winds gusting around 100 miles an hour or so, knocking out power, blowing out some of those, those voters and the circus is starting out in the distance.

Also, this Island Hotel I mentioned the watching the roof slowly peel away in these winds. It's really just when those gusts of wind come through, that's when we're noticing of course, the most damage. That's when we get the most vicious winds and hurricanes like this.

And so, we're watching this slowly pull away in the wind. Reports, of course, but trees down as well. And this is going to be an issue further inland as a lot of power outages are going to fall on power lines. Power lines are going to be knocked over. And then you have a storm surge. We're already seeing the first signs of the storm Hurricane Isaias.

They're predicting six to nine feet right over here. Now, one interesting aspect of the beaches here in the Panhandle, especially from around Pensacola here, East through Destin, they have very mature dune systems here. And so, what that means for the viewers at home is a very large they have good plant growth on them.

And so, that makes them more able to stop waves. it's a great protection, a great barrier, natural barrier from storm surge and from hurricanes like this to protect the infrastructure like Highway 98, which is in front of me as well.

COOPER: You're obviously in a pretty good location. You're in a very secure stairwell, concrete. Looks like they've got an emergency generator going, so there's light there. Do you -- are you going to stay in that location for a while? What is your plan?

ROMO: Most likely we're going to be moving around. That's what we do. We're more mobile. The winds aren't quite as extreme to keep us from driving around. But we have to be cautious. We have a lot of really bright lights and good lighting on our cars, but you have to be careful, of course, because you don't know what you might be running into, whether its storm surge coming in or power lines, that could be down trees across the road. But this is a barrier island, so you don't have those large oak trees that we have to be concerned about. If you go further inland, and those are the obstacles, those are the problems that I really get concerned about when were out in these storms, tracking hurricanes, are of course, the trees and power lines and what you have to worry about those, of course, not just falling on your car, but also blocking your routes. And you always want to leave yourself a cellphone and an escape route because when you have water, when you have storm surge, you want to make sure you're being very smart with it.

Now, the wind is blowing offshore where we are. Now, as it makes landfall, that's going to shift around and the water is going to start following the wind more. And so, it's been fighting against this wind. it's been trying to make its way onshore. But with the direction of the wind just the way this storm is coming in, it hasn't been coming onshore with the hurricane. And so, that's protected a lot of this coast from the most significant storms so far.

COOPER: I appreciate what you're doing and we'll check in with you shortly. I want to get an update from our meteorologist, Melissa Nord at the Weather Center in Atlanta about the wind direction. What are you seeing out there?

NORD: Well, Anderson, watching kind of how the wind directions were changing in Rafael's live shot as well. That's very true because as this eye starts to come on shore, the winds around this go counterclockwise. So, they're going like that. So, originally it was more of an East wind, now, Pensacola more of an offshore wind.

Then when Isaias makes landfall, the wind direction for a lot of these places changes again. But at this point, it is right now for the next hour and a half or so, when the worst conditions in terms of the winds are happening along that Emerald Coastline.

So, landfall expected between 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. And that's going to be East of Pensacola, likely closer to Fort Walton, Miramar Beach, 30 A. A beautiful stretch of coastline, beautiful beaches. Great place to take your family. But right now, in this extreme wind warnings. Again, Isaias is only about 30 miles away from landfall. And those power outage numbers are going up significantly.

In fact, we've seen in the state of Florida alone those wind outages, the power outages are now stretching over 100,000 customers and residents without power.

We also have the tornado threat that we're watching throughout the evening. That tornado threat will stretch inland overnight tonight after Isaias makes landfall and moves inland. But the core of those winds, the hurricane force gusts, could extend, Anderson 100 miles inland.

[20:15:51]

We've just pulled up our current wind gusts. You can see Pensacola currently. This is the airport, the International Airport there 44 mile per hour winds sustained gusting to 92. So, that's in that northwestern eyewall. And that's why the power is going out so much where Rafael was there.

And here's the storm surge forecast. Again, it's right East of landfall, not on the Western side but the Eastern side just East of landfall, where we have the storm motion plus the winds that are all pushing that wall of water upwards. And even after landfall, we see more of that push of water because of the wind direction.

So, the peak storm surge, were expecting east of Pensacola all the way almost to Panama City, six to nine feet. So, for perspective, a one- story house. You know, your ceilings are typically about eight or nine feet. So, that's covering the first floor of some of those homes as Isaias is making landfall and just after as well.

You can see the power outages going up. Over 80 percent of customers without power now in Escambia County there where Pensacola is -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Melissa Norm, we're going to check back with you a little bit later on. Coming up, we're going to, of course, keep reports coming from the storm zone throughout the hours the hurricane hits the Gulf Coast.

Coming up, well talk to the Mayor of Pensacola next. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:21:23]

COOPER: Want to show you some images right there from Orange Beach in Alabama. We've been getting just some reports starting to come in from there and parts of the region. The storm surge is beginning its reach about 3.5 feet in Panama City Beach on the Eastern Panhandle, about three feet in Apalachicola and Cedar.

Most gauges around Tampa Bay are measuring roughly two feet of surge. We'll get the latest from Rafael Romo, who is in Pensacola Beach, Florida. I know your shot went down for a while. You're back. We're still seeing those flashes of light, that's lightning?

ROMO: Yes, that is lightning for sure and remember, I was telling you before, Anderson, that the lights were flickering and they were on and off, on and off. Now, they're gone for sure. There's no power anymore in this area where we are.

Also, the other thing that I wanted to describe to you, Anderson, that sound, that you've heard it yourself before, because you have covered many hurricanes, that sound of a freight train approaching it is more intense now.

I can say we're in the thick of things right now because really the wind is pushing everything around. And the only reason why I'm able to stand here is because, I'm fortunate to have a building on this side, on my right side that is acting as a barrier between the, the wind that the very strong winds of the hurricane and our team.

We are operating purely on battery power. That's the only reason why we can operate here. But again, very, very treacherous conditions here in Pensacola -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Rafael Romo, appreciate it. Joining us now is the Sheriff Anthony Lowery of Baldwin County, Alabama. Actually, we don't have him. We'll get well get to him shortly.

So, Rafael, in terms of how things have changed just in the last 30 minutes, what have you seen?

ROMO: Earlier, the winds would fluctuate every so many minutes. Now, they are very sustained and pummeling everything here in Pensacola. We get bands of torrential rain coming in. Something just hit me on my foot. And that's really the danger again here, that this kind of wind can cause all kinds of projectiles, flying by.

I was telling before there was a wooden bench, a very heavy one that was pushed by the wind against our car. It was a slow push, but still, that gives you an idea about how powerful the winds are. Add to that the fact that it is pitch black here, with the exception of the lightning, and you get an idea of the conditions that were experiencing here -- Anderson.

COOPER: And in terms of flooding, what are they anticipating there? The early forecast said that we could expect seven feet. That was of storm surge, that was revised later to nine feet. It remains to be seen what's going to happen, but I can tell you earlier, I was on the other side of the Barrier Island, and the water already started coming up. It's difficult for me to see right now. We are probably, I want to say about 50 to 100 feet from open ocean.

I haven't seen any movement. But again, that's the real risk here. And that's what authorities were talking about earlier. The risk of storm surge, flooding and that that can complicate things very, very rapidly here.

COOPER: And have a lot of people evacuated from, I know you're on a barrier, have a lot of people left that area?

[20:25:13]

ROMO: Yes, that happened earlier because the only -- the fastest way of getting out of here is a bridge connecting to the mainland that was shut down at 3:00 this afternoon.

Many of the people who were told to evacuate did so yesterday. But there are many other areas here, low lying areas, mobile home, neighborhoods that were told in advance that they needed to evacuate. And authorities tell us that for the most part, people have listened to their warnings and have left the place.

The Governor, Ron Desantis, was saying earlier that every county where a state of emergency has been declared has a shelter. And for days, authorities were asking people to go to those shelters, including shelters that can welcome people with their pets just so that they can be away from the danger and safe.

COOPER: Yes, all right, Rafael, thank you. We'll check in with you in a little bit. All right, joining us right now on the phone is the Pensacola Mayor, D.C. Reeves, who declared a state of emergency for the city.

Mayor, thanks for being with us. What are you hearing right now from your folks out there about conditions?

MAYOR D.C. REEVES, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA: Yes, thanks for having me. We are currently out of power. It's going to nightfall now. The main, big reports were getting where the entire ECU, the Escambia County Utility, the water is under a boil water notice for all customers with multiple transmission -- we also, of course, in our do not respond right now in terms of wind for police and fire, which is standard in basically to put in a line of the first responders in high winds.

So, it was really, really heavy here. Ten minutes ago, shingles popping on the, on the roof and, and that's also considering, Anderson, I'm sure you've reported it. It's sliding a little East of Pensacola compared to what we we're talking about this morning.

COOPER: How does that impact things one way or the other?

REEVES: Yes, I mean, obviously, the size--Pensacola West wall. If you grew up here, as I did, you're used to these situations for better or worse, but being on that West Side, certainly it's actually gone relatively quiet right now and this is all in the last maybe five minutes, but I would say most of the reports I'm getting from our department directors at the city, is power out across the city.

I don't mean completely that we've confirmed that, but just generally speaking, most people who we're talking to have lost power in the Pensacola area. And we're continuing to get reports from the EUC.

We did have one fire that was beyond the, do not respond, and our team was able to still somehow get there. We can't confirm if there was a rescue involved, quite yet, but, obviously, our heroes getting out there and dealing with a significant fire in the city limits.

COOPER: And I mean, at this point, are you telling emergency personnel not to go out or if conditions reach that point yet, where it's just not safe to go out?

REEVES: Yes, it's been that way since probably about 5:40, that's a call that's made from the Emergency Operations Center. It starts with fire trucks that may be in the high 30s, sustained winds. The equipment graduates from there until you also just first responders out there and warned our citizens about, we do everything that decisions --

COOPER: We're having trouble hearing-- We're having trouble hearing-- you're cutting off a lot and I'm sure you're busy, so we're going to let you go. Mayor Reeves, I really appreciate it. Wish you the best.

Joining us now also is the Sheriff Anthony Lowery of Baldwin County, Alabama, which includes gulf shores, orange beach and fort morgan.

Sheriff, appreciate your time. What are you most concerned about right now?

ANTHONY LOWERY, BALDWIN COUNTY SHERIFF: Well, right now, we're just concerned about the trees and the debris that are in the road. We haven't had the heavy rain impacts that we expected. We certainly had a lot of wind, a lot of wind from the North, which is unusual for us in a hurricane. We were blessed not to get the surge that we thought we were going to get, but the wind coming down Mobile Bay has been pretty significant.

COOPER: And is it clear how long emergency services could be suspended?

LOWERY: Well, I will say this, we're fortunate, as you've heard the mayor talk about the bump to the East is going to allow us to get our services back on the road. We have a lot of Baldwin County that's coming up, essentially at 45 miles an hour. Our vehicles are off the road, but part of the county is coming out from under that, and were able to respond to part of the county now.

[20:30:01]

COOPER: And do you have a sense of how many people are have stayed behind, are kind of riding out the storm?

LOWERY: Well, you know, Anderson, it was a really unique weekend. This was our Shrimp Festival weekend. So, we had about 85 percent occupancy on the island for that. I don't think many of those actually evacuated. So, we still have a lot of people in Baldwin County that don't actually live here. Plus, probably another 40,000 that have moved here since hurricane sally in 2020.

COOPER: Wow, well, Sheriff, we wish you the best. Thank you so much. We're going to check back in with our correspondents across the storm zone coming up as Hurricane Isaias comes ashore. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We are continuing to monitor Hurricane Isaias, which is coming ashore, and there is other news as well, including the latest in the wake of an ICE shooting in New York that wounded a man with a five- year-old in the car with him.

Today, the New York Police Department released two videos, one of them, this one, of body cam footage showing its own officers responding to the scene after the shooting.

[20:35:05]

The other footage from a surveillance camera shows some of what happened before. ICE agents approaching the man's car, an agent wearing plain clothes goes up to the car with a gun as the vehicle begins to back up. The agent then starts punching a window on the driver's side as the vehicle begins pulling away.

New York's Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made no secret of his position on ICE's presence in the city, and he weighed in last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY: We know that ICE is rotten to its core. Today's shooting is only further devastating confirmation of what we have long known, which is that ICE operates with impunity, that they sow chaos and terror across our country, that they have killed far more of our neighbors than they could ever have claimed to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin today said the agents were not aware a child was in the car. He also had this to say about the mayor's remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: His words are dangerous and incite hostility. It doesn't help. He said that ICE is rotten to the core. Really? Men and women at ICE each day are enforcing the laws that he refuses to enforce.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: CNN's Shimon Prokupecz at the scene of tonight's protests and yesterday's shooting. He joins us now.

So what have you been seeing throughout the day? What are things like tonight?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So just in the past 30 minutes or so, protests stopped. For about two hours or so, protesters were out here. Actually, we're outside the ICE offices here in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. They were just demanding accountability. Many people want answers.

Even though there is that video, Anderson, there's still a lot of questions here of why these officers approached the car this way. Perhaps why didn't they wait for the man that was inside to come out? Why they approached with their guns out?

The tactics here of ICE officers are being questioned by many. So much so now that the Bronx District Attorney's Office, where this happened, said in a statement that they are launching an investigation. They were actually out in the Bronx today, in the community where this happened, trying to get answers, looking for witnesses, looking for video. And also the NYPD.

I think this was quite a statement from the NYPD and how they have been handling this, really trying to show that they are separated, that they are not cooperating or working with ICE in any way. They released that body camera footage of the moments after, where they took that man who was shot in a police car to take him to the hospital. And then significant, it was their video.

They're the ones that released the video on that poll camera that shows the moments before the shooting. Now, ICE hasn't released any of their footage, their body cameras. It is the NYPD that is doing that.

The FBI was out last night collecting evidence. They have the car. There's that bullet hole in the windshield on the driver's side. But now it will be up to the Bronx DA's office to decide whether or not they're going to bring charges.

But many people here in the community, here in Manhattan where we have seen so many of the protests outside Foley Square, they're back at it. And they said they're going to be back out at 1 o'clock tomorrow protesting again.

And they're calling for answers. They're also calling for the police commissioner here to resign, to be fired. They are not happy with what she did last night when she gave information out. She also talked about the man who was shot.

She talked about his criminal record. And they were very unhappy about that. And so they're seeking accountability here from so many, Anderson.

COOPER: What more do we learn about the shooting from the new video that was released today? Did they shoot into the vehicle as it was pulling away?

PROKUPECZ: Well, so in the video that we have that the NYPD released, you don't actually see the gunshots. It is after that moment. It's off camera is when it's believed the shooting takes place. What the Department of Homeland Security is saying is we've heard them say many times that the driver weaponized the vehicle, that he used the vehicle essentially as a weapon. And that is why these officers fired, fearing for their life.

None of that is captured on tape. We don't know where the officer is that is firing. We don't know how many officers fired. We also learned today significantly, Anderson, that these officers had no idea that the child was in the car.

And that, in and of itself, could be potentially a problem for them because they should have known the circumstances that they were facing. But it is the tactics. Certainly, many in law enforcement will question the tactics here that time and time again, ICE officers, when they are approaching vehicles, when they are trying to do traffic stops, the tactics here aren't what you normally see by any police department and law enforcement do across the country.

COOPER: And the Mayor, Mamdani, had a phone call with President Trump. Do we know the details of that?

[20:40:01]

PROKUPECZ: Yes. So it was incredible to watch this unfold last night because while we were out in the Bronx last night, we were waiting for the press conference. And many of us were sort of assuming he was probably on the phone with the President.

But when he came to the podium very late, over an hour late, he came right out and he said, I was just on the phone with the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security demanding that ICE gets out of New York City. But also he was trying to get them to release the man that was shot. He was demanding with the President and the Department of Homeland Security Secretary that ICE release the man.

But what we're told is that Department of Homeland Security wanted the NYPD to take custody of this man. But there was nothing to charge him with. So they couldn't take custody of him. But it was really just a moment to listen to the Mayor there describe how he's on the phone with the President for two hours.

No resolution here in terms of ICE. ICE is going to continue as far as we know here in New York City. But these protesters out here, Anderson, they're going to continue as well.

COOPER: Shimon Prokupecz, appreciate it. Thanks very much.

We have more on the hurricane, which is coming short in Florida and Alabama as we speak. Also, the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth's plans to live stream a military firing squad execution and the questions that has raised. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:46:05]

COOPER: Live video from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, with Hurricane Isaias coming ashore. A short time ago, Pensacola Beach was taking the worst of it. Here's what it looked like to CNN's Rafael Romo.

ROMO: The hurricane is so powerful right now that it's been difficult to establish a connection. And the easiest way to describe it for me right now, it sounds like a freight train going by. You hear the howling of the wind.

I am -- the only reason why I'm standing here is because there's a building on the other side that is right now serving as a barrier for our team. And that's the only reason why we can do this, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to stand right there. It is just very, very powerful.

I was reporting earlier that so far the power, the utilities, were holding in the last few minutes. I have seen the lights flicker multiple times, and I don't know that they are going to still be on by the time this is over. So very treacherous conditions. Also, in the last few minutes, we were seeing the wind go in that direction behind me.

COOPER: I'm going to get an update now from CNN Meteorologist Melissa Nord. How's it looking, Melissa?

NORD: Well, Anderson, you saw the lights flickering in Rafael's shot there. We've seen the power outages increase incrementally over the last hour. In fact, now over 400,000 customers without power, over 300,000 of those are in the western panhandle of Florida.

You can see Escambia County in purple right there, over 80 percent of customers are without power. We're also seeing that as the core of Isaias is coming on shore. The winds are starting to really push that water up as well.

So these are the current storm surge numbers. Panama City, which is located about 30 minutes drive east of where landfall is going to end up being, 4.5 feet, OK. So the water is coming up. Apalachicola, 3.5 feet. Even in Cedar Key, it's almost 3 feet of storm surge at this point of water rise.

And here's why, the winds. We just had a wind gust at Pensacola International Airport of 92 miles per hour. And we've also had a wind gust near Santa Rosa Sound of 99 miles per hour at a weather flow site. So that's that northern eyewall core that is moving onshore, Anderson. And we are just minutes away from landfall.

You can see here, this is the northern eyewall. Look at the lighting right here that's been moving onshore just east of Pensacola. That's where we're seeing some of the strongest wind gusts from the eyewall of Isaias.

The eye itself, that landfall, it's right in here, the center of it. That'll move onshore here over the next hour. That landfall likely somewhere very close to Destin or Fort Walton Beach. Then as it moves inland, we could see hurricane force winds, Anderson, that extend 100 miles northward after landfall.

COOPER: Wow. Melissa Nord, appreciate it. Thank you.

We're going to continue to follow developments of the storm throughout the hour. Other news now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drawing bipartisan criticism after announcing that the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood mass killer will be live streamed so the public can watch.

Former U.S. Army major and psychiatrist Nidal Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people, wounding 32 others at the Texas Army base back in 2009. His execution by firing squad is planned to be streamed on December 3rd.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy calls the plans disgusting and medieval, while outgoing North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis writes on social media, quote, "Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do should not be happening in America."

Georgia Republican Congressman Austin Scott writes, quote, "Live streaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than that." Today, Vice President JD Vance said this about Hegseth's plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people. Now, that said, I mean, look, if it's ultimately live streamed, I'm not going to be watching it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:50:05]

COOPER: Joining us now is Army Veteran and Former JAG Lawyer Margaret Donovan. So, Margaret, according to Amnesty International, only two countries have been confirmed to have held public executions in the past year, Iran and Afghanistan. I'm wondering your reaction to Hegseth's plan.

MARGARET DONOVAN, FORMER JAG OFFICER: Well, I think that there is a lot of irony there and that the past 25 years of combat for American troops has been against adversaries who do exactly that, who do public executions and then upload them online to YouTube, to social media. It is not the United States who does that particular practice.

I think most people find this really barbaric. That's maybe the one silver lining is that this is universally repulsive. And I'm not sure why Congress hasn't reigned in the secretary yet. But I'd also like to note that this is a form of martyrdom.

If you know the case of Nidal Hasan, you know that he was notoriously unrepentant for his crimes. He sidelined his own attorneys at trial so that he could grandstand in the courtroom. And he has been seeking martyrdom since he first committed this act.

So this idea, not only is it repulsive to most people, but it is arguably giving him exactly what he sought, which is eternal martyrdom, because this will be uploaded and watched by radicalized masses across the globe.

Keep in mind as well that Nidal Hasan was injured in the attack. He was paralyzed from the waist down because he was shot by somebody disarming him during the attack at Fort Hood. And so you add the additional optics of us executing a paraplegic who was in a wheelchair, and there simply is no reasonable mind who would think that this is a good idea.

COOPER: Are they going to shoot him in the wheelchair or are they going to prop him up somehow? Do we know?

DONOVAN: I don't think that that has been disclosed yet. I'm not even sure if the Secretary has thought that far.

COOPER: Because just in the world of like disgusting images --

DONOVAN: I can't really think of which is the worst option?

COOPER: Yes, I'm not sure which is the worst option.

DONOVAN: Right. So, I mean, either way, this is really sort of playing into the hands of, you know, radicalized people who are going to watch this and consider Hasan to be some type of hero to Islamic extremists. So this is absolutely not what you want to do. You do not want to make him famous. And, in fact, I would say that the fact that he is roaring back into the headlines now is really just increasing his celebrity. I think many would agree he should face the death penalty, but that should happen quietly, professionally, somewhere in Leavenworth, and we should never think about him again.

COOPER: Yes, I mean, it actually gives actual video for jihadists to use in promotional videos, because the whole idea, if the whole idea is martyrdom, they're actually going to get video of this guy during -- being martyred in their terminology.

DONOVAN: Yes, that's precisely right. And that's why this is something that should happen quietly. The true justice for the victims of that shooting, I think many would agree it should be death for Nidal Hasan. It should not be celebrity.

COOPER: Yes. Margaret Donovan, appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up, an anniversary that might not make headlines, but should and certainly does in the lives of all who knew this beautiful little boy named Keegan. One year ago tomorrow on the day of his first birthday party, he suddenly died. In a moment, you'll hear Keegan's mom, Brianna, about how she and her family lives, keeping Keegan's memory alive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:57:41]

COOPER: We all have dates on our calendars that may not be noticed by others, but for us, they loom large. Well, tomorrow is just such a day for the family of a little boy named Keegan. Keegan's mom, Brianna Langerfeld, left me a voicemail about him, and I'm going to play it for you in a moment.

You see, Keegan died unexpectedly on the day his family was going to celebrate his first birthday. It was five years ago. Tomorrow is the anniversary of his death, and Keegan would and should be six years old.

This family has found a way to honor Keegan, a foundation called Keegan Cares that pays for grief therapy for other families. So, I just wanted to take a minute to honor them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA LANGERFELD: My name is Brianna Langerfeld. I'm mourning the loss of my beautiful, sweet, amazing one-year-old son, Keegan, on October 16, 2021. And on the day his birthday party was scheduled, I went to wake him up and found he had passed away sometime overnight. My world ended in that moment.

His death was declared a sudden, unexplained death in childhood, and to this day, we have no reason for his passing. We're about to head into five years, and some days, it feels like it's been 100 years, and some, it feels like it was yesterday. We do so many things to honor Keegan.

We've created the Keegan Cares program where we pay for grief therapy for other lost families, but still, he's not here, and it breaks my heart. The past few years, I was with a group of friends. Everyone was laughing, but I couldn't.

I began to think of Keegan and see his face, and in that very moment, he came on screen and said exactly how I was feeling.

COOPER: Because some of you watching right now, maybe a lot of you watching tonight, may see all these crowds and the merriment and feel alone, even if there are others around you. So wherever you are in the world or in your grief, you are not alone. You are here with us, and I am grateful that we are together.

LANGERFELD: It probably sounds silly, but I felt like it was a sign from Keegan, and I feel like I don't get those a lot. But assume you've said on your podcast, grief is a form of love, and I'd rather grieve Keegan than not have them at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Brianna mentioned that that program, Keegan Cares, the Instagram address is on your screen, @keegan_cares. You can find out more about it there. You can also watch more videos and hear other family stories on my podcast, "All There Is" and my streaming show, "All There Is Live." It's all on my grief community page at CNN.com.AllThereIs.

CNN's hurricane coverage continues throughout the night. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.