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Uvalde, Sandy Hook Parents Grieve for Minnesota School Shooting Victims; At Least 21 Killed in Massive Russian Attack on Kyiv, Ukraine; CDC Staffers Hold Ceremony After Top Officials Quit. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 28, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

NICOLE HOCKLEY, 6-YEAR-OLD SON DYLAN KILLED IN 2012 SANDY HOOK SHOOTING: ... Anybody and yet more and more people are experiencing this, especially her outbreaking because we don't need to. It's so preventable.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Brett, you and I have spoken previously during other shootings like this one. I mean, what is it like for those who are fortunate to not have the experience to send your child to school only to not have them return.

BRETT CROSS, 10-YEAR-OLD SON UZIYAH GARCIA KILLED IN 2022 UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING: You know, it's terrible. It's terrible that that, like Nicole just said, this is 100 percent preventable. And we just as a nation are not preventing it.

And you know, the emotions that run through you after one of these situations continue to happen. As you start like, like thinking about it, like, OK, this is when we got the call. This is I know exactly what this parent is going through.

Now they're about to, to I know the emotions that they're about to go through and the emotions that will never end because now they are part of this club that we don't want anybody else to join.

SANCHEZ: And Nicole, what is it like when something like this happens, not just in a community, but to young minds, because as you both noted, this is something that you carry for the rest of your life. And as you're growing as a young person, you have so many experiences that shape you. Something traumatic like this. I mean, it's hard to imagine.

HOCKLEY: It's impossible to imagine. And I think, you know, Sandy Hook happened almost 13 years ago, and the children that were in the school that day that were not harmed still carry emotional scars and trauma and anxiety about going to school. My own son, who was eight that day and survived, only recently discovered that part of his anxiety about being in large classrooms is reflected back to his experience in third grade at Sandy Hook.

And this is something that at this young age, they don't even realize necessarily how this trauma can present in the future. So they're not even sure like, well, is this normal or is it not? And yet it is a lifetime of care that's needed, especially as you go through the adolescent years.

And then as you become more of an adult and you can understand and process what happened in a different way, it brings up guilt in different ways. It brings up survivor guilt. It brings up why them and not me. How did I get through this? It also brings up feelings of I wish I could have done more.

It is a trauma that stays with you forever. And that care is constantly needed.

SANCHEZ: And Brett, it's also part of the experience, I imagine, to feel immense frustration because uniquely in Uvalde, there were questions about the accountability of local officials in their response. But then if you broaden it out nationally, there have been calls for action to be taken that haven't completely been heeded. And so I wonder what it's like to live every day with that frustration.

CROSS: Yes, I mean, that's the thing, right, is that we have these calls for accountability. We have these calls for justice and for prevention. And like you said, they're not they're not being heard, right? And so there's a piece of you that is always going to stay aggravated and upset and furious with the system at large, because these things are preventable. And so you have to navigate and fully, you know, set your sights on where you're going to put your aggression so that you can maintain, you know, a peace of mind when going through this things.

I mean, there's so many emotions that that go through at any given day after you've lost your child in this way. And so you just have to -- you have to focus it in a direction and make sure that you are doing what is best to to make change, to to help preserve yourself. And, you know, in cases like mine and Nicole's, it's fighting to make sure that other children don't experience this.

SANCHEZ: To that point, Nicole, you in 2022 after Uvalde joined President Biden and members of Congress at the White House celebrating the passage of this bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a gun safety package. Critics of the bill, even though they supported it, felt it didn't go far enough on on certain things. I wonder what you think the successes three years later now on have been of that legislation and what can be improved upon.

HOCKLEY: Well, I think that was a huge (INAUDIBLE) bipartisan and there was still such a sense then as there is, as there is a perception now that we can't get both sides of our political parties to come together and agree on solution.

[14:35:00]

That was a success and there has been a lot of funding. There has been a reduction in crime. There's been a lot of positive measures that have come out of that and that we're seeing the evidence of now. Unfortunately, that's been largely undone and funding has been stripped. So I'm really very curious now to know, you know, we do need an all government approach to this. This isn't a Republican response or a Democrat response. We all want our kids to be safe.

So we need an all government approach and consensus on how are we going to protect our kids? There are so many solutions available from prevention training, from suicide training, from crisis intervention, from community violence intervention that are proven to work and expanding the laws that already exist, such as red flag laws that do exist in Minnesota.

And as we learn more information, we need to understand what happened there that this, the signs weren't reported of the shooter. That action wasn't taken to separate them from their firearms and get them the care that they needed. There's a lot to learn. And unfortunately, we need people to put the politics aside and think about how do we keep kids safe. Because that is what we all want as the end result here.

SANCHEZ: Absolutely. And we were watching a moment ago video that was obtained by a father who was at the scene trying to find his daughter. And you see these students and parishioners confused and in panic.

But we did hear, Brett, from the EMS chief at the level one trauma center nearby where some of the victims were transported, that lives were saved because of training, because many of the kids did as they were trained to do. They all laid on the floor, they covered each other up. And that, according to medical officials, was key.

I mean, as heart wrenching as it is to hear that kids are being taught how to defend themselves from a potential shooter in school, something that should never happen. What's your reaction to hear that in this case, these drills worked?

CROSS: I mean, it's awesome, right, that that children were being able to be saved from doing that. But it also goes back to what you were just saying, is instead of us doing something as a country to prevent these things from happening, we're leaving it on our children. We're taking the responsibility of the adults for preventing this and putting it onto the children and saying, just survive this.

Luckily, that was there so that they could help protect themselves. But at the same time, we have to really look and reflect on this. Why are we leaving on leaving it on the children to protect themselves? Why are we as the adults, as the grownups, as the people responsible, why are we not doing anything to prevent it completely?

SANCHEZ: Brett and Nicole, we're so grateful that you've decided to, as you both noted, do something positive with the horrible experiences that you've had. Our thoughts are with you and Dylan and Uzi. Thank you both for the time.

CROSS: Thank you.

HOCKLEY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We're going to take a quick break. CNN returns in just a moment.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Happening overnight, Russia launching its second largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of its full scale invasion. Residents in Kyiv were forced to shelter for more than nine hours as Moscow unleashed more than 600 strikes across the country. One man telling CNN his family was making their way to their building's bomb shelter when there was a sudden explosion. He now says his wife is missing. At least 21 people, including four children, were killed. The strikes also hit buildings belonging to the EU and British Council.

A White House official condemned Russia's attacks for targeting innocent civilians and said they threatened the peace that President Trump is pursuing. A spokesperson for the Kremlin said that Moscow is still interested in peace talks.

We're joined now by CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel Leighton, great to be with you as always. What is your reaction to these attacks, given the timing of them that we're waiting to see if we'll have a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, absolutely, Boris. I think these attacks are one of the worst things that could happen for peace talks, for possibility of any type of ceasefire. It clearly shows that these attacks clearly show that Russia is not interested in peace.

They are going for, in essence, as much as they can to decimate the Ukrainian infrastructure on the ground in the east. They're trying to capture some towns. They've captured a couple of small villages in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast region there. And that's the first time that they've entered that particular area.

So these are movements that the Russians are making to maximize any possible gains that they have. And it's also designed to inflict maximum terror on the Ukrainian people.

[14:45:00]

SANCHEZ: Given the scale of the aerial assault and your point about further advances in the eastern part of Ukraine, is this evidence that President Trump backing off the demand for a ceasefire was a mistake?

LEIGHTON: Yes, absolutely. I think one of the key things that President Trump should be doing is exerting a lot of pressure on Russia. This idea of him pressuring Zelenskyy every, you know, second time you turn around and look at these things is not the right way to go.

It's very clear that Russia is the aggressor in this particular case. There's no question about this. This should not be something that's even debated in the White House. The next part, of course, is this. If there is maximum pressure exerted by the United States in concert with the European Union and other Western nations, it would make much more of a difference against the Russian war effort. Not only would sanctions be in play here, but the potential for the deployment of troops that would serve as a buffer between the Ukrainian forces and the Russian forces should also be considered at this particular point in time.

And they're not doing that.

SANCHEZ: The targets are also significant, as we noted a moment ago, buildings belonging to the EU and to the British Council. It comes after last week Russia struck a business that was partly U.S. owned. That was in Lviv.

What message do you think Putin is trying to send?

LEIGHTON: So what he's doing is he's putting everything at risk. And a lot of folks, including myself, look at this and they say what Putin is really doing is he's waging a low scale war against the West. In addition to the full scale war that he's waging against Ukraine.

So this is I think Putin is playing a dangerous game here, but it's very clear that he's deliberately targeting Western interests. He knows that the West is behind Ukraine for the most part. He also knows that sanctions are taking a bite on him.

For example, about 17 percent of Russia's gas supply is being impacted by Ukrainian drone strikes on the Russian gas and oil infrastructure. So these are the kinds of things that he is going against. But what he's trying to do is he's basically trying to say, I'm going to move against all of these targets, not just Ukrainian targets, but also the British Council, the EU, the American owned company in the Lviv area.

All of that is critical to his effort to basically intimidate the West and force the West to back off of their support for Ukraine.

SANCHEZ: You don't buy any posturing that this was somehow a mistake that this in your eyes is deliberate.

LEIGHTON: Yes, because there's so many incidents of this type. The Russian targeting efforts can be very precise when they want to be. They can also be indiscriminate when they want to be.

But it's very clear when you look at what they've hit, how often they've hit it and the kinds of tactics that they're employing. It's very clear that they are deliberately striking Western associated targets in addition to the Ukrainian targets that, of course, would would be part of this war effort.

SANCHEZ: Colonel Cedric Layton, always appreciate you being with us.

LEIGHTON: Thank you so much for us.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. In just a moment, we're going to head back to Minneapolis and also follow this other top story. CDC staffers expected to hold a ceremony as multiple top officials resign in protest of Trump administration policies.

[14:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're following new developments in the exodus of senior leaders at the CDC, at least four top officials have resigned over the White House's firing of CDC director Dr. Susan Monarez. Those four officials were escorted out of the CDC earlier today. But moments from now, Atlanta staffers are holding a ceremony in their honor.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard is there live for us. Jacqueline, what more are you learning about all of this?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN MEDICAL REPORTER: Well, Boris, this ceremony has just started. We just saw dozens and dozens and dozens of current CDC employees walking out of the headquarters right here behind me here in Atlanta, Georgia, and lining the streets, showing their support for those four officials who have stepped down. And they are showing solidarity with CDC director Dr. Susan Monarez, who was ousted overnight from her position as director.

And these employees, they said that they actually want to show that they stand by Dr. Monarez and they stand by those four top officials who have also announced they're leaving in solidarity with Dr. Monarez.

One of those officials, Boris, is Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, and he said this in a statement, quote, I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public's health.

He says, quote, My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.

And of course, Boris, this is all happening after we heard from the White House overnight that CDC director Dr. Susan Monarez, they say, was fired. But her attorneys say that she is staying as CDC director. She wants to stay in this role.

And we heard that this all developed after there have been clashes between Dr. Monarez and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. around vaccine policies, around priorities.

But I did speak with two CDC employees, Boris, who told me that they are out here showing support because they say Dr. Monarez has stood by the science. They say that they want to make sure this agency stands by the science. And they say she has shown great strength.

[14:55:00] And one employee, Boris, told me that he feels she was the only one who stood up for CDC after there was that active shooter incident that happened on August 8th. And this was an incident that happened just two weeks into her tenure.

And sadly, a DeKalb County officer, David Rose, was killed in that incident. And there is a memorial here right behind me in remembrance of David Rose.

So, Boris, you know, this agency has been through so much in recent weeks, in recent months. And it seems the crowds outside now of CDC employees showing their support, showing their solidarity is really showing how there is so much, so much heart here for this agency -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Jacqueline Howard live outside CDC headquarters. Thank you so much.

Just moments from now, Minneapolis police will be giving us an update on the investigation into the deadly school shooting there.

Stand by for that new information in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END