Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Nation on Edge in Wake of Kirk Killing; Trump Says He's Targeting Memphis for Crime Crackdown; Deadline: Emmy Organizers Boost Security After Kirk Shooting. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 12, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: In the wake of Charlie Kirk's horrific killing, we're seeing a worrying trend of what appears to be politically charged threats across the country. Yesterday, multiple historically Black colleges and universities in the South were on lockdown or canceled classes over potential threats.

This morning, Michigan's Democratic lieutenant governor said his home was the target of a bomb threat on Thursday.

And in Maryland, a false report of an active shooter at the U.S. Naval Academy yesterday led to a lockdown and one person mistakenly being shot.

Joining us now to discuss is Dr. Joseph Sakran. He's a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, a board member and chief medical officer for Brady United, which describes itself as the nation's oldest gun violence prevention group. He's also actually a gunshot survivor himself.

And Dr. Sakran just wrote a piece for USA Today titled I Was Shot in the Neck. Charlie Kirk's shooting shows the danger of normalizing violence.

Dr. Sakran, thank you so much for being with us. I want to share with our viewers a graph in the piece that you wrote, and it stands out.

It says, quote, We are witnessing a deadly pattern. Individuals driven by hate, fear, or ideology turning to firearms as a means of expression. In a nation not at war, violence has nonetheless become a language too many are speaking and too many are dying from.

Why do you think this kind of violence became a pattern?

DR. JOSEPH SAKRAN, TRAUMA SURGEON, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Yes, well, thanks so much, Boris, and I would just say that the murder of Charlie Kirk is a heartbreaking tragedy. And it's a stark reminder of how political violence has become increasingly common in recent years. This summer alone, we've witnessed multiple assassinations driven by politics, whether it's the Minnesota legislators or now Charlie, where guns are being used as a way to express disagreement.

And the reality is, Boris, is that we don't have to agree on policies, but we should all agree that no one should be shot for their beliefs. Violence can never be an answer. And as a trauma surgeon in Baltimore and as someone who has survived being shot, myself, in the neck, I know all too well what bullets do, not just to bodies, but to families and communities. And political violence that we're seeing isn't just a headline. It is a wound that never fully heals.

SANCHEZ: I also wonder, Doctor, what the dissemination of the footage, the gruesome social media footage of Charlie Kirk's murder does, because it's been hard to avoid in recent days. And just watching how it's been shared over and over and over, I mean, I feel like it desensitizes people. But to your point about political violence leaving scars, that sharing of that kind of content in itself does no one any good, does it? [15:35:00] DR. JOSEPH SAKRAN, TRAUMA SURGEON, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Yes, I think you're exactly right. I mean, the way that video was disseminated across social media and that imagery and the horrific, you know, scene that you see of the damage of bullets are doing to bodies completely changes, I think, how we feel about this and how we think about it. I mean, if you think about the majority of Americans, most Americans are protected from seeing this type of carnage.

And if you think about the type of Americans that really witnessed this, it's the children that are in those schools that are lucky enough to survive. It's the parents or family members that have to identify their loved ones, some of which are unidentifiable. And it's people like us, health care professionals, frontline providers, law enforcement that are there and that are witnessing this and that are having to take care of these patients.

But everyone else is really shielded from this. And when you have these type of videos, I think it's just horrific and graphic and it just demonstrates the impact of bullets have on bodies.

SANCHEZ: I wonder what watching that video may have done to you, given your experience as someone who has endured a gunshot wound to the neck.

SAKRAN: Yes, I mean, I thought about, you know, my own injury nearly just over 30 years ago and how lucky I was to survive that type of devastating injury. And it was horrific to watch and it brought back a lot of memories. And it also reminded me of the patients that I'm taking care of.

You know, every day I stand at this intersection of policy failure and human suffering. And the reality is that we can't legislate away hatred, but we can legislate to reduce easy access to weapons of war. And that's what we've been doing at Brady, where we have been fighting every day for common sense solutions in order to ensure responsible gun ownership and to make sure that these type of incidents don't happen.

SANCHEZ: Doctor, I also wonder, given obviously the fact that you're a physician, I imagine that you also have to consider the mental health of folks, some of your patients as well. When you hear a Utah's governor, Spencer Cox, talk about social media being a cancer, I wonder what you think should be done in terms of having a better relationship with not just the very graphic content that we saw disseminated over the last few days, but overall with the discourse that is online and the vitriol that's online. It seems like it's a good idea right now to perhaps take a break from social media.

SAKRAN: Yes, I think it's a very important point. Look, this is a moment for all of us, citizens, leaders, and even the media to step back and ask, how do we make disagreements safe again?

We need more than thoughts and prayers. We need accountability, responsibility, and of course, laws that keep communities safe. We have to ensure that even if we don't agree on every policy, we should agree that no American should fear being shot for their beliefs. This is a moment to lower the temperature, to hold leaders accountable for their words, and to pass laws that keep communities safe.

Because democracy depends not on violence, but our ability to debate passionately and peacefully.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Sakran, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. We appreciate your point of view.

SAKRAN: Thank you so much for having me.

SANCHEZ: So President Trump says that Memphis, Tennessee is going to be the next city that he's going to target in his crime crackdown. What that means, coming up.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Next up in President Trump's crime crackdown is Memphis, Tennessee. In a news conference this afternoon, the city's mayor said the decision was not made at his request.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PAUL YOUNG, (D) MEMPHIS: This morning, we learned that the president and the governor are looking to bring federal resources to our city, which include the National Guard, which they have the authority to do. I want to be clear. I did not ask for the National Guard and I don't think it's the way to drive down crime. However, that decision has been made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Kristen Holmes is live with us from the White House. Kristen, what are you learning about this?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, obviously, the mayor there does not sound too thrilled to have this next aspect of Donald Trump's federalization of law enforcement and crime crackdown happening in his city. But one thing to note is that the governor of Tennessee is, that they -- that he posted himself saying that he has been in contact with the Trump administration for months, that they have been working on expanding a federal program that is there, that's being run by the FBI, that is there to crack down on crime, and that he's looking forward to having them inside of the state.

Now, we were told by a number of sources that this is part of the reason why Donald Trump chose to go to Memphis over a city like Chicago or Baltimore, two places that he had continually said he wanted to visit next. That is because those two cities sit inside of Democratic states, states whose governors said they didn't want them there.

[15:45:00]

And there are a lot of legal hurdles when that happens. D.C. is a very different situation when it comes to the National Guard being put in place to the federalization of the police force because it is not a state. Here you have a situation in which Donald Trump is now getting invited in by the governor, making it a much easier way for him to continue on with this process.

KEILAR: And so what is the status of Chicago in all of this?

HOLMES: Right now, it appears as though his advisors, we're told, do not want any more legal battles. They are trying to continue through this without going to court again. And they know that there are a lot of legal hurdles when it comes to Chicago or Baltimore.

So this right now is the alternative. You also heard a potential alternative in New Orleans, Louisiana, another place with a Republican governor. So it does appear as though that's tabled for now.

Just in terms of the crackdown on crime, we do know they, of course, have already been bringing in those immigration officials, those federal officials. But whether or not they at some point change their mind, that, of course, remains to be seen.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House.

And ahead, security measures at this week's Emmy awards ceremony. What the TV Academy is reportedly implementing after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The deadly shooting of Charlie Kirk is prompting a hefty focus on security around the Emmys this weekend. The 77th prime time awards ceremony airs Sunday night from the Peacock Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

Joining us now to discuss is Dominic Patten. He is executive editor of Deadline.com.

It sounds like we're some technical issues with Dominic. We're trying to sort out his signal. Yes, it doesn't seem like we have his signal. So we are going to take a quick break and when we come back we'll continue this conversation about security at the Emmys. Please stay with us.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: All right, so we've sorted out that technical issue. Dominic Patten, executive editor of Deadline.com, is with us. And Dominic, you've learned that security around the Emmys is changing based on the awful events that we saw unfold in Utah, the shooting and killing of Charlie Kirk.

DOMINIC PATTEN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, DEADLINE.COM: Yes, Boris. I mean, year after year, we have definitely seen the Emmys, as we know, it's something that's seen sometimes as a potentially prime target, along with other Hollywood award shows. They have always had a pretty resilient and strict security protocol.

But this year, we learned exclusively at Deadline that they're upping that. It happened very quickly in the past 36 hours, and it's continuing to happen as they go towards September 14th show.

One of the elements we've definitely seen is there's going to be an increased LAPD presence in and around the downtown Peacock Theater, where the Emmys will be held this year, as well as there's going to be increased security protocols inside and outside of the theater.

And what we have been led to be told is going to be an expanded role for Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies like the California Highway Patrol.

Again, we've seen other things in previous years. Last year, for instance, there was a delay for some people getting to the Emmys because of Gaza protesters. This year, based on the terrible events that happened out of Utah and the tragic killing of Charlie Kirk, there has definitely been an increased awareness and there will be an increased presence in and around the small screens big night.

KEILAR: Dominic, talk to us about how over time with the award shows, different events have made security ebb and flow. There really is quite a reactive nature to how this is done.

PATTEN: Well, of course, Brianna, and let's start with the thing that we, the terrible anniversary of yesterday. Certainly 24 years ago in the terrible events of 9-11 in New York City, that was what really brought this to the fore. Homeland Security identified various, let's call them targets for lack of a better word, in and around the country, of course, which Hollywood ceremonies were seen as one because they're so high profile.

Over the years, we have seen various things happen. There have been some years where geopolitically and domestically, things have been somewhat placid. So it's been pretty easy and straightforward.

But other years, as I mentioned last year with the Gaza protesters, had also been down at the same theater for a Joe Biden fundraiser earlier that summer. We had seen that happen. We've seen in past years worries that have happened.

But remember, LA, like New York, like Atlanta, is a big city that deals with security issues all the time. We have world leaders, not just from the Pacific Rim, but everywhere down here. And of course, major sporting events and championships all the time.

So the LAPD are pretty well versed in this. You may think sometimes they're too heavy handed. You might think they're too light handed, but they certainly know how to get their guys and girls out on the street.

As well as bringing in, they're in a pretty finely established system of multiple agencies and private security that are brought in for things like the Emmys. Remember, we're looking at a 7,100 seat theater in the Peacock Theater. Of those, some of the biggest stars in the world are going to be there.

People like Noah Wiley from The Pit, Seth Rogen from The Studio, two shows which are almost certain to win Emmys this year. So we're certainly going to see a big presence and a big protection.

And of course, when something like what happens in Utah happens, it affects all of us. Regardless of your political beliefs, regardless if you're a parent or not, like Charlie Kirk was of young children, it affects all of us with a sense of vulnerability. So certainly to that end, this is something that the TV Academy, the organizers behind the Emmys, working in conjunction with the LAPD and producers, want to make sure that everything goes exactly to plan, awards are given out, people go home, they celebrate, and nothing bad happens.

SANCHEZ: Dominic Patten, appreciate the time and sharing that news with us.

PATTEN: Thank you, guys.

SANCHEZ: Before we go, obviously, it's been a very emotional week, and we are going to continue to not only cover the investigation into the shooting of Charlie Kirk, but all of the implications that come with it. We do want to leave you, though, before the weekend starts, with something to smile about, an uplifting story about a party animal getting trashed in Kentucky.

CNN affiliate WLEX says that this young raccoon and his sibling got a hold of some fermented peaches used to make moonshine at a nearby distillery, and he may have had one too many.

He got a little bit hammered and became unresponsive, submerged in rainwater, actually. You see an attempt at CPR there. To add to their problems, they both actually became trapped in the distillery dumpster.

KEILAR: And so what you're looking at there, that is when nurse Misty Combs found them, jumped in to help, and administered, yes, CPR to a drunk raccoon. If you think your day was strange someday, right?

Eventually, he started breathing again. Unbelievable. Local vet restored him back to full health, later nicknamed him Otis.

[16:00:00]

And then Otis was returned to his wilderness home, happy and healthy, and most importantly, sober.

SANCHEZ: Critical. Those fermented peaches are tough. You ever had a fermented peach, by chance?

KEILAR: I have not. Although I could have, I guess as a child, gotten into some, because my grandma used to make some. I think actually it was fermented plums.

SANCHEZ: I see.

KEILAR: Didn't occur to me to partake, and thank goodness, because I don't think Misty was around to save my hide.

SANCHEZ: So glad for Otis and for Misty as well, and so glad that you joined us today. Don't go anywhere. THE ARENA with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END