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Investigators Go To Gun Shops Hunting For Clues About Suspect; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) On U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks; Police: Man With Loaded Shotgun Arrested After Charging U.S. Capitol. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 18, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP MARTIN, GUN SHOP OWNER: I was able to look at the photos that he was showing me. And I told the FBI agent I was, like, I'm no investigator but my intuition is telling me based on how these -- uh, these people's facial hair looks like, it looks like the guy that was on camera at that house doing the kidnapping.

He was, like, yeah, that's why I'm here. He was, like, we're going to be going to different gun shops checking to see if any of these names that I'm showing you here -- any of these people have purchased a gun in the last year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now is former police -- Boston police commissioner Ed Davis. Commissioner, great to see you.

And again, this is the gun that they're asking about right here with a holster that may be unique.

But what was interesting when we heard from that gun shop owner -- you can see a picture of him right here -- and also our Ed Lavandera is reporting that gun shop owners are being shown names and maybe, according to this gun shop owner, photos of people that may look like the person we see in that Nest cam footage.

So what does that tell you? What names? What photos? What do you think they're closing in on?

ED DAVIS, FORMER BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER (via Webex by Cisco): Well, good morning, John.

This could be a very significant development from our perspective. I don't want to get ahead of myself here but there were dozens of times where I walked around to witnesses after investigating a case and attempted to do a photo array or some other photo process where you could rule people out and rule people in.

So it's quite possible they have people of interest here. It might not be confined to one individual person. There may be a number of them. The facial hair is a very good clue that comes from the video, which

is probably the best evidence we have at this point in time. So if they're seeing people with eyebrows that are shaped like that, with a mustache, it's quite possible that they are attempting to zero in one someone.

BERMAN: It really did sound like this owner said specifically that there were names and were photos he was being shown, which does indicate that there is some kind of a list being worked off of, at least right now.

The FBI, yesterday, put up a post and I just want to point out that it begins with "REMINDER -- REMINDER." And the FBI is reminding people of the reward. They're reminding people of the details of the suspect here.

But the idea that the FBI had to repost this information now, Commissioner, what does that tell you?

DAVIS: Well, we are three weeks into the investigation and people's attention span is rather short in situations like this. It's a terrible tragedy. Everybody's heart went out to the Guthrie family and hoped that they would -- they would recover Mrs. Guthrie.

But right now attention spans start to wane, and I think the FBI is reminding people that $100,000 is a significant amount of money and may prompt somebody who might not even be certain but might have suspicions that they've got the right person.

BERMAN: And then -- and then finally, Commissioner, yesterday, another bit of information came up in an interview with the sheriff in Pima County who talked about the fact that he and others have noticed that if you look at the doorbell footage of this glove here it looks like underneath the glove there is this circular indentation right there, which he thinks could be a ring. And there are other people saying hey, that could be a ring, and they're trying to analyze that photograph to see if, you know, maybe it is a ring.

And then what do you do with that information if you determine hey, this guy was wearing a big ring underneath that glove?

DAVIS: Well, it would go to the amount of evidence and indicators that you have from the video on facial hair and height, and things like that. If there's somebody with that type of a ring -- and it's hard to tell exactly what shape that's in -- but they're going to be going through this video pixel-by-pixel attempting to rebuild what that ring may look like underneath the -- underneath the glove.

And not only the ring but which hand --

BERMAN: Um-hum.

DAVIS: -- the ring is on and which finger the ring is on. All of those things are clues that might trigger a memory in someone.

BERMAN: That's a good point. It looks like it's his right hand. It looks like it could be on the pinkie ring. You know, if you know someone who wears a big ring like, has a mustache and those eyebrows, maybe that is the missing puzzle piece that puts this together for someone.

Commissioner Ed Davis, thanks so much for being with us -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are new reports today that Iran and Russia plan to conduct a joint naval drill tomorrow in the Gulf of Oman and the Northern Indian Ocean. That's according to Iranian state media, which said that the drill is meant to strengthen maritime cooperation and support trade security in the region. Also interesting because these are two adversaries of the United States that the U.S. is also in the midst of negotiations with.

[07:35:04]

Iran and the U.S. have wrapped a second round of nuclear talks in Geneva. Trump's top negotiators also just wrapped another round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, also in Geneva.

I want to play for you the take from Vice President JD Vance on how much progress he thinks they have made with Iran over its nuclear program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One thing about the negotiation I will say this morning is, you know, in some ways it went well. They agreed to meet afterwards. But in other ways it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me now, Democratic Congressman Greg Meeks. He's the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It's good to see you, Congressman. Thanks for being here.

Iran says they've made good progress.

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): It's good to be with you.

BOLDUAN: You heard JD Vance there laying out the red line. He also had said that Iran isn't acknowledging a key U.S. demand that Iran end uranium enrichment.

If that's where they are do you really think anything is going to come from this?

MEEKS: Look, let me say first, it seems as though that the president is doing everything in secrecy. No one from the State Department. The only ones that are doing the negotiations both in Iran and in Ukraine, by the way, is Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Two people, by the way, who have not been confirmed by the Senate. Two people who are not part of the State Department. You cannot find or talk or hold anybody in the administration accountable. So we see these secret negotiations that are taking place. Congress

has no opportunity to oversee and to get information so that we know exactly what's going on. So I wish I could sit here today and tell you as the ranking member and former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that we are getting some information in regards to what is taking place.

We do know that previously pulled out by the Trump administration was an agreement that was also with various other countries a part of it to make sure that we contained Iran's nuclear weapons. To make sure that there was people in oversight on the ground and in and looking to see what was taking place there.

Now, albeit, we understand who Iran is. We want to make sure there's a deal that includes more, like ballistic missiles.

But I can't sit here today to tell you and/or the American people that I have had complete oversight or getting information from the administration at all. I don't know who is -- even from the State Department. They march Marco Rubio out every now and then, as they did in Munich. But other than that we don't know. And so I'm really concerned.

I know diplomacy is the way, so I hope that there's some progress going on. But we've heard this before and we've seen no action other than the threat of military action by the President of the United States, and that's not going to solve the problems with Iran and the Middle East.

BOLDUAN: So on -- but on that point, I mean, you -- the president is negotiating this with his -- who he considers his top negotiators. They were -- they did prove effective when it came to Israel and Gaza.

The president has, as you mentioned, threatened military action. Is building up a massive amount of military power in the region.

If no deal comes together, I'm very curious of how long you think this should go on? Because as Axios is reporting this morning, here's their headline. "The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon."

How long do you want Donald Trump to allow these talks to go on?

MEEKS: Well look, let me just say this also. You know, they say that -- what you just stated -- that we are close to war. The only ones that have power to go to war is the Congress of the United States. We've heard nothing. You know, he cannot just say he's going to go to war anyplace that he wants. There's a check and a balance that's supposed to happen. That Congress is a separate but equal branch of government. We cannot yield that power.

If, in fact, he wants to go to war he should be coming to Congress and giving us the reasons why, giving us what the threats are to the United States of America, and then we can make, you know, that -- you know, that determination. That is not happening here. That is part of what my frustration is because I'm going to be and I

should be held accountable for some of those decisions. But we have a president that's running amuck right now. And I don't know -- I don't have any insight. So these -- this dialogue and conversations that are taking place with reference to these negotiations -- you know, I've got to hope that there is something going on. I've got to hope that they're telling you the truth.

But we've heard from the president before that he would end the war in -- with Russia and Ukraine at the end of the day and that he would resolve this issue in a matter of months. Nothing has happened. And I've got two run amuck individuals who have not been cleared by the State Department that's doing these negotiations. Those -- these are serious and systematic problems of which I don't think have ever occurred before in the last century.

[07:40:20]

BOLDUAN: Something that Congress has oversight over and is not doing right now is funding. DHS still shut down as negotiations over the funding for that agency fully is stalled.

I want to get you reaction to what we continue now to hear from -- well, Republicans. But here is Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin -- why he says this is all to blame on Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): They're not stopping ICE from doing their job. They're not stopping the border patrol from doing their job. All this is is political theater because the State of the Union is coming up a week from Tuesday. And because if this was really a serious conversation, they wouldn't be holding the TSA workers or FEMA or the Coast Guard hostage over something that cannot be done by the -- by the ridiculous shutdown of DHS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Congressman, you've been through many a shutdown. Are you concerned at all about political backlash for being seen as blocking funding for an agency that also funds airport security and the Coast Guard?

MEEKS: Look, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, has already put out a bill to take TPS and others -- immigration -- out of this shutdown.

Clearly, what we want is to negotiate to make sure that we are reining in the reckless -- recklessness of the ICE agents. Clearly, that's what America wants -- the American people. We've seen American citizens being killed. We see American citizens being detained and homes being broke into. These are not individuals who have committed violent crimes as the president had talked about.

So it is clear that it is the Republicans who do not want to sit down and talk -- the opportunity to eliminate those individuals so that we can focus in on the problem of ICE. That's clearly what we want to do. Republicans, you know, want ICE to continue to reign.

We're simply asking for what every other law enforcement does. You know, you can see their faces. You can -- they cannot go in with warrantless arrests. That's the warrants given by judges. You can see and make sure that the institutions, like schools, you know -- in New York we see young kids that have been taken out of their schools or churches.

So we simply want to make sure that we rein in the recklessness of ICE, and it's the Republicans that are stalling.

BOLDUAN: I hear that as not concerned about any backlash and talks continue to be stalled.

Congressman, thank you very much for your time this morning. I really appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning an 18-year-old Georgia man is in custody after police say he charged the U.S. Capitol armed with a loaded shotgun and wearing a tactical vest.

Let's get right to Brian Todd for the latest on this. Brian, what are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well John, just a really startling incident and just a few feet away from the U.S. Capitol yesterday.

This morning we have new details on the incident, including details on the suspect himself. He is identified by U.S. Capitol Police as 18- year-old Carter Camacho. He is from Smyrna, Georgia. That's a suburb of Atlanta.

Police say he charged the Capitol with a loaded shotgun. Now, as for his motive, according to U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan, that is still under investigation. The charges against him include carrying a rifle without a license and other unlawful activities.

Now police say he basically -- other details that we're getting is that he wore a tactical vest and gloves during the incident when he was outside his vehicle, according to the police. He was carrying a loaded shotgun with extra ammunition, according to the police chief. And the chief says that inside his vehicle he had a Kevlar helmet and a gas mask. The vehicle was not registered in his name.

As for how this unfolded, very quickly and dramatically yesterday, it was just after noon Eastern time when police say a vehicle was parked -- a white Mercedes SUV was parked on Maryland Avenue. That's just at the foot of the Capitol. He exited this white Mercedes SUV, according to police, and then just ran toward the Capitol, kind of in a charging manner. Police drew their firearms, ordered him to drop his gun, ordered him to drop to the ground. He complied and was arrested and taken into custody.

The police chief of the U.S. Capitol, Michael Sullivan, then talked about the quick intervention on the part of those officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MICHAEL SULLIVAN, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: I want to commend the officers for the brave service that they provided here today. Who knows what could have happened if we wouldn't had officers here standing guard like they do every single day?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:45:00]

TODD: Now this comes in the context of heightened tensions around the U.S. Capitol building overall. You had just last month the five-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol when rioters who were convicted in that attack staged their own march to recreate their march on that day. That was -- that was a peaceful event last month.

But you've also got President Trump's State of the Union address coming up next Tuesday. And John, maybe even more ominously, the Capitol Police have recently said that threats against lawmakers, their families, and staff really surged in 2025 -- about 5,000 more incidents reported of threats to them than the previous year.

All of that in the context of this pretty harrowing incident yesterday.

BERMAN: Yeah. What a frightening, intense moment. Glad the police were there and that it ended the way it did.

TODD: Right.

BERMAN: Brian Todd, thank you very much -- Kate.

TODD: Sure.

BOLDUAN: Court resumes this morning in the trial of a Georgia father facing criminal charges over a mass shooting -- mass school shooting allegedly carried out by his teenage son.

Jurors have now heard -- it was an emotional day in court yesterday from students and teachers who were there on that horrible day at Apalachee High School.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following all of it and she's here with us now. What did they say from the stand?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Oh, from the emotional vantage point of being there and going through it. The students, 14 and 15 years old at the time, at Apalachee High School. The wounded, but survivors -- they took the stand. They described what it was like, what their injuries were like, and what they went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What were people yelling?

HAYDEN BOWEN, APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Um, help me. I've been shot. I'm going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you able to call anybody?

BOWEN: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And who did you call?

BOWEN: I called my mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what did you tell her?

BOWEN: I told her that I was going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you kind of talk to us about how that day has affected you?

BOWEN: I often have really bad thoughts relating to that and other things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Um-hum. Kind of tell me what you mean by really bad thoughts.

BOWEN: Um, that it's going to happen again and that this time I'm going to die because I was supposed to the first time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: The sheriff testified that there was one student severely injured and as he was putting her on the gurney and there was a white sheet she said, "Don't you put that white sheet on me. Don't let me die." She took the stand herself yesterday and testified. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIE GRIFFITH, APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I think I was subconsciously trying to not. Once I registered that it was blood and what exactly it was, my brain kind of blocked it out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

GRIFFITH: And I just -- I knew what it was. It was a hole. And I was also worried that I was going to die and how that would affect my parents --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

GRIFFITH: -- because my dad has a heart problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And there's a legal significance to this Kate because there are 20 counts of cruelty to a child --

BOLDUAN: Um.

CASAREZ: -- and these have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecutor.

And it's the criminal negligence of the defendant, Colin Gray, that he allowed his son to have a gun when there was a known risk. And he allowed it to, according to prosecutors, keep it in his bedroom and that culminated in the shooting.

BOLDUAN: Unbelievable. And back in court today.

CASAREZ: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Jean, thank you so much.

A reminder to all of you full live coverage of this trial. You can follow Jean's work on this every moment on cnn.com.

Up ahead for us, late show drama. Stephen Colbert going after CBS again. A new response calling the network's explanation over this scrapped interview with a Senate candidate -- calling CBS's response "crap."

And an adorable baby monkey -- enough said, right -- also becoming an international sensation for this -- his little stuffy -- his emotional support stuffy.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:53:00]

BERMAN: All right. Developing overnight, new comments from late-night star Stephen Colbert now at odds with CBS over an alleged scrapped interview. Colbert says the network told him he could not air his interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico seemingly as the FCC tries to revive its old equal time rule. CBS says that is not entirely true -- but Colbert, overnight, brought receipts and is pushing back on the CBS statement.

Let's get right to our chief media analyst Brian Stelter. Whoo -- there's a lot going on here.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: It is a really interesting situation here involving CBS and ultimately, this is about Trump administration pressure against networks like CBS. And the question becomes how do those networks react? How do they respond when under pressure?

A couple of weeks ago, ABC received a letter from the FCC inquiring about ABC's talk show "THE VIEW." The existence of that letter made CBS more nervous and made CBS more skittish.

It caused those CBS lawyers to call Colbert's show on Monday and hit the brakes and urge him not to air the Talarico interview. Now there's a battle back and forth between Colbert and CBS about whether he was prohibited from airing the interview or just advised not to. Either way, though, this about the government intimidation or that chilling affect impacting broadcasters.

And last night Colbert said he's not mad; he's just disappointed. Here's what he said about his parent company.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": I'm just so surprised that this giant global corporation would not stand up to these bullies. Come on. You're Paramount.

(Applause)

No. No. No. You're more than that. You're Paramount+.

(Applause)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: (Laughing) And he says at this point, I guess, more like Paramount-minus.

So you've got Colbert who has about 40 shows left before his show is over calling out the parent company. And the key point there -- he says I'm just disappointed you're not standing up to the bullies. He means the bullies at the Trump FCC that are pushing these equal time rules.

[07:55:10]

Meantime, we've just heard from the Talarico campaign. They say that thanks to all this controversy the Talarico campaign just enjoyed its single-best fundraising day of the primary campaign in Texas. That Senate primary is in about two weeks.

And his main rival is Jasmine Crockett, who has also been on the Colbert show in the past. However, she would love to be invited back. Here's what she said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): I did not get a request from the Colbert show to go on. As you know, I've been on Colbert multiple times. And frankly -- and, you know, if we would have gotten an offer that would've been great, but we're in the middle of early voting so I'm kind of focused on being in Texas at this moment. And, you know, I don't know what to believe, that's for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: So that is right. Early voting is already underway in Texas. The primary is on March 3.

And this has all drawn a lot of attention to Talarico's campaign, but it's also highlighted how some of these broadcast networks seem to be capitulating in the face of pressure from the Trump administration. In this case, just the threat of a possible FCC investigation was enough to make CBS very skittish and thus make Colbert go public about it -- John.

BERMAN: Look, it's a lot of buzz. A lot of electricity around a show. It makes you wonder why it was canceled.

Brian Stelter, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much.

This morning multiple wildfires are raging across the Great Plains. In Woodward, Oklahoma fire mixing with heavy wind created what some call a "firenado". That is fires fueled by warm weather and 70 mile per hour winds. They've been seen in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. The National Weather Service issued new red flag warnings across the Plains as well as new evacuation notices.

So it's never a bad day for pancakes, but this is a particularly good one. In London, people dressed up in robes, chef hats, and even an owl costume -- inexplicably, frankly -- and they tossed pancakes in the air while racing to a finish line. This pancake race is a Fat Tuesday tradition there celebrating the final day of indulgence before the 40 day season of fasting -- of Lent.

The winner told the BBC he uses a special gluten-free pancake -- yes -- not for allergies or health reasons --

BOLDUAN: Oh.

BERMAN: -- but because they're more dense and they're easier to flip -- genius.

All right. This morning the most popular monkey right now in Japan. Punch is a 6-month-old Macaque -- I can't spell that or say it -- who as abandoned by his mother at birth. Zookeepers stepped in to care for him, but he also got comfort from a stuffed orange orangutan --

BOLDUAN: Oh my gosh.

BERMAN: -- that he carries around with him almost everywhere he goes. All right, that's a little sweet.

The story went viral with users now cheering him on as he grows. And Punch, the Macaque, has slowly started hanging out with others like him at the zoo.

BOLDUAN: Oh my gosh.

BERMAN: You can see he's making friends. But he does keep his stuffed orangutan near him at all times --

BOLDUAN: Great.

BERMAN: -- like we all do, Kate.

BOLDUAN: First news story I will be showing the girls tonight. They -- actually, one of them has for a long time -- it's called like an emotional intelligence monkey that she hugs when she's having a hard time. And now she has a monkey that has an emotional support monkey. I mean --

BERMAN: Kindred spirits, Punch and your daughter.

BOLDUAN: All of them. Punch and my baby girl. Amazing. Thanks, J.B.

Let's turn to this. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking the stand today in this landmark social media trial -- addiction trial, really. The lawsuit is brought by a young woman and her mother, which accuses Meta and YouTube of intentionally developing features that hook young people and harm their mental health.

CNN's Clare Duffy has been following this as this trial has been -- well, the leadup to and as it has began, and you're here with me now. What is going to happen today with Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS TECH REPORTER: Yeah, this is going to be one of the most important days in this trial. This is Mark Zuckerberg's first time testifying before a jury about these years old claims that his platforms have harmed young users. And we expect that he'll get asked questions that try to get at the reasonableness of the actions that Meta has taken to protect young people on its platform.

So the company has talked a lot about these safety features it has rolled out, like parental oversight tools, default privacy and security safety settings for young people. And so we expect he's going to get asked about what Meta knew about the risks to young people on his platforms and whether those actions were enough to really mitigate those risks.

And you'll remember, of course, that Meta has argued in this case that this 20-year-old woman, Kaley, experienced mental health challenges not because of Instagram and social media but because she had a difficult family life as a child.

A Meta spokesperson told me it the leadup to this hearing today, "The question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff's mental health struggles. The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media."

But, of course, Zuckerberg is going to get really tough questions about, again, whether they've put profit over safety.