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2 Children Killed, 17 Other People Injured In Attack; Ukraine: At Least 14 Killed In "Massive" Russian Attack On Kyiv; UNSC Members Except U.S. Call For Gaza Ceasefire. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired August 28, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:27]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers, joining us from the United States and all around the world. Thanks so much for being with us. I'm Audie Cornish.

It's Thursday, August 28th. It's 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, D.C.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESTON HALSNE, FIFTH GRADER: The shots were like right next to me. My friend Victor, like, saved me, though, because he laid on top of me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't need to simply be united in grief. We can be united in action.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: At the U.N. Security Council, every member, with the notable exception of the United States, is calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day, more persons are dying as a result of malnutrition.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump has talked about sending in the National Guard to help. Will they be in some of the neighborhoods that we visited in this story, here on the South and West Sides of the city?

UNIUDENTIFIED MALE: Presence of military will put our communities in a situation where they feel like they are incarcerated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A somber morning across America in the wake of yet another mass shooting targeting schoolchildren. Flags across the country are being flown at half staff today after a shooter opened fire at a Catholic school in Minneapolis during Wednesday's morning mass. Two children, just eight and 10 years old, were killed and 14 other children and three adults were injured but expected to survive.

The FBI is searching for a motive for the shooter, who police identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who attended the school previously, according to a yearbook photo obtained by CNN.

Westman was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Families, neighbors and government leaders came together for vigils on Wednesday night. Many now calling for gun reform.

Here's Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaking to the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: It's Minnesota's day today, and it's my strongest desire that no state, no community, no school ever experiences a day like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more on what we know so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIEF BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Two children are dead and 17 others wounded in Minneapolis after a gunman fired through the windows of a church.

DISPATCHER: Any troopers responding, we just need a lot more medical.

PROKUPECZ: Police say dozens of children and worshipers were attending a morning mass to mark the start of the school year at Annunciation Catholic School.

O'HARA: Two young children, ages eight and ten, were killed where they sat in the pews.

PROKUPECZ: Principal Matthew DeBoer says teachers were crucial in saving lives.

MATT DEBOER, PRINCIPAL, ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL: Within seconds of this situation beginning, our teachers were heroes. Children were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children. And as we heard earlier, it could have been significantly worse without their heroic action.

PROKUPECZ: Of the 17 people injured, authorities say 14 of them were children. All remaining victims are expected to survive, according to police.

DR. TOM WYATT, CHAIR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, HENNEPIN COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER: Two of them were adult patients. Nine pediatric patients, four of them require the operating room.

PROKUPECZ: The shooter was armed with three weapons, according to police. A rifle, shotgun and a pistol. Officials say all three weapons were legally purchased by the shooter, recently.

O'HARA: The coward who fired the shots ultimately took his own life in the rear of the church.

PROKUPECZ: Ten-year-old Weston Halsne, a fifth grader at the school, described the unimaginable.

HALSNE: I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head. My friend Victor, like, saved me, though, because he laid on top of me. We waited like 10 to 5 minutes. I don't really know. And then we went to the gym and then the doors locked just to make sure he didn't come and then we waited in the gym for more news. My friend got hit in the back.

REPORTER: Did he go to the hospital?

HALSNE: Yeah, he went to the hospital.

REPORTER: What went through your mind when you saw that?

HALSNE: I was super scared for him, but I think now he's okay.

PROKUPECZ: Some neighbors also rushed to help after hearing the gunfire. Patrick Scallen comforted three young victims.

[05:05:01]

PATRICK SCALLEN, NEIGHBOR: I told him and assured him I'm not leaving you until the ambulance gets here, and they're going to take good care of you. You're going to be okay, and you're going to be with your parents real soon. And I think that's all I could do.

PROKUPECZ: The mayor of Minneapolis, clearly frustrated after yet another all too familiar American tragedy.

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS, MN: And don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.

(EDND VIDEOTAPE)

CORNISH: The deadly school shooting has reignited the debate on federal and state gun control and the rights of gun owners. At vigils overnight, the mayor of Minneapolis and the community joined together to call for an end to gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREY: Each and every one of us must commit to making this all mean something greater than just the words. We need to have true gun reform right now. Not tomorrow, not the next day.

We don't need to simply be united in grief. We can be united in action. And each and every one of you can be part of it. Let's make the change now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The last time Congress passed meaningful gun safety legislation was three years ago, following the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. There's little indication that Republican leaders in Congress will be open to new gun safety measures when they return from their August break next week.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar acknowledged any legislative push would be an uphill battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): When you see these innocent kids praying in a church and they get gunned down by a madman, you have to step back and think, what can we do better? What can we do better with background checks or with assault weapons, which may not have played in to this situation? But every situation is different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me to discuss this is Brett Bruen, president of the Global Situation Room and former director of global engagement for the Obama White House.

Good morning, and thank you for being with us.

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: Good to be with you, Audie.

CORNISH: Now, this kind of shooting often entails some kind of response from the White House, whether that be leading a roll in the morning or whether that be calling for action in some way. What will you be watching for?

BRUEN: Well, I would expect that President Trump will take some sort of action. You mentioned in your report. Congress is less likely to take up this challenge. And yet we have seen from this president decisive action, whether you like it or not, in response to events. And so, I would expect this to be no different.

The real question, Audie, is whether or not that is at a superficial level, or if this administration is really going to try to address some of the underlying challenges of school safety. Obviously, mental health and gun reform.

CORNISH: From what's known about the shooter so far, it appears they legally obtained firearms past required background checks, permit checks, did not have a prior record or the other kind of like risk factors, for instance, that would have enabled some kind of red flagging or intervention under existing Minnesota gun laws.

So where does that leave that conversation about gun policy?

BRUEN: Well, this is the challenge because here in the United States, it is all too easy not just to purchase one firearm, but as in this case, multiple firearms. And I think, you know, there are questions about whether or not, you know, social media accounts ought to be reviewed before somebody is allowed to make those kind of mass purchases of firearms.

But also, Audie, I think this comes down to simply a focus of the administration. We have seen them almost solely focused on challenges that they describe with immigration, with urban safety. But what about school safety?

You know, we're coming back into a new school year. This is all too frequent a problem in the United States, and I think it merits the attention. I think it is going to disrupt the Trump administrations focus on some of those other issues, demanding more attention for the safety of our kids.

CORNISH: I have to ask you, just given your experience, what about the intelligence part of this at this point, so many shooters leave more than enough breadcrumbs, more than they announced their intentions in so many ways. It's -- we're learning more about their quote, unquote manifesto, and there's plenty of social media to look through. Where is the kind of intelligence community on this kind of shooting?

BRUEN: Well, this is where I do think we need to have more resources dedicated not to, you know, invading privacy. But if somebody is putting out there the kinds of content that evidently, in this case, they were, there ought to be more red flags.

[05:10:04]

There ought to be more connection of the dots. Obviously, you know, if an individual has complaints, has a tendency to focus on certain groups or on, in this case, a former school, those ought to raise flags. There ought to be, obviously, visits by law enforcement and by other entities.

But we've seen time and time again that dots are not connected. And again, Audie, I come back to the point the Trump administration has got to focus on some of these kinds of threats and not just, you know, they're almost sole focus on issues like immigration. And here in Washington what they allege to be a crime wave happening on our streets. And yet these kind of challenges, these kind of real threats go under-attended.

CORNISH: And for schools, we've got a lot of parents who are going to be watching and wondering, how should they think about school safety?

BRUEN: Well, and this hits particularly close to home. My son goes to a Catholic school here in Alexandria. They walk to mass, and I think, you know, for these kind of moments, it really does make you reflect when you send your child off to school, will they be coming home?

And, you know, for all of us, I think that kind of moving moment ought to force pressure on legislators, ought to force pressure on our leaders to do more. And, you know, the school sends out a message and reinforces the steps that they're taking. But clearly, it is not enough. And more needs to be done. CORNISH: Okay, Brett, thank you so much for speaking with us.

BRUEN: Sure.

CORNISH: Still ahead, rescuers are racing to find survivors under the rubble after Russia unleashes a major attack on the Ukrainian capital. The details in a live report ahead.

Plus, exclusive CNN reporting on Israel's deadly attack on that hospital in southern Gaza with the new video reveals. And every member of the U.N. Security Council. But one calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and expresses their concern over a famine report. The lone holdout just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:16:45]

CORNISH: Ukrainian officials now say at least 14 people have been killed in what's described as a massive attack on the capital overnight. Among the dead are three children. Right now, an urgent search is underway in Kyiv for anyone who may still be trapped.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the Russian missiles and drones are a, quote, clear response to everyone in the world who's been calling for a ceasefire and real diplomacy. This latest attack comes as Ukrainian delegation is taking part in talks on ending the war, first in Switzerland today, before traveling to New York for a meeting with U.S. officials tomorrow.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me now from London with the latest.

And, Salma, thank you for being with us. Tell us what more you've learned.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Audie. So yet again, Kyiv is waking up to a massive Russian drone and missile attack. According to Ukrainian authorities, nearly 600 drones fired overnight and 30 missiles in some parts of the city. People were under air raid sirens for nearly nine hours. That's how large the scope and scale of this attack is.

You mentioned the victims, 14 killed, but that number is expected to rise. Among those dead are three children. The youngest, just two years old, a 14-year-old girl and a 17-year-old child. That city is absolutely reeling right now, as you mentioned.

Rescue workers are still digging through the rubble. The massive operation involves 500 rescue workers and 1,000 police officers. These attacks struck homes, a kindergarten, even a building belonging to the European Union, which led one Ukrainian official to accuse Russia of targeting diplomats.

The E.U. has, of course, condemned this strike as well. And this comes just two weeks, of course, after President Trump sat down face to face with President Putin during that Alaska summit in the hopes of starting a peace process. But so far, his attempts at trying to start this bilateral meeting, trying to get a bilateral meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Putin has shown no signs of progress.

And this is a continuation of what we've seen Russia do in the meanwhile, while peace efforts seem to stall or fail entirely. It is intensifying its attacks on the ground. It was just yesterday that Ukrainian researchers said that Russia had captured two more villages in the east of the country. It continues to push on those front lines, while Ukrainian forces, outmanned and outgunned on the front lines, are struggling to hold them back in civilians.

As you can see there, in the city of Kyiv, caught in the crossfire, on the other side of Russian missiles and drones that just wont stop raining down, Audie.

CORNISH: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in London, thank you for that reporting.

We also want to turn to some journalism exclusive reporting from CNN points to a coordinated attack by Israel on Nasser Hospital in Gaza that happened earlier this week. New video appears to show not two, but three strikes on the facility, killing at least 22 people, including five journalists.

[05:20:02]

Israel has said it was targeting a Hamas camera at the hospital and claims it killed six terrorists. Meanwhile, Israel is asking a global hunger monitor to retract a recent famine assessment for Gaza City and its surrounding areas. Israel claims the report is deeply flawed and unprofessional.

And at the U.N. Security Council, every member except the U.S., is calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, citing this famine report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISHALA PERSAUD, GUYANA'S DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE U.N.: This is the first time famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region. Every day, more persons are dying as a result of malnutrition, many of them children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Abu Dhabi.

And, Paula, first, can you tell us a little more about this reporting out of southern Gaza?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Audie, this is new video that was obtained by CNN, which shows that the second strike, which hit the Nasser Hospital on Monday, killing 20 people, including five journalists, was in fact two separate pieces of munition. Now, it appears that there are -- there was one hit at about 10:08 a.m., which killed a "Reuters" cameraman and others, and then just nine minutes later, two further shells hit that same area. This is when there were a number of emergency workers, health workers and journalists gathered at that area.

Now, we have asked the Israeli military for comment. They say they have no further comment, but one weapons expert says that the fact that there were two munitions suggests that this is a more coordinated attack, as opposed to just one single vehicle firing on this area.

Now, the Israeli military says they are investigating. They're examining gaps in what has happened, including the fact that they are looking at what munitions were used, what permission was given in the field for this to go ahead. But they claim that there was a camera being used by Hamas, which was monitoring Israeli forces. It's something that has been rejected by the hospital, by Hamas and also by the journalists who frequently use those balconies and those stairs to have an elevated view of Khan Younis.

And there is increasing criticism against Israel about this attack -- Audie.

CORNISH: Well, one more thing. Can you tell me about the controversy over this report about famine? I know Israel has pushed back on saying there's starvation even. What is the concern here?

HANCOCKS: So, this was a report that came out from the IPC less than a week ago, saying it was really the first official acknowledgment that there is famine in Gaza. Parts of Gaza, including Gaza City, Israel is pushing back against that. We have heard, though, the U.N. Security Council, 14 of the member states saying its a man made crisis, saying they are calling for an immediate ceasefire to try and prevent this famine from getting worse, also calling on all hostages to be released and calling for a substantive surge of aid into the Gaza strip.

The United States, though, did not. Vogt on positively on that. That particular issue. It didn't add its name to the joint statement. And the U.S., of course, the one country that can influence Israel into pushing towards a ceasefire or into allowing more humanitarian aid to get into the Gaza strip.

Now we are seeing the situation, which is already desperate, is already in a state of famine becoming are becoming worse by the day as there is simply not enough aid getting in. And this in the United Nations security council, was one of the ways that many member states were trying to push Israel to agree to a cease fire deal, a deal, a proposal suggested by the United States, which they agreed to a month ago, which is on the table. Hamas has agreed to. We have yet, though, to hear Israels official response to that latest proposal -- Audie.

CORNISH: Paula, reporting to us from Abu Dhabi, thank you.

Still to come, more on the deadly school shooting in Minnesota. We're going to tell you what investigators are learning about the shooter as they search for a motive.

And officials in Chicago say they don't want Donald Trump sending in troops to fight crime in their city. CNN talked to people living in some of Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods to see what they think about the plan. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:29:13]

CORNISH: More now on top of the -- one of the stories we're following this hour. The FBI searching for the motive of the shooter who killed two children at a Catholic school in Minnesota on Wednesday. Seventeen other children and adults were injured in the attack. A local resident tells CNN the community is absolutely devastated after learning how the shooter opened fire through windows of the sanctuary, where students were gathered.

The attack has sparked renewed calls for stricter gun laws since police say the shooter was found with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, all acquired legally.

Here's how one father described the panic of trying to find his children when he arrived at the school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ran in as the police were there, getting there kind of alongside. It was just chaos, then just started helping kids out, you know, saw a lot of injured kids. Yeah, it was tough.