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Isa Soares Tonight
At Least Two Children Killed and 17 People Injured in Shooting at Minnesota; Russia Steps Up Attacks on Ukraine Infrastructure; Trump Hits Inside with 50 Percent Tariff. At Least 2 Children Killed in Minnesota School Shooting; Trump Hosts White House Meeting on Ending the War in Gaza; Venezuela Deploys Warships As U.S. Destroyers Approach. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired August 27, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello and welcome, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, horrific breaking news this hour out of the U.S. state of
Minnesota. Officials say at least two children are dead after a shooting at a Catholic school mass. This was the scene in Minneapolis earlier.
Families, as you can see, they're embracing their children amid their worst nightmare.
The Minneapolis police chief says the gunman approached the school outside of the building during mass. Then he fired through windows at people
sitting in pews. Imagine that. And later took his own life inside the church. The shooting left at least 14 children and three adults injured.
Just a short time ago, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had this emotional response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: These were Minneapolis families. These were American families. And the amount of pain that they are
suffering right now is extraordinary. 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.
These are kids that should be learning with their friends. They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in
peace without the fear or risk of violence, and their parents should have the same kind of assurance. These are the sort of basic assurances that
every family should have every step of the day, regardless of where they are in our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Very well said. That don't say this is just about thoughts and prayers right now. They were -- they were praying. They were praying in
that very moment. Let's get more from our correspondent Isabel Rosales, who is following all these latest developments. Isabel, good to see you. Just
bring us up-to-date with this truly senseless attack that we have seen. What are you learning this hour?
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely incomprehensible. And what we saw there during that press conference was a piss-off, to put it in
light words. Mayor of Minneapolis and also his police chief, who called this a deliberate act of violence, sheer cruelty and cowardice, firing into
a church full of children, just incomprehensible. T
he church bells were ringing in the distance as the police chief, Brian O'Hara, revealed that two children had been killed, ages eight and ten, as
they sat in their pews praying, on what would have been the same timing -- would have been the all school-wide mass prayer, as these children were
getting ready to usher in and welcome the new school year, because classes just started on Monday.
So, this is day three of their new school year. Now, the police chief says that during the mass, this gunman approached from the outside and started
firing into the windows, deliberately targeting at the children sitting there in the pews. He stuck -- struck children, he struck worshipers, and
he came equipped with three guns, apparently willing to carry out the worst sort of violence imaginable.
He had with him a pistol, a rifle and a shotgun, and police believe he took his own life. As you can imagine, Isa, this is just horrifying to this
community, tearing them apart. We've seen parents screaming and crying coming out of the scene. Those who were able to take their children out of
the school, hugging them, clutching them tightly and leaving for home. I want you to listen now to a ten-year-old who witnessed the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESTON HALSNE, TEN-YEAR-OLD SHOOTING WITNESS: It was like right beside me. I was like two seats away from the stained glass windows. So, they were
like -- the shots were like right next to me. The first one, I was like, what is that? I thought it was just something, then I heard it again.
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. But he got hit. He was
really brave and I hope he's good in the hospital.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: Stories of heroism that no child should have to go through. His friend there, you heard him mention being on top of him and shielding him
and getting shot in the back, and he's so worried about him. A reminder that the Centers for Disease Prevention say that gun violence is the
leading cause of death for American children.
[14:05:00]
We did also in this hour, past hour, have a press conference from one of the hospitals there who said that they had ten patients, seven in critical
condition, six of them being children and at least, four patients required surgery. So, this is still a long road ahead of even making sure that these
patients' lives are saved beyond even turning the next chapter and understanding the why of this all --
SOARES: Yes --
ROSALES: Isa.
SOARES: And very early stages, we'll hear from the police. But that little boy, ten-year-old Weston, incredible to hear from him, can't even imagine,
Isabel, what he has gone through. We know that children, ages 6 to 14, like you said, are being treated. Do we know how many children, how many people
were in -- attending that mass? This, of course, for our viewers around the world, Isabel. This, I think, was three days into the school year, right?
ROSALES: Correct. And that specific question was asked of the police chief, how many were in attendance? He said dozens. He didn't have a
specific number. But to know that the age range, at least, from one of these hospitals that took the majority of these patients, the age range of
these patients, pediatric patients as young as six years old --
SOARES: Good one --
ROSALES: Six to fourteen, and now, you have parents who have gotten the worst news imaginable. And at least --
SOARES: Yes --
ROSALES: For two children and many others that are hanging on, and will now have to listen from doctors as their kids undergo surgery --
SOARES: Yes, and our thoughts and prayers, of course, of all those parents, all those families and the Minneapolis community. Before you go,
very briefly, what do we know about the shooter? I know we're very -- early stages right now, but what are you learning, Isabel?
ROSALES: Right, the shooter is somebody in their early 20s. The police chief said he does not have an extensive criminal history, but rest-assured
that they will be filing search warrants, going through his vehicle that he left behind there at the church, going through his home and also an
extensive search of his online history as well. We're going to find out, I think, a lot here in the coming days.
SOARES: I know you'll stay across this. Isabel Rosales, appreciate it, thank you very much indeed. Well, in the last hour, my colleagues Brianna
Keilar and Boris Sanchez spoke with a witness who was on the scene helping some of the victims. This is what he told them. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK SCALLEN, LIVES NEAR WHERE SHOOTING HAPPENED (via telephone): People were starting to pour out of the church, and right away, almost,
there were three children that were obviously hurt, and I just kind of stayed with them until the EMTs came and tried to give them some comfort,
because they were obviously in a lot of distress, and two of them were very hurt.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Patrick, could you share with us what you told them to try to calm them down?
SCALLEN: Well, yes, the one girl said, can you just please hold my hand? And I did, and I think that helped her. And she had -- the shot had grazed
her, her forehead and I think she's very fortunate because if that -- I think a little bit closer, and it would have been a different result. But
she was so brave. And there was another girl that right next to her that was shot in the neck and, she was -- I kept pretty hard focus on her
because I -- in case, she went into acute distress.
She was having some problems breathing, but she was alert and talking, and I just -- I kept telling him, your mom and dad, I'm going to call your mom
and dad. I'm going to let them know you're going to be OK. Just mainly reassurance. And then, the boy that was there was -- he just had his arm
grazed, as far as I know, and he was so brave.
And I think he was doing everything he could to help the situation and comfort those girls, too. It was -- it was a difficult situation, but I'm
guardedly optimistic that those kids are going to be, you know, OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's hope so. Well, let's continue the discussion with our law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore. Steve, good to see you. I mean, some
of the eyewitnesses that we've been hearing you paint a truly terrifying image, I'm not sure if you heard a little clip of fifth grader, Weston
Halsne, who was basically -- he basically said they shot through the stained glass windows, I think, and it was really scary.
Him and his friend were nestled and basically nestled themselves under the pews of the church, his friend protecting him. What do you take away from
what we're hearing from authorities right now? Because as we were saying, the shooter was shooting from outside the church.
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, this is -- this is new. This is -- it may have happened before, but it is certainly very uncommon.
It may be because the doors were locked and he couldn't get in. And this was his second choice. But it doesn't -- and if they were shooting through
stained glass windows, they didn't even have a good idea of what was -- of aiming.
[14:10:00]
Because you can't really aim through a stained glass window. I'd have to see the window to find out, you know, how opaque it was. But this is new,
and it's something we're going to have to learn to protect against.
SOARES: And we learned, Steve, as well, that the shooter came armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. And apparently, and I wonder if you could
give me your insight on this. Apparently, he blocked the doors with boards to kind of prevent people from escaping, and probably prolonging this
carnage. What does this say to you, Steve, about the planning, the plot, and indeed even the intent here?
MOORE: Yes, I -- that's astounding. What you would have to do -- first of all, I'd like to know which doors he blocked. Did he block the inside doors
and then come outside? That's extraordinary. I don't know why you wouldn't -- well, so, you have to determine the level of planning and the level of
access he had.
Obviously, he has cased this place. It seems as though that he knew what he wanted to do and when to do it. He waited until they were at mass --
SOARES: Yes --
MOORE: So, you're going to find some connection to him, and this location, I believe.
SOARES: And from what I understand, the school calendar, of course, as Isabel, our correspondent, was saying -- Isabel Rosales saying this. We're
three days into the school year, of course, the school calendar, which includes information where students would be, was reportedly as well posted
the school's website, too. So, in terms of planning, from what -- from what -- you're gleaning so far, Steve, and I know it's very early stages. Does
this point to you, a high level planning involved here?
MOORE: Yes, higher than usual --
SOARES: Yes --
MOORE: Certainly, he wasn't going in and just deciding what he found or, you know, I'm going to shoot at whatever I find, which I've seen in many of
these. He's going to go in with a specific target at a specific time and take measures to make sure that there can be no escape from his shooting.
SOARES: The chief said today as well, earlier, probably in the last, what? Hour and a half or so, they were looking at things that were left behind,
what would they be looking at? Just talk us through the process.
MOORE: Well, you know, ideally, you'd get some kind of manifesto or some kind of grievance paper that he might have left behind or left behind on
social media. Certainly, he's going to leave behind cartridges, the shotgun is going to eject its cartridges, the pistol is going to eject its
cartridges, and likely the rifle will, too.
So, you're going to be -- you're going to have a lot of physical evidence that way. Maybe he had other guns, maybe he had things like improvised
explosive devices, I don't know, but what you're going to go through is the hardware and kind of the software. Did he leave behind some kind of social
media or written message or grievance?
SOARES: And I'm sure authorities and profilers will be looking exactly that. But while I have you here, I did see also the police chief basically
said that a smoke bomb -- some sort of smoke canister of sorts was found at the scene. What would that be? Can you make any sense of that?
MOORE: Well, it could be to confuse the potential victims to where they wouldn't be able to run. It could be to hide himself in if he wanted to
make an escape or to delay the police in responding to him. But what we find in most of these, and I believe it's probably going to be true in this
one, that in most cases, the shooter will fire until they see an armed -- an armed resistance coming towards them.
Even if they just -- some of them, even if they just hear sirens, because it is in their messed up psyche that nobody can kill them, but them. So,
they want to make sure that not only do they kill all these people, but nobody gets the glory of killing them. They get that glory. So, I think a
quick response and maybe sirens heading towards the place may have ended his shooting because I'll bet you, anything they find that there was a lot
of ammo left.
SOARES: Very briefly here. What would you be looking at? What questions are the most pertinent right now as we wait for authorities to give us any
more details on what unfolded here and more about the shooter, Steve?
MOORE: What his connection was to the church, to the --
SOARES: Yes --
MOORE: Mass, to that school, and that -- and teachers, there's got to be something that made him choose that one.
SOARES: Yes, which potentially explain the motive, absolutely senseless, but will give us some sort of idea. Steve Moore, really appreciate you
taking the time to speak to us, Steve, thank you.
[14:15:00]
We're going to --
MOORE: Thanks --
SOARES: We're going to stick to this breaking news story, of course, throughout the hour. In the meantime, top U.S. and Israeli officials are
holding talks at the White House today. Will those meetings lead to a new proposal to bring an end to the war in Gaza? We'll try to explore that. And
throughout the hour, we are tracking, of course, as I was saying, the tragedy unfolding in Minnesota, young lives, of course, forever changed by
the truly unspeakable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: The Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. is calling Israel's deadly strikes on Gaza's Nasser Hospital premeditated. An emotional Riyad Mansour
had this to say just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: So, again, the world was witness to Israelis' execution of civilians in broad day
time. The second strike on Nasser's Hospital was a premeditated strike on medics and journalists who arrived at the scene after the first strike.
This is not a war. These are atrocities committed against an entire civilian population. Two million people and against all those trying to
assist them, to save them and against all those documenting the crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Riyad Mansour there. Well, the war in Gaza is front and center in Washington today, even as plans for an Israeli military offensive in Gaza
city move forward. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff says President Trump plans to hold what he calls a large meeting at the White House to discuss
what he describes as, quote, "a very comprehensive plan on the war in Gaza".
He tells "Fox News", Hamas will not be part -- a part, I should say, of Gaza's future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: Hamas understands that they can have nothing to do with the government going forward. Those
are terms of the Israelis and they're terms of President Trump as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, in the next hour, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. At the
Vatican, meanwhile, Pope Leo called for an end to what he calls the collective punishment and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.
[14:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT PREVOST, POPE, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): I once again issue a strong appeal both to the parties involved and to the
international community, so that an end may be put to the conflict in the holy land, which has caused so much terror, destruction and death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And turning now to the occupied West Bank where Israeli forces stormed a currency exchange business in Ramallah on Tuesday. Palestinian
Red Crescent official says nearly 60 people were treated for various injuries, including from live gunfire, rubber bullets, shrapnel and tear
gas inhalation.
Five people were arrested. Israel says it was targeting Hamas financing. Ramallah serves as the Palestinian administrative capital. Well, inspectors
from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog have returned to Iran, this despite Iran banning cooperation with the inspectors in July after U.S. and Israeli
attacks on its nuclear sites.
Iran's Foreign Minister says inspectors were allowed to monitor fuel replacement at a nuclear power plant, but he denies a new agreement has
been reached with the International Atomic Energy Agency. We'll stick across that story, any developments, of course, we'll bring it to you. Now
to Venezuela, where President is digging in as U.S. Naval deployment nears his country's waters.
The U.S. is sending warships, attack aircraft and marines in a show of force, it says it's meant to counter drug trafficking. An actual invasion
appears unlikely, but Venezuela's President is taking the threat very seriously. The U.S. accuses Nicolas Maduro of running a drug cartel. It's
offering a $50 million bounty for his arrest, if you remember, and $25 million more for the arrest of his Interior Minister.
And as you can see from the billboard put up near the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Mr. Maduro denies any role in drug trafficking. He's urging
Venezuelans to sign up for militias to fend off a potential U.S. attack. And its military says it's deploying more ships, drones and air units.
Stefano Pozzebon is in Bogota in Colombia. And Stefano, we have been here before, many years before. What is the sense this --
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN REPORTER: Yes --
SOARES: Time around? Because I've seen Maduro is calling on Venezuelans to sign up to militias. Just give us a sense of the mood before we go into the
politics first.
POZZEBON: Yes, it feels like a deja vu, isn't it, Isa? I remember when in 2018, you and I were covering that story, of course, and again, the first
Trump administration sent ships down the Caribbean sea to patrol the seas in front of the Venezuelan coast. And the opposition, in particular, the
Venezuelan opposition felt that, that was a signal that U.S. intervention was approaching perhaps.
I think that this time, just like last time, the -- there is again that feeling from the Venezuelan opposition of hopes perhaps or hopes raised
that the U.S. is taking a more muscular approach. But then if you look at and try to speak with people who know or have a little bit of a feeling,
there is not really the feeling that any invasion is coming at any point.
And like yesterday, I was speaking with a professor of international politics down in Caracas, and it's always good to speak with those on the
ground -- on the ground. And he was telling me that out of Caracas, the feeling is that they're dealing with two different U.S. administration. On
one side, you have the pragmatic side of the White House.
Those are the ones that have allowed for oil sanctions relief. And yesterday -- last week, for example, celebrated the arrival of the first
shipment of Venezuelan oil directly to a U.S. refinery, Chevron, that happened less than seven days ago. And on the other side are those who are
ideologically opposed to Nicolas Maduro.
That's the right wing conservative constituencies of the Latino, especially in southern Florida. And then, of course, those are embodied by the current
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. So, it feels like you have Washington always takes the carrot and the stick approach towards --
SOARES: Yes --
POZZEBON: Latin America, this time -- this time around, it feels like it's even speaking to two different administrations. On the Maduro side, of
course, he's more than used to dealing with both a threatening Washington- era, more pragmatic, business friendly Washington. Maduro only needs to stay in power. And of course, he's more all too happy to use U.S. in, you
know, threats of invasion or U.S. rhetoric to pump up his base and saying that he's standing up to the opponents in the north who is really --
SOARES: Yes --
POZZEBON: Interesting to speak with, who would be the Venezuelan opposition. What are they doing? Because they are the ones who are on one
side, maybe calling for foreign intervention. Perhaps they hope that the U.S. would try to take the Maduro problem out of Venezuelan hands or what
is -- what are they doing? So, that's why I think it's interesting to speak with --
SOARES: Yes --
POZZEBON: Them in particular, Isa.
SOARES: And Maria Corina Machado; the opposition leader, I did hear her say in the last couple of days that calling the U.S. approach the right
approach.
[14:25:00]
But like you clearly pointed out there, there are two schools of thought in the United States. The question on which one will win here. But on Maduro,
very quickly, you know, the administration -- U.S. administration say it's going after -- it's doing this to fight drug trafficking. What does Maduro
say to that? I mean, is the motivation clear from Venezuela's side?
POZZEBON: Well, the Venezuelan government has said time and again that Venezuela does not produce cocaine, and in fact, the multiple reports from
the United Nation actually confirmed that Venezuela is not a country that produces drugs. Those are more Colombia, Bolivia, Peru or lately,
unfortunately, Ecuador.
And they said that they are the ones fighting trafficking. Just today, the Venezuelan Defense Minister flagged that they seize -- I think it was 2,000
kilograms of cocaine in the southern regions of the Amazonian region in Venezuela.
They say that they are the ones fighting crime, fighting drug trafficking, and that if the U.S. was serious about drug trafficking, they would
prosecute consumers up in New York or Los Angeles, rather than the waging war on drugs here in Latin America.
At the same time, we know that members of Maduro's own family, actually two nephews of Maduro's wife from previous -- from a previous marriage -- well,
those have been charged and they were --
SOARES: Yes --
POZZEBON: They served time in a U.S. prison for being found trafficking cocaine from Venezuela towards --
SOARES: Yes --
POZZEBON: Florida, I think it was a few years ago. So, well, you know, there are multiple sides to this story, as it often happens with Venezuela.
The real story is now, what will Trump actually do? Who will Trump listen to --
SOARES: Yes --
POZZEBON: Between these two souls within --
SOARES: Yes --
POZZEBON: His administration?
SOARES: How far will he go, right? Stefano, I mean, you were saying --
POZZEBON: Right --
SOARES: It is time for -- maybe potential to hear from opposition, you asked, we will/shall deliver. Thank you very much, Stefano, because on the
show tomorrow, we will have an interview with Henrique Capriles, who is a leading Venezuelan opposition politician.
I spoke to him earlier from Caracas about the current tensions that Stefano was talking about there with the U.S., and whether he believes Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro is a narco lord.
You want to hear his response to that? We'll have that interview for you on tomorrow's show. Still to come in the meantime, tonight, our breaking news
coverage of the horrific school shooting in Minneapolis. Families holding loved ones close while police begin their investigation. Plus, we'll also
have the view from the White House as we wait for President Trump to respond to the tragedy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. And returning now to the breaking news to that horrific school shooting in Minneapolis. Officials say the incident
killed at least two children and injured 17 people. Here you see families being reunited after facing really the unimaginable.
And I want to show you this map. It's a map of the school, there and the church, Annunciation Church. The Minneapolis police chief says the
government approached the outside of the building during the mass, he then fired through windows at people sitting in pews and then later took his own
life.
Minnesota Democratic senator, Amy Klobuchar, tells CNN a former staffer's daughter watched her friends get shot. Have a listened to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): One of my former employees who was with me a long time, she said I could use her name, Caden Island (ph). Her daughter,
Cora (ph), was in there. She was one of the older kids. This a pre-K through eighth grade school, a loved school in the neighborhood, beloved
school with all the parents. And that church is right there next to it.
So, the kids were in the mass and they were packed in there. And so, this girl, seventh, eighth grade, literally watched her friends, some of her
best friends be shot, one in the neck, one in the stomach. And when they were running out, when they finally got out, she was the one, this child,
who had to tell one of her friend's dads that the friend had been shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Truly incomprehensible. With us now is our chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller. John, I'm glad you are with us. I
wish you were other stories. There's just way too many of these, unfortunately, in the United States. But can I ask you, first of all, just
for our viewers who are just joining us, where -- you know these young children were at school, what, three days into the school calendar, into
the school year. They were attending mass. This a moment -- you know, I went to a Catholic school. I know what those -- that first week is like
being -- and the importance of being together with your friends once again. What do we know happened at 8:30 a.m.? Talk us through the events from what
we know so far.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So, we know that this was an all-school mass in the first week of school. These
are kids from the age of six to 14 years old. They had gone from the school into the church. That starts at 8:15. At 8:30, in other words, when the
mass is well underway and everybody is inside, an individual, who has been identified by police, shows up dressed in tactical clothing, black cargo
pants with three guns, a M4 semi-automatic rifle, a pistol, a slide action shotgun, and opens fire and continues to fire from the outside through the
windows.
Now, there was a witness a couple of blocks away at home with the windows open who heard this gunfire and describes it. Let's take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We live about two blocks from here. I was on a call. All the windows of our home were open. I know what gunfire sounds like, and
I could tell -- I was shocked. I said there's no way that that could be gunfire. There was so much of it. So, it was sporadic. It was -- so, it was
a semi-automatic, it seemed like a rifle. It certainly didn't sound like a handgun. And so, he must have reloaded, you know, several times for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It breaks my heart. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that there's probably people I know that are either injured or
maybe they were even killed. It doesn't make me feel safe at all at this community that I've been a part of for so long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER: So, 17 children shot, 17 victims shot, many of them children from the ages of six to 14, two of them dead, an eight-year-old, a 10-year-old,
and four of them that were among the critical patients who are in surgery or have been in surgery since the time of the shooting, fighting for their
lives.
[14:35:00]
So, that is the situation there. What we've learned since then, and you know, we heard that individual talking about hearing between 30 and 50
gunshots, sporadic gunfire, it indicates that he may have been sporadic because he may have been transitioning between the rifle, the shotgun, the
pistol or reloading at different times. The police chief, when asked, how many shots were fired through the windows into this church? He said, we
don't have a count yet, but dozens and dozens. So, that's consistent with what the witness heard.
One thing we have to bear in mind is. We've seen a couple of indications of a lot of pre-planning. The police chief described two by fours that were
put through the door handles from the outside. It's an indicator that the shooter placed those there to keep people from fleeing the building or
escaping, giving him a level of containment while he carried out this horrific shooting.
His car was found on the scene. And as police are continuing to investigate this individual, they have found internet postings from an individual of
the same name showing the weaponry arrayed out, the magazines fully loaded, messages about his pain and suffering in life, messages about how he knows
that what he's about to do is going to upset many of his friends. But also, that he intended to take his own life in the process.
So, the picture is coming into focus from a very dark incident, and it's coming into a focus in such a way that actually makes it similar to, as you
pointed out, this terrible spate of senseless shootings we have by lone individuals here in this country who decide that they have a grievance and
that everybody else must somehow pay for it.
SOARES: Yes. And I know there's a lot we don't know about the shooter. Authorities will get to that no doubt at some point today. We know that he
was in the early 20s. We know roughly where he was wearing. I heard you say there, John. But no extensive -- I heard from the chief, no extensive known
criminal history. Is that -- would that be normal? What do you make of that?
MILLER: Well, that's more common than uncommon, that these shooters are not people who the law has come across in violent crimes before. They are
people who are in crisis. And rather than continuing to internalize that, decide to externalize it at the cost of the lives of often people. And I
think we'll find that again today, who not only have nothing to do with their problems in terms of being responsible for them, but are total
strangers, in this case, little children.
SOARES: Yes, just absolutely horrific. John Miller, appreciate it. Thank you very much indeed. I want to go now to the White House where U.S.
President Donald Trump has ordered all American flags to be flown at half- staff, of course, in honor of the victims. And you can see the flag actually being lower there over the White House. And that was just moments
ago.
CNN's Kevin Liptak is there. And, Kevin, what are we hearing from the White House, this administration, over this horrific -- truly horrific attack?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And we heard from President Trump earlier today saying that he was monitoring the situation
and he said, please join me in praying for everyone involved. And we do understand that President Trump also spoke to the governor of Minnesota,
Tim Walz. Theirs has been a somewhat contentious relationship. Remember, Walz as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in last year's election.
And President Trump actually refused to call Walz when state lawmakers were assassinated in Minnesota back in June. But today, he really wasted no time
in getting that Democratic governor on the phone and talking about what was happening there.
We also heard from the Vice President, J. D. Vance, who himself is a practicing Catholic and also the father of two small children saying that,
we're at the White House monitoring the situation in Minneapolis. Join all of us in praying for the victims. Now, as this was unfolding, we saw the
U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, she was here at the White House. She wrote that federal agents were on the scene of this shooting, and she says
that her prayers are with everyone involved in this tragedy.
So, you see sort of the combination of the officials talking about being briefed and receiving updates, but also extending their prayers for the
victims of the tragedy, which does stand in pretty stark contrast with what we heard from the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, earlier, who said,
don't just say this about thoughts and prayers right now, these kids were literally praying. And so, you already start to see kind of the contrast
between those two responses shaping up.
Obviously, President Trump has been very focused on crime for the last several weeks, but he's been focused more on street crime. Obviously, this
incident today just goes to show how a very different type of crime, the scourge of mass shootings at schools, but also, virtually in every other
public place in the country continues to be a problem that his presidency will have to confront, just like the past presidents before him.
[14:40:00]
The president schedule is fairly clear for the day. He had lunch with the vice president. He was supposed to be meeting about Gaza, but we don't
expect to hear from him on this subject on camera at any point today.
SOARES: And for our viewers around the world, and you touch briefly on this here, this the 44th school shooting this year. And I think the words
from the Minneapolis mayor that you reiterated, you know, don't say this about thoughts and prayers right now, they were literally praying. That
will no doubt, Kevin, resonate with many Americans who unfortunately have seen the scene way too many times.
LIPTAK: Right. And it's not just at schools. These shootings now occur virtually everywhere, at malls, at movie theaters, at airports, you know,
every public place in the United States has now been the scene of a horrific tragedy like this. Obviously, the question turns to gun control
and trying to restrict the types of weapons that these troubled individuals have access to. This not a conversation that's going to go anywhere with
this White House. This Congress is controlled by Republicans. Even the last president, Joe Biden, have found it frustratingly difficult to get any
action committed on guns. And the president before him, and the president before him, when you think all the way back to Barack Obama, trying to get
some sort of gun control passed after the Sandy Hook shooting at that elementary school in Connecticut.
This has been a frustration for lawmakers, for everyday Americans, for presidents, and there is virtually no political will at this point to do
anything about it.
SOARES: Yes. Frustration and heartbreak for so many families. Kevin Liptak, thank you very much indeed.
And still to come, the U.S. has hit Indian exports with a 50 percent tariff. How will it affect U.S. consumers? We'll have that for you, just
ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Moscow is stepping up its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, despite renewed threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to
actually stop the fighting. Overnight, russian drones attacked gas as well as oil facilities in six regions, you can see there, across Central as well
as Eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the onslaught left a hundred thousand people without power.
[14:45:00]
Meanwhile, the U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff, tells Fox News, he's hopeful Kyiv and Moscow will have a peace still hammered out by the end of
the year. President Zelenskyy said he's sending a delegation to meet with U.S. officials on Friday.
President Trump meanwhile is once again threatening sanctions against Russia unless progress is made towards a peace deal. But he didn't set a
deadline or offer any specifics. Our Fred Pleitgen has the very latest for you from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russian State TV pushing Moscow's view that when it comes to finding ways
to end the fighting in Ukraine, America's European allies are against the U.S. and Russia.
Trump clearly said all that is happening is a European conflict, this analyst says, but they don't want it to be their conflict. They want it to
be an American conflict.
The Kremlin remaining tough, not offering a timeline for a possible face- to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and also giving a big niet to the idea of
European NATO states troops keeping the peace in Ukraine.
From the very start, it was the advancement of NATO military infrastructure and the infiltration of this military infrastructure into Ukraine that we
can say were among the root causes of the conflict situation that arose, the Kremlin spokesman says. Therefore, we have a negative attitude towards
these discussions.
While President Trump threatened Russia with tough sanctions and tariffs if there's no fast progress towards peace talks --
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It will not be a World War, but it'll be an economic war.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Kremlin relaxed. Vladimir Putin saying this weekend he believes us Russia relations could be fully back on track soon.
I am certain that the leadership qualities of the current president, President Trump, are a good guarantee that relations will be restored,
Putin said, and I hope that the pace of our joint work on these grounds will continue.
But Russia is taking a beating as well. The Ukrainian drone hitting this building in Russia, southwest overnight, causing a major fire. And
authorities putting up anti-drone nets around schools and nurseries in the Belgorod region, close to the border with Ukraine.
Still, the Russians say they're ready for a protracted conflict if President Trump's peace initiative fails. Moscow's defense ministry
releasing this video of recruits signing up to participate in what the Kremlin calls its special military operation.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And our thanks to Fred for that report. Well, the U.S. president has followed through on his threat to impose a 50 percent tariff on imports
from India. Donald Trump says doubling the recently agreed to 25 percent rate is to punish India for buying Russian oil. Indian officials point out
not every country buying oil from Moscow is being treated the same. China, for example, is currently 30 percent. The decision is raising concerns the
rate could push India to rebuild relations with China.
Meantime, Indian exporters are bulking at the increased tariff rate and warn that buyers are putting orders on hold as well as demanding discounts.
Have listened to one person told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BHARAT WADERS, FURNITURE EXPORTER: Whereas if this impact generally, ultimately, it'll go to whom? To the citizen of U.S. And if they try to
promote their own industry of especially handicrafts, they can't do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more on this. CNN's Business and Economics Reporter Anna Cooban joins me now. Anna, I mean, we knew this was coming, right? We --
President Trump had been mourning about this for some time. But just speak to the impact -- the potential impact these secondary tariffs could have.
Because these are some major trading partners here.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes, huge trading partners. Around $87 billion worth of goods were sent from India to the
United States last year. Now, the impact on the U.S. consumer is yet to be seen. But, you know, the logic of tariffs, how they work is that they tend
to raise the price for the end consumer. So, we can imagine that U.S. consumers will be paying more for Indian products on their shelves.
But the Indian economy is going to take a knock, but it is more insulated than others like Mexico or Canada from the United -- from changes in
consumer demand in the United States. We've got a prediction from Capital Economics, which is a research firm, they imagine like a 0.8 percentage
point knock to GDP growth this year on India -- for India. That's not welcome news for Indian economists, but it's not fatal.
SOARES: I think we're going round in circles in many ways with President Trump because this does not have the desired effect that he has put out to
the American people in terms of what these tariffs were brought into place for. So, how is he selling this to American consumer?
[14:50:00]
Because we -- you know, as we heard from this gentleman in India, you know, they can't make what we are making. I'm sure they can't buy any cheaper
either. So, what is the desire effect? What is the impact here for U.S. consumer?
COOBAN: What Trump wants to do -- well, one of the many things he wants to do is bring manufacturing back to the United States. So, that's one of his
stated goals. There's also a bit of a disconnect between him wanting to do that, but also wanting to collect tariff revenue. Because in the long run,
if you've brought manufacturing back, you're therefore importing less and therefore, getting less tariff money.
But also, it's not so simple. You can't just move supply chains that have been built over decades from countries like China back to United States.
And, you know, smartphone producers, Apple, for example, has been at pains to try and find a carve out for tariffs on its smartphones, which it has
been -- has succeeded in doing so because it can't just simply upticks from India where a lot of its manufacturing are moving to United States.
SOARES: Is there anything that India can do at this point? I mean, secondary tariff, past negotiations to try and ease that, because you were
saying it's not as well insulated as the lives of Mexico or others, but in terms of the impact on the Indian economy, that would be a concern when
we're looking at some of these tariffs.
COOBAN: It will have an impact on the Indian economy, but India, as I said, it's a burgeoning economy. It's got many customers around the world.
It seems to be acting in a sort of manner of defiance with this summit that will happen in October.
There has been some indication of a slight drop off in demand over the past couple weeks in oil cargoes, but not to a significant extent. We're still
going to have to wait and see.
SOARES: We're just looking at the breakdown of global exports, engineering goods, electronic goods seems to be the -- by far the biggest exporters
there for India, and I know you'll stay across this one of many tariffs that we -- you have been monitoring appreciate it. Thank you very much
indeed.
COOBAN: Thank you.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, truly incredible pictures of our natural world. We'll look at images from Wildlife Photographer of the Year
competition. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Everything's been coming up roses so far for Naomi Osaka at the US. Open.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A gift from (INAUDIBLE) in the final point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Naomi Osaka, two-time champion --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: The two-time champion sparkled in her first-round appearance, and it wasn't only her tennis that dazzled, her sparkly red outfit and crystal
red roses wowed the crowd in New York. Afterwards, Osaka showed off a special mascot for the tournament.
[14:55:00]
Yes, that's right. You are seeing that correctly. That's Labubu covered in crystals called Billy Jean Bling. Great name. Named, of course, in honor of
the legend, that is Billy Jean King.
And finally, tonight our first look at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year with a record breaking 60,000 entries. I want to show you some of the
highly commended images. An Italian photographer captured this incredible standoff between a lion and a cobra in Tanzania, with a big cat staring
down the poisonous intruder. Now, let me take you to India where a potter wasp was spotted mid-flight carrying a caterpillar to feed its young.
That's fantastic. And in colder temperatures, these young emperor penguins, my favorite, are marching along the icy edge. Now, diving into the Pacific
Ocean, quickly, this photographer found himself surrounded by stinging jellyfish.
And in the 10 years and under category, look at this. Jamie's stunned with a stagnating call stretching upwards to avoid the long grass, and you can
see them all at the National History Museum in London later this year.
That does it for us. Max Foster has much more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
