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One World with Zain Asher
Kyiv Residents Share Horror after Russia's Deadly Strike on Capital; Two Children Killed 17 Others People Wounded in Attack; Israel Ramps Up Attacks on Gaza City as IDF Calls the Evacuation of City "Inevitable"; Update on Minnesota Catholic School Shooting Victims; EMS Chief: One Child "Took a Shotgun Blast to the Back" While Covering His Friend During Shooting. Aired 11-12a ET
Aired August 28, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Russia launches its second biggest aerial attack since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "One World" starts right
now. Rescuers are racing to reach dozens of victims in Ukraine after Kyiv was struck with a massive Ukrainian missile and drone attack.
Plus, the search for a motive after two children were killed in a school shooting in Minnesota, we'll have the latest from the scene for you. And 20
years later, how Hurricane Katrina is still shaping the lives and legacies of those who lived through it. Coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain
Asher. This is "One World".
Rescue workers in Kyiv are furiously digging through the rubble, searching for signs of life following Russia's second largest aerial assault on the
capital since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. Authorities say at least 18 people were killed, including four children,
and victims may still be trapped beneath the debris.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it's clear Moscow is choosing ballistics instead of the negotiation table, while Kyiv's Mayor reiterated a warning
that he's been making for years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV MAYOR: It's a real face of Russian invasion. It's war, and Putin responsible for everything what happens in Ukraine. With his
crazy idea to occupy Ukraine. It's not -- not Donetsk and Luhansk. They target the main goal, it's called Ukraine, and the main goal is capital. We
see that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Ukrainian Delegation, meantime, is set to meet U.S. officials in New York on Friday. It comes two weeks after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
held talks in Alaska. And as the American President continues to threaten his Russian counterpart with economic sanctions.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us live now from London. But when you think about this-hours long barrage of missiles and drone attacks and the fact
that it killed 18 people, second largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the war began, it is clear that Vladimir Putin simply does not fear
consequences Salma?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, if you're looking for President Putin's response to peace efforts, while Ukraine says today, they received
their answer in the form of nearly 600 drones and 30 missiles fired overnight at the capital Kyiv.
Like you mentioned, some families endured nine-hour long air raid sirens sheltering in subway stations up until the early hours of the morning, and
those victims, of course, 18 killed so far, among them four children. The youngest victim is just two years old, and this attack hit residential
buildings.
It hit homes, it hit a kindergarten. It even hit a building belonging to the European Union Mission in Kyiv and a building belonging to the British
Council, and both of those parties have summoned top Russian diplomats to discuss the strikes. And the timing of this is critical. It is important.
As you have hundreds of rescue workers digging through the rubble trying to find the remains of loved ones after this attack. You have diplomats all
over the world, scurrying and hurrying to try to push that President Trump peace effort forward you have in the European Union, in the in Europe
rather.
This week, European Union Diplomats are meeting to discuss those security guarantees, a potential backstop or an insurance measure for the future of
Ukraine. But that's something that Russia has batted away, said it would not acknowledge those security guarantees. There's also a push to have a
bilateral meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Putin.
We understand that President Zelenskyy is sending some of his top officials to meet with administration officials in the U.S. in New York tomorrow, but
so far, all of these peace efforts have shown no sign of progress. I want you to hear directly from people on the ground in Ukraine who have suffered
these attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I came out, everything was covered in dust and smoke. I looked up, the roof was gone, and the floors from the fourth to
the first were completely destroyed. As of now, my wife hasn't been found. Her phone doesn't respond. She's not listed anywhere.
I don't know we're still searching. I really want a ceasefire already and for this war to end. Families are grieving, people missing, people killed,
loved ones, relatives, it would be better. to die yourself and to see your loved ones gone.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God forbid anyone ever has to go through this. You know, my world view has changed. You realize that you survived, that you're
alive and that alone is already something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: You hear again, those calls from those families on the ground still searching for their loved ones for a ceasefire, but there are no
signs that the bombs will fall silent. In the meanwhile, as these peace efforts, as these diplomatic efforts, stall, we are seeing a tried-and-true
strategy here from Russia intensify its offensive on the ground, carry out larger and greater attacks on civilian populations and push on those front
lines while diplomacy continues to fail.
ASHER: Salma Abdelaziz live for us there. Thank you so much. Right. Let's bring in Tymofiy Mylovanov. He's the President of the Kyiv School of
Economics, and he's the Former Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade. Joins us live now from Kyiv.
Tymofiy, thank you so much for being with us. As our Salma Abdelaziz reporting there on what's happening in Kyiv. We see the war grind on.
There's absolutely no sign, despite attempts at diplomacy, there's no sign the bombs are going to be falling silent now.
If anything, Vladimir Putin is only intensifying his war efforts. On the ground in Kyiv, especially when you consider what's happened overnight
there, we've got Ukrainian officials and American officials set to meet Friday in New York. What should come of those meetings? What do you hope
will be the end result of them?
TYMOFIY MYLOVANOV, PRESIDENT, KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: I think it's very clear that President Putin is not interested in peace, because he is not
agreeing to meet. Instead, he is sending hundreds. Soon, it will be thousands of drones and missiles over Ukraine, civilian cities.
Today, two high precision missiles hit two residential buildings. So that's not a mistake. That's a very precise weapon. It hits within 20 or 15 yards,
and it hit directly in the -- in the residential areas. So, I think what Ukrainian officials are trying to achieve in the United States is to A,
promote and encourage more diplomacy, more seriousness, more pressure on Russia and B, is to secure financial and defense support that Ukrainian can
continue to defend itself.
ASHER: More pressure on Russia. And what does that look like? You've got the fact that President Trump has threatened addition economic sanctions,
but it's clear that Vladimir Putin doesn't fear the economic consequences of this war. So, what should increase pressure actually look like?
MYLOVANOV: So, I think President Putin fears potential consequences of his actions, but he doesn't necessarily believe that the United States will
implement those sanctions. So, what Russia tends to do is, in a critical moment to demonstrate some kind of gesture, you know, release some
prisoners, give a symbolic PR victory to the United States, meet with the with the President of the United States.
And sort of generate some goodwill, and then continue as usual. What Russia needs to is it needs to be disciplined with sanctions and with support to
Ukraine that it realizes that the U.S. is firm. I know that's not the situation right now, but the U.S. should demonstrate its firm in its desire
to achieve peace and its desire to support Ukraine. Once that's in place, Russia will fumble.
ASHER: One of the major issues here, and one of the biggest sticking points is this idea of territorial gains by Russia. I mean, it said time and time
again that one of the things that it wants in exchange for peace talks or any kind of ceasefire is the Donbas region. That is what it's looking at.
There are a whole host of economic and political reasons why it's looking to gain access to the Donbas region, but obviously that is a non-starter
for Ukraine. So based on that, doesn't that leave us in a stalemate situation where both sides are sticking to their guns, essentially, and
there's not going to be any kind of way to move forward here.
MYLOVANOV: The only outcome is actually, in my view, in my subjective view, is to freeze the outcome per de facto contact line, because no party will
be willing to give up land. It is impossible for two reasons. One is purely defense. Reason, because the lines right now, yes, they are moving, but
they are not moving too much, and it's because both sides have fortified their defenses and their positions.
And the B, it's a political suicide. If President Putin gives up some land, basically, that's not going to be well received domestically. And the same
goes for President Zelenskyy. President Zelenskyy gives up some land, especially which has been defended with blood and lives for so many years.
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There will be questions, why did we not do it earlier? Or why did we sacrifice that many people? So, politically it is impossible. So, I think
the only outcome is to freeze where it is right now.
ASHER: And just in terms of, to your point, I mean, obviously you touch on freezing, where things are right now. But to your point of this idea of
territorial gains by Russia or Russia gaining access to the Donbas region, you point out why it would be essentially political suicide for Zelenskyy
to give up that.
Especially when you think about the number of people, the number of people in the course of three years who have lost their lives, and a lot of people
would essentially believe that that was this war for nothing, if we were just going to sacrifice our land anyway. From your perspective, though, at
some point, at some point, would ordinary Ukrainians ever be willing to consider giving up territory to Russia to end this war, the senseless war.
MYLOVANOV: Well, so Ukrainians are not fighting or not defending percept territory. They are defending people who live on this territory. It is true
that in some areas of Donbas that Russia is fighting for very little, very few civilians are left. The real concern and so actually what Putin really
wants is that remain in Donbas part.
And the real, if we're being extremely Machiavellian about this, the real - - the real concern for Ukrainians is that this is the most fortified area of Ukraine that Russia has not been able to take for 14 years. And if we
give it up, Russia will have a wide-open field which is very difficult, close to impossible, to defend, onto Dnipro, the next region, and we do not
trust that Russia will not take that opportunity.
ASHER: All right. Tymofiy Mylovanov thank you so much for your perspective. We appreciate it. All right, we are learning new details about Wednesday's
deadly shooting in Minnesota. Police are investigating bizarre, hate filled videos, apparently posted by the suspect who shot through windows towards
children sitting in the pews at the Anunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
Two children just 8 and 10-years-old, were killed in this attack. 17 other people were injured, 14 of them children as well. Police are investigating
whether to classify this as a hate crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: There's absolutely no question that this shooter intended to terrorize those children, those parishioners, the
members of the school staff that were in that building, as well as their parents and the larger community here.
What we have found or really just hundreds of pieces of evidence that we continue to go through with our investigators, with the help of the FBI and
all of our law enforcement partners, what we have found so far, unfortunately, is what has been all too common in this country is sort of a
classic pathway to violence for an active shooter or a mass shooter?
This is an individual that harbored a whole lot of hate towards many people and many groups of people, and clearly intended to commit an act of
violence with as much carnage and trauma as possible for the purpose of their own personal notoriety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: There will be more prayer services in the coming hours, and also more calls for action to stop gun violence in America more broadly.
Minnesota lawmakers and gun control advocates will have a news conference in just a few hours by CNN's count, this is the 44th, 44th school shooting
this year so far in the United States.
CNN Law Enforcement Correspondent Whitney Wild is on the scene in Minneapolis today. So, Whitney, what are police piecing together in terms
of a motive here? I mean, obviously they've combed through several postings and writings that are hate filled and sometimes contradictory in nature.
But what -- how close are we to figuring out what, what the motive is here?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: It is not clear yet. Zain, I mean, I've covered a lot of cases like this where, you know, the
ramblings and the musings just never point to a specific, defined motive other than they just want to feel like they're doing something really big,
really visible, really in their twisted mind important.
And I think that's what Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara was getting at, is sometimes it's not as simple as saying, well, this person hated
Catholics or this person hated religion at large. It's just sometimes it's more about just how committing this act makes them feel about themselves,
which is, makes it difficult for law enforcement to define a specific motive beyond that.
As you heard Minneapolis Police Chief O'Hara say they are combing through mountains of evidence. They executed four search warrants by yesterday
afternoon, three were residents connected to the shooter. At this point, law enforcement hasn't found any more weapons, but they have found, as the
chief described, just mountains of evidence, of physical evidence. Law enforcement is going to pour through the devices. They're going to pour
through any handwritten notes, any journals.
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What they're going to try to do here Zain is do what's called a pattern of life. So how did this person get from -- you know where they were born to
this horrific moment? And what our investigative team is finding is that there is a connection to this school.
This shooter was a student at this school, according to a yearbook that our investigative team reviewed. The student graduated in 2017. The student's
mother was also an employee at this school at some point, sometime within the last 10 years Zain. So, there are connections here, deep connections
here.
As they move forward, the community is trying to figure out what to do. I mean, some -- for some people, the answer is very clear. The answer is, ask
for change, demand for change. Scream for change. And certainly, that is what we heard from Minneapolis and Mayor Jacob Frey, let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR: What we know is that far too often, people are robbed of that childhood because of this senseless gun violence. Don't
let anybody tell you that it's not about guns, of course it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILD: Zain, it is not clear when school is going to resume here, as you've mentioned, this was the first week back from school. This was the first all
school mass. There are some people who are saying that their children are begging them to never go back. This is just too traumatic.
And I think the parents here Zain, are trying to figure out how to explain to their children? How to prove to their children that they can be safe
after something like this happens when any feeling of safety for a child has been shattered Zain.
ASHER: Yeah, and of course, we all would completely understand why those kids would be apprehensive and nervous and scared to go back to that school
after what happened. Can't even imagine how traumatic that moment must have been yesterday morning. Whitney Wild live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right, the Minnesota shooting has reignited calls for gun control in the United States, according to police, the shooter legally acquired
multiple weapons and was carrying a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol during the attack. Lawmakers in Minnesota, which is a predominantly Democratic
state, say they are sick of hearing about thoughts and prayers. They want thoughts and action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREY: Each and every one of us must commit to making this all means 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)
ASHER: Every time there is a mass shooting here in the United States, there are repeated calls for changes to American laws to curb gun violence.
Lawmakers have so far done little to make those changes. Let's bring in CNN Arlette Saenz. So, we just heard the Mayor of Minneapolis there, Jacob
Frey.
He has really expressed himself so eloquently in terms of voicing some of the concerns and the sadness of this community as they go through this
tragic event. But he one of the things he said was that, you know, we're tired of thoughts and prayers because these kids were literally praying.
They were literally praying in the pews when they were gunned down. The last time Congress actually passed gun safety legislation was back in 2022
that was in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School shooting, another horrific massacre. What additional changes at this point do Democrats
actually want? Because back then, they actually raised the age at which people could purchase guns from 18 to 21 so what additional changes are
they looking for here?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, Democrats are renewing these calls for action on gun control, but they're also meeting that political
reality that the likelihood that this Republican led Congress would take up such legislation is basically slim to none.
You have heard some very passionate pleas from Minnesota Democrats like the Minneapolis Mayor saying that this is evidence that people need to act to
prevent these types of massacres from occurring again, especially putting these vulnerable children at risk.
Now, Senator Amy Klobuchar has said that there could be ways for them to strengthen background checks or potentially address assault weapons bans.
Those are some key things that Democrats have tried to push over the years, but they have repeatedly met Republican resistance on Capitol Hill. But
here's how Senator Klobuchar made her argument about why now is the time to act.
(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)
SAENZ: Now, as you mentioned, Congress last passed a gun safety measure back in 2022 after that horrific shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde,
Texas.
[11:20:00]
That was actually the first meaningful action taken on guns in decades. And it not only enhanced background checks for gun buyers ages 18 to 21 but it
also surged hundreds of millions of dollars into mental health and school safety programs, as well as providing $750 million for states to run crisis
intervention programs.
Now it's worth noting that last night, First Lady Melania Trump in a very rare statement posted on X saying that she believed that after the
shooting, people need to look at behavioral health assessments and also early intervention options going forward. So that's something that could be
debated in the days to come.
We're also hearing some debate over some comments that human health -- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., made a bit
earlier today, when he suggested that his department would begin studies into whether certain medications that are used to treat depression or other
mental health situations, whether that might be contributing to violence.
One of the state's Senators, Minnesota Senator, Tina Smith, took strong issue with that. Posting on X she dared him to go to Annunciation School
and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don't kill kids. Antidepressants do. She added, just shut up. Stop peddling BS.
That highlights some of the frustration among some Democratic lawmakers, specifically about those comments made by Secretary Kennedy, but also writ
large, as they believe that the guns are the problem here, and that Congress and their Republican colleagues need to go to board -- get on
board, to do something, to take action.
ASHER: All right, Arlette Saenz live for us there in Washington. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, smoke rises over Gaza City as Israel
intensifies its assault on the Enclave ahead of a planned takeover, we'll have a live report from Jerusalem for you. And just weeks -- after just
weeks on the job, the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has been fired by the Trump Administration, while other top officials are
leaving too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Israel is ramping up its attacks on the outskirts of Gaza City as an IDF spokesperson calls the evacuation of the largest city in the
besieged enclave inevitable. Residents say artillery fire targeted several neighborhoods in the north today. Video from the aftermath of the strike
shows smoke pouring out of a building.
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This is Gaza City right now. Take a look, ruined beyond recognition. Any further assault would force a displacement of up to 1 million Palestinians.
Earlier this week, Israeli army tanks and soldiers were seen near the Gaza border. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us live now from Jerusalem.
So, Jeremy, as you explaining to me a few moments ago, they are Israeli army. The IDF is dropping bombs on Gaza City. They are in the outskirts of
the city. They haven't actually gone into the city just yet. Just walk us through what the evacuation plans are for the 1 million people who are
trapped there.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, this is a clearly a work in progress, and something that is going to take quite some time. We
have heard the Israeli military warning residents of Gaza City that their evacuation from that city will be inevitable.
Beginning to drop leaflets telling people that the Israeli military is expanding operations and urging them to evacuate south of Wadi Gaza, the
River in Gaza that separates the northern part of the strip from the rest of Gaza. But we have yet to actually see kind of official evacuation orders
being issued in these areas.
Nor have we yet to see Israeli troops actually moving into Gaza City itself, the closest location that Israeli troops seem to be operating is in
the City of Jabalia, just North of Gaza City. We have, however, seen Israeli military artillery shelling hitting the northern neighborhoods of
Gaza City.
And that military activity is already prompting some people to flee, if not outside of Gaza City, then at least deeper into the center of Gaza City,
away from the northern neighborhoods, which seem to be getting primed right now for some kind of an Israeli military ground assault.
As all of this is happening, these artillery shellings and attacks that are taking place, not just in Northern Gaza, but still in the southern part of
the strip as well, have led to the deaths of 71 people over the course of the last day, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
And in addition to the attacks, of course, we are also continuing to see people who are dying of starvation in Gaza with four new deaths, according
to the Palestinian health ministry, in the last 24 hours due to starvation, that humanitarian situation still disastrous in Gaza.
About 300 trucks of aid per day are being distributed in Gaza, according to the Israeli government, that is still short of the 500 or so per day that
the United Nations and every other health authority says will be needed in order to actually alleviate what is now a famine in Gaza City, according to
the world's leading experts on food security, Zain.
ASHER: Jeremy Diamond, live for us. Thank you. All right, still to come here, just weeks after a deadly gun attack on the CDC, new upheaval as the
Trump Administration fires the U.S. Drug Agency's Director. Plus, 20 years after Hurricane Katrina tore through the U.S. Gulf Coast and forever
changed the City of New Orleans. Take a look back at the devastation and the resilience that city up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ASHER: I want to take you to Minneapolis, Minnesota now, where doctors are giving an updated press conference on those who were wounded in Wednesday's
shooting. Let's listen.
THOMAS KLEMOND, CEO, HENNEPIN HEALTHCARE: Well, unspeakable event that affected our community, affected our workforce, obviously affected those
directly involved. So, our hearts go out to the folks that are directly affected at Hennepin, this is what we do. We're a trauma center.
We take care of the worst of the worst for injuries. So, this is part of our daily work, but we're also human. So, my teams are providing great
care, and we'll give an update on events and conditions, but know that we feel pain, along with our community in this circumstance.
Specifics about folks that we're caring for. We currently have nine patients that were involved in the shooting yesterday. Six of those
patients are in satisfactory condition. Five of those patients are children. We have two patients in serious condition, one adult and one
child, and we have one child in critical condition presently.
That's about all the detail we'll be able to give the respect for patient and family privacy. So, I'm going to hand off to Marty Schear from our EMS
Services to help walk you guys through the events and perspective.
MARTY SCHEAR, EMS CHIEF, HENNEPIN EMS: Good morning. My name is Marty Schear. M-A-R-T-Y S-C-H-E-A-R. I'm the EMS Chief of EMS. I'll try to maybe
answer a little statement, answer some questions put me on --. So, from the EMS perspective, things went as well as they could be expected.
You know, we trained for this, and things went well on that part. But no matter how much you train for it, it's still really difficult on the team.
I think there's a lot of maybe unrecognized heroes in this event, along with the children that were protecting other children, which is really
amazing to hear about.
I might be saying too much, but we had one kid that covered up another kid and took a shotgun blast his back and things like that, and they were
helping each other out. So, the teachers, the teachers were amazing. The teachers were getting shot at. They were protecting the kids. They took all
the kids outside the area of safety witness all this happened.
The teachers were amazing. The kids were really upset, obviously, but they really did a great job of keeping the kids together, keeping them calm, and
then taking them area safety and really working with the parents. So, the teachers were amazing. They're great.
Minneapolis Police was amazing. They entered the building. Their objective is a neutralizing shooter in there, and they did it without hesitation,
immediately to the building, which is amazing. That doesn't happen everywhere. So, Minneapolis Police deserve a lot of credit for this.
They also gave us a really good report of we have potentially 20 patients in there, and that helps us in many, many ways. We notify the hospitals
what we have coming, and we try to separate some of our patients. So, we take many of the patients that are critical to happen, the level one trauma
center for pediatrics.
Then we take some the children's hospital there, let's critical, and then we took some to north as well. So, our whole team, our surgeons, the ED
everybody, did a fabulous, fabulous job. But yes, it's really still tough on that team. Some people have asked, how do you triage the patients on the
scene? So, it's a really quick with situations like this. It's pretty quick if there are conscious or not, if they have gunshot wounds of the upper
body of the head, they're obviously red patients.
[11:35:00]
Other people are going to be yellow patients. We try to load up one red patient, maybe two or three yellow patients in ambulance taking the
hospital. That all worked really, really well. Great response from our police, fire departments, other EMS services. And like I said, we trained
for this. Most of us all have kids, though, so it's still really, really hard for our team.
But they're doing pretty well. We gave most of the people today off today that were there yesterday, but they'll come back to work and do the same
thing over again. Should I answer questions or save up early here? Questions later. Thank you.
AARON ROBINSON, ASSISTANT MEDICAL DIRECTOR, HENNEPIN EMS: Good morning, everybody. My name is Dr. Aaron Robinson, A-A-R-O-N R-O-B-I-N-S-O-N. I'm
the Assistant Medical Director at Hennepin EMS, and I'm also an Emergency Physician at Hennepin Healthcare.
Yesterday was an incredibly tragic day. The medical directors were paged out a couple minutes after this had happened, and part of our job is to
relay information and be a liaison between the hospital systems and the providers on scene. The earlier you activate a mass casualty incident, the
better we can mobilize resources faster and we can get the folks and the equipment there that are needed to help best care for our most critical
trauma patients.
When I was in route, I contacted EMS command, and they had information from police that were going to be upwards of 20 victims or more. With that
information and the resources that I knew that healthcare had provided, I activated the MCI within a couple of minutes after knowing that, just to
get resources mobilized and to get the folks there that needed to be in the Up Staff Emergency Department for patients to be received.
In trauma, when you're talking about caring for a trauma patient in the pre hospital setting out in the field, minutes and second's matter. And our job
in the pre-hospital setting is to perform life-saving interventions like stopping the bleeding or helping somebody breathe, but every minute that a
trauma patient spends on scene increases their chance of not having a good outcome and possibly dying.
So, I have a huge credit to Minneapolis Police Department and the other first responders that entered the scene and secured it quickly. The scene
was safe in a few minutes after the initial incident, and I credit our brave first responders for doing that that allowed us to get the patients
in and to get them to definitive care very, very quickly, that those swift actions undoubtedly saved the lives of many of those children.
THOMAS WYATT, CHAIR, HENNEPIN HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY MEDICINE: Hi everybody. My name is Dr. Thomas Wyatt, W-Y-A-T-T. I'm Chair of Emergency Medicine at
Hennepin Healthcare. You know, the emergency department is the front door to our entire safety net organization.
And while we deal with emergencies every day. It takes a lot of planning, preparedness exercises, drills throughout the year to deal with an event
such as what we experienced yesterday. So, it was really very, very helpful to us, as Dr. Robinson mentioned, to get that pre notification of the types
of the numbers and the types of injuries that we're going to experience that allowed us to mobilize the appropriate resources.
Here at Hennepin, you know, as a level one trauma center, both for adults and pediatric patients, were able to mobilize a lot of resources very
quickly. Luckily, this happened during the daytime and not the evening, so it was a lot easier for us to quickly immobilize some of those resources,
the amounts of resources and the amount of organization it takes to assemble those teams so that we can have a team ready for a patient when
they come into our emergency department, when they arrive at the EMS, is very impressive.
And as I stated yesterday, I'm really proud to be part of this organization and all the different components of the teams that we had yesterday. I
listed some yesterday, and I know I missed some people, so I won't try to list them all, but there's a number of different specialists that come down
to help us for these types of events.
After the MCI response was over as emergency providers, we unfortunately don't get to stop what we do. We have to continue working. We have to
continue to see the patients that are continuing to arrive to the emergency department. We have to continue to work the shifts that we are already
there for, and that can take a toll as well. Once you know you try to process what you experienced in a mass casualty event such as this.
So again, we received an outpouring of support from the local communities from across the nation. I've received messages and support from chairs of
other emergency departments across the country. It's just -- it's been very meaningful to us and our team. So, thank you for that. I want to introduce
Dr. John Gayken, who's one of our Head Trauma Surgeons.
[11:40:00]
JOHN GAYKEN, HENNEPIN HEALTHCARE: Hello everybody, thanks for coming today. My name is John Gayken. I'm the trauma surgeon. J-O-H-N G as in George A-Y-
K-E-N. So, you know, a lot has been said and a lot has happened over the last 24 hours, and the impact of yesterday's events will be felt throughout
this community, through the country.
And most notably through our hospital organization and the people that I work with. But I think it goes, most importantly, to be stated that this is
really about the families and the people that are impacted at the shooting yesterday, and that we are just here to support them.
I think the main message that I can portray is that, you know, we like to stand here as a hospital, sort of quietly waiting and being ready for
whatever the hospital or the community needs. Unfortunately, yesterday is something that I didn't think I would ever have to be part of, so I don't
really have good words to describe it.
But everybody in this hospital and this organization was there and down to the EMS or the housekeepers, the nurses that weren't even part of the --
I'll tell a quick story because it emphasizes it. One of the victims came in and in the emergency department. This was a nurse manager from another
unit didn't have anything to do with what we would normally respond to.
And one of the children were very scared and alone because everybody was running about doing their jobs. And she went into the CT scanner with the
patient, putting herself basically in the harm's way of radiation, which normally we back evacuate the room. She put a little lead on and stayed
there and held her hand and held her hair while she went through the scanner, so she didn't have to go through alone.
Those are the types of things we witnessed yesterday. I don't know that we can describe what they went through and what the actual events were like.
Nor, I think we're supposed to be able to do that, but we can describe the things that we saw from our team members and from our hospital.
And it was -- it was as inspiring as preserving for me, as I can -- as I can put words together. Taking care of one child that's injured is
difficult. Eight of them is nearly impossible, but it happened yesterday, and so the teams that came together that worked after the patients went out
of the emergency rooms and they were triaged.
The pediatricians, the neurosurgeons, the therapists, the pharmacists, sure missing the medicine doctors, the other surgeons from other hospitals, our
team, the out pouring of support from friends and family, past residents, past residents, past medical students, people that just know what's going
on. So, I can't say enough other than thank you for the support our teams will need it.
SCHEAR: OK, and we're going to answer some questions, if anybody has some from anybody here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- I'm David. At one point you had 10 patients coming in with gunshot wounds, I think you said about four of them needed surgery. I
would almost assume 10 patients with gunshot wounds, all of them need surgery. What differentiated those that stayed in the ER for treatment and
those that were able to that required surgery?
SCHEAR: I'll jump right. One thing we're really blessed with here is our surgeons come down to the ED right away. And so, I'll let the surgeon talk
about her maybe.
GAYKEN: Yeah, I think the way the trauma process in our hospital in many rural countries, you know, the patients are met and greeted. EMS gives
updates to the emergency department physicians. They have an opportunity if they think that something is going to be required, they think might require
surgery, or something develops when surgery is needed.
But yeah, as they activate us, we come down, we work together. So, it's the emergency department and our surgery trauma Team interfacing with the
patient and the condition together. And then once the decision is made that they have a surgical sort of need, you know, we make efforts to get through
the operating room so that triage process happens real time and together.
But then once they go into surgery, you know, we a lot of times will take we take them out to surgery. We do whatever surgery they need. And some
gunshot wounds, to answer your question, don't always require surgery. Some can be managed what we call non operatively, and those sometimes have to do
with extremity injuries that don't involve blood vessels, that may or may not involve the bones, but sometimes it will heal, maybe, if it's not a
fracture that requires, you know, orthopedic involvement.
But there are areas of the body, of the chest and abdomen where you know need it, need exploration, or sometimes in the head, you know, of course.
So, there were some of those patients yesterday, and some required emergent operations in the underwent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you have given an update on the conditions?
[11:45:00]
GAYKEN: I mean --
KLEMOND: Yeah, I'm going to leave that to the --. Yeah, I mentioned at the outset that we have six patients that are in satisfactory condition, five
children. We have two in serious condition, one adult, one child, and one patient. Yet in critical condition was a child. Correct, I believe one
patient was discharged. We're discharging one maybe two this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six in satisfactory, three in serious?
KLEMOND: Two in serious and one in critical condition.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)
KLEMOND: Yes, I believe so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)
KLEMOND: I think it's more touch and go I'd rather share not more detail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) Really appreciate you sharing CBS News the story about a member of the healthcare team who was there just working
probably, because I think the entire nation is feeling a bit of that.
And as you said, some -- your attention is on the families. And I understand that a member of your team was both working as a health care
provider and a mother, can you tell us anything about the critical care pediatric nurse -- and her actions yesterday?
KLEMOND: Hey, we can't. I mean, our structure of how we protect patients and families doesn't allow us to comment specifically on circumstances. I'm
sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Understood. I just wanted to give you an opportunity to praise one of your own.
KLEMOND: I would, yeah -- I'm going to defer. I would say all the families are asking for prayers and support. So that's about as much as I'm willing
to share.
SCHEAR: We did have a number of people that have children at the school. One of our paramedics as a student there. I know several nurses have
students there. So, it was impactful for the board. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that initial response like? How many EMS personnel, how many ambulances?
SCHEAR: What sort of so the question is, how many people responded to the scene? So initially it came in as the active shooter. So, we activated plan
one, which normally gets us about six ambulances and supervisor and doctor, but when we heard the 20 patients' potential, then we go to plan three,
which gets us about 20 ambulances, all of our medical direction team, everyone.
And we have some mutual aid from other sources also back up our system. So, we had a really, really great response. Our team was actually at station 27
which is like three or four blocks away. And so, we were ready to go. We waited for the police to give us the OK to come in.
And we should just a minute or two, and then we were on scene right away. And we started transporting right away. And I think we transferred the
first patient within less than 10 minutes of the call, the time the call came in. And then I think we're done transporting people after 25 minutes
from the time the call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible)
SCHEAR: I think we ended up using a dozen or so ambulance and transported 17, I believe, is the number. To three different area hospitals. Other
questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us more about how the community, and specifically here at Hennepin healthcare, given the connection to the
school, how they're -- how they're doing?
SCHEAR: You know, I can't speak everyone deals with individually differently, but I know our team is really resilient and strong and -- but
we can train for this all you want, but it, ultimately, it's still really challenging little kids.
KLEMOND: And we would add, in terms of grief and handling trauma, it's day 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, where it starts to slow down and those deeper thoughts start
to come. So, we're supporting our teams. They're heroes over there, but they're human also,
SCHEAR: Yeah, and we have a -- we have a great mental health resource as well. We have our psychiatric people come and met with the team. We do hot
wash. We have them chat with all the individual providers. We have other mental health resources in there, but it's usually days or weeks later that
really kind of hits home to everybody, and so we'll see how it goes.
But with kids, it's just once again, a different element of the process that makes it more challenging, I think kids, and also when you get other
first responders that are injured, that also is challenging. But I think overall, our team's doing really well. We have a lot of -- lot of traumas
that happens, and a lot of gunshot wounds this one's just a little bit different. Other questions for anybody?
[11:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you address -- in terms of live saving measure that made the difference in terms of timing to get the patients to the
hospital?
KLEMOND: Sure, I'll let Dr. Robinson to address that.
ROBINSON: Dr Robinson and beyond the overwhelming majority of these shooting type scenarios, police are the ones that actually apply the
tourniquets. That is a major key in trauma care to stop the bleeding. When we're dealing with a trauma patient, the first step is to stop the
bleeding, because they're not they're not going to survive if they continue to bleed even for a few minutes.
So the first couple steps is applying tourniquets to extremities to stop the bleeding, and then applying pressure to other wounds that are maybe in
the torso or in the trunk, as well as applying seals over any holes that we might find in the chest from bullets or knives or anything, those are the
key things for initial life saving measures followed by helping people breathe if they're not breathing effectively, and then transporting them to
the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, specific to this, I know that you're not disclosing a lot of information privacy, but specific to this, can you talk
about some of the things that were done that really made a difference and get that time frame?
ROBINSON: Yeah, leaving specifics out of it. The really critical things that were done was bleeding was controlled quickly, and people's torso,
those wounds were bandaged and packed very quickly. That made a key difference, because we've got upwards of 20 patients that are potentially
bleeding to death, and that is that's a lot of blood that is needed very quickly if we need to give those folks blood of the hospital.
So, big credit to stopping the bleeding, and that'll happen within one or two minutes of police getting on scene, after they secured the scene, they
were the ones tending to the victims and applying those lifesaving interventions.
SCEAR: I'll jump in and add a little bit any time. Dr. Robinson talked about time. So, we're pretty blessed here. Our crews got there quick,
transferred the hospital quick to get the ED quick. The surgeons are there quick. Ultimately, they need surgery. They have to sew up the areas that
are bleeding, and so the quicker we can get them to surgery.
And our surgical team is really the key. They're talking about the golden hour. It's not an hour. You don't have an hour, you have minutes. So, a
team did great.
UNIDENTIIFIED FEMALE: When you have a victim who is a bigger body mass and they are hit with gunfire, that's one thing. Of course, it depends on where
they're hit. But when you have a child and it's a smaller body mass, can you talk about the scope of devastation when it's when it's a child?
GAYKEN: I mean, I think you know. So, the psychological aspect, I think I mentioned a little bit earlier how, you know, managing one child is
difficult. Managing a multitude of children at the same time takes an enormous number of resources. But I think you know, if you're talking
specifics about like ballistics and injury is that in my answer, am I getting a question like you're talking about the what the bullet does to
the specific body part,
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not necessarily just that, you know, you have a smaller body mass, and a bullet on a smaller body mass that the potential
for the devastation --?
GAYKEN: Yeah. And, you know, so, yeah, so children, when they're injured, have a unique ability to sort of maintain their circular -- their
circulation in their life, sort of like their blood pressure and their heart rate and stuff, keep themselves alive until they don't. So, adults
are a little bit more telling children are, are seemingly they sort of are kind of plugging along, and then all of a sudden, they're not talk a little
bit about the minutes and seconds and sometimes matter.
But in these circumstances, I mean, yeah, one bullet wound to a chest and a child, you know, if it's in a place where there's big blood vessels and
things that could end your life quickly, there's not as much room for error, and so you have to, you know, evaluate them quickly and manage them
efficiently, and fix basically, the holes that are made from the bullets and.
But as far as the, I mean, I don't know if I'm answering your question correctly, but it's the stakes are a bit higher. I mean, I think would be
the would be the answer, the short answer.
SCHEAR: Please go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Given the nine number of agencies, how remarkable is it that we are not hearing --?
GAYKEN: Yeah, I mean, I prayed about that on the way in yesterday, when I - - when we were working on it, about how this was going to work out, and what this was going to look. Because, you know, there's a lot of gunshot
wounds in places that were meant to kill people.
[11:55:00]
And you know of there is such a thing as a silver lining to this there was less casualties in possibly could have been so. About and what this was
going to look like. It could have been a lot of fatalities, and it doesn't take away from the pain that those that did not survive are going through.
But these -- this was meant to kill people.
WAYTT: Sad, I think that also it's really a testament to the system, the trauma system, that we built in this organization.
SCHEAR: I would also say that the training that the kids did, surprisingly, paid off. They all laid on the floor. They covered each other up. That was
key.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yesterday I asked police about how many kids or people were in the church when this happened. They're still trying to figure out a
rough estimate. But for you that were at the scene, any idea of like, how many people were there?
ASHER: You've just been listening to a live press conference with officials and doctors from Hennepin Healthcare, that is a general hospital in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. They said that they took in nine patients from the shooting that we saw yesterday. They talked about the fact that six of them
are in satisfactory condition.
Five of the patients out of the nine are children. You do have one adult and one child in serious condition, and then one child in particular who is
in critical condition. And that situation, they pointed out, is certainly touch and go.
They talked about the fact that EMS obviously chain trained for this, but obviously this was a very difficult situation, especially because you have
members of staff at this hospital who actually have children or had children at the school yesterday that enjoyed that school shooting.
I'm joined live now by Dr. Gail Saltz from New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Host of "How Can I Help" podcasts, Gail, I know that you were listening
to that press conference as well. One of the things that struck me the most out of everything that they said was that you ended up having a situation
where one child essentially protected another child.
You had one kid who covered another child, one child covered another child and ended up taking a bullet to the back. You know, when I think about the
fact that there have been, you know, many school shootings in United States where you have adults who cover children and end up taking bullets for
them.
That, in and of itself, is admirable enough. When you have a child doing that for another child. I mean, that requires a certain level of
fearlessness, of selflessness, of bravery and heroism that I can't even contemplate doing that as a child. I mean, this school went from preschool
to eighth grade, so the oldest that this child could have possibly been was what 14 years old at most.
So, I just want to get your reaction to that, and then we'll talk about some of the psychological effects of school shootings on children in
particular.
DR. GAIL SALTZ, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: Well, it is actually incredible, but not incredible in the sense that
children do often have bravery. Sometimes they're old enough children that they really understand what they're doing, and it is truly brave, and
children are amazingly resilient.
And you also have to remember that children across this country are being trained in their classrooms. They're having shooter drills and they're
repeating those drills, and they're scary for children. I want to add that this is a very difficult situation ongoing, but they are teaching them
something about how to behave, and children are retaining it. You know, this is, this is part of training.
ASHER: How do you instill a sense of safety for the children who attended the school? We had a guest on air on CNN earlier today, essentially saying
that, understandably, these kids are terrified to go back to school. I mean, why wouldn't? Why wouldn't you be terrified to go back to school
after enduring something like that?
Obviously, at some point they do have to return to school, as painful and as difficult as it is. As a parent, what do you say to your child after
they've endured something where the place that is supposed to be the safest place for them to go has proven not to be.
SALTZ: Well, I think you have to talk to them. You have to let them vent their feelings. You have to let -- you have to be understanding of as
opposed to sort of closing it down. I think it's tempting to avoid that thinking will make it worse. But actually, it's better for kids to be able
to talk about how they feel about it.
It's important to, frankly, reassure them the reality, which is this, as frequent as it seems to be happening in the news, when you look at the
number of schools and the distance of the nation, this remains an incredibly rare event. I think that's really important to help your child
to understand and then to help them to manage anxious feelings. Which they may have about this and about other things. So, what coping tools do they
have to manage their anxiety.
END
