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One World with Zain Asher
Manhunt Underway For Killer Of Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk; FBI Releases Photos Asking For Help Identifying A "Person Of Interest" In Connection With The Charlie Kirk Shooting; Lawmakers Express Sadness, Shock At Charlie Kirk Shooting; 300 Plus South Korean Nationals Head Home On Repatriation Flight; Kirk Speaking At Utah Valley University When Shooting Occurred; Nation Marks 24 Years Since September 11 Terror Attacks; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired September 11, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:34]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
President Trump calls Charlie Kirk a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Those
remarks from the president as the nation comes to grip with yet another tragic act of political violence.
Manhunt is underway for the killer of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk who galvanized young conservatives across the country.
Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday during an outdoor appearance at Utah Valley University. This is the moment it happened. And we warn you, the images are
disturbing.
CHARLIE KIRK, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: Counting or not counting gang violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great.
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go. Go, run, run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The shooter apparently fired once from a rooftop. At a briefing earlier, law enforcement officials said the shooter's weapon, a high-
powered bolt action rifle, was recovered in a wooded area nearby. They are trying to zero in now on his identity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEAU MASON, COMMISSIONER, UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: We do have good video footage of this individual. We are not going to release that at this
time. We are working through some technologies and some -- some ways to identify this individual.
If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media and we will push that publicly to help us identify them. But we are confident in our
abilities right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Kirk was 31 years old and leaves behind a wife and two young children.
Well, at a Pentagon ceremony a short while ago honoring the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, President Trump made this
announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people,
especially young people, will live on.
I'm pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The date of the ceremony
will be announced. And I can only guarantee you one thing, that we will have a very big crowd. Very, very big.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: President noting that Kirk made a significant and played a significant role in his reelection win in 2024.
Meantime, the FBI has released two new photos of what they are calling a person of interest asking the public's -- for the public's help. These are
the images posted to social media.
For more on this, let's bring in CNN's Evan Perez live from Washington, D.C.
It is interesting, Evan, because three hours ago, a little under three hours ago, we got that briefing from FBI officials saying that they had a
very precise footage of this suspect that they weren't releasing at the time. And then here we are now a few hours later and they are releasing it.
What if anything should we read into that? And what more are you learning about what investigators have found?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think one of the things that happens in these types of investigations is the concern
about what putting out an image will do, what -- what exactly comes from that.
And sometimes what investigators are trying to do behind the scenes is trying to figure out whether they can try to find this person or try to get
at least closer to finding that person before they start involving the public.
And one of the dangers of this is obviously that you get a flood of bad information and then you have to call through this at a very sensitive
time, because time is of the essence here and they're trying to -- they don't want to necessarily get a lot of -- a lot of tips and then find the
perhaps one good tip among all of them. And so that's really what -- what happens behind the scenes in these types of investigations.
I mean, the -- the image you see there is pretty clear, but there's a lot of detail that we can't tell. The detail of the shirt, for instance. The
FBI has already put it through all of the things that they have, including facial recognition systems, you know, things that would identify this
person based on any social media profiles that are out there publicly.
And, clearly, they have not led to the identity. And so that's the reason why they're asking the public to -- to come in and try to help. And so we
know that they have -- you know, the biggest piece of evidence right now that they have, Bianna, is the -- the firearm. The firearm was recovered.
The -- the -- the bolt action rifle was discovered right near that building where the shooter fled.
[12:05:04]
They believe he fled, dropped it. It was found with a -- with a towel. There was also a screwdriver found near it. The -- the screwdriver might be
an indication that the -- that the shooter took it apart, took apart the firearm, took apart the -- the stock in a way to conceal it to get to the
location and then spent time putting it together before firing off the shot that killed Charlie Kirk. And so that's part of what the investigators are
working on.
Last night, one of the things they were looking at is some markings that they believe the -- the shooter may have put on the rifle or on some of the
rounds. There were initials that they were looking at, trying to figure out whether that matched any other piece of evidence, including social media
profiles that they were examining.
So all of that work was being done in the last 20 -- 20 hours or so since the shooting occurred yesterday.
And so now, clearly, they're still struggling to try to refine who they're looking for, and that's why they're asking for the public to -- to send in
as many tips as possible, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Right. And as you noted, this happened about 20 hours ago now. Two persons of interest were detained, questioned and then released.
PEREZ: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: It was interesting in this hyper-partisan time where we live in now that the authorities made clear that they condemned some of doxxing and
threats that were sent to those two individuals --
PEREZ: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- who were then released.
But, Evan, I guess my bigger question is after 20 hours time, how much concern is there among officials that this suspect could have fled the --
the state even?
PEREZ: Yes. They could have fled the state. I mean, in -- in that -- in that time, they could have been -- they could have fled the country. And so
that's really the concern is that they want to find this person as soon as possible because the assumption is that, you know, that person could also
harm other people. There could be other targets that they have in mind. And we do not know that. And so that's always the concern in these types of
-- in these types of events.
And I'll -- I'll just briefly touch on that -- that release from the -- from the -- from the police, the local police or the state police yesterday
last night that identified these two individuals, these two people that were briefly detained, they were questioned. I find that very, very
unusual. I've never seen that before in -- in one of these shootings. And, of course, we have a lot of these events here in this country.
You know, the names of those people were out there in the internet. But for the police to actually put their names in there and say they're not
involved, I think also frankly just means that more people will know their names and will draw more attention to them. And I've never seen police do
that at all, right? I mean, it's just very unusual because it means now those names are out there forever at least connected to this investigation,
even despite what the police say.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. That really stood out to me as unusual as well.
PEREZ: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: Evan Perez, thank you so much. I know you're going to stay on this --
PEREZ: Sure.
GOLODRYGA: -- reporting for us.
Meantime, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will travel to Utah today to pay respects to Charlie Kirk's family, according to sources familiar with his
plans. Vance, along with President Trump, were close to the Turning Point USA founder. And Kirk was a top ally of the administration.
Vigils and other services honoring Kirk have been held in Utah and across the United States following the tragic shooting.
The 31-year-old was a hugely successful Republican youth organizer and a popular conservative influencer, drawing half a million listeners a month
to his podcast.
Two young men who attended Kirk's event on Wednesday in Utah spoke to CNN about the tragedy. They say now is the time to put aside differences and
come together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOGAN TOPHAM, STUDENT, UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY: If I could say anything, it's probably just that no matter what our views may be and no matter how
we feel about the situation that we all need to learn to love and support one another better, especially with those who disagree with us. Because I'm
guessing most of the actions that happened and Charlie Kirk's death were caused by political disagreement.
And I think that we all need to learn to recognize one another as members of the same human family and just learn to work together even through our
differences and learn to find unity even if we don't agree on everything just to prevent things like this from happening in the future.
CHASE HUGHES, STUDENT, UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY: I'm heartbroken clearly by this -- this horrific and -- and tragic thing that happened. And I just
want it to be known that UVU is not a place of fear but a place of learning.
And that if people on both sides of the aisle are afraid to come, that we need people who are willing to speak about what they believe in on campus.
And I want them to know that if they want to come, we want to have them. And I will greet them at the door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:10:18]
GOLODRYGA: CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter joins me now. And, Brian, as we've been reporting, you can't overstate Charlie Kirk's influence and
significance in the circles of disenfranchised young voters, in particular, men, conservative men, who he really honed in on over the last 10 years in
terms of politically seeking votes.
Historically, it -- it had always leaned towards elderly women, and that was not who Charlie was telling the president to really focus on over the
last few years during his campaign. He said there are so many voices and supporters out there for you to speak to specifically on college campuses.
And it's rare to hear the president acknowledge that his success, in part, was due to people like Charlie Kirk and yet we've seen him shared the
spotlight with him acknowledging just as much. So -- so talk about his influence.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Kirk certainly was a key player in Trump's reelection in 2024, in part, because of his advantages coming at
this from a younger perspective, you know. That was one of the many advantages that Kirk had in the GOP and this conservative political
movement.
He brought a younger perspective and helped to influence the GOP in that way. You know, I'm thinking about the -- the relationship that Kirk had
with his fans. It was a very personal relationship, a -- a relationship mostly through people's phones, you know, either listening to his podcast,
watching his YouTube videos or TikTok videos, and then choosing to show up and see him in person.
You know, he was a very sought-after public speaker. And we know the event in Utah yesterday was supposed to be the first of more than a dozen events
on college campuses this fall.
Kirk had a really personal, really intimate relationship with millions of fans through podcasts, through videos, and -- and through his X feed, for
example. And now I'm seeing lots of people re-sharing old videos, old clips, trying to highlight what he was saying.
And, you know, one of the things that he said last June, that I think we should all reflect on today, Bianna. He posted saying to everybody, said,
when things are moving really fast and people are losing their minds, we need to stay grounded. He said, get off your phone, read scripture, spend
time with your friends. Remember that internet fury is not real life. It's going to be okay.
And -- and I appreciated rereading that from Kirk today because we are seeing calls for retribution, ugly calls for war coming from some far-right
figures on the internet today.
Now, we're also seeing lots of people trying to lower the temperature and trying to calm things down. But to the extent that we see internet fury and
calls for revenge and retribution, it's going to be really important to have leaders on the right and the left try to lower the temperature in the
coming hours and days. And that's what Kirk would have wanted.
Charlie Kirk would have wanted people to take a deep breath and not try to call for revenge or retribution after this horrible event has happened.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And he thrived in debating. And let's be clear, a lot of his views were seen as controversial and inflammatory for a large portion
of the public, but he engaged with those who opposed those views on tours just like this one.
And it was notable that someone who was ideologically so opposite to him, Ezra Klein, another noted and prominent journalist and commentator, posted
today in an article entitled "Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way." Meaning you may not agree with everything he had to say, but
the way he engaged with the public is something everyone can learn from.
Brian Stelter, really appreciate the time.
STELTER: Yes. Yes.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you.
STELTER: Thanks.
GOLODRYGA: Well, President Donald Trump says that he will posthumously present Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Lawmakers,
both Democrats and Republicans, are expressing sadness at the shooting and calling for an end to political violence.
U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson says many lawmakers have reached out to him asking for more security for members of Congress. This is the world we live
in today, folks.
There was a tense moment on the House floor on Wednesday as some Republicans wanted to say prayers for Kirk while Democrats shouted back
about a school shooting in Colorado earlier Wednesday and called for an action on gun violence. Then at least one Republican began swearing at
them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's -- let's -- let's -- wait a minute. Wait a minute. The House will be in order. The House will be in order The House will be in
order.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I thought it was appropriate to have a moment of prayer and reflection for Charlie Kirk.
[12:15:05]
It -- as I was approaching the restroom, people's phones were saying that he had been deceased, but it wasn't -- it wasn't formally called yet.
The -- the emotion was very high in the room. We had a moment of silence. And after that, a member stood to be recognized and said, let's have open
prayer. And that started a debate. And people felt like it was being politicized on the Democrat side of the aisle, I guess.
There were some shouts and groans and then the Republicans responded and it turned into a -- a little bit of chaos there. We had to bring order back
and get back to it. But I -- I think that was a reflection of the emotion of the moment, the -- the real sense of kind of shock that people were
feeling, I think justifiably, understandably.
But I think after that, I think a lot of people will reflect upon things they said and did in that moment and they probably regret it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Joining us now to talk through the motions and politics of this all is former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent.
And, Charlie, if you could pick up on what the speaker just described as the motion of the moment, the shouting, the -- the back and forth between
members of Congress there after a call for a moment of silence.
We are commemorating the 24th anniversary of that horrific attack on this country that changed the country forever. Yesterday, we had the
assassination of Charlie Kirk, as well as yet another school shooting.
Just reflect on it all for us, how you're feeling.
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I think the speaker, you know, he's -- he has a bit of a calming influence, whether you
like his politics or not. He's -- he's -- he's a pretty measured kind of guy. And I think in that moment he -- he did the best he could.
But I think what's really alarming to me is this -- this never-ending stream of political violence. You know, I remember when Gabby Giffords was
shot while meeting with her constituents in Arizona. Steve Scalise had a baseball practice. We saw Paul Pelosi nearly being hammered to death.
Donald Trump nearly assassinated once and a second attempt on his life.
Our governor in Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, the governor's mansion was firebombed while he and his family were sleeping that night. We've seen so
many in the Minnesota lawmakers who were -- one was assassinated a couple months ago. We've seen so much of this.
And I think it's incumbent upon all elected officials and pundits, people who are doing what we're doing, that we try to turn the temperature down,
that we probably be a little bit more measured, a little bit more careful in our language, a little less incendiary and insightful.
And -- and it just seems that so many people in our country have just lost any sense of civility. I mean, the fact that we're having these kinds of
shouting matches at a very difficult moment in the Congress, I mean, I think speaks to that lack of civility.
I'm not here to blame anybody. I'm just saying that that's where we are. And maybe that, you know, people don't have the same faith in institutions
and they're socially isolated in many cases, too many people are on their own.
I don't -- I wish I had all the answers to this. But people just need to calm down and we need to use this moment. Here we are in 9/11, 24 years
after that horrific attack -- attacks. And -- and we need to try to take this moment and -- and do something with it and -- and hope that there not
-- there's not more of this.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And in a rare turn, yesterday, we saw every living president urgently issuing unity and condemning political violence. And
yet, the society does remain so fractured. And I'm wondering, in your view, what role social media has played in amplifying the extremes here?
Because even scrolling through my social media feed, on the one hand, I see comments pushing for unity from former presidents, and right after that,
really horrific language, blaming one side or the other, graphic video.
Has that played a role? And who -- even some of our elected officials feel like they have to talk to?
DENT: Absolutely. And let's face it, social media is where a lot of people go to hate. They say things on people -- some people will say things on
social media. They would never say to one's face or in some kind of a public setting. They just wouldn't do it.
And so the amount of garbage that is spewed -- spewed out on social media, I think is contributing significantly to this terrible political discourse
that's occurring in the United States.
And people are just, again, just speaking, particularly on the fringes. These people on the fringes on both the left and the right, they engage in
nasty rhetoric and they -- then they take these -- these heated conversations and excessive, you know -- this -- this rhetoric is just so
awful.
And -- and some of them unfortunately act out on it. And -- and that's where -- that's where we are. I'm not -- I don't know what happened in this
particular situation with Charlie Kirk, except to say that, you know, he was a -- he was a victim for exercising his First Amendment right.
[12:20:16]
Whether you agree with him or disagree with his politics, he was exercising his right. And now his poor wife is a widow and his young children have no
father. And your heart just goes out to these -- these folks regardless of where you are on the political spectrum.
So I -- I wish I had an answer, but social media is a -- a big part of the -- the -- the dialogue that has been so -- so decimated in this country.
GOLODRYGA: And it's the worst type of dialogue in so many regards, whether you liked or disdained the views of Charlie Kirk, I think as we have noted,
he should be commended for taking those conversations directly to the people and having these kind of face-to-face conversations and debates as
opposed to just taking to social media where he also had a huge following.
But, you know, we live in a world where something like that is now viewed as brave, unfortunately, given the rise in political violence.
Charlie Dent, thank you. Really appreciate the time.
DENT: Thank you. Thank you, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: And coming up, more on the legacy of Charlie Kirk. He was a powerful figure here in America, but he was known worldwide as well.
Later this hour, we'll hear international reaction to his death.
Plus hundreds of South Korean nationals detained after an immigration raid in Georgia now headed back home. We'll have the details.
Also ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: This is state terror. That's -- that's what they call it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: An exclusive interview with CNN, Qatar's prime minister lashes out at Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the Israeli leader a narcissist who is
undermining any chance for regional peace and stability.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: In the last 30 minutes, a plane took off from Atlanta airport with more than 300 South Korean nationals rounded up in a massive U.S.
immigration raid in South Georgia last week.
Earlier, the workers were released from U.S. custody and boarded buses to the airport. ICE agents detained them during a raid on a large Hyundai
plant that is under construction.
Joining us now is CNN's Gustavo Valdes. Gustavo, quite an unusual scene to see last week, quite an unusual scene to see the -- the officials from a
close U.S. ally come to retrieve these workers now and bring them back home.
[12:25:00]
Talk to us about what you saw behind you earlier this morning.
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we saw, Bianna, was a different way of sending people back home after having problems with U.S.
immigration laws.
We saw the buses arriving to Atlanta International Airport, charter buses, not the regular immigration transportation they use. And they waved at us,
which means they weren't shackled the same way all their deportees we've witnessed in the past are treated.
Also, they placed the chartered plane in the middle of two buildings. We could not see how they boarded. But the information we have was that it was
important for the South Korean government that they were not shackled as they boarded and departed the United States.
So this was part of the week-long negotiations between the Trump administration and South Korean officials and also trying to see how they
can fix this problem in the future with the limited number of work visas for these workers that the South Korea government says they are highly
qualified personnel to work and build these factories faster.
But some of the workers I talked to at this plant, they say that a lot of the work they were actually doing, including the local contractors were
usual AC, air conditioning, pipes duct installation, electrical installation, but that all the plants are usually in Korean. So there's
always somebody from supervising the work that has to translate that.
And a lot of these workers were doing the same work. So here is the question as to where is this highly skilled labor coming from South Korea
or if it's the companies trying to protect their trade secrets as they build these factories.
It's not the first time a Korean factory here in Georgia has a similar problem. In this case, it became a lot more public.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Gustavo Valdes, thank you.
And still to come for us, the FBI has a person of interest in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. We'll bring you the very latest, including a
timeline of how the shooting unfolded.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:50]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga. We now have photos of a man who the FBI is calling a person of interest in the killing
of Charlie Kirk. Officials posted these images to social media a short time ago, and they are asking for the public's help.
A manhunt is still underway after the conservative political activist was shot dead during a speaking event Wednesday. Law enforcement officials say
they have recovered what they believe is the high-powered rifle that was used in the attack.
Kirk's activism wasn't just focus on domestic American issues, he also took his conservative message around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's terrible. I think the reality is that, you know, there should -- freedom of speech is everything. I think we -- we
lose who we are without it. I just think that the fact that there's someone who's decided to take action in that way is a -- is -- is -- is a real
shame.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I knew immediately he was going to be like a big blow, big news. Because for some reason, I really felt like we gave Charlie Kirk
like a really big stage. He had such a big media presence, even in Munich and Germany, like probably all my friends knew him, even though he lived
in, yes, America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: In fact, just days before his death, he was in Japan and South Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK: I love to learn. And I love people and I love different cultures. And I wanted to just meet new friends and see kind of where it took us. And I'm
really kind of thrilled to see that there is this growing political movement here in Japan that is fighting the same things that we believe in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Kyung Lah has more on how the shooting unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN U.S. SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The kickoff for Charlie Kirk's 14-city tour was here in Orem, Utah, about 40
miles away from Salt Lake City at Utah Valley University.
Thousands of people, mainly students, were gathering in a large open courtyard.
Minutes before the shooting, video from Kirk's own X account shows an open space and a barrier between the tent and the students, with multiple
security guards standing at the fence line. Police say there were six campus police officers there as well.
KIRK: A lot of people in Utah turning up.
LAH (voice-over): Kirk was a rock star among young conservatives largely because of events like this, meeting college students up-close on campuses
across the country. Police say roughly 3,000 people showed up for this one, all watching and listening as it happened.
Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?
KIRK: Too many.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number is five. OK. Now five is a lot, right? I'm going to give you some credit.
Do you know -- do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?
KIRK: Counting or not counting gang violence?
UNKNOWN: Great.
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down. Get down. Get down.
LAH (voice-over): Kirk is rushed into an SUV and taken to the hospital. Panicked crowds ran as police jumped in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And let's be advised, UVU in Orem has an active shooter at the Charlie Kirk event. We're just getting several calls. We're
trying to get more information.
LAH (voice-over): In the scramble after Kirk was shot, video taken from inside a building captures what appears to be someone running across a
rooftop. That rooftop is this building called the Losee Center, less than 200 yards away from the spot where Kirk was hit. If that runner was the
shooter, he would have been positioned about here.
From this shot, you can see the rooftop of the Losee building is pretty easy to access. It's connected to another building by an elevated walkway,
which, as you can see, is only separated from the roof by a railing.
Aerial footage after the shooting shows police tape on the roof of the Losee building. And at about 12:36 P.M., an officer describes a possible
suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's wearing jeans, black shirt, black mask, long rifle. He's on top of the building on the far north side, just east of the
library, wearing jeans, black shirt, black vest.
[12:35:00]
LAH (voice-over): Six hours later, Utah Valley University issued an all- clear, saying the threat is over.
Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old father of two young children, did not survive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe is here with more.
Andrew, it is unfortunate that we keep meeting during these tragedies that we've covered all too frequently now. Political shootings, political
tragedies and assassinations like this. Charlie Kirk was not an elected official, but he was a very popular influencer at the age of 31, literally
helping skyrocket President Trump to another term in the White House.
And with that came a lot of support and a lot of hate as is typical in our current environment from everything that we've heard now from law
enforcement officials, from the photos that they've released now of the suspect some 20 hours later, how certain are you that they will be able to
capture him?
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I'm very confident that they will be able to capture this person eventually. It may not be as
quickly as we would all like, but the FBI is extraordinarily good at this.
And the steps that they have taken so far, each one of the things that I thought they might do, they have clearly done and successfully in terms of
figuring out where this person took the shot from, collecting actual evidence, physical evidence at that site, identifying the person, then
searching out every source of available video in a way to not just identify the person leaving that site, but showing them leave the campus completely,
which is likely what took them to the wooded area where they ultimately recovered the rifle.
So they are doing the things that we expect and need them to do. And now that the -- that the -- the images of the shooter or the suspected shooter
have been put out, it's really a matter -- simply a matter of time before they have that person fully identified. And then it's just a straight up
manhunt, which we've seen all too often lately.
GOLODRYGA: Something that also stood out to me from officials today was the message that they did not view the suspect as a threat to the public at
large, saying that this was a targeted shooting.
The fact that the suspect remains at large and appears to have been quite a marksman with one fatal shot, do you support that statement that -- that
people who may encounter him or in the public in general aren't at risk at this point?
MCCABE: No, I -- I don't. But to be fair, I'm not 100 percent sure that that response in the press conference. I think what they were thinking was
this assassination appeared to be a single act of political violence, that there isn't -- in other words, we're not caught up in a conspiracy of
multiple assassinations.
But your point is absolutely spot on. This person presents a grave danger to the public and any individual he might come across, simply in light of
the fact that he knows if he is apprehended, he's going to prison for a long time, and he might in fact face the death penalty.
So this person is desperate to stay out of -- out of detention to avoid arrest. And anyone he views as an impediment to his ability to escape, he
could -- he could turn on and -- and, you know, interact with violently.
This is somebody who just killed somebody yesterday. Acts of violence are something that come easy to this person, apparently. And so I would -- I
would advise the utmost caution.
GOLODRYGA: We heard officials say that they had good video footage of the individual and the suspect. They had a detailed timeline of when they
believed he arrived at the school at the campus, and when he moved to the roof before jumping off the roof and then fleeing to a neighborhood and
also recovering the rifle and collecting footwear impression and palm imprints for analysis and said that given all of that, they would not be
releasing or did not feel that they needed to release his photo thus -- at 9:00 A.M. this morning when we had that press conference and said that they
would be reaching out to the public if they needed any more information.
What transpired in your view between 9:00 A.M. and noon when they ultimately decided to release this picture?
MCCABE: Yes. So they specifically referred in the press conference the fact that they had technologies that they were going to try to use to identify
the photograph and they wanted to do that before they released the photograph to the public.
I suspect those technologies were facial recognition software and other fairly new A.I.-driven platforms that can be used essentially to very
quickly compare an image with known images, most of which are called from the internet and from social media postings.
[12:40:17]
And that software, those techniques, are controversial because many see them as an invasion of privacy or there are -- there are allegations that
there are biases implicitly built into those algorithms and that can result in false identifications.
But nevertheless, those tools have also proved productive for law enforcement in the past that go from a picture of somebody you don't know
to all of a sudden, you know, the ability to compare it with several photographs of people who have been identified.
My guess is they use something like that and they didn't get quite the results that they were hoping for. And so now, we've gone full
crowdsourcing of the images.
And, you know, as we've seen since the Boston marathon bombing many years ago, this can be a very effective way to quickly identify someone in a
photograph who's currently unknown to law enforcement.
GOLODRYGA: That's what happened with Luigi Mangione too, the United Healthcare --
MCCABE: Exactly.
GOLODRYGA: -- killer who -- who killed the CEO of that healthcare company and then was later found, I believe, at a McDonald's.
So hopefully --
MCCABE: That's absolutely right. Yes.
GOLODRYGA: Hopefully we will get some more information as well.
Andrew McCabe, thank you so much. Really appreciate your time.
MCCABE: Thanks, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Well, we turn to Florida now where the trial of Ryan Routh began a short time ago. Routh is accused of attempting to assassinate Donald
Trump at his golf course last year. The defendant has decided to represent himself.
Prosecutors are expected to bring forward testimony from an eyewitness and statements from people who say they sold Routh the rifle. We will bring you
updates from the trial as we get them in.
And we'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: The U.N. Security Council set to hold an emergency meeting at Poland's request on Friday to discuss Russia's violation of its airspace.
It comes against the backdrop of rising regional tensions and as the U.S. president's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrives in Kyiv for
an official visit.
Poland is now restricting air traffic along its eastern border after NATO fighter jets shot -- shot down 16 Russian drones on Wednesday that had
violated Polish airspace. The incident marks the first time shots were fired by NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine.
[12:45:05]
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the Kremlin was testing the Western military alliance to see how it would respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia wanted to find out what will happen, what are the partners ready for, and
what is NATO ready for. Politically, what are the partners ready for?
They could also have done this so that the partners would not transfer the air defense systems to Ukraine before winter, demonstrating that they can
attack Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Qatar will host an emergency summit on Sunday, according to the country's news agency, and what's expected to be a regional show of
solidarity. The focus will be on Israel's deadly attack targeting Hamas in Doha on Tuesday.
And it comes as Egypt warns the U.S. that any Israeli incursion on its territory will result in catastrophic consequences.
Hamas says the strike in Qatar killed five members, but failed to assassinate the negotiating delegation.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Becky Anderson, the Qatari Prime Minister slammed Israel's prime minister, saying that he is trying to
sabotage any chance for peace.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI: It's not only an undermining for our sovereignty and the premier of our sovereignty. It's undermining for the entire
negotiations, undermining for the U.S. effort.
Honestly, I have no words to express how raged we are from session.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: If you could describe it in one word, what would that be?
ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI: This is state terror. That's -- that's what they call it.
ANDERSON: Do you feel betrayed?
ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI: We are betrayed, yes.
ANDERSON: By the U.S.?
ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI: No. I cannot -- I cannot say it's by the U.S. The U.S. has expressed in many occasions their support to us.
And by the way, at the same day, I was -- I was meeting one of the hostages' family in that morning, the morning of the attack. The --
carrying their message that the families, they are counting on this mediation. They have no other hope for that.
And I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those -- for those hostages.
ANDERSON: But in the past hour, he has doubled down on his position. He has said, and I quote the Israeli Prime Minister here, "I say to Qatar and to
all nations who harbor terrorists, his words, not mine. You either expel them or bring them to justice, because if you don't, we will."
Do you take that as a threat of further action here?
ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI: Well, we don't accept, first of all, such a threat coming from someone like Netanyahu. And he's calling about, bring them to
justice. He needs to be brought to justice. He's the one who's wanted to the ICC.
ANDERSON: Where all the Hamas members right now? And will you shut down their offices?
ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI: Right now, we are re-assessing everything about -- about the whole process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Israeli officials tell CNN, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with top security officials on Friday to discuss,
quote, plans for the conquest of Gaza City. It comes as the IDF escalates its attacks on the famine-stricken area this Israel calls one of the last
remaining Hamas strongholds.
On Tuesday, the military ordered some one million Palestinians to evacuate Gaza City, which Israel is vowing to fully occupy.
Health officials there, meanwhile, say that 72 people were killed and hundreds more injured throughout Gaza in the past 24 hours.
America pauses to remember the thousands who died in September 11 terror attacks 24 years ago today. We'll have a live report, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:22]
GOLODRYGA: Well, America is honoring and reflecting today on this 24th anniversary of the September 11th terror attack.
(BELL RINGING)
Bells were rung at a service in Shanksville, Pennsylvania to honor the 40 passengers and crew members of Flight 93. Those brave souls who died when
their hijacked plane crashed into a field there.
At the Pentagon, a giant flag was unfurled at sunrise ahead of a special commemoration that was attended by President Trump and the First Lady.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: To every member that still feels a void every day of your lives, the First Lady and I unite with you in sorrow.
And today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget September 11th, 2001.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And at the 9/11 memorial in New York, family members read aloud the names of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day.
CNN's Jason Carroll is in Lower Manhattan at the site of the 9/11 memorial.
Jason, every year, it's yet another gut punch. Being down there, reflecting on all of those lives that were lost and all of the family members who lost
loved ones and continued to honor their memory by living their lives.
And I know you spoke with a number of family members of those who died that day. Tell us what stood out to you.
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a -- a couple of things. First and foremost, as I stand here now, the ceremony is over. But
I think you guys can see behind me. And you can see the flags that are there around the reflecting pool.
I think your viewers should know that each one of those flags is -- is marked by a victim, a person whose name is engraved here at the site, one
of the nearly 3,000 people who died on that day.
And as each of those names was read, there were a couple of things. One thing we hear the voices, Bianna, of some of the very young voices that we
heard reading out those names, it's important to remember since this was 24 years ago, many of the people who were here today weren't even born on that
day on 9/11. Or were certainly very young.
And case in point, I think of the family of Frank Joseph Doyle. He was one of those people who died here on that day on 9/11. He was in the South
Tower working at KBW. Their offices were on the 88th and 89th floor.
I spoke to his wife, Kimmy, about what happened that day. She said she spoke to him over the phone, told him to get out of the building. He said
to tell their two children who were just one and two years old at the time, how much he loved them.
And she spoke today about how she wanted her -- her husband to be remembered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMY CHEDEL, LOST HUSBAND IN SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACK: In 2017 on a trip to Africa with my young children, I was telling our friends that we have this
amazing team, 200 athletes from all over the world that have been honoring Frank Doyle. And I want to bring my team to Africa and build schools.
And we're now completing our 16th school in South Africa. We're building three this year. We built four last year. We're building three more next
year.
And for me, the most important thing is to talk about Frank and to share what an amazing human being he was. I hope he's really proud of Zoe, my
daughter, and Garrett, my son, and our team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And, Bianna, that's what we're hearing from so many people is finding ways to remember those who were lost on that day.
[12:55:02]
In the case of Frank Joseph Doyle, the family going to South Africa and building these schools and having these schools named in his honor,
different families doing a variety of things. Sometimes it's just being here and having the name read.
Another family telling us so many names, so many stories. The one thing that they want people to remember is never forget what happened here on
that day. Never forget those heroes who were here on that day. Never forget the victims.
Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: So many stories to tell. And quite honestly, we shouldn't just do it one day every year. These are families that have been impacted and
continue to tell their stories and live their life to the fullest.
Jason Carroll, thank you for sharing them with us.
CARROLL: You bet.
GOLODRYGA: And that does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
