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The Situation Room
Police Say, Two Killed, Six Injured, Shooter Dead at Wisconsin School; Officials Say, U.S. Sends Drone Detection Systems to New Jersey; RFK Jr. on Capitol Hill as He Wrangles Support from Key Senators. Now: Officials Give Update On Deadly Mass Shooting At Wisconsin School. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired December 16, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, at least two people are dead after a shooter opened fire at a K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin. Police say the suspect, a 17-year-old female student at the Abundant Life Christian School, is also dead. We're standing by for a live news conference from authorities this hour.
Plus, sources now tell CNN the U.S. government is sending drone detection systems to New Jersey after a series of unexplained sightings. Tomorrow, lawmakers up on the House Intelligence Committee are set to receive a classified briefing. This hour, I'll speak with one of them, the New Jersey congressman, Josh Gottheimer.
And Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on Capitol Hill as he tries to win support for his bid to become the U.S. health secretary, President- elect Donald Trump defending Kennedy and his views on vaccines at his first news conference since winning the election.
Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.
We begin our coverage tonight with the breaking news in Wisconsin, another shooting at an American school, by CNN's count, at least the 83rd of this year. A source now tells CNN the suspect, now deceased, used a nine millimeter pistol.
CNN's Whitney Wild is covering the story for us from Madison, where we're expecting a news conference just a short time from now. Whitney, give us the latest.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're learning a few more details at this point. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is learning from a law enforcement source that the shooter was 17 years old and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, just a few details several hours after this horrific day began.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHIEF SHON F. BARNES, MADISON POLICE DEPARTMENT: Today is a sad day, not only for Madison, but for our entire country. WILD (voice over): In Madison, Wisconsin, two people are dead, a teenage student and a teacher, both shot by a teenage female student, according to a law enforcement source briefed on the school shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abundant Life Christian Church, 49-01 for Engine 5 and Medic 5 for a shooter.
WILD: Two people are dead, a teenage student and a teacher, both shot by a teenage female student.
BARNES: Six other people were injured. Two students are now in critical condition in the hospital. And these injuries are considered life threatening injuries for other students are being treated for non life threatening injuries.
Madison chief says multiple shots were fired. Calls coming in at 10:57 A.M. at the K-12 Abundant Life Christian School in Madison just hours after the school day began.
BARNES: When officers arrived, they found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ambulance, ambulance, squad car, fire engine.
WILD: Madison police officers were on scene within minutes.
BARNES: Officers located a juvenile who they believe was responsible for this deceased in the building.
WILD: Shots were fired using a nine millimeter pistol and the suspect was found dead at the scene, according to police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: P.D. is saying everybody can come in, all EMS come in, shooter is down.
BARNES: Many of you have asked me about the why of this. Why did this happen? What do we know? What was the motivation? I do not know. But I will tell you this. Our detectives are working hard in the investigative process to find out as many answers as we can so that we can further prevent these things from happening.
WILD: Some medics responding directly from their training to reports of shots fired at the school.
BARNES: The protocols are simple. Stop the killing. Stop the dying. Find out who's doing this. The officers did that.
WILD: The officers did not fire any shots, according to the police chief. Instead, they assisted injured staff and students.
The shooting in Madison is the third at a small private Christian school in recent years. The second took place in Oroville California less than two weeks ago.
BARNES: I think we can all agree that enough is enough and we have to come together to do everything we can. MAYOR SATYA RHODES-CONWAY (D-MADISON, WI): I think we need to do better. in our country and our community to prevent gun violence.
[18:05:00]
WILD: The Madison School on its website asking for prayers today while frantic parents waited to hear if their kids were safe.
BETHANY HIGHMAN, PARENT OF STUDENTS AT ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: I pray with my kids every morning that this won't happen. And it's the world like that we live in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILD (on camera): Wolf, through the day, law enforcement has been working on obtaining search warrants. The police chief did say that the shooter's family is cooperating. We expect another update here in about 30 minutes, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Whitney Wild, we'll stand by for that update. Whitney is in Madison.
I want to bring in our law enforcement experts right now. Let me start with Shimon Prokupecz. Shimon, you broke the news that the shooter is female and was 17 years old. Breakdown for us what we know about her.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is how what police have basically described, that this was someone who was a student at the school. They say that this person is cooperating with the family of this person, I should say, is cooperating with detectives. And they were going through social media accounts and looking at other things to try and figure out a motive.
They were having a hard time initially of identifying the person, the alleged shooter, but they now feel that they are at the point where they can identify. And so that's why they went ahead to the family and they started talking to the family. But investigators are still sort of digging through some of the evidence that they've been able to gather.
The other thing, Wolf, here is they believe that the shooting was contained to a small area somewhere near a classroom and possibly out into a hallway. So, everything happened in one area. They were able to recover a handgun, but it is certainly very interesting for law enforcement right now that the shooter was a female and they are trying to still figure out a motive here, Wolf.
BLITZER: On that point let me bring Casey Jordan into this. Casey, I know you suspected that the shooter was a female student before it was reported. Explain why.
CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Well, Wolf, we have so few female school shooters that we don't exactly have a proper number to compare it to. But when I found out that it was a Christian school, of course, my mind went back to last year's shooting in Nashville of a private Christian -- I think it's Covenant School, by not a student at the time because it was an elementary school, but by a woman in her 20s who had attended there as a child.
Now, that itself doesn't really give us a whole bunch of leeway, but for the very few female shooters that we have had, especially in schools, very often depression and suicide are the most the motivators. But, again, suicide, when you can take as many people out as possible, is something convenient.
I do think that the Christian school thing made me think of a female first because of the very strident rules. It's not like a public school where people who may have an alternative gender identity, and the two school shooters that I can think of, Nashville and then the Colorado STEM schools from 2019. Both of those female shooters identified as gender neutral or as men.
So, it occurs to me that perhaps the student had some identity issues that were at odds teachings. We don't know. We'll wait to find out more. But when I found out it was a Christian school, I thought that perhaps it could be a female shooter based on the Nashville shooting last year.
BLITZER: Interesting. Michael Harrison, police commissioner in Baltimore and New Orleans, is joining us.
Michael, the shooter's family is cooperating with the authorities. You heard that. But how are investigators now going to piece together the shooter's motive?
MICHAEL HARRISON, FORMER BALTIMORE POLICE COMMISSIONER: Well, first of all, thank you for having me. This is such a tragic incident, not just for Madison but for the whole country. I think investigators now, we know who the person is. We know what type of weapon. We know who the victims are. I think now we're trying to learn why this happened.
It's very interesting listening to the other panelists that this was a female considering so many of these incidents happen are cause by male. But it's interesting that the issues and the underlying issues that cause people to act out in a violent way, to shoot in schools and conduct this mass carnage, it's not limited to males, but now the same issues affect females and they will act out in a very violent way, as we've seen today.
I think they're going to be looking through social media, through journals and diaries, if they exist, talking to friends, classmates, family members, to find out the mindset of this person, what they like, what was her interest, what type of activities she participated in. Were there any feuds or any conflicts that she was involved in that may have aggravated her and wanted her to act out, and if there are any behavioral health issues that exist right now, going back to early childhood. I think they're looking for all of that to piece together why this would have happened. What would have led it?
BLITZER: It's so important to find out the motive. If you will, I totally agree.
Jennifer Mascia is with us as well. Jennifer, you're a gun expert.
[18:10:00]
The shooter, as we now know, used a nine millimeter pistol. What does that tell you?
JENNIFER MASCIA, SENIOR NEWS WRITER, THE TRACE: Well, most mass shootings are perpetrated with handguns. AR-15s get a lot of the conversation because they do so much damage. But most mass shootings are perpetrated with handguns. So, when I heard it was a nine millimeter, I was not surprised.
Most school shooters, especially when they're minors, as is the case in this situation, they get their guns from home. And what are people buying? Most people buy guns for self-defense. And when they do that, they buy handguns. Handguns are concealable, they're smaller, they're easier to wield. AR-15s are very rarely used in self-defense situations about five times a year.
So, it didn't surprise me at all that when there's a gun for a child to take most likely it will be a handgun because that's what Americans are buying for self-defense.
BLITZER: Interesting. Shimon, this is the 83rd school shooting here in the United States this year, the most of any year since CNN began counting these school shootings back in the 1980s. I know you closely covered the Uvalde school shooting these past two and a half years. Talk to us a little bit about the trauma these shootings inflict on communities.
PROKUPECZ: It's massive and it's hard to even explain. You know, these communities now -- a community like this has changed forever. The trauma that they feel from something like this extends far beyond the halls of that school. I mean, these are going to be community members who undoubtedly are going to know somebody who was associated with this and was hurt by this. But it's not just the people who were shot or were killed. It's many of the young kids who heard the gunshots who were running for their lives, and the parents who were trying to find out if their kids were hurt in any way.
And one of the hardest things for investigators here, especially with some of the younger kids, is interviewing them and trying to get information out of them. And a lot of times, what happens is the FBI, especially, they bring in, they have specially trained agents and social workers who come in and join these interviews. They bring dogs in, the therapy dogs in, to try and help some of these kids. I mean, it's going to be a really difficult and horrific time. So much attention right now on this community and these people who live here, you have all the media now, you have other people coming in. But a lot of times people want to help and that community will see that. There will be people reaching out from all across the world wanting to help them.
BLITZER: Yes, you're right. To everyone, thank you very much, excellent analysis indeed.
And just ahead, we'll get much more on the breaking news out of Wisconsin this hour. We're standing by for another live update from officials in Madison.
Plus, we'll have the latest on the drone mystery. I'll ask New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer what he's learning about the unexplained sightings, as sources now tell CNN the federal government is sending tracking technology to his state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:15:00]
BLITZER: More now on the breaking news, the deadly shooting at a K-12 Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. Right now, at least two people have been killed, along with the suspect.
Our Brian Todd is taking a closer look at the recent gun violence in American schools.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got a call coming in at Abundant Life Christian Church.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The shooting at Abundant Life Christian School adds to the bleakest of statistics. It marks at least the 83rd school shooting of this year in the United States. It surpasses 2023 for the most shootings in a single year since CNN began tracking these numbers in 2008.
STEPHEN GUTOWSKI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, ANALYST ON GUN ISSUES: It is a bit surprising to see an increase in school shootings at the same time we're seeing a decrease in the overall murder rate.
TODD: Of the school shootings this year, 56 have been reported on K- 12 campuses, 27 on university and college campuses. The incidents have left at least 38 people dead and more than 100 others wounded, according to CNN's analysis of events reported by the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week and Everytown for Gun Safety.
The deadliest school shooting of the year in the U.S., September 4th, at Appalachee High School near Winder, Georgia, when a 14-year-old suspect allegedly shot 11 people, killing four of them. Like today's shooting, the alleged perpetrator at Appalachee was a student at the same school, according to law enforcement.
Since the COVID pandemic, when there was a major decline in gun violence at schools, every year since 2021 has set new records. Today, the Madison Police Chief praised the response of officers at the Abundant Life School.
BARNES: The protocols are simple. Stop the killing, stop the dying, find out who's doing this. And the officers did that, and they did that adamantly.
TODD: The police chief says the Abundant Life Christian School did not have a school resource officer, but having one is not a guarantee of safety. The school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was charged but acquitted of failing to confront a gunman who massacred 17 people there in 2018.
The new emphasis on police response comes from a horrific shooting two and a half years ago, May 24th, 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. For more than 70 minutes, police failed to breach a classroom while a suspect was opening fire. 19 students and 2 teachers were killed. A school police officer was charged with 29 counts of abandoning and endangering a child and the school district police chief was charged with child endangerment with known criminal negligence. They pleaded not guilty.
GUTOWSKI: Uvalde was really an outlier in that regard and really emphasized why it's important to immediately confront the shooter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on camera): And the shootings in Wisconsin comes as we've just marked another stark milestone regarding school shootings in the U.S. and this country's inability to stop them.
[18:20:04]
This past Saturday, December 14th was the 12th anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 20 children and 6 adults dead. Wolf?
BLITZER: I remember I was there. All right, thanks very much, Brian Todd reporting for us.
I want to bring in right now the Wisconsin state senator, Kelda Roys. Her district includes Madison. Senator, thank you so much for joining us. Our heart goes out to your community.
What is the latest you could tell us, first of all, about the injured, the six injured that occurred today, including two young kids, two students who are described as being in critical condition?
STATE SEN. KELDA ROYS (D-WI): We do not have any additional information about their condition, obviously. Our hearts are with those families and those of the loved ones who are lost. We are trying so hard to wrap our hearts and our arms around everyone who's affected by this tragedy.
BLITZER: So sad, indeed. The police chief in your community says families are being reunited right now. Are all the students accounted for and back with their loved ones? What are you hearing from your constituents?
ROYS: That there has been a massive effort underway by city and our first responders to make sure that folks are reunited and that everyone knows where to go and where to find people. Obviously, that's just step one and it's going to be a very, very difficult and long healing process.
BLITZER: Senator, what's your reaction to the shooter in this particular case being a female student who appears to have taken her own life? ROYS: Well, I think the real tragedy is that we have students who have access to guns and use them to harm other people. Ultimately, the level of gun violence that we have in this country is a policy choice. And it's a choice that we are making by failing to pass reasonable gun safety measures that are supported by a majority of Americans. We don't want any student to be a victim of gun violence, and we don't want any student to be a perpetrator of gun violence. The bottom line is that it is up to the adults to act like adults and stand up for our kids and protect them.
BLITZER: Wisconsin agencies, as you know, Senator, are providing resources after this horrible, horrible shooting. The White House is also offering support. What does your community need most urgently right now?
ROYS: Well, I think we really need mental health support. If anyone is struggling with mental health or reaction to this news, I urge you to reach out to your healthcare provider or call 988 for immediate care. You can also text. That's what's most important, to make sure that people who are hurting and struggling get the care that they need.
BLITZER: 83 school shootings in the United States this year, hard to believe. All right, State Senator Kelda Roys, thanks so much for joining us. Please pass along our love to everyone in your community.
ROYS: Thank you, Wolf. I appreciate that.
BLITZER: And coming up, another official update in Madison, Wisconsin, coming up after today's deadly shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School. We're going to bring you that news conference live as soon as it begins.
Also ahead, the U.S. government taking a new action right now after a series of mysterious drone sightings, I'll get reaction from the New Jersey congressman, Josh Gottheimer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:25:00]
BLITZER: We're standing by for officials to give us an update on today's deadly school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin. And we're going to bring that to you live as soon as it gets underway.
Also breaking right now, the U.S. is taking new action tonight as local officials demand answers after weeks of unexplained drone sightings across the northeast.
CNN's Polo Sandoval has details on a new technology being deployed to New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The federal government now preparing to deploy drone detecting and tracking systems to two military facilities in New Jersey, where mysterious drone sightings began four weeks ago. That's in addition to what's already according to the Pentagon today a very robust intelligence network. But the time of the deployment not yet clear, sources tell CNN.
The president-elect offering a drone theory of his own about the mysterious sightings first reported over, New Jersey, including over his golf course.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: The government knows what is happening. Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went.
SANDOVAL: Donald Trump's declined to say he's been briefed on the investigation into the unexplained drones. He did seem to eliminate the possibility of foreign involvement, a theory that had already been previously shared by the current administration.
TRUMP: I can't imagine it's the enemy because it was the enemy that blasted out, even if they were late, they'd blast it.
SANDOVAL: Unanswered questions have hovered over some residents in New Jersey and beyond. Similar drone reports have come into authorities in at least six states now. The FBI, which briefed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Sunday night, insists many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft. DHS maintains the unexplained sightings don't pose a public safety threat and stated unequivocally that not all of them are airplanes.
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: There's no question that people are seeing drones, and I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings.
SANDOVAL: That does little to assure elected officials on both sides of the aisle.
[18:30:00]
ERIK PETERSON (R), NEW JERSEY STATE ASSEMBLY: They've been trying to discredit these sightings from the very beginning.
SANDOVAL: Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told CNN that assurances from the government, quote, fall flat.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): My fear is that the federal government knows little or nothing about most of these sightings.
SANDOVAL: Two weekend incidents demonstrated a disruptive potential from drones and civilian and military airspace. Two men in Boston were arrested for trespassing after flying dangerously close to Logan Airport. And in Ohio, flight restrictions were temporarily put in place due to drone activity at one of the Air Force's most critical installations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL (on camera): And tonight, the FBI and Newark is warning that they've received multiple reports of pilots in the air getting hit in the eyes by lasers from people on the ground, mistaking their aircraft for drones. And they're concerned tonight, Wolf, that things could even get more dangerous with people potentially opening fire with a firearm on those airplanes. The FBI warning not only is that against the law, you can imagine it's extremely dangerous.
BLITZER: Extremely dangerous, indeed. We're very worried about that.
Polo Sandoval in New York for us, thanks for that report.
I want to bring in New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer right now. He's a key member of the House Intelligence Committee. He's watching what's going on right now very closely. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.
I know you're working on legislation to try to boost drone detection. Federal officials are now sending those types of systems to various military facilities, including near your district in New Jersey. How far do you think that will go in solving this current issue?
REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Well, first of all, Wolf, I think it's critically important that they're finally taking this step, I've been calling for this, to get technology in there, to work with local partners, local law enforcement. You know, who are getting the brunt of the phone calls. We've been receiving a lot of phone calls.
You know, first, you can't tell people they're not seeing things that they're seeing with their own eyes, right? And I think the federal government, DHS, and FBI have made a mistake by doing that. You've got to give people more information. And I think we're starting to see that. Obviously, Secretary Mayorkas said clearly people are seeing these drones, which is a reversal of where they were, and I think that's important. Don't tell people they're not seeing things, but you actually have to give them information.
And I've called on this today, like do a proper briefing, get the FBI out there and DHS and FAA and tell people what's going on, right? And I think that information is critically important. And then my legislation, bipartisan, says let's give local law enforcement the tools they need to actually monitor these drones, to monitor the activity, and if necessary, to work with federal partners to get these drones out of the sky if they're going to places they shouldn't be, over reservoirs, over military bases, over airports. Let's make sure we're safe and that people feel safe.
BLITZER: In the past, you've said, Congressman, that you agree with officials that these drones don't appear to be a public safety threat. So, how would you explain what's going on here?
GOTTHEIMER: Well, I think based on the briefings I've had with the FBI and Homeland Security and from our governor, I really feel based on what I've seen what they're able to track that there's not an imminent public safety threat. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't tell people what they are, where all this drone activity is coming from. Are they being used for any reconnaissance or any information collecting, right? Are they authorized, commercial? Are they there for -- are they licensed or not?
I'm not talking about little drones that people fly up at the beach or at their house. I'm talking about these large drones that people are telling us they're seeing and obviously sending in photos of. I set up a site today where people can send in information to us to help collect this information that I can share with the intelligence community and the FBI, so that we have some evidence gathered and then let's let the government tell people what exactly they know.
And I think, Wolf, that's the key. Be transparent, don't insult people and tell them they're not seeing anything. Come clean with folks, give them the information. And then everybody I think will feel better once they have more information of what's out there.
BLITZER: The more information, the better. I know you've just criticized public officials for not sharing more details. So, why hasn't the Biden administration given the American public more information right now so that the American people can be assured that they're okay?
GOTTHEIMER: Well, I've asked the FBI, I've asked Homeland Security, I've asked the FAA to do just that, to actually come out there. I'm not sure why they're not giving us more information. I have an intelligence briefing, I believe, tomorrow on this, you know, in a classified setting.
But my point is you have to come out to the public, the FBI, and actually bring this information out there. Do a press conference. Don't just put out a piece of paper, answer people's questions, explain to people what's happening, where these drones are coming from, because I think people have a right to understand what it is that we know on this, and, you know, I feel, based on what I've seen, that there's no imminent threat, but that, of course, doesn't mean -- that doesn't explain actually where this is all coming from, and where these drones are from, and what they're doing, and making sure that we're safe, so people cannot be worried about this.
And that's the legislation I've introduced to make sure we stop any threatening drones out there that are threatening public safety, but also give people information, and I bet they'll feel better, because otherwise, you leave a big vacuum and that's exactly what people are filling up right now.
[18:35:08]
BLITZER: Yes, important points indeed.
Let me turn to the breaking news today out of Madison, Wisconsin, Congressman, whereas, you know, a 17-year-old female gunman killed a student and a teacher and injured six others, including two of them very, very seriously life-threatening conditions. We're just getting the first student account of what happened out there. I want you and our viewers to listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in English, and then they said it was a lockdown drill, so we went to the side of the building. And then we went to the church after they came and got us. And then we just waited, they gave us some food, and then waited for them to transport us to the hospital and get our moms and dads.
REPORTER: Did you hear gunshots?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I heard.
REPORTER: Tell me what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard them, and then some people started crying. And then we just waited until the police came, and then they exported us out to the church.
REPORTER: How many gunshots did you hear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard two.
REPORTER: And what were you thinking? What are you thinking now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was scared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: So what's your reaction to that, Congressman?
GOTTHEIMER: I mean, the whole thing, Wolf, is just beyond heartbreaking. I've got two kids and one daughter in high school, and so your parents worst nightmare, right? As a parent, it's our worst nightmare. You see this.
And what do I think? I think, Wolf, you know, first of all, I think we all around this country just want these kids to be okay, and I can't imagine what they're all going through, especially those who lost loved ones, and our heart breaks. But this just reminds us of the action that we must take.
And we've taken bipartisan action, which I was very proud of helping on common sense gun safety, but, clearly, we have a lot more to do. And I think if this -- these things like this aren't a wakeup call, whether you're talking about more background checks, or going after weapons of war, or assault rifles, you know, and we've got to take that action. And, you know that, I think we all know that and, these reminders are just -- it's just -- it's so painful to see this and listening to those kids.
BLITZER: 83 school shootings in the United States so far this year alone. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thanks so much for joining us.
GOTTHEIMER: Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: And to our viewers, once again, we're standing by for the latest news conference that's coming in from Madison, Wisconsin. We'll get an update on the school shooting. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
BLITZER: We're following the breaking news. Officials in Madison, Wisconsin, are about to update the public on the deadly school shooting at the K-12 school. We're going through -- we're going to bring you that live once it begins. It hasn't begun yet, as you can see.
Also tonight, some of Donald Trump's most controversial cabinet picks are making the rounds here in Washington up on Capitol Hill. RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard trying to wrangle support from key senators today.
I want to bring in our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju. He's up on Capitol Hill. So, Manu, how did RFK Jr.'s meetings with senators go?
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, he's met with a handful of Donald Trump's closest allies. Those allies have come out and said that they will support his confirmation going forward. But there's been a range of controversy, namely about his views on vaccines. Of course, he's advanced that false notion that vaccines could be linked to childhood autism. And then there were reports last week that an attorney affiliated with him sought to revoke the authorization of the polio vaccine. That prompted sharp pushback from the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell.
But as he walked into meetings today, I asked him if he would support getting rid of that.
BLITZER: I'm going to interrupt you for a moment. I want to go out to Madison, Wisconsin. This news conference with the police chief and others is about to begin.
BARNES: Again, my name is Chief Shon Barnes, S-H-O-N B-A-R-N-E-S, with our third update of the day regarding our school shooting here in Madison, Wisconsin.
Here are the latest updates. The reunification of students and their loved ones who survived this incident is complete. All student survivors have been reunified with their parents. We're still in the process of reunifying some of our staff, our teachers who selflessly stayed back to make sure our kids were okay. We're currently reunifying them with their loved ones as well.
We do understand that this process of reunification may have taken awhile and parents really wanted to see their children, give their children a hug. Certainly I would as a father. But we are fortunate that process is complete.
As such, I want to thank the Dean Clinic. This clinic actually shut down their doors today in order to provide a space so that students who survived this incident could be reunified with their loved ones, and we thank them for doing this. At this time, we're still working on a motive trying to determine why this happened. We know that there's some information that may be circulating about the shooter. I cannot, at this time, formally tell you the age or gender or name of the shooter. We do not want to compromise any part of the investigation. But it is important to note that later today at 8:30, I plan to give an additional update, and I believe at that time, we may be able to give you the answers to some of those questions.
Here's what we know again. We have three people who have lost their lives. Two of those people were persons who were pronounced dead at the scene and one while on the way to the hospital. Of the six injured and taken to local hospitals, two students remain in critical condition.
[18:45:04]
Their injuries are life-threatening.
A teacher and three other students were taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Two of those victims, two of those survivors, have been released from the hospital. So that is update. Officers were dispatched to Abundant Life Christian School at 10:57. I can confirm that the first officers arrived at 11 a.m. and immediately went into the building, three minutes later.
The crime response unit of Dane County District Attorney's Office, assisted by the Dane County Emergency Management, and were mobilizing our mass violence critical response team. Once again, our mass violence critical response team have been has been notified. This is a group of people trained in responding to victims of mass violence, which includes social workers, attorneys, victims professionals, former law enforcement, and members of our community. If you need further assistance or want to know how you can help, you can contact the crime response program. They have a daytime number of 608-284- 6908. They have an after hours number for those who -- who may want to help at 608-376-0164., 608-376-0164.
Preplanned or planned shootings. We believe are preventable. If you see warning behaviors from someone that is planning an attack, say something, do something and you can report this at 1800-MY-SUS01, 1800-MY-SUS01.
At this time, joining us is director of advancement Barbara Wiers.
BARBARA WEIRS, ELEMENTARY & SCHOOL RELATIONS DIRECTOR, ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: Thank you. I understand there's questions regarding the school. We're happy to answer those to the best of our ability. We have been incredibly supported by Madison police, Madison fire and the paramedics. They have been absolutely amazing to us. It was an quite an afternoon for the reunification process, and we had so many people stepping up to help our families were amazing in their patience as we work through this.
We are so grateful from the president up to the governor, the mayor. We have had so much support. This has obviously rocked our school community, but we know it affects not just our school community, but Madison and the greater area and all schools. And so our hope is that there will be some good that comes out of this, as we can learn and grow and continue to support other schools.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll take questions. Scott, you got it.
REPORTER: Chief, can you give us any details about if there were any warning signs that premeditated this either at the school or with the family or elsewhere, that would have caused any red flags?
BARNES: Yeah, that's what the officers and detectives are working on now. Hopefully this afternoon at our fourth press conference, I'll be able to answer that a little bit further. But right now, I cannot tell you they're still talking to parents who are cooperating. And so hopefully well be able to give you a more detailed response as to any warning signs or anything that we may have possibly known prior to this.
All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maddie from WISC.
REPORTER: There's been heavy police presence at a home on the north side. Can you confirm if that's related to this?
BARNES: I can confirm that it is related to this, and everyone is cooperating. And so hopefully later today if you stick around, we'll be able to give you more information about that and what we may have learned from that process. Again, this is a situation where students and teachers were injured and killed, and everyone wants to cooperate. Everyone wants to give as much information as they can. So we can piece this together for our community.
REPORTER: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Phoebe from Wisconsin Watch.
REPORTER: Yeah. Thank you so, accounts online are sharing doctored and debunked photos to push a narrative about the identity of the shooter that goes far beyond what has been released publicly. Can you respond to that? And can you also say what effect that has on either the families of the victims or the publics trust in the in the law enforcement investigation? If what you say contradicts this media or this narrative that social media.
BARNES: Absolutely. Social media is something that, quite frankly, I can't control, and neither can anyone in this room. Everyone in here is a trusted and respectful journalist, and your word means a lot, which is why we're doing we're doing our third press conference of the day to get the actual truth out to what has happened.
[18:50:05]
We have a PIO, three of them working today to make sure we have information. I will say this if you're listening to this or you're at home and you're thinking about reposting or sending something that did not come from someone in this room, a trusted and respected journalist, or did not come from us, please don't do that, because to answer the second part of your question, what that does is it does help erode the trust in this process. And that's all we have.
And also it could further fan the flames, if you will, of misinformation and of fear at a time where we need to come together and not be divided by anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. WMTV?
REPORTER: Hello. Were there any lessons learned from back in may from the mount hawk shooting that you guys used in action today?
BARNES: Yeah. So we were not. That's not my jurisdiction. And so I won't speak to anything that we learned at Mount Horeb. But I will speak to 25 years of law enforcement. What I've learned is that every opportunity is an opportunity to grow, do better, and train this department trains constantly on this thing. I spoke about it earlier.
We train as far recent as actually today because our set medics were training at the training center three miles away, and their training day can turn into an actual response. So, as far as the incident at Mount Horeb. It wasn't my jurisdiction. So the only thing that I can tell you is we try to learn from everything and try to get better, even this one.
We'll do an after action debrief, once everything is done, and well talk about how we responded. Is there anything that we can do better? Continuous improvement is one of our core values, and we take that very seriously.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laura (ph) from the Journal (INAUDIBLE).
REPORTER: Do you have any idea where the gun came from? Was it -- did it belong to the shooter? Does it belong to parents?
BARNES: I do not know. That's part of the investigation process. We're trying to determine that. We're lucky to have great partners at the ATF. They obviously have a program that you're all aware of called the trace program.
And so we're working with them to try to find the origin of this. And I have no doubt that we'll be able to do that with their help. They are amazing partners, along with our partners from the FBI.
REPORTER: There was a handgun, right? To confirm.
BARNES: I confirmed earlier that it was a handgun.
REPORTER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: WKOW Madison.
REPORTER: Okay. All right.
REPORTER: Yeah. Can I ask Barbara a question? BARNES: Yes.
REPORTER: Okay. Just curious what kind of safety protocols are in place in the school? Do you have metal detectors? Police on staff, kind of anything like that. And does this kind of change the way things will be looking for? I know it's kind of early to answer.
WIERS: We're a small, private Christian school here on the east side of Madison. We serve three K-12. Our -- we have had an amazing partnership with the DOJ and the office of school safety because they have done trainings, they've provided school safety grants, and we have participated in both of those school safety grants, to harden our school if you can use that language.
We do not have metal detectors, but we do have a number of security protocols in place. We have always been told not to share our security protocols with publicly, because then those who might want to do harm will know your security protocols. But the students are aware that there are cameras in the building, and we do monitor those regularly in the offices, so that we know what is happening in the hallways.
We also have other safety measures throughout the building. But as to a metal detector, no, we do not have. We do abide by the policy of visual scans every morning as students come into the building. So every student is visually scanned before they go into their -- into their lot -- up to their locker spaces or into their classrooms.
REPORTER: How many students are there?
WIERS: Four hundred and twenty-three, K to 12.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lucas from "The State Journal"?
REPORTER: What part of the school did the shooting happen in?
BARNES: Say again.
REPORTER: I said, what part of the school did the shooting happen in?
BARNES: It happened near the -- so the school is obviously segregated into sections. I'm told that it happened at a period of time when the transition was complete. Students were where they were supposed to be near classrooms in the hallway. I did not again go into the school, so I don't know the exact nomenclature of where it happened, but it happened in a learning part of the school.
REPORTER: So once speak to that, maybe the specifics of the layout of the school.
BARNES: And yeah, because were still investigating, we'll just leave it -- leave it at that. Thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Sarah from WPR?
REPORTER: You mentioned that the school has a partnership with the office of school safety with the Wisconsin attorney generals office. Did police have access to blueprints of the school as a result of that partnership?
[18:55:04]
And how did that inform your police response?
BARNES: Do you want to speak to that?
WIERS: We do have some -- we have that all uploaded. I don't know what the police did. I can't speak to that.
BARNES: Okay. Do you want to?
WIERS: So -- okay, I can -- I can speak to the blueprints and the maps. We do have those uploaded as part of our reporting to the Department of Justice and the Office of School Safety, how they were used, I don't know. I do know that the police were going through and they were working with staff to secure the different areas, and that they did have maps.
So what -- whether those are the blueprint maps or what they were using that I can't speak to. But I do know that they did have maps.
REPORTER: Just to clarify, when you said visual scans, is that sort of like looking a student up and down, or is that going through a scanner device?
WIERS: It's a visual scan where we look at the student to see if there's anything unique or unusual in them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, (INAUDIBLE) from WKPT.
REPORTER: Sure. If I could get Barbara back real quick, I'm so sorry.
REPORTER: I don't know if you've had a ton of conversations with parents or staff members today, but what is the prevailing thought or message that they wanted to impart to you and administration?
WIERS: Sure. I had the opportunity to speak to the parents at the reunification site a couple of different times the families that I did speak to mostly were -- as you would expect, an abundant life. They were supportive. They were amazingly patient and kind. They were offering -- repeatedly we're praying for you. We're praying for our family because at ALCS, we are we call ourselves the challenger family.
We see ourselves as a family, not just a community. And, whether their child was affected by this or not, they were affected by it because what affects one part of the body affects all, as we know, the bible says. And so we hold that dear.
We also have a very strong faith in our community that, in spite of tragedy, God is working and we believe that God is good in everything and that he turns beauty for ashes. And so I had a number of families who mentioned that to me, that this wasn't a surprise to God, and that he's going to do something mighty with it. And so were holding on to those words, and were continuing to believe and trust in him. He is our foundation at Abundant Life Christian School. We are. We
exist to bring and to build disciples of Jesus Christ. And so we have complete faith that he will carry us through this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Danielle from (INAUDIBLE)?
REPORTER: I have another question for Barbara. Sorry to bring you back up.
WIERS: Yep. That's fine. So what details can you share about what students were up to right before the shooting started? The environment with their morning look like, some things about their day. So some of this is part of the investigation. So I think there's limited things that I can say at this time. Once the investigation is complete, obviously there will be more that will be shared.
We certainly don't want to say anything that would impede MPD. That would be critical. So I will actually step aside and let the Chief Barnes speak to that, because he is the lead for that.
BARNES: Yeah. I don't have anything to add. We're certainly working to get as much information as you can. We'll do another fourth, I think press conference today, later on today, I think at 8:30. And so, hopefully, we will have a little more information for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. (INAUDIBLE) with PBS Wisconsin?
REPORTER: Were there other search warrants executed today in addition to the house on the north side?
BARNES: I'm not aware of any.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Karl from NBC 26?
REPORTER: Yes. I have a question for Barbara. Was this the shooter at school at the beginning of the day, or was there a forceful entry later in the day?
BARNES: We believe that.
WIERS: I believe that's your question.
BARNES: Yeah, we believe that the shooter was at school. We have no information that there was some type of breach to the school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Jenna from WMTV?
REPORTER: TMJ4?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep. Sorry.
REPORTER: Okay. That's okay. Question for you, Barbara, if you don't mind, can you just talk about chief earlier mentioned how teachers and employees and staff really follow the protocols that you guys have practiced in place? I know that this is an emotional event, obviously, for students, but those teachers really take it to heart when they are sitting there protecting those little ones at the school.
Can you talk a little bit about what they did right in this situation? Obviously, this is tragic, but unfortunately we've seen school shootings play out that are far worse than what we saw today.
BARNES: When you think -- yeah --
WIERS: So it's timely that just prior to the start of the school year, we had a retraining. We train on this, we do lockdown drills, we do evacuation drills as part of our standard drill protocols, our students are versed in that. Our faculty are well-versed in that.
The training that we did with MPD at the very beginning of the year, prior to the students returning to campus, had some new updates. And so, we had looked at some of those things. So I think everything was very fresh for our faculty.
We follow the protocol of always keeping our school doors locked. And so that is one of the things that makes it quick and easy to secure a room. I was actually teaching at the time, and so following those protocols as a teacher would do, we take care of making sure the door is secure. We shut the door down --
