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NEW DAY SUNDAY

Deadly Terror Attack in Copenhagen Investigated; Weapons Used in Attack Smuggled to Europe; Snow and Cold Affecting Health; The American Sniper Trial Continues

Aired February 15, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: 31 minutes past the hour. Good to have you with us. You know, there are so many questions this morning about the deadly terror attacks in Copenhagen, Denmark, and police are investigating whether the suspect, this person here in the fatal shooting at a cafe and at a synagogue in the Danish capital acted alone. He was killed just hours ago in a shootout with police. But the pictures you're looking at here are of his house where the shootout happened. This all started yesterday when a gunman sprayed a Copenhagen cafe with bullets killing one person there. A crowd had gathered for a free speech forum with the cartoonist on al Qaeda's hit list. Now, just ten hours later, a gunman approached two officers near synagogue and began shooting. A bystander was killed in an incident. Journalist Astrid Sondberg joined us now on the phone and Astrid, I understand you have got some new information for us regarding some of the victims here?

ASTRID SONDBERG, JOURNALIST: Yes. We know now that the first man was killed at the debate for free speech. This is a 55-year old filmmaker from Copenhagen. He has been very interested in free speech and was commencing a lot on "Charlie Hebdo" at his Facebook and on the media. He was at the meeting and he talked to people we have spoken to about the importance of being there and we also know that the second victim who was shot in front of the Jewish synagogue in Copenhagen, that was a civilian who was standing guard at a Bar Mitzvah Party that was being held just next to the synagogue.

PAUL: OK, so those are the victims. What do we know definitively? Is there anything we know about this gunman?

SONDBERG: We do not know if it is the same person and we are not certain that it is the man that the police have shot and killed this morning, but we do know that police tells us that they are investigating in several addresses in Copenhagen at this moment to find evidence if they can connect this man to the shooting and we know that the police was waiting at an apartment. They knew that he had been seen there and taxi driver told the police that he had dropped the man off and we know from City TV that the man was at the building around 4:00 last afternoon. He left the building again briefly after and police was waiting when he returned. They caught him and he started shooting at the police with the police fires back and kill this man.

PAUL: OK. Yeah. He was shooting at police were the reports we heard as well and that they then shot him. Astrid Sondberg, we appreciate the update. Thank you so much.

SAVIDGE: Let's bring in CNN military analyst General Mark Hertling. And good morning, General. Denmark, Justice Minister said today that their security level was raised following the "Charlie Hebdo" attack in Paris. I mean that makes perfect sense. But she also said the terror threat against Denmark was serious prior to that. So, what does it you think that the Danish authorities may have been seeing or anticipating?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, good morning, Martin. And first of all, across Europe, all of the ministries are upping their anti-terror watch. I think all of it is as a result of what occurred in "Charlie Hebdo" and in Belgium. But even from my time in Europe as the commander of U.S. forces in Europe there was a constant sharing of information between the 50 counties that are a part of NATO. The Danish police are linked very closely with the Danish military and the intelligence collection what is called the past spirit in Denmark and I think the information sharing has improved significantly since the attacks in the last few months.

SAVIDGE: And it's quite clear that the Danish authorities believe that they have got the one gunman, but I'm also curious they would have to investigate just to make sure. How do you investigate to see if there were others involved?

HERTLING: Yes, certainly. All indicators are -- I mean, just from the style of this attack that initial indicators are it's a lone wolf attack. I mean, the attack on a building, the spraying of 30 to 50 shots, it wasn't a single shot action against a certain target. This was an advertised event, as many free speech events are in Denmark and the other Nordic countries. So, all indicators this was a lone wolf attack, but I think the very important piece is they are outside this individual home. They will be able to check his computers. They will be able to find out who he has been communicating with so it's these kinds of attacks, these kinds of lone wolf attacks, which really sometimes give a treasure trove with information to link what either cells or other individuals were thinking of online of extreme terrorists, just terrorism like this individual did.

SAVIDGE: And it would be easy perhaps to criticize authorities now after the facts and say well, was it wise to hold an event like this in front of a window, but you just mentioned lone wolf attack. This is really difficult even for, say, the United States to try to detect before it happens?

HERTLING: Well, absolutely. In fact, the individual whose name that this event bore, the Lars Vilks Association, if you will, Mr. Vilks has been on the nine, as you reported just a minute ago, has been on the top nine list of "Inspire" magazine most wanted. He's been attacked several times in his Swedish home. In fact, two individuals tried to burn his house down. There was a Pennsylvania woman who was recently convicted on an attack against him. So these kinds of lone wolf attacks are extremely difficult to counter and you just hope for information before they occur, but, truthfully, Martin, it's tough to stop these and certainly in the United States we have the potential for something like this occurring as well.

SAVIDGE: We believe that the weapon used here was a pistol semiautomatic, easily obtained in this country, but not so in that part of Europe. Where would the fire power be coming from?

HERTLING: Yeah, that's the thing that struck me about the attack, too. You know, having lived in Europe for several years recently in various jobs, they do not put the emphasis on guns like we do. It's very difficult to purchase and transport and bring across borders any kind of weapons. So some of these attacks are telling me that there are some deficiencies in checking or as we know with the Schengen Zone -- it's very simple to move across borders with things in the trunk of your car even. So that is the part that I think is really baffling a lot of European security agencies and intelligence agencies, where are these weapons coming from? What kind of gun market and even explosive markets are out there? That's going to be a key factor in this investigation.

SAVIDGE: Yeah, you can bet authorities are going to be thinking very deeply into that. General Hertling, thank you very much for joining us this morning.

HERTLING: Thank you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: And coming up, we are tracking the latest on that winter snowstorm that is bearing down on the northeast. Boston, along with millions of others, feeling the worst of this storm. And this hour, we will bring you the forecast, the very latest, next.

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SAVIDGE: While you were sleeping, it started snowing in a lot of places along the East Coast, so let's show you video of that snowfall. And by the way, this is not Boston, it's Maryland, which is one of the many states that is feeling this brutal winter snow. As many as 50 million people are dealing with this storm and it's already forced airports to cancel more than 1600 flights.

So, let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, and let's ask the obvious question: What's the forecast for the next couple of hours for, say, places like New York and Boston?

DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST: Oh, cold, cold and windy, I think. New York - we are basically just outside of Columbus Circle, an extremely busy area, pretty quiet at the moment because people want to stay indoors and stay warm. We have had brutal temperatures here. We have missed the brunt of the snowstorm. Obviously, that is over in Massachusetts and into Boston. But we have had some impressive wind gusts. Remember, Manhattan is highly densely populated with buildings and they create this natural wind tunnel, so if you move across the city blocks, you get this gust of wind and, all of a sudden, the wind chill values drop well below freezing. We have got a little device called an anemometer where we are actually measuring that and we have seen wind chill values drop just below freezing.

In fact, I want to point something out to you here, just outside the Columbus Circle is the ever-present CNN sign. And as we walked in to get coffee this morning, that temperature read 22 degrees and it is now at 14. The point being is that temperatures are dropping behind this system and it is going to continue to get colder. We have got very cold air mass settling in. Arctic blast. And that means people need to be aware of the possibility of hypothermia and frostbite because that is going to be our next main focus with this storm as it starts to quickly exit the region, the winds are going to pick up and the temperatures are going to drop as well. If we get a chance to bring up some of the graphics you can see that we have had, obviously, the snow into the Boston region and that is the area that will see the 8 inches to perhaps up to a foot of snow, especially as you get towards the coast of Maine, that's where we have our heavier snow bands at the moment. But really it's starting to focus on the colder temperatures and how people are going to be impacted by this storm with temperatures being the coldest of the season. Martin?

SAVIDGE: All right, Derek. Please stay warm out there and thanks very much for your reporting.

VAN DAM: Doing our best.

SAVIDGE: It just won't let up, will it?

PAUL: No, not at all. In fact, we want to get to Boston because you have got the traffic headaches, of course, and the snow. But there are some real health risks that a lot of times we don't even think about when we are talking about this kind of - this kind of weather conditions. The American Health Association saying people who are outdoors in cold weather should, quote, "avoid sudden exertion such as lifting a heavy shovel full of snow" and they say even walking through heavy wet snow or snow drifts can strain a person's heart. You don't always think about that. So, let's bring in a cardiologist in Boston, Resident Dr. Brian Bilchik.

Dr. Brian, thank you so much for being with us. First of all, what are some of the health threats that may be easy for you to spot, but maybe not so to the average person?

DR. BRIAN BILCHIK, CARDIOLOGIST: I think the cold weather creates a tremendous amount of burden to the heart and the system. Just being cold. People tend to become dehydrated very quickly. They don't drink enough fluids. Blood can sludge and get slower and people are more depressed. There's a lot of things we don't think about and then most people who are deconditioned who go outside and shovel snow and tremendous amounts of snow put themselves at risk. It's a sudden output of exertion that creates a problem. We call it the weakened warrior syndrome when people don't do any activity and then go outside and do something very strenuous, can put the heart at some risk. So we really see this quite frequently that people present with symptoms of chest discomfort and sometimes they don't show up, they work through it and then present with a heart attack and it's difficult to get to people in this kind of weather as well. So I guess there's so many confounding of factors that come together and create a risk at this time of the year. And shoveling snow is one of the things we, as a general rule, recommend against for our heart patients.

PAUL: Yeah, but even for people who you don't think about it. And we hear it all the time about somebody who had a heart attack just because they were shoveling snow. And you mentioned, I mean, we know travel, they can't - people can't get to them, they may not be able to get to the hospital, but for people that do, when you have got a blizzard situation like this, what is hospital life like for the doctors, for the nurses who may be working a lot of extra hours?

BILCHIK: Yeah. People can get stuck in the hospital in weather like this if the buses and the trains aren't working. There's a tremendous hospital plan to keep people warm and fed and rooms are supplied to support stuff. They do a tremendous job. It's a disaster situation and there's an incredible amount of coordination to create a plan to make things safe for people, but the hospitals are crowded. It's difficult to discharge people because they can't get out of the hospitals. The hospital becomes quite full. And, again, the public service does such a tremendous job in keeping the roads clear, but a day like today when there is wind gusts and blizzard conditions, it's very difficult to get out there and so there are a lot of contingency plans where support staff and physicians will be in the hospital early and stay there and do double shifts. It's tremendous.

PAUL: Sure. Sure. All right. Well, Dr. Brian Bilchik, we so appreciate your insight. Take good care there in Boston, of course.

BILCHIK: Thank you.

PAUL: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Next, some of the other stories that we are following this morning, including the American sniper murder trial, which is going to resume again tomorrow morning. Just ahead, why prosecutors say mental health had nothing to do with the murders?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: The so-called American sniper trial resumes on Monday. So far we have seen some dramatic dash cam video showing a violent police chase as well as video of the alleged killer and Marine veteran holed up in his car, it was actually a pickup truck telling police that voodoo is among us. Prosecutors argue the use of recreational drugs trigger the murder of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and Chat Littlefield, and not PTSD as the defense maintains.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more from Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Testimony in the American sniper trial will continue this week starting Monday morning here in Stephenville, Texas. The jury of ten women and two men will continue hearing testimony. They've already heard three days' worth so far. And it's still the prosecution that is putting on its case. They will continue to call witnesses detailing the events of the day Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were murdered. And also, they will start getting into the details and the mental health issues that they are trying to knock down. Remember. Prosecutors here are trying to show that it was more the abuse of recreational drugs and alcohol which had a greater effect on Eddie Ray Routh instead of the mental health issue. So we will start seeing a lot more - and that kind of continued testimony here in this week ahead. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Stephenville, Texas.

So, coming up next hour on "NEW DAY" terror in Denmark, a suspected gunman is dead after opening fire at a cafe and a synagogue. Now the prime minister is speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HELLE THORNING-SCHMIDT (through translator): This is not a battle between Islam and the West and it is not a battle between Muslims and non-Muslims, but a battle between the values of freedom for the individual in a dark ideology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Stay with us. We are talking to the deputy prime minister just ahead.

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PAUL: 57 minutes past the hour. And Beyonce's "Killer" dance routines have become almost as popular as her songs, right? Well, her chief choreographer now is pointing out the future dance stars - you are going to want to watch.

SAVIDGE: And one of his picks is by the name a Lil Buck (ph). He's got a pretty unique style. And brought it to the Grammy stage last week performing longtime Madonna. He is today's one to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the roof of an abandoned brewery, Lil Buck performs his urban ballet, undulating his body like a human wave machine, scattering his steps with staccato footwork. His home city of Memphis has already produced the rock-n-roll of Elvis and the blues of B.B. King. Now it has given birth to a street dance called jerkin, which Lil Buck has transformed and taken around the world.

LIL BUCK: If I was to describe it to you, you have to like - it's like Michael Jackson times ten. It's like a lot of slides and glides and a lot of toe spins. I think jugging is one of the greatest dance styles of all time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I picked Lil Buck as one of my ones to watch, because he is a star. He is an innovator. He is magical. His movement is so original. People have been waving and being fluid forever, you know? But he's made it be something else. LIL BUCK: The first time I actually saw jerking, Memphis jerking was

when I was around like 12 years old. I was in a skating rink in Memphis. When I walked in I saw this guy gliding across - like in this water. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. Like I haven't even seen Michael move this way and that is what changed my whole world.

It's a beautiful dance to me. And that is what I really wanted people to see.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: You can check out the full show at CNN.com/onestowatch.

SAVIDGE: We are following two big stories for you this morning. Police in Denmark investigating two terror attacks that left two people dead, five others hurt. The suspect killed by police. One of the apparent targets a cartoonist who depicted Mohamed with a body of a dog.

PAUL: Also, this blizzard in the northeast, record snowfall for the month of February for Boston, specifically, more than 1600 flights have cancelled and the snow is just starting to pile up.