Return to Transcripts main page

WOLF

Chattanooga Shooting at Navy Reserve Center; ATF Agents Heading to Scene; Chattanooga Police News Conference Soon. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired July 16, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, we're following breaking news. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

There's breaking news in the state of Tennessee where at least one officer is down after a shooting near a U.S. military reserve center in Chattanooga.

A local store owner telling CNN that just before 11:00 this morning, she saw a man with a high-powered rifle fire multiple shots from a silver Mustang. The gunman apparently targeting a shopping center with multiple military recruiting offices. The city's mayor tweeting out earlier, and I'm quoting him now, "horrific incident in our community. We will release details as they are confirmed. Prayers to all those affected."

Let's get the very latest. CNN's Alexandria Field is monitoring what's going on. Alexandra, what do we know?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Wolf. We know that these shots first rang out around 10:50 this morning. The investigation is on now along with the hunt for the gunman or the gunmen, as the case may be.

What we do know from the Navy is that shots were fired at a reserve center this morning. They are also investigating reports of shots fired at another Navy building. It was the mayor who confirmed that an officer was down this morning. It was also the mayor who was tweeting that there had been a horrific incident.

There is a huge law enforcement presence that will be responding to the scenes of these reported shootings. You have witnesses who are trying to help investigators right now to piece together what they know and what they saw.

You've got the reports, Wolf, as you pointed out, that some are saying that they saw a shooter, a man shooting from a car with some kind of high-powered rifle. These are all elements that police are going to take into account as they try to identify exactly how many shootings may have taken place, where these shootings may have been and who was responsible.

We know that a number of buildings in the area are responding by going into lockdown. There are reports of a lockdowns at community college, at a university, at a hospital and also at a mall, while investigators try to contain the situation -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The shooter or shooters -- I just want to reiterate, Alexandria, that shooter or shooters, whatever the case may be, still at large, right?

FIELD: Absolutely. And that's why you've got all of these buildings taking these protective measures. You've got so many people responding in different locations saying that they've got to lock down these different facilities, whether it's a college campus, whether it's a mall, whether it's a hospital because, Wolf, as you know, in these situations, this is when you see the responders coming in, making the sweeps of these areas, making the sweeps of these buildings, making sure that they have cleared any spaces that could be vulnerable, at this point. They've got to apprehend whoever is behind this. They have not done that. And that's why so many precautions are continuing to be taken, at this point.

Also, of course, law enforcement officers relying on witnesses to give them any information about what they saw when these shots first rang out around 10:50 this morning.

BLITZER: Alexandra, I want you to stand by. A little while ago, we heard from the Chattanooga mayor, Andy Berke. And he said this. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY BERKE, MAYOR, CHATTANOOGA: We've got -- we've got an officer down. We've got some -- we had somebody out there shooting at our Army reserve center. This is one of the -- this has been a very, very terrible situation and we need to go figure out how we can -- we can handle it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's get some more on what's going on. Tennessee state Senator, Bo Watson, is on the phone for us. Senator, thanks very much for joining us. What can you tell us? What's going on over there?

SEN. BO WATSON (R), TENNESSEE (via telephone): Well, I know that our local law enforcement is responding, as they should, to this situation, Wolf. It's an ongoing situation so I think any real comments will be premature. You've pretty much detailed the facts of what most of us know. I will tell you that I have and I'm sure my colleague have been in touch with our state law enforcement people. And they will be providing whatever resources the city of Chattanooga needs during this terrible period of time.

BLITZER: We know one police officer is down. Do you know if that means that police officer has been shot and killed or injured? Do you now have any specifics on that, Senator?

WATSON: I do not have the specifics on that. I do know, Wolf, you know, we're citizen legislatures in Tennessee, and I actually work at one of the local hospitals, An HCA Facility Parkridge Medical Center. They are on high alert. We are not on lock down. The facility up the road (INAUDIBLE) where the officer was transported, they are on lockdown which is standard operating procedure for them. All the local businesses, all the local government agencies are responding appropriately with their lockdown or high-alert procedures. And all of us have gotten very used to these kinds of activities through the various drills that we do ever since 911.

BLITZER: Do you know, Senator, if the shooter -- if it was one shooter or were there multiple shooters?

WATSON: I don't think we know those details yet. Under lockdown scenarios or high-alert scenarios, you make no assumptions. You simply plan for the worst and hope for the best.

[13:05:10] BLITZER: Tell us about this Navy reserve center on Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga. What usually goes on over there?

WATSON: It's a recruiting training facility, mostly training. It's right up against the Tennessee River. There's actually a river park, community park right next to it. It's the same every day when people drive into Chattanooga if they come along in on Amnicola Highway. Not a populated area. It's mostly commercial, industrial businesses in that area of Chattanooga.

BLITZER: If the mayor, Andy Berke, tweets horrific incident in our community, we will release details as they are confirmed. Prayers to all those affected. It sounds as if this is, potentially -- and I hope I'm wrong. It sounds much more serious than just one individual -- as bad as that is, one individual down, right?

WATSON: Well, Mayor Berke and I were colleagues in the -- when he served in the Tennessee Senate. And I'm sure he is listening to local law enforcement, both for the -- not only Chattanooga Police Department, but the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department and the other SWAT-type agencies. I think, out of an abundance of caution, the mayor would have made a statement that brings everyone on high alert. And certainly that statement brings the high alert and is appropriate for the current situation.

BLITZER: You know this community well, Senator. What's your advice to the folks out there and near this area?

WATSON: Be diligent. Get out of the way and allow law enforcement to do their job. We are very blessed in this city. We have a great Chattanooga Police Department. We have a great Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. These people are well trained. Since 911, those of us in the government, particularly, have become very used to various drills on how to respond to these kind of situations. And everything that I'm hearing and what I'm told, they're demonstrating that not only are the health care facilities and the government facilities, but also all of our citizens who are responding, particularly our first responders. Chattanooga is a great place. This is an unfortunate incident.

But, again, I would encourage all of our citizens to pay attention to the news. Be careful about listening to too much without it having been confirmed by either local government or local law enforcement, and remain vigilant and on high alert until we're given the all-clear.

BLITZER: And, finally, one last question before I let you go, Senator, I know you've got to run. Were there -- as far as you know, were there any threats, any warnings, any indication something like this might be in the works?

WATSON: I am unaware of any threats or any warnings and no one has reported anything like that to me. Again, I can't express to you, Wolf, how quickly and magnificently our law enforcement and safety officials have responded to this incident.

BLITZER: Senator Bo Watson of Tennessee, thanks very much for joining us. We'll check back with you.

On the left-hand part of our screen, we're getting these live pictures coming in from our affiliate, WDEF.

We're also waiting for a statement. We're told the mayor of Chattanooga, Andy Berke, will make a statement shortly, updating us on what's going on. Earlier, he tweeted, once again, horrific incident in our community. We will release details as they are confirmed. Prayers to all those affected. That's from the mayor, Andy Berke.

Once again, we'll have live coverage of his update, his statement. That's momentarily.

Shortly after the shooting, our own Kate BOLDUAN had a chance to speak by phone with an eye witness who said she was very near the shooter. She described what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gina, you are in the area. You heard this all play out. But I want you to know exactly, what do you know? What are you hearing right now?

GINA MULE: I was at work just doing, you know, my normal duties to get the store open and I heard really loud noises. I didn't -- I couldn't even recognize that it was gunshots at first until I came out of the kitchen. And I looked out of our window and I seen the guy in his car. It was a silver Mustang, drop top, a white guy and he had a high-powered rifle. It wasn't simultaneously but it was pow, pow, pow. And he was just firing shots over here right next door to us and to the Air Force, Navy and Marines office. And I mean, I can't -- I don't even know how many shots he fired but it was a lot. A lot. It was just back to back. And people down the street --

BOLDUAN: OK. So, --

MULE: -- were saying that he seen him reloading so he could have reloaded, I don't know, several times.

BOLDUAN: So, Gina, you saw this -- MULE: And then, after he gone done opening fire, he pulled out real

quick. They said he didn't have a tag on his car or anything. And then, he headed -- he pulled out of our parking lot and went, I don't even know what direction that is, but toward the (INAUDIBLE), I guess at the Amnicola Center.

[13:10:01] BOLDUAN: So, Gina, just to -- just to back up just one second. So, you saw this shooter? You saw the -- you saw him. You saw the gun. You saw him in his silver Mustang, you say.

MULE: Yes, ma'am. I was standing right here and could have been only like 10 feet away from him in his car where he was parked. I was just right here at the restaurant looking through the window.

BOLDUAN: Did you see -- you saw the shooting. Was anyone shot, do you know?

MULE: I'd seen a guy, I believe he got shot in the back of the leg over here by us. Everybody is fine, other than that. But, yes, as far as any fatalities over here, everybody is OK. After the gunman pulled off, everybody ran in. Everybody local over here, you know, and the offices ran in and, you know, making sure everybody was OK. And I guess then that's when we was -- we didn't see the EMT or anything come until after the fact --

BOLDUAN: Right.

MULE: -- and got him.

BOLDUAN: And when did this happen? You said you were opening up the store? When did this happen? What time? I mean, --

MULE: This was about 10 to 11.

BOLDUAN: So, it just happened. And what is happening right now? Or -- I'm sure -- are police on the scene?

MULE: Right now, we have several police officers out here. You know, it's been closed off. It's a crime scene investigation now. They have all their cups everywhere where all the rounds and everything was. They've got the news people out here. And there's a lot of commotion, really, going on and everybody is making sure family members and things are all right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Well, you see the shots in that window over there, what was going on. This is a U.S. Navy reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A shooter there, maybe multiple shooters, we don't know. But at least one shooter going through a -- with a silver Mustang and firing his weapon at this U.S. Navy reserve center.

I want to go to our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr who's at the Pentagon. You've been speaking with representatives from the U.S. Navy. What are they telling you, Barbara? BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, Wolf,

we're talking to some defense officials who are familiar with the situation on the ground. As you would expect in these types of shooting incidents, a lot of conflicting information in those first reports. Right now, one defense official tells me there are no confirmed reports that any military personnel were -- thankfully, no one wounded, injured or killed in this incident. That is the initial report they are getting.

Another official tells us they're aware of the reports of the silver car that eyewitnesses are talking about, but that, in fact, they believe law enforcement may be looking for a black BMW, at this point. What they do know is that at 10:50 this morning, east coast time, someone, an unidentified male, drove up to this center in Chattanooga. This is an area where there are a number of military offices, recruiting, reserve and some other support functions, essentially co- located very close together. This person drove up in an automobile, got out, started firing into the Navy recruiting station, then very quickly got back into their car and fled. So, that is where it stands right now with local law enforcement, obviously, looking for this person.

We are told in the Navy recruiting office, at the time of the incident, there were three Navy personnel and, also, apparently a young person applying to join the military. All of those people are safe, we are told. None of them were injured. The military personnel in the area have now been moved to other offices.

The Department of Homeland Security has been notified about this. And a number of government agencies right now, as we speak, are treating information about what they know about this incident.

So, if it holds at this point, no military personnel wounded or killed in this incident. That, indeed, would be very good news. But, of course, we're following this every moment because, as we all know, in so many of these incidents, the first reports often prove to be something else down the road -- Wolf.

BLITZER: They certainly do because some eyewitnesses said a silver Ford Mustang convertible was involved But you're hearing from your sources, it may have been, what, a black BMW involved?

STARR: Right, a black BMW. What we don't know, could an eye witness potentially have seen something else? Could there be some reason that law enforcement now may be looking for a black BMW? This is all very much still to be determined. And because this happened -- although it happened at a military facility, it happened, by all accounts, in what, essentially, is Chattanooga. So, civilian law enforcement, clearly, would take the lead on this investigation. Military officials, Homeland Security officials will be offering any coordination, any help, any assistance. They will be looking back through all of their records to see if there had been any threats against this facility, if there were any suspicious perpetrators in the area, people they may have been -- had some indication were out to cause trouble. [13:15:12] They'll all be looking back through all of their records to see what information they can get, what they can all share. It will be an interagency effort certainly, but the indications would be, at this point, the Chattanooga Police Department would take the lead on this, working with military and federal law enforcement, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we can see at least a dozen, if not more, gunshots at that window there. We're showing our viewers, the left part of the screen, the residue of this shooting that occurred at this U.S. Navy Reserve Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Barbara, I know you're collecting more information from your sources over there. We'll get back to you.

We're awaiting the mayor of Chattanooga, Andy Berke. He's about to make a statement, updating us on what's going on. Earlier he tweeted, quote, "horrific incident in our community. We will release details as they are confirmed. Prayers to all of those affected."

Let's take a quick break. Much more on the news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:14] BLITZER: We're following the breaking news out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. There's been a shooting at a U.S. Navy Reserve Center. Until a few moments ago, we thought the shooter may still be at large, but only within the last few minutes, look at this, a tweet from the Chattanooga Police just was posted saying that the shooting incident has been resolved.

Let's put that tweet up on the screen. We'll show it to our viewers right now. There it is. "Active shooter situation is over. Details forthcoming." That tweet from Chattanooga Police.

We don't know the details. We do know that a spokesman for the Chattanooga Police expected to make a statement shortly. The mayor of Chattanooga, Andy Berke, also expected to update us. But, once again, you saw, "active shooter situation is over. Details forthcoming." That tweet coming in from Chattanooga Police. The Chattanooga Police Department.

We also have some new eyewitness sound that we just got over as far as what happened. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just pulled off trying not to - because I know he had saw me and I didn't want to get hit. So I pulled off and then I tried to go around back where I saw some people escaping from the back of the building to see if, you know, she would be coming out through the back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the scene like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was - it was a regular day. I mean, he just pulled up and I didn't think anything of it. He had his drop top and he looked to the side and next thing you know, he lifted up his arms like this with a big, black gun and just - it was one shot and then it was just endless shots, one after another, just unloading into the army -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the scene like inside your salon?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just crazy. We - once we realized what was going on, we were like, call 911 and get to the back of the building. I mean that was the only thing that we thought of and just right now we're just thanking God that we're safe, that all of us are safe, that it could have been us at any - at any moment. So we're just thankful right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the whole scene is pretty much chaotic at this point. Just - what would you like to tell other people that are here and just kind of just witnessing? You know there's really - one of the - the manager (INAUDIBLE) says that he saw a man with a gunshot wound. Did you guys see anything like that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't see him, but we've heard that there was a person with a gunshot wound to the leg, but we have not seen - we did see the ambulance here earlier and everything, but we did not see him. I didn't see him personally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How scary was it for you guys?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just scary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was scary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But like I said, we're just thankful, we're just thankful for our hope and our faith and our trust in Jesus that we're OK and that everyone in the complex is OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last question. A message to the families that have maybe lost loved ones today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just, take one day at a time. Love your loved ones. Spend time with your family. If you're not born again, get born again, because you never know the day or the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. And you heard it first. Thank you guys so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, so there we get some eyewitness accounts. Once again, just moments ago, the Chattanooga Police Department tweeting this, tweeting "active shooter situation is over. Details forthcoming." We'll stand by for a statement from Chattanooga Police, as well as from the mayor, Andy Berke, who earlier tweeted, "horrific incident in our community."

Let's go to CNN's Alexandra Field. She's been monitoring what's going on.

Alexandra, hopefully it is all over now but the details, obviously, need to be released.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, word that the active shooter situation is over is, of course, what everyone has been waiting for. But what we did not learn from that tweet, of course, is how this situation came to an end. We know nothing about the shooter's condition. If police are saying that the situation is over, it means that they have either detained, of course, the gun man or the gun men who could have been involved in this, but we do not know how that apprehension may have come about and, again, we do not know the shooter's condition at this point, where or how police may have located this person.

We also don't know anything about the police officer's condition because you will recall, Wolf, of course, that earlier this morning, the Chattanooga mayor tweeted that an officer was down, but did not give any details about that officer's condition. So we are awaiting word on that part of the story. Obviously, a very important part of this story.

Here is what we know officially on the record. We know that the Navy has said that there was this shooting, of course, at the reserve center this morning. The shots ringing out around 10:50. They've also said that they were investigating the reports of that second shooting at another Navy building.

We have heard a lot from witnesses this morning in the three hours since this situation began to unfold. Some of them describing a man in a drop top car, a man in a silver car. We've also heard, of course, from law enforcement officers who said that they were looking for a black car, not a silver car, as those initial reports had come out.

We are expecting this press conference in which police will hopefully put together parts of the timeline, identify the specific locations. At this point, the only confirmed injury that we have heard is this word that an officer is down and, of course, Wolf, everyone hoping that this press conference will confirm that it is just one person who was wounded in any way. Hoping, of course, for the best for that officer.

[13:25:18] There was a big response to this this morning as this situation developed, Wolf. We know that hospitals went into lockdown, community colleges, a university, even a mall. So with word now that this situation has come to an end, of course, you can imagine that people are just beginning to feel that they can begin to come out and begin to hopefully learn what has gone on in Chattanooga this morning.

BLITZER: A very serious situation, indeed, but according to Chattanooga Police, the active shooter situation is over, but we're standing by for details. We'll have live coverage of that news conference from Chattanooga Police, as well as from the mayor of Chattanooga, once it begins.

In the meantime, I want to go to CNN's Pamela Brown, our justice correspondent, who's monitoring the federal government's response to this. The FBI is involved. I take it the ATF is involved.

Pamela, what are you learning?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Wolf. We know that the FBI from the Knoxville office, as well as the Atlanta office, is responding to this, as well as the ATF. And so even though we're getting word that the active shooter situation has come to an end, according to authorities, according to that tweet, the investigation, Wolf, is far from over.

So what typically happens here is that there are evidence response teams on the ground right now trying to gather as much information as possible to piece together what happened here. Who was the shooter or shooters? What was the motive? And try to piece - put the pieces of the puzzle together. We know also SWAT teams are on the scene and victim witness specialists normally respond, as well, talking to anyone who may have seen this. Usually in these types of situations, when it's very chaotic, very fluid, witnesses really provide the best evidence, especially initially. So it will be interesting to see what we're going to hear from the Chattanooga police there, which is the lead agency on this investigation.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela, stand by because joining us on the phone right now is Marilyn Hutcheson, a witness who heard the actual shooting.

Marilyn, tell us what you saw, what you heard.

MARILYN HUTCHESON: Well, my friend and I were sitting outside the building on a break and we heard just in quick succession, seven to 15 shots. It was just pop, pop, pop. Just very fast. And we looked at each other and said, that's gunfire. Well, the next instant there were squad cars coming from everywhere and for about 15 to 20 minutes there was just a barrage of fire once the police officers and everyone got here. And then, of course, they came across and they put all of the buildings in lockdown. So there was a lot of gunfire going on for quite a while.

BLITZER: Because we saw all those gunshots in those doors and those windows there. You take a look. I counted at least a dozen or 15, maybe more. You know, I can only imagine what could have occurred after all those shots were fired. Did you see a vehicle - did you see a silver Mustang, a Black BMW? Marilyn, what did you see?

HUTCHESON: Well, because of the demographics (INAUDIBLE) difficult for anyone to see (INAUDIBLE) because of the way that the land lies, OK? You have a - a very heavy tree line and the naval reserve is back behind that tree line. So it would have had to be someone within the park that would see anything. I mean, no one, other than that, could really see. And it's a very busy area with the park. We have a lot of people going in. A lot of tourists going in. So, I mean, really, all anybody on this side could do was hear the succession of gunfire.

BLITZER: Were you alone, Marilyn, when you heard those gunshots? You must have been terrified.

HUTCHESON: My friend and I were outside. I wasn't really terrified. I just - you know, you just can't believe that something like that is happening and then, you know, when the police arrived and you heard the heavy gunfire, then you knew there was something - something was really going on bad. And, of course, you know, since then, you know, we've had the homeland security is here, ATF is here, the state police are here. You name it and they are here and we are still on lockdown.

BLITZER: As far as you know, Marilyn, we -

HUTCHESON: And as I understand it -

BLITZER: Go ahead, finish your thought.

HUTCHESON: As I understand it - as I understand it, there were at least four military personnel that were wounded, plus one city police officer.

BLITZER: Really?

HUTCHESON: So it's a lot more complicated than people believe.

[13:29:51] BLITZER: Yes, well, we're going to get details. We haven't confirmed that, Marilyn, but we're going to be getting details momentarily, we're told, from Chattanooga Police, also from the mayor, Andy Berke, who, as I've been pointing out to our viewers, earlier tweeted, horrific, horrific shooting - "horrific incident in our community. We'll release details as they are confirmed. Prayers to all those affected."