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Policeman's Murder Shocks Houston Area; Poll: Sanders Cuts Into Clinton's Lead; Washington Fire is Largest in State History; Interview with Andy and Barbara Parker; Sandy Hook Mom's Open Letter to the Parkers; Rescuing Abandoned Dogs in Puerto Rico. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 30, 2015 - 18:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:14] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Six o'clock Eastern this Sunday evening. Thank you for joining me. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

And we begin in Texas, right near Houston, where a spot where a sheriff's deputy was suddenly ambushed and senselessly killed has turned into a memorial. The people of Harris County showing their support at the gas station near Houston. That is where Deputy Darren Goforth died late Friday in an unprovoked attack that investigators say he did not even see coming.

CNN's Ed Lavandera live for us in Houston this evening. Also with us, law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes in Washington, who for many years served as a police officer.

Ed, let me begin with you. Tell me about what police are saying at this hour. I know late last night, they identified the suspect. But do we know anything about a motive yet?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have not been told anything about the motive. What is interesting, though, however, is that the gas station here, and this is where the deputy was, at pump number eight here at this Chevron gas station, the suspect is -- lives walking distance back into the neighborhood, you see in the distance over there. So, there's not a great distance.

And from what people have been telling us here, as well, is that it is not uncommon to see sheriff's deputies either at the end of their shifts stop by here and refuel their patrol cars and continue moving on. So, this seemed to be a popular place for sheriff deputies to stop, make the pit stops and go into the convenient store at the end or during their shift. So, it was not uncommon to see not only this particular deputy, but others come through this area, as well, from time to time.

HARLOW: Ed, stay with me.

Tom, I want you to also listen to what this sheriff of Harris County said this weekend. Frustrated with the rhetoric that he believes has come after a number of police officers. Let's listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF RON HICKMAN, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: Our system of justice absolutely requires law enforcement to be present to protect our community. So, at any point when the rhetoric ramps up to the point where calculated, cold-blooded assassination of police officers happen, this rhetoric has gotten out of control.

We've heard black lives matter. All lives matter. Well, cops lives, matter, too, so why don't we drop the qualifier and say, lives matter, and take that to the bank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Tom, you wore that uniform for many years. What is your reaction to this?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT: I completely agree with what he just said. You know, being a police officer, especially one in uniform, this is the only job there is where somebody might kill you just because of what you do for a living.

You know, there are many dangerous occupations -- coal miners, firefighters, race car drivers, but nobody is trying to kill them just because that's their occupation. And that's the case in this instance.

It was the case in New York last December when the two officers were sitting in the car and the individual from the Black Gorilla Family, the gang in Baltimore, traveled to New York, bragging that he was going to put wings on pigs, and I guess he did. He shot and killed them for the same type of thing, an ambush.

And he's absolutely -- the sheriff is right about the rhetoric. It's gotten so far out of hand. It's beyond dangerous to be a police officer today.

HARLOW: Ed, what do we know about whether the suspect, this 26-year- old, knew this sheriff's deputy at all? Did they have any connection?

LAVANDERA: As far as we can tell, there hasn't been any direct correlation or connection drawn between Shannon Miles and the deputy. So, nothing like that has emerged yet.

HARLOW: Tom, to you, one of the things that we've heard is that the most, sort of, routine police work, traffic stops, for example, among the most dangerous things a police officer can do. Because, you know, we've seen time and time again where they have been shot and killed in a routine traffic stop.

Do you -- do you believe now is the time that is more dangerous for police officers, or is this a case where we are talking more about it?

FUENTES: Well, I think it's both. You know, being a police officer has always been a dangerous occupation, and there have always been many officers killed in the line of duty. Making traffic stops, going to quell a family disturbance or arrest an armed robber or burglar. You know, those type -- of taking enforcement actions is always going to be dangerous. But in this case, just wearing the uniform and being out there in public, you know, is just as dangerous or more.

I think it's a little more right now because of the rhetoric. Because there's this public sentiment that, somehow, the police officers -- you know, well, they decided to be a police officers officer. Too bad. They're the professional. They should de-escalate the situations.

They shouldn't be afraid when jumps on them and starts beating them on the street, like the Birmingham officer a week or so ago, beaten unconscious with his own gun, and obviously by an unarmed gun, at least he was unarmed until he took that police officer's gun.

[18:05:07] So, this rhetoric has really become extremely serious. When you hear people on the streets, protesters on the street yelling, "What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now." This is way beyond what should be the public discourse of law enforcement and what should be done in the communities of our country.

HARLOW: Again, we're still waiting --

FUENTES: If I could say one more thing, Poppy?

HARLOW: Sure.

FUENTES: What the journalism community is experiencing now with the loss of Alison and Adam, my brothers and sisters-in-law enforcement go through this every three days. We've had many officers gunned down and killed in the line of duty this year alone.

HARLOW: That's a very important statistic to point out.

Ed, before I let you go, can you just tell me what has formed behind you? There is a huge memorial. I'm interested in what the people in the community are saying this evening.

LAVANDERA: Well, this is the memorial literally at the gas pump where the sheriff's deputy was shot and killed on Friday night. Throughout the day, over the course of the last day, starting yesterday, thousands of people have come through here. They've been taking up donations for the family. We just got word, poppy, that they've raised here in the course of the last day, $50,000 for the deputy's wife and two children, as well as a Go Fund Me page on the Internet that raised, the last time we checked a short while ago, it was $45,000.

So, in just a matter of the last 24 hours or so, nearly $100,000 raised for this family. So, an outpouring of support. And when you talk to people, people are trying to figure out exactly what to do. So, coming here is one of the things they say has made them feel better. There's always been at least three or four sheriff's deputies or law enforcement officers hanging around. A lot of talking, a lot of hugs and a lot of tears.

HARLOW: Can only imagine.

Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.

Tom Fuentes, thank you for your perspective as a former police officer as well.

We will talk politics straight ahead. The front runners in the presidential race are hearing footsteps from the outsiders. Maybe a little more than footsteps. New numbers in today from the critical state of Iowa. We're going to tell you which candidates are gaining momentum, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:10:50] HARLOW: New poll numbers show the presidential race is tightening on both sides. Polls from "The Des Moines Register" and Bloomberg Politics this morning showing Bernie Sanders now trails Hillary Clinton by just 7 percent.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump is still holding on to the top spot with a solid 23 percent. But take a look under him. Neurosurgeon Ben Carson is edging closer, now at 18 percent support. The rest of the field registers in the single digits.

With me now to hash it all out, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein in Des Moines, Iowa, Democratic political strategist Tharon Johnson, and a Republican strategist Tara Setmayer.

Thank you all for being here.

Ron, let me begin with you. Is this looking like 2008 all over again in Iowa, when Clinton led John Edwards and Barack Obama, but then come November, Obama surges ahead and look what happens?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, yes. I mean, the first caveat is that it is still the summer of 2015 and a lot is going to happen between now and when the first voters in Iowa kick off the process next February, and a lot is going to happen after that. So, that is kind of the important caveat. These numbers can and will move.

But there's no question that if you look on the Democratic side, first of all, and really on both sides, we've seen assumptions upended. Few months ago on the Republican side, the assumption was the top tier was Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio. They're all lagging in single digits behind Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Two political outsiders first time candidates.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is at a rough summer. It's kind of Clinton family trait, they often have rough summers. She has deteriorating numbers nationally, but especially in Iowa, where there are a lot of the white collar liberals that usually provide the basis, the foundation for a kind of insurgent candidacy like Bernie Sanders.

HARLOW: I just want to point out, by the way, you've got Clinton, 37 percent now, Sanders, 30 percent. In January, in Iowa, same polling, Sanders was polling at 5 percent and Clinton was polling at 56 percent. She has lost 1/3 of her supporters in that state since May alone.

To the other incredible rise on the GOP side, Tara, to you -- Ben Carson, 18 percent.

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, that's pretty remarkable. It's consistent with the outsider insurgency that's going on.

HARLOW: The narrative.

SETMAYER: Sure.

I mean, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump have been the biggest beneficiaries of this, I'm sick and tired of politics as usual attitude coming out of Washington. Voters are just sick of it. They've had it.

So, it's clear that someone like Ben Carson, who is pretty much as outside as you can get, I mean, he's a neurosurgeon with zero political experience, no business experience necessarily as an executive.

HARLOW: Right.

SETMAYER: And his demeanor is very -- you know, people like him. His favorability numbers are through the roof, I think pretty much higher than anyone else on the Republican side. So, I think it's fascinating to see that this is consistent, even on the Democratic side, with Bernie Sanders, another insurgent candidate, coming in here and literally gaining 34 points on Hillary Clinton since May. He was down 41 points in May.

So, here, you have someone that they consider an outsider. He's outside the mainstream on a lot of issues. He is a socialist.

But then the same thing is happening on the Republican side, where you have these outsider candidates coming in and resonating with the voters in Iowa because they're just tired of the political B.S. in Washington. It's clear.

HARLOW: Tharon, to you, Tharon, to you, Joe Biden -- Joe Biden is the wild card here, right? Will he jump in, will he not? In this "Des Moines Register" poll right now, if he jumps in, he takes 6 points from Clinton, he takes 5 points from Sanders in Iowa.

What is -- you know, if you're in the sanders camp or the Clinton camp right now, what is your strategy if he jumps in and does take those points away from you?

THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OBAMA 2012: Well, Poppy, I'm glad you mentioned Vice President Biden, because you're right -- I mean, he is really the X factor in this entire poll. I mean, if you analyze this poll -- I mean, for him to be at 14 percent and to not be a declared candidate is very, very impressive. But the other thing that the poll showed, which I thought was very

interesting, and the Clinton campaign has got to be happy about, is that when the poll asked the voters the second question, without Joe Biden in the race, she goes to 43 percent, and then Bernie Sanders is only at 35 percent.

[18:15:04] So, if you're in the Bernie Sanders campaign, look, this is going to be a good week for you. I mean, you're going to be able to raise a lot of money. You're going to be able to say, hey, look, we're doing Iowa, and it's paying off.

On the Clinton side, you're fine. You got to think, we have a five- month marathon ahead of us. We've got over, you know, 40-something organizers on the ground who have been there. And I think they're just going to run their strategy. At the end of the day, I think we're going to have a really good campaign with a lot of poll numbers leading up to the CNN debate in October.

HARLOW: It's going to be a good debate to watch, only right here on CNN.

I do want to get your thoughts on this. This week from Donald Trump, we heard him talked about the silent majority, right? He's talked about making America great again, harkening back to Reagan in 1980, talking about the silent majority this week, harkening back to Nixon.

Let's roll that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So you have a silent majority in this country that feels abused, that feels forgotten, that feels mistreated. And it's a term that hasn't been brought up in years, as you know. People haven't heard that term in many years. And it's sort of interesting as to why. There are all different reasons. But I think it's a very descriptive term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Ron, to you, final word, do you hear racial undertones, or do you not? Because that's been debated all week.

BROWNSTEIN: I recall about this, tracing the history of the term, and from the beginning, it's been understood to implicitly be talking about the white middle class, the white working class. When Richard Nixon coined the phrase in October 1969, the first time it was used in fall in a speech defending the Vietnam War, there was no question it was in the context of political and social protests from young people and African-Americans.

And the difference, though, Poppy, is when Nixon coined the phrase, 80 percent of all voters were whites without a college education. Now, those voters are around 45 percent. We're living through diversification. Obama lost white voters more than Carter did in 1980 and he still won. I think the Donald Trump line of argument about immigration and other issues, whether explicitly or not, does draw strength from anxiety among certain elements in society of the things we're living through. And the silent majority is a way to talk to those voters.

HARLOW: Ron Brownstein, Tara Setmayer, Tharon Johnson -- thank you all. I appreciate it. Wish we had a lot more time. We'll have you all back on to talk about this.

As we just talked about, the debates, you will not want to miss. The second Republican debate here on CNN, September the 16th at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. CNN will also host the first of six Democratic debates. That is October the 13th from Nevada, right here on CNN.

Coming up, the potential triple threat: three major hurricanes. Right now, three of them in the Pacific.

Our Tom Sater is in the weather center tonight.

Good evening, Tom.

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good evening, Poppy.

This is the first time in recorded history to have three major hurricanes all at one time. And one of them is getting pretty close to the Hawaiian Islands.

Also, out west, wildfires have scorched 7.8 million acres, and we've just passed the halfway point in the season.

A full report on both of these stories when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:50] HARLOW: All right. I want to take you out west, where the weather is of grave concern. In Washington state, firefighters say the biggest wildfire in the state is now the largest in the state's history. What is more, they say it could burn until it snows.

CNN meteorologist Tom Sater is joining me now in the severe weather center to talk about that threat and also a threat in Hawaii?

SATER: Yes, absolutely. There is a hurricane coming close to the Hawaiian Islands but doesn't look like it's going to make direct impact.

Here's what we're talking when it comes to the fires, I thought a month ago, when I heard the number of firefighters were at 6,000, I thought, you have to be kidding me, I've never heard a number that high. Well, then 10,000 firefighters, then 20,000, then 25,000. They've got prisoners, National Guard, help came from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

We've had 43,000 fires this year so far. Believe it or not, that's below the ten-year average of 52. But they've been massive, huge fires, record-breaking fires, 7.8 million acres have been scorched. On average, 5.4 million. Now, out of the 7.8, 5 million acres in the state of Alaska alone. We haven't talked about that. Obama is going there tomorrow. I'm sure that will be brought up as we talk about climate change and more fires.

And here they are up to the north, now, we've had rain on the coast, it's just not making it over the Cascades. Now, we have poor air quality, and there is, of course, an alert for this, and this is all going to be blowing across the northern states, because the winds are going to be kicking up across Montana.

Remember, about a month ago, there was a fire in Canada, around Calgary, and that went to the east coast. So, when we talk about the rain, it's been unfortunate that we had a fatality in Puget Sound and some damage as winds were up to 86, 90 miles per hour. But that rain is not getting over the mountains. They're getting squeezed out.

Some of these fires may burn for some time in the eastern part of Washington state, Idaho, Montana, and then down to the south. We're hopeful maybe that there will be some rain in seven days. But an elevated fire threat because the cold front is just going to trigger some lightning, dry thunderstorms. Maybe in the next seven days, we'll see a little bit in Montana and a little bit down to the south.

Now, as we talk about record breaker, first time in recorded history, three major hurricanes, category 4s. You've got Kilo. That's already passed the Hawaiian Islands here. Ignacio in Jimena.

Now, let's talk about the middle one. This is going to pass north of the Hawaiian Islands. When you talk about the big island, all in record history, they've only had none landfall and that was a tropical storm a year ago. But they've had a lot of rainfall. Of course, we know about the story at Waikiki Beach. They don't need anymore rain, but it looks like it's going to kick up the surf.

And remember Erika? It's just going to flood parts of Florida, no longer a tropical storm there. So, a lot going on, but could have massive flooding in areas of Tampa Bay, Poppy, that have too much rain in the last three weeks.

HARLOW: All right. Tom, a lot to keep an eye on literally from coast to coast.

SATER: Yes.

HARLOW: Tom, thank you, as always, my friend.

Quick break: when we come back, you will hear from the parents of slain journalist Alison Parker.

(BEGIN VIDEOI CLIP)

ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF ALISON PARKER: I promise you, and I've said this time and again, these people are messing with the wrong family. We're going -- we are going to affect a change, and it's going to happen. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: They talked to me about their purpose in life now following the death of their beloved daughter.

[18:25:03] That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: This afternoon, the people of Roanoke, Virginia, celebrated the lives of two journalists who were murdered on live television. Remembering Alison Parker and Adam Ward at this memorial service, co- workers, friends, both in their 20s.

These are two people who started together as interns. They were ambushed by a former employee who later killed himself.

Alison's parents, Barbara and Andy Parker, have turned their daughter's death into a crusade for gun control laws in this country, to change some of the existing laws.

We spoke with them about their hopes in an exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Do you find in Alison's passion, the strength now to fight this fight, Andy and Barbara, to fight your passion, which is changing some of the gun laws in this country?

BARBARA PARKER, MOTHER OF ALISON PARKER: I like to think that she got her strength from me and her passion from her father. And I always looked at her and thought, the genes just aligned, and how often does that happen?

And she was absolutely the best of both of us. We're both passionate about what we do and passionate about the arts. Passionate about the things that we feel are right and important. And she -- she had that. She had that passion from day one.

A. PARKER: And now, we're passionate about a new mission, and you know, that's the -- you know, if it's the only thing that's giving me strength, to take on this cause, because, you know, I know that somewhere she'd be looking down and going, you go, dad. You're -- this is -- this is what she would want me to do.

HARLOW: This is her fight.

B. PARKER: I can see --

[18:30:03] A. PARKER: This is her fight.

B. PARKER: It is her fight. And I can see Alison sitting there going --

A. PARKER: Yes.

B. PARKER: Because that's what she'd do. It's like, good job, mom and dad.

A. PARKER: And, you know, I --

B. PARKER: We'd do that for her.

A. PARKER: I'm sorry. Go ahead, Poppy.

HARLOW: Barbara, you have said, this was the happiest point in her life. She was madly in love with Chris. She was working at her hometown station, where she wanted to be. That was, with the utmost evil, stripped away from you, stripped away from your community, stripped away from this world. So I want to know more about your fight, Barbara. Where do you go from here?

B. PARKER: From here, you can't change the world in a day. I mean, that's been proven. That you can't change the world in a day. But we -- we cannot be intimidated. We cannot be pushed aside. We cannot be told that this fight has been fought before, and that we're just one more grieving family trying to do something because I -- I've looked in the camera on other interviews, and I've said, if you are a parent, if you're a mother, if you have children, can you look your child in the eye and say, we are willing to allow you to be collateral damage in order to keep what some people perceive as their constitutional rights? If we as a society are willing to accept that, what kind of society are we?

HARLOW: On Friday, I interviewed Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. And I want to play you part of what he said to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Who are you talking about in Congress?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: I'm talking about the entirety of Congress, especially those that have stood in the way of commonsense gun measures, like expanded background checks or reform of mental health systems. The fact is, is that when, you know, our leadership in Congress stands up and say, we can't do anything, they are absolutely wrong. And I believe that we have become complicit in these murders because people listen to the highest levels of government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Andy, I know you want to go to Washington. What will you tell Congress?

A. PARKER: Well, Senator Murphy is absolutely correct. And you know, I think every time there's been one of these tragedies, you know, we all say, well, this is the tipping point. You know, this is -- you know, something is going to get done. After Newtown, after Aurora, after, you know, Gabby Giffords was shot. I mean, you know you think that something is going to get done.

This time, I think that the circumstances of this tragedy, they're different. They're different this time. It is -- it has been not just another, you know, well, gee, gunman goes in and it's all horrific. But because of who Alison was, I mean, you know, she was a rock star. And she had such potential behind her. Alison would be really mad at me if I didn't take this on, and I promise you, and I've said this time and again, these people are messing with the wrong family.

We're -- we are going to affect a change, and it's going to happen. And we need people like Senator Murphy and Governor McAuliffe who are courageous enough to stand with us. And we will affect a change.

HARLOW: Barbara, I'd like to read for you part of a letter from one mother to another this morning. Nicole Hockley, who lost her beautiful 6-year-old son Dylan in the Sandy Hook shooting, wrote an open letter this morning in the paper.

And it reads, "I understand the overwhelming need to make something positive come from this. The need to save lives as part of your daughter Alison's legacy. I can see the shock in your eyes and the potent mixture of anger and grief bubbling under the surface, threatening to overcome you at any time. I have insight into the journey ahead and can sadly say that it will not -- never get easier. But there is hope, and that is what you need to hold on to. People say, if Sandy Hook couldn't deliver change, nothing will. I disagree."

What do you say, Barbara?

A. PARKER: And --

B. PARKER: I absolutely agree with that. You think that, how could that many children be killed and nothing happen? For it to be ignored? But what we have to do is, there are people out there whose minds we will never change. They are the people that are unimportant in this fight. The people who are important to this fight are the silent majority who feel the way we do, that some kind of gun control measures are necessary.

A. PARKER: Even the NRA -- you know, the majority of NRA membership supports, you know, reasonable closing of loopholes and making it harder for, you know, mentally disturbed people to get guns. And as Mark Kelly mentioned, and I know this, you know. This is not a sprint. It's a marathon. But I'm in it for the long haul. We're in it for the long haul.

[18:35:18] HARLOW: Bonded by unthinkable tragedy, you just heard the parents of Alison Parker respond to that open letter from Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old Dylan in the Sandy Hook shooting. Next, you will hear from Nicole herself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The parents of Alison Parker, the reporter murdered last week, say that they are determined to fight in their daughter's name. They are determined to keep guns out of the hands of those who are mentally ill. One woman who knows that journey personally is Nicole Hockley. Her 6-year-old son Dylan was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. Today she wrote an open letter to the Parkers, saying, in part, "I have insight into the journey ahead for you and can sadly say that it will never get easier. But there is hope, and that is what you need to hold on to."

Nicole Hockley spoke with my colleague Fredricka Whitfield earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICOLE HOCKLEY, MOTHER OF SANDY HOOK SHOOTING VICTIM: First of all, I really want to say thank you for sharing that letter with them because I have no idea how to reach them and didn't know how to help them in any way, shape or form. But I do -- you know, after every act of gun violence, the scab on my heart is ripped open yet again. And my heart bleeds for all of the families and the communities affected.

[18:40:07] I want to reach out to every single one. Sometimes it completely overwhelms me, and I'm unable to do anything. In this occasion, you know, on Friday, I said, you know, I have to -- I have to write something. And I wrote very quickly over lunchtime and sent it out, in just the hopes that it might reach them. So thank you for that.

I stayed away from media for a little while because every news report, every press report takes me immediately back to my own experience. And it re-traumatizes you every single time. And knowing that -- knowing that they had been executed live on television, I was very concerned that I might accidentally stumble across that video, and I really did not want to see it because I can easily see Alison's face and transpose that with that of my son.

And I don't -- I have nightmares about his last moments regularly. I don't need to see it played out on TV and re-traumatize myself or have anyone else traumatized that way. So I did allow my friends and colleagues to get the information for me and filter it to me, and help me recommend to me which articles I should read, as more details came out.

In terms of the change, even for a sensible gun safety and mental illness legislation, it is absolutely an uphill battle, but there is movement being made. And the conversation has never fully stopped since Sandy Hook. It goes in ebbs and waves. You know, it comes and goes, but it's always still there. And unfortunately, more shootings and more gun violence continue that conversation, but always at a notch higher, in terms of its volume.

And what Mrs. Parker said in your interview there, she is absolutely spot-on correct. This is not about the views of extremes on either side. This is about the silent majority, which I used to be part of. This is about having the everyday, sensible center of America stand up and say that we are going to do whatever it takes to get this done because this is about protecting our own communities, our own children.

And there is progress that can be made, and you just have to keep forging ahead. Change is slow. Change takes time, but change will happen.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And how has what happened to your little boy, Dylan, and what has happened to you as a family, how has that changed your purpose in life?

HOCKLEY: Well, before Dylan was killed, I didn't know anything about gun violence in America. I admit, I didn't even know who the NRA was. You know, this was not on my radar whatsoever back in 2012. I was a mom on a corporate leave of absence, about to start up a smoothie business with one of my friends. You know, my focus was on my boys. We have just returned to the States after I've been away for a number of years and I just wanted to get them settled.

And now there's really nothing of my former life that is similar. I mean, I'm still me, but there is a very different me. My personally has changed. The optimist that I once was, you know, she's still in there somewhere, but there's a lot more realism now. And I don't plan as much in the future as I used to. You know, I had a plan for life. I knew what I wanted to do, and I had goals for my boys. And now everything is much more unclear.

I have had good contact with some of the families from Aurora, such as Sandy and Lonnie Philips. I count them as friends. Met Richard Martinez. We are all on the same path, but we're all going about it a slightly different way. After the first six months of losing Dylan, I focused on background checks. That was my first big step. And when it failed in April 2013, I learned a hard lesson that policy and politics aren't really what changes the country. It's the hearts and minds of people.

And I decided, although I still advocate for gun safety legislation, and mental health and wellness legislation on a regular basis, I decided with Sandy Hook Promise, the organization that I lead along with other families who lost their children and loved ones at Sandy Hook, we decided that our mission was to get ahead of the violence. What could we do more upstream to help prevent violence before it happens?

And that's our sole -- that's our primary focus. Rather than focus on the firearm, let's focus on what we can do to prevent -- to get help for people and prevent the wrong people from accessing firearms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:45:14] HARLOW: Our thanks to Nicole Hockley for that interview with Fredricka Whitfield.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right. We want to take you to Puerto Rico's Dead Dog Beach. It has become an ugly reality in one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's a dumping ground for unwanted pets, often thousands at a time, many die. But one woman is making it her mission to save as many as she can. It is a remarkable story. Look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[18:50:04] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, honey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, pretty girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You're going to find a nice home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Look at those ears.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have all the volunteers taking the dogs out, giving them some water, cleaning them up and then we just load them into the van over here.

CHRISSY BECKLES, THE SATO PROJECT: My name is Chrissy Becles, and I am founder and president of the Sato Project. We rescue and rehabilitate dogs and then we fly them to New York for their forever homes.

We're on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Yabucoa. This has become a dumping ground for unwanted animals, more specifically dogs. People that no longer want their pet, they bring them here and they dump them here. And so it's garnered that very unfortunate name.

It happens very, very fast. A car has driven. Dogs have been thrown out. And they've just kept on going. I have leashes. To me, personally, my dogs are my kids. They are family members.

How many babies do we have in there?

On the other end of the spectrum, dogs are disposable. They are vermin. You have got to be able to move very fast. Give them a couple of weeks and he's going to be living a good life.

We fight so the dogs of Puerto Rico don't have to. Our ultimate goal is to make the home of a place called Dead Dog Beach the first dog friendly community in Puerto Rico. And if we can do it here, then we can do it anywhere.

People ask me what is the correlation between rescue and boxing, and there is a lot. The two to me go hand in hand. I'm very inspired by the fight that these dogs have in them. I look back at some of the dogs that we've rescued. I figure if they can do it, then I can certainly take one more hit for them.

Some days are tough but then we have days like tomorrow where we're going to transport 23 dogs. Those are the good days. We're going to start at 3:00 a.m. in the morning. And we drive in convoy up to the cargo facility at San Juan International Airport.

All right. One, two, three, four, five, six. Weigh them first. Get them out. We say good-bye and that's -- there's usually tears. That's the point where I always wish I could have a conversation with them and that they could understand me. You're going to be frightened but once you land in New York, life just becomes spectacular from here on out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Pretty remarkable woman.

I want to tell you that Evelyn, the pregnant dog that you saw in the piece, had seven puppies. They will be ready for adoption soon in case you're looking.

Our thanks to CNN producer Ann Roche for that story.

Quick break, we'll be right back.

[18:54:50]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Tonight on "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH," a mother and wife feels trapped in her marriage and is a suspect of kidnapping her son before killing herself. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On May 11th, at 8:30 a.m. she arrived in Green Haven Elementary School.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told them that they had a family emergency and that she'd be gone for a couple of days. I tried her cell phone 15, 20 times. Didn't know where she was, or what had gone on. Then I got to the point of I don't care where you're at or what you're doing, just call and say you're fine.

JOHN WALSH, HOST: I know that this woman was so disturbed and in such serious need of some type of help, somebody that loved her needed to intercede, and it didn't happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Friday she had made a series of phone calls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Friday afternoon I get a phone call from my brother saying that Amy had contacted him and that Amy said that she'd do with Timothy what she wanted because Timothy belonged to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:00:02] HARLOW: You can see more of that on "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH." That is tonight, a new episode, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN and next, other episodes from this season of "THE HUNT."

I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much for being with me this Sunday evening. Have a great week.