17 Killed In Florida School Shooting; Bipartisan Group Reaches Immigration Deal
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs live in Parkland, Florida, following overnight developments in the Florida high school shooting that killed 17 people. This ranks now as the ninth-deadliest in modern U.S. history. Let's bring in Charles Ramsey, CNN law enforcement analyst and former police chief of Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, and you started your career in Chicago -- three cities that know violent crime. But when we talk about the two recent most deadliest school shootings we're talking about Newtown, Connecticut and Parkland, Florida, which was the 15th-safest city in the United States. What's the message?</s>CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER POLICE CHIEF, WASHINGTON, D.C., FORMER POLICE COMMISSIONER, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: The message is it can happen anywhere. I mean, it's not safe anywhere from gun violence. It's just like the opioid epidemic. It's no longer confined to certain areas and urban areas or what have you. Everyone is affected now and impacted by it, so that's the message.</s>BRIGGS: Eighteen school shootings this year in 13 different states so, yes, no one is safe. Let's turn now to the investigation and to this attack. There was a report that he pulled the fire alarm --</s>RAMSEY: Right.</s>BRIGGS: -- and was armed with smoke bombs. Now, there was a fire drill earlier in the day, totally unrelated. It may have played into the reaction of the students and the kids. But how much advanced planning went into this attack?</s>RAMSEY: Well, you would think that he thought this through. How can I draw as many people out into the open as possible? Pulling a fire alarm certainly would do that. He knew exactly what he was going to do so there was some planning. For how long, who knows. That's all part of the investigation and the interrogation of this individual to try to find out just how much planning and whether or not he had someone else that was involved in that planning.</s>BRIGGS: Yes, the law enforcement community has a busy task ahead. You talked about the law enforcement community and changes you'd like to see across this country. Congressional action is doubtful at this point. We talked about Sandy Hook when nothing happened. Even the congressional shooting, Steve Scalise, nothing happened. What would you like to see? What would the law enforcement community like to see done here in the United States?</s>RAMSEY: Well, first of all, I'm not anti-Second Amendment or anti- firearm --</s>BRIGGS: Sure.</s>RAMSEY: -- I'm really not -- but we got to make it more difficult for people to get their hands on weapons if they're not responsible and if they're not law-abiding people that are going to use them properly. I mean, if you have some form of mental illness. I mean, think about it. If you're on the no-fly list you can still go out and buy a gun. I mean, that is absolutely crazy. So there have to be some steps that we can take if we sit down and think this thing through and do what we have to do. If we don't care about ourselves as adults, at least care about the kids because they're the ones being impacted. Not just those shot -- think about the trauma that these kids are going through. Their lives have changed forever now.</s>BRIGGS: Everyone in this town, I think, their lives --</s>RAMSEY: Yes.</s>BRIGGS: -- have changed forever. School is canceled Thursday and Friday but ever coming back to this school will be emotional, and painful, and difficult for all of these kids. Talk about this AR-15 rifle. They made it easier to acquire for 18- year-olds. Just about five years ago the attorney general Pam Bondi joined with 21 other states and the NRA. Should something be done about that weapon?</s>RAMSEY: Well, it's my understanding some eight million people currently own them --</s>BRIGGS: Yes.</s>RAMSEY: -- so to think that we're totally going to get rid of them I don't think is really practical. But again, can we make it more difficult for people to purchase that kind of weapon? Maybe instead of looking at it as just all firearms, look at some of these different types of firearms, assault weapons being one. A little more difficult, a more thorough background check, something that would make a little more difficult -- well, a lot more difficult, actually, for someone like that to get their hands on it. What would an 18 or 19-year-old need with an assault weapon like that?</s>BRIGGS: It is difficult to imagine what they need that for. So, that's Congress. Is this a call to action, you think, to parents, to students, to teachers, to administrators, to the parents of kids to look at their social media and take a role in this -- take action?</s>RAMSEY: Well, it is that but it's also all Americans need to just step up and just say hey, enough is enough because what's going to happen -- we have a short attention span in this country. I mean, you know, and a few days will pass and we won't be talking about this. We'll be talking about the latest tweet from the president or something like that. This is a serious issue that has be addressed. This is not going to be the last school shooting. There'll be others, guaranteed. The question is where and when, and unless we do something it's not going to change.</s>BRIGGS: There has been one every three days. You can see brand new investigators arriving here at the scene behind us. A heavy law enforcement presence as you would imagine. Charles Ramsey, thanks for joining us --</s>RAMSEY: Thank you.</s>BRIGGS: -- here this morning. Christine, back to you in New York.</s>ROMANS: All right, Dave, thanks. You know, so far, gun rights advocates have been largely silent and two of Florida's most prominent Republicans are taking a familiar fallback position, including Sen. Marco Rubio.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of your colleagues in the Senate and here from Washington, D.C. have already been trying to make this about policy and about gun control. Is this the appropriate time to be doing that?</s>SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: No, it's not, only because people don't know how this happened. I mean, who this person is, what motivated them, how did they get ahold of the weapon that they used for this attack? I think it's important to know all of that before you jump to conclusions that there is some law that we could have passed that could have prevented it.</s>GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: There's a time to continue to have these conversations about how through law enforcement, how through mental illness funding that we make sure people are safe, and we'll continue to do that.</s>ROMANS: Well, let's bring in "CNN POLITICS" reporter Tal Kopan live in Washington. Good morning. And first of all, I mean, it's just such a -- just such a sad story. For so many of those kids, and teachers, and survivors this is something that will mark the rest of their life, and to see this played out every three days, as Dave said -- there is a school shooting. It's interesting because five years after Sandy Hook, no legislative action. Congress doesn't do anything and -- clearly, on this matter. But you heard Chief Ramsey say there that law enforcement -- leaders in law enforcement may have to take a stand. I mean, these are people who are pro-Second Amendment, who are pro-gun rights and gun ownership, but who want public safety. The electorate may have to move on this. Is there any indication that voters -- for voters, this is important or these events resonate?</s>TAL KOPAN, REPORTER, "CNN POLITICS": Well look, Christine, this is one of those issues that it seems so silly in some ways that Congress can't come together because the polling is pretty strong on some sort of moderate, middle-of-the-road provisions that the electorate wants to see. I feel like every time we have one of these tragedies -- and again, it is so unfortunate that we even have to say a sentence like that, that anytime we have one of these tragedies, they happen so often. But, there's a clamor for some sort of a reasonable proposal. Let's remember, after the Las Vegas shooting last year, there seemed to be all this momentum for finally doing something small and regulating bump stocks, which was a way to make a semi-automatic fire more quickly. That has fizzled. That did not go anywhere. It has been left with the administration to do sort of through regulation that's been very murky. Even that couldn't get across the finish line. But until lawmakers feel like -- you know, like it's what they're hearing at town halls, it's what Americans are discussing at their kitchen table, and it's what Americans will vote on them primarily at the polling station. It's unclear whether that message is actually going to hit home, how popular an issue this is.</s>ROMANS: The president tweeting yesterday afternoon -- not a public, on-camera statement but tweeting, "My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher, or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school." I can tell you, waking up this morning as a parent, I do feel unsafe about American schools. The Florida "Sun Sentinel" says this is an editorial. "Yes, thoughts and prayers are a welcome response to anyone in mourning and in need. But with this type of tragedy, repeated so many times across our country, we already know that thoughts and prayers alone are a grossly inadequate response to our country's self- inflicted cancer on gun violence." That word cancer really got my attention because I thought, Tal, no, we spend a lot of money and a lot of time fighting cancer. We don't spend anything fighting gun violence.</s>KOPAN: That's right, and you -- keep in mind, you can compare the administration's reactions to different tragedies. And this reaction is very different from the reaction to some recent terrorist attacks, especially when they're committed by someone who was not born in this country. And so, you know, you have to sort of compare that reaction when you look at the administration and see in those instances -- in terrorist attacks, a sort of entire apparatus of government springs into action to get to the bottom of it and there is a conversation about what could have been done to prevent it. And perhaps, per our earlier conversation, it's up the voters to demand the same in this case. But, you're right. It is not like cancer. It is not like a number of other issues. This seems to be one that stymies Congress over and over and unfortunately, the partisan lines have been drawn. The sort of -- the game plan has been set. We see this pattern repeat over and over. It's unfortunate that there even has to be such a pattern. And there seems to be nothing at this point --</s>ROMANS: Right.</s>KOPAN: No tragedy so atrocious that shakes us out of that pattern.</s>ROMANS: Yes, and Republicans say don't -- Democrats don't play politics with the pain and suffering of these -- of these poor people. And, Democrats say don't just say thoughts and prayers. That's insulting.</s>KOPAN: Right.</s>ROMANS: So they just replay the tape, replay the tape. Let's talk about immigration. You cover immigration for us here at CNN and there is a move -- a narrow move underway here to get some sort of deal. Can they get 60 or what does that deal look like?</s>KOPAN: Right now, Christine, we do not know if they have 60 votes. They are very close. The bill came out with about eight Republicans in support. If every Democrat votes for it, which at this point is not a given, they need 11 Republicans so they're sort of right on that precipice of possibly being there but it's not clear at all whether they will get there. And right now, what has been proposed -- this came out of a group of bipartisan senators who have been meeting for weeks. It was sort of looked at as the most likely chance of finding something that could actually pass. It's a much narrower version than what the White House has asked for. It's sort of the DACA piece, though legalizing a path to citizenship of 1.8 million people. It's $25 billion for border security, as we've seen, and a small provision limiting the ability of those individuals once they become citizens to sponsor their parents for citizenship, which is one concern of conservatives on this issue.</s>ROMANS: Right, but the diversity lottery -- that's not in it?</s>KOPAN: It's not in there.</s>ROMANS: Not in there.</s>KOPAN: No.</s>ROMANS: OK, all right. Tal Kopan, nice to see you this morning. Thank you so much.</s>KOPAN: Thank you.</s>ROMANS: All right. The president didn't say anything publicly, as we've said, about the shooting but after a week of silence he did speak up about domestic violence.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am totally opposed to domestic violence of any kind. Everyone knows that.</s>ROMANS: Now, CNN has learned Rob Porter was one of many in the White House operating without -- with temporary security clearance for a year.