Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) Discusses El Paso Shooting.
BLITZER: Let's get the latest now on the breaking news, the shooting, the mass shooting in Texas at an El Paso shopping center. Police now say multiple people are dead. We can confirm that the 22 injured victims are being treated at two area hospitals. One suspect, according to the police, is now in custody. Police say no active shooter remains at the Cielo Vista Shopping Mall. We've been seeing employees calmly helping people evacuate while SWAT teams were hunting for the shooters. Keep in mind, many stores were offering back-to-school specials just days before El Paso schools were getting ready to re-open after the summer break. Terrifying scenes of panicked shoppers running through the stores as the shooting went on unfolded. Watch this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Run, Mija, run.</s>UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Let's go! Let's go!</s>UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Let's go! Let's go!</s>BLITZER: El Paso police are working with the FBI, the DEA, federal and state agencies in their investigation, which is only just beginning. However, the Cielo Vista Mall remains on lockdown right now, totally understandable. Evacuated shoppers are starting to process the terrifying events of this afternoon and they're describing what they saw. Watch this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was people running from inside the mall to Dillard's and they were just screaming to get out and that's when everyone started getting out. And then the store manager said for everybody to evacuate so we had to stay behind and make sure everybody was out. And then the police came in.</s>BLITZER: I want to bring in Texas Congresswoman Escobar. She's joining us on the phone right now. Her district includes El Paso. First of all, Congresswoman, how are you doing?</s>REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-TX) (via telephone): Wolf, I'm heart broken. But I'm, you know, I'm far more worried about obviously about all of our families. There are a number of people who have been injured, a number of fatalities. People who were conducting their Saturday business, who were running their errands, going to the grocery store, shopping for school supplies. These incredible people in my community are warm- hearted, compassionate, kind people. And this was a massacre.</s>BLITZER: What's the latest information, Congresswoman, that you're getting from local and federal authorities on the number of people killed?</s>ESCOBAR: Well, we have received some confirmation from DPS and from local officials. But you know, it's an ever-changing -- it's a dynamic environment. We keep getting updated with different information, sometimes there's conflicting reports. So I don't want to announce anything, but I will say that the numbers are shocking.</s>BLITZER: When we heard from the mayor, we heard from the local police department, we heard from a state representative that there are multiple fatalities. And I can only imagine how heartbreaking that must be. I assume they're waiting to give notification to next of kin. I can only imagine that that's what they normally do, right?</s>ESCOBAR: Right. And they've -- El Paso police have set up a family reunification site that is maybe just a couple of miles away from the crime scene so that family members who know that their next of kin was in the area and in the shopping center. If they haven't been able to reach them, if they haven't heard from them, they're able to go there to try to gather some more information. There's obviously a lot of concerned families. I know I spoke with one of our hospital CEOs earlier and one of the individuals who -- who died in their care had really no identification and so there's going to be a lot of confusion and a lot of, you know, very, very, very worried families in the next few hours. And so I think the best thing that we can do is let law enforcement do their job. And what America needs to know is that this is a very, very heartbreaking moment for a very safe and wonderful, warm and beautiful community.</s>BLITZER: What can you tell us, if anything, Congresswoman, about the suspect who is now in custody and a possible motive for this horrendous mass murder?</s>ESCOBAR: We don't -- we don't have the motive yet. And I have received the name of the suspect in custody and have a little bit of information. But, again, I'm going to leave that to law enforcement to -- to share.</s>BLITZER: You've been told that this is -- the person in custody is the shooter and one person is in custody, not multiple people, right?</s>ESCOBAR: Right. And one of the -- we heard conflicting reports throughout the early afternoon that there might be three shooters, for example, and one person is in custody, but we don't know if there were others who were helping. I mean, we have been told that -- to stay away from the area that it's, you know, it's not quite secure yet. And so that leads me to believe that they are still looking for at least one other person.</s>BLITZER: We heard the former congressman from your district, Beto O'Rourke, say as soon as he got word -- he was in Las Vegas at the time campaigning. As soon as he got word, the first thing he did was call his wife to find out and make sure she was OK and the kids are OK. What did you do first when you heard about this shooting?</s>ESCOBAR: Wolf, we were having our town hall meeting, actually. And we were in the midst of the Q-and-A session and folks were lined up ready to ask their questions. We were in the middle of that. And a member of my staff approached me, and I immediately, of course, became concerned because that was unusual. But she walked up and told me that law enforcement asked that we immediately end the town hall meeting, send everyone home, and let folks know that there was an active shooter in the community in the Cielo Vista area. So we did that. We asked everyone to -- you know, calmly make their way out and get to their car, go home and get safe. And we immediately left, as well and en route to downtown El Paso. I, you know, spoke with law enforcement and with local leaders. And we've been in contact with DPS, the FBI, health care leaders. You know, we're all just trying to piece together what is unfolding in our community. It is unfathomable. It is -- there are -- Wolf, there are no words for the kind of pain that -- that this great community is experiencing. And it's, unfortunately, an all too common pain across America.</s>BLITZER: It is so heartbreaking just the thought, Congresswoman, of you know, moms and dads walking around the mall holding the hands of their little kids and buying school supplies and getting new clothes for school set to start a week from Monday and all of a Sunday and, all of a sudden, a mass murderer shows up, but starts killing people and injuring people. And it's going to shake up not only your community, Congresswoman. It will shake up the country. And our viewers around the world who are watching right now are going to continue to ask what is going on. And then they will ask the next question, what can be done to stop this? Because, as you correctly point out, we've gone through too many of these horrendous mass shootings in our country in recent years.</s>ESCOBAR: Wolf, we have the solution. They are right in front of us. What we need is the will to act as a country. And we have to, at some point, say that enough is enough. And we have to ask ourselves how many more wake-up calls does this country need. I -- I am imploring that those of us who have the capacity and the power to make change, that we work together to end this epidemic. This is needless. There are families in tear, weeping right now, and it did not have to be this way.</s>BLITZER: It is so heartbreaking to think -- and we don't know the nature of the victims. We know 22 people were taken to two local hospitals. We know there are multiple fatalities. And what is so awful -- and every victim is so sad, but presumably we'll hear about kids being shot at this mall, and it is going to be so awful when we hear that, Congresswoman. I assume you've spent some time at the local mall and you know about the people who go there and you've seen the mall in action. It's never going to be the same.</s>ESCOBAR: It was -- the shooting, Wolf, my understanding is that it took place on the same property as the mall, but at the Walmart that is right next to the mall. And the shooter or shooters were not -- we're not completely sure yet how many, if there was just one or if there were two -- started in the parking lot and walked into the Walmart. And there's, unfortunately, very graphic video that has been circulating. And I would encourage folks not to watch it. It is far too traumatizing. But then there were reports that the shooter or a shooter then went into the adjacent mall. And all of that is still being pieced together. So I am not sure if anyone went in after all or not. But the mall went on lockdown and everyone was doing everything possible to keep folks safe.</s>BLITZER: As far as you know, Congresswoman, you represent -- your district includes El Paso. And we're speaking with Veronica Escobar, the U.S. congresswoman from El Paso. Has anything like this ever happened before, as far as you know, in your community?</s>ESCOBAR: No, Wolf. El Paso has been one of the safest communities in all of the nation for decades. We routinely rank in the top-three safest cities of our size in the nation. We are a community of hardworking families, people who take care of each other, people who take care of others. We never imagined, I never imagined anything like this could or would happen. I suspect that we will have a lot of people in our community who are going to be in shock and disbelief. And this feels unreal. This feels so unreal. But it's real. And unfortunately, we are now part of a family of communities that have suffered this unspeakable tragedy.</s>BLITZER: It is so heartbreaking. Congresswoman, we are getting some new information. A hospital official has told "The El Paso Times" that some people have died after being transported to the medical hospital. Earlier, we were told that 11 people -- that hospital received 11 patients following the shootings. I know you're getting more information all of the time. We've also just received some new video from the ground in El Paso. I want to play it for our viewers. And, Congresswoman, if you can stick around, I want to get your reaction. I want to warn our viewers that this is incredibly disturbing and it shows injured people laying on the ground outside the Walmart.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help! Help! Help!</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need CPR!</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help me turn him over! Help me!</s>BLITZER: Congresswoman, it is so heartbreaking to see that. I know it's heartbreaking for you. It's heartbreaking for all of our viewers. And I know you've got a lot that you've got to do. But give us some final thoughts before I let you go.</s>ESCOBAR: I would just encourage to all of us to come together. El Paso is a resilient, wonderful city. We are all going to step up and take care of one another during this very difficult time. And while we mourn and while we regroup and while we take care of one another, I -- again, I would implore that those of us who have the ability to create change, and I am among them, that we create the change that we desperately, desperately need.</s>BLITZER: Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, thank you so much for joining us. Our deepest, deepest condolences go out to those families in your community, who are suffering right now. And let's hope all of those injured recover completely. It's such an awful situation that has unfolded. Thank you so much for joining us.</s>ESCOBAR: Thank you, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: I want to bring in Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent, a CNN law enforcement analyst. And also joining us is Charles Ramsey. He is the former police commissioner of Philadelphia and former police chief here in Washington, D.C. Chief Ramsey, give us your thoughts as you just heard that painful, painful conversation we had and the video that is coming in.</s>CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, this is really going to be bad once the numbers are finally released. You have people outside the building, probably inside the building, as well. You know, they keep saying they have one in custody. It's important to note, I don't think we know the condition of the person in custody.</s>BLITZER: We don't.</s>RAMSEY: We don't know if that person was shot or if they're in any condition to be interviewed at all. But this is not going to be good at all, especially when you start seeing victims in the parking lot. He was probably shooting before he even got in there, he was already shooting. So that's -- that's terrible.</s>BLITZER: Terrible. Jonathan, what was your analysis based on what we saw?</s>JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Wolf, these are unpredictable and dynamic situations. They can occur at any moment. And the key is here to survival is maintaining situational awareness and having a protection plan. We saw the benefits of that in the videos. We see people following DHS recommendations to run, hide and fight. People who can run and create distance from the threat, did it. We saw it in the videos. But people who could not, they hid. They tried to hide from that threat. Listen, these are survival tactics at this point in time. It's tragic that we are talking about this, but it is a necessary conversation that we must have.</s>BLITZER: Are we going to need to do what is done in big parts of Europe and the Middle East? If you go to a mall in Tel Aviv, for example, in Israel, you have to go through security and you have to go through metal detectors. Chief Ramsey, is that going to be necessary here in the United States?</s>RAMSEY: I sure hope not. But, I mean, we do have to take a look, a serious look at security. Today, it's a mall. We've had churches. We've had schools. I mean, you know, venues like concerts. I mean, we do need to take a look, a strong look at security. But this is the United States, too. There's freedom of movement. People will come and go. You look at malls. You can leave a parking lot and walk right into the store that you want to go to. They have numerous ways to get in and out. It would be very difficult to really shut that down the way you would like to for purposes of security. So, yes, we need to look at it, but we need to be reasonable in our approach, too.</s>BLITZER: Everybody, stand by. There's a lot more going on. And I also want to remind our viewers as we go to break that there's an urgent need right now for blood in the El Paso area. Blood donation centers are in El Paso right now, including at 424 South Mesa Hills and 133 North Zaragoza. We'll be right back.