Up First from NPR - EU Calls For 'Humanitarian Pause', Manhunt for Maine Shooter, Acapulco Hurricane

Episode Date: October 27, 2023

A manhunt continues for the gunman behind a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. European leaders call on Israel to stop its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid to reach people who desperately need it. And, Hurricane Otis left a trail of destruction when it struck the Mexican resort town of Acapulco as a Category 5 storm.Up First is produced by Mansee Khurana, David WestOur editors are Don Clyde, Denise Rios, and Mohamad ElBardicy Our technical director is Zac Coleman And our director is Lilly Quiroz.Our executive producer is Erika Aguilar. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

European leaders call on Israel to pause airstrikes on Gaza to get humanitarian relief in. The European Union needs to react and act united and resolute. Will Israel listen? I'm Amy Martinez, that's Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. Police are still searching for the gunmen of a horrific mass shooting in Maine. This is a very fluid situation. We have a lot of resources that are on the ground in a coordinated effort to apprehend this individual. The entire city of Lewiston is on lockdown.

And Hurricane Otis is one of the hardest storms to ever hit Mexico, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Now Our Change will honor 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to Our Change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. Pentagon officials say the U.S. struck two facilities in Syria linked to Iranian-backed militias. It follows a growing number of attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. World

leaders are concerned the fighting between Israel and the armed Palestinian group Hamas could escalate into a broader war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the leaders of 27 European nations are calling for a humanitarian pause in the fighting to allow desperately needed aid to reach people in Gaza, which has become a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis. We go to NPR's Eleanor Beardsley, who has been following events from Paris. Good morning, Eleanor. Good morning, Laila. hours of wrangling and discussions about the precise language to use. EU leaders came out with their proposal for humanitarian corridors and pauses in Israel's bombing. Why was it difficult for EU leaders to reach a united position? Well, there are nuances of differences between the 27 nations. Those differences depend on history and the different populations living there.

Let's take Germany, for example. Its World War II history with the Holocaust against the Jewish people means it stands solidly behind Israel. France is trying a more balanced approach as it has Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim populations. And Spain has been one of the Palestinian people's staunchest supporters. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, wanted to call for a ceasefire, which Israel does not want because it says that would allow Hamas to recover. But everyone settled on humanitarian pause. It's very important to show EU unity.

Let's listen to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen taking journalist questions. She said everything kicked off with the horrible attack on October 7th. So von der Leyen said it is important to acknowledge the pain and suffering of the Israeli people. Here she is. If we want to speak to Israel and influence Israel, and therefore it is so important that you first listen if you want to be listened to. She said all the leaders agreed that Israel has the right to defend itself, but insisted its defense

must be in line with international law. And of course, leaders emphasized that the siege must stop and that it is of utmost importance that the Palestinian people have access to humanitarian aid. There is no contradiction between showing solidarity to Israel and, of course, acting on the need of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. So how likely is a humanitarian pause to let more aid through? Well, at least now the EU is speaking with one voice, Leila, and in tandem with the US. President Joe Biden expressed support for a humanitarian pause Wednesday. So that increases its chances. And what about the EU's support for Ukraine? Is it wavering amid this new crisis?

Well, the leaders say no. They reaffirmed their support for Ukraine last night, but everyone admits their plate is full. The Middle East conflict is clearly complicating things. There's not unanimity, for example, for two packages of some 70 billion euros in weapons and financial aid that the EU was planning for Ukraine for the next four years. And yesterday we saw Slovakia's new prime minister say his country will no longer send aid to Ukraine, although that's unrelated to the conflict in the Middle East. I think what European Parliament President Roberto Mazzola said sums it up. This should not take our attention away from Ukraine. And this is exactly what Putin would want. So there is huge pressure for the EU to stay united on every front. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley. Thank you, Eleanor.

You're welcome. When communities suffer trauma, they often come together sharing their grief. That's not possible right now in Lewiston, Maine, the scene of America's latest mass shooting. The suspect, Robert Card, is still on the loose. The community is locked down, sheltering in place. Last night, people held a vigil online for 18 neighbors killed and 13 wounded. Reverend Jane Field, with the Maine Council of Churches, offered a prayer. Be especially with those in lockdown tonight who are afraid, who may be alone,

and plant in them the seed of hope. NPR's Brian Mann is in Lewiston and joins us now. Good morning, Brian. Good morning, Layla. So last night, there was real hope that the suspect in this shooting, Robert Card, would be captured. What happened? Yeah, police believe that Card, who's 40 years old, is the man who allegedly opened fire at a bowling alley in Bar Wednesday night. He's been on the run ever since.

So around 7 p.m. last night, a huge force of police served a search warrant at a rundown farmhouse in Bowdoin, about 15 miles outside Lewiston. They were being really cautious. They were shouting over bullhorns for anyone inside the house to come out. A helicopter circled overhead. In the end, no arrests were made. It was apparently another false lead. Yeah, I was texting with a friend five miles from that house, and I know she feels like, how long will this go on? I mean, what does the lockdown there look and feel like for people?

Yeah, this community is frozen. Heading into the holiday, Halloween weekend, stores and restaurants are closed, schools are shuttered, streets mostly empty. Maine Governor Janet Mills talked yesterday, urging people to be really cautious. But Mr. Carr is considered armed and dangerous. Main people should not approach him under any circumstances. Please, if you see anything suspicious, please call 911. And NPR has learned that Card is an Army reservist. Last summer, he was at a National Guard training facility in New York. When officials there became concerned about erratic behavior, they called police and transported them to a hospital for evaluation. What we don't know is how he then wound up back home here in Lewiston, heavily armed. Now, the issue of gun control has

come up. It came up yesterday. It was raised by one of Maine's congressmen, Jared Golden. What did he say? Yeah, this was interesting. Golden's a Democrat who lives here in Lewiston. He's long opposed many kinds of gun control, including a ban on firearms with military or assault type features. But speaking yesterday afternoon after this mass shooting in his own town, he said he's changed his mind. I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime. To the people of Lewiston, I ask for forgiveness and support as I seek to put an end to these terrible shootings. And President Biden also renewed his call this week for a ban on assault-style weapons, but that kind of legislation's been stalled in Congress for years.

And this isn't over. The search for Robert Card continues. I mean, where does this go? I mean, I'm sure people are wondering, when are they going to get him? Yeah, yeah, there's a huge effort on the ground here. Local, state, federal authorities. FBI Special Agent Jody Cohen spoke yesterday about this, asking the public for patience. We work day and night alongside our law enforcement partners to get the answers to the questions this community deserves. The question, of course, is now where is Robert Card? And with his troubled history, how did he still have access to these powerful firearms? 18 people dead, Layla, and so far,

there just aren't good answers. NPR's Brian Mann in Lewiston, Maine, this morning. Thank you for your reporting, Brian. Thank you. The Mexican resort town of Acapulco is coming to terms with the massive destruction left by Hurricane Otis. The storm crashed into Mexico's shore as a Category 5 hurricane. It flooded streets, ripped roofs off of homes, and disrupted communication across Acapulco. The government has counted at least 27 people dead so far. NPR's Eder Peralta joins us from Acapulco, where power is still out, and so we may have some audio issues. Eder, where are you right now, and what are you seeing? So I'm sitting in a parking lot right now in an apartment

complex where some nice person has let us stay in their apartment and that's completely destroyed. All the windows are blown out. All the furniture has been destroyed. The roof has caved and we've just made a little corner for ourselves. And this is unspeakable devastation. You know, Acapulco is mythical in Mexico. It's built along this half-moon bay with cliffs on either side and a huge stretch of hotels in high-rise buildings. And all of that is totally, utterly destroyed. Sometimes you look up at the buildings and you can see straight through them, like everything inside was sucked out by the wind. And then in the hills above Acapulco, the rivers broke their banks and they flooded everything. People I spoke to said that when the storm hit, the water in their homes came up to their chests.

And they have spent two days now shoveling mud out of their homes. And as we moved through the neighborhoods, it seemed that everyone wanted to talk. It was like they wanted to scream to the world that they are in pain. Let's listen to Antonia Hernandez. And what she's saying there is that during the storm, her house was chaos. Everything was tossed around. Everything was full of water. And all that water took everything from her.

Everything she had saved for, everything she had worked so hard for was gone in an instant. You can hear that pain in her voice. How are people getting by? I mean, in any way. You can hear that pain in her voice. How are people getting by? I mean, in any way that they can. You know, all of this has led to desperation and opportunism. Last night, as we were trying to find a place to rest, the streets were full of people. It seemed that every store in Acapulco was being looted. We saw people coming out of Home Depot with paint, out of Sam's Clubs, with patio furniture,

but we also saw a lot of people taking food and essential items. I met one young man who had been going from pharmacy to pharmacy trying to find medicine that his sick aunt needed. Another lady I met hid her face in her hands when she spoke to me, and she told me that this situation had turned her into a thief. Her young son had taken some ice and some water from the supermarket and she said that the worst part was that she had money but none of the stores here are open. Well, is there any type of government response? What are authorities doing? I mean, they're here, but this is a huge catastrophe. And the response so far, it seems inadequate.

We've seen the military trying to cut huge downed trees with machetes. We've seen maybe just a handful of heavy machinery. But what we haven't seen at all is aid. We haven't seen trucks bringing water or food. And in some of these neighborhoods, we've talked to people who are drinking juice because they've run out of water. So things are really bad right now here. And if they don't get better soon, it could get much worse here. That's NPR's Ader Peralta reporting from Acapulco, Mexico.

Thank you, Ader. Thank you, Leila. And that's Up First for Friday, October 27th. I'm Leila Faldin. And I'm E. Martinez. Up First is produced by Monsicorana David West. Our editors are Don Clyde, Denise Rios, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. Our technical director is Zach Coleman. And our director is Lily Quiroz.

Our executive producer is E Aguilada. And don't forget, Up First airs on Saturday, too. Ayesha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news. It'll be here in this feed or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.