♪ good afternoon to you. you are watching al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm jonathan betz. we are taking a live look at roseburg, oregon where we're expecting the sheriff to speak in a few minutes about yesterday's shooting at umpqua college. at least ten people died, seven others were hurt. the gunmen was killed in exchange of gunfire with police. we have the latest from allen schauffler in roseburg, oregon. >> reporter: roseburg is not a big place, this is a town of just a little more than 21,000 people. so it's a case where if you

didn't know someone who was on campus yesterday, you probably know someone who knew someone who was on campus or had a relative on campus. this is touching a lot of people in this town. morning classes were interrupted by gunfire, the first 911 call came in shortly after 10:30. >> somebody is outside one of the doors, shooting through the door. >> reporter: reports of a shooter at umpqua community college in roseburg, oregon. >> i could tell what it was, once i heard the sound and saw the people running, i knew exactly what happened. my parents have always told me stay alert, be alert, and once that noise happened i looked around to see what was going on, and that is probably what saved my life. >> reporter: students are running everywhere, holy god one witness posted on triter. police say officers made it to the scene within the next four minutes, but the woes has already taken place in sneijder

hall. the gunman has opened fire inside the building and was then killed in a shootout with police. >> i have been hearing that the gunman was asking what is your religion before he was killing people. >> let me be very clear, i will not name the shooter. i will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act. ♪ >> reporter: at a candlelight vigil in roseburg last night, the shattered community came together struggling how to make sense over what happened. many say they are at a loss over what to tell their children. >> it's heart breaking. and to explain to a child who thinks the world is good and beautiful that sometimes horrible things can happen, it can shake your whole world. but it's important for them to know it.

to know they can still play a part of supporting each other, and this can make us stronger. >> reporter: quite an emotional scene at that campus -- >> a reminder, we're awaiting a live news conference. we are hoping to learn more answers about what might have sparked this rampage. our allen schauffler is standing by live in rosburg. what are some of the questions we're hoping to get answered today, allen? >> reporter: we're all hoping of some indication of what actually happened at the scene. we don't know how much more of that we're going to get today. the sheriff said the investigation is still underway, a lot of details won't be coming

out. he has said he is not going to address motive at all. and he is not going to release the name of the shooter. he did say the investigation continued through the night, and the investigation at the school and at the apartment of the shooter, the man who died at the scene, were both searched and that those searches turned up weapons. we heard that there were four at the scene, we don't know whether other weapons were recovered at the apartment which is a mile or mile and a half or so from the school. but the exact type of weapons, how they were used we just don't know and may mind out from the sheriff today. >> help us understand the scope of this investigation. i understand federal agents are also on the scene helping piece together this puzzle of what happened? >> reporter: yeah, a huge response from law enforcement.

we have local, we have state, we have federal agencies involved here. the fbi and the atf on scene. and i asked the sheriff if he asked for that help? and he said it was a little bit of both; that he recognized that they would need the extra help, and that people in other agencies also recognized as soon as they heard the extent of this incident, knew that they would need help here as well. so federal agents came in from portland, state police was on the scene as well, so a massive response. we heard yesterday 70 to 75 people on the ground at the scene looking into things. and later in the evening they dissended on an apartment building in an area called winchester an unincorporated place outside of roseburg, not too far from campus, and that was where they additionally

found more weapons, believe. press briefing delayed just a little bit. the building behind me just packed with county, city officials, law enforcement and people from the media from all over the world at this point. we're looking at some explanation, and so often it's so hard to find and grasp a reason at this point. we have heard from several people, and there have been reports in many news outlets that the shooter was questioning people about their religion as he was shooting, and before he was shooting, and was apparently targeting christians. that of course will be a significant part of this investigation, especially a federal investigation if it's determined that it was some kind of bias or hate crime involved here. >> so many unknowns, allen, it sounds like we're learning more

about the victims among the ten people that were killed and seven others hurt. what do we know about them? >> reporter: you are talking about a city that is 22,000 people, or a little bit less than. at that vigil last night, maybe 10% of the population of town turned up to hold candles and sort of share a group hug. we have found out that there are still three people in the hospital in rosburg, three people in the eugene springfield area, two of those critical. at this point we understand everybody is expected to live through this ordeal, a couple may in fact be released from the hospital today. >> hopefully that is good news. a reminder to everyone a home,

we are waiting for this news conference to begin in roseburg, oregon to hopefully provide more answers to what could have sparked this rampage yesterday. shortly after the shooting, president obama came out very forcefully with his language speaking as he has 14 times before after a mass shooting, and he was very visibly angry that the country has not done more to prevent these kinds of things from happening. >> this is a political choice that we make. to allow this to happen every few months in america. we collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones, because of our inaction. when americans are killed in mine disasters. we work to make mines safer. when americans are killed in

floods and hurricanes, we make communities safer. when roads are unsafe, we fix them. , to reduce auto fatalities. we have seat belt laws, because we know it saves lives. >> the president said we as a nation have become numb to mass shootings, and he called on americans to encourage congress to pass new gun-control laws. we wait for that news conference in oregon to hopefully provide more answers allen schauffler is standing by with some new information, allen, what can you tell us? >> reporter: you know, we're going to have to wait and find out what the new information is. we understand we're going to hear from federal officials for the first time formally, the atf agent in charge is also going to speak with the sheriff. so hopefully we can get some

idea of what the federal role has been. the sheriff did tell us earlier today that some of the victims might not be identified yet. that they are still working on identifying some of the nine people who were killed yesterday at the college by this gunmen and we asked him specifically, he said until all of the victims are identified and all families are notified that they wouldn't be releasing any information about the folks that were gunned down at the college. that could change, but that at least is what sheriff john hamlin told us earlier this morning. >> thanks for that. standing by for us as we keep an eye on this podium here at the douglas county sheriff's office, we'll continue to watch this and bring you more after a very short break. stay with us.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are

affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et we have paired but deputies and detectives with the family members of the deceased to help work through the process of grieving and answering questions welcome back to al jazeera america. we are expecting a news conference to begin any moment now. they are running about 15 minutes behind schedule, it looks like. we're hoping the authorities there, including the atf agent in charge will provide more answers to what happened, what sparked this rampage at a community college that left ten people dead, seven others hurt. there's a massive police prones, and massive investigation at many sites across oregon. we'll get to that in a moment, when that news conference begins, but we have other news. syria's deputy prime minister has told the world that

air strikes is not enough to defeat isil. he spoke at the united nations today and called russia's air strikes in syria effective because they support the country's effort to fight what he calls terrorism. >> translator: you know better than anyone else that terrorism is an ideology that recognizes no boundaries. you know when this monster comes out, it cannot be limited to certain countries; the terrorism of isis, al-nusra, and other al-qaeda affiliated terrorist organizations is killing the next. >> and courtney keeley joins us with more. it's rare that we hear from the assad regime, and his remarks were quite striking. >> they were very, very strong. he talked about the land being baptized with the blood of the syrian people, but failed to talk about the carnage that has

been going on because the of assad regime. he also said they invited russia in for the -- for their assistance and what russia is doing is assisting the regime, opening supply routes and connecting cities to alawite regimist strong holds and routing out the fighters. >> some are supported by the u.s. as well. >> reporter: they have offered covert training so some of the free syrian army fighters. some of that equipment has gone over to al-nusra, who pledges allegiance to al-qaeda, but in these corridors. >> you mention these towns and

corridors, why are they so critical to the syrian regime? >> because they open up all of the routes between the north and the south along the western border, what people don't realize is the vastness of the syrian desert and where the major population centers are, aleppo to damascus. >> the thought is with russia's support syria might be able to stitch together parts of the country. >> actually uniting the most powerful part of it. leaving the north to isil, and then we'll see if russia goes after isil. >> which by all indications not what it is doing at this point. so now you have the reality of russia striking targets that might include american-backed

forces in syria. >> this is an incredibly precarious situation from the ground and skies. you have free syrian army moderates, but there is a different alliance going on between the fighters. this army of conquest, which they have had to make brutal alliances with al-nusra and militants. so it's not clear that you have just pure american backed and you also -- it's very clear that the pentagon program, $500 million was a complete failure and called off. so that's not -- one of our problems. >> suspended. >> suspended. fair enough. what we also have is fighter jets in the sky, russian and american carrying out different strikes. you don't want to see anyone take out each other's planes by accident. >> now that we have heard from the deputy prime minister, do

you get the impression that now they feel emboldened because they have not only russia's support but russia action? >> yeah, and they have iran support in hezbollah on the ground, up to 4,000 fighters coming up from southern lebanon, and arm and logistical support from iran. assad's regime is enjoying iranian and russian support at a critical time when their forces are decimated. >> you have spent a lot of time in syria and covered the assad family. a lot of people think that bashar al-assad has the reputation that he may be out of his league. and you have a different feeling. you feel like this is a very cunning individual who has clearly survived a lot. >> he came to power in 2,000. they changed the constitution, they changed the party after his father died. he was a known brutal dictator.

he put down insurgencies and killed many of his own people in the '80s. bashar al-assad was considered the second son -- >> wasn't even supposed to be president. >> though heir has died in a car accident, and his pictures were everywhere. he was an opthhthalmologist fro london. he has played his power long, just like his father, and worse. >> okay. thank you for that. we have developing news out of the bahamas where the u.s. coast guard is searching for a missing ship caught in the wake of hurricane joaquin. it was traveling to san juan puerto rico from jacksonville, florida. 33 korea members are believed to

have been on board. that hurricane has unleashed heavy rain, a strong storm surge across the bahamas. meanwhile here in the united states emergencies have been declared in five states ahead of that storm, but the latest trek could have it going out to sea. nicole michelle has more. >> yes, it is slowly moving through the bahamas definitely causing major problems for this island nation. we have a number of warnings up for this region, but as i said, some good news for the united states. this has sat here long enough that there is a developing low and the steering from that is now looking more and more like it will bring it out to sea. these are some of the different computer model runs. only a couple of outliers will bring it to the united states. most will bring it away from the

u.s. coastline. so the official track is going to bring it off to sea, again, something we have to monitor. we could have impacts like high waives and some of the moisture makes it to u.s. land. we have already been dealing with this system along the coastline. i mention the developing low-pressure system into the southeast. the next couple of days will be very wet here. i'm more concerned about the flooding from this than the potential joaquin, but places like north and south carolina, just today we could get easily five, six inches of rain widespread. but over the next few days some places could get over a foot of rain, and the ground is already saturated so that could continue to cause problems. meanwhile with the front going through it has kept the northern tier of the country pretty cool. many governors along the

east coast say they are better prepared for this hurricane because of the lessons learned during superstorm sandy. we're going to take a quick break here on al jazeera america. stay with us. we'll bring you any latest on the shooting in roseburg. we hope to bring that to you live after this very short break. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> every saturday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. no topic off limits. >> 'cause i'm like, "dad, there

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>> protestors are gathering... >> there's an air of tension right now... >> the crowd chanting for democracy... >> this is another significant development... >> we have an exclusive story tonight, and we go live... >> we're awaiting a news conference by authorities,

including the atf officer in charge, about the shooting that left ten dead and seven others hurt. we're learning more about the pope's meeting with kim davis. the church says she was part of a group of several dozen people invited to meet the pope last week. her lawyer initially claimed the meeting was private, culminating in a hug and note of encouragement. in a statement the vatican said quote: well this week on "talk to al jazeera" our stephanie sy spoke with the first elected female head of state in africa. she has been in power in liberia for almost a decade. she says one of her biggest

challenges was dealing with last year's deadly ebola outbreak. >> reporter: was that the darkest time of your time in office so far? >> without a doubt the darkest time. i mean every other difficulty i face, i knew, and i had the means to find a way to deal with it. ebola was an unknown enemy. i didn't know what to do. nobody knew what to do. nobody could tell us, you know, what we were faced with. you know, how will we react to it? people were dying. people were running. people were crying. i cried too. i don't know what to do. we turned to prayers. we did everything in those very early days. but then, you know, we -- there came the pronouncement that

20,000 of our citizens would die by january in the three affected countries, and i think that just -- that just -- that just brought out everything in me, so i got on the air and said this will not happen. we are not going to die. >> and you can watch stephanie's full interview saturday night at 6:00 pm eastern right here on al jazeera america. meanwhile this morning we're hoping to learn more information about what may have sparked that shooting at the community college in roseburg, oregon yesterday. allen schauffler -- there is the podium right there. we believe the authorities are walking up, hopefully beginning any moment now. let's listen in. >> good morning, everyone, this morning i want to start with the victims and families. we have teams of investigators and victim's specialists working with each of the families to

help facilitate the next of kin notifications and provide counseling services as well as to ensure that each and every one of them and the families receives the highest level of support. these families are currently living through the nightmare in the most personal way possible. i would ask that the media respect their privacy and let them grieve in their own way. as notifications happen, we hope to share their names and a little bit more about them in future press conferences. on to the issues related to the campus. if your car is still parked at the campus, you need to meet at the douglas county fairgrounds today at 3:00 p.m. at that time buses will be there to take you back to the campus. you should bring photo id.

if you cannot find your photo id and you believe you have left it at the campus, check in with an officer at the college and let them know, and they will assist you in attempting to retrieve it from one of the buildings. there are also mental health counselors stationed at the fairgrounds, including counselors being provided by the community health aliance, students and after the in need of assistance are strongly encouraged to seek out that help. also in talking with the umpqua community college partners this morning, our current understanding is that they intend to reopen the campus early next week. please stay tuned for more information on that. we expect that the medical examiner will release the name of the shooter sometime later

today. again, you will not hear anyone from this law enforcement operation use his name. i continue to believe that those media and community members who publicize his name will only glorify his horrific actions, and eventually this will only serve to inspire future shooters. at this time, i would like to introduce atf assistant special agent in charge salinas, nunez. >> good morning. i wanted to provide information on the weapons we have in custody is to far. so far we have recovered 13 weapons. out of those 13 weapons, we currently have in custody six were recovered at the