some kind of position on gun control. >> thanks very much. have a grade day. thanks for joining us. for me i'm here christine romans, "new day" starts right now. to our viewers in the united states and around the world, this is "new day," tuesday, october 3rd. alisyn is in new york and we are in las vegas, nevada, the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern u.s. history. we now know more about how this mass murder was planned and carried out and the man and the mystery and his evil decision to apparently kill himself by killing as many other people as possible. at least 59 lives were lost. many are still fighting for life. 527 injured after one of the

most planned and long-lasting shootings we have ever seen, using two windows on the 32nd floor of the mandalay bay resort behind us 500 yards away. automatic fire that hailed maybe the most bullets we've ever seen on to thousands of concert goers below. we have seen something else. evil of one man countered by the love of many. last night there was a truly poignant memorial for victims. among those killed, teachers, a nurse, a police employee. so many with so much life, taken by a coward. police found an arsenal in this killer's hotel room and home, 42 weapons in total. they recovered thousands of rounds of ammunition. they found explosive material in his car. at this point, police are still investigating motive. we know that this was a 64-year-old gunman.

we know he had no criminal past and no evidence of any training that would suggest an ability to do what he d president trump is set to come here to las vegas tomorrow. it will come after the president visits puerto rico today. millions of americans are still there, battling to survive a humanitarian crisis that is nowhere near over. we were there over the weekend. we have a new look for you of the reality of recovery on the ground. so, we have everything covered for you. let's begin with jean casarez here in vegas, taking us through what we now know. jean? >> reporter: a very important part of this investigation is the state of mind of the perpetrator, his intent, his premeditation. there will not be a trial in this case but investigators want to be able to classify what he did and they want to be able to give the answers to the victims and their families. the first question is, who is stephen paddock? authorities are learning more about the gunman responsible for

the las vegas massacre, 64-year-old stephen paddock. the retired accountant, firing dozens of rounds on to thousands of concert goers about 500 yards away from two hotel windows he smashed on the 32nd floor at the mandalay bay. police searching floor by floor until they found paddock's room. this video shot by an nbc journalist staying at the hotel. police shay paddock took his lie before a s.w.a.t. team stormed the room using explosives. police recovering an arsenal of 23 weapons of paddock's hotel room, including multiple rifles, some with scopes. police say he had been staying at the hotel since last thursday

in a large suite. finding another 19 weapons at a home in nearby mesquite. >> additional firearms, some explosives and several thousand rounds of ammo, along with some electronic devices we are evaluating at this point. >> investigators believe the guns were purchased legally. according to law enforcement, an initial report suggests at least one rifle was altered to function as an automatic weapon. a gun shop owner in utah is certain he sold a shotgun to paddock earlier this year. >> he didn't set off any of my alarms, anything that i felt like there's a problem in any way, shape or form with him. he was a normal, everyday guy that walks into my door 50,000 times a day. >> reporter: police say paddock wasn't on their radar, with no criminal past, and believe he acted alone. his brother, eric paddock, left stunned by the carnage, telling

cnn he never exhibited any violent tendencies and had no affiliations with any terror or hate groups. >> he has never even drawn his gun, you know what i mean? it makes no sense. he did not own machine guns that i knew of. this is something just incredibly wrong happened to my brother. >> reporter: his brother said paddock was a successful real estate investor who owned and rented several properties across multiple states. he also had an affin iity for gambling, according to this couple who lived next door to paddock in florida. >> he was a later. he told us that upfront. he did online gambling and also in vegas. >> reporter: the family has a trum troubled past. his father, benjamin, was a convicted bank robber, who escaped from prison in the late '60s and was on the fbi's most

wanted list. neighbors, shocked by the news, some even describing him as a gentle giant. >> you wouldn't recognize him as being anything out of the norm. >> reporter: what the facts show, an extraordinary amount of premeditation. stephen paddock checked into the mandalay bay right behind me last wednesday and it was on sunday, the third day of the festival, the route 91 harvest festival and the last song of when he carried out his plans. chris? >> jean, thank you very much. very thorough piece. let's discuss the latest on the investigation. cnn law enforcement analyst james gaglione and mary ann o'toole, senior director for the fbi. people want it to be terror because it was so evil, seemed so intentional.

that's not what terrorism means to you guys. what are they looking for, before they move in that kind of direction? >> sure. the basic definition of terrorism, chris, is violence or intimidati intimidation, the pursuit of political angst. >> the second part becomes important? >> motivation. andrew mccarthy, former chief deputy u.s. attorney and basically argues you almost have an easier standard with nevada state law than you do to take this federal. that may be something they look at. the other concerns you have are the mental capacity of this person. we understand somebody depraved enough to do what just happened are not right in the head. can you prove they're mentally incompetent? >> especially here because you're not going to have a trial. >> it's speculative. >> that's right. mary ellen, one thing that makes this unusual, other than just the numbers involved, is this overweighting of information

about how much went into the planning of this versus how much went into the motivation for this. they haven't found anything yet. at least that's been made public, about why he did this. and all of what they found out about how much he went into putting into the planning, what do you make of that imbalance? >> it is an imbalance. i think it's an important one. what it appears to be right now -- this certainly can change -- is that more and more it appears he's leading a secret life, a life that he kept from other people. but i also would go back to the motive. the motive in this case was a very sensational suicide that was completed by also the murder of 49 people. when you see this kind of a suicide like this, this kind of a sensational crime scene, with this kind of a personality it's often not because they're depressed or suffering from severe mental illness. it's because their back has been put against the wall and this is

their only way out. my suspicion is at this point as they continue to dig that's likely what they're going to find as opposed to some type of mental illness. >> quick follow-up. what have you found over the years and what we see again and again in situations like this, where someone decides to take their own life but as part of that decision, they decide to take as many other lives as they can before they do that? it seems that -- i don't see a lot of that anywhere else. i do see it as somewhat of an irregular pattern with these mass shootings. >> i agree with you. and i think part of the reason is the blame of other people for why their life has gotten to be such a disaster.

then we have the issue of how he did it. 42 weapons, the rounds. how he qualified for a special permit to get an automatic weapon or whether he alternated semi automatic weapon. >> clearly premeditated. >> no question. >> i look at the model of this. he picked an elevated position. the automatic weapons, semi automatic or modified, converted

or whether he purchased it that way on the black market. >> how hard is it to convert? >> you don't need to be a gunsmith to do it, chris, to be honest with you. you don't need to be a gunsmith. there are places people can go to have this done. this is the fear. you can go and legally purchase them. he purchase aid number of them. police went out and talked to the folks at the gun store where he purchased them from. had no criminal history, history of mental imbalance or put into a sanitarium. can't stop him from buying them. >> we don't know if there was any compressed period of purchase, where he bought them in rapid succession where to many of the smart gun owner of one of these stores -- and many of them are, many of them are savvy, a concerned gun owner -- we don't have any proof of that. >> no. we have to take the family members speaking about this. he wasn't a gun guy. they could not have been that close, that family member. in some of these can as we find

family members want to be protective of another family member. >> one other thing we want to turn to, the altitude, that position, that cone of death he created all speaks to a level of sophistication that we don't see how he got it. also if it wasn't an automatic you can explain to us the lethality rate, to go through multiple people as opposed to semi automatic. those are all relevant considerations for investigators here. >> chris, i haven't heard that type of fire other than on a range or overseas. i've never heard it hear in an american city. it was chilling to hear. the sustained rate of fire, as soon as i heard it, i was convinced it was an automatic weapon. the cyclic rate of it. we believe it was 400 yards. that is about the extent. maybe you could push it 450 for the type of rifle.

whether it was an ar-15 or m-16. whatever the chaos, we teach people run, hide, fight if you have to. the final thing is to tell. take this information to law enforcement. in this instance, the folks trapped down there -- you called it a funnel of death. they had no idea where the rounds were coming from. unless you were on the stage and saw the rounds impacting, you could tell the trajectory, you didn't know if it was coming from the side or above. it's conceivable people could have been running back into the killing field. and the fact that he had two positions, he also had tripods up there. he had some level of sophistication in mounting the weapons, drums or number of magazines taped together he could quickly change out 20, 30-round magazines of the it's absolutely chilling. >> there will be a lot more we'll learn about it. james, i will need you here all morning. mary ellen, thank you for helping us understand the mind that create this is madness a little bit. more will come out as we learn

more about how this monster reached this level of sophistication to know that so many of his decisions would increase the lethality, the ability to kill. how did he figure that out? why did he figure that out? balancing that part with the amazing moments that led to even more not losing their lives. people jumped into action in the way that we only see in the worst of circumstances. cnn's alex marquardt has that part of the story. as we were talking about last night there's a lot more we still don't know in terms of timeline in our standing to response to this. we already know what we need to know most. people stepped up and helped one another when they had to. >> that's right. and the authorities trying to fill in those gaps in that timeline. you were talking about the cone of death, that vantage point that the shooter had up there in the mandalay hotel. one of the concert goers said it

was like shooti ining fish in a barrel. the selfless acts of people helping other people. >> reporter: when gunshots first rang out, concert goers didn't know what they were. >> sounded like fireworks. >> not sure what's going on out there. >> nothing. >> reporter: musician brian hopkins hid in a backstage freezer after running from the gunfire. >> we see a guy right in front of us goes down. another person goes down. and guys. i turn, bang, bang. two girls go down behind us. i grab the two girls that are standing in front of me and grab them and took them with me. >> reporter: anthony rabone, off-duty paramedic, sprang into action to save his brother. >> the real moment i knew it was

gunshots when i heard my brother say i got hit. i turned around and saw him coughing up blood. >> reporter: using a piece of plastic and band-aids to cover his chest wound. ushering his wife to safety, he was shot in the back and died trying to save her. >> most people climbed the fence. i had to stay with my body. >> reporter: his friend was shot three times in the chest. >> we got him over the fence once the fire stopped and slid him under a stage so we were safe. >> reporter: vanessa, an off-duty nurse, initially ran for cover as well. then her training kicked in and she ran back into harm's way. >> we went back. i'm a nurse and i felt i had to. i went to three different scenes. by the time i got to the third one, there were just dead bodies. >> reporter: addison short was shot in the leg while trying to get away. a stranger came to her aid.

>> so i like dove under this bar to get cover and this guy helped me wrap my foot because it was just gushing out blood everywhere. i just want to -- the guy that helped me is watching i really just want to tell him how grateful i am for basically saving my life and just thank you so much. >> reporter: addison says she never got the man's name. amid all the blood shed, countless stories of heroism coming to light. >> there were so many people, just normal citizens, doctors, cops, paramedics, nurses, just off duty. everyone is just communicating and working together. it was completely horrible but it was absolutely amazing to see all the people come together. >> reporter: such horrific, but inspiring moments. chris, you have been talking about other guests as to whether to classify this as an act of terror. here at the sheriff's office he has been repeatedly asked if

this was a terror incident. they're waiting to figure out the motivation of the shooter. the white house, of course, has been asked. yesterday the press secretary saying because this is an ongoing investigation, it would be premature to weigh in on something like that before the facts were established. both local authorities and the white house refusing to call the biggest massacre in modern u.s. history an act of domestic terrorism. chris? >> and, look, we'll see where the feds want to go with that as well when they start to weigh in about why this was. there's a lot of information we still need to know about response by police in the situation. alisyn, we know you're on that. thank you very much. but what a damn shame that all these people were forced to live this nightmare because of the evil of one man. when we come back, we'll talk with two survivors who made it through. but they did more than that. they helped other people in a moment of need. when everything in them was telling them to take care of themselves, they did more than that. we want to honor, all morning long, the lives that were cut short as a reminder of what was

lost here. please, pay attention to this. ♪

n trusted advice for life. kevin, how's your mom? life well planned. see what a raymond james financial advisor can do for you.

in these situations, it's not the evil, but the type of heroism that is inspiring. this couple was here like thousands of others, to enjoy a great night of country music in a vip section. they start to hear bullets and had to make a decision. their decision was to try to help other people. and they wound up being with dozens of people who were hurt and getting them to places, cars, ambulances, anywhere they could, to make a difference. they join us this morning.

jamie, thank you for being with us. i appreciate it very much. michael, thank you very much. thank god you're okay. i know in the moment you did what you had to. i'm sure the hardest part has been the hours since then, dealing with what went down. how are you doing, jamie? >> when we finally got to sleep, it was like waking up and realizing, i must have had this crazy nightmare and then seeing my phone and seeing the messages, how are you doing? prayers are with you. and i'm beside myself that it actually happened. shocked. still in shock. >> are you being able, michael, to get your head around what somebody was trying to do there, what initiated the need for you to try to figure out how to help people? >> there's some small percentage of evil, i think, in humanity. but an incident like the other night showed that the vast majority of people have goodness in them and bravery. so, you have to keep it in

perspective, even though that evil can have such a disproportionate impact on people. there was more goodness that came out, i think, in the wake that have tragedy than evil. >> the truth, the story that's dominated by the numbers, the most lives lost, the most injured. we also saw the most acts of heroism that we've ever seen before. that was the worst situation to be in. thousands of people, slow exit. what made you decide i have to get out of here, i vo get the woman i love out of here but look at all these other people? what was that decision? >> i don't remember it being a conscious decision. it was just a certainty. there was something bad happening and it was really the incident that we realized that the shooting was hitting people. when the automatic fire first started happening, mandalay bay was right over our right shoulder. that's the direction i heard the sounds come from. but we still didn't know, first, whether it was firecrackers,

gunshots or just meant to panic people, to cause that chaos. when we were filing out, we saw the first gunshot victim with an abdomen wound and then it was just a certainty that we had to stay and help i did want jamie to leave and tried my best to get her to leave. but she refused and ended up helping for probably the next hour and a half. >> why did you stay? >> i wasn't going to leave my husband and i was terrified. i saw people that were shot and i knew he had a duty in him. it's his character, in his nature, to go back and help people. and i wanted to help any way i could. he really instilled that and inspired that bravery in me. so, just do it. >> what were you telling yourself when you kept seeing that more and more people were being hit by this? because this is such a confusing situation. you're not used to hearing gunfire like that, not used to seeing its effects. >> no. help people. help people however i can. comfort them, direct.

open up walkways and paths. grab a foot, grab a leg. grab a shoulder. help them on to the wheelchair and let's move them to safety. let's move them to transport, to the hospital. michael was helping with, you know, basic emt. that's not what i know how to do. i'm no professional at that. sit iting with people, trying t comfort them, asking their names, who their children are. trying to give them, remind them why they have to fight. and they did. and they would. >> one of the things that is so bizarre and unusual that you had to live through is duration. did you have a sense of that in the moment that, jesus, this isn't ending? these shots just keep coming, keep coming? >> i did. i did. it was long, continuous bursts of automatic fire, as you know by now. and when we made it to the point that it was potential safety for

jamie, there was kind of a brick retaining wall, cinder wall. i tried to get her past. we saw that first victim crumpled against that wall with an abdomen wound that was in the midst of one of the last long sustained bursts. the fire was continuing as we turned back in. we helped that gentleman we lifted up and a passerby, civilian car was there, being loaded with victims. we got him into that vehicle. when i turned back in, that's when i started noticing so many others on the ground. and the next gentleman we went to, unfortunately, had a very severe head wound. and one of his friends was trying to help and another similar emt was trying to give cpr. compression, checking the pulse. he was fading fast. he ended up dying there in our

arms before we could get him over to the makeshift little trauma center. the medical tent had become a bit of a triage center. that's where we started one after another bringing victims. and then trying to find the transport. the biggest critical issue at that moment was -- >> how do you get them out of here? >> how do you get them out? i'm sure the ambulances responded very quickly. in the moment it felt like forever. maybe they were being held back because the shooting was continuing. with these victims, many had multiple, multiple chest wounds, head wounds, as i said. there was no action that someone could take on the ground there, even if you were a battlefield surgeon, other than getting them quickly to a real trauma center. >> you did the thing that was needed most, trying to get them to a place where the people who could help would be there, take them to the next step. obviously, everybody was overwhelmed. as terrible as those numbers are, you had thousands and thousands of people who were sitting ducks. >> that's true. >> so everything is relative. i know that you're here. i know that you have a business. i know that you're into helping

people be well, right? >> yeah. >> you could have never done that more than you've done it already. thank you, guys, for what you did. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you for talking about it. i know it's not a conversation you want to have. thank you to both of you. >> thank you. >> and be well. >> thank you for telling the story. >> and let yourself deal with this process as it goes forward. all right? listen, we're going to hear stories about this. thank god we will, alisyn. if you don't have people who step up in a time of need like this, everything gets so far out of control, so fast. and it's a big part of the story. and we won't neglect it. >> it's wonderful to hear from them, chris. good to have you on the ground out there. i have other breaking news to tell people. it is sad breaking news from the music world. fans are shocked and heart broken over the sudden death of rock legend tom petty. ♪ hey baby there ain't no easy way out ♪

♪ i won't back down ♪ hey i will stand my ground ♪ ♪ and i won't back down >> just so many hit songs. according to his manager, petty suffered cardiac arrest and could not be revived. fans and stars paying tribute on social media. three-time grammy winner, just finished a summer tour with his band, the heartbreak ers. over 40 years of playing they gain aid passionate fan base. "won't back down," "american girl." he was inducted into the hall of fame. he was just 66 years old. killer's motives remain a mystery. we do know that he was extremely armed and willing to kill. what we're learning about his arsenal nexta we remember all the victims in las vegas.

hi, i'm the internet! you know what's difficult? adulting...

tj! get a job! hi, guys. i'm back. time to slay! heals, heals, heals! yes! youuuu! no, i have a long time girlfriend. mom! i need my macaroni!!! you know what's easy? building your website with godaddy. pick a domain name. choose a design. you can build a website in under an hour. yeah! whoo! yes! get your domain today and get a free trial of gocentral. build a better website in under an hour.

want sure!ck? alright, looks like we've got chips, popcorn, pretzels? pretzels! plain, sourdough, spicy, sesame, honey mustard, chocolate covered, peanut butter filled, this one's in german, it says, "reindfleisch?" plain. great. so what are we gonna watch? oh! show me fall tv. check out the best of the best hand-picked fall shows on xfinity x1, online, and the xfinity stream app. thirsty?

23 guns in the killer's hotel room, another 19 found at his home. several thousands rounds of ammunition and explosives. how did he get them and how was he able to make them even more deadly? joining us now, retired atf special agent sam ramadi. thank you for being here. i want to play just a few seconds of the sound of the gunfire that people caught on their cell phones. i want you then to share your

theory on what you're hearing. so, listen to this. [ automatic gunfire ] >> okay. when experts have analyzed that, sam, they hear 90 shots in 10 seconds. clearly, that's an automatic weapon. correct? >> yes. from the sound on the video clip, i think most folks who are involved in this kind of line of work will be able to tell you that is absolutely fully automatic fire. >> okay. but authorities have not found an automatic weapon. the latest working theory is that he turned his regular rifle into an automatic weapon. and, look, i'm very skittish about haviing this conversation on tv because, obviously, we don't want to give people a

how-to, but it sounds like it's pretty ease toy do that. can you explain if it's ease toy convert a rifle into -- semi automatic into a fully automatic? >> sure. well, there are a number of ways to do it. in terms of fully automatic fire, there are some accessories that are available on the market such as a bump fire stock or slide fire. that is an accessory that can be used to modify a weapon like an ar-15 to allow it to fire in rapid succession or automatic fire. >> sam, hold on a second. i just want to stop you right there. >> yes. >> so automatic weapons are not legal, but the accessory to turn a semi automatic into an automatic is legal? >> the accessory itself is legal and can be purchased online or from a manufacturer directly.

it is perfectly legal by definition. >> sam, sam, how is that possible? how -- why would it ever be legal for regular civilians to be able to turn their rifle into an automatic weapon, when automatic weapons are banned? >> well, the automatic weapons themselves are banned. in this particular case, the accessory is nothing -- nothing about it makes it illegal in terms of what it does to the actual firearm, to modify whether it's the trigger mechanism or some other feature like a drop-in that makes it fully automatic. this particular accessory uses the gun's own inertia to go or slide, if you will, back and forth to allow the firing of the weapon at a rapid succession. >> but, sam, my question is, how is that logical? how is it logical? clearly we've accepted that automatic weapons are much more

deadly. they cause the kind of carnage they saw in las vegas. why is this accessory legal? >> by federal law, this particular accessory is perfectly legal. the national firearms act clearly specifies what constitutes a fully automatic weapon or machine gun is more of the common term that is used. probably way back when, in 1934 when the original act was enacted and in the '80s when it was modified again, these types of accessories did not exist. and, you know, as technology has come through in the last number of years, i believe the original authors of the act probably did not envision this kind of accessory being used for modifications of this sort. >> well, there you go.

listen, you've done this for a living. you devoted your life to making sure that weapons were safe and keeping them out of the hands of the wrong people. if congress does nothing else, do you think that they should ban these accessories from being available online? >> you know, that's a tough question, alisyn. there are a number of sportsmen who like to use these types of accessories to use their weapons so they can target practice. throughout my career, i've been doing this 29 years. our intent, whether it's federal law enforcement or state local partners, is always going after the illegal possessors of the guns. and what they can do. it's not just your criminal out there, who can cause all sorts of problems on the street with this type of weapon. unfortunately, and perhaps as is the case in this situation, is somebody with some form of mental illness. >> right. look, of course. whatever was behind this guy, the idea that he could do this so easily, why would you be reluctant to say that these

accessories shouldn't be in the hands of regular people? >> no, there's no reluctance on my part. it's more as to the way the law is written. this is something that congress would have to go back and take a look at the law itself, the technical language of the law and whether something like this type of accessory should be made available to the public. you know, that's more for our folks up on the hill, to be able to take a look at something like this. but, clearly, clearly, something like this is sort of a wo workaround the federal law as it relates to automatic weapons and probably is something that we should take a look at as we go forward. >> sam rabadi, thank you very much for coming on with your expertise in this. >> thank you, alisyn. >> 59 people were killed, at least 575 injured. we'll get an update next as we

remember these victims of the attack. qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

♪ here is the latest on what we now know as the deadliest mass shooting in modern u.s. history. 59 people lost their lives at that concert. 527 more injured. and there's a range of those injuries. so many are still fighting for their lives. this monster that was behind this rapid gunfire you hear, the likes of which we never heard in a situation like this -- cops found 42 guns. ammonium nitrate, a type of fertilizer that people use to create explosives, more weapons

at his house. 64-year-old on your screen, no criminal past. cleared gun background checks. the killer's brother says the family is dumbstruck. the hunt for investigators is going to be who knew something about where this man's head was? we'll stay on that part of the story. just as important, and even more important are the faces on your screen. we're seeing the vigils across this country. people killed. special education teacher, nurses, police officers, people who made a decision with their lives to help others, taken out by someone who wanted to help no one. trauma surgeons right now in the city are caring for gravely wounded and comparing the injuries to a war zone. cnn's stephanie elam is live atlas vegas university medical center. boy, were they overwhelmed. we keep talking about the people who had to step up. not only were they way beyond capacity, but these types of rounds, these types of numbers,

it is amazing what they've had to deal with. >> reporter: it's amazing the response that happened as well, chris. when you talk to surgeons like i have here, talking about how they got all hands on deck as quickly as possible, they were here before the patients started arriving. this hospital alone, university medical center of southern nevada, the only level one trauma center in the state. they received 104 patients. we can tell you they did say they've now treated and released some 40 patients. we do know that there are two teenagers that are still here. there are 12 people in critical condition here at this hospital. but the response here, they did say that they've never seen anything like this here at this hospital. but at the same time, they felt that the response, that they were able to handle all of it, even triaging some of the patients outside. but at one point they even had more surgeons on hand ready to go than patients that were ready in the eight operating rooms we have here. the other response that was great was citizens, people in

las vegas that turned out even before the sun came up yesterday to donate blood. lines wrapping around the buildings. they've even said so far they have enough blood to treat these patients. what they are asking people to do, though, is to remember that in the coming weeks there may be still more demand. they're asking people, chris, to remember that and still be donation worthy in the next couple of weeks here. a great response from the people in las vegas, chris. >> strong point, stephanie. just because they're saying they have enough now doesn't mean they'll have enough going forward. incredible volume of humanity, dealing with 500 people plus, who knows how many they'll need and what they'll need. stephanie, thank you very much. the president of the united states, he said that when it comes to what happened here in las vegas, we are united by grief and pain. those words are going to apply in a different context when he lands in puerto rico today. he is going to find a mass of

humanity there that is living in crisis. we'll take you through where he's going, what he's going to see and what the expectations are. live report from puerto rico, next. nature's bounty knows healthy cholesterol starts in your gut. so we made cardio-health,

an innovative way to support healthy cholesterol containing lrc, a probiotic strain that helps you metabolize dietary cholesterol. because we all want to be healthy for whatever comes next. nature's bounty cardio-health.

fomy doctor recommended ibgard. abdominal pain and bloating. now i'm in control of my ibs.

nonprescription ibgard- calms the angry gut. live in poourlt ricoh with more, how is it looking this morning, boris? >> reporter: hey, alisyn. the recovery effort here in puerto rico is still slowly moving forward. the president set to arrive here shortly before noon. he is going to be visiting a chapel and with survivors of hurricane maria, meeting with the governor here, ricardo rossello. it's unclear what kind of contact the two might have, but

as you saw over the weekend, the president was aggressive going after carmen yulin-cruz. she was essentially begging for help. you get the sense that puerto ricans here are said to be receptive of the president if he comes with a helping hand. keep in mind we are getting good news in the sense that some patches of puerto rico are getting electricity. grocery stores are opening back up. those lines we've seen are much shorter. there's still a tremendous demand for fuel and potable water. it will be a long time before puerto rico gets back on its feet. this is really the first step in that process, alisyn. >> thank you very much for the update from there. slow and steady. joining us now by phone, lieutenant general jeffrey buchanan, who has taken on the lead role theefs military operations in getting the relief to the places that need it most. general, thank you very much for taking time to talk to us this morning. >> thanks, alisyn.

good morning. >> how much of the island do you think you have been able to get food and supplies to? >> most of it. actually, yesterday i was up in a town that is in the center of the island. that's where our greatest concern has been. not all roads are open. we're delivering supplies to places that are cut off by air. we're getting supplies out. >> yet, would you say it's just so we have some sense, 20% of the island still hasn't gotten, you know, federal food and supplies? >> no. i think, actually, it's less than that. the national guard has done phenomenal work in helping the citizens clear routes, in doing things. and i think -- like i said, i think it's less than that. you know, we're doing fairly well in distributing food and water and fuel. but, you know, honestly, my greatest concern is really about fuel at this point in time.

>> and what is the hold-up with being able to get enough fuel? >> well, you know, because puerto rico is so isolated, we can't bring it in on the ground. so, everything -- and we're bringing in a little bit by air. but the big supplies need to come by ship. they have been arriving. they're continuing to arrive. and, you know, as a reporter just mentioned minutes ago, gas lines are getting shorter. we can't get back to normalcy without people having gas in their car. >> for sure. by the way, general, while i have you, i keep seeing these memes pop upn on some sort of right-wing websites that say the truck drivers in puerto rico are not showing up. if only the truck drivers would show up to work, everything would be fine there. you're on the ground. would it help if you had lines and lines of truck drivers? are they the problem or is fuel to put in the trucks the problem? >> i think it's all related back to the problem. you know, we have military

members delivering fuel right now. we do have truck drivers delivering fuel. i can't say how many. but the more puerto ricans we can actually get back to work -- this is all about helping puerto rico get back on their feet. the long term answer can't be the military. it has to be getting the people back to work, getting the economy back to normal. >> sure but are you saying that you're putting out the call right now to every truck driver on the island and if they showed up, there would be trucks with fuel ready for them to go? >> yeah. what i'm -- we're here, supporting the governor. and the governor has asked for truck drivers to get back to work. and, you know, i think that makes a lot of sense. >> and is there fuel for their trucks? >> there is at least, in some cases. you know, i don't think we have fuel waiting on trucks because we're using military means to deliver it. >> this is my point. is the problem the truck drivers or the fuel? >> it's all related.

they're together. >> so you think that they're both equal problems. why do you think that the truck drivers aren't showing up? >> alisyn, i have to refer you back to the truck drivers. i have no idea. i'm just a soldier here. >> i understand but do you think it's possibly because there's no cell service and they don't know and they can't -- the roads are impassable and they don't know that there's fuel and that they can go back to work yet? >> well, the roads, cell service is certainly a problem throughout the island. some places have better coverage than others. roads initially were a problem. we've gotten all the major routes around the island cleared. some of the routes across the island are clear now. secondary roads are still blocked. so, that could be a problem. >> okay. general jeffrey buchanan, thank you very much for the status report. obviously, we'll be watching closely when the president shows up there and we'll talk to you again. thanks for being here. we have much more on the las vegas massacre. what we now know about the gunman and his life and how it

was seemingly escalating over the weeks before this. we'll bring you all the latest.

you are watching "new day." alisyn is in new york. we have insight into every part of this catastrophe. we have never seen a mass shooting like this. it is the deadliest in modern american history. the volume, the type of weapons, the positioning, the planning, all carried out by a mystery man with purely evil intentions. at least 59 people have lost their lives now. 527 injured. and the range of those injuries goes to the very severe. people are still fighting for their lives. we know that the gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the