this is "nightline." >> tonight, unstoppable irma. the monster storm flattening entire caribbean islands. >> the entire country has been decimated. >> barreling toward the american coast. now in florida over 5 million asked to evacuate. beaches empty. streets without cars. we're at the miami airport for the last flights out. freeways clogged for hours. gas stations out of fuel. can everyone get out in time? and the warning about these city skyscrapers. plus, campus killing. college party ending in gunshots. one student dead. >> i like saw a puddle of blood next to me. >> police storming the scene, caught on body camera recordings. >> turn around. on the ground.

on the ground! >> please, i'm so scared. i want my mom. >> reporter: but the shooter claiming he was under attack. >> why would they try to chase me? why would they do this to me? >> inside the interrogation and the courtroom. is he a cold-blooded killer or a victim? but first, the "nightline" 5. number 1 in just 60 seconds. been trying to prepare for this day... and i'm still not ready. the reason i'm telling you this is that

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good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight exodus across south florida as hurricane irma rages toward the coast. growing stronger with winds of 160 miles per hour. 5.6 million have been asked to evacuate, filling up highways and causing shortages of fuel. our team is there with people preparing for the worst. irma. a modest name for this monster of a storm. she has killed already. and there is little doubt she will kill again. her record-high winds have ravaged and punished the caribbean for days. she is now taking dead aim at florida. where over 5 million people are under mandatory evacuation orders. >> anywhere in the state if you're told to evacuate leave. get out quickly. do not put yourself or your family at risk. >> reporter: the city of miami now eerily quiet. a ghost town as they brace for the storm. the path of destruction left

behind in the caribbean, a forewarning of hurricane irma's strength. at least 22 people have died. this tropical paradise now a ghoulish reminder. whenever man and mother nature meet, it's a mismatch. the island of barbuda, practically uninhabitable. >> this has been one of the worst days of my life. the entire country has been decimated. i have never seen anything like this before. >> reporter: the high winds reduced buildings to piles of rubble in st. martin and gutted them in the british virgin islands. last night hurricane irma hit the island of turks and caicos. survivors witnessing rolling blackouts, shredded rooftops and flooded streets. >> we have seen nothing but the worst in the last hour and a half. >> reporter: tourists barricading doors, even hunkering down in bathrooms. >> then all of a sudden you're calling to say good-bye in case you don't have a chance to. >> reporter: by daylight an agonizingly familiar scene left

in the wake of irma. the bahamas is next in the path. >> we started to feel the first gusts move in as those outer bounds cover the bahamas. families are now hunkering down in hotels. people going out to buy provisions. because there are no flights in or out of the bahamas now. >> reporter: stateside on the only road out of the keys traffic has been bumper to bumper from the bottom of the state all the way up through orlando. our matt gutman was there. >> where are you coming from? >> miami. >> how long has it taken you? >> we left at 1:00 in the morning. >> did you expect it to be this bad? >> no. >> reporter: a drive that would normally take a little three hours now spanning eight to nine hours. >> it's got zone bad people are abandoning their cars because they've run out of gas. now, what you can see is a traffic jam that stretches all the way to the horizon. what you can't see is that it's tens of miles long. in miami-dade county, where nearly 40% of gas stations in the area have run out of fuel, the largest evacuation in that county's history is under way. matt caught a ride with one of

the fuel truck drivers. >> how are you? >> we've been working around the clock since monday. >> wow. when you finally deliver the gas, are people very happy? >> yeah. they give me presents. >> they give you presents. >> they give me lunch, dinner. >> reporter: a hero's welcome for the drivers providing much-needed fuel. but even they are stopping soon. >> this is the last tanker to lead fort everglades. heading up to fort pierce. after this there are no more tankers filled with gas filling up these stations. folks are going to have to get out of the state without any help. >> reporter: others flooding airports, taking to the air to escape the coming storm. this map showing hundreds of flights leaving florida this morning. but by this afternoon over 4,600 flights had been canceled. tonight the terminal nearly empty. a few lucky ones making it out on the remaining flights. >> did you plan ahead in did you get a last-minute ticket? >> i got a last-minute ticket late this afternoon. >> reporter: but so many here

with no flight home. karen moreno tells my colleague amy robach that she's stranded in miami after a layover. >> you don't have your bags. >> no. >> you just have this. and now you're being bused to a shelter. >> yes. >> that has to be incredibly overwhelming. >> yes. >> reporter: for the locals who didn't leave a run on supplies to keep the power on. and the storm out. >> i think it's going to be worse than andrew. >> reporter: arnoldo richuli is staying to protect his home, but his family told our tom llamas they want to evacuate. >> what's making you want to leave, possibly leave your dad behind? >> well, because of the storm surge. i'm trying to actually not leave him, trying to bring him with me. let's go up to gainesville away from all these storm surges. >> but he doesn't want to go? >> no. >> reporter: a major concern for miami's infrastructure, its glass towers and the cranes that built them. >> those are big targets out there. >> again, we're going to lose buildings that are going to have to be repaired. but i don't think buildings are going to completely collapse. >> reporter: 25 cranes have been secured. those that live near them told

to evacuate. developers and builders maintain that the buildings in downtown miami are safe from irma's punishing winds. but they caution that high-rises could sway up to 12 inches. being in a high-rise you're less likely to get hit by debris on the ground. but high up, 50 floors up like we are right now, there's another danger. the wind up here is much more powerful. >> reporter: hurricane researchers say the higher up you go the faster the wind. a category 4 hurricane with winds at 140 miles per hour could be up to 220 miles per hour on the 50th floor. but the greatest damage could well be down on the first floor, where irma's expected to cause a massive storm surge. >> storm surge here could easily be up and over my head. this is one of many marineas that line the city of miami, a massive city that is pinned up against the water. and extremely susceptible to hurricane storm surge. >> reporter: the areas in yellow would be underwater with only a three-foot storm surge. the latest forecast now predicting a storm surge of up to ten feet in miami.

that would mean all the areas in red would be underwater. with hurricane-force winds extending up to 70 miles outward from the center, irma already dwarfs the size of hurricane andrew, which devastated the region in 1992. >> i've lost everything i own. >> reporter: andrew made landfall as a category 5 storm, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. >> it took 25 years to build. it took an hour or two hours and a half to destroy. >> reporter: but irma's magnitude might surpass that historic storm. it's forecast to make 4r57landf early sunday morning losing strrnt up the coast and lingering in atlanta and jacksonville on tuesday. and irma is not alone. there are two other hurricanes in the atlantic basin. katya currently a category 1 storm has just made landfall in mexico's southern gulf coast. and category 4 jose, seen in this international space station image earlier today, is forecast

to come close to barbuda and the other caribbean islands that irma battered days ago. meanwhile, former presidents carter, clinton, obama, and presidents bush 43 and 41 teaming up to start a fund for harvey victims. >> as former presidents we wanted to help our fellow americans begin to recover. >> thank you. >> reporter: and today our current president offering support for those in irma's path. >> we're very prepared. we're prepared at the highest level. >> reporter: in the sunshine state the hurricane flags are up and sand from the beaches no longer part of the scenery. it's being bagged and put into use as residents hunker down in their homes. and lines to get inside miami shelters swell. up florida's northern coast and up to south carolina the warning to evacuate echoes. >> and we understand it's not convenient. but this is not -- evacuations are not about convenience. they're about making sure that you're safe. >> reporter: for those still in the storm's path time to evacuate is almost over. fearless, foolish or simply

without options, they will soon face irma. thus far she is undefeated. and for breaking news alerts on hurricane irma you can download the abc news app. next, a college argument turns deadly when a student pulls out a gun. what he says really happened. and would a jury believe it? outu even more incredible shrimp and new flavors like new nashville hot shrimp drizzled with sweet amber honey, and new grilled mediterranean shrimp finished with a savory blend of green onions, tomatoes, and herbs. feeling hungry yet? good, cuz there's plenty more where these came from. like garlic shrimp scampi, and other classics you love. as much as you want, however you want 'em. but hurry, endless shrimp won't be here long.

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[glass breaks] oops! sorry! just gearing you up for good mornings and good afternoons. [cheers] [laughing] these whole grains will get you going good. speaking of good. try new apple cinnamon toast crunch. what we know is that late one night at northern arizona university a freshman named steven jones opened fire on a group of students, killing one. what no one can agree on is why. it's not just the prosecution and defense that are at odds.

even witnesses from the night are telling drastically different stories. soon it will be up to a jury to. here's abc's matt gutman. >> can i call my mom? >> reporter: steven jones was either a scared college freshman in fear for his life -- >> why would they even try to chase me? why would they do this to me? i don't know them. >> he was surrounded, bullied, threatened, and attacked. >> reporter: or a murderer who retaliated by gunning down four fraternity brothers at northern arizona university, killing one of them? >> there was no threat to his safety. in fact, with that gun in his hand he was the most deadly person in sight. >> reporter: it was during an off-campus party on october 9th, 2015 at this apartment complex known as the courtyard that tragedy struck. partygoers hear what sounds like an argument. >> it wasn't a memorable night until everything went south. >> reporter: zack volpo is a delta ki brother who was there that night. >> there's a verbal

confrontation going on in the street. all of a sudden i see the group move into the parking lot. that's when i saw the flashlight flick on. >> reporter: zack runs across the street into the n.a.u. parking lot, and he's horrified. his fraternity brothers colin bruin and nick peering are down. both had been shot twice. >> i was in so much shock i had no idea. i saw a puddle of blood next to me. >> reporter: so you are second floor up, second window in, right there. >> yes. >> reporter: mikey scollard a sophomore at n.a.u. jumps from her bed and runs down to the parking lot. >> you begin to see people on the ground. >> yes. and the first person i see is nick. >> reporter: what mikey doesn't realize is at this moment the shooter is still on the scene, right behind her. >> before you know it there's more gunshots. >> you're literally administering first aid to somebody who'd been shot and you hear gunshots behind you. >> i hear gunshots and they say he's still shooting don't move, don't scream. >> reporter: that's when the two fraternity brothers nick prado

and kyle zintek were hit pl nau police begin arriving with body cameras rolling. >> i've got one here with a gunshot wound to the chests. >> reporter: this video shows the chaos still unfolding. the young boys bleeding, lying shot on the ground. mikey scollard applying pressure to nick peering's wounds. and on the other side right there a quick glimpse of a frantic 18-year-old on the ground. but this one is being handcuffed. >> turn around. on the ground! >> please go help them. i'm so sorry, please. please go help them. i'm so scared. >> i have one detained. he identified himself as the shooter. >> reporter: the hysterical shooter on that body cam is nau freshman steven jones. >> please. i'm so scared. i want my mom. >> stand up. is your name steven? >> yes, sir. >> you identified yourself to me as the shooter. >> nobody else. none of my friends -- >> there's nobody else involved? >> no. nobody but me. i take all the responsibility. >> okay. >> reporter: 20-year-old colin brew lay dead on the ground while his three fraternity brothers are raced to the

hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. but in the back of that squad car the suspect, steven jones, isn't acting like a deranged rampage shooter. more like a distraught kid. >> oh, my god. officer. how bad are they hurt? >> i don't know yet. >> reporter: repeatedly begging for his mom. >> i'm so scared. can i call my mom? >> just have a seat over there in that chair. >> reporter: the teenager is led ton a tiny interrogation room, still handcuffed. >> are you going to leave me in here alone? >> reporter: and when he's finally able to see the blood on his hands -- >> that's fine. >> reporter: horror at what they have allegedly done. >> that's fine, steven. >> reporter: at first reluctant, steven begins to describe a tame night at a different party. until he says his group somehow loses track of one of the friends. looking for him, steven says one of them knocked on the door of the party at the courtyard. >> ten or twelve dudes came out

and they started like like talking [ bleep ]. get the [ bleep ] off our porch. and wen we were -- we just decided to turn around and walk away. >> what were they saying? >> i'm going to kill you, you [ bleep ]. i bet you couldn't go back to the freshman dorms. they were obviously very drunk. >> toxicology reports would later prove that colin brew was in fact very drunk. more than three times the legal limit. and he also tested positive for marijuana and for xanax. steven says someone punches him in the face. >> [ bleep ]. like rocked my world. like i had no idea what was going on. my glasses fell off. i could barely see. >> reporter: now, it's not clear who did throw that punch. but eyewitnesses all later confirm that it was not colin brew. jones tells police that as he retreats towards his red mustang he's pursued, chased into the parking lot. >> i thought i was going to die. >> reporter: and that's the moment jones says when he opens the glove compartment and pulls

out his glock .22 handgun. >> i turn on the flashlight, and i point it at him and i said i have a gun, don't [ bleep ] move. and then -- >> reporter: and shoots colin brew and nick peering. >> he was running at me and staring right at me and saying he was going to kill me. i was afraid for my life. >> reporter: jones says after shooting collegein and nick the rest of the frat guys in the parking lot descend on him, pummeling him on the ground. jones says he frantically fired in the air just to get those kids off of him. but he shot two more students. >> i wasn't trying to hurt anybody. i wasn't even aiming at anybody. >> reporter: after more than two hours of questioning the freshman is led off to jail, charged with first-degree murder. his trial begins in flagstaff, arizona a year and a half after the shootings. he pleads not guilty. in their opening statements prosecutors and defense attorneys paint dramatically different pictures of what happened in that nau parking lot. >> to the victims the defendant

was an assassin emerging from the darkness. >> reporter: prosecutor ammon barker argues steven jones was a calculating cold-blooded killer. >> the question for you during this trial will be what was the defendant's intent when he shot these four unarmed victims. >> reporter: it's a question the defense is eager to answer in its opening statement. >> this is a case about an 18-year-old kid who found himself in a situation where he was surrounded, bullied, threatened, and attacked and did what he had to do to protect himself. >> reporter: but the young men who were shot dispute that. insisting no one threatened steven. >> i wouldn't even say it was an aggressive situation. it was a verbal argument from what i could see. >> the people who say that steven jones was just defending himself against a bunch of bullying frat guys. >> that's his defense. never even saw the kid until he came back with a gun. so. >> the trial lasts almost two weeks, and the testimony does

little to clarify what actually happened that night or even how it all started. then steven jones does something rarely done in a first-degree murder trial. >> hello. my name is steven jones. >> he takes the stand in his own defense. >> i knew that if i waited even another split second i would get seriously hurt or die. >> reporter: but prosecutors hammer the fact that steven walked 90 feet toward colin brew before he says colin charged him. even though he told police he was in front of his car. >> you keep saying to the officers that you were right in front of your car, right? >> correct. >> so each time you were describing that you were just wrong about it. right? >> correct. >> reporter: jurors head out to begin deliberations, and five days later the jury is hopelessly deadlocked. >> this court is therefore going to declare a mistrial in this case. >> breaking news coming in out of flagstaff. >> they tried but just couldn't agree. >> reporter: prosecutors intend to try steven jones again next

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the good book of ecclesiastes reminds us there's a time for all seasons. we're in hurricane season. for those in irma's path prayers lifted, fingers crossed. we'll be tracking the storm all weekend. expected to come ashore in florida sunday morning. tune to abc news for full team coverage. good night.

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