♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight -- >> we, the jury, award compensatory damages in the amount of $10 million -- >> the verdict is in. the jury ruling in favor of actor johnny depp. millions riveted by the lurid and intimate details revealed during the explosive six-week trial. why the jury awarded amber heard money too. plus, grief and frustration. the search for answers in u uvalde, texas. this grieving community growing frustrated with law enforcement as they remember and honor those who died. >> we know in our hearts that be a abba is a hero. she's going to fight to the end.

and "dear evan hansen." chinese american actor zachary noah pizer making history on broadway. >> what kind of response are you getting from the community? >> i got a "dear asian handsome" shirt in the mail, which is so grand. >> behind the scenes of a musical that has an important message for parents and teens everywhere.

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. after abc weeks of salacious testimony and accusations of physical and verbal abuse on both sides, a jury in fir faction, virginia, sided with johnny depp. but the actor and his ex-wife, amber heard, were both found liable of defamation. here's abc's kenneth moton. >> reporter: tonight that dramatic courtroom moment. a virginia jury awarding actor generalny depp more than $10 million in damages against his ex-wife, amber heard. >> do you find mr. depp has proven by clear and convincing evidence that miss heard acted with actual malice? answer, yes. >> reporter: dueling defamation lawsuits, depp suing for $50 million claiming heard damaged his career when she penned a 2018 "washington post" op-ed.

depp wasn't named in the article. heard counter suing for $100 million. the jury's verdict, a major win for depp, who was absent from court performing in london. his team said he had a previously scheduled work commitment. but inside the courtroom, heard sat stoically. the jury awarded her $2 million in damages, siding with her claim that depp's former attorney defamed her when he called her allegations a hoax. >> do you find miss heard has proven all the elements of defamation? answer, yes. >> reporter: during the six-week trial, a litany of lurid details coming out. heard and depp taking the stand, accusing the other of abuse. >> there was the physical abuse, which was a constant. >> reporter: depp denying he ever hit heard. >> but never did i, myself, reach the point of striking miss heard in any way. >> reporter: heard accusing depp of physical and sexual abuse.

>> my head was bashing against the back of the bar, and i couldn't breathe. i've never been so scared in my life. >> reporter: depp's attorneys using audio they said showed heard admitting to starting a fight. >> i'm sorry i hit you like this, but i did not punch you. i did not [ bleep ] deck you. i [ bleep ] was hitting you. >> reporter: heard's attorneys showing video she secrety recorded of depp becoming violent in his kitchen, breaking his own cabinets and berating heard. tonight, heard calling the verdict a setback, saying it sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated and sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously. but outside the courthouse, cheers when the jury ruled in depp's favor. depp posting to instagram saying, the jury gave me my life back, i am truly humbled. >> our thanks to kenneth. now we turn to news of yet

another horrific shooting in america tonight. at least five people are dead and several others wounded in the shooting at a tulsa, oklahoma, medical building. a suspect armed with a rifle and one handgun opened fire at the natalie medical building. the shooter is among the dead. police say it's unclear what prompted the deadly assault. this comes as the grieving community in uvalde, texas, is still looking for answers. here's abc's marcus moore. >> she's a diamond. she's always going to be a diamond and a shiny one at that. >> reporter: juan maldonado remembering eva mireles, who died last week trying to save are save her students in uvalde, texas. >> those kids meant everything to her. >> reporter: 19 children and 2 teachers, eva one of them, killed with an ar-15 rifle. >> how important are answers, closure, for the family? in terms of understanding what happened and why? >> she's a hero. not only here in uvalde, but

throughout the whole community. and we know that for a fact. >> reporter: it's been nine days since one of the worst school shootings in history. answers and clarity lacking as the small community tries to grieve. >> there have been a limited number of briefings since the massacre occurred and each one has corrected a piece of the narrative. >> reporter: last week, texas governor greg abbott at first giving police credit. >> it could have been worse. the reason it was not worse is because law enforcement official s did what they do. >> reporter: days later, he pivoted. >> i was misled. i am livid about what happened. >> reporter: the texas department of public safety making a stunning assertion that same day. the commander on the scene, steve pete arredondo, made a mistake when he called for officers to wait outside classrooms for over an hour. >> the benefit of hindsight where i'm sitting now, of course it was not the right decision, it was the wrong decision,

period. >> reporter: authoritiy walking back law enforcement's first engagement with the shooter. >> initially it was said a school police officer at robb elementary confronted the shooter before he entered the classroom. authorities later said there was no attempt to try and confront the suspect outside, in fact, they said a school police officer actually drove by the suspect as he was in the parking lot. >> reporter: texas department of public safety also correcting another previous comment, that a teacher left a door propped open, allowing the gunman to enter. >> the teacher runs to room 132 to retrieve a phone, the same teacher walks back to the exit door, the door remains propped open. >> reporter: the teacher's lawyer telling "the san antonio express news" she propped the door open to get food from her car, saw the gunman crash his truck, ran back into the classroom to get her phone to dial 911, and closed the door after realizing the gunman was heading toward the school. her lawyer saying, quote, she thought the door would lock because the door is always supposed to be locked.

these images appear to show the gunman walking right into the building. >> an elementary schoolteacher hired a high-powered criminal defense attorney in san antonio in order to correct the narrative that the state police put out about her actions. the texas department of public safety conceded the lawyer's account was correct, but they did not apologize for the account, nor did they explain how they initially got it wrong. >> guy with a rifle! >> reporter: law enforcement now piecing together each moment of that 77-minute rampage as questions are being raised about their response, according to the texas department of public safety. at 11:33 a.m., the gunman entering, making his way through two connected classrooms, immediately firing over 100 round. one of those classrooms seen in a photo. 11:35, officers entered the school through the same entrance and took fire, but they did not breach the classroom or take the gunman down. in this video obtained by abc news, police were seeing rescuing children after breaking

a window. >> kids running out, they're breaking window -- >> reporter: parents outside urging officers to go in and save the others. >> you know that there are kids, right? they're little kids, they don't know how to defend themselves! >> reporter: sources telling abc news the carnage only ended when border protection agents decided to use a custodian's key to breach the classroom door and kill the gunman at 12:50 p.m., an hour and 17 minutes after the shooter first entered the building. outside, a race to find the wounded. what sounded like radio dispatch -- >> let me see, are you in there? >> i got shot! >> where? >> who shot a kid? >> we have seen so many mass casualty incidents like this that police have developed a list of best practices. and here, some of those best practices do not appear to have been put into play. >> reporter: one person who could provide some answers, school district bless chief

arredondo. the on-scene commander has been larger out of public view. although he was sworn in as a city councilmember at a private ceremony last night, cnn confronting him this morning. >> we're not going to release anything. we have people in our community being buried. we're going to be respectful -- >> i just want your reaction to the director saying you were responsible for the decision to go into that room, how do you explain yourself? >> we're going to be respectful to the family -- >> i understand that but you have an opportunity to explain yourself to the parents -- >> we're going to do that eventually, obviously. >> when? >> whenever this is done, the families keep grieving, we'll do that, obviously. >> do you understand how -- >> just so everybody knows, we've been in contact with dps every day. >> how state and local authorities communicate following a mass shooting is complicated. but we've learned one thing over the years. is that saying nothing is not the right approach. saying nothing allows people's worst fears to become the

narrative. saying nothing allows inaccurate information to take root and to form public perceptions. >> reporter: the department of justice is now launching its own review into law enforcement's response. >> this is not a criminal investigation. the idea is simply to understand the decisions that police made and why, and if there were mistakes, to make sure they're not repeated. >> reporter: the children who survived helping to fill in some of the gaps of the information. speaking for those who can't. 10-year-old samuel salinas remembers the gunman's words to the class. >> he said, "you're all going to die." he just started shooting people. >> reporter: he said he played dead to stay alive. >> he shot my teacher, then he shot the kids. i was playing dead so he wouldn't shoot me. >> reporter: his best friend noah shot in the back with the bullet coming out of his shoulder. >> put my hand on his held, held him tight as i could, i kissed his forehead. i told him, "i'm so proud of you, you're a brave man." and his thing was, "dad, my

clothes is ruined, i'm sorry, they're full of blood." it was gut-wrenching. >> reporter: he and all of the other children at robb elementary facing a long emotional journey ahead. >> i kind of don't feel safe going to school. and i feel -- sometimes at night i have nightmares too. >> reporter: for now this tight-knit community beginning to lay their loved ones to rest. including 10-year-old jose manuel flores jr. whose funeral was held today. uvalde said good-bye today to fourth grade teacher irma garcia and husband joe, who died of a heart attack two days after her. the couple survived by their four children. services for eva mireles, the other teacher who died in the shooting, next friday. >> she's in heaven, so we know these happy and she's watching over her family and loved ones. >> our thanks to marcus. next, the young actor making

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be in your moment. fantastic! ask your doctor about ibrance. zach piester is making history on broadway as the first asian american performer to lead the hit musical "dear evan hansen." why he says the show resonates with so many young people. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> reporter: if all the world is a stage, backstage is where it all begins.

zachary noah peizer is warming up his voice, getting into character. >> we do that about a million more times. >> reporter: after years as a cast member, zach now stepping center stage for the zarb show "dear evan hansen." >> right now i am getting into cast. >> reporter: molding himself into the lead role and being fit with a real plastic arm cast he puts on for every single show. with the transformation complete -- >> i am feeling ready. >> reporter: it's showtime. going on a kid, coming back a star! oh, my. >> there you go. ♪ dear evan hansen ♪ ♪ today's going to be an amazing day and here's why ♪ ♪ today all you have to do is just -- be yourself ♪ ♪ but also confident, that's important ♪ >> reporter: on stage, zach perfectly inhabiting the

character of an awkward teenage wallflower. >> honey, we're going to help you build your confidence! seize the day! >> i guess. >> reporter: someone who doesn't quite fit in. and feels left out by his peers. ♪ will i ever be more than i've always been ♪ ♪ i'm tap-tap-tapping on the glass waving through the window ♪ >> reporter: as the first asian american performer to lead the show, zach is making history. so much of the themes are about feeling other. >> yes. >> feeling marginalized. >> yes. >> you, like me, are not only asian but jewish. >> yes, i am, we have to make a club. >> here we go for jews of color. >> yes, hello. >> what kind of response are you getting from the community? >> insane. i'm getting dms and messages. i got a "dear asian handsome" shirt in the mail, which is so on brand for my asian family. i can feel that it means so much to so many people, and it means

just as much if not more to me. >> reporter: zach's pioneering moment perfectly in sync with the core message of acceptance. >> growing up i thought of myself as half of something. half this, half this. my parents and my communities that surround me have helped me really fully realize that i am fully one being. by coming to that realization, i'm able to bring that to the stage every single night. ♪ ♪ we could be all right for forever ♪ >> reporter: the unconventional musical tackling tough subjects like loneliness and suicide. it first burst onto the broadway stage in 2016. ♪ when you're broken on the ground you will be found ♪ >> reporter: actor ben pratt played the original evan hansen,

earning legions of fans for his poignant portrayal, the production winning six tony awards in 2017. founding producer, stacy mindich, saw "evan's" universal appeal from the beginning. >> the appeal is most people see themselves in evan, even if it's just that they were lonely for a period of time in their lives. >> "dear evan hansen" chooses specific organizations that align with our mission statement of raising awareness about mental health, breaking the stigma against mental health, especially among youth. but really among everyone. >> reporter: the musical partnering with organizations like the trevor project, which focuses on suicide prevention for lgbtq+ youth. >> we have had life-or-death experiences on the show where an actor has been treated, you know, by a teenager who's felt lost and alone, so we've gotten to one of our partners and that partner has dm'd the child or the teenager and started a

conversation. >> reporter: zach says he can relate to the feelings of being marginalized. growing up in california with a jewish dad and a chinese mom. >> what do you want people to do in order to be allies in this community? >> so often as asian artists, we are told, we're prescribed what stories we can tell. and they can be a gift. it can be so freeing to be asked, what do you want to do? i hope that the jewish people, the asian people of all ages, actually hear what i'm saying. "you will be found, no one deserves to be forgotten." >> reporter: after the show, outside the stage door, zach's biggest fans, his parents. >> i think this is number nine. >> it will be ten. >> nine or ten. >> we're still crying through all the parts. what's happening? >> reporter: i know that you literally shed tears every night on stage. but i saw tears welling up just now.

what are those tears about? >> you know, this is -- i can't believe this is happening. i can in so many ways, but to do this, to break this barrier, to have this milestone, is -- there are not enough words to describe it. ♪ is anybody waving waving waving whoa whoa ♪ >> our thanks to juju. next, news about queen elizabeth's platinum jubilee celebration. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years.

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finally tonight, in just a few hours, queen elizabeth celebrates 70 years on the throne. in honor of the platinum jubilee celebration, the palace released a new portrait of the 96-year-old monarch. this as we l wileal t not be in the official parade, but she will appear on the palace balcony. we'll have more on all the royal sth's "nightline"om for torhis evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. see you back here s