like you're asleep. >> his chilling account. >> i turned around and saw him standing there. plus, targeted by thieves. >> when i opened the garage door, there was no car there. and my heart dropped. >> brazen criminals caught on camera stealing cars in broad daylight. >> it's driving violent crime. >> we ride along with a special task force.

>> every day this is several times a day.> and the multitaler momsen. from teen star in "gossip girl" -- >> i thought this was an emergency. >> a fashion emergency. >> to rock star. with hits like "heaven knows." >> i fell into a very dark deep hole of depression. >> how she overcame her struggles. ♪ >> announcer: "nightline" will be right back.

thanks for joining us p. tonight, for the first time we're hearing from a teacher who was shot by the gunman at robb elementary. arnulfo reyes spoke to my colleague amy robach about the horror that transpired in his fourth-grade classroom. >> the kids started asking out loud, "mr. reyes, what is going on?" and i said, "i don't know what's going on. but let's go ahead and get under the table, get under the table and act like you're asleep." as they were doing that and i was gathering them under the table and told them to act like they were going to sleep, is about the time when i turned around and saw him standing there. >> almost immediately he says the gunman opened fire. reyes was wounded and couldn't move. they could hear officers outside

the classroom. >> one of the students from the next-door classroom was saying, "officer, we're in here. we're in here." but they had already left. and then he got up from behind my desk and he walked over there and he shot over there again. >> tragically, none of the 11 students in reyes's classroom survived. you can watch more of the interview on "good morning america." part of our reporting all day tomorrow across all abc news platforms. taking a closer look at guns in america. we turn now to an alarming trend across the country. supply chain issues creating a spike in auto thefts by criminals emboldened by a hot market for cars and auto parts, many of them caught on camera. here's abc's janai norman. >> when i opened the garage door and i looked, there was no car there. and my heart dropped. i felt like i was in a dream.

>> reporter: dee matari still thinks about the march day when a nightmare unfolded inside her garage. >> that's part of my living space. that's part of my house. and i was literally on the other side of the wall with my baby girl. >> yummy. you like it? >> reporter: the mom of six alone in her kitchen just feet away with her two youngest children. two suspects jogging up her snowy suburban driveway in wayne, new jersey through the open garage door, then driving off with her luxury suv. what do you feel thinking of that? >> it was very terrifying. just like thinking about them steps away from me, steps away from my two babies. what could have happened? what could have been. >> reporter: it's not just quiet neighborhoods being targeted by car thieves. coast to coast this year many states are seeing huge spikes in stolen cars. home you s had mo

at home for longer periods of time because of the pandemic. a dormant car makes an easy target. people that were stealing cars and stealing parts of cars have found a good market, and they're continuing to do their work. >> reporter: many car thefts brazen and many of them caught on camera. >> get on the ground! >> reporter: in april atlanta police dragging out and arresting this suspect, accused of stealing a vehicle left running with a 9-year-old boy still inside. >> you okay? >> yeah. >> trying to carjack somebody. we've got an officer right behind him right now. >> reporter: in january police say a suspect in washington state already on the run after ditching one stolen c

car carjacked another vehicle as the driver waited at a red light, nearly running over a responding officer as he fled. and in may police releasing this video of an 81-year-old woman handing out food to the homeless in front of a california supermarket knocked to the ground as she tried to stop a suspected car thief. dee matari vividly recalls every detail of the day her suv was stolen soon after arriving home with her infant and toddler. >> i got both of them out. i got their bottle bag. i had my hands full. i grabbed both of them. and i just walked up the stairs into my house. >> reporter: left in the car, her purse and the key fob. moments later two suspects seized the opportunity. dee's two older daughters soon returning home, asking where the suv was. >> i run to the garage. i just couldn't believe it.

i couldn't believe it. and i looked and it was an empty garage. >> reporter: the family called 911. >> and then all of the sudden like a swarm of officers came. >> reporter: dee says she eventually learned her white range rover was sold to a buyer on facebook marketplace for $22,000 cash. >> there's no money back guarantee or satisfaction guarantee when you're buying things online, you know, through individuals. it's kind of a buyer beware situation. >> that's all these theft groups do all day, is they drive around and they look for cars to steal. >> reporter: detective sergeant cory rodriguez spends most of his days tracking down leads on stolen cars. he's part of new jersey's statewide task force investigating car thefts. >> they may go somewhere and spend the entire day just driving up and down residential neighborhoods. or they may go and sit in that

convenience store parking lot for a while and just see who the first person is that leaves their car running. >> tell me what's going on in this room. it's a lot. >> yeah, this is what we refer to as real-time crime center central. this room communicates directly with the boots on the ground and the police officers on the street. >> reporter: this crime surveillance center in trenton is one of three in the state. as head of the state police colonel patrick callahan oversees the high-tech hubs. >> as we like to say in the intelligence business, you need to collect the dots to connect the dots. and that's what's -- that's what's different about now, and that ability to at the touch really of a few keystrokes to have some real valuable information at your fingertips. >> new jersey's acting attorney general, matt plafkin, is revving up the fight, injecting funding and adding staff to the state's auto theft task force.

someone could easily say it's just a car, no one was hurt, it's a non-violent crime. but why are they of concern particularly for your office? >> it's driving violent crime. we're seeing stolen cars show up in violent crimes in other parts of the state. it's affecting the whole state just like it's affecting the whole country. >> reporter: he says the same technology, making it easier for owners to start their cars, also makes it easier for thieves to steal them. >> they'll identify where cars are that might be unlocked, have the key fob inside, and they will target those cars and they'll take them. and now with newer cars it's very easy to tell when the car's unlocked because especially the mirrors don't fold in. >> reporter: on the road detective sergeant cory rodriguez hears from dispatch. >> one lexus stolen suv. >> this is every day. this is every day. this is several times a day. >> reporter: the lexus hitting a

light pole after a high-speed chase. local police say the suspect stole the parked car from a driveway. the key fob left in the cupholder. >> actually, the owners made a comment saying why can't i leave my key in my car? well, this why you can't leave your key in your car. >> it's not possible to police our way out of this problem. policing is reactive to events that have happened. >> reporter: vern bryant, executive director at chicago non-profit metropolitan family services, believes social supports are key to addressing crimes like car thefts, which chicago police say have jumped 47% since 2019. >> we need to get more to the root cause. i think that's more of a community issue. and i think we need to again work on healing folks in the community, educating people, making sure they have the skills to enter into the legal economy. >> reporter: bryant's organization provides funding, temporary housing, and education to residents in some of chicago's highest crime

neighborhoods. >> thefts and carjackings are happening in, you know, black and brown communities. they're happening in white communities. they're happening in suburban communities. so there's no rhyme or reason other than opportunity. >> come on. >> reporter: that opportunity came knocking on dee matari's door. the incident haunting her even months later. >> i think about it every day still. >> reporter: did law enforcement tell you anything that you could have done or can do moving forward to not have something like this happen? >> don't leave the key fob in the car. somebody just sneaking into your garage and like stealing your car. i don't feel safe anywhere anymore. i don't. >> our thanks to janai. up next, the incredible journey of taylor momsen and the hope that she wants to share. ♪

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you may know taylor momsen as the former teen star turned rock star. she's breaking her silence tonight, speaking candidly about her battle with depression and how she found healing. here's abc's phil lipof. >> reporter: on a stage in toledo, ohio taylor momsen, lead singer of the pretty reckless,

is back at it. in more ways than one. just nine shows into the band's first tour in five years, it's like no time has passed. but ask taylor and she'll tell you she's lived a lifetime in those five years. tremendous success, coupled with deep, painful depression. first of all, thank you for doing this. >> thank you for having me. >> reporter: this is also her first face-to-face interview in five years. now 28, taylor began her life in front of the camera shortly after she learned to walk. >> my mom ace good cook. >> this is how you make shake n bake. >> i was very talkative. i think my modeling agent said she should go on auditions, she's very chatty. >> reporter: her big break at the age of 5. ♪ where are you christmas ♪ ♪ why can't i find you ♪ adorable cindy lou who in "how the grinch stole christmas" starring right alongside jim carrey. then years later an even bigger break. >> i thought this was an emergency. >> a fashion emergency. >> reporter: landing the role of jenny humphrey on the cw teen

drama "gossip girl." >> i don't think i need you as my mentor anymore. >> reporter: just a teen herself at the time, fame came fast and wasn't always fun. >> i was getting photographed as my character and being put in the tabloids as taylor momsen's wearing this, taylor momsen's doing this. so i got very frustrated with that. >> reporter: so when she was old enough taylor took control of her life and went from teen star to teen rock star. no more acting. ♪ every time i look inside your eyes ♪ ♪ you make me want to die." >> reporter: her debut album "light me um" jarring for some who knew her as aw child actress though she embraced it at the time. ♪ ♪ what i'm wearing seems to shock you ♪ ♪ well, that's okay ♪ ♪ because what i'm thinking about you is not okay ♪ still, there was p more buzz about what she was wearing than what she was writing. >> the it the songs, those last forever, and that's what i put all my heart and soul into and

slaved over. and no one's even mentioning that. >> reporter: but the pretty reckless pressed on. taylor and writing partner ben phillips continued to write. band's sophomore album was a hit. the song "heaven knows" went platinum. ♪ heaven knows ♪ ♪ we belong way down below ♪ ♪ sing it ♪ >> reporter: to 16 releasing "who we selling for" with hits like "take me down." ♪ don't care what happens when i die as long as i'm alive ♪ death a common theme throughout much of her music, and it was death that stopped the rock powerhouse in her tracks. ♪ black hole sun ♪ ♪ won't you come ♪ on tour with soundgarden at the peak of her career -- >> rocker chris cornell died last night while on tour in detroit. >> his representatives say cornell's death was sudden and unexpected. >> reporter: cornell, a rock idol for taylor, found in his hotel room. death by suicide. >> i wasn't prepared for it.

like i didn't know how to kind of mentally wrap my mind around it. >> reporter: soon after the band would cancel the rest of the tour. time off needed to grieve and regroup. >> i was starting to write some songs. and i called kato and i said, hey, man, like i have some stuff, i don't know if it's for a record or for what, but like we all need to get out of this funk. >> reporter: taylor calls kato kadwalla her best friend, her family, her musical soulmate. "it's hard to overstate his role in her life. a huge part of the band's success too. 11 months after cornell died, just as they got back into the studio, kato was killed in a motorcycle crash. >> i fell into a very -- very dark, deep hole of depression. >> you had thoughts like -- at that point that why bother living? >> why bother trying, i think. i was like everything i love is dead. what's the point? >> reporter: a question she

would ask over and over while isolating herself from the band and from the world around her. >> and it just -- it feels like that's where you live now, that's where you are. >> there's no light at the end of the tunnel. >> there's no light at the end of the tunnel. and if there is you can't see it. >> reporter: but slowly she began putting much of what she was feeling into her latest album, "death by rock and roll." ♪ death by rock and roll ♪ writing as she has done for the better part of 15 years with phillips. >> i would almost go so far to say as i think it might be our best accomplishment to date. >> it is. it's much like the first record. the -- >> it is. it's very inspired. >> it was very inspired. >> reporter: inspiration so desperately needed. the irony taylor says, death by rock and roll might have saved her life. >> i think anyone who's struggled with depression or substance abuse or both can attest that when you're in it seems like this inescapable place. >> reporter: a place so many have been to and tragically so

many never come back from. how would you tell someone to begin to live again? >> oh, man. that's a big question. >> reporter: and the answer? at least for taylor is complicated. but the reason she's sitting here today. >> it's never going to go away. it changes you as a person. but what it will do is it will turn into a scar. and it will heal. >> reporter: that healing for taylor continues. moving forward, touring again, laughing, living, and creating again. 12 years after her first album her love of music and performing is as strong as ever. >> it feels so good to be here! >> reporter: yes, she has a few more of those scars. she describes scars that are now just part of who she is. coming full circle, writing about love now for a song two members of soundgarden helped record. ♪ only love, love, love ♪ ♪ can save me now ♪

and if you or anyone you know is struggling like taylor has, it is so important to hear her say this. after she described going to hell and back. >> there is light at the end of the tunnel. it does get better. just wait it out. baby steps. and you will get to the other side. and that's a wonderful thing. >> our thanks to phil. we'll be right back. meet febreze's miracle spray. febreze fabric refresher. i literally use this every day. to make my house smell amazing. after i make the bed, after my dog jumps off the couch. so i can wear my jacket or jeans one more time, before i wash them again. it even makes shoes smell fresh. it doesn't cover up odors with scent... but actually eliminates them! ♪ over one thousand uses. febreze fabric refresher.

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unbeatable internet. made to do anything so you can do anythin. and finally tonight, the family of 9-year-old ellie garcia laid her to rest today in uvalde. she loved making tiktok videos. >> hey, guys.

>> "nightline" spoke to her grieving grandmother shortly after the tragedy. >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> ellie's funeral came just days after what would have been her 10th birthday. and that's "nightline" for tonight. you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.