of "early today." i i'm dara brown. president obama is going to orlando on thursday to pay his respects. this comes after the president says it appears the gunman acted alone. >> it does appear that at the last minute, he announced allegiance to isil. but there is no evidence so far that he was in fact directed by isil, and no direct evidence that he was part of a larger plot. >> today, we have into images from inside the nightclub where

the terror attack took place. we know minute-by-minute, how a single gunman carried out the attack. nb has the details. >> reporter: a gay nightclub during this popular latin night. music, dancing, and then gunfire. amanda, who captured the shooting, is among the dead. survivors in new detail, describing the terror. >> gunshots to the arm, stomach, back. >> i could smell the ammo in the air. i was like, this is a gun. >> it's awful to experience this with my fellow family. >> oh, my god. people are getting shot. >> reporter: at 2:00 a.m., an off duty officer working security engages omar mateen, armed with an assault rifle like this. a handgun and plenty of ammunition. nbc news has learned from authorities that the engaging

administer retreated. back up arrived in two minutes. the injured, pouring out. but others, like eddie justice, trapped inside. texting his mother, mommy, i love you. a team of responding officers then engages mateen in another gun fight. forcing him to retreat no one of the club's four bathrooms where he takes four to five hostages. another 15 people are hide anything a nearby restroom. dozens make a break for it, running for their lives. now a standoff from the bathroom and three 911 calls. mateen, pledging allegiance twice. and then calls the boston marathon bombing his home boys. >> they forced him to stop shooting and retreat into the rear bathroom with the door shut. so at that point we had to change from an active shooter to a barricaded gunman hostage situation. >> reporter: from inside a bathroom, eddie justice texted

his mom again. he is coming. i'm going to die. three hours after the first shot was fired, police decide to storm the building. an armored vehicle breaks the bathroom wall where he is hunkered down. at some point, he hid among the dead to try to hide from police. >> the guy was making like he was a victim also. >> reporter: soon after, a hail of gunfire, he shoots one officer in the head. the 29-year-old suspect is finally killed. inside the club, 38 victims are dead. nine more would die on their way to or at the hospital. two bodies were found on the street. a night of celebration, ending in ter othror. >> it appears the orlando gunman may have visited the scene of the attack before. one witness tells the orlando sentinel that he had seen him in pulse at least a dozen times before the shooting.

chris hayes spoke with a regular at pulse nightclub, who lost friends there this weekend. he said he recognized the gunman from dating apps for gay men and also from seeing him inside pulse. >> one of my friends, he doesn't want to be spoken to on media. he said he knew this guy back from 2007, where he has been coming to orlando and this area, and he used to talk to him on the adam to adam app. once he saw his picture on the news, he told him mom and the police and said i know this guy. and as of today, i spoke with my friend and i told him, i was like, i showed him, yeah, it is from a gay dating app. he was like oh, my gosh, i knew i wasn't crazy. i know this guy. >> so you're saying you and friends of yours, like -- >> yeah, yeah. >> from gay dating apps. >> one of my friends had seen him in pulse before. that's not his first time going

there. he clearly had his picture open on adam for adam. he had it up on grinder. and jacked he had his picture. two of my friends already turned in their phones, and they got all the information. >> joining me from orlando is blake mccould ccoy. what can you tell us about? >> he is not the only person making this claim. the orlando sentinel spoke with four people making similar claims that they had seen the gunman at pulse nightclub before the night of the attack. the fbi tells us they are investigating, not quite sure what to make of these claims. does that mean the gunman had been scoping out this location for some time? or does it mean that he was in fact a patron of pulse nightclub. speaking with these men on gay dating apps, like that man is claiming. it would certainly be

interesting, troubling development, at least one of the people that the newspaper spoke with says that he has seen the gunman here for years before the attack. one key piece of evidence that's going to be very helpful to investigators is a samsung cell phone that belongs to the gunman that they have been able to recover. law enforcement tells nbc news they have been able to access the information on that phone, and as we know, this is a treasure trove of information, not only to have your search history, your communications, it also is locater beacon. they'll be able to find all of that from the cell phone. no tampering so far, and they've been able to access that device. >> blake, thank you so much. the owner of the pulse nightclub is speaking out for the first time about the tragic night that forever changed her business and her community. in an exclusive sit down with today's matt lauer, barbara

polmos first spoke about learning. >> can you describe the phone call? can you describe how you found out about this? >> it was the most surreal phone call i've ever received. when my manager called me and told me, he was just yelling into the phone, i just didn't understand. i can't wrap my brain around it. we have a shooter, we have a shooter. i just kept saying, what. and finally, it sunk in. i can't wrap my brain around that. i just can't. >> do you know every inch of that club? >> uh-huh. >> how do you stop yourself from imagining what it was like? >> i can't. i can't stop imagining what it was like. sorry. >> that's all right. i don't think i'll ever stop that. >> you can hear more of the conversation coming up on

"today." now to extreme weather in texas. storm chasers got a close-up view of a strong tornado northeast of amarillo that or thely damaged a wind farm. it also brought lightening and hail. check out this video of a fast spinning wall cloud. it is about to produce a tornado. it looks like something right out of a movie. with more on weather, meteorologist bill karins is here with a look ahead. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> amazing video. the time lapse video is pretty incredible of the wall cloud, rotating base, it was one story of the country. the other story that will develop into the weekend is that amazing heat, the rising temperatures throughout the west. the next three or four days will be above 103, tucson, 103, as we get into friday, we start to watch the temperatures going up, 106 if phoenix, saturday, hotter, 112, some areas, 115, to

120. that's some dangerous stuffceab california, into the 70s and 60s. >> if only those cool temperatures would hold for a bit, right. >> if it moves out, yeah. >> thank you so much for that. in the wake of the orlando massacre, gun sales have s skyrocket skyrocketed. the statistics, just ahead. the statistics, just ahead. neutrogena® ultra sheer. no other sunscreen works better or feels better. clinically proven helioplex® provides unbeatable uva/uvb protection to help prevent early skin aging and skin cancer all with a clean light feel. for unbeatable protection.

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>> worked at the harry potter ride. j.k.rohling tweeted i can't stop crying. >> telling a chilling story coming back. >> shooting people, on the ground. to make sure they were dead. >> reporter: so many more killed, whose stories just beginning to learn. shane tomlinson graduated, where singing was his passion. kimberly morris was a cell phone store manager. eric ortiz rivera moved from puerto rico and sacrificed a lot for his family. edward sotomayor worked for a travel company. peter gonzalez cruz was always the life of the party. yet among the carnage, stories

of hope. keenan carter was shot three times. >> you gotta wake up. you gotta make it. >> his sister says doctors told the family he passed away. >> i said do you hear me. he was just like -- he shook his head. and then i was like -- do you -- i see this. do you see what's going on. it was just like a miracle, just like right before my eyes. >> gabe guiterez reporting. jet blue is offering free flights to the immediate families. some remain hospitalized and still in grave condition. sarah is outside orlando regional medical. what is the latest on the injured? >> well, good morning, dara. the hospital behind me where many of the most gravely injured were treated is offering a glimmer of hope this morning. they say the patients inside are continuing to improve. the prognosis right now is

positive, and they are optimistic. now, doctors, eight doctors and two of the people they treated, are going to be speaking to the media today about the massive cooperation effort that happened when this influx arrived at the shooting. meanwhile, the community is coming together as best they can. those who lost loved ones and friends, putting their own feelings on hold right now to help others. >> as you can see here today, it has brought us together. it brought us together in a way that we're not going to let this tear us apart. it brings us together. it makes us look sincerely into friendship, our community and how can be there for each other. >> immediately after the shooting, blood banks put out an urgent call for donations, and people responded en masse. the lines stretching for blocks.

blood banks still asking people to continue to donate. they're booking appointments up to two weeks out right now. they've met that immediate need, about you now need toreplenish. they're looking for o positive, o negative and ab plasma. back to you. >> thank you so much, sarah. just ahead, the pol particulars -- politics of terror. how they would prevent such attacks. special report from katy tur, up next. of course you go all out for date night... ♪ ...even if you're just staying in. ♪ walgreens has all the beauty products you need for whatever makes you feel beautiful. walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy. now buy two select skin care products, get the third free. in stores and online.

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the fallout from the orlando terror attack is reverberating on the campaign trail. most notably, donald trump's accusations and not so subtle jabs, suggesting president obama doesn't want to stop terrorists. it ignited a political firestorm as he and hillary clinton laid out different approaches to fighting terror. katy tur has more. >> reporter: donald trump taking a dark turn, suggesting president obama can't stop terror, because he doesn't want to. >> he doesn't get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands. it is one or the other. and either one is unacceptable. >> reporter: the white house, pushing back. >> take a look at the president's record. it includes a lot of dead

terrorists. >> reporter: trump also going head to head with hillary clinton, national security, while trump attacked, falsely characterizing her stance on guns. >> and then admit the very people who want to slaughter us. let them come into the country. we don't have guns. let them come in. let them have all the fun they want. >> reporter: clinton didn't name her republican rival, and said calling for the same unity in the face of fear, after 9/11. >> we did not attack each other. we worked with each other to protect our country and to rebuild our city. >> reporter: trump's messes sag the same as it was in san bernardino, paris and brussels. >> appreciate the congrats. thank you for giving me credit. i've proven to be correct than anybody. the tweets coming before offering condolences. two cast doubt on american muslims. >> they have to work with us.

they have to cooperate with law enforcement, and turn in the people who they know are bad. they know it. >> reporter: and three extend that doubt to barack obama. >> there are a lot of people that think maybe he doesn't want to get it. a lot of people think maybe he doesn't want to know about it. >> reporter: trump, going farther to the right, hoping the same extreme rhetoric he championed in the primary will work again in november. >> following trump's jab, the "washington post" published this article this said donald trump seems to connect president obama to orlando's shooting. soon after, trump revoked "washington post's" press, nothing less than a repudation of the role of a free and independent press. the paper would continue to continue donald trump, as it has always along, accurately, energetically and unflinchingly. the "washington post" joins "the

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the victims. from new york city's stone wall in to philadelphia's city hall, and in los angeles, where lady gaga spoke to a heartbroken community. >> this is an attack on humanity itself. >> around the world to the united kingdom where you crowds stood in silence. tributes left at the american assembly in moscow and berlin. in south korea, a quiet, emotional vigil. cann candles glow in chilli. this is "early today." we'll be back with more details on the orlando massacre, so please stay with us. wrely on the us postal service?

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the assault weapon used in the orlando massacre is readily available for legal purchases across the u.s. in fact, sales sky rock connected after sunday's shooting. known as a weapon of war, it has been repeatedly used in years from orlando to newtown, connecticut. peter alexander has more. >> reporter: a gunshop near atlanta, a stampede of buyers. more ar-15 semi-automatic rifles sold in hours than in a typical day. >> we might sell two or three a day, and we've been selling about 10 an hour now. >> reporter: the most popular rifle, now a symbol for both

sides in america's fierce gun debate. to owners, they're fun, versatile and accurate. to critics, they have no practical application, a weapon of war with a violent record. 27 dead at sandy hook, 14 in san bernardino and 49 in orlando. it is not the weapon, it is the shooter says some. >> they were terrorists, and they were looking for a way to kill as many people as they could gf they went down themselves zmpl themselves. >> reporter: montgomery county mayor says officers are competing with criminals, built for the military, not for spot. >> somebody who has been a cop for 40 years, i think we would be safer if those kinds of weapons were not so readily available. >> reporter: estimating the number of ars has soared. president obama's access to such

powerful gun, on pbs, expressing frustration about en forts to keep guns out of terrorists hands. >> if he wants to walk in to a gun store or a gun show right now, and buy as much weapons and ammo as he can, nothing restricts that. >> the so-called assault weapons ban expired in 2004. 2013, senate democrats joining almost every republican voting against it. a separate house bill last year, largely ignored. >> reporter: in the eyes of the law, it is no different than any other rifle, pass a background check, put your money down, and in most players, a buyer can take one home today. peter alexander, washington. i'm dara brown. thanks for watching "early today." coming up on the "today" show,

jeh johnson ways in on the a pattern emerging in orlando---

that brings into question what motivated the shooter to slaughter dozens of people at g a pattern emerging in orlando which brings into question what motivated the shooter to slaughter dozens of people at a night club. witnesses say he was a patron of that club for months. a pick-up truck plows off the highway into a neighbor's home. the person who lives there says this sort of thing happened repeatedly. >>. >> will they repeat as chancellor if the warriors want r want more hardware? they have to shoot a whole lot better than last night in game six. "today in the bay" starts right now. we stayed up to watch that game. i'm laura garcia-cannon. a little cooler?