the suspected buffalo shooter is sitting in a jail cell at this hour as we learn more about the ten victims who were killed in saturday afternoon's grocery store massacre this morning we'll hear from a man who spoke to the 18-year-old suspect on friday before the shooting >> i saw him walking through the exit door. >> here at the tops. >> here at tops. on friday. and i said he looks -- he look out of place he looks out of place. and i walked up to him and said where are you from

>> we'll have kate snow's full conversation just ahead. sadly, buffalo was just one of many cities that saw mass shootings over the weekend houston, chicago, and a church near los angeles were also hit an nbc news exclusive. "today's" savannah guthrie sits down with a passenger who became an instant pilot, forced to land a plane when the original pilot became incapacitated and the kindness of a stranger lifts the crew of a local pizza parlor with a very generous tip some goodness on this heavy news morning. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm vinita nair. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera we begin with the latest round of devastating gun violence in america. overnight buffalo police releasing the names of the ten people who lost their lives while grocery stopping on a saturday afternoon ten people gunned down in what's being investigated as a hate crime. they range in age from 32 to 86. according to her mother the youngest victim, roberta drury,

had been living in buffalo for ten years caring for her brother, who is recovering from cancer and 86-year-old ruth whitfield had stopped at the store on her way home from visiting with her husband at a nursing home. the community came together for a vigil honoring these lives tragically cut short for the latest into the investigation into the attack here's nbc's chris pollone >> reporter: while the investigation of this grocery store massacre is still in its early stages the buffalo police commissioner says one thing is clear. >> that this is an absolute racist hate crime that will be prosecuted as a hate crime this is someone who has hate in their heart, soul and mind >> reporter: saturday afternoon a lone gunman opened fire at tops friendly market in all 13 people shot, 10 killed 11 of the victims were african american >> this individual came here with the express purpose of taking as many black lives as he possibly could

>> yes, sir. i understand the charges >> reporter: 18-year-old payton gendron is charged with first degree murder. investigators say he drove 200 miles to buffalo the day before the attack police say an armed security guard, a retired buffalo police officer, died in a gunfight with the attacker >> this is what community looks like >> reporter: people who live in the area have been gathering outside the market to comfort each other and pray. >> this was an act of evil evil >> reporter: while in washington president biden condemned the attack >> we must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of america >> reporter: police investigated the accused gunman last year for making a threat but say he was released after a brief mental health evaluation. chris pollone, nbc news, buffalo. nbc's kate snow spoke with a witness who said he talked to the alleged gunman the day before the shooting. here is some of their

conversation >> i heard the first shot, and 1.7 seconds after that i looked up 0.6 seconds, another shot. and he was just shooting people. >> reporter: was he just randomly targeting people, do you think? just shooting anybody? >> yes he was randomly shooting people outside. and then i seen the security guard run in when i saw the security guard run in i was like, well, this ain't no movie, this is for real and then he went in shooting shooting more people and i still see it in my head that this guy was actually just shooting at people standing there. it's crazy it's crazy it's crazy the guy was just shooting at people >> reporter: he targeted black people >> yes >> reporter: he killed almost everybody -- tell me where you were when you saw him. >> i saw him walking through the exit door. >> reporter: here at the tops? >> here at tops.

on friday. and i said he looks -- he look out of place he looks out of place. and i walked up to him and i said, where are you from he said two or three hours from now. then we started talking about race and i was like, well, there's only one race. he's like -- he didn't say he disagreed. but he said he feels that there's different races. >> reporter: what did you think of him in that moment? >> if you ask me right now, that kid that i met on friday was a racist that's the kid i met on friday but -- >> reporter: super smart >> super smart he had a plan obviously. >> reporter: you must have a mix of emotions, right you could have been there. >> very easily >> reporter: five minutes earlier you would have been there. >> well, one minute and 20 seconds. i just walked across the street. i just opened up my thing. bang bang, bang, bang, bang, bang >> mm. our thanks to kate snow for her reporting on the ground in buffalo. the buffalo massacre was not the only shooting to roil

america this weekend on sunday afternoon two people were killed and three critically injured in texas after a group fight escalated into a shootout at a busy flea market in the houston area authorities say at least two shooters have been identified. and one -- and they are in custody. one of them in the hospital. no bystanders were injured police are trying to find out if more people were involved in the fight and escaped the scene. another shooting happened in a california church where congregant the gunman until police arrived. this was at genevaperson and ine others >> we believe a group of churchgoers detained him and hog-tied his legs with an extension cord and confiscated at least two weapons from him. he was detained when the deputies arrived >> most of the victims are of taiwanese descent. the shooter was an asian man in his 60s. police believe he lives in the area and in chicago mayor lori

lightfoot has banned unaccompanied minors from millennium park after 6:00 p.m this after a teen was shot and killed during an altercation on saturday night police arrested a 17-year-old suspect and a 16-year-old who was found carrying a ghost gun >> too many guns are making their way into the hands of those who have too little respect for the sanctity of life >> reporter: police recovered eight guns from saturday's altercation. at least 26 juveniles and five adults were arrested over the weekend senator mitch mcconnell led a republican delegation that met with ukrainian president zelenskyy in kyiv after the visit mcconnell said he would support a vote on recognizing russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, something zelenskyy called for during their meeting. and at the trans-atlantic meeting alliance meeting nato's secretary-general told diplomats ukraine can win the war against

russia but that they must continue to step up support. erin mclaughlin joins us from kyiv for the latest on all of this erin, good morning >> reporter: good morning, vinita that's right the nato secretary-general saying he believes ukraine can win this war, pointing to some of the reasons why the battle for kyiv, the fact that ukrainian forces were able to push the russians out of the capital, the fact that russian forces are now withdrawing from the second largest city in ukraine, kharkiv, and then as well as the russians' stalled operation in the donbas, the industrial heartland of ukraine. all reasons why he believes ukraine can really win this war with the help of its allies in the form of those heavy weapons. meanwhile, finland and sweden have both signaled their intention to apply for nato membership over the weekend the nato secretary-general says he intends to fast-track their applications take a listen. >> so my intention is still to have a quick and swift process

where we will sit down with finland and sweden if they apply, agree to the accession protocol, and then hope -- and work for a very speedy ratification process that will take some time there's no way to prevent that >> reporter: meanwhile, fighting continues in the devastated city of mariupol. the last ukrainian stronghold within the city, the old steel plant. fighting continues between ukrainian forces and russian forces, although there are some negotiations going on according to ukrainian officials tense negotiations difficult negotiations, they say. to try and evacuate some 38 wounded ukrainian soldiers back to you. >> all right erin, thank you. the nhl had a pair of game 7 overtime thrillers in the stanley cup playoffs

>> gudoudreau in front scores >> johnny gaudreau's hot hand in overtime lifted the flames over the stars. calgary stampedes to the western conference semifinals with a 3-2 win. now, the rangers capitalized on a power play in o.t. to put away the penguins 4-3 new york trailed 3-1 in the series, and now they are on to the second round in the nba a sunday of game 7s were a little more one-sided. >> doncic with 16. give him 18 and a foul on the play >> luka doncic finished the first half with 27 points. that's as many as the entire suns team had in that span the mavericks led by as many as 46, and they eclipsed the number one seed on the road dallas is back in the conference finals for the first time since 2011 with a 123-90 win and the celtics made an impressive 22 three-pointers at

home against the bucks the defending champs are out, and the celtics are through to the conference finals with the win, 109-81. now to baseball, where a pitching performance wasn't cause for celebration for the reds cincinnati rookie hunter green was lights out, striking out nine pirates on the day. in fact, the reds did not give up a hit to pittsburgh all game. but in the eighth inning after three walks hayes grounds out to first and drives in the lone run of the game. pittsburgh would win 1-0, and the reds become the sixth team in mlb history to lose despite not allowing a hit all right. it is time to get a look at your weather. with some 62 million americans in the path of severe weather. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking it all. good morning, michelle >> good morning to you both. it's going to be a stormy day for many of us in the east it's so summer-like out there. the heat, the humidity adding to these storms even looking at radar showing us we're looking at storms early this morning, we could see some

damaging winds, also some hail even a few tornadoes are possible we do have an enhanced risk for a lot of the big cities in the east from syracuse to philadelphia, down to d.c. and also baltimore. a slight risk extending from parts of burlington, vermont new york city, even into raleigh. again, a few tornadoes are possible we're also looking at the chance for some localized flooding as well that's a look at the big weather story of the day here's a closer look at your day ah we'll talk more about that record-breaking heat. and we'll also look at the forecast for the year ahead. >> okay. thank you, michelle. just hours ago a very rare celestial moment did you catch it a complete lunar eclipse began just before midnight eastern time, giving that copper tint to the full moon. according to nasa the hour and a

half appearance of the blood moon is the longest eclipse visible in the u.s. since 1989 >> something eerie about it, isn't it pretty but earie up next, snoop swoops in after elon musk says his twitter deal is on hold. ia> and from reality tv to trl. the stars of "chrisley knows best" head to court. the pain. 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. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®. ask your doctor about tremfya® today. for your most brilliant smile, crest has you covered. “nice smile, brad.” “nice!” “thanks?” crest 3d white. 100% more stain removal. crest.

the #1 toothpaste brand in america. leading the news this monday morning, reality tv stars todd and julie chrisley are getting ready to star in a real-life courtroom drama. a federal trial for the couple who is facing charges including bank fraud and tax evasion is set to start later today in atlanta. prosecutors allege the couple, who star in the show "chrisley knows best," submitted fake documents to banks when applying for loans. the chrisleys were initially indicted in august 2019 and a new indictment was filed in february of this year. peter tarantino, an accountant hired by the chrisleys, is also charged in the case.

the chrisleys and tarantino have pleaded not guilty to the charges. elon musk's twitter deal has been put on pause. on friday he tweeted his $44 billion deal was temporarily on hold while he waited for data from fake accounts he added that his team would test a random sample from 100 followers. well, that tweet caught the attention of twitter's legal team, who claimed he violated his nda. rapper snoop dogg may swoop in and snatch the social media platform in a tweet he said he may have to buy twitter now he tweeted "first line of business, free internet on airplanes. >> it's interesting, right if they break up now, it's like a billion dollars for elon >> insane, whatever direction. well, the man behind the miracle in the air ssgewhclusive interview with a paenr o was forced to become the pilot mfort? taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health.

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>> no. it was eggs. i did eggs over easy. >> the hell you did. bologna and beans. it's your turn >> famed actor fred ward has died at the age of 79 on may 8th according to a statement by his publicist and family best known for his work on films like "sweet home alabama," "tremors," and "the right stuff" and more, the award-winning actor was also a husband and father no cause of death was disclosed. now to a "today" show exclusive. we are hearing for the very first time from that airplane passenger who landed the small aircraft in florida last week after the pilot passed out "today's" savannah guthrie spoke exclusively to that hero passenger about how he did it. sam brock has more >> reporter: staring death in the face >> by the time i had moved forward to the front of the airplane, i realized that we had now gone into a dive at a very fast rate. >> reporter: darren harrison speaking for the first time exclusively to "today's" savannah guthrie about performing an emergency landing

with no experience ever flying and a pilot passed out at the controls >> all i saw when i came up to the front was water out the right window, and i knew it was coming quick very, very quickly >> the plane is in a nose dive essentially. >> correct yes. and at that point i knew if i didn't react that we would die and so i reached over his body, because he's at this point unresponsive i kind of put my arm over to where my elbow is sitting here and i grabbed the controls of the airplane and slowly started to pull back on the stick and turn the airplane. >> reporter: the crisis cropping up mid-flight, when harrison says the pilot reported not feeling well >> i've got a serious situation here my pilot has gone incoherent >> about the time i stopped the plane, that's when it hit me yeah i was pretty calm and collected the whole time because i knew it was a life or death situation. either you do what you have to do to control the situation or

you're going to die. and that's what i did. >> reporter: harrison, who is from lakeland, florida, is expecting his first child with his wife brittany this summer and says his strong center of faith and will to live carried him to the ground, even when the plane went off the radar right before landing >> did you say the passengers landed the airplane? >> that's correct. >> oh, my god. great job. >> reporter: a miracle in every m nse of the word. sabrock, nbc news, palm beach county, florida. ♪ (sha bop sha bop) ♪ ♪ are the stars out tonight? (sha bop sha bop) ♪ ♪ ♪ alexa, play our favorite song again. ok. ♪ i only have eyes for you ♪ with depression, you just feel...blah. not okay.

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with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®... ask your doctor about tremfya® today. welcome back on this monday. well, the sweltering record heat continues for a lot of the nation we are looking at temperatures in the 90s all the way up to parts of the northern plains and we're looking at the ninth straight day of record heat in texas. that's going to expand as we go throughout the rest of this week so by tomorrow the heat shifts to the southeast lots of 90s once again we're looking at 100s in the state of tx text back to you guys >> all right thank you, michelle. the kindness of one couple at a pizza place and their extremely

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lactaid ice cream. a server at a popular rhode island restaurant has 800 reasons to smile this morning after receiving a generous tip and it couldn't have come at a better time for the single mother sam reed from our affiliate wjar has the story. >> reporter: since 1968 the big cheese pub off of reservoir av in cranston is a customer f favorite for things like handmade pizza pie and super subs the staff here is extremely close. >> we are just a big family. we try to all look out for one another and just do what's best for each other >> reporter: which is why waitress jennifer vernancio of north providence who's a single

mom of a 3-year-old is able to make it work at work >> it's been difficult however, they work with me no matter what with my schedule >> reporter: last week on wednesday she was having a rough morning. >> it ended up to be an awesome day. >> reporter: and finally after finding a sitter she made it to work >> my first table of the day was a super, super nice gentleman with his wife. >> reporter: two salads, two sandwiches and a few interactions in between, the pair got up and left >> the gentleman looked over his shoulder and he said "bye, have a nice day." rfrnl v. >> reporter: and after taking the bill from the table she couldn't believe what was written on the tip line. >> she's like kim, kim someone left me a $600 tip and i was like, jen, stop. and i kind of putt pulled the paper out. and i said i have better news for you. it's not 600 it's an $800 tip so see and she was like, i'm going to pass out i'm going to faint >> reporter: $810 just for jennifer >> there are angels out there. >> reporter: on a $48 bill >> oh, yeah, it's more than a

couple shifts. i mean, it helps out everything helps out >> reporter: jennifer says she plans to pay bills and is getting jax a toy police vehicle. >> sirens. >> it has sirens on it >> reporter: she says she never got the couple's name or any information about them but if they're watching this slice of kindness at the big cheese melt the her heart. >> i just want to say thank you so much. it meant a lot the money is very, very much appreciative it helps out no matter what. however, the kindness behind it in making my day from going a little hectic to that kind of a tip made me smile the rest of the day. >> it makes a difference in someone's life, goes a long way. you never know what someone's going through. >> thanks to sam reed for that story. this year's billboard music awards returned to las vegas, celebrating music's most chart-topping artists. sean diddy combs hosted the ceremony janet jackson presented mary j. blige with the 2022 billboard

icon award drake took home five awards including top artist while olivia rodrigo dominated the night with seven wins including top new artist and kanye west took home five wins, this year being hailed as top christian artist thank you for starting your week with "early today. i'm vinita nair.

this morning we are learning new details about the suspected buffalo shooter. his past, when police investigated him for previously launching a violent threat and about the ten victims who lost their lives in the racist shooting at a supermarket. there were other multiple shootings over the weekend in different cities across america. our aaron gilchrist reports that the rise in hate crimes across the u.s. day 82 in russia's invasion of ukraine as enemy missiles strike a steel plant in mariupol. and nato may be adding finland to their ranks very soon speaki