even as key, important questions remain about why he targeted the school and certain individuals. investigators say 26-year-old chris harper mercer left behind a document at the shooting scene, which one official described as expressing a "philosophy of hate." mercer lived in oregon with his mother, not far from the umpqua community college. and neighbors say he was a loner, fond of guns, who liked to practice target shooting. family members of students who were there in the classroom tell nbc news that the gunman asked people what religion they were before firing and that he specifically targeted those who answered christian. mercer's father spoke to reporters briefly last night. >> i can't answer any questions right now. i don't want to answer any questions right now. obviously, it's been a devastating day, devastating for me and my family. all i ask is -- i know you're here to do your job -- all i ask

is that you just respect our privacy, and so far, you've done that, so. >> was it any surprise at all? >> shocked. shocked is all i can say. >> msnbc's thomas roberts has been on the scene since late yesterday. he's there in roseburg. so, thomas, set the stage as to what's going on right now. >> reporter: tamron, good morning. and we are at the very intersection of where the community college campus begins. this is the road right behind us for umpqua community college that takes you up to the campus. the sun has just come up. it's started to get a little bit warmer here. but what we know for this community is that this is really the first day that the long process of healing is going to begin. i just want to show you some of the headlines from the local papers, as we've been picking them up. "campus horror." and then this one, also with the image of the two young ladies saying "grief follows campus carnage." we are starting to get a larger

profile of the 26-year-old who came on this campus yesterday with the intention to take lives. what isn't clear is his connection to this campus, tamron. there have been reports that he was involved with a theater production here, but we do know that he was not registered here. one thing we have been able to find out, too, is about his origin of birth. we were able to locate his birth records, and he was born in los angeles county, california. his name, christopher shawn mercer, born in july of 1989. his mom just listed as ms. harper on that birth record. as you played that sound from his dad, ian, they are totally shocked about this. but from what we've been able to learn, they didn't have much of a relationship, as he was living in this community with his mother for some time now. but again, it is completely unclear about this note that was left behind, as you're reporting, about the notion that he was full of hate. he did have a myspace profile.

and what we've learned from that is that there was a picture of him holding a rifle and also where he has made his disdain for organized religion known. one thing from one of the victims, a teen, ana boylan, who was in surgery for a bullet to be removed from her spine -- she told her mother before going into surgery that she saw her teacher shot and that mercer was asking people what they were -- are you a christian? and if they said yes, he would shoot them in the head. >> right. >> reporter: and if they would say no, he would only shoot them in the leg. we do expect another update from the douglas county sheriff's department later today, and hopefully, they'll be able to connect some of the dots for a lot of the remaining questions. >> all right. thank you very much, thomas. joining me now is umpqua community college president rita cavin. thank you so much for joining me under these circumstances. i simply can't imagine what you are feeling. as i understand it, you were off

site. tell me when you got the call and what you were told. >> i was driving to a meeting of other community college presidents that happens once a month. so, i was on i-5. for local people, i was about at the glendale off ramp on my way to grants pass. and both of my cell phones started going off. i have a personal one and a work one. they both started dinging. i pulled over at the next stop, and they said active shooter, we're in lockdown. so, i texted, "i'm on my way back," and came back. by the time i got back here, everything was going according to our preparation and our plan for these situations, and everyone was doing what they were supposed to do. the students were in lockdown. there were regular announcements. police was there. shooter was down. and emergency vehicles were there and the college was in lockdown. >> this transpired all over a matter of minutes, eight minutes, i believe, between the

first call -- >> yes. >> -- and when the shooter was taken down. you mention things worked as far as the alert system and getting people to safety as quickly as possible. talk to me a little bit about the discussion that had happened on campus last year. apparently, the former president of the community college, joe olson, who retired in june, discussed whether or not there needed to be formal security staff on campus. his quote was, "i suspect this is going to start a discussion across the country about how community colleges prepare themselves for events like this." had the school had a serious conversation or made moves, i should ask, to have security on campus? >> we do have security on campus, and local law enforcement is within walking distance of the campus. i understand -- i wasn't here last year. i've been here since june. and my understandi ining was th there were discussions in a

shared governance environment about whether to arm police or not, and it was a mixed discussion, and so, there was no conclusion reached before dr. olson retired. >> so, the security staff you have on campus right now, are those individuals armed? >> no, they are not. that's the current policy. >> when you look back at this situation and how things played out, would you have preferred to have armed security at the school? do you believe that would have made a difference? >> i do not think that would have made a difference. we have people who are trained and retired law enforcement people on the campus. what saved the day and what stopped the carnage and the slaughter was the fact that our local police department responded so incredibly quickly and they are so close to the campus. we have a student who is a soldier who ran into the room and tried to stop the shooting.

i don't think more guns in that situation would have been helpful. possibly, more people could have been hurt. >> we just heard from my colleague, thomas roberts -- >> the people that came in to help us had kevlar vests, heavy, heavy protection, and massive weapons. you wouldn't have that on a local campus. and that's what it took to end this. >> my colleague, thomas roberts, reported that the 26-year-old, chris harper mercer, was not a student at the college, but he may have participated in some type of theater program or production. do you know anything about a possible link to the community college? >> no, i don't. >> and lastly, let me, because we've talked so much about security and, really, the investigation. you're the president of this university, where thousands of people have come in -- >> it's a community college, actually. >> a community college. and thousands of people come there. as i understand, there are some high school students who take some classes there, and there

are people who have decided later in life to pursue courses there as well. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> the healing process here, as this investigation continues, how do you, as the leader of this community college, help those right now still in pain? >> i couldn't understand -- i couldn't hear your question. i just couldn't hear the last part. there's somebody making a lot of noise near us. >> i understand. i'm asking you, as the leader of the community college, how do you help the thousands of students there as they wait to see what happens next here? >> we will be open on monday morning, and we will have many, many public services there to help us. we're working closely with many, many law enforcement agencies. we have a plan in place. we have an executive meeting and a board meeting scheduled almost immediately after this interview so that we can start putting things in place. we have a lot of work to do and this is going to take us a long time, but this is an extremely

supportive community. there's been a massive rally around this college. everybody knows that ucc has always been a safe place and will be a safe place again in the future. >> thank you very much, rita cavin, the president of umpqua community college. we greatly appreciate you joining us. as i said, many are still reacting to the events that unfolded yesterday. the issue of gun violence has once again been thrust into the forefront. while addressing the nation, a visibly upset president obama issued a blunt challenge. >> somehow, this has become routine. the reporting is routine. my response here at this podium ends up being routine. the conversation in the aftermath of it. we've become numb to this. i would ask news organizations, because i won't put these facts forward -- have news

organizations tally up the number of americans who have been killed through terrorist attacks over the last decade and the number of americans who have been killed by gun violence and post those side by side on your news reports. >> so, here are the numbers side by side, reflecting the time spent between 2004 and 2013. the number on the left comes from the most recent data from the cdc, which finds that more than 316,000 people were killed by guns. that number includes suicides. in the middle is the number of homicides in that time span, more than 118,000 people. and on the right, according to the global terrorism database, the number of people killed by terrorism in the united states in that same time period, 38 people. the leading advocacy group, every town for gun safety, says this is now the 41st shooting at a school in this year alone. the group also notes this is the 142nd school shooting since the

massacre at sandy hook elementary. and this is the chilling cover of the "new york daily news," which shows the number of shooting deaths since that tragedy. more than 87,000. joining me now, sandy and lonnie phillips. they are the parents of jessica gowy, one of those killed in aurora, 1 of 12 people killed in the theater massacre three years ago. they are now violence prevention activists. thank you both for joining me once again to talk to us. >> thank you for having us. >> absolutely. i know you still grieve. and i cannot imagine when you see or hear a headline of a mass shooting, lonnie, that you don't instantly go to that place you were when you heard that something had happened at the theater where your daughter was. >> we go to that place immediately. it takes us to our knees. and you have nothing but empathy and sympathy for those who are going through what you have already gone through.

and then you get angry, very angry, that we're not moving this ball forward, that we're not changing things at a national level. we certainly are at a state level, but not at a national level. >> lonnie, when you hear the conversation, the president says he anticipates being criticized for being "political" right as we're still digesting the investigation here. but when you hear that criticism, what's your response, given that your daughter was taken in one of these mass shootings that's listed in the numbers we've just cited? >> it is political. it is absolutely political. it's been political ever since we've joined this. we believe that the president has done everything possible that he can to try to stem this scourge of gun violence in this country. his hands are tied. all the blame falls on the congress, especially the

republican congress. they bought the one thing that could have saved thousands of lives back in 2013 when they took the vote, they blocked it. we only needed another -- >> four votes. >> -- i think six votes. we got 54. we needed 60 because of the republican filibuster. ridiculous. that move right there cost thousands of american lives. congress has blood on their hands. there is no two ways about it. >> and we need to remember it when it comes time to vote. >> sandy and lonnie, i deeply understand and realize i'm talking with two parents who lost their daughter, but i know you are also activists now. and sandy, there will be people who say oregon had tough -- or has tough gun laws. cities like chicago have some of the strictest gun laws in the country. even when we discuss the situation that happened, that played out on live television, where the news reporter and her cameraman were shot on

television. there's no specific law that anyone could point to that would have kept that gunman from taking those innocent lives. when you look at a number of other shootings, the same could be said, that these guns were legally obtained in some places in this country that have strict gun laws. what do you say to those who will offer that up as their proof? >> well, there's no one solution to this problem. there are a lot of loopholes in the laws that already exist. the states that have really strong gun laws, they have less deaths, but that doesn't keep the states that are attached to those states, that are next door, who have weak gun laws, for enabling them to get guns across the border very, very easily. you see that in chicago especially. so, it's not one solution, but expanded background checks will certainly help save lives, and that is the lowest hanging fruit. but we have a lot of issues in

this country that we need to look at and a lot of things regarding guns that we need to close those loopholes to so this can't happen any more, so it doesn't happen on this regular of basis. again, no one solution is going to stop this from happening, but we certainly can stem the tide. >> lonnie and sandy, thank you so much for joining me yet again. i greatly appreciate your insight into this conversation, as you are on the front lines of this. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and joining me now, of course, to continue our conversation, john rosenthal, chairman of stop handgun violence, and charles c.w. cooke, a write for "the national review" and author of "the manifesto, libertarians, conservatives and the fight for the rights of the future." charles, let me start with you here, because i saw you on "morning joe" this morning, and you were citing a lot of statistics, all numbers that we're all digesting today. given the way the president presented this argument for the first time, when he says let's look at the number of people

killed in acts of terrorism, let's look at the gun violence, and the things that we've done, the laws we've implemented to protect all of us from terrorists and the lack of action as it relates to the line that we like to use common-sense gun reform, which i don't know what uncommon-sense gun reform, honestly is, but safety in making sure that people who want to own guns and who can own them safely do so, and those who cannot don't. >> so, i first think we ought to be careful about the laws that we passed after 9/11 in the wake of a terrorist atrocity. not all of them i think we would pass now. i'm not convinced they all work, to be careful with our liberties. but that aside, i think we need to liberate ourselves from the false presumption that because one disagrees with president obama's policy prescriptions, which it must be said, once again, have nothing to do with this shooting, that one is less upset about what happened, that one doesn't feel for the parents of the victims. of course i do. the debate is of public policy,

and there's very, very little evidence to suggest that any of the proposals that we hear every single time are going to do anything. now, obama, perhaps, begins to understand this, which is why he's talking about australian gun confiscation. but until that is on the table, we are really replacing our grief with impotent rage. >> but oftentimes when there is grief, as you point out, empathy or compassion, one says what can we do? there has to be something. to your point, there may not be a laundry list of options, but to exclude the conversation, which is happening. when you look at, for example, mike huckabee's response to this, there is an interpretation that all topics, all options off the table the minute you discuss gun safety. >> you see, i don't agree that we haven't had a conversation. i think we've been having a conversation about this for a long time. it's just that it hasn't gone the way that gun controllers would like. >> tell me one recommendation you believe that was adequately

debated on both sides, that the nra did not shut down at the start. >> well, we had a debate and we had a vote, indeed, although it never reached the house, on universal background checks. the reality here is that this is a very complex issue. i'm not one of those people who thinks if you flood the zone with firearms, everything will work out, but if you look at the state, for example, like vermont, where there are no gun laws at all, you also see pretty much no crime, pretty much no gun death. then you look at a state like louisiana, which has more lax gun laws and a lot of crime. this is a difficult question. there is, unfortunately, no big, substantial evidence to suggest that what obama is proposing is going to do anything. >> have you heard one suggestion or proposal you believe would be significant? >> sure. the one thing i think that we could start with is to make it a crime to avail somebody that you know or have good reason to suspect is mentally ill or wishes others harm of a firearm. you can't do that in general. you can't say that if a gun seller provides a firearm to someone who passes a background check and then they misuse it, he should end up in prison.

that would be illiberal, but i think the two -- to take the mother or father or friend of someone who hints he's going to shoot up a school or who has signs of antisocial or dangerous behavior and hold them responsible would be a good start. >> john, let me bring you in on this conversation. to charles' point, there has been the debate. congress had an option to act. it did not. and because it did not perhaps go the way that you and many others, when we look at the data coming in, would have liked, to assume that we have not adequately examined all of the options is inaccurate. >> well, first of all, congress -- the senate voted on a limited background check bill, not a universal background check. and it's true. i mean, you couldn't find 60 senators with the backbone to require background checks just at gun shows and on the internet. the fact remains, 83 americans die every single day from firearms.

we have seen 87,000 more people die from firearms just since sandy hook, not to mention the 41 mass shootings and the 142 since sandy hook. so, when cook talks about the fact that virginia has a low firearm fatality rate, that's not true. i am from urban industrial massachusetts. i am a gun owner. we have the lowest firearm fatality rate in the nation, except for hawaii, and we have the most comprehensive gun laws. vermont has a firearm fatality rate over three times greater than urban industrial vermont. urban industrial massachusetts. and there is no background check for private gun sales in verm t vermont. and vermont, new hampshire, maine, georgia, florida, are the primary gun source states for crimes that happen in massachusetts, because it's harder to get a gun in massachusetts. if congress wanted to make it more difficult for criminals to get guns and reduce injuries and deaths from guns, they would simply mirror what massachusetts

has done. we just require background checks, we require, you know, a ban on military-style weapons, the common denominator with these large-capacity ammunition magazines that are used in all of the school shootings, and we don't ban anything except for assault weapons and these large magazines. >> you know, i've got to point out, and nbc news has also put this up for people to read. oregon tightening the gun-buying restrictions in the weeks before the shooting. the law went into effect august 9th, requires a background check for transactions made between individuals and online. previously, those checks were mandatory only for people seeking to buy a gun from federally licensed dealers at a gun store or gun show. but here's the reality, john. right now, we don't know how this individual obtained this gun. we don't know that any of the things, for example, that you cited could have prevented it, and that's what you're hearing from the other side here, that you can pull together one conversation of mass shooting, but then when you start to

dissect, a lot of these deranged individuals would have still been able to legally purchase guns, even with some of the restrictions that you've pointed out, if, for example, they were not committed, if a family member did not note, or in the case of louisiana, where that individual went into the theater there, his family knew he had a mental health issue and they pressed charges or got a restraining order, but it ended there. >> yes, but just, let's look at the facts. i mean, states with comprehensive gun laws compared to states without. and every single state that has comprehensive gun laws has lower firearm fatality rates than states with lax gun laws, like louisiana. >> charles, can you dispute that? >> and virginia. >> right. >> well, as i said, virginia is at the bottom of the 49th. to your point, where we have the strongest gun laws in this country -- and again, i'm not suggesting we should flood the zone. i'm suggesting gun laws don't work either way. in cities like baltimore and chicago with the strongest gun

laws, you have the highest homicide rates with firearms. this is a far more complex picture than is being presumed here. >> and i agree with that, but when you say, for example, the leading lobbying organization, the nra, then saying the way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, and you have, for example in this case in oregon, authorities, they're on the scene, eight minutes away, as the president of that community college pointed out, with the proper gear. she fears that if there were armed security agents or police officers or security officers on campus, this could have been worse. >> hold on. i think that her argument there was weak, i have to say. i'm not of the view that the solution here is to arm everybody. i'm not of the view -- >> but you would agree that there are conservatives who offer that as the option. >> there are, and i'm not among -- >> and some who are running for president and one who leads the nra. would you agree to that? >> i would suggest that she is equally wrong as those who think guns are the answer to everything. firstly, a good guy did stop this guy.

>> an officer. >> but he was a good guy with a gun. >> but you and i both know that's not where -- when we hear from conservatives, the good guy with the gun, they're not talking about the police officer or the woman in a uniform -- >> sure. >> -- who's rushing in. they are talking about the guy behind you in the seat at the movie theater who just happened to be strapped and able to take out the gunman, which has not happened yet. >> that's not true. there have been incidents in which mass shooters have been stopped. there have been 10, 15 i think in the last few years. also, there are thousands, possibly tens of thousands of people every year who defend themselves with firearms. it is not the case. as i keep saying, if you give everybody a gun, everything will work out. equally as complicated if you pass feel-good laws that we're going to stop the gun violence. we've seen 20 years now in which gun violence has gone down year on year. the fbi just released 2014 numbers, down. mass shootings are of course a problem, but the overall numbers are down -- >> but when you say the mass shootings are of course a problem -- and i know you're a

sensitive person and i know you're very aware that people interpret these words as callus. i get what you are saying, but when we make mass shootings and also -- when you say a feel-good law, how people interpret that, as you have nine people preparing to bury their loved ones and you have 20 children mowed down, it appears as if it is callus. and if both sides take these extreme positions, one interpreted as callus, the other as we're debating on someone's rights, this is why the people in the middle believe we can't come up with a legitimate -- >> you've just characterized my words as callus. i'm discussing statistics in a television studio. if that's callus, then so be it -- >> no, i said some people may be -- which you brought up earlier in the conversation. >> i said we should liberate ourselves from that superstition. >> yeah, i agree. >> but the reality is, we've seen 20 years of these numbers going down. that's not to say it's perfect and that's not to say this

wasn't a disaster or a tragedy. it was. but we are discussing how to stop it. but as the numbers in the united states go up, and i'm establishing a correlation that's important. as the number of guns in america has gone up 100 million sold since 1994 and the laws have generally been liberalized, the incidents of gun violence have been cut in half. this is not as simple as your other guest will tell you that it is. >> that is completely false. look, if you go back over 30 years, you will see the same number of gun deaths, 32,000 to 40,000 every single year. if you add that up over 40 years, that's more americans killed by gun violence in america than all u.s. servicemen and women killed in all foreign wars combined -- >> that's false. >> and there is even a universal bru background check for all gun sales -- >> look, obama -- >> i didn't interrupt you, so don't interrupt me. you have, in fact, misrepresented the facts. if you want to reduce injuries

and deaths from guns, you can follow one particular state, urban industrial massachusetts, where we have made it more difficult for criminals and the mentally ill to get guns without the undue burden on gun owners like me. but instead, gun dealers can operate out of homes and backpacks, gun manufacturers are unregulated, and law enforcement is really kept -- their hands have been tied. and at columbine high school, there were armed security and they were out-gunned by teenagers with military-style weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines that were purchased at an unregulated gun show that law enforcement isn't allowed to even attend and regulate secondary sales. so, it is completely inaccurate if you look at every state -- >> sadly, i have to interrupt you, john. we have more breaking news that i've got to bring to our audien audience. obviously, this is not the last word on the conversation, sadly. we have many other aspects to

both of your points that deserve conversation in a legitimate form, and i hope i've given you both an opportunity to discuss this this. thank you very much. we've just received a new update on hurricane joaquin. right now you've seen it hovers over the bahamas. we'll have more on the breaking news regarding the hurricane, where it stands now and another storm system that is bringing historic rainfall and dangerous flooding to the east coast. we've now confirmed one fatality. we'll have the latest on the forecast and of course, as i've stated, we will continue to monitor the developments. the investigation of what happened at the college campus in oregon. msnbc, reverend al sharpton will discuss gun violence, not just in small communities, but also in major cities like chicago, where nearly 50 people were shot last weekend, and we just learned we will hear from president obama at 3:30 eastern time this afternoon. the president will make a

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at 12 weeks. stelara® helps keep my skin clearer. ask your doctor about stelara®. ♪ it's just beyond my comprehension that we are seeing these mass murders happen again and again and again. and as i have said, we have got to get the political will to do everything we can to keep people safe! you know? i know there is a way to have sensible gun control measures that help prevent violence, prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands and save lives. >> that was democratic presidential candidate, of course, hillary clinton, reacting to the shooting at that community college in oregon. clinton recently sat down with my colleague, the reverend al sharpton, for a wide-ranging interview that took place prior to the shooting. reverend sharpton joins me now

in the studio. again, this interview you did was before the shooting, but we are watching in some ways, i think, rev, hillary clinton try to react in the moment. she was criticized, for example, after ferguson, for being slow to respond. she wasn't running at the time. different stakes, i think some would say. but she's reacting to this. what do you make of what she said? >> well, ironically -- and people will see the interview in its entirety sunday morning at 8:00 -- we talked about violence and chicago, because of all of the shootings in chicago, and we talked about how do we deal with it. and then, now this has happened the day after we did the interview. and i think that we've got to deal with sane gun laws. what people don't realize, we don't know yet how this man got the gun in oregon. but let's take chicago, for example, where they have had all of these shootings. yes, you have strong gun laws in illinois, but most of the shootings come from guns outside of illinois.

we must have national gun legislation, because it's easy to say that in the states that have these strong gun regulations that there are still higher numbers. but when you look at the fact that they got them from states where there was no identification required -- >> as in the case of chicago, people point to indiana. >> that's correct, going into indiana. that is why we really need to put our head around what president obama raised last night, some national gun legislation. >> it's interesting, rev, and this is not to pigeon-hole you -- i know you're a community activist -- but it seems we do have a different conversation as it relates to inner city violence -- >> right. >> -- versus a horrific act like played out at that community college, almost as if there is a rural way of looking at it and the city way, and the city way is often a stop-and-frisk solution. >> the city way is a stop and a frisk, and everyone's a suspect. the rural is, our right to do this until a disaster happens. we've got to find a midground

and we've got to -- i think the biggest tragedy is that in a lot of urban areas, it has become normal that we're seeing people shot every day, and it has become normal in rural areas that every month we're having these massacres. and now that we are all becoming so immune that this is the new norm, that's the danger. we cannot accept this. >> to your point, chicago numbers violence -- 2,300 shootings so far just this year, an average of 8 per day. now, the president, of course, said that he has become routine in his reaction, the media has become routine. chuck todd made the point on the "today" show this morning that when then attorney general eric holder pushed the president to ban assault weapons, he did not. so, is the president looking in on himself, as we all should be, as journalists and as citizens of this country? >> as you know, as far as i would know, the president's always looking in on himself. i mean, i think he made a very

strong challenge to all of us to do the same last night, but we've got to do something. we cannot say, oh, well, that's october 1st, now let's see what happens in november, let's move on. we just had journalists shot on live television five weeks ago, and it was almost no news about it after three days. that's how much we're beginning to accept this. that's unacceptable. >> well, we can't wait to see your entire interview with hillary clinton. "politics nation" every sunday morning, 8:00 eastern, starting this weekend only on msnbc. and a side note -- as we mentioned earlier, president obama expected to announce the resignation of education secretary arne duncan. duncan is stepping down in december after seven years in the office. the white house says the president has selected john king jr., who currently acts as deputy secretary of education, to replace secretary duncan. as we understand it, the president will still also take questions. likely, many of those questions

will be about his comments regarding oregon. again, that's 3:30 this afternoon. up next, meteorologist bill karins joins me live with the latest update on hurricane joaquin and this other storm system that could create even more problems for a huge portion of the northeast. we'll be right back. today, jason is here to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. aleve, all day strong. and try aleve pm, now with an easy open cap.

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better than clorox. to see if they could find the guy who uses just for men. it's me. no way. i had no clue. just for men gives you a natural gray-free look in just 5 minutes. it looks really good. great looking hair made easy. just for men. we are back with breaking news on hurricane joaquin, now a major category 4 storm moving across the bahamas. so, the newest advisory on this storm's track just came out moments ago. let's get straight to meteorologist bill karins here with the latest. bill? >> the most important thing we saw is finally a northward movement. it's slow, moving at about 3 miles an hour. it's slower than you walk, but regardless, it's slowly exiting and heading away. also lacking at the newest information for rainfall in the

carolinas, and it looks like south carolina will be the target for the heaviest rain, not so much today, but tomorrow and sunday miles per hour . so, we'll get historic rains with possible catastrophic effects, especially on the rivers. that would be in south carolina as we head towards the end of the weekend. so, let me take you through the latest on the hurricane. and it's a little eerie right now that we've seen this storm as a category 4 over the central bahamas. what's it been, 24, almost 36 hours, and there's hardly any pictures, hardly any video. it's because people don't have power. it's a category 4 storm. power is out throughout the region. nobody can get pictures out. they're still in their shelters. so, we won't even know over the weekend how bad this is or how many injuries or fatalities. our thoughts are with those people that are going through one of the worst weather disasters they've ever seen. pressure's at 939 millibars right now. and as far as the track goes, it hasn't changed since this morning, still well off the coast. no effects really except for waves on the eastern seaboard and it barely misses bermuda and nova scotia.

we're going through the high tide cycle on the jersey shore. atlantic city saw the high tide, about 2 feet lower than with hurricane sandy, so not enough to go into the roads or cause a lot of damage, but it took a chunk out of the beaches and that's still occurring. we have coastal flood warnings from the jersey shore into delaware. on sunday, i'm worried about the way the topography works here. the norfolk beach areas, hampton roads. the way the water will flow here, see the wind arrows? that's the direction. the wind will pile up on the back bays and that's where we could see the worst coastal flooding through the weekend. as far as the rain goes, as i mentioned, north carolina today. tomorrow that pivots into south carolina. and of course, we have flood watches up throughout that area. and as far as rainfall totals, we're still thinking, tamron, we could easily get a foot plus in a few spots here, and you know, if that happens, we will be dealing with some major consequences on those rivers right into next week. >> wow. all right, thank you very much. joining me now is nbc's gabe gutierrez. he is in killdevil hills, north

carolina. oh, my goodness, we see quite a sight behind you, gabe. give us an update. >> reporter: hi, tamron. good morning. well, we are here in the outer banks, and as you can see, the surf is picking up, the wind has really been picking up, and throughout the morning we've been getting pelted with heavy rain. the outer banks are used to major storms, but they are hunkering down and preparing for this. north carolina officials say that they're monitoring this very closely as well as inland areas. they're also preparing swiftwater rescue teams just in case they're necessary. right now there were some local evaluations, or rather, yesterday there were local evacuations here in the outer banks. today, so far, nothing, but they are monitoring this very closely. as bill mentioned, a lot of attention on other parts of the east coast. there have been two weather-related fatalities so far. they happened yesterday, one in spartanburg, south carolina, and then another one near fayetteville, north carolina. south carolina as well as augusta, georgia, looking for a lot of rain. and officials here are also

concerned about rain. a major problem here on the outer banks and here in kill devil hills and kitty hawk, major beach erosion that has happened over the last several weeks. and we talked to local officials here. the mayor in kitty hawk told us that if it wasn't for some sandbags that had been installed earlier this summer in anticipation of this, several roads would have been washed away. so, the ground is very saturated here. they are preparing here in north carolina for what could be historic flooding, not just here in the outer banks but throughout the state. and really, all up and down the east coast. tamron, back to you. >> all right, gabe. thank you very much. we'll keep gabe, obviously, giving us the updates throughout the day here on msnbc. meanwhile, up next, i'll talk live with the mayor of roseburg, oregon, about yesterday's shooting and another shooting that happened at the city's high school in 2006. his connection to both incidents, next. good. very good. you see something moving off the shelves and your first thought is to investigate the company.

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we are awaiting two major news conferences this afternoon on the mass shooting at umpqua community college in oregon. in about an hour from now, we will hear from the sheriff's office leading the investigation. at that point, we may learn more details about a long hate-filled note that sources tell us were left by the gunman at the scene of the shooting. and later today we will also hear from oregon governor kate brown. but joining me now, roseburg mayor larry rich. he is also the assistant principal at roseburg high school, which experienced a school shooting back in 2006. mr. mayor, thank you so much for joining us. our thoughts are with you and your community this day. >> thank you. >> let's talk about the investigation here, as i know that you are in close contact with the sheriff's department as well as investigators. do you know any more details about this 26-year-old man that you can release? it seems as if he's still a mystery this morning. >> i don't know any more information than what's already been out there, and i know the

sheriffs and our police department is keeping everything under tight wrap there until they are ready to present that information and open it up to the public. >> you are the assistant principal at roseburg high school. you were there, actually, with the school at the time of the shooting in 2006. and here we are just a few years later in your same small community, this mass shooting. this morning your sheriff was on the "today" show with my colleague, matt lauer, and he was asked about a letter that he sent to vice president joe biden. really, in a sense, saying that there was no need for gun safety laws, that what was in place right now was enough. he said it wasn't the time for him to talk about it right now, as the investigation goes on. but what are your thoughts regarding a closer look at if any changes could have prevented or could prevent more shootings? >> well, as far as gun control,

everybody likes to jump to that. they think that that's going to be the cure-all. and i have no problem looking at it, but i think we need to look at other areas, too, all the information about the shooter, all of that creates is those we have in the community looking for attention and just desiring to be recognized, think that oh, that's one way to get that recognition. i believe if we put a stop to telling everybody about the shooter's background and start focusing on the victims and positive things they contributed to our community that that will make a difference, too. >> i think you're absolutely right to focus on the victims and those people who as we told in many cases put their life on the line to save other people. i think some of the questions about the suspects or in this case the individual that carried out this awful act, questions

about his background may lead to a larger question of people with mental health issues being able to obtain guns. i think that's part of why the question of motive and his background has come into play. to your point, always a fear this will i guess put another deranged person in position of wanting to copy cat. i believe mental health is what we are trying to understand here. >> i agree. mental health is a big one. we have people that need help in that mental capacity, we need to figure a way to provide that. this way of being recognized and they need help. >> and in some cases they've been able to obtain weapons and that's another conversation. i want to focus on your community and the healing process which seems so difficult with still so many answers, but it was an amazing show of the power of love and hope last

night when people gathered there to talk and play for victims. >> that's what roseburg is. we are a small community. we know each other, we come together. we will come out even stronger. last night was a show of our ability to get together at a moment's notice. there were hundreds of people there. like i said, that was just spur of the moment and people are there to support our community. >> mayor, thank you for your time. our thoughts are with your community as there are many more painful days ahead as we look for answers here. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> absolutely. we will be right back. ly lo. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost® to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon.

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because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. we are awaiting official updates on the deadly shooting. in about an hour we will hear from the sheriff's office, and later this afternoon kate brown will have a news conference.

president obama will take questions at 3:30 eastern time this afternoon. we'll bring you all these updates on msnbc. that does it for this hour of msnbc live. i am tamron hall. andrea mitchell is next. nobody told me to expect it... ...intercourse that's painful due to menopausal changes. it's not likely to go away on its own. so let's do something about it. premarin vaginal cream can help. it provides estrogens to help rebuild vaginal tissue and make intercourse more comfortable.

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we are all in panic mode then, we closed td door, locked it, turned off the light, have everyone in the corner of the room. we continued to hear shots after shots. >> yesterday was a challenging day. the days and weeks to come will be the most challenging. >> let me be very clear. i will not name the shooter.

i will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act. >> right now on andrea mitchell reports, mass shooting. it has happened again in america. this time on the campus of a community college in oregon. the gunman and nine people, students and a faculty member, are dead. president obama angry and frustrated over congress' refusal to pass gun laws. >> somehow this has become routine. the reporting is routine. my response here at this podium ends up being routine. the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this.