till the day i die. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. it's monday november 6th, i'm yaz min alongside live in texas this morning. begin with what the governor of texas is calling the deadliest shooting in that state's history. 26 people ranging from five years old to 72, gunned down in worship at small town church in texas. 26-year-old man in all black wearing tactical gear, bulletproof vest and armed with ar assault rifle lie in wait at nearby gas station.

drove across the street, and began firing into the church from outside. entered the church and continued firing on the people inside the church as suspect tried to make getaway, local resident grabbed rifle and began firing, causing gunman to drop weapon and flee the scene. good samaritan, unrelenting, continued to pursue. >> short time later as law enforcement responded, suspect at wilson/guadalupe county line ran off the roadway and crashed out, found zrooe deceased in his vehicle. we don't know if self-inflicted or shot by local resident who engaged him in gunfire. >> has been identified at devon

patrick kelley from neighboring comal county. court martialed in 2012 on two charges of assaulting his spouse and child. given a conduct discharge in 2015. aman, we're about 16 hours from the time in which the shooting began, community still very much in just a state of shock, i can only imagine. what's it like there from what you've been seeing? >> this is still an active crime scene, standing on the opposite side of the street where the police have cordoned off the media. they're still combing through all the forensic evidence they're gathering behind me at first baptist church. when we went on the air yesterday and saw the first aerial footage of where the complex was, you don't get sense

of how intimate everything is until you get here on the ground and see where it is in relation to some of the eyewitnesses we're speaking to. spoke to attendant at gas station describing how everyone in the community knows each other. spend a few minutes on the ground and you get sense that everybody is familiar where the church is, type of community that exists here. and question that everyone is asking like those we spoke to yesterday is why. why did this gunman target this church on that day? i think that's going to be essential part of the investigation. for now, as you were saying, police very much still collecting pieces of evidence behind me, trying to also figure out why the shooting took place here. more importantly, think it's going to scar the community for a long time to come as we learn more about the gunman, his motivations.

know from the united states air force he was demoted in rank, discharged with a bad conduct credit. but also the fact he had served time for abusing his wife and child. there are a lot of questions in the community. driving around the last few minutes, salvation army has set up facilities on the other side to try to help. relatives of those affected by this are nearby, also getting grief counseling. a community that's been rattled this morning by one of the deadliest shootings in the country and the deadliest mass shooting in the state of texas. >> community on edge with a lot of questions, not a lot of answers so far. things are trickling in as the hours go by. and people looking to leadership of from country as well and wanting guidance from them. we're hearing from the president speak from japan. president trump addressing the shooting calling it a quote,

horrible act of evil. take a listen. >> our hearts are broken, but in dark times, and these are dark times, such as these, americans do what they do best, we pull together, we join hands, we lock arms, and through the tears and through the sadness, we stand strong, oh, so strong. >> and during a joint press briefing with japanese prime minister shinzo abe, president trump was asked what policies he might support in response to the shooting. here's how he responded. >> i think that mental health is the problem here. this was a very -- based on preliminary reports, very deranged individual. lot of problems over a long period of time. we have a lot of mental health problems in our country as do other countries.

but this isn't a guns situation. we could go into it, it's a little bit soon to go into it. fortunately somebody else had a gun shooting the opposite direction otherwise, bad as it was, it would have been much worse. this is a mental health problem at the highest level. it's a very, very sad event. these are great people and a very, very sad event. but that's the way i view it. >> certainly a lot of people wanting to have that conversation right now about guns considering what we've been through the last couple of weeks in this country. 23 people found deceased inside the church, two outside, and one passed away at the hospital. this is video from last week's church service at first baptist in sutherland springs. among the victims we're told is the pastor's 14-year-old daughter. pastor frank pomeroy and wife

sheri were out of town. among those in the hospital, five-year-old rylan ward, whose grandmother we spoke to. shot five times. out of surgery and in stable condition. some good news out of the incredible tragedy. president trump as i said is in tokyo, first leg of extended asia trip. just hours ago prime minister shinzo abe and more restained president trump spoke about the region. dealing with a lot domestically and abroad. north korea. take a listen. >> the era of strategic patience is over. some people said that my rhetoric is very strong. but look what's happened with very weak rhetoric over the last 25 years, look where we are right now.

as far as the north korean people are concerned, steve, think these are great people. they're under a very repressive regime, and i really think that ultimately i can tell you this, i hope it all works out. be better for everybody. certainly would be better for north korea but would be better for everybody. >> abe also said after trying for more than 20 years quote, there is no point in dialogue for the sake of dialogue with north korea. president trump asked what he thinks should if launch more missiles over their country. >> if i can take a piece of the prime minister's answer, he'll shoot them out of the sky when he completes the purchase of additional military equipment from the united states, he will easily shoot them out of the sky. prime minister of japan is going to be purchasing massive amtz of

military equipment as he should. >> president arrived in tokyo and first order of business, rallying the troops stationed at yokota air base. >> we dominate the sky, we dominate the sea, we dominate the land and space. not merely because we have the best equipment, which we do, and by the way, a lot of it is coming in. you saw that budget. that's a lot different than in the past. a lot of beautiful brand new equipment is coming in. together with our allies, america's warriors are prepared to defend our nation, using the full range of our unmatched capabilities. no one, no dictator, no regime and no nation, should underestimate, ever, american resolve.

>> go live to tokyo. nbc news correspondent kelly o'donnell is joining us. president dealing with a lot domestically and overseas as we've been talking about from the beginning of the show. talk about agenda for the president in coming days and how he's being received abroad so far. >> reporter: good morning. it is evening here in tokyo. and sign of how he's being received, special guest at state dinner hosted by prime minister shinzo abe here in japan. real focus has been on the strength of this relationship, two countries but also the personal relationship between the president and the prime minister. of course that is somehow seen through the golf they both love. that social interaction. they and their wives have spent time together. but relationships on the international stage also carry a much greater import because of the requirement of trust.

can they work together? on issues where there are differences like trade and president trump said he was willing to have a bit of a agitation factor, even insult is the word he used by talking about trade, knowing that japanese have a different view. president wanting more japanese companies to do business inside the united states. willing to take that risk. but at the same time they seem to be very much on the same page with north korea, more hawkish, strong japan talking about need for military options to be on the table. delicate issue for japan, which is most vulnerable in proximity to north korea. seeing this play out. first stop of five in asia. had been given options about the trip and decided longest option, 12 days in asia. nearly two weeks. also included a much anticipated

meeting with vladimir putin, also attending a summit in vietnam. from russia to trade to north korea, then reacting to issues at home like the tragedy in texas, president is trying to balance all of that while the stakes are quite high. >> a lot riding on this trip for sure. thanks for joining us. back to the church shooting in sutherland springs, texas. ayman standing by. >> >> reporter: trying to get a sense of what investigators are going through to determine a motive that led patrick kelley to carry out this deadly rampage. bring in nbc correspondent who has been following this. where the investigation goes from here as they try to piece together that motive. >> reporter: they're going to look at everything pertaining to

devin patrick kelley's life, look at apartment in san antonio, looking at two ex-wives, talking to former girlfriends of this man to determine possible motive. also this church, first baptist church in sutherland springs was known to have recorded sunday services to post to youtube. there is also a possibility that this service where the shooting happened could be on video. i'm assuming if they find that, law enforcement will also be looking at that carefully. also looking at witnesses. i'm sort of at a different vantage point from where you are, this church is one of the multiple crime scenes at the moment. panning to see not only still active crime scene but world's media start to descend upon the

small town. but also this gas station i'm showing here here across the street from the church is where the gunman is believed to have moved, wearing that black tactical gear from that gas station over to the church before the shooting happened. after he shot the people inside the church, ayman, he exited and was engaged by a local resident. in this area behind me. johnny lagendorf. hear as he described engaging the shooter and what is really a remarkable turn of events and story. let's hear from him. >> i just it what i thought i needed to do, which was -- they said there was a shooting. i pursued and i just did what i thought was the right thing. >> did you know there were more weapons in that car? you possibly stopped him from killing other people. >> i didn't know that.

>> reporter: once he was engaged by -- johnnie lagendorff, the shooter drove away and was found dead in his vehicle a couple of miles from here. back to you ayman. >> reporter: live for us from sutherland springs, texas, we're going to have more for you from the scene of the deadly shooting after the break. stay with us. i love you, droolius caesar, but sometimes you stink.

febreze car vent clip cleans away odors for up to 30 days. because the things you love can stink.

church was just like a family. it's like losing several members

of your family. >> is this a church that you regularly go to? >> yes, ma'am, been attending over ten years. >> what is this church like? what does it mean to you? what are the people there like? >> everybody's just really friendly, all like family. we do things together. they're there if you need somebody to talk to or somebody to do something with, help you however they can. >> emotional interview i spoke with yesterday, four grandchildren and daughter-in-law inside the first baptist church. her grandson now in stable condition, another grand child is deceased. continuing to follow the latest. left at least 26 dead. devin patrick kelley opened fire yesterday morning before continuing shooting spree inside

the building. local resident confronted kelley, grabbing the rifle and firing at suspect, causing him to flee in a vehicle. pursued him, kelley ran car offer the road and crashed. they say found dead inside the car. we'll be covering the latest all morning. we'll be right back. end i have, that will not own this product"" visible results or your money back olay. ageless.

...from godaddy! in fact, 68% of people who have built their... ...website using gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. build a better website - in under an hour. with gocentral from godaddy.

welcome back everybody. want to turn back to top story, deadly mass shooting in texas.

joining us from sutherland springs, jay gray. lot of people asking the big question we've been asking since the minute this started, why, why someone would walk into church, open fire and kill 25 people -- 26 people, excuse me. what are we learning about suspect devin patrick kelley and possible motive? >> reporter: here's had a we know at this point, that's the question driving the investigation. police looking through kelley's car, vehicle where he was found dead, his home as well. again looking through social media he may have been involved with and trying to piece together something to help them understand how and why all of this took place. to this point they've not said anything publicly about motive in the attack. have said earlier they aren't aware of that. what they've also made clear,

they will find what is at the core of this attack. they've devoted all the resources in the state of texas to this investigation. federal agents on the ground as well. what those agents are saying, they're confident it's not terror attack. not an issue here. so still no key answer to what may have caused this attack, driven the young man to attack here. >> jay gray, thank you. back to ayman on the ground as well. starting to get more and more information on this guy as the minutes and hours go by. he was member of the united states air force, court martialed for assault on his spouse and child in 2012 and received a bad conduct discharge from the united states air force. more and more information as hours going by. more definitive than some of the shootings we've been covering the last couple of weeks there.

>> reporter: you're talking about a good point, comparing to other incidents in the state and across the country, given how much the united states has dealt with issues of mass shooting, touches a nerve and raises questions about the issues of guns. fbi and atf both involved in the investigation, now currently led by texas rangers, as we learn more about the suspect and motivations. dylann roof, the shooter of the worshippers in south carolina they attributed to racial hatred, but here that motivation not yet established. continuously learning more about the victims as well. tell you some of those heartbreaking stories later on in the program. going to take a quick break and come back after this.

welcome back, i'm yasmin

vossoughian, begin with what the governor of texas is calling the deadliest shooting in that state's history. 26 people ranging in age from five years old to 72 gunned down in sunday morning worship at smalltown church in sutherland springs, texas. ayman mohyeldin, bring us up to date on what you're seeing so far. >> reporter: this is still active crime scene. police are still cordoning off the area, preventing access in and out of the church except for those part of the investigation. fbi and atf are helping in investigation led by texas rangers. the central question is motivation. this church 40 miles from where the gunman lived in different county, what made him down all the way down here to carry out this murderous attack?

that's going to be central as they try to piece this together. but also learning heartbreaking stories. ranging from five to 72 years old, pregnant woman, one woman saying three grandchildren shot. conditions questionable. almost every single person here knows someone attending the church. 400 people population, math of 26 killed is staggering number. bring in correspondent covering this in more details. marianna. >> investigators will be tearing his world apart, former wives, girlfriends, people who may have known him, possible motives for him to do what he did. devin patrick kelley, 26 years old was former member of the air

force. we know he was court martialed in 2012, recorded assault on his spouse and assault on their child. received bad conduct discharge, confined for 12 months and reduction to grade of e-1, lowest rank in the air force. as you mentioned, wasn't even from sutherland springs but neighboring comal county. had a residence in suburb of san antonio. and motive is still out there. why would devin kelley come here and open fire wearing full tactical gear yesterday at 11:20 a.m., first time he was spotted, and go into this church behind me and kill 26 people? it's something that investigators are going to be going through today, also looking of course not only at

this active crime scene but also at place where his vehicle with multiple other weapons was found a couple of miles roo here. ayman? >> reporter: all right. we've been talking a lot about some of the victims in the tragedy yasmin. and one of the most heartbreaking accounts from scott holcomb, son of brian hol come, the guest pastor at this church. tech-savvy church, posting a lot of sermons on youtube. that's part of the investigation, was that factor to target this church? what is troubling, guest pastor and his wife both confirmed killed according to their son. tragedy here and more heartbreak for the community as families and loved ones search for answers. >> and search for connection,

why focus on this church, this town, open fire on these people. and juxtaposition, how small this town s 400 or so. and 26 people living in that community are now gone. huge percentage of the community. people that you saw every day likely at local gas station, store, now no longer there. incredible tragedy for that community. unbelievable. church shooting in texas meeps that two of five deadliest mass shootings in american history have taken place in roughly the last month. tragedy in sutherland springs with 26 killed is fifth deadliest, superseding the shooting in key lean, texas, in which 22 were killed. and 35 days after mass shooting at las vegas at harvest music

festival, gunman opened fire from floor of the mandalay bay casino. deadliest in history, surpassing the pulse night club shooting. unbelievable to read these. 2007 shoot at virginia tech, third most deadly in this country, followed by 2012 shooting at sandy hook, which left 27 children and adults dead. president trump arriving in tokyo over the weekend and first order of business was rallying the troops stationed at yokota air base. >> we dominate the sky, we dominate the sea, we dominate the land and space. together with our allies, america's warriors are prepared to defend our nation, using the full range of our unmatched

capabilities. no one, no dictator, no regime and no nation should underestimate, ever, american resolve. >> and just hours ago along with commenting on the tragedy in texas, trump and prime minister shinzo abe spoke at length about the north korean crisis. joining live from tokyo, kelly o'donnell for us. before we get into the crisis overseas in north korea, bring people up to date as to president's comments in regards to texas. >> reporter: good morning again yasmin, president has expressed concern about the lives lost. notably the president was asked about how the texas shooting relates to u.s. gun policy. he said it's an issue of extreme mental health and not guns. president has not been supportive of changes to gun laws at time when shooting of

this magnitude always brings that back into the political conversation. president choosing to focus more on what he called a deranged gunman. president asked about this does signal how difficult it can be for a president traveling overseas to manage domestic crises that come about and large issues about his nearly two week long trip here in asia. president has tried to project strength, friendship and notably, restraint, something we should point out, when he's coming to japan, talking about north korea. didn't repeat some of the rhetoric we've heard, referring to kim jong-un as little rocket man or talking about fire and fury. more restraint, at the same time trying to project unity with japan as partner, based in large part on his personal friendship and long relationship between the u.s. and japan. trying to say that kim jong-un should not be waiting, strategic

patience, which has been a u.s. policy, is over. both want to see action from kim jong-un to know longer test or use ballistic missiles or develop nuclear program. >> also hearing that president will be meeting with china's leader xi jinping and russia president vladimir putin and meeting in the philippines as well. what more are we learning about that and possibility that president will take aside or have official meeting with putin? >> reporter: well, part of this trip includes personal independent meetings with the prime minister here in japan, president in china and president in south korea. but he's also attending two different summits which will bring together a lot of leaders from around the world, particularly with an asia focus. president has decided to extend his time at manila summit at end of this trip and told reporters

he does expect to meet in vietnam with vladimir putin and discuss north korea. putin is part of the apex summit held this time about asia. and president knows there's backdrop in the united states about the russia investigation, he says personally with putin is important to get his help in taming north korea. moving to saudi arabia, massive shake-up in the government, formation of anticorruption committee chaired by crown price mohamed bin salman. princes and ministers have been arrested. happened without formal charges or legal process and presented as crackdown on corruption. prince mohamed, named heir to

the throne in june is also the defense minister and responsible for overseeing their ongoing war in yemen. also intercepted missile. as high-ranging saudi prince was killed yesterday in helicopter crash near the border with yemen. others also killed. saudi officials not revealed the cause and yemeni officials not offered comment. all in the footsteps of president trump's senior adviser and jack's trip late last month. ayman is also covering overseas in saudi arabia. bring back into the conversation. anticorruption crackdown, is this unprecedented move by the crown prince? was it a surprise to people on

the ground, to the sources you've been speaking with abroad? do we believe it's coordinated effort or conversation that was had with the united states after this crackdown took place? >> reporter: by any measure, this is unprecedented move by saudi officials. no doubt in the past there have been conversations about fighting corruption and officials paid lip service, but to see swift action take place by the crown prince in that country was surprising to me. but because of the scope of the people he went after. western minded pro businessmen. members of the royal family princes, members of the military and head of the national guard. lot of people are saying on one hand, it's power grab by the crown prince, consolidating power in unprecedented ways, perhaps even marginalizing some

in the royal family working against him. at the same time he's pitching this as broader vision to madernize the country and fight corruption and that's resonating with the youth in the country. lot of people in saudi arabia feel disenfranchised and welcoming these moves. how long will he be able to carry this out and will it be successful remains to be seen. given that jared kushner's visit took place recent to this announcement, there's very little chance that u.s. wouldn't have given its blessings or not have known something like this was in the pipeline. >> and talk quickly about this intercepted ballistic missile fired from yemen towards riyadh? what more are we hearing of that? reports of possible blame placed on iran by saudi arabia. >> reporter: they're playing the

rebels for this, blaming iranian government, saying the actions are leading them to war. no doubt involved in this yemen, drawn a lot of criticism from human rights organizations, not been successful by any measure of the word, and they're concerned that iran is getting a foothold in the region. iranians are denying that, criticized saudi arabia for kills thousands of people in that country. >> a developing situation. we'll get back to you. three house republicans have filed a resolution calling on special counsel bob mueller to recuse himself in the probe to russian interference in the election. they're accusing the former fbi director of conflicts of interest due to his relationship with fired fbi director jim comey and that fbi should be investigated for quote willful

blindness over uranium deal in hillary clinton's tenure as secondary of state. paul ryan addressed the resolution. >> will you prejudice that you will not allow the mueller investigation to be curbed or stopped? >> i've said all along, we need to let career professionals do their jobs, see it through. i don't think he should be stepping down or fired. president has made it clear, he's not going to do that. >> before leaving on asian trip, shared special view of the especial counsel. >> do you think you would have mueller removed or pledged to stay out of that? >> i think he's treating everything fairly and if he is, i'm happy. if you talk about innocence, i'm truly not involved in any form of collusion with russia, believe me. >> and weighing in on paul

manafort, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of indictment in alleged money laundering scheme with tens of millions of dollars. served the trump campaign march to august of last year. >> who convinced you to take paul manafort on as your campaign manager? >> a friend of mine, a very successful businessman and good person. paul was not there very long. what people don't mention, paul was not there a long period of time. >> what convinced you he had to be let go. >> i think we found out something about he may be involved with certain nations. i don't even know exactly what it was in particular. but there was a point at which we just felt paul would be better -- because we don't want potential conflicts. people don't realize paul manafort worked for ronald reagan, bob dole. i think the firm was involved with many people. don't have to mention names but

hear they're involved with john mccain, honorable guy, involved with many people, many, many people, i certainly wasn't the first. firm well known in washington for years and represented many, many big people politically speaking, ronald reagan being number one. the reputation i always felt was very good. and had him for a very short period of time. only in there for a finite period of time but i feel badly for him, because i held him to be really a nice person. >> lot of the focus on gop, but fallout continues with inside looks at divisions in the democratic party. look at plan to replace hillary clinton as 2016 presidential campaign. plus more from texas as officials piece together clues in mass shooting that left at least 26 people dead.

welcome back. we've been following the church shooting in texas and developments there. but first other top stories. fallout continuing as donna brazil details dysfunction in the democratic party in the 2016 election in new book. "washington post" released excerpt, brazile considered replacing clinton with biden and -- after clinton fainted at 9/11 ceremony at ground zero. >> i had to put it on the board because i was under pressure to have a quote/unquote plan b. plan a was great for me. >> ultimately decided not to remove clinton because of how important she was to women around the country and haunted

by murder of data staffer rich and installed security cameras in home and shuttered blinds in her office because she feared for her own life. over 100 staffers wrote open letter calling allegations of replacing clinton and kaine disturbing. memo obtained by nbc news detailed agreement in exchange for infusion of cash, clinton campaign would have joint authority over staffing, including the hiring of communications director before a nominee was chosen by voters. memo made clear that arraignment pertained only to general election, not primary, left open the possibility that dnc would sign similar agreements with other candidates. howard dean tweeted agreement had been standard operating procedure within the party for 15 years.

current chair wrote that party will implement changes to make sure the rules are more transparent and nomination process more fair. president trump weighing in on unfair advantage over senator bernie sanders. >> look at hillary clinton and new book put out by donna brazile where she bought the dnc and stole the election from bernie. >> brazile responded saying trump looks for daily excuse to distract from his job. no the primary system was not rigged. today's lesson being misquoted by donald trump, stop trolling me, never said hillary rigged election. in interview, brazile said as chair never found evidence.

meanwhile robby mook warned democrats not to get sucked into the controversy, advising them to keep an eye on the ball with elections in several states around the corner. >> president trump has been pressuring the justice department to investigate former rival hillary clinton, accusing her of crimes on a number of subjects and leaving open the prospect he might fire attorney general jeff sessions if there is no action. >> will you fire jeff sessions if the justice department doesn't take action? >> i don't know, i'm not involved with the justice department, like to let it run itself. but honestly they should be looking at democrats, podesta and all is that dishonesty, a lot of people are disappointed in the justice department, including me. >> and senator bob corker spoke up in response to the president's tweet about the new york city terrorist suspect

saying should get the death penalty. like me, most americans hope that justice system is independent of politics. totally inappropriate and not only undermine the justice system but erode the american people's confidence in our institutions. a year after being elected, new poll finds president trump is historically unpopular when compared with predecessor. 37% approve of job performance, 59% disapprove. overall negative rating of 22 points compares unfavorably to every other popularly elected president of the modern era. barack obama at positive 17 points after nine months and george w. bush riding high with net of 80 points after 9/11 and

even bill clinton plus 11 after rocky start. 55% say he's not keeping major promises, up 14 points from 41% in april. that's an improvement. 65% say accomplished not much, little or nothing. up nine points from april. and 40% view him as strong leader. down 13 points and worse than president obama or george w. bush ever rated in their two terms. today is exactly one year until the 2018 midterm election. showing the democrats with large -- among registered voters, 51% would vote for or lean towards democratic candidate in their congressional democratic and 40% say republican.

biggest spread in post/abc survey since august of 2006, after midterm. going live to team on the ground for the latest in texas. also live overseas as first trip to asia gets under way and discuss the major threat hanging over that region, north korea. all of that coming up. want in on the secret to ageless skin.

take the olay 28 day challenge. millions of real women see results starting day 1. "there is not a friend i have, that will not own this product"" visible results or your money back olay. ageless.

good morning v, it's monday november 6th, yasmin vossoughian, 26 people ranging in age from 5-72 years of age gunned down in worship. officials saying a 26-year-old man dressed in all black wearing tactical gear, a bulletproof vest and armed with an ar assault style rifle would lie and wait at a nearby gas station. then drove across the street. got out of the vehicle and around 11:20 a.m. local time michigan fi began firing into the church.