devices or anything that could pose a danger to the responding officers inside the building. so, there's a lot of information they're going to want to get from him right here right now that will make it safer for the officers and allow for this to be a more effective recovery, ali. >> sean, thank you for that. february 14th, 2018, valentine's day, ash wednesday, and a mass shooting at a school in florida. the white house briefing has been canceled. i'll hand over now to my friend and colleague nicolle wallace. >> hi, everyone, it's 4:00 in new york, but we are continuing to follow an active shooter situation at a south florida high school where police are on the scene. officials telling us there are multiple injuries. joining us on set here is michael balboni, former new york state homeland security advisor and you are getting some confirmation of what ali velshi just reported with senator bill nelson that it does appear from the images on our screen right now that a suspect -- we don't know if it's the only suspect -- has been apprehended? >> that's right.

the information we are getting from people on the ground is that this individual is believed to have acted alone in terms of the actual violence. of course, sean said before they are looking for any other individuals who might be involved and other weapons. whether or not there's any type of explosives that he could have planted. they have to still secure the scene itself which is what they're doing now. >> so, i've been watching this since the story broke a little over an hour ago, and when you watch high school students stream out of a school, i think over 3,000 students, how does law enforcement approach something like this? >> so, it's about a perimeter. first of all, after columbine, the approach to a scene like this is to go in. it used to be that law enforcement would kind of go around the school and try to secure the perimeters and try to set up and go in after that. that's not the way to do it. they respond to try to stop the threat inside. of course, the challenge here is

all these individuals, students in and around the place, the shoo shooter, you don't know if it's just the student. when the students stream out of the building, to make sure the person doesn't get away by either changing their clothes or doing something else a little more sophisticated. and, of course, we don't know what weapons were brought into the building. we don't know whether there was any homemade device. you cannot count out anything. and that's really the challenge for law enforcement on the scene. at the same time you have all these different people, parents are streaming into the area. everybody wants to know immediately what is the situation, is my child safe, when is it going to be okay for people to come home, when is this going to become normal, quote-unquote. they want immediate responses and law enforcement is about safety, securing the scene, making sure everyone is out and conducting the forensic investigation which is so crucial. >> we have someone who can speak to what you just described. a parent joining us by phone,

lysette rosen blatt, her daughter was safely evacuated. how is your daughter doing, how are you doing and what do you know? >> hi, nicolle, thank you. thankfully she is safe, she's out of the school but it was a nerve racking afternoon. we got a text from her saying there was a shooter. i unfortunately had missed the call and the text, so my husband and i were at home. he got the text. he told her to stay calm. as soon as he hung up, he called the school to verify if it was true. he told me it was true, we both freaked out. he got in the car and left immediately to try to get to the school. and then she just started texting me. she was telling me, she said she was fine, but she kept insisting that i call 911, that i call the police because there was somebody hurt on her floor. what floor are you at, she told me third floor, 1200 building. she could hear the person calling out and praying so she was pretty shooken up about that. she was trying to get that

person help. i don't have details yet because unfortunately she has not been able to get home. it's just a mad house. it's crazy out in parkland right now. it's a huge school, so the evacuation is taking quite a long time. while i was on hold with you guys, i got a text from her best friend who happens to be our neighbor, zhoe gordon. she is stuck inside the classroom. i'm not sure how many kids are with her [ inaudible ]. and if you give me one second, i can try to read what she said. >> sure. >> she said, she said i'm locked in my classroom. the classroom right next to the freshman building where the shooter was. i think we're being evacuated soon, but i got the same thing 45 minutes ago. so, poor kid. i was with her mother 45 minutes ago when she sent the same message to her mom and now 45 minutes later she's still in the classroom. she's fine, the kids in her classroom are fine, but just, you know, i don't know, the police are aware. i hope they know there are

children still in this building. there are about 3,000 plus kids i think in this school, quite a large school. again, my daughter is safe. i haven't been able to see her or hug her. i was told by, you know, oddly enough i can't reach her, but her friend stuck inside the classroom told me that my daughter was crying. she was very nervous because she was walking to a friend's house the opposite direction. so, where we live which is less than two miles away, close to that wal-mart where most kids are seeking refuge, there is a perimeter and i guess there are cops everywhere. i'm inside my home so i can't see what's happening outside. i do know it's pretty chaotic. and, again, i'm just waiting for my daughter to come home. it's been really nerve racking. you don't think this kind of thing was going to happen. we were just voted one of the safest cities in the country and today here we are. >> lysette, did any of your daughter in any text to you or from her friend that's also been in communication with you, did

any of them describe the shooter in any way, or if he was looking for anyone, if he was moving room to room? did they -- you said they were in the building next to where the shooter was. did they have a sense of whether he was looking for someone in particular or did it seem random based on the texts from your daughter and her friend? >> unfortunately, i don't have that kind of information from her. i think she was just texting me the essential information. i might know more later when she comes home. what i did hear from other kids, because some of her friends got out way earlier than she did, 20 minutes i didn't hear from her so i was a nervous wreck because i was like why are her friends out and she's not. her friend, her best friend, our neighbor, is the one who is across, i just read to you. about my daughter -- let me see what my daughter says. please tell them someone is hurt on my floor, third floor 1200 building. apparently the shooting took place on the floor where my daughter was and that is why i

was absolutely terrified because her last text to me was at 2:48 in the afternoon and i didn't hear from her again. so, i believe what happened is that her phone just died. but again, i'm grateful that she's out. i pray for the victims. i'm not sure how many there are. i guess when she comes home i'm going to have more details. i did hear some kids saying it sounded like balloons were popping, the fire alarm, i believe, went off. but, you know, i will not have details till later this afternoon when she comes home. >> lysette, i heard on your local film coverage earlier in this school they have trained very recently for a situation just like this, an active shooter situation. obviously i have kids in school. as a parent you shutter when you hear they've trained for that. did you ever think the day would come when that training would be put to use? >> no, not at all. i didn't grow up like this. and what's really sad is my daughter is a sophomore.

she has always, always asked me to be home schooled just simply for the fear that something like this would happen, you know. and i always confidently told her, don't worry, we live in such a great neighborhood. it just goes to show you that this kind of thing can happen anywhere at any time. you know, we can't take it for granted and gun control is so important and mental health issues are so important. i don't know the details of why, i don't even know who it was, but nonetheless, your heart goes out to the victims, to the parents of whoever the shooter was. you don't raise a kid to grow up to be a shooter. you don't know what's going on in the minds of people who do this kind of thing. it's just really nerve racking. i do know the school does prepare they have. i was -- asner vus nervous as knew she knew what she had to do. when my son was in preschool, they taught them what to do here. that is a very positive thing in the schools in our local area, that they have been trained for such a thing.

>> lysette rosen blatt, we are grateful to have some of your time. we are thankful that your daughter is safe and wish you the best. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> tim kavanagh, former atf special agent in charge now an msnbc counterterrorism expert joins us now. i want to ask you, jim, when you hear of these kids able to text to their parents that they're in a classroom next to where the shooter is carrying out his -- we don't know yet what he was carrying out, but they were close enough to hear the shots, what do you expect, what kinds of things are going to unfold in the next few hours? will we learn the extent of the injuries? will we learn a motive? what is going on inside law enforcement and what is happening on the scene right now? >> well, you know, wie may get heavy tidings if there are wounds in there. there are reports of a lot of wounds. hopefully the tactical medics,

the s.w.a.t. teams move on those fast. so, if there are people that are bleeding in there, they're in there with s.w.a.t. as they go in and they try to stop the bleeding. we have extensive programs and all the s.w.a.t. teams with tactical medics. so, that's some good news. if they can stop a wound, they can help those people survive. the suspect looks like he fits the description exactly, nicolle, burgundy shirt, shorts, 5'8", male caucasian, he slipped out after the shooting is possible. they had deputies searching the perimeter with dogs. it's possible he slipped out into the tree line and was hiding and then located. it struck me when this first report came in, just three weeks ago -- three weeks ago in ben ton, kentucky, a student killed two other students and shot 20. and, you know, that was a young student, too. what we found in the atf go into

these things and working these things, these students, they get the guns usually from home. there's variations. sometimes they buy it on the street or from a friend, but most often it seemed like they just got it from home, a relative, they snuck it out of the house. and they were acting on some teenage angst, you know. it could be driven by grades or pressures or bullying or -- it's valentine's day. it could be driven by almost anything. and the child has access to a gun and then they go to the school. if the reports that were here on msnbc earlier from a witness from nbc miami said a child had reported that a shooter in the burgundy shirt pulled the fire alarm first, and then emptied the classrooms into the hallway before he started shooting. so, that would be quite a diabolical event if that's true.

but to finish answering your question is homicide detectives from broward s.o. are going to be interviewing this shooter. that's going to be extensive, ongoing. we're going to see a search warrant for his home. his parents are going to be interviewed. all his classmates. they are going to do a work up on why he would have done this, what's he been doing in the last three to six months that would have drove him to this. there's plenty of witnesses in these school shootings. there will be a charge. there will be the states attorney from broward county will bring a murder charge, reports we have of fatality are true, he'll be facing a murder charge, multiple murder charge, assault charges, gun charges. so, that's all has to transpire. sometimes we have a shooter who kills himself or the tactical officers kill the shooter. and then we don't have a trial. this is a case where there is going to be a criminal trial with a shooter in custody. so, that's going to be a real important note for the detective

bureau and all the agents going forward because they've got to tighten up and get their evidence right. after they help all the victims in the school, that's already happening. it's not in our sight right now, but that's already happening right now. >> michael balboni, i remember watching columbine and the shock and the horror was indescribable. now you see a tank there outside of a school, there is an active shooting situation that went on for several hours today. how has this become the norm? >> what we do is try to recognize the tempo of these types of things. sandy hook, a horrific shooting not too long ago that spurred so much legislation to try to change things. but what we find is the tactical response, strategic response. they didn't have bear cats like that 20 years ago. it is used for these specific types of purposes.

it could be shooting coming from a building, but you need to get in there quickly. one of the things jim talked about, also the change we've seen in the school preparedness, that we have had training. they are getting people to understand shelter in place. the guy pulls the fire alarm, he understands that that's what's going to happen. he needs to get people out into the hallway to make for easier targets. so, it begins to get one little data point about that type of preparation in his mind-set. as jim said, the fact this guy did not take his life, most of these are over quickly by the shooter taking their own lives. in this case the fact this individual is now available for not only prosecution, but understanding why did you do this, how did you get the weapons, what type of steps did you take. that's very, very important. not just for this instance, but things we can learn for future. >> and what jim called it diabolical, this idea of pulling the alarm. you both honed in on this. does that get to a profile of the shooter? is that why that is such an important piece of the story for

both of you? >> the investigators will obviously come in and based upon the evidence that they have, will begin to develop some type of a profile for what happened. but what it just says is that he didn't walk into the school and start shooting. he actually had the frame of mind to go and drive people into the hallways by pulling the fire alarm and that means he's looking for targets of opportunity. and really want to inflict as much damage and injury as he possibly could. >> we are joined now by the mayor of parkland, florida, christine. first, our thoughts, our prayers, our best wishes and our hopes that everyone is all right are with you. i think i speak for just about everyone watching this on our television sets. how are you doing and how are the students doing? >> thank you. we really appreciate that. it's been tough. i've seen several students who were inside when this happened. they are very understandably

upset, shocked. when i first got here, we didn't have much information. the parents were very understandably -- any of us who are parents completely understand how worried they were. thank goodness for cell phones and the ability to text. so several of them heard from their children and that put them at ease. we are very small, close-knit community here and it's a very sad day for us. >> do you have any information on the numbers of people who were injured in today's shooting? >> i have no first-hand information. when i got here, they were just beginning to set up the perimeter, the first responders and the police. and i have heeded their wishes and i have remained outside the perimeter with everybody else and allowed them to do their job. today, you know, we talk often about how proud we are of our police and our first responders,

and it's a day like today we are grateful more than ever to have them. >> your senator, one of your senators, bill nelson, reported on our air just before 4:00 that there were, in his words, a number of fatalities. do you have any information on that? >> i do not have any firsthand information and, therefore, don't feel comfortable saying one way or another. i have not heard firsthand. >> we appreciate that. i wonder if you are hearing anything from local law enforcement officials on the ground -- and i'm sure there are federal law enforcement officials joining them soon if they haven't already. >> yes, the federal law enforcement is already here. the law enforcement is mainly still inside the school building. they have been going section by section, making sure it's safe and letting the students out as they clear the area. >> yeah, and if i could just

point out for a minute, we had a momon mom on a little while ago who heard from a friend of her daughter who wanted you and law enforcement to know that i think on the third floor, the freshman building, there were still some kids locked in their classroom next to where the shooter was. so, if i could just pass that on, on the third floor -- >> yes, i appreciate it. we are systematically going through and they're doing a wonderful job and we're very thankful to have everybody here. >> what will your community do once the extent of today's tragedy is known to support these kids and the school? >> we will do everything we can. for those who don't know, parkland is a very small city in the northwest corner of broward county. we are a very close-knit community. we are a community that gives back all the time. and our city will do everything we can to support the students

and the parents and everyone involved going forward. >> and i understand from watching your local coverage that this is a school that is, until today, a very safe, desirable place to be, but a school that as every professional school does trained for a day like today. are you on a day like today glad that your schools and the people that run your school were prepared for the worst? >> yes. so, the schools in our area are run by our county, they are broward county schools, and we are very grateful -- unfortunate it is that way, but we're grateful the broward county school system has put measures in place to train for events like these. >> mayor christine, thank you so much for spending some time with us. our thoughts will be with you well past today. we hope everyone is safe and we wish all your students there and the teachers well. >> thank you very much.

we appreciate it. >> so, you know, a few more pieces of the picture. not many clear yet, and obviously the focus is on whatever is happening inside those walls. i mean, just sitting here together, you and i have pieces of the story that maybe people on the perimeter don't, there are still students waiting to be evacuated. here again, the image of the person that's been taken into custody wearing a shirt that matches the description that was coming in while the active shooter situation was ongoing. at this point now we're about 25 minutes after he's been apprehended. what's happening right now? >> now is really all about the victims. >> what are they trying to find out from this individual? >> unless he says something, that he just burst out with something himself, they're going to put him into a place and get him into an area where they're going to then obviously secure him and begin the interview process. depending upon how and when,

what detective will be in charge of this case, what the federal agency is going to be, what they want to do in terms of their pace, and then they'll take him to a place where they'll have that discussion and find out, again, what's happening now in terms of his home. they are going to get to his home real quick. >> computer, facebook, twitter. he's on a stretcher so it's possible i suppose that he sustained some injury. he looked like he was standing ably a moment ago. >> nicolle -- >> go ahead, jim. >> yeah, let me get in here. i think what happened there, probably this police officer in his cruiser here might have been the one who made the arrest, and the agents are taking a picture of the officer and the suspect together. that was the thing we routinely did when you get in these big crowded things. because who made the arrest, that's the officer that made the caller. they might have been doing that, but they were certainly taking pictures of the suspect, front and back, for a description. that's what they were spinning him around, and then they're

putting him on for probably some -- maybe some medical check. but just like mr. balboni said, they're going to take him homicide bureau. that's going to have the ticket only him. he's going to the broward county homicide bureau and they're going to be interrogating him, they're going to get everything out of him, why he did it, what's the reason, who he attacked. we talked about the fire alarm. i think just read ing into that, looking at the behavior of these guys, it seems like rather than trying to attack maybe an individual classmate or student, he might have been attacking, you know, the school at large. everybody is against me kind of thing. and, you know, he pulls the fire alarm and then of course the hallways flood, he almost can't miss if he's shooting. so, possibly that's going on there. we're not for sure. but they're taking their steps now because the detectives, the officers know this is going to be a major court case for the state's attorney in broward and

they want to get everything just right. that's when you see very good methodical police work, taking the photographs, they're processing everything, they're going to have photographs of the suspect, they're going to bring him in for interview. they're going to serve the search warrant at his home. they're going to be interviewing his parents who, no doubt, are going to be in sad and bad shape as well. and it's going to be just a long overnight investigation. the scene investigation is going to be just as long and difficult. >> let me share this with those of you, we are learning from the superintendent of the school there are numerous fatalities. does that change anything? and i wonder, i'm cog any sanity -- cognizant as a parent there are parents in florida watching. you speak about methodical police work. that feels like a term of art. can you break it down for a terrorized parent? why would an evacuation, once a suspect has been apprehended, be

so slow? what's happening? >> what jim said is very important. what they're doing is slowing it down. they're going to take their time as it relates to the suspect. what's happening at the scene is quite opposite. the pace has gotten as frantic as it needs to be to get people who are injured -- >> to the hospital. >> that needs help out of there. they'll leave obviously people who suffered fatalities, those are obviously not going to be moved. they're going to be secured as well. but there is so much going on here now. the priority is the triage, who is alive, who is injured, and identifying those individuals, get them the help they need. and of course the horrific process of notification, of talking to parents. and loved ones as to what's actually transpired. that's now going to come. they have to get that right. in a hectic scene like this, you can't rush to say, well, this is the person's name, whatever. i've actually seen it happen and

it's really, really terrible. so, they are slowing down when it comes to that, but again, the speed for the suspect as jim said is slow and methodical. the speed at the scene for the victims who need aid is fast. and getting them to the hospitals. but then it comes to a longer period of time where you sit there and say, all right, who has been killed and who has been injured. >> all right. let's reset a little bit for anyone just joining us. a school shooting in south florida. we are learning from the school superintendent that there are numerous fatalities, something that one of florida senators said on our air, senator bill nelson, also reporting that there are a number of fatalities. we are watching images of the suspected murderer, if that happens to hold up, being taken away. he was apprehended. the person that was apprehended was the person that looked like matched the description of the

suspect, so we're drawing some conclusions here. we heard it was a white man in a maroon shirt. there you're looking at a white man in a maroon shirt. this is a school that, based on the coverage of the local anchors that i watched over an hour of -- and they know this school and this community better than anybody in new york would -- described as an incredibly happy and safe community that would never imagine a day like this. jim, can you just talk about how, how this can happen anywhere? >> it does, it can and it will sadly, nicolle. it's just our society. i mean, we just don't have the wherewithal or the guts to change it. we are living with it. you know, just one comment before i continue on that, the normal procedure here is to set up a family center, and the broward s.o. will do that. there will be a family center.

that's where the parents and family, people who they have not yet been released, will go. so, that will be somewhere nearby. but yes, we just talked about kentucky three weeks ago. we could all go down chapter and verse of school shootings all around in our own home states and our regions across the country. some of the most horrific, you know, of course, newtown, columbine. there is' many more. virginia tech. we have these unbelievable horrific stories. you know, having been in the business so long, it's so sad to see the same behavior happen again and again. you know, i remember talking to one metropolitan chief. we were in the middling of violent crime issues in the city, and he said, you know, if we could just get people to quit putting their guns in their glove boxes and under their seats because there are so many thefts and those guns all turn up in crime. you know, it's true. we have so many of the guns that are attained by criminals in

burglaries and car thefts. and these school things, they usually come right out of the home. >> right. >> you know, when you're sitting -- just think about your kids' school. there are parents of kids in that school in every school who have guns at home who do not secure the guns. >> let me jump in with some new information for all of us here. the broward sheriff has tweeted out some new information confirming that there are at least 14 victims. the victims have been and continue to be transported to broward health medical center and broward health north hospital. so, that feels like some good news mixed with bad. those are injured victims. you were speaking about a moment ago about the urgency at the scene that seems to match exactly what you just described, michael. >> again, what jim mentioned the family system center they're going to set up is going to be the primary point of contact for

parents. look at the scene. you've got this perimeter all of these parents coming into this area. the chaos still continues, notwithstanding the images there because people aren't allowed near the building. >> right. >> so, that is going to be very, very important aspect of this, is to how you get information to the families. >> jim? >> yeah, i think you know what happens, nicolle, we as parents, we have our kids go to school, middle school, high school, college, they grow up. as they are growing up, we want to have as much confidence in them as we can. we all say we teach them safety, we teach them firearm safety, we teach them vehicle safety. we teach them to do things the right way. many of these incidents occur with children whose parents would describe their life just the same way. that they never thought their child would do that. they went hunting, they went target shooting with their guns. they knew gun safety. they believed in that. but what they fail to understand is if the children are not fully developed, their minds at these

pa ages, 14, 15, 17 even, they're not fully developed, they don't have the judgment and what happens is they can act on impulse. they can be bullied or something. then if that firearm is accessible to them, they might act on it. if you get everybody in your school, if all the parents would secure their guns, exponentially your school would be safer. i'm just sad to see these things happen. it will be interesting to see where the gun came from. it could have come from off the street. it could have been stolen. he could have stole it or it could have come from home. i'm always interested to see. >> i'm going to add someone else who i'm sure isn't pleased to be an expert in the area of school shootings, but he is. joining us here on set is bill bratton, former n.y.p.d. commissioner, and senior law enforcement analyst. we have been covering this school shooting at the marjorie stow man high school in parkland, florida.

a school that houses more than 3,000 high school students. the broward sheriff has confirmed there are 14 victims being transported to two different hospitals in the area, but we also have two government officials. one, the superintendent of the school, and the other one of florida's senators, senator bill nelson, who reported on our air that there are a number of fatalities. we have also seen a suspect. we believe him to be the suspect, but that all unfolds in due time, apprehended and transported in an ambulance. i wonder if you can weigh in on what we've seen today. >> well, unfortunately we are seeing it with much more frequency, the number of school shooting incidents just since the first of the year is astonishing. so, a new normal in some respects. >> oh, god. hope not. >> it is going to require a lot of new training in terms of how to deal with this in the

schools. police after columbine totally refocused how they deal with these things in terms of gathering outside. they go right in. but the complexity of dealing with school shooting incidences is incredibly complex. large facilities with multiple rooms and very difficult to respond to when you have a shooting incident. but it's going to take a lot more training, practice. the reality is this is something that is going to continue to occur. >> so, as you describe a new normal, let's just underscore what the new normal looks like. a tank parked inside a high school in a community described as desirable and happy and safe. high school students streaming out after being evacuated from an active shooter situation, and an investigation now into what flipped the switch on the young man who walked into a school on valentine's day, pulled the fire

alarm or reportedly pulled the fire alarm and started shooting. what are the first questions you want answered from that suspect who looks from the images we've aired, alive and well? >> well, what you want first off if you can is motive, what was this all about. was it a bullying issue, which is oftentimes the case in a school shooting, was it a romantic issue. what was behind it. does not appear at this time to be a terrorist incident in the sense of a muslim-inspired type of situation. so, from a police perspective, they're going to very quickly try to determine what was the motive. in the las vegas shooting, the horrific shooting at the hotel a month or so ago, one of the issues is that there is no closure there as to what was behind that mad man's shooting spree. so, at least if you can find a motive, it might help you to work on preventing the next one in a sense of identifying what's

going on in the young man's mind that another teacher in another school at some point in time might be taught to learn to recognize that here's a kid that is going off the rails. so, you try to learn from every one of these. >> and what was the hardening of schools that took place in the years after columbine? i mean, i heard from the local coverage that they had trained for an active shooter situation. just the thought is terrifying, but as you are attesting to, this is the new normal. >> once the kids are in, close the doors, lock the doors, still have emergency access. a lot of schools now have police on the premises full time, armed security officers. training has ramped up significantly. speaking for the l.a. police department school system, huge one, new york, huge one, a lot of training, drills that are

conducted in the schools. always a need to do more, and i think the rapidity with which we're seeing these incidents is going to require a lot more. what do you do in these situations, both students, teachers, police? >> we heard from the mother, you and i were here when lysette talked about, you know, and obviously this is probably an hour of extreme stress and trauma for her. her daughter is safe, but she threw out the idea of being so worried about something like this that she considered home schooling. is this where we are, that if you have a child in school, you must be prepared for the day when a child as young as preschool comes home and says, guess what i did today? i prepared for an active shooter situation? >> what it does, it changed the conversation in terms of the pta. what about technology? do we need to put cameras in the school? what is the relationship with the police? it used to be the schools were

the schools, police were the police. now there's all sorts of technology being put out there, and here's your floor plan. if you're responding to a school. so, these types of realities, these types of discussions are now happening. and school budgets have to reflect security spends. when -- that wasn't a part of what we were doing, so it's changed that concept. in terms of not going to a school, the problem is the violence is so random. how do you predict it? it comes out of nowhere into these communities and so you get this feeling that no one's safe. we're going to do everything to make sure we are safe. >> how does the community -- you mentioned terrorism as you said. there is no suggestion that this was terrorism, but the students have been terrorized by the fact that their classmate, kids their age in this school, in the next classroom, at least 14 of them

were injured and have been transported to area hospitals. and as i said, we have two reports of a number of fatalities. how does a school begin to heal from the trauma of being terrorized in that manner? >> the new normal, the idea of having systems in place to very quickly move counseling capabilities into the school. even the idea of when they have an evacuation like this, where is the area where the parents are instructed to go so they can reconnect with their kids? it is really a reeducation of the whole population about how to deal with this type of issue because it is occurring with such frequency, and for each one you try to learn the idea of the random nature. local police are getting more adept at is watching social media to see if somebody in their environment, in one of their schools, in one of their communities, posting that's giving an early warning that something might be going on. there's so much to learn from

these. there is so much more that can be done to prevent, but you can't prevent it all unfortunately. >> the white house press secretary put out a statement saying the president has spoken with florida governor scott, offered federal assistance if needed. the department of homeland security spoke with governor scott as well as state and local officials. she briefed the president, the governor, secretary and other officials will continue to keep the president updated. what can the federal government do after the fact to, other than aiding and speeding with technology and forensic technology -- what resources can the federal government bring to bear after the fact? >> aid, school aid. you make it a priority. you get spending bills out there that say you have to do these types of security, but security is local. it's all local. it's all in your building. it's all in your community. and you have to design systems

that the community will support. the community will understand, but then you have to keep continuing. it's not just -- you can't say, school, we've done all our efforts, we can move on. that's why training comes in, awareness, the social media monitoring. all the different aspects. it is a living, breathing environment. unfortunately the threat can come from anywhere. you have to identify it as early as you can and respond in uh way that is effective. >> i'm going to bring clint. you've been listening to michael balboni, former homeland state advisor. bill bratener is with us, former n.y.p.d. commissioner. we are now joined by clint watts, former special agent with the terror task force, now an msnbc national security analyst. we like to see you on days when we're not covering a story this h horrific. we now know 14 individuals have

been transferred to two hospitals in broward county. two officials, the superintendent of schools, the other florida senator bill nelson, quote, there are a number of fatalities. and we have seen a suspect be apprehended and transported in an ambulance. your thoughts just at this point? >> the one thing that i do notice about this is, you know, it's a tragedy and it's become all too regular. but the response seems to be very organized in terms of law enforcement. now, i think while it is devastating to have these 14, you're seeing procedures really play out we didn't see 15, 20 years ago. i was listening on the radio just some of the accounts that were coming out of there. you had students that were responding in the right way, teachers doing the right thing. so, i'm hoping that some of these measures they've been taking, precautions they've been taking in schools are going to be a difference maker of even worse situation today. it's going to be tragedy all the way through and we have to look at motive. but what i am feeling at least if there is anything good to feel about it is that the

suspect was apprehended. sounds like pretty quick. there is no real evidence that another shooter or team of shooters. so hopefully this is resolving quickly. >> it is remarkable to hear all three of you underscore the way we have adapted to the new normal. that the silver lining here is that more people weren't hurt. the silver lining is that schools have figured out how to deal with active shooters in the schools. how do we -- do any of you have thoughts on how we don't find ourselves here day after day, week after week? >> well, we talked earlier about we now have a suspect who is alive. so, we're going to need a motive and backtrack where the signals missed about this young man's behavior. so, a lot of what you're trying to do is find ways before the fact to identify signals. social media -- >> for intervention. >> exactly, see something, say

something. >> nbc news reporter tammy lightener is speaking with a mom whose daughter is safe. let's listen in. >> classroom, and the teacher was fantastic. she put them in the closet, they locked the kids in the closet and kept them safe. >> wh >> reporter: what was like that for he, to get the call and text? >> heart breaking. the text, and then you hear there are some deaths and everything because you're thinking, okay, is it going to be your daughter, you know, or your son and everything. so, it was very heart breaking. very upsetting. >> reporter: and what was she [ inaudible ]? ee >> she was just saying, mom, i'm sorry, i've been cranky. i love you. you know, basically saying good-bye to me. >> reporter: that must have been scary. >> it was. my husband and my son came straight up here. i'm just happy i've heard from her, but i just can't wait to hold her.

>> reporter: did she say she knew the shooter or knew the victims? >> no, she hasn't seen the shooter and she hasn't seen the victims. but she just said when they had her walk out when it was safe enough, there was glass everywhere and she was really just scared and shook up very badly. and she was with a lot of friends, so -- >> reporter: and the teacher was really heroic? >> yes. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? >> she basically just tried to keep them calm and just keep them safe. she said try not to be on your phones. let's keep it silent because at that time the shooter was walking around and they didn't know where he was at that time, you know? >> reporter: and he said that she put them in the closet? >> yes, she had them in the closet. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]. >> yes, that's what i've heard. that's what she was saying. >> reporter: and where is your daughter now? >> i heard she was on home back

road. we can't get over there so another mother who lives close over there is going to pick her up and bring her to the park here. as soon as she comes, i'll bring her over to talk to you guys. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]. >> so joining us now is steve figueroa, a father of the student still inside of the schools. how are you doing? caesar, can you hear us? >> yes. >> how are you doing? and what's your latest understanding of things on the scene there? >> yes, i'm still here. thank god, my daughter is in the classroom still. one of the teachers were knocking on doors and my daughter was scared to open the closet, didn't know who it was, and then she said her name and she opened up and her friends came out of the closet. they told her that she still has to stay in the classroom, protocol, they have to do some stuff in there. but i did see the kids.

they did talk to the kids [ inaudible ]. she did text them so thank god. >> so, you know the name of the shooter, you recognized him when he drove by you? >> i didn't know who he is. but his name, i was told by several parents, several people here, nicolas cruz was the name. >> and is it your understanding from what you heard from the parents that the individual is, indeed, the shooter? was the shooter? >> he was 100% the shooter. red hair, freckles. i heard he was -- i'm actually with a student right now, he's in my car helping him charge his phone. waiting for his brother who is a senior. >> i'm sorry. >> go on. >> in your text with your daughter, is that a name that your daughter saw or witnessed?

>> no, no. they might have texted back and forth, her and her friends. >> what kind of messages did your daughter send? was she close enough to hear the shots? >> she said she heard shots and she heard the window blow. >> and she's waiting now for an instruction to leave -- she's out of the closet, but waiting to be led out of the classroom where you are? >> correct. i'm pretty sure the detective or somebody will want to talk to the kids. >> and how many parents are at that perimeter? have most parents come to the school to be reunited and find their kids? >> yes. the police came to us, a few parents are leaving. some kids are coming out. they said to wait at the marriott hotel in harem bay. i'm not leaving yet was because

daughter is in the classroom. >> but she's been texting you and she's safe? >> yes, correct. >> did she say anything about the initial actions at the school? we've been talking a lot about how your daughter's school was prepared for a day like today. did they immediately follow a procedure of being led into the closet where it sounds like a lot of students were hiding? >> i heard, i heard [ inaudible ] with it. i spoke to a student saying that when the fire drill was going on, the teacher said, no, stay in the classroom, you know. so, there was supposed to be a fire drill [ inaudible ]. yeah, the school, the teacher told the kids it was going to be a surprise. >> caesar, are you still there?

>> [ inaudible ]. they were supposed to do something with the county tonight, so the kids -- they said it was supposed to be random. they didn't know when. and then this happens. so -- >> so, a lot of confusion. caesar, we're grateful to you for getting on the phone with us on a day like today. we're glad your daughter is safe. thank you so much. >> no problem. >> so, clint, almost exactly to your point, teachers -- we have two witnesses there or two accounts from parents, lisa copping and caesar figueroa, describing that their daughters were both inside closets, describing almost exactly the protocols you're talking about, that schools know what to do now. >> yeah, it's unprecedented we've gone in the last 15 years to instead of reacting like a tornado, we're reacting to an active shooter. this is our new drill in the classrooms in america. and, you know, what price will we pay sort of for this disease

that is going around our country. i mean, we've had several active shooters in the last few weeks. this is obviously one that is going to be far more deadly than some of the others, or at least in terms of casualties and wounded. and at what price do we essentially do this? one of the mothers i heard talking on the radio said, i can't believe they don't have metal detectors at the school. >> right. >> because anybody can bring anything in a bag. at what point are we going to start to rethink how we deal with weapons in this country. it's not a coincidence we have a much looser gun control policy and we have a lot more active shooter situations compared to the european countries. there seems to be no threshold that we'll reach with these attacks where we actually engage in this sort of debate. it is the new normal. i think people are numb to it. our classrooms are now -- we were talking about putting metal detectors in. teachers know the drill. the greater fear is probably an active shooter situation and it happens repeatedly all across the country.

this isn't unique to any one place. and we'll dwell on one or two terrorism cases that are maybe, sometimes, but we'll ignore five or ten of these active shooter situations and forget about it. >> forget about it. >> an unbelievably comment democratic a rch ary, but everything you said is correct. and caesar attached a name to that suspect. nbc news has not confirmed that that is the name of the suspect. and the parent gave him a telephone that happens among parents at anytimes can be unreliable and i'm sure that holds true during the worst of times. so we'll wait until nbc news can verify the suspect's name. but i wonder if you can respond to clint's analysis of how numb we've become to these images of students being evacuated from an

shooter situation at a high school campus and it looks like s.w.a.t. teams there and tanks in the school parking lot. >> i think he is correct, this becomes so common place that the images are no longer shock. and our attention span to these incidents has shortened, also. i was very involved in the las vegas incidents and aftermath of that in vegas. and it was amazing how quickly that mass murder literally dissipated. part of the somethis is, and yo deal with this in the political scene, it is coming at you so fast that you can only report it, we can't analyze it. we are sitting here analyzing which is actually unusual. >> and i have a little bit more

reporting. over on the network, they just did an interview with audrey diaz, sounds like she is a student. she said at first i was across campus, not near the freshman building. i heard the fire alarm, didn't think any of it because we had a fire alarm drill this morning. and then we were told it is not a drill and to keep walking. police and ambulances started to arrive and police told us to keep walking. that is the new normal for high school students in america? >> when you think about the impact of social media, the kids are so cocooned in your own spaces, they are all about that phone. and one thing that strikes me, why wouldn't they get a text right there and say go to ground, get in a safe place because there is an active shooter on campus. but in terms of the day to day, it is just a new reality for all of us that this would be something that we have to constantly think about. but then the challenge of course becomes how do you get something that is good for all localities,

that everyone will embrace. is this this is a democracy and even has different views on what is acceptable in terms of gun rights and mental health. virginia tech, very debate. this guy had had health counseling. how does that figure in, how do you prevent people. and i've been in the legislature for 20 years. saw all these different bills that came forward, all these different opportunities to make people safer and yet there is so much resistance because one size does that fit all. >> and we're joined now by audrey diaz. i just read a little of the description that you went through, but tell us what happened today. you heard a fire alarm and you thought it was a drill, but then you were told to keep walking. when did you learn that there was a shooter at your school? >> so we started seeing a helicopter above us and a bunch of police cars coming --

[ inaudible ] >> sounds like we've lost audrey. we'll try to reconnect with her. but i wonder commissioner what you make of the idea that the students didn't know there was something going on until what i have to imagine were the local news helicopters above. >> what she was saying with nbc earlier was that the first awareness that there was something going on was the rapid rifrl of arrival of a lot of police and police helicopter overhead. that's what she was describing. if you think of it, we're talking about this awful tragedy, but we're a kcountry that is engulfed with gun related incidents. and the u.s. senate will be debating whether on or not any

american can travel anywhere in the country with a firearm at anytime concealed. >> conceal and carry. >> so you get so angry about this issue, that here we are again, there will be grieving families tonight again, there will be 3,000 families concerned for their child again. and the u.s. senate is sitting around basically discussing well let's get everybody a gun so that -- meanwhile the senate is one of the most heavily fortified places in america. can't carry a gun in the senate, but you can carry it anyplace else. >> a remarkable point. let's bring in brandon, a student at the school. br brandon, how are you doing? >> doing well. just trying to get my brother out and get home safely. >> have you been in contact with your brother?

>> yes, he is safe and i'm pretty sure he is evacuated by now. >> was he in that freshman building where it sounds like most people were in the closest proximity to the shooter? >> he was in the building across from it. >> and did you or he hear the shooting take place? >> you can repecan you repeat t? >> did you or your brother heard the shooting? >> i heard the gunshots. we went outside for the fire drill and once we got outside, i started hearing gun shots. >> did you ever see the suspect? >> no, but i know someone who has. >> is there any understanding at this early point about why this happened today? >> clueless. i've known this kid and he seemed a little on off. >> did he have a lot of friends? >> as far as i know, no.n off.

>> did he have a lot of friends? >> as far as i know, no. off. >> did he have a lot of friends? >> as far as i know, no.off. >> did he have a lot of friends? >> as far as i know, no. >> did he say anything, have you heard from flynn thanyone that d the shooting if he said anything before he started shooting? >> no. he used to go here but doesn't anymore. >> so if it is the person you believe to be, he is not a current student? >> correct. i'm pretty sure he is no longer a student. >> we haven't confirmed the name so i'm not going to repeat it, but if it is the person that you think it is, were you surprised to learn that this was the person who carried out the shooting at your school? >> honestly, no. >> why not? >> because he was just odd and quiet. i heard that in the past that he had been kicked out of two private schools, was held back twice. just seemed a little off. >> brandon, we're so glad you and your brother are safe and we appreciate you for getting on the phone with us. go home and hug your folks. we'll listen into the sheriff

now. >> -- united states of america to help us get through this. questions? [ inaudible question ] >> he was found off campus. i don't exactly know where. i believe he was found in the city of coral springs by coconut creek police officer. that is unconfirmed right now. [ inaudible question ] >> was he an outsider? >> from what i understand, there was a time where he did attend the school. i don't know why he left. i don't know when he left. [ inaudible question ] >> that is correct, he was not a current student. [ inaudible question ] >> i wasn't there, but i was told that there was no confrontation. can you hear me? he was taken into arrest without incident. >> do you have anyone else in custody? >> no. just one.

[ inaudible question ] >> i believe he was approximately 18 years old. >> just one dead? >> multiple. >> and you said the school is not safe right now. there are still children inside. what have you heard? >> well, we believe at this point that all children that we know about are cleared and are outside the building. however, we didn't know if there are any injured people, if there are people hiding. so we will not begin to release information origin to open up the crime scene until the squat oig c s.w.a.t. components say the school is safe and clear. when i hear all clear, we'll begin the next phase of the investigation. >> were any teachers dead or only students? >> i have no idea. >> injuries approximately how many? >> i don't know how many injuries, but we know 14 people were transported to area hospitals with varying degrees of wounds. what we'll do is we'll wait for the school to be cleared, we'll go in to the next phase. i know this is critically

important to release information to broward county and we will keep you up-to-date. but for right now, there is no more information. >> you can talk about where the shooter was? and i know there are a lot of rumor, but we heard that there was a drive-by, was the shooter inside the school? >> he was outside and inside at varying terms. thank you. >> in terms of the dead, have all the families been notified? >> all right. you've been listening to sheriff giving us an update on what he knows about the shooter. >> that was the broward county sheriff's office there holding their first of what we expect to be many press conferences here on this school shooting at marjory stoneman douglas high school. park land is about 40 miles northwest of ft. lauderdale. it's sort of on the edge of where the broward county starts to meet the everglades. the shooter