question who she is, making her question her faith in humanity. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> this is "dateline". >> it was chaos. >> a day at the mall turns into mayhem. >> lots of screaming. lots of gunfire. they had a demeanor like they owned the place. >> panicked moms protecting their kids. >> i just kept telling them to be quite like amos. >> my goodness. he's going to cry. this is it. >> kids forced to protect one another. >> you grabbed your brother.

>> and just ran. >> and from out of the blue a hero. >> i called to her to run toward me and she starts running. >> could he rescue the very smallest of victims. >> when portia got up and ran, did you have a moment where you thought oh my god. >> welcome to dateline. newtown, orlando, las vegas, mass shootings are all too frequent here in the u.s. and overseas, they carried out a deadly attack. it was an afternoon of shopping when gunmen turned it into a scene of bloodshed but what also emerged that day were remarkable stories of survival. heres kate snow.

>> it's the modern day town square. a gathering place that fulfills our every need, shopping, eating, socializing, a trip to the mall is an escape on weekends, and not just in america, in nairobi, kenya, the upscale and modern westgate mall was the place to unwind at the end of the work week. it was the last place you would expect something like this. >> gunshots, explosions, armed men taking over every floor, methodically shooting anyone in their way. that was the unbelievably brutal scene that played out in front of a shocked world, september 21st, 2013. just after the smoke cleared, dateline travelled to nairobi. we'll take you inside the mall attack with harrowing scenes of how it unfolded and details from

those who lived through it. you'll hear from two mothers caught in the cross fire. >> it was terrifying. it really was. it was. >> two mothers caught on camera. >> what's going to happen? i'm going to die. >> the kids are going to die. >> in a matter of seconds, these moms, an american and aik kenya would go from strolling through the mall to being forced to make life and death decisions to save themselves and their children. >> for catherine walton, it began like any other saturday, with her husband phillip away on business, she took their five kids to the westgate mall. it was a place where all of them could be entertained, the teens and the toddlers. her kids liked the chicken place, the candy store. >> opportunity to walk around and kill a couple of hours and

we would go home and have naps and everybody would be happy. >> the waltons chose to move to kenya two years earlier from texas. from catherine and phillip it was like going home. they were both children of missionaries and grew up in west africa. they met in boarding school in africa and married in the states and started raising their families. at the time of the attack, he was 14 years old, ian 10, portia 2 and petra the baby, just 14 months old was born in kenya. >> their morning at the mall unfolded as any family's might. they had lunch together in the third floor food court. after lunch the boys decided to race down to the first floor to a big department store, sort of like a super walmart. mom and the three young girls were still finishing up lunch so they lagged behind. as they were walking through the mall to catch up with the boys, with the baby in a sling and the two toddlers holding mom's

hands, it happened. an explosion. >> the first thing that tells you something is wrong is a huge bang. >> yeah. >> coming from where. >> it was the main entrance, so it was off to my right and behind me. i remember turning around looking at it and just seeing people screaming and running. >> in those first seconds, catherine was unsure what was happening. she thought it sounded like broken glass or something falling but she immediately grasped that she and her girls were in danger. the chaos confused another mother not far from catherine on the main floor. faith was in the mall with her two children, her 9-year-old daughter and 21 month old son. the agricultural researcher was shopping for an anniversary present for her husband. she was in a flower shop when she first heard the noise.

>> it was so loud that i actually thought it must have been an earthquake and the building was collapsing. so that's the point when i told my kids to lie down. of course i'm scanning the area wondering where we're going to go. >> scenes captured on security cameras in the mall showed how quickly the attack begin. you can see machine gun bullets flashing down the main concourse as shoppers scramble and dive to the floor. >> then i saw rounds starting to hit the shops that were straight ahead. >> catherine's first thought, protect her kids. >> it was just instinct to grab the girls and run, but we must not have gone very far and a woman came and scooped up portia and we both ran right behind this display table. display cabinet. >> catherine, her girls and the kenyan woman took place at the only place they could. here they are crouching under a

flimsy temporary display table. >> petra was crying because i was laying on her and it was loud. very loud. very chaotic. >> what was happening around you? what were you hearing? >> everybody was scrambling. the shooting was coming from all directions. >> catherine new her boys had been headed toward that department store. amid all the noise and comotion she managed to call them and yell out a quick warning. >> i did don't come out, they're shooting. go, run, hide. do not come out. >> catherine knew the situation was dangerous, extremely dangerous, but at least she had some cover. faith and her kids were also trapped on the ground floor but out in the open, exposed to the gunmen talkistalking new victim >> i'm telling the kids to lie down. this continues and i knew there was shooting and i thought, wrong choice of hiding place.

i remember my daughter at one point asking me, mama, was this the best place we could hide? >> the assault continued. >> you're not hearing one gunman? >> no, it sounded like it was all over. and of course in the building it was just echoing. >> so you could look up and see other floors. >> where i was laying, i could see across and up the different levels. it was just chaos. >> what's the smell like? >> the whole mall was cloudy and smoke everywhere. gun powder burning smell. >> did any of them come anywhere near you. >> i saw two of them that walked from the main entrance in front of the line of stores that were directly in front of us. >> hold on. what did you see? you saw their feet go by. >> no, i saw them. i saw two hole men. they were 50 yards, 30 yards away. i don't know. >> what did they look like?

>> they had tan and grey clothing and they were carrying very, very large weapons. very large guns. >> hearing the gunfire and screams echoing through the mall, both catherine and faith could tell the gunmen were spreading out, killing people as they went along. two mothers trapped with young children worried they would be next. and a growing fear seized catherine, her boys were no longer answering their phones. where were they? >> coming up. >> the terrifying uncertainty for those inside the mall and loved ones outside. >> your wife and sons are in there and they're separated. >> soon a friend of catherine's who has been texting with her would go from worried to frantic. >> when she sent that, my heart just sunk. >> when dateline continues. wingardium levioka.

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armed men stormed into the we westgate mall in kenya firing round after fatal round. catherine walton was hunkered down near where the shooting started, crouched in a small kiosk with her stranger and three young daughters. she was worried about her surns that were out there and had to

focus on keeping her daughters quite so they wouldn't attract attention. >> were you hiding? >> yeah. we were laying down on the ground trying to hide so they couldn't see us. portia kept her fingers in her ears. gigi layed there and she said i want my mouse and my blanket and my flashlight. she said she wanted her brothers. i told her that we'd see them later. >> catherine could only hope that was true. half a world away a phone range in a hotel in north carolina. catherine's husband phillip, a tech entrepreneur had gone back to the u.s. for business meetings leaving his wife alone in nairobi with their five kids. >> i was woken up at 6:00 a.m. from a phone call from a dear family friend, so i knew it was nothing good. >> do you remember what he said? >> there's an attack going on at westgate and your wife and sons

are in there and they're separated. >> that's a call you don't want to have to make. >> he had been at home recovering from surgery when he got an urgent text from catherine. >> what time did the first message come in? >> 12:52. >> what did she say. >> pray, shooting in westgate, hiding. >> that's a message. >> it just blew me away. i wrote her back really? >> and she said yes, i don't know where the boys are. she said find blaise. >> paul texted their oldest son, but he didn't answer. >> somebody put out a statement on facebook saying don't call anybody because people are getting shot when their phone rings. >> paul didn't call but stayed in touch with catherine through text messages, her lifeline to the outside world. i sent a text get me out of here. not like i thought he could but i was desperate. >> she didn't text her husband

phillip because she knew he was too far away to do anything and knew she would only panic him. back in north carolina all phillip could do was wait. it was 6:00 a.m. and news of the attack hadn't hit the u.s. yet. >> i'm trying to imagine the feeling of getting that phone call and being so far away. >> helplessness is a pretty accurate word. you know there's nothing that you can do. i was so worried that the girls would just be screaming uncontr uncontr uncontrolably panicking and drawing attention. >> exactly what catherine was trying to prevent the girls from doing. i kept telling them to stay little and stay very quite and the lady with portia kept patting her and soothing her and gigi was curled up in a little ball. her breathing was so quite and so shallow. i kept rubbing her back and touching her because i was like maybe she's hurt and i don't

realize it. >> cramped in her hiding spot, she was desperate to reach her boys after trying and trying, she finally got through again. >> i was able to send a text and just said are you okay? and he told me that they were okay, and that they were safe. >> you thought your boys had gotten out. >> i did. when he told me they were safe, i thought they had gotten out. >> but they hadn't. the walton boys were hiding in the back of the store. this cell phone video captured the battlefield the store became. >> the aisle were a bullet riddled maize. shoppers were stunned. some drawing fire. and now there were gunmen headed toward catherine's sons. >> faith was the other mother trapped in this nightmare. she had her two young children with her and was worried about controlling her toddler son.

they heard gunfire all around them. >> i was lying on him trying to shield him at one point and i said oh my goodness lying on this floor and i'm pressing down on his back. he must be so uncomfortable. at that point, i put my fingers in his mouth. hoping to give him something to suck on. >> they remained like that, frozen in place, first for minutes and then for an hour. she was terrified her son would start crying and give them away. >> i can see his face creasing into a cry and i know, my goodness, he's going to cry. this is it. >> coming up, faith makes a faithful choice. >> i thought now our cover has been blown. >> while our other mom catherine becomes terrified that she and her girls are moments away from being discovered. >> i knew as those men came around behind us that they could see us. >> when dateline continues.

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catherine walton was still in her makeshift hiding spot on the main floor of the mall. an hour into the attack, she was still trying to keep her three restless daughters contained under that flimsy table. their only protection from the roaming gunmen. it was a job that got harder as

the mall got quiter. >> petra picked up the phone and was playing with it and gigi was trying to take it away from her and then the shooting started again. it got underneath our bodies and i couldn't reach it. >> so you couldn't text anybody? >> i couldn't text anybody. i couldn't get ahold of anybody. >> i was texting her and then other people started calling me and saying this is really bad. we have seen pictures of people being killed. >> and she's not responding to you? >> no. >> just down the corridor, another mother struggled to keep her children quite. >> we're thinking about our survival and also thinking of running to an area that's safe. >> but there's nowhere else for faith and her children to go. she told them being quite wasn't enough. she made an incredible decision, they would all play dead. her then 9-year-old daughter could understand how porn it was to stay still.

amazingly, her son, then 2, seemed to sense it as well. he didn't move except for an occasional blink. men with machine guns scoured every inch of the mall. >> we were right next to a corridor where we could hear them passing from time to time but there was no way i was going to change my position. >> as the minutes drag into hours, knowing her son might stir at any moment, faith was relieved when he dozed off for a bit. >> he was lying there on the ground snoring away. i didn't know whether he was alive because one eye was shut and the other was open. an unusual way to sleep. >> hot, cramped with numb limbs, she urged her kids to fight the need to move. >> my daughter, whenever i felt she was twitching or changing position, i would just squeeze a little bit and she took that to mean stay still. >> but then 2-year-old ty woke up. faith wondered how much longer

he could hold on. she took a chance and played a game. she pretended glass and cements were insects to keep him distracted. >> there is an insect coming. he'd watch it so fascinated. >> the gunmen continued to troll the mall floors looking for victims. catherine was worried they would finally see her and the girls. after all, she was seeing the gunmen. >> when they walked by you, were they shooting? >> no, they were walking very slow. they almost had a demeanor like they owned the place. like they knew they were in control. >> did they see you? >> they looked my direction. i knew as those men came out and came around behind us, that they could see us. >> those men had already killed dozens of shoppers. in this video captured by a security camera, a wounded person is prodded by a terrorist. other parts too graphic to

broadcast show the gunmen callously shooting people throughout the mall, even the injured. as the siege dragged on th the outside world was beginning to see how terrifying it was. >> loud explosions tonight in the kenyan capitol of nairobi. >> those in the mall couldn't tell they were part of a terrorist attack. she and her two kids remain absolutely still. it was their only chance for survival, but her mind raced. >> thinking about my husband. where is he? how will he get to know about this incident? i'm wondering will my children get shot? will i get shot and my children have no mother. >> faith was determined to protect her children at any cost. >> i remember i was covering the children. my son's head and my daughter's head and i said any bullet would have to pass through me first before it gets to these children. >> faith and her children had been flat on the floor for a

full 3.5 hours. when suddenly, she heard something. >> we had heard voices from above us, higher floors asking us to get up. mother with children, you mother down there with the children. but immediately we got up on to our knees and were trying to get up to go, the shooting started again. >> she thought by moving, she had drawn attention to herself. >> we were scared first because we thought now our cover has been blown because now they know that we're really not dead. >> faith didn't trust anyone now so when a man approached, she was sure it wasn't good. >> and i felt someone touching me and i knew they had come for us because now they know we are alive. so i just layed down there and i remember telling my daughter, quite. >> faith has to make a split second decision. their lives depend on it. should she trust the man talking to her child?

>> coming up. >> baby, baby, touching my daughter. >> and then a fresh shock for catherine's husband chl. >> that was very traumatic for me. >> when dateline continues. what bad back? advil is... relief that's fast. strength that lasts. you'll ask... what pain? with advil liqui-gels.

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audible. the most inspiring minds. the most compelling stories. text "listen5" to 500500 to start your free trial today. mexico is denying reports of a deal to host asylum seekers while they await processing in the u.s. meanwhile, two trump officials tell nbc news it will take effect in the next few weeks. an alarming new report is predicting effects of climate change. among them $32 billion in infrastructure damage and $118 billion in losses related to rising sea levels. it's all by the end of the century here in the u.s. now back to dateline.

>> hello and welcome back to "dateline." gunmen had taken over the westgate mall and they were patrolling the building, searching for more victims. the two mothers in our story, both hiding with their children were hoping that their time is not running out. >> for 3.5 hours after armed gunmen stormed the westgate mall, two mothers had been trapped. catherine crouched for cover with three young daughters under a temporary kiosk. gunmen patrolling nearby. and faith, she and her two young children played dead all that time. they moved once and were instantly shot at. as a man approached them, faith held her position. but he wasn't aer t risterroris. he was a police officer. >> he was saying baby, baby, are

you okay? then he said it's safe. it's safe. it's the police. >> faith's 9-year-old daughter was the first to move. >> my daughter put up her head and asked him are you with the bad guys? it was -- i was still looking down. i was scared. i thought now they know where we are. my daughter engaged the policeman in a conversation. are you with the bad people. and then said momma look up. and then, almost against her instipi instinc instincts, faith began to trust. >> i saw his civilian jacket. i didn't know who he was. and then he -- as he sat up, and i saw his shirt, i was able to recognize the uniform and then he said it's fine. i'm going to lead you to safety, get up. >> desperately afraid to move,

faith agreed it was time to make a run for it. still worried that gunfire would erupt again, faith slowly got up and crept toward the exit with her children. >> i remember seeing a body laying there on the steps as we went out, but i said, i'm focussing on where we're going. there's this policeman, the one carrying my daughter was running too fast and was way ahead. the one with my son was lagging ahead and i kept saying, my son, my son. >> after all those hours forced to keep her children quite, they were finally out. >> kenyan news reports he saw on social media. >> i remember one specifically someone had seen them in a

shopping cart and they said it was a 5 or 6-year-old little boy and i thought to myself, well, i don't think anybody would confuse our boys for being 5 or 6, but could they confuse one of our girls for being a little boy? that was very traumatic for me. >> he started playing one song over and over in his mind. >> i think we do have a measure of grace that comes to us in very difficult times. for me, there was a u-2 song that went off in the back of my head, it's called 40. it's from the 40th psalm and i just started reading that psalm over and over again, and it was exactly what i needed to hear. so i took a lot of comfort from that. >> i know the song. >> it's an awesome song. >> how long to sing this song.

>> exactly. it became the inspiration of hope. it gave me something to pray about during the time that i didn't know what was going on. >> he was comforted by his faith, but it was impossible not to worry. by now, he knew what his wife didn't. >> that his entire family was caught in a carefully coordinated, full blown terrorist attack. >> you think the worst, you know? when you know that these are terrorists and you know that their intent is not to steal something and get out of there, but it's to kill people. and you know that their intent is to hurt christians. you know that their intent is to try to disrupt our way of life in kenya. it's the realities of what that

could mean are very present. >> he had no way of knowing whether his family was alive or not. no way of knowing that soon, some of his prayers would be answered. >> phillip and catherine's sons are trapped in the most violent part of the mall, and a 14-year-old realizes it's up to him to protect his younger brother. >> i just thought, ian first, save him. me second. >> when dateline continues. when we were dating, we used to get excited about things like concert tickets or a new snowboard. matt: whoo! whoo! jen: but that all changed when we bought a house. matt: voilà! jen: matt started turning into his dad. matt: mm. that's some good mulch. ♪ i'm awake. but it was pretty nifty when jen showed me how easy it was to protect our home and auto with progressive. [ wrapper crinkling ] get this butterscotch out of here. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. there's quite a bit of work, 'cause this was all -- this was all stapled.

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welcome back to dateline. the world watched in horror as the terrorist attack in nairobi's westgate mall unfolded. many were still stuck inside with little communication to the outside. phillip walton was in the u.s. far from his home when he learned his wife and children were among those in the building. all he could do was wait and pray. here's kate snow. >> 3 hours had passed since phillip walton was awakened by a call telling him his family was trapped inside the westgate mall. pinned down by gunfire. he had been on his computer all morning checking for updates and then suddenly he received a facebook message from a friend with a freeze frame of video and there in the bottom right hand corner was an unmistakable

sight, his two sons alive and outside of the mall. >> it was my two sons standing with my business partner. it was a very big, very noticeable man. >> paul weaver raced down to the mall area and confirmed the picture was real. the boys were out. >> and just seeing them, i mean, i don't think there's been any bigger hug in the world. it was joy, but seeing the anguish in their face and les, we just sat in the floor and he just layed his head down. just all the emotions coming through and it was the greatest moment and one of the saddest moments at the same time. >> a joyful moment for phillip knowing his boys were finally safe, but too brief because he knew his wife and three young daughters were still trapped in that mall. the walton boys had endured 3.5 hours in the most dangerous area in the department store where terrorists hunted down innocent

victims. terrifying for anyone, but especially for two boys separated from their mother. it was difficult for him to recount the story of what happened to him and his brother, but he wanted to tell it starting from the beginning. the two brothers had just paid and were still standing in the check out line when they saw something strange. >> what's the first thing you hear or see that's weird? >> everybody looks to main entrance and we all look as well. everybody, and then a loud sound happened and three people go flying and that's when people realize what's going on and they run. >> people go flying into the area. >> they just like fell backwards. it was scary. >> did you think it was a bomb or something? >> i thought it was a bomb at first but then when i heard the two gunfire sounds, i knew it wasn't just a bomb. it was something else. >> he knew he had to protect

himself, and more than that, he knew he was responsible for his younger brother. >> you grabbed your brother. >> yeah. >> as fast as you could. >> and just ran. >> were you pushing him. >> yes. >> you didn't want him to see it. >> yeah. >> that's hard. that would be hard for me. that would be hard for a grown up. >> yeah. >> at 14, that's pretty hard. >> it really is. >> les clutching his brother, ian, raced away from the gunfire with just one thought. >> i just thought, ian first, save him. me second. >> and you headed toward the back of the store. >> other people at that time were rushing back, so we followed the crowd. >> they made it to a storeroom at the back. others were hiding there too, including an american mother with her own kids. without catherine there to comfort them, the boys stayed with that mother. les hoped they were far enough

away from the gun toting terrorists, but they weren't. surveillance videos showed the terrorists made it all the way to the back hunting for more victims, but this wise 14-year-old did something ingenious. >> i pulled him and sat him pa

and those voices identifying themselves as police were encouraging people to come out. around him, les heard people start moving. >> they walked out and then about 15 seconds later, you just heard loud machine gunfire for about 30 seconds and then it was just quite. >> so you think it was the bad guys. >> yeah. >> you did the right thing by staying where you were. >> the lady we were with, she told us what to do every step of the way and without her, i think

me and my brother would have gone out with that crowd, so thanks to her, we're still alive. >> the walton boys were in the back room when eventually police were able to break down the door and get people out. the security camera shows the chaos in the crowd after being released. look closely. there's blaise in his red shirt and ian with his backpack, free after 3.5 hours of being trapped. relief washed over phillip walton when he saw his boys in the image his friend sent him. at least his sons were okay. >> i remember thinking at that time, at least i won't be alone. i remember thinking, you know, however horrific this day is, at least the boys and i will have each other if it turns out worse than we would hope or imagine. >> his wife, catherine, was still trapped under that tiny table with her three girls and

now things were looking worse. a man with a gun was headed their way. >> coming up -- >> just who was he? and then a daring escape plan from an unlikely hero. >> i tell the lady, now. >> what happened next amazed the world. when dateline continues. doug's a man on the move. but choosing to go that extra mile can be tough on his body. that's why he wears dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles. they provide all day comfort so he has the energy to keep moving. delivering joy every step of the day. dr. scholl's. born to move.

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welcome back to dateline. the walton boys had had made it out of the west gate mall when was still a scene of terror. but their mother, katherine, and her three girls were still trapped inside and then a man holding a gun approached them. the next moments would be critical. >> for mourn four hours they huddled in a hiding space barely bigger than a bathtub. katherine didn't know she was part of the terrorist attack. all she knew was that gubmen were canvassing the mall. >> you were under that table for

hours. >> it wasn't a woman. it was a man. the businessman and father of four received a text message from his brother earlier that morning. >> message was very brief. it just read, at westgate. terrorist. pray for me. >> he was terrified for his brother who works for the kenyan intelligence service and received death threats from the same terror group that was now attacking the mall. >> at in time, the magnitude became aware to me. >> he decided in an instant to join them. they entered the mall from the parking garage on the top floor. his brother was still in the mall and actually not far from katherine walton and her girls on the main floor.

he was hiding in a bathroom. he worked his way down to the main floor and as he did, his brother managed to escape. >> i reached my faen, tried to call him. and i see this message on my screen saying i'm out. i'm safe. please come out. >> but he didn't come out. despite the gruesome scene, the blood, the bodies, the smell of smoke and constant gunfire, he decided to stay and help. abdul searched through the mall looking for victims then he made a discovery that shocked him. >> i looked down and i see somebody hiding behind a table. it was a lady. she looked very scared. she was the middle of the crossfire. >> how did you know they weren't terrorists? >> they weren't carrying the large guns that we had seen that terrorist has.

>> with just a few words between them, katherine walton and abdul quickly coordinated an exit strategy. >> we opened fire towards the door to scare the terrorist as way. >> then it was time. >> then we hole fire. and then i tell the lady, now! and suddenly, this young girl appears out of nowhere. and i just called to her to run towards me and she starts running. and immediately i'm thinking, what a brave girl. >> when porsche got up and ran, did you have a moment where you thought oh, my god? >> i think i realized that it was precarious but i was also trusting that if they were telling us to run that it was safe. >> for katherine, it was a gigantic leap of faith after shielding her daughters for 4 1/2 hours, she knew that to save them she would have to let them go. the image of 4-year-old porsche running to abdul haji is one no one would soon forget.

katherine wasn't far behind and they weren't alone. these images show the terror on the faces of others being rescued by the police in those same moments. their desperation to be free. in north carolina, philip got a phone call from his business partner eric hersman. >> i got confirmation from eric that he was standing there with them and that they were all safe. >> your whole family. >> yeah. i broke down and cried. yeah. then it, you know, then you can let go. you know, you can just kind of, you can collapse. >> later, a picture followed his wife and children trapped in that mall for hours in terror were now in the safety of a friend's house together. >> simply the most precious thing i could even imagine to see all of them, you know, sitting there and safety and knowing they had come through it. >> philip grabbed the first flight back to kenya.

>> must have felt really good when he got off the plane. >> it was very good. because you know as a mom when dad is not around, you feel like you have to keep it together and you got to be strong. and the kids were very excited to see him. they had been asking. they were relieved to finally be able to touch him and hug him and have that extra security. >> these images show the devastation and destruction of the west gate mall ravaged by a siege that dragged on for four days. terrorists with links to al qaeda claimed responsibility. at least 67 people died. for the survivors, it is difficult to make sense of it all, to move on. faith went home, hugged her husband and two days after the attack there was cause for celebration and time for reflection. >> i'm grateful for us for being alive and our children being alive.

i'm grateful to be reunited with my husband. and i never thought i would see our second anniversary, but we did. this incident actually brought us closer. we don't want to leave each other's sides. >> faith and her children were reunited with that police officer who reached out to her on that terrible day, grateful he risked his life to save theirs. the waltons, too, said they were grateful for friends, new and old, especially young porsche who beamed when we showed her a picture of her rescuer on a smart phone. >> is that mr. haji? what did he do? >> he saved us. >> he saved you! >> hi. how are you? >> good. how are you? >> nice to see you again. >> three days after the worst day of their lives, the walt yonz were reunited with their hero. >> thank you, brother. how are you? >> abdul haji is a father and a

muslim. it's not lost on him that he is forever linked to a christian family who chose to live in kenya. >> that's what humanity is all b it happened that i was a muslim and they were christians. but at that time, what i was seeing was a little girl and her mother. i was not seeing what religion that person was. >> lots of emotions. >> as we've been able to tell this story and spend time with haji and, you know, to see the courage of a man like that, there is an inspiration for me. >> and blez walton said he had a new perspective. >> you've seen the worst of humanity and the best of humanity. >> yeah, same day. just a miracle to be able to live both of those in one day. >> and for katherine and her children, as dismal and as dark as the events in that mall were, she refused to do anything but grow and be positive for herself and her family. >> i don't want them to come out

of this and hate or be angry about what happened. >> it would be easy to be angry. >> it would be very easy to be angry. i don't want them to see the bad part of it. i want them to turn that bad situation into something positive. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." thank you for watching. >> i'm craig melvin. >> and this is dateline. >> i first time i saw her, i thought she was beautiful. we just loved being together. we're always together. our kitchen back door was open and the glass was broken. [ inaudible ] >> it was him who found her. >> i didn't know how to handle that. i wish i could have been there to