train there? what brought him to el paso? what is the connection? you know, there are some still so many questions, so little images online, nbc hasn't answers at this time. confirmed anything about the but rest assured, the answers shooter going into the store. will come as investigation twunds i've seen, he's carrying unfolds. >> top of the hour, 5:00 p.m. a rifle, e. a shooter's hearing eastern time. just want to recap everything protections and shooter's eye that has taken place right now. there has been been a massive protection. i'm not sure those photographs shooting that took place in the are confirmed, but the ones that town of el paso, community of media outlets are putting out as about 800,000 people. the shooter show that. it took place at 10:00 a.m. that's quite a state of preparedness. local time today as many people also, the clichénykov rifle -- were there doing some back-to-school shopping. we talked about it all day from gunshots first erupting at the witnesses the shots we heard, walmart and then we are told the semiautomatic fire we heard that it led to the nearby mall. on the iphones that you we are told at this point there reported, and witnesses reported are multiple fatalities. we do know that more than a a long gun. that is a downwhite male in the dozen people have been photograph, so it's possibly a transported to the nearby valid one. we'll have to wait and see. hospital. if we did come from dallas with some of those victims, some of those people taken to the hospital as young as 2, possibly hearing and shooters hearing as old as 9, at least to the protection and eye protection, he was very prepared.

children's hospital. the range for the other victims run the gamut indeed. the suspect has just been identified, at least within the inside a mall, highway or store, last hour or so to our knowledge as 21-year-old patrick crusius, it's extremely loud this who is from the dallas-fort worth area. it is still an active scene, perhaps not an active shooter scene there. kalashnikov rifle. >> let's bring in jim kavanaugh >> i'm going to get your again. jim, i wanted to get your thoughts about the suspect being reaction. i'm going to have to interrupt from the dallas area. you and report the confirmation that we just got moments ago jim kavanaugh, of course, former special agent in charge of the into nbc news headquarters. atf. jim, do you make of that? there are at least 18 people who what is law enforcement's are dead as a result of this response in the dallas area as shooting that took place earlier we speak? today in el paso. >> they're going to that location they've uncovered. we had some reports earlier the like frank says, doesn't mean he was living in dallas or used to live in dallas. numbers would be terrible. that's quite a distance from the president saying there are dallas. it's quite a drive, a number of multiple fatalities. hours to get to el paso if, in beto o'rourke saying the same. we just got confirmation of at fact, he was still living least 18 fatalities at this mall shooting that took place.

>> sickening. >> phil jimenez from the el paso area. >> it's a punch in the gut. it's something we feared. we feared the numbers might be that high. you know, we heard -- those initial reports that that was possible and we were hoping it wasn't true and it is. >> i wanted to get that in there. it is a horrible story, the third mass shooting this week that involved fatalities this week. this is actually the most fatalities we've had in a while. so that said, based on what you saw and what you were talking about with the kalashnikov rifle, take me through. if it is a rifle of that sort, what kind of damage, for lack of a better word, could that rifle do? >> that's why you're here unfortunately the stoma-- i hop

lawmaker hears that and does something about it instead of talking about it. the rest of america should be sick to their stomach about this. it will fire 33,000 feet per per second. the round comes out like a drill bit spinning from the rifling in the barrel. that's why it causes so much damage. it was designed for military use. it was designed to fight on the battlefield to kill the enemy. that's what it does effectively. when the shooter shows up, we heard the shooter wearing hearing protection and shooters glasses, that makes him even more effective. every advantage he can get so the sound inside the walmart doesn't disorient take thhim. he can take the gun and pull the trigger looking down the rifle side at each victim in a crowded store he wants to shoot. that's why we'll have a death count like 18, because one round will just -- is so devastating, it's hard to survive it.

it's a miracle anybody does. yes, everybody fact you've uncovered in your reporting is consistent with this horrific news that a man with a kalashnikov rifle would walk into a crowded walmart and shoot. and also the reports we heard earlier and all day about multiple shooters is probably from the reason the shooter was walking and shooting, shooting people front of the walmart who were there selling or giving water away or whatever they were doing. and then going inside and shooting. and the sand will reverberate and echo and citizens were reporting here and there. that's what we were hearing all day. >> jim, of note, we saw those photos. we haven't confirmed it, but you saw in the photos somebody wearing ear protection. why would you need to wear ear protection and eye gear with that particular weapon? >> well, the weapon is very disorienting. these military weapons are so loud that when you repeatedly

shoot them, any soldier can tell you, they're extremely loud. you'll see soldiers on the battlefield will wear hearing and eye protection and even gloves because guns get so hot. and they know that helps and not these disoriented by the sound. this guy obviously, we'll find he shot quite a bit. he's not a newbie. he knows the sound is loud. he also has eye protection to keep him from the blast-back of the gun, the cartridges coming out. you know, he's prepared. he's a killing machine. he's going there to kill. and he's suiting up to do it the way he practiced, likely at a range -- could be in a rural area just shooting up at anything, cans or bottles, but he's practiced. that's what it tells me when i see him dressed like that of the it's not his first time shooting that gun for, you know, an extended period of time. even just shoot through two rounds, he's fired the gun a lot. he knows how loud it is and how

loud it would be inside. so that's a what we're dealing w a guy with a kalashnikov rifle in a crowded walmart. >> dressed for mass carnage. jim, can you purchase -- >> this is an nbc news special report. here's jose diaz-balart. >> good afternoon. an update now on that deadly shooting near a busy shopping mall in el paso, texas. it happened at a walmart near cielo vista mall. here is what we know at this hour. nbc news has learned that at least 18 people have been killed. one suspect is in custody. 21-year-old patrick crusius, a resident of the dallas area. police do not believe there are any other shooters or suspects on the loose. president trump has been briefed and is monitoring the situation along with texas governor

abbott. it has been a chaotic and chilling scene. witnesses say they heard pops of gunfire, people screaming, and running to get out or hide in the store. initial reports say the gunman was using a rifle, and police at this hour still warning residents to stay away from the mall and the walmart area. authorities got on the scene quickly. s.w.a.t., border patrol agents, and fbi also responding. 18 people at least lost their lives in a horrific shooting in el paso, texas. we'll have much more on "nbc nightly news." for now, i'm jose diaz-balart reporting from new york. continuing with our coverage here at msnbc world headquarters in new york as we continue to update you on what is happening right now. according to the associated

press, 22 victims have been taken to area hospitals, not including many of those who may have passed away. at least according to the associated press that i'm seeing right up. nbc news has confirmed the horrible situation and news, at least 18 people are dead in the el paso shooting. it took place early in the morning as you heard from jose diaz-balart in that report as many people were in the mall and walmart. they were shopping. there was a sale because of back to school and it was almost time for many people to go back to school. texas right now is doing what a lot of states do and eliminating the state -- it was tax-free time in texas to help incur some sales there. this, by the way, this shooting here is the deadliest shooting of 2019 in the united states. it's interesting we have to qualify it that it's the

deadliest in 2019. i see reverend al shaking his head at me over there. it is quite striking indeed. virginia beach you may recall, which was just about three months ago in may, had 13 victims. you will recall we started this week with that horrible shooting that took place out on the west coast just south of the bay area where there were very young victims who were killed as a result of that. and there was another mass shooting that was fatal in the united states this week as well. >> to hear a number like that, 18, is just -- it just takes your breath away. this is a town where i was born and raised. there's been nothing like this that i've seen. again, you mentioned how many times we've seen this just in the last week, but numbers like that are just staggering. >> as we continue to follow and watch, some of the images that are coming out are all too familiar. this time it's el paso, a community of 800,000. my colleague, reverend al sharpton is joining me and

watching all of this unfold. reverend al, normally we would have "politicsnation" and we will get to your key interviews very shortly, but i do want you to weigh in as you watch this unfold right here. the worst and deadliest shooting of 2019 in the u.s. >> i am almost speechless at how this is the third mass shooting this week. first, let us send our prayers and best vibes for the family and for those that will be traumatized by this and the families of those we have confirmed now, at least 18 dead. but to think a 21-year-old young man would do this, and that we are comparing how many people died in mass shootings this year, it shows to me an absolute crisis in where we are in this country , that we must come

together across political lines and whatever differences and deal with it. this is not a time to start taking sides politically. we will do that through the primaries and the election. but this is a time all of us sho should come together and thank the first responders that have done a being very well handled. and those that ran in danger's way to try to salvage the lives of others. so it's a sad, sad day, and we need to do whatever we can across our differences to stop these sad sade days. >> reverend -- >> joining me now from las vegas is presidential candidate senator bernie sanders. senator sanders, thank you for joining me. your reaction to the shooting and your message to americans that are watching us.

>> look, al, i think you used the right term in saying that one is speechless. what can you say about somebody walking in, i guess it was a mall, shooting down and killing 18 people, wounding other people? happens time after time after time all over the world. people are wondering about the mental health of the united states of america and how these things could happen. we get numb to it. it is -- it's just hard to talk about. all that i would say is at this point at least i don't believe we know fully the motives of the interpret. i don't know if it's accurate or not. but this is what i do know, al. i know the overwhelming majority of the american people, whether they're gun owners or not gun owners, understand that we need to move the common sense gun safety legislation. no one disagrees. we need universal and expanded background checks, we know to do

away with the gun show loophole, we need to do away with the straw man provision where people can legally buy guns and then sell them to criminals. for 30 years i have believed that we have to ban assault weapons in this country that are designed for military purposes to kill large numbers of people. here in las vegas two years ago they saw what that could do. and we need other provisions. the american people support it. but you got one ries the republican party and does not allow us to do what the american people want. we've got to deal with that. >> as we look at this, you and i have in our public life questioned sometimes when law enforcement does things that we disagree with, but clearly we need law enforcement, clearly we need first responders, and we have to commend them at this hour for running into danger's

way. here's a mall, starting the shooting in a walmart, and they ran in and probably saved and salvaged the lives of many others but 18 people, i mean, this is a time where everyone from president trump to presidential candidates to critics like me can say the country needs to come together and really deal with this kind of shooting and the availability of those that can weaponize whatever their motives are. >> look, i don't think any sane person disagrees with that. but we have got to ask how this happens at that time when so many people want to go forward with gun safety legislation that we have a senate that is refusing to deal with the bill that was passed in the house. that, again, gets us back to the nra. and the other issue, i think, al, is that we don't like to talk about it too much, but we

have to recognize that as and you and i speak, there are thousands in this country in probably every state in america who are dealing with suicidal tendencies and homicidal tendencies. i'll never forget, we got a call in my office and i suspect every member of agrees congress has gotten similar calls from a frantic woman saying i am worried about my brother, what he will do to himself. we are searching for mental health counseling and we cannot find anything we can afford. we have to address that mental health crisis in america as well. >> as you pursue your campaign, will you make it a priority to begin discussing how we cannot normalize our reaction and keep like scores like we're watching some sports event in the number of people killed? we had three this week, and i think that we need to step sometimes, senator, out of our politics and address a real crisis, a human crisis in this

country when we start seeing these amount of mass shootings this year, three this week. >> al, i mean, that's absolutely right. i would hope that this is a nonpolitical issue. you know. but i'll tell you something else. i got this -- this hit me maybe a couple months ago. i was in iowa. we did a town meeting. this big guy, 6'0" plus, looked like a football player, some kid in high school, stands up and talks about how he and his friends are fearful about going into a school. and you think about all of the drills that kids in the third and fourth grade have to take now in preparedness for some lunatic walking into a school. what does this do to the children. when you and i grew up, schools were a safe place, a place you're supposed to leanrn and socialize. and the trauma of all of this on the people of our country, and

especially the children of our country, is something that cannot be underestimated. >> and when you see -- i'm a preacher. the bible says a child shall lead thee. when you saw hundreds of thousands of children after the shooting in florida come to washington and raise this issue, we need to start listening to the children. they are being traumatized and growing up in an atmosphere you and i didn't have to grow up in. and i would hope everyone from the president to the critics stop today and say, wait a minute, we need to be behaving as adults and take charge of this country and do whatever is necessary, even if it's uncomfortable to stop this mentality where people feel for whatever reason, and we have not confirmed a motive here, but for whatever reasons, feel they have to go to these degrees to express whatever it is they're dealing with. >> you're absolutely right. if there's any possible bright

side to this whole thing, it's the courage of those kids in parkland in florida who instead of simply mourning and becoming depressed and becoming isolated, they stood up and fought back and they motivated young people all over this country. we had a wonderful rally in montpelier, vermont, last year. getting young people involved in the political process, getting them to stand up and fight for gun safety legislation, climate change legislation, and all of the other concerns young people have. >> thank you for joining me and giving your message on this tragic day. i'll give it back to you, kendis. >> tomorrow. this might be part of your sermon, i imagine. what kind of words, what kind of comforting words could you give a country? the president just tweeted, again, his talking about god be with you all.

what do you say? >> i think we've got to be the instruments of god and really start dealing with everything from mental health to our pent-up frustrations and trauma, to whatever motivated this 21-year-old or whomever might have aided him. we have to put aside, and certainly i planned another message yesterday around things with the president and others. but we've even got to say to him, it's time for leadership in this country to come together and deal with this. three in one week is a real message that we are losing the control of the country, and all of us have a responsibility, not just him, but all of us have responsibility to come to terms that. >> reverend, you would agree that prayers and thoughts aren't enough? >> prayers without works is a dead thing. the bible says it. we've got to pray, certainly for the families, and then we have to get off our prayer needs and work to make this country

understand that violence is not the answer. we can debate, argue, and disagree, but we cannot argue that we've got to find a mid-ground to stop this kind of madness. he'll be back in this hour. while you were speaking with senator bernie sanders, we got yet another sad and staggering, staggering update on this situation here. the death toll has gone up to 19 people. 19 people lost their lives at that mall in el paso. the number of injured is now 40. at least 40 people transported from that scene there who were injured, possibly shot. 19 of them may not have made it out of that scene. we are waiting for a press conference that will take place at the bottom of the hour, 3:30 central time in el paso. andrew blankstein is here with me. andrew, are you on the phone?

can you hear me, andrew? >> yes, i can hear you. can you hear me? >> yeah. this is nbc news investigative reporter andrew blankstein who's getting a lot of the information you heard me say. what is the latest you're hearing from your sources? >> well, as you said, these breathtaking numbers give pause once again. i reported on the gilroy shooting at the garlic festival and i end it with this tragic news, multiple senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation tell myself and colleagues, tom winter -- >> andrew, i'm going to cut you off. if we can pop up the live shot from el paso. the briefing is about to get started. >> as of right now, i confirmed earlier we have one person in custody. i can confirm that it is a white male in his 20s. i don't have any other information on that. that will be released at a later time. but that's the information we have right now. the estimates of the shoppers at

walmart were between 1,000 and 3,000.ol and walmart was at capacity when the shootings occurred. we have secured walmart and we have secured cielo vista mall. dwlo we don't feel there's a threat to the public or other shooters at this time. we are transitioning into the criminal investigation side. we still have the area locked down and we have started our criminal investigation to find out what exactly took place. i can't confirm how many fatalities. there have been injuries. there were several injuries. i don't have those numbers as of right now. the delay with the injuries and fatalities is we can't account for anyone that transported themselves. so our numbers will be a little delayed. once we have that information, we'll definitely make it available to you. again, i would like to reiterate

that anybody that got separated from their families during this incident to please report to mcarthur elementary school to be reused wi reunified with loved ones. that's all we have at this time. later in the day as we become more concrete on what the information we have, we will have another press conference with our city leaders at the emergency operations center on thread gill. we will announce that on twitter so that everybody not only our local media but national media will be aware of that. that date and time is to be determined because the investigation is still ongoing. that's about all the information i have right now, but i will take any questions. >> where was the shooter at? >> i don't have the location of where the shooter was apprehended. >> was it in walmart? >> i don't know if it's inside or outside. [ inaudible question ] i have no information of where he's from. >> can you confirm more than 10 people have died and 30 were

injured? >> i don't have the numbers. i know people have died and there are a number of people injured. i don't have those numbers right now. >> can you confirm that there was only one shooter? >> there was a manifesto online? >> i can't confirm there was a manifesto. we have one person in custody. we believe he's the sole shooter. we did have reports of multiple shootings, so we are sorting that out. at this time we only have one person in custody. the investigation is ongoing. >> is there any search still ongoing for other suspects? >> we have cleared the mall area for victims and suspects. we have secured the -- [ inaudible ] those areas are still being secured. and will not be released as of yet, but we do find those areas are secure at this point. [ inaudible question ]

the reports are that most of the victims we believe are from walmart. but i can't 100% confirm that right now. >> were there any mexican nationals who were -- [ inaudible ] >> i don't have the demographics. >> can you clarify? >> i don't have that information. >> do you know it's at least one? >> i know there's a fatality, so that's one. [ inaudible question ] i know the red cross is on scene or working with our eoc. i don't have that information, but i would assume with any kind of mass casualties that blood would be in demand. if i have that information, i will get that information out. >> you said the suspect was white. white, not hispanic? >> what i have is a white male. >> in his 20s? >> in his 20s. >> that emergency notification went out alerting all pops county and do you believe there's still a threat to the city and county? >> as of right now we don't believe there's a threat, but we are continuing the

investigation. >> a police official said there were two male suspects. can you confirm that? >> we have one detained at this time. [ inaudible question ] [ speaking spanish ] >> was there a motive? >> we are still investigating the motive. >> how prepared are you for these of any kind incidents here in el paso most of the time? >> as far as the police department, all the federal agencies, law enforcement state and local, we train for these types of scenarios. nobody can be 100% prepared for anything that happens. we do continue to train. i think we do work well with each other and we have a coordinated effort today. i don't think there's any agency in the country that's prepared for something like this, but we do prepare for it and do our best to make sure that these situations are handled as best as possible. >> national weather serviwe hea council members it was an ak-47. >> i don't have the make and model of the weapon. the only report i have from initial reports is that it was a rifle.

the model i don't have that confirmed at this point. >> there are reports that there was a shooting outside the mall. can you confirm that? >> we had multiple reports during the active shooter situation. we had reports at other malls and locations. we have verified at this time that those reports were false. we have no separate shootings or reports of shootings. the only active location that we believe shootings occurred were at the walmart and possibly cielo vista mall. but that is to be determined. anywhere outside of that is -- has been confirmed that those didn't that were reported to us are also. there was a report of other malls during the time. they are false. the only active investigation we have right now is at walmart and cielo vista mall. >> what do you mean when they say terrorist gang activity? >> i don't know. i didn't say that. >> there were reports that said that? >> oh, i can't confirm on the motives or the location or any

basis for the shooting right now. >> do you expect the number of fatalities to go up? >> i don't know. like i said earlier, we want to make sure that we give an accurate count. we know a lot of people were separated during the chaos, and we don't want to worry people unnecessarily. so we want to be very sure that the count we give you of injured and dead are accurate and also we are prepared to deal with those family members when we do make notification. like i said earlier, we had to deal with people that transported themselves on their own. they could have gone to area hospitals. that takes time to confirm that they are part of this incident. so we're not going to have that until later on possibly today, maybe even tomorrow. >> what do you know up to now about the path that the gunman took, where the shooting start and how did it continue? >> all the reports i have are based off 911 calls, so that's not reliable.

we did get reports initially from walmart, and then secondarily at the mall. whether one happened before the other, i couldn't can i remember. >> any idea of the duration? >> i don't have the total duration, no. >> how much longer do you think the scene will remain active today? >> you know, it's safeties t tot will be active the rest of the day and throughout the night. that's a safe estimate. again, this is unprecedented in el paso. it is a crime scene. if we have militaultiple fatali we have to investigate them. if turns out to be mass casualty, as we expected, it could be lot of these. those estimates are just estimates right now. >> in terms of the duration of this from -- gives an idea from when the first 911 call came in to when the officers arrived on the scene? >> i don't have that information. that would be guessing. i'm not comfortable giving that estimate. i know that it was very quickly.

i know that there were officers in the mall area that weren't on duty that responded. i know there was agencies that weren't on duty that responded. the response by local has been overwhelming, not only state and local. some of those individuals were not actively working but were in the area when the call went out. so i couldn't give you the estimate on how quickly we shadow on scene. >> were there any inside the walmart? >> i don't have that information. >> was there security personnel from walmart? >> i don't believe that there's any, but i couldn't confirm that either. >> was there any estimates on the number of rounds that were used. >> no. that i don't have. i don't have estimates on round counts. [ inaudible question ] no law enforcement personnel fired their weapons during this i want. the person taken into custody was taken without incident and no law enforcement personnel

fired their weapons. >> did the suspect drop his weapons? >> all i can say it happened without incident. i can assume that the person dropped his weapon. >> was there an altercation between the officers? >> without incident means possibly little to minimal force when they took the person into custody. >> everyone who was evacuated, have they been taken somewhere else? >> the reunification center is at mcarthur middle school. they can meet with family members. anybody that has been evacuated will be taken to that location. >> can you talk about injuries, people running out of the store, did they injure themselves there? >> i'm sure there were injuries in the panic. i don't have specific information. [ inaudible question ] hotel or homes related to this? not that i'm aware of, no. anything else?

okay, we're going to try to give you as much information as we can. the next tactical brief from the scene here, our main press conference with city officials, i'll be posting that on twitter with the location. that's to be determined tactica anything else i come up with or we are able to release to you, i will put it on twitter and let you know exactly wha at this lo. any questions? >> it's your personal twitter? >> no, it's the el paso approximated twitter page. that's the most accurate information we're putting out. >> okay. [ inaudible question ] >> i can't confirm. i know at least one person is dead. >> do we know if children are dead? >> i don't know the demographics of the people injured. [ speaking spanish ] >> i'm sorry for getting in your shot.

>> you are listening to sergeant gomez from the el paso police department, giving us an update on what he knows from his location. there appeared to be a slight bit of a disconnect in the information that he's putting out there when it comes to the injured in the el paso shooting. the police sergeant saying off-duty police officers were there in the mall and they responded shortly after hearing the gunshots. he assumes there were up to 3,000 people who were inside the walmart at the time. we heard about so many people who were transported from the scene and why it became so shocking to us when we learned 40 people were injured, because the police sergeant there now

says that they can't account for people who may have self-transported themselves. there were so many people shot as a result of this, many of them transported themselves. the shooter, a 21-year-old patrick crusius, according to police, was taken into custody with little to no force used. the entire mall area has been cleared of the victims an interg part as well. there's a disconnect between what the police officer is saying out there and what we are getting from our sources because they are saying that all of the victims have been cleared from the mall area. >> let's hear from the woman who represents el paso in congress, texas congresswoman veronica escobar. congresswoman escobar, tough to be speaking with you under the worst of circumstances. i wanted to ask you first about

the report. at least 19 dead, police are not confirming that. what have you heard? >> i want to be careful about what i share publicly. i can tell you there are a number of fatalities. i want to be respectful of el paso pd's process. you know, we're actually right outside the family reunification center where we're going to talk with some of the families. i cannot even imagine, phil, how these families must be feeling. my guess that law it. enforcement would want to confirm with families first before doing too many specific releases. >> how did you hear about this unfolding? i understand you were giving a town hall at the time? >> yeah. you know, we were giving -- we were at our town hall meeting and we were in the middle of our q&a portion. one of my staff members approached me, which was really

unusual in the middle of it, walked right up to me going you knew something was wrong. and she said we had to end the event and clear the auditorium add coronado high school, because there was an active shooter and all of law enforcement was needed on site. and so everyone left in a very orderly fashion, very respectful fashion. and law enforcement made their way back to the site. every law enforcement agency from constables to pd to sheriffs and more have been working the scene and have been absolutely incredibly. el pasoens have been absolutely incredible, just looking for ways to help one another, which is, as you know, absolutely typical of this beautiful

community. this is shocking, not just because of the -- how horrific of a massacre it is, but we are and have been, one of the safest communities in the country for decades. and we're a community that welcomes people with open arms. we are a community that treats one another with dignity and kindness. and this is going to be very, very difficult for us in the coming hours and days and weeks. >> i hear the pain in your voice, congresswoman escobar. when i tell you this is the worst -- the deadliest shooting of 2019, at least 19 dead, it would be in the top ten deadliest mass shootings in united states history. >> congresswoman, this is kendis gibson.

listening to you, two el pasoens right now, you guys have met. as you say those numbers, it has got to hit both of you just so in the gut hearing this. and the congresswoman there outside this reunification center, what's the worst part that you dread, perhaps seeing many of those family members who are there and may not get reunified with their loved ones? >> i don't know. it's so unfathomable and there truly are no words. and my family is intact, you know? i cannot imagine the loss. i cannot imagine. >> i know we're still feeling the pain of what's happening, congresswoman. but you are representing that area in congress.

what's next when it comes to what to do about this problem that has plagued us for way too long? >> you know, phil, there has to be a point where enough is enough. enough is enough. and we have been plagued by gun violence in this country and by needless tragedy week after week after week. and it is about time for sensible gun violence prevention legislation. it is about time that those of us who have the power to create change muster up the will to create the change. we are all accountable for this. we are all accountable, all of

us. we have the power to change things. here in this community we are going to wrap our arms around each other. we're going to taking care of each other and help each other heal. the folks elected to every office that has the ability to legislate safety, we have to do it. the time has come. we have to do it. the time came a long time ago, a long time ago. every one of these deaths is -- can you hear me? i'm sorry, the power is about to die on this phone. i'm sorry. i better let you guys go. i need to get inside. seriously, this phone is about to die. >> all right. appreciate that. sending the warmest of hugs from new york. veronica escobar representing the city of el paso, thank you. >> the congresswoman saying it's a time for action.

senator kamala harris posting a tweet saying how can our country tolerate this? my prayers to the family and the first responders. this is not enough. i imagine we will get those sentiments echoed by reverend al's next guest. reverend? >> yes, we certainly agree it's time to go to work. joining me from las vegas is presidential candidate senator cory booker. thank you for being with us, senator. we are in the midst of a real crisis. 19 confirmed dead in el paso, texas. another mass shooting, the third this week. we're counting it like we're talking about a score in an athletic game. we're talking about human lives, people that were out shopping back to school, no taxes, shopping day in texas. what can we really, without

guessing or speculating on the motive, what can we say, a 21-year-old young man in custody accused of what we clearly know is at least 19 people dead, third mass shooting this week. what is your message? >> first of all, there are no words that can adequately express all over this country the feelings of sorrow and pain and hurt and just the condolences given to those affected, those wounded, let alone -- folks from communities like mine, when you hear wounded, please understand these folks could have horrific paths to recovery ahead of them. and then the grievous loss of life. this is gruesome, it is painful, it is hurt. and obviously we're sending energy and love and support to all those that are involved right now, all those who've been affected, on those folks who have responded. but that's just not enough.

it is not enough. this is a uniquely american problem. no other nation sees this kind of carnage happening within its own borders, unless they're at war, using weapons of war. we have the power, reverend, to do something about this, and we're not doing it. and the painful thing for me is the majority of americans agree with me. and so i am so angered that we are yet again hearing people starting to offer thoughts and prayers. you and i both know, my church, you know pastor jefferson, faith without works is dead. >> that's right. >> that's what we're seeing, is death right now at rates that are -- we have more people die in the last 50 years than every one of our wars, from the revolutionary war to the ones in the middle east combined. we know we have the power to stop this. we have evidence-based measures we could be doing, but they're being frustrated by spineless

politicians and folks who are doing the bidding of the corporate gun lobby and the nra, stopping us from even what our nra members know. where you should have these -- from the internet to gun shows, the ability for anybody anywhere to get their hand on weapons. it's got to stop in your country. we have the power to do it, and doing nothing, you are complicit in the carnage we're seeing in our country these days that i'm so fired up about stopping. you and i know, reverend, every day on average in this country, 100 people are dying due to gun violence. it can tstop and doing nothing s unzeleny isn't un. >> isn't it time for leaders to lead? from newton to parkland, here we are in el paso. when do we erhing, we may not

even like each other, but this needs to stop and we need to sit down and find common ground and stop this carnage? you have children growing up being traumatized and others that are feeling this is a normalized atmosphere where two or three times a week we're talking about mass shootings. when do we say, wait a minute, this is not the kind of existence we can tolerate? repentance. in his day, he said what we have to repent for is not just the invite i don't lik vitriol but the inaction of the good people and their silence. this is a time where what is allowing this level of carnage to continue is the inaction, the inaction of good people. why wait until it comes to your city, to your house of worship,

to your movie theater, to your mall, to your bar, to your outdoor concert like here in las vegas? why wait? we are all in this together, and the deaths that we're seeing today do not let them ever be normalized. and that's the problem right now. we have within our means to end this. it's just by using common sense. i have to say, even in this presidential campaign context, i'm frustrated. >> right. >> it is common sense that we should have gun licensing in this country. if you need a license to drive a car, you should be licensed to buy and possess a firearm. why every candidate who's running for president can't stand up and agree with me on that, states that have done that, licensing like connecticut, boom, they dropped 40% in gun violence.

this is why this patch work on the local levels, we just saw the gilroy shooting. new jersey has better gun laws in other states. folks buy their guns in states with lacks laws and go back into the states that has tough laws and do what we saw happen. gavin newsom talked about just this, the governor. we need federal action on this, and not meek action, not small steps that are being dictated by the gun lobby. we need bold steps and actions like gun licensing and more. that's what i'm going to be -- and you know this, reverend. there's thoise of us in communities where hearing gunshots you see memorials on sidewalks and teddy bears, you go to perverse reality where you go to funerals where parents are

burying their children. in gilroy, i was in detroit facy had multiple people shot in that city. this is happening every day in america. what happened today, the grievous horror, the fear people have where they fear were children at school now are not just learning about reading, writing, and arithmetic, they are learning about shelter in place drills. what have we become in america where this is becoming our reality? and i for one am not going to tolerate it. and i'm going to demand that we do the things we know will drive down violence. >> we also -- earlier i spoke with senator sanders and said that you and i and he and others have questioned law enforcement when we think they're wrong, but we suddenly salute them when they are on the front lines running into danger as they did

today. and they shouldn't have to keep going through this. as you say not only at mass shootings, shootings that are going on every day. but will you use your campaign as a platform to say leadership needs to come together, you had a very lively debate this week, but everyone should agree, even the president should agree and come together on how we solve this, how we say it for the sake of all of our children that we've got to deal with this mass shooting and these mentalities that provoke people no matter what it is to take these extremes. and then we can go back to our corners and fight it out in terms of our politics and our social feelings. >> well, look, i am challenging the other candidates in this field. i've got the boldest plan for ending mass shootings in america, for ending this gun violence based upon the evidence of what we already know work. and that is gun licensing. it's one gun a month.

it's banning these assault weapons. and, reverend, we see in many communities this is a public health problem, doing those evidence-based programs that we know when we invest in communities it drops violence. dealing everything from suicides to the kind of shootings like we saw today. it's frustrating me that there are some people that are not willing to say, you know what, it's time that we do things like the common sense of licensing. so i am going to use this national platform as a presidential candidate to challenge others because i want to make sure that the next president of the united states understands that one of your first responsibilities as president is to protect the american people. if we see the levels of carnage happening in our country, you better have a bold plan and be prepared to take down those folks through political will and using your office to stop those people who are trying to stop those common sense measures that i've laid out in a multiple-point plan and gone out there the furthest as a

democratic presidential nominee in demanding others to match my plan to stop gun violence. so it is not -- you know, people say, oh, it's a bold plan. no, it's an evidence-based plan, and it doesn't undermine an individual's right, a law-abiding citizen's right to purchase a firearm, but it will stop the level of carnage in this country. so i agree with you, reverend al. if you're doing nothing or if you're blocking you're part of the problem we're having in america. will you stand up and put forward a bold plan? will you match things like gun licensing which is common sense and has already proven in the states that have done it to dramatically lower crime. do everything necessary to end this particularly uniquely american nightmare so that we can wake up again and not have to send our children to school to learn about -- it reminds me of back in the '70s and '80s when they were teaching kids to duck and coverage from nuclear weapons. we need to end this fear that we

have in our culture that is only being reinforced by the un-godl nightmare that we're seeing right now in texas. and again what you said about law enforcement, god, when i talked to police officers, when i see my police officers having to run into situations, no situational awareness where there's active shooting going on, is that really what we want -- when you say good-bye to your husband who's a police officer, your wife who's a police officer, sending them into a world where people have weapons that belong in military venues, war theaters and not on the streets of cities? the kind of bullets that can rip apart holes in individuals where even some of the basic protection that our officers get can't necessarily withstand. >> no, that's not what we want, and clearly we really need to deal with this. all we need to do is not teach

young kids how to duck but teach adult leadership how to stand up. senator cory booker, thank you very much for being with us. let me send it back to you, candace. >> wrap your head around this for a minute. today is our 215th day of the year. this el paso shooting is a 249th mass shooting here in the united states this year. >> wow. 249th. what are we saying when we have a country that would even tolerate that. and that's not counting a lot of cities that we're seeing shootings every day. what do we have to see to come together and stop this? all of us have responsibilities. >> we have tried legislation. we've seen in other cities where people have protested and it has resulted in results. maybe it is time for that. >> maybe it's time for all of that, and maybe it's time that we stop playing and really get to work. we can't keep going through this saying, oh, another shooting this week and then go on to

something else. >> that indeed. all right. there's a lot more to come. my colleague ali velshi will join us on the other side of this break. our continuing coverage of this mass shooting in el paso on the other side. let's be honest, you need insurance. but it's not really something you want to buy. it's not sexy... oh delicious. or delicious... or fun. ♪ but since you need both car and home insurance, why not bundle them with esurance and save up to 10%. which you can spend on things you really want to buy, like ah well i don't know what you'd wanna buy cause i'm just a guy on your tv. esurance. it's surprisingly painless.

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good evening. i'm ali velshi joining our msnbc special coverage from philadelphia. we want to bring you the very latest on the breaking news out of el paso, texas, tonight,

where at least 19 people are dead and 40 more are injured after a mass shooting at a walmart and around the nearby cielo vista mall. officials so far have not confirmed the status of the remaining people who were injured. el paso police say initial calls about the incident came in at about 10:00 a.m. local time. that's mountain time about noon eastern time. and that there were between 1,003,000 shoppers in the walmart at the time of the shooting. law enforcement sources tell nbc news that the suspect is 21-year-old patrick crucias, a resident of the dallas area. sources familiar with the investigation tell nbc news a second pso