good morning, 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. this morning in uvalde, texas, the painful and profoundly sad process of burying the children has begun as people pay their respects to the children and teachers killed in that mass shooting at robb elementary exactly one week ago today. and today amerie jo and maite, two little girls, both just 10 years old, will be the first to be laid to rest.

a local doctor who delivered two of the 19 murdered children spoke out reflecting on this profound loss. >> those lives are gone and we'll never know what they could have done for the world and their families. it will never be the same. you know, we're not innocent anymore. >> also this morning, in an exclusive interview with savannah guthrie, she spoke to an off duty border patrol agent who rushed to the scene with only his barber's shotgun to rescue his daughter trapped inside the school. >> what was that moment like when you saw your daughter? >> oh, when i saw my daughter, it was a big relief. yeah. >> and after she got to safety, you continued to help? >> oh, yeah. i saw all her friends. i coach little league baseball as well, always there helping out. all her friends, i could see their faces. half of them fine, the other ones panicking, crying, trying

to make sure that they weren't falling and delaying the process. just trying to keep them as calm as i could. >> what a frightening scenario. and there are still so many questions about the law enforcement response to this disaster. the school police chief at the center of the controversy who officials say had officers wait outside during the siege is still free to be sworn into his elected seat on the city council, but the ceremony set for tonight has been postponed. joining us now is correspondent shaquille brewster live from uvalde and carmen best, former seattle police chief and law enforcement analyst. shaquille, talk to us about what that community is going through. i can't even imagine what it is like for parents to have to have that moment when they are burying their children. it is a pain that cannot be described, shaquille. >> it is heartbreaking.

it is more grief in this community, more pain, more sadness, more tears. you see members of the community coming to scenes likes one behind me, makeshift memorials this the town square and outside the robb elementary continuing to pay their respects. and also we're starting to see the official commemorations for all those lost in the shooting. yesterday it was the visitation for two of the 10-year-olds who lost their lives. amerie jo garza, she was a loving and beautiful soul, her grandmother says that she was shot while trying to make a phone call inside of that classroom. we also know that we saw the visitation of maite rodriguez, she was a marine biologist, wanted to study at texas a&m university. according to her obituary, it read those who knew and loved her were blessed with her kind, ambitious, friendly and sweet soul. and those commemorations, those

visitations and funerals will continue through this week and into next week. 22 funerals in all. of course 19 students who were lost, the two teachers and the husband of one of those teachers. so it is a lot of grief that this community is dealing with. as that is taking place, there is also a lot of questions still that have not been answered for many members of this community starting with the police chief. the police chief of the uvalde school district. we thought that we would see him today get sworn into city council. he is a person who department of public safety, so state police officials say that was an incident commander as the shooting was happening, that he made this decision according to them to hold back the officers, seeing it as a barricade situation rather than an active shooter situation. there are a lot of open questions for that decision. there is a lot of pain and a lot of grief in this community as we continue to watch these funerals start to take place. >> and let's talk about that,

you were saying that they will be going on throughout the remainder of this week. indeed there are 19 children, those two teachers and also the husband of one of those teachers who passed away after drop something flowers off at one of those crosses that has his wife's name on it. i'm just wondering, you know, when we hear about a dhs agent that was able to go in, border patrol agent, able go in and get his daughter and help out the other kids, it is just like that community has so many questions, it is a tight knit community, 17,000 people live in that extraordinary town. it is called cross roads, called the honey capital of the world. it is such a family place. and yet there are so many questions about what was not done during that hour period. >> the shooting was a week ago and in the days after the

shooting, the time line seemed to change each and every day. there was a new update that came each day that brought more questions, more concerns about what exactly happened. the time line -- latest update i should say that we got from state officials was on friday, so we haven't heard much from them in terms of this investigation or any changes to the time line since before this holiday weekend. and much of the attention is going to that police chief who again state officials say was the incident commander. we reached out to him directly and we haven't heard back from him for our personal requests, but we also haven't heard from him since the shooting. so he is someone who according to the mayor who said -- we heard from the mayor yesterday, the mayor says that there is no investigation into his actions specifically. he is personally not under investigation and that he is cleared to take his role in city council based on the constitution and laws and rules in this community. there are still many questions

and many frustrations starting to mount. i think that is the two big emotions that you feel here, the pain, the grief, the sorrow as the focus is on the 22 lives that are going to be honored over the course of this next week and into next week. but there is also a lot of frustration and people demanding specific answers as to what happened and what didn't happen at this shooting at robb elementary school. >> carmen, what are some of the questions that you have? and it seems as though the chief made the determination that it was a situation of a barricade versus an open shooter. but just, you know, that is an hour period. what are the questions that you have, carmen? >> yeah, well, the training is -- the national training, standard is to go in and to immediately address the threat. so the question is really why that didn't happen. i think that is the same

question everyone has. clearly we've had changing information that has come forward. our hearts can breaking. i known mine is as a grandmother and mother for all the loss of life here. so that question needs to be answered. i'm not sure how folks stood there for an hour, what was going on at that time. obviously there will be more investigation. but the training, national standard, is you go in. we've been training that since columbine. and how many school shootings have we had since then? so we know, law enforcement knows, what to do. either the chief in a major city, we had school shootings when i was chief, everybody goes in and goes directly toward the threat. so that question needs to be answered. >> and we're also joined by nbc news investigative correspondent tom winter. the doj is opening an investigation into the police response to the shooting? >> that's correct. and i think that it is important to note this is an investigation but not exactly grand jury and

handcuffs coming out anytime soon. it is possible if they come across something that is a violation of federal criminal law that they could look into that, but this is more of a review and it is by what they call the cops office, this is a particular unit within doj that looks at the response of police departments to certain incidents or specific incidents that occur. you recall the shooting of michael brown by the ferguson police department, they took a look at that. and looked into pattern and practices type cases with police departments where it is perhaps not one incident but several incidents that they will take a look into and figure out if the police department is doing the right thing, if there are biases within that police department. so this is the unit that takes a look at that. and based on what we know from the justice department, that is what they will look into here as far as what was the training, what was the response, what were the decisions that were made. we know that the police chief in charge of this district who according to the texas department of public safety,

police chief peter arredondo was the person responsible for what the officers did on the ground or at least directing them, jose. he has received active shooter training three times in the last three years. as late as december 17th of last year for a total of 32 hours. his last training mandatory was eight hours. so it is not as if this is somebody who -- and this is all according to public records. a 28 year 7 month veteran of policing, not as though somebody here who is new to the job who hasn't received the mandatory training in texas. and i think one of the things that chief best kind of keyed in there, which is important, we know what the best practices are for these types of incidents. if i'm a reporter and i know that, and we have the documents from texas that indicate the specific training and the requirements here, the questions are going to be what was the decision making on the ground and why wasn't that followed. i think that that will be a big focus of what the justice department looks into.

for obvious reasons do a thorough job, this is not something where we'll have findings in two weeks as a hypothetical, it will take some time. they will want to do a lot of interviews and of course they don't want to get in the way of any sort of investigation if there was anybody that supplied funds to this particular shooter that was aware of their intentions, is there any nexus of state or federal law there that could be look fld to. so it is complicated, it will take time at a time where i think a lot of people want answers. >> and tom just to reaffirm, essentially he did one of these active shooter training programs a year, the last three years. >> correct. >> so that is one thing. and the other thing is that you've got this border patrol agent who was getting his haircut and actually borrowed the barber's shotgun to go in. he wasn't wearing body armor, he didn't have his helmet on, he went in essentially as a civilian to get his daughter out and to help those other kids out there. i'm just wondering, does the procedure just not allow for

that to happen within the ranks of police when they are an hour in or do they have to just stick with what the common commander tells them no questions asked? >> i think a big issue and it was something that came up in the number of the after action reports with respect to the boston marathon bombing, particularly the shoot-out that occurred with the two suspects there, the tsarnaev brothers, in watertown, massachusetts. and i know chief probably hears this phrase. but the idea of self deployment is a major concern at these types of incidents. yet as you point out we're an hour into it, this person has got their own child inside the school, so you weigh just the common sense of let's get kids out and get kids to safety versus proper tactics. but i think ideally all of the best research, all of the best after action reports point to this issue when officers self deploy, it creates a chaotic scene, it creates a situation where there are numerous

opportunities for mistakes, mistakes which when you involve weapons turn deadly. so you want to be in a situation where -- and i think this is one of the things with the benefit of hindsight, not that i could possibly blame the parents as a parent myself that were in that situation when their own kids were inside the school, natural instinct is to go in and get them out. but i think from a law enforcement perspective, it creates a very dangerous situation, who is running toward the school, who is running inside this classroom. and you could create an incident where someone who is innocent gets shot and killed. it is a mess and it will take time and good thing that all these things are being looked at. >> thank you all very much for being with us this morning. with us now to continue our conversation is texas state senator roland guttierez who represents uvalde. we spoke a day after the horrific shooting. thank you for being with us again. i thought about you these last couple of days. as the process begins where 21

families are saying good-bye to their loved ones for the last time, they were killed, dropped off at school, they never came home, they were supposed to be celebrating their summer vacation today, how is that community doing, how can this unimaginable grief be described? >> thank you, jose. i think that yesterday was probably the first day that i haven't broken down and just started crying. so we're getting a little better in that regard. a lot of anger setting in because people after friday's press conference are very concerned about what went wrong. i'm just trying to make sure that the families have the resources that they need going forward. it is unfortunate, but there is a lot of fraud on the money being raised for some of these folks in their children's name. so i reached out to the attorney general's office so we can look at those things. we just have to make sure that these families are being cared for, that they are getting the

resources that they need and nobody is trying to defraud them. >> senator, that is such an important thing that you are doing. i think people to want to help and we have to make sure that that help doesn't get misappropriated. when i was with you last week, i remembered how difficult of all the difficult things it was for you to be with those families as they found out that they had lost their child. some of them, just the horrific details of what went on inside those classrooms. have the parents been told -- i'm wondering how does the process of healing go on? are they told all those details that you unfortunately had to hear, are they told about the efforts that went on during that hour? >> no, not in total.

but they hear bits and pieces. one family in particular, and i won't mention their names, their little girl -- there i go. this child had only received a bullet wound in the back. so unlike the other children who had multiple rounds, one round on this little girl. the first responder later admitted to them that this little girl had probably bled out. and, you know, you'd like to think that had law enforcement gone in 20 or 30 minutes earlier, maybe this child would still be alive with us today. and so those are the questions that i have just kind of swirling through my mind. i had a very long call with steve ccraw on saturday. he as shed me i'd get a ballistics report. i don't care about a ballistics report, i want to know where each officer was situated. there was 19 officers at 12:03. he claims two were from dps.

many dps were outside. for myself, i understand this idea of operational control, but i think it flies in contrast to the active shooter training. parents are upset and they want answers. and so do i. >> right behind you is robb elementary school. it is now that sign that said welcome covered by balloons and flowers and well wishes. and those 21 crosses too. when you look at that school, is there any way that children next year could return? >> jose, i've spoken to so many parents and little kids that have come here to honor their friends. and they are just bawling, tears, they are traumatized. no way in hell they should go

back. i think i heard the mayor earlier in another news conference saying that they shouldn't go back. the president said that we were going to work on a grant. here is a sad state of affairs. we actually have a federal grant for schools that undergo this type of devastation. and it is upwards to $45 million to raise these raze these schools. what does it say about this problem in america. >> senator, how are you holding up? it is very difficult and you have been listening to things that i don't even know -- you're very close to these families. how are you holding up? >> it is hard, jose. but it is nothing compared to what these families are -- amplified a million times over. i mean, i'll keep doing what i need to do to come here and be here for them because that is their expectation. and that is my expectation of

myself. if you were the governor of the state of texas, i'd be down here and opening up a pocketbook to these families. how can we ask these folks to go back to work next monday after they bury their children? we have a victims' assistance program. they need to maximize that effort. i've asked ken paxton, i've asked the governor to be able to put that through. it is not a lot of money, it is $50,000. how do you go to work, how do you function, how do you do anything? these families should have with their other children, siblings of these kids, we should try everything in our power to give them the best summer of their lives. we know that is not going to happen. but we have to just be here and show them that we love them and show them that we're not going away. that is what i'm going to do. i'm going to be here talking to these families and just letting them know that they have a new friend in me and we'll make sure that government does what it is supposed to do and beyond

because we should. we must. >> stay on it, senator. thank you for being with us. i keep thinking about lexie's older brother who was there right where you are when i got the privilege to speak with him the day after. and senator, he was just saying i cannot think of my sister who was going to be a baseball player and a lawyer not being in her room. i can't think of her not being there. how do you, correct, senator, go to work on monday. how do you go forward when the most precious thing that you have has been ripped out of your soul. it is a tough question. >> jose, you've been part of it and you've gone through this and there is certainly a ptsd for all of us watching this and these families as i said a

million times more profound. but i have visited with siblings, and it just breaks my heart, they just want their sister, their brother to come back in the door. they just want to have them there. and we have to do our part to try to make them whole again. as a lawyer, we always think, how are we going to make someone whole again. there is not an amount of money in this world that will make these families whole again. there is nothing. and so i've just got to figure out everything that i can do from my part to try to give them some sense of -- or notion that they are loved, that they have people here for them. >> state senator roland guttierez, stay there, stay with them, stay with us and i thank you, i thank you for being with

us. >> gracias. coming up, new reporting about a possible white house shakeup and control of congress. but first we'll go live to ukraine and russia's efforts to take control of a key city. congressman gregory meeks will join us with his reaction next. when it comes to pain medicine, less is more. aleve gives long-lasting freedom from pain, with fewer pills than tylenol. instead of taking pills every 4-6 hours, aleve works up to 12-hours so you can focus on what matters. aleve. less pills. more relief my a1c stayed here, it needed to be here. on what matters. ruby's a1c is down with rybelsus®. my a1c wasn't at goal, now i'm down with rybelsus®. mom's a1c is down with rybelsus®. (♪ ♪) in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c

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25 past the hour. turning now to the latest on the war in ukraine. european union officials have agreed on a plan to ban 90% of russia oil imported to the bloc, one of the toughest sanctions on russia since the invasion began. this morning the head of ukraine's luhansk region said russian troops are now partially in control of a key city in eastern ukraine. mariupol's city council claims that at least 16,000 people have been buried in mass graves since mid april. death toll estimated at 22,000. and nbc news cannot verify that information. joining us now this morning, foreign correspondent molly hunter live in ukraine and executive editor at the new yorker. molly, what is the latest on the ground there?

>> good morning to you. so we are focused on the eastern city of severdonetsk is basically split. ukrainian troops still control half of it, still civilians there in the city. and that means that russian troops control half of it. what we've been watching the last 72 hours is russian troops have been bombing, attack, basically carpet bombing some of the strategic villages to work their way toward severdontesk. and donbas was president you

putin's pretext for this invasion. and sever is important to the area, they say that they need one thing from the u.s., from the international community which is longer range artillery. because right now they are outgunned. the other point i'll make about the fighting around severdonetsk, right now russia is concentrating so much of his artillery power on that area. what it means that is they have left other areas absolutely more open and that is seen in the last 48 hours, we've seen ukrainian counter offenses pop up in the kherson region. >> thank you, molly. david, let's talk about what molly was mentioning. what do you make of putin's decision to concentrate his forces, so much of it, in that

part in eastern ukraine? >> i hesitate to say this, but it is working militarily. i think that severdonetsd in the days or weeks ahead. and they have twice the range of the ukrainian artillery. so there are just carpet bombing from a distance and the ukrainians can't fire back and reach them. so there was an announcement that the united states plans to send some rockets that would help the ukrainians, but i think that it is important to face the reality here, this new strategy by vladimir putin is working. and i was disappointed, we can talk about it separately, but there is some this new embargo by the eu on buying russian gas, but it won't take effect until the end of the year. so the momentum is possibly shifting in putin's favor on the ground and there needs to be an immediate eu embargo on all oil

purchases from russia. russia needs to be pressured economically. >> can that be done? and that would also take some time. >> it would. and then the problem here is that the president of hungary is blocking this, he is sort of pro putin and he is the one who slowed this process down. to be blunt, i feel like he has blood on his hands because germany which is a much larger economy would suffer most from this sort of embargo and agreed to it and many other much larger economies. so again, i worry that the tide is turning in putin's favor. europe needs to push back harder and the u.s. needs to send the longer range rockets. >> david, thank you for being with us. appreciate your time. and with us now to continue our conversation, congressman gregory meeks who chairs the house foreign affairs committee. always a pleasure to see you. these are such difficult times. i'm wondering when you hear about what is going on in ukraine, we're seeing the intensification of the battle there in the donbas.

and david was saying it is probable that the russians will be able to take that area in the near future. what are your concerns and would do you think needs to be done now? >> i think that what you see -- i was just in donbas and traveling back and forth talking to our allies there. and i think that that connectiveness and that unity is still tremendously important. you have to remember that putin's plan has been stopped in that he thought that he would march right on into kyiv and take over the whole country. that is not the case. now he is focused on donbas. and so now we're focused on trying to make sure that we are giving the ukrainians what they need as well as trying to make sure that we keep the eu together. and i think that we talked about when i met with president volodymyr zelenskyy along with speaker pelosi when we went to kyiv about three weeks ago now,

he wanted to make sure that we start cutting off the oil. and i think that we're starting to see that. we know timing is of the essence and we have to look at, and i know the president has been considering back and forth longer range missiles, not long enough so it goes directly into russia, but to be able to hit the targets that they need to hit to stop the incoming bombardment that the russians are doing to them. so we have to continue to pressure. i can tell that you with the exception, a i agree that orbain is a problem. but the european countries are more united than before. and i think with the will of the ukrainian people, you see some towns that they have taken for a temporary period of time and then the ukrainians come back and take back that territory.

and i think that that is part of what you see going on right now also. >> and it looks as though this thing could go on for some time. president biden's pledge to bring 100,000 ukrainian refugees here to the united states, the government actually set up a special program called uniting for ukraine to bring them in. what you can tell us about how things are going so far on the plan to bring in people who are forced to leave their country because of this war? >> well, the plan is still there and we're trying to work to make sure that as we always have that there is an emergency percentage that is put in place. what i have found in my travels, as refugees are coming into poland and moldova, most of ukrainians want to stay close to home. and what we're starting to see on the borders of poland and moldova for example are some ukrainians are going back into

ukraine. either temporarily to see, make sure that those family members that have not left, that they can check on them, or some decided that they wanted to go back to see what they can do to help in the fight. so i think that we have our process still taking place. you know, especially if someone had a sponsor and wanted them to come to the united states, as well as individuals who are asking for asylum as a result of coming. so that process is working. we've got to try to still streamline it and that is why i think we still need immigration reform that would help not only in this scenario with ukraine but with all that is trying to come over to the united states to avoid being oppressed and dangerous circumstances. but the courageousness of the ukrainian people as i said, many wanting to stay close to home because they believe that they will get back to their places of where they live and they want to

return, they don't want to go anywhere else, they want to return to ukraine and look at ukraine -- it is their country and they are looking to rebuild already. we talked to some young kids in one of the refugee camps there who said that they are looking forward to going back to school. there was still some schoolwork taking place over the internet and things of that nature. but he was missing some of his family members and some of his friends. so you still have to take your hat off in the courage and determination of ukrainian people to fight putin and going back and forth across the borders. they want to go back home to their country. they don't want to go to other countries. >> the reality as you know so very well that so many people around the world are facing. people leaving haiti, cuba, nicaragua, venezuela, they have to leave their country, they don't want to, they see that they have no other alternative. congressman meeks, thank you for being with us. very much appreciate your time always. >> thank you.

still ahead, white house in turmoil? president biden is dealing with high inflation, rising gas prices, mass shootings. the war in ukraine. and so much more. we've got new reporting from our team in washington on the strategy to deal with it all. riders! let your queries be known. uh, how come we don't call ourselves bikers anymore? i mean, "riders" is cool, but "bikers"...is really cool. -seriously? -denied. can we go back to meeting at the rec center? the commute here is brutal. denied. how do we feel about getting a quote to see if we can save with america's number one motorcycle insurer? should flo stop asking the same question every time? -approved! -[ altered voice ] denied! [ normal voice ] whoa. miss allen over there isn't checking lesson plans. she's getting graded on her green investments with merrill. a-plus. still got it. (whistle blows) your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company.

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39 past the hour. a new report reveals the white house at a critical moment as president biden's approval numbers sink and crises pile up in an election year including record inflation, record gas prices, covid spikes, devastating mass shootings, and more. nbc news spoke with more than two dozen allies of the president including current and former administration officials. meanwhile today the president is set to meet with federal reserve chair jerome powell to tackle inflation. cara lee is one of the reporters behind this new piece and is joining us from washington. good morning. what did you learn from this extensive reporting? >> reporter: well, broadly speaking we learned that the white house is very frustrated that the president's message, there is a feeling that he is not breaking through

particularly on the economy and that the president is frustrated with the sinking poll numbers and that he can't catch a break. as you mentioned, crisis after crisis, some of which hit the white house in a way that makes them appear flat footed. baby formula shortage comes to mind. and what the president has said according to one adviser is that he used to note how former president trump's presidency when everything except the locusts would land on his desk and now he understands what that feels like. so because of all this, there is speculation of will there be a staff shakeup, these sorts of conversations, speculation float around whenever there is a moment like this in a white house. and we're told that that is not likely to happen before the midterm elections. obviously there could be changes after midterm elections. but right now there is an effort to try to get the president on more solid footing. the president is pressing aides to come up with a sharper message. he still is expected to double down on his effort to cast republicans as extremists, that

ultra maga message which the president came up with by himself, but they poll tested that and they are saying that he will continue to make that key talking point heading into the midterms. but he is not satisfied with it just being that. and so he is pressing them for more to try to break through. >> carol lee at the white house, thank you so very much. still ahead, new details about what is happening this week in congress to strengthen the nation's gun laws.

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would you can it eugene! let's just hear her out. ha ha ha, i've been needing a new horse. we've got ourselves a deal. ♪ ♪ ♪ ringcentral ♪ this is not the stallion i was imagining. 46 past the hour. on thursday the house judiciary committee will hold an emergency session to work on a package that will include a series of bills to address gun violence. that according to a committee aide. details first reported by punch bowl news. and joining us now, jake sherman, co-founder of punch bowl news. jake, great to see you. what is this committee working

on and what is going to happen this week? >> so, jose, this is a pretty extraordinary event here. congress is in recess, house is in recess, senate is in recess, and the judiciary committee is coming together to put together a package of bills aimed at showing that they are doing something when it comes to gun control. many of these bills are not going to become law. we know that because there are 60 votes in the senate, the senate is voting on a separate process to pass gun control, we'll see whether that is fruitful or not, but they are doing all sorts of things, raising the minimum age to buy certain weapon, putting new rules around storing of weapons. this is just a broad package that shows at the moment the political salience and importance of this issue. >> but if it is just an effort at putting out some nice words and, you know, protecting our kids' acts, all these other things, and nothing gets done in

the final analysis, is there not anything that people can get together on, basic things that could make an impact, or it will just be, you know -- >> yeah, i think there is. i think that there are a number of things that the senate is working on that could become law including red flag laws or the bolstering of grant programs to allow states to set up their own red flag laws. i think that there is a question as to whether there will be a background check bill that gets through the senate. i think that that is a little more tenuous. but i do think that the chances now are better than ever to get something across the finish line. >> jake sherman, great to see you. you look a little different and i'm looking the look. and coming up, how young survivors of school shootings cope with the lifetime of pain. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports. diaz-balart reports. i am a triathlete. i've always been into health, and wellness, and fitness... i tried everything with diet and exercise,

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miss allen over there isn't checking lesson plans. she's getting graded on her green investments with merrill. a-plus. still got it. (whistle blows) your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. it's two past the hour since the deadly shooting at columbine, more than 3,011 students have experienced gun violence. that according to "the washington post." hundreds have suffered injuries and lost friends.

joining us is john woodrow cox, an enterprise reporter for "the washington post" and author of "children under fire: an american crisis." thank you for being with us. >> 311,000 students. what do these children go through? >> you know, the trauma can be lasting. we've seen from a lot of the really good reporting in texas already the early signs of trauma. so kids dealing with guilt because they survived and their friend didn't, kids who are having perpetual nightmares, reliving what it is they went through, kids who can't sleep alone, kids who can't be alone at all. kids who insist their parents need to buy a gun because they think the shooter is going to come for them again. that's the early stages. there's often this idea that it will pass. much of it will not pass. much of it will get worse in the years to come, especially if

these kids are not offered the help they need. i know columbine survivors and even survivors who survived shootings before that that are still dealing with profound trauma decades later. >> i'm thinking, john, of even the brothers and the sisters of the children who are lost have this profound trauma as well. you've also reported on the youngest among shooting survivors, like the students at the uvalde elementary school are the most vulnerable. you spoke to a family from uvalde, a 10-year-old boy shot in the shoulder, had to witness the murder of his classmates. how does that little boy survive? how does he go forward? >> he needs a lot of support. i say this all the time. what the research tells us is the number one thing a child needs to overcome their trauma, to deal with their trauma is adults in their lives that love them. that's the most important thing.

so that doesn't always have to be a parent. ideally it's a parent, but it can be teachers, therapists and beyond. the truth is, in a community like this everyone is dealing with enormous amounts of trauma. so it's too much to say that those adults should put away their own trauma and fill in that role for those kids. everyone needs support. this is the moment where societally, our government, we all need to step in and say this is going take time, a lot of therapy. people need to be patient. there is this mentality in this country that after six months, uvalde strong, it's time to move on. that's not how trauma works and especially not how trauma works in children. >> john, when we see those images of robb elementary, can kids go back to that physical structure again? >> you know, it's going to be incredibly difficult, but it happens all the time. kids are asked to go back to

schools where their friends were murdered all the time. that's often because communities can't afford to build new schools, but without question it is going to be a triggering event. they're going to see things in that school, they're going to hear things in the hallways that take them right back to that day. so, you know, ideally kids would never have to go back, but that is often not an option. >> john, thank you very much for being with us. i want to thank you for the book, "children under fire: an american crisis." that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. be sure to follow the show online. thank you so much for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news after a quick break. f germs in seconds. for that one-of-a-kind whoa... ...which leaves you feeling... ahhhhhhh listerine. feel the whoa!

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because while you're getting creative, walmart is doing what we always do. keeping prices low for you every day. so you can save money and live better. ♪ good morning. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington on another painful morning for the uvalde, texas community as funerals begin for the victims of last week's mass shooting at robb elementary. the first funeral mass for fourth grader amerie jo garza who was shot while dialing 911. a service this evening for 10-year-old maite rodriguez. there are visitations throughout th