. what we know is stephen paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo. meticulously planned on the worst domestic attack in the united states history. >> police are piecing together a more complete picture of just who stephen paddock was and how he developed his deadly plan. >> just days after the mass shooting, law enforcement stepping up major new security measures, including bag checks and metal detectors at hotels. >> to the battle over gun control, the nevada shooter had 12 bump stock converted weapons, virtually machine guns. >> new details on the russia investigation over possible collusion in the 2016 election. a national league wild card winner. and then to pittsburgh.

celebration. "early today" starts right now. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances revera. >> a traffic systems technician was working near the strip and took this disturbing video. a stampede of concertgoers fleeing the concert. the technic bravely wading towards the danger helping the wounded into his truck, and delivering them to medical care. at least 58 people were killed and 500 others injured. at least 317 of them have been released from hospitals. >> police later searched the gunman's car finding 1,600 rounds of ammunition, and 50 pounds of tannerite, a material that can be used to make explosive devices. this comes as a las vegas review journal said the gunman fired bullets at jet fuel tanks on sunday. the fbi said the shoin

>> we have found no evidence to this point to indicate terrorism. but this is an ongoing investigation. we'll continue to look at all avenues. we're not closing down any doors. our resolve is firm. we will get to the bottom of this. no matter how long it takes. >> law enforcement is in contact with the gunman's girlfriend, seen here in the wheelchair. she is considered a person of interest as she claims to have known nothing in a statement read by her lawyer. >> he never said anything to me. or took any action that i was aware of that i understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen. >> let's turn to nbc's miguel almaguer who has more on the police response to the horrific mass shooting. >> go that way! get out of here!

over there! >> reporter: police say they ran into 11 minutes of hell. the las vegas police department releasing a sampling of body cam footage, capturing the intense horror. volley after volley of relentless gunfire. >> get down, get down, get down! >> reporter: bullets hurtling through the air. >> they knew what they were doing. it's also not just a fly by the seat of your pants. it's calculated risk. >> reporter: with officers sweeping onto the killing field, this camera buried under a vest showing one officer shielding a victim lying on the ground. alongside police, paramedics, knowing they, too, could be killed. >> it's very intense. >> reporter: jeff buchanan's team scrambled to put on kevlar. >> they're focused on the patients, and

focused on saving as many people as possible. >> reporter: video captured by a cab driver. in the chaos, police would eventually spot the shooter. >> the mandalay bay! >> reporter: fear and panic was everywhere, victims piling into this taxi. >> please, just go! >> i'm going, i'm going! >> come on! >> reporter: among those pulled to safety, 24-year-old kristen babbin. >> everyone was running away and screaming. there were a lot of people going toward it. to help. >> reporter: she's recovering. she's still wearing her concert wristband. >> i'm fortunate i didn't pass away. but i'm also fortunate i'm not stuck with this bullet wound in my back for the rest of my life. >> reporter: an

during the gunfire from this hotel room, many say their officers were wearing body cameras, adding much of the video is still being reviewed. some is too graphic to share. it is a harrowing account of what so many first responders went through. >> miguel, thank you. president trump visited las vegas yesterday meeting with surviving victims of the shooting. he praised the medical team's emergency response and promised support to the survivors. >> i just want to congratulate everybody. it's incredible. incredible what you've done. we met quite a few people. and believe me, they're very lucky to be here. i think the only message i can say is we're with you 100%. i invited a lot of them over to the white house. if you're ever in washington, come over to the oval office. they're all saying, we want to do it. believe it, i'll be there for him. >> ron allen is i

this morning on the strip. ron, there's a makeshift memorial right there behind you. >> reporter: exactly, frances. we're not far from the mandalay bay. you can see this makeshift memorial that started to form and grow. there's a somber crowd over there, paying their respects to the victims of this horrible massacre. that as we're learning more about the gunman and who he may have been. the police describe stephen paddock who was a deranged individual who had a secret life. they're trying to track down associates to know what he was doing in the days and weeks leading up to this horrific attack. they're not describing anyone else as a person of interest. they want to talk to these people. for the first time that they think he had some kind of help, because of the size of the arsenal that he had assembled. here's some of what they had to say about that. >> it's troublesome that this individual was able to move this amount of gear into a hotel room unassisted.

it's troublesome for the amount of stuff he had at both residents, unassisted. so there's people that know this individual. there's people that could help us understand this individual. >> reporter: we also want to show you the pictures of the somber scene today, a funeral cortez for an off-duty vegas officer killed at the concert. a scene that's going to be repeated, funerals, of course, in the coming days, here, and in cities across the country where other concertgoers who were mowed down came from. >> one by one, we'll be hearing about those funerals. this morning, a las vegas resorts are beginning their slow return to normalcy, as shows and attractions opened up with added security. jolene kent has details from the strip. >> reporter: major new security measures deployed in las vegas, days after the mass shooting from a hotel room window. law enforcement stepping up security outside ote

and inside at the wynn and encore, beyond the security cameras, hand-held metal detectors for guests and staff. k-9 units scouring the strip and searching hotel rooms for possible threats. this trip is different. >> last night we had to go through metal de tech torsion, which was the first time we've had to do that. >> reporter: keeping hotels safe while maintaining ambience and privacy for 43 million visitors. >> we're observing everyone coming into our property. we're doing bag checks. we don't want to push visitors away but we want to make sure everyone's safe. >> reporter: it's impossible to fully guarantee the safety of las vegas or any city. with thousands of rooms and balconies overlooking popular public spaces. >> do we want to tie down everybody's freedom, because we have a piece of garbage like this thing? i don't think so. >> reporter: but hotels and ci c

>> possibly put sensors in the windows. that way the windows, once it's broken out, you obviously know there's an event going out. >> reporter: guests can be more vigilant, too. >> everybody has a role in security. if you see something, say something. go to a valet, or front desk. they have a direct line to security. >> reporter: new efforts to make sure what happened in vegas is safe. jolene kent, nbc news, las vegas. >> returning now to the weather, looks a little bit busy behind you there in the tropics, bill. >> we have our depression. it's not showing any signs of getting any stronger, so that's good. it will be near the coastline of nicaragua and honduras later today. tomorrow is the big day. it will be over the western caribbean, over very warm water. if it's going to intensify, that's when it will likely happen. almost hurricane strength by the time it gets to cancun. in the gulf, a stron

storm. none of the long-range models take this as a big cat 3 or anything like that. it should stay on the weaker end of the hurricane scale. we're watching from louisiana to the western panhandle of florida. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. here's a closer look at your day ahead. you have about three days in louisiana, especially mississippi and alabama, to prepare for this storm. not supposed to be a huge blockbuster storm, but if the center comes near you and you get the hurricane force winds, that's when you do need to make preparations. we'll take a look at the weekend forecast when we come back. >> bill, thank you. we have learned former presidents are said to headline a benefit concert organized by the george h.w. bush presidential library will take place on october 21st at texas a&m. pittsburgh penguins raise their second straight stanley cup championship banner. thousands of fans cheered on. the penguins' fifth title

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developing overnight, three u.s. army special forces have been killed and two others injured in a suspected ambush attack in nijar. it was first reported by "the new york times," and u.s. military officials confirm the deaths to nbc news. the soldiers were ambushed by possible islamic extremists about 120 miles north of the capital. chapman, what else do we know? >> reporter: well, phillip, that's right. we know three u.s. special forces soldiers were kleild and two others wounded in the attack in anijar. it's understood the patrol came under hostile fire.

carried out the attack. it's in an area where militants from al qaeda affiliates have conducted cross-border raids from mali. we do know white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders told reporters that the president had been briefed on it by chief of staff general john kelly. the u.s. navy commander said in a statement to nbc news, that they were there to provide training and security assistance to the armed forces to target violent extremist organizations in this region. though, these details continue to develop. phillip? >> all right, thank you, chapman. just ahead, which reality tv star chartered four jets to bring needed supplies to puerto rico. new investigation into the collusion with russia. keep it here on "early today." walgreens is easier than ever. just walk right in and pay zero dollars with most insurance. plus, when you get a flu shot at walgreens, you help provide a lifesaving vaccine to a child in need

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the issue of collusion is still open. we continue to investigate both intelligence and witnesses, and that were not in a position where we will come to any type of temporary finding on that until we've completed the process. >> that was the republican head of the senate intel committee updating the public on a months-long investigation into russia's meddling in the 2016 election. new developments emerge almost daily in a story that has only gained steam since inauguration day, some 259 days ago. with senate intel members

election, claiming they still can't rule out collusion by members of the trump campaign. despite poring over 100,000 documents in their investigation. while there are those like the president who continue to refer to russia's interference as a hoax, one thing the lead senators made clear is russia will interfere again. >> what i will confirm is that the russian intelligence service is determined, clever, and i recommend that every campaign and every election official take this very seriously as we move into this november's election, and as we move into preparation for the 2018 election. >> for more we go to nbc's tracy potts on capitol hill. >> reporter: good morning, frances. social media may have some of the answers that the lawmakers are looking for. they have now seen some of the 3,000 ads that facebook says were placed there by russian actors, russian profile

some 10 million people and specifically targeting swing states that donald trump ended up winning. were those ads placed there specifically to influence the election. that's what they're looking into. and were there americans that helped the russians figure this out. listen. >> we now know, thanks to information released today, that very carefully crafted targeting was done in michigan and in wisconsin. michigan, which had a vote difference of 10,000 votes, in both cases less than 1%. and how did this sophisticated targeting occur. who provided the insight to russia on how to target -- >> senator, are you saying that the circumstantial evidence suggests they would have needed american expertise to do that? >> yes, that is certainly the likely result. >> we can learn more in a few weeks. facebook and twitter have agreed to testify in november.

reuters, that robert mueller, in charge of the fbi investigation, has taken over a probe of a dossier that was put together by a former british spy, looking into collusion, possible collusion linked between president trump and russian actors, personal links, financial links, that's all now part of mueller's investigation. >> another layer. tracy, thank you. coming up next, which reality tv star is going al out to help the desperate people of puerto rico? can you guess who? tch me. ♪ tch me. i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me. ♪ think i'd give up showing these guys how it's done? please. real people with active psoriatic arthritis are changing the way they fight it... they're moving forward with cosentyx®. it's a different kind of targeted biologic.

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it can be anything from water, food, diapers, pet supplies, oxygen on cargo planes, strangers have done 99.9% of this. >> that was bethany frankel of the reality star addressing her recent efforts to bring aid and support to puerto rico after hurricane maria. frankel has not only assisted in the aftermath, but she has brought scores of others to help out as well. so there you see her on the ground there, right in the midst of where all the devastation is bricking all those. you saw the diapers and other needed supplies. >> good to see so many people stepping up to help out. also in the news

penn state fraternity suspended after a student was hospitalized after allegedly being found unconscious as a result of drinking at a frat. and here is your public service announcement for the day, or for the month for that matter, leading into the weekend. can you say dollar margaritas? several of them, summer may be over but that doesn't mean the end of margarita season is over. applebee's is selling dollar margaritas for the entire month of october. they're just a dollar. is it all margarita mix and a drop of actual tequila? because then those would be -- >> what is the catch here? that's basically drinking a dollar's worth. >> we're curious to go. just ahead. the gun debate is heating up in washington.

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next on news 4 toyed, our coverage of the las vegas massacre continues from the first shot to the hotel room breach. the timeline of events that officials just released as well as what the gunman's girlfriend has to say. and i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. skies are partly cloudy here early this morning. it is a whole lotilder today m

good morning everyone. i'm molette greechbl thanks for waking up with us on this thurgs morning. it feels really good. feels like summer is cg

back. we're going to bring in chuck bell to can tell us what to expect today. absolutely, molette. a lot of warm air moved into the area. as a result, we're in for a warmup. temperatures reaching back into the 80s by later this afternoon. as of now, though, we're still in the mild range, 50s and 60s this morning. on monday morning, there were 30s in the shenandoah valley. this is a significantly warmer pattern that moved back into the picture. 61 in washington. 53 in germantown this morning. as you plan out your day today, a few more clouds than we've had the last couple of days but toasty warm. most areas in the low 80s. that's not the lafst of the 80s we'll see. our extended forecast coming up. >> thanks, chuck. the las vegas massacre still dominating the news and the thoughts of most americans.