my name is amanda wilcox i think there's absolute agreement among all parties that voluntary treatment is by far the preferred model. two, that laura's law, court ordered outpatient treatment, is for a very, very small slice of the spectrum of people with severe mental illness. i would venture to guess out of most people in this room, very few would qualify for laura's law. it's for a specific group of people and by definition of the law, they have had a recent history of hospitalization or incarceration or have made serious threats of violence. and to catch those people and get them into outpatient treatment while they live in their homes in their communities before they are once again incarcerated or hospitalized, that is actually very respectful of civil rights. just to clarify, laura's law cannot force medication. what we have found in nevada county, it's a very collaborative process. offering the treatments voluntarily as the law requires is getting many people into treatment. the hearing before the judge is have very collaborative. small steps are taken, it actually empowers the

to meet laura's parents today who came down from nevada county to share their story, nick and amanda wilcox, their daughter laura who did not suffer from mental illness but was a bright 19 year old rising is junior in college back east who lived on the coast of the nevada boarder here in california who was tragically shot and killed by someone who did suffer from mental illness and someone whose parents were seeking help and someone who simply, there were no options in their county. and it doesn't have to be this way. parents, families and friends shouldn't feel helpless at a time they are in need. they should feel supported by their city and community and the mental health services offered by the city and their county that meets those needs. if laura's law were in place in nevada county at the time and if it is in place here in san francisco, the tragedies that belie those families don't need to take place any more. now across our country there is a mental health crisis. there was a report last week that came out in a national publication that over 43 million individuals in the united stat

for the record, my name is nick wilcox, i live in penn valley in california here with my wife amanda who because of the crowded conditions is in the overflow room, she's also put in a speaker card and would like to reserve the right to speak at the end if she deems that necessary. i would like to thank supervisor farrell and mayor lee for your steadfast support of laura's law. as supervisor farrell said, amanda and i are the parents of laura wilcox, laura when she was 19 in 2001 died in a rampage shooting while she was trying to help people with severe mental illness. she was working at the behavioral mental health clinic, i man named scott thorpe came in and shot her pointblank 4 times and she died instantly. since that time we have come to realize, actually we came to realize rather early on in the process, that there are significant gaps in the mental health services system. we became involved with assembly mental helen thompson in ab 1421 which was eventually signed by the governor and is now known as laura's law. specifically we realized that there was a gap in the continuum of

wilcox walked right past amanda miller not knowing she was a threat. >> she apparently came up from behind and shot from close range. it angers me so much. >> reporter: tonight police are emphasizing if you see something, say something. lives are hanging in the balance. david. >> pierre, thank you. >>> now to severe weather targeting parts of the country. 13 million americans in the path of the storms tonight. we have seen the flooding in maryland. drivers trying to navigate the washed-out roads. and there were people trapped under an overpass who had to be rescued. the water simply too deep were their cars to handle. i want to bring in chief meteorologist tracking this all in the weather center. you were telling me there was a lot more rain to come. >> there certainly is more flooding on the way. a narrow band of storms between d.c. and baltimore. it sat there. the rain falling at three inches an hour. that's what caused the flash flooding. the next 48 hours it's going to be widespread. we're looking at the potential for more than four inches of rain from the gulf coast up to the midatlan

across the parking lot where he was confronted by 31-year-old joseph wilcox, a civilian carrying a registered concealed weapon. >> amanda, removed her firearm and shot him one time in the ribs area and he immediately collapsed. >> as police response teams moved in, there was a battle before amanda shot her husband several times and turned the weapon on herself. early in the investigation, they believe the attack was motivated by the couple's white supremacist and anti-government beliefs. >> they had some apparent ideology that along the lines of militia and white supremacist. >> officers were also quick to point out, this is just the beginning of what will be a long and very difficult investigation. >> reporter: much of that investigation today focused on the couple's north las vegas apartment where investigators say they found volumes of hand-written and printed anti-government and racist material. live in las vegas, i'm jay gray, nbc bay area news. >> thanks, jay, for the update. >>> back here at home, armed with a hatchet and wearing a disguise, that's how walnut creek police describe this robbery suspect. he held up

he walked into the wal-mart where he was confronted by 31-year-old joseph wilcox carrying a registered concealed weapon. >> amanda miller shot him one time in the ribs area where he immediately collapsed. >> police response teams moved in and there was a brief gun battle before amanda shot her husband several times and turned the weapon on herself. early in the investigation, they believe the attack was motivated by the anti-government and white is you premist beliefs. >> no doubt they have apparent ideology along the lines of militia and white supremacists. >> they point out this was just the beginning of what will be a long and difficult investigation. jay gray, nbc 10 news. >>> tonight the big payouts. >> one county is turning out to be the place to win. i think we have to go here. we will show you the lucky streak that is happening there. also concerns why the large sea creatures near the boaters along the jersey shore. the warning there. plus this. >> imagine being able to use your tax dollars to pay from school flies to private tuition. how close delaware is to making this a reality. >> nbc 10 news is live

wilcox who tried to stop them. the couple later exchanged gunfire with police. amanda miller shot and killed her husband.nd then turned the gun on herself. >> new tonight, the house veterans affairs committee hold as hearing on the va scandal as new revelations about the agency's trouble come to light. lawmakers in washington grilled va officials an audit released today shows that more than 57,000 veterans have had to wait more than 99 days to receive care. an additional 64,000 appear to have fallen through the cracks completely. never getting appointments even after enrolling. 13% of schedulers reported being philadelphia by supervisors to false if i appointment schedules to make waits appear shorter. "eyewitness news" has object taped the average wait times for veterans to get their first appointment at va facilities in our area. in philadelphia, it's 26.5 days. in coatesville, the average weight just over 10 days. in wilmington, the average weight more than 25 days. >> relief is on the with for college grads saddled with students loan debt. president obama will expand an existing program that caps lon

amanda miller would then shoot him basically in the side as he was approaching him. joseph wilcoxtunately died as well as a hero trying to save people at that walmart. really disturbing details as we go on and hear more about what happened yesterday in las vegas, gretchen. we do -- the important thing to note is that authorities say it is an isolated act. that's an important detail as this press conference goes forward. we'll continue to monitor it for you. >> adam housley, live for news los angeles. >>> a report has just been released showing tens of thousands of vets are still waiting for their first appointments more than 90 days after requesting them. >>> remember this guy? mets second base men daniel murphy missed opening day so he could miss the birth of his son. coming up, why he says taking paternity leave was a no-brainer for him. >> i had to be there to experience it. and so that is just a couple reasons why i felt that the tourney league was the right decision for our family. i'm in a union. it is a monster, our union is really powerful. major league baseball associatio

wilcox, a shopper who was carrying a concealed weapon. >> as soon as he began to confront jerad miller with mis firearm, amanda miller removed her firearm and shot him one time in the ribs area where he immediately collapsed. >> reporter: the couple barricaded themselves in the back of the wal-mart and had a gun fight with swat teams. it ended when amanda miller shot her husband and then herself. >> there's no doubt that the suspects have some apparent ideology that is along the lines of militia and white supremacists. they believe that law enforcement is the oppressor and they're associated with the nazi movement. >> reporter: jerad miller had served time for drugs and theft. he regularly posted his support for extremist groups on facebook, and this protest of government drones on youtube. >> i mean, they're already wiretapping your phones. you know, watching your facebook and everything. >> reporter: the millers had been living with kelley fielder after being evicted from their apartment. >> fiwould have known what was going on, and i knew what their planning was, i wouldn't have five people that are on my shoulders right now that are

wilcox did not run. he confronted jerad miller. >> he did not realize that amanda miller was with jerad miller and passed her directly. as soon as he began to confront jerad miller with his firearm, amanda miller shot him one time in the ribs area where he immediately collapsed. >> reporter: the rampage came to an end when amanda miller shot her husband and then herself. >> i just want you to know that i love you so much and i hope you'll come visit me in jail. >> reporter: jerad speaks to his wife apparently days before going to jail. his criminal record includes strangulation and criminal recklessness for pointing a firearm. that record got him kicked off cliven bundy's ranch during a standoff with the government. >> we believe they equate government with fascism and those who support it with nazis. >> reporter: we went to the apartment complex where jerad miller lived with his wife. very few of them had not heard him spout his views. a neighbor yesterday saw them departing early in the morning carrying two duffle bags. wolf, she did not call the police. >> what a heartbreaking story that is. kyung lah

wilcox at the entrance and shot him dead. >> joseph died trying to protect others. >> reporter: police arrive, then a shootout. but before police can get to them, amanda miller shoots jerad and then herself. police found multiple roupds of ammunition. they believe they were planning on having a massive shootout with police but because of some quick action, police were able to encounter them by going into the front of the al mart and coming from the back. they encountered them and had nowhere to go and that's why they took their own life. >> police are looking into the visit at the cliven ranch. what are you finding out about that? >> reporter: police are looking into this. what is interesting is that dan simon reached out to cliven bundy and he says, there are a lot of people that came to the ranch. he can't say for sure that they were actually there. but while that conflict was going on, it was kind of a magnet that attracted people who had issues with government and law enforcement and that's what we're hearing about this couple, jake. >> stephanie elam, thank you so much. >>> more than 57,000 veterans have been waiting for 90 days or longer to get

they then walked to the walmart store, where police say amanda miller shot and killed armed shopper joe wilcox, who had moved to confront her husband. and minutes later, after their own murder-suicide, the siege was over. jerad miller, with an arrest record for drugs and assault charges, had briefly joined the armed protesters supporting rancher cliven bundy in his standoff against the federal government. he posted that he got kicked off the ranch back in april but not before he spoke exclusively to nbc news. >> i really don't want violence for them, but if they're going to come, bring violence to us, well, if that's the language they want to speak, we'll learn it. >> reporter: neighbors of the millers say in the past two months, the couple who had once been fond of performance arts had grown grim and threatening, talking about killing cops with ominous posts on social media. then, sunday morning, when neighbor kelley fielder says she spoke with the couple as they left their apartment for the last time. >> she hugged me, he hugged me, and he said that he had to do what he had to do and the rev

jerad and amanda miller ambushed him and officer beck at a pizza restaurant. they ran next door to walmart and killed wilcoxillers inside the walmart. cnn learned that authorities had three previous encounters with the millers this year. a sheriff says they were all without incident but that statement is raising some eyebrows because in february in a call to the dmv, jerad was angry and said he was going to kill officers. >> i'm looking at a $525 ticket for driving while on a suspended license and, you know, that's a whole month of rent. i can't get a job. like, i'm really [ bleep ] and [ bleep ] of all of these laws and regulations. it's absolutely insane. as a person of the dmv, can you tell me how many laws are on the books concerning drivers? >> unfortunately, no, i can't tell you an exact number. i can refer you to our website at in.gchlov. >> well, i'm going to court down here in nevada and contest this ticket and i'm just going to tell them straight up that indiana's whole court system is messed up, it's not my fault and that he needs to drop the case and if he doesn't then i'm going to be forwarding

wilcox thought it was his duty to go stop him. what he did not know is jerad miller's wife amanda was part of the scenario.e gun and shot and killed him. it took hours before they heard anything about what happened to joseph that day. i also spoke to joseph's younger sister, and she told me what it was like waiting to hear about her brother. >> we were just waiting for a call saying he's alive, he's at a pris station. we got the call that he was the one victim inside walmart. >> at this point, the family says they believe that their loved one who said he put family first was acting heroically, that he is a hero, and he died acting out something he believed in. and that was the right to carry a gun. they say he is a hero in their mind. randi? >> stephanie, i'm curious, what did jeremy tanner think or do when his friend didn't emerge from walmart right after him? >> reporter: he said he wanted to stop him and say, come with me. he said, i didn't have a gun, but i wanted him to come with me. but i knew this was something he cared about. these two had been friends for a long time. so when jeremy ran out of the

amanda, carried out these cold-blooded attacks. now, she shot herself seconds later. she did not, as previously thought, fire at her husband. the exchange caught on surveillance tape. last night, the mother of joseph wilcox, who died trying to stop the rampage, spoke to anderson cooper. >> and believed if they didn't get their attention -- and unfortunately, the woman that shot him, their attention would have been on something else. i've been told that by many people, that because of him, he stopped a lot of other people from dying. i'm grateful for that, i am. he did a heroic thing, but i just wish i could bring him back home. >> a mother's anguish there. jerad miller had come to the attention of police in the past for allegedly making violent threats while living in indiana. >>> all right, the truck driver in the tracy morgan crash has pleaded not guilty. 35-year-old kevin roper was arraigned in new jersey wednesday on charges of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. police say he was awake for 24 consecutive hours before his big rig slammed into morgan's limo, injuring four and killing comedian james mcnair. roper's employer, walmart, has said he did not break any regulations. morgan remains in crit

amanda miller ambushed officers alan beck and igor soldo inside a pizzeria. investigators say the couple then went to wal-mart and killed 31-year-old joseph wilcox when he tried service is for officer beck. officer soldo was laid to rest on thursday. a funeral for wilcox will be held next weekend. >>> president obama says he is closely monitoring the turmoil in iraq during his visit to southern california, a day after he said the u.s. would not send combat troops to iraq. the president did say he would consider limited military option, but says u.s. air strikes would have little effect until sectarian violence is controlled by iraq. iraq's second largest city, mosul has been captured by the militants. >>> the uc system is working to evacuate students, faculty and staff from iraq following the surge in insurgent violence. no uc berkeley students or faculty are believed to be in iraq as of yesterday afternoon. the state department has also issued a travel warning advising u.s. citizens not to go to that country. >>> this morning, we're learning about sergeant bowe bergdahl's first moments back in the u.s. after five years in captivity in afghanistan. officials