students settling into their morning classes when at 10:38 chris harper merser came into schneider hall and unleashed his vicious attack. ♪ i once was lost >> over a thousand people gathered last night to remember the victims of thursday's school shooting. katrina talks about her friend chris mince who pleaded with the gunman not to kill him because it was his son's birthday. an army veteran just started college and shot multiple times. >> he is suspected to survive however he'll be in a wheelchair and relearn how to walk. >> mince's family told nbc news we were told he did heroic things to protect some people. arie's brother was also in the classroom. he was unharmed. she says her brother told her the gunman asked people their religion before thhe started shooting. if they were christian they were shot in the head. if they stated other or didn't answer they were shot in the head. >> the shooter is 26-year-old chris harper merser who began his rampage just after 10:30 thursday morning. >> we have one female shot at this time. >> according to witnesses police arrived on scene within minu

the gunman, chris harper merser, is among the dead. police say he was not a student at the school. >> family members of students in the classroom where the shootings occurred tell mbc news that the gunman asked what religion they were before firing. he specifically targeted christians. four weapons were recovered, three handguns and a long gun similar to an ar style rifle. here's douglas county sheriff addressing the media last night. >> let me be very clear. i will not name the shooter. i will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act. media will get the name confirmed in time. you will never hear me mention his name. >> just before 11:00 a.m. local time police dispatchers received the first 911 calls from the school. the gunman opening fire near one of the classrooms in the science area. with us this morning we have former governor of vermont and howard dean, writer for the national review. charles c.w. cook and in manchester, new hampshire manager editor of bloomberg politics. first let's go