. >> we asked nbc's gabe gutierrez to look into whether things will change any time soon. >> in moore, oklahoma, the first week of school normally a time of renewal. is this year a reminder? >> it feels like you are going to get through it. >> 9-year-old sydney was one of seven killed at plaza towers elementary when the e f5 twister roared through. sydney's school did not have a storm shelter and many here in tornado alley have been asking why. >> it's nothing short of embarrassment. >> alabama requires shelters, but only for new schools. in oklahoma alone there 1800 schools and fewer than 200 have shelters. >> are who should be responsible? the federal government or states or local school districts? >> i think all three. >> after another mammoth tornado ripped through moore in 1999, fema grants built this sheller at kelly elementary. the doors seal off the area by reinforced concrete. >> if the federal and state government gave the districts money, it would be fabulous. >> that's the biggest obstacle. estimates put the cost at more than $1 billion. >> you can't wait for government to

nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from decatur now with details. gabe? >> reporter: lester, all 800-plus students have been accounted for tonight, and no injuries have been reported. visitors are supposed to be buzzed into the school, but somehow the suspect got through. a terrifying scene in suburban atlanta. a reported gunman at an elementary school, children being quickly herded to safety, and dozens of officers swarming. >> why would you run into an elementary school with innocent babies? >> reporter: around lunchtime, police say a 19-year-old man wearing dark clothes walked into the front office at ronald mcnair discovery learning academy with an ak-47 and told the clerk to call a local tv station. as officers approached, police say he stepped outside the school and fired at least six shots. when police fired back, he dropped to the ground and surrendered. no one was injured. >> i'm in shock. i never thought something like this would happen in my neighborhood, period. >> reporter: for linda bell, it was three hours of agony. the wait for her 6-year-

nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from decatur now with details. gabe? >> reporter: lester, all 800-plus students have been accounted for tonight, and no injuries have been reported. visitors are supposed to be buzzed into the school, but somehow the suspect got through. a terrifying scene in suburban atlanta. a reported gunman and an elementary school, children being quickly herded to safety, and dozens of officers swarming. >> why would you run into an elementary school with innocent babies? >> reporter: around lunchtime, police say a 19-year-old man wearing dark clothes walked into the front office at ronald mcnair discovery learning academy with an ak-47 and told the clerk to call a local tv station. as officers approached, police say he stepped outside the school and fired at least six shots. when police fired back, he dropped to the ground and surrendered. no one was injured. >> i never thought something like this would happen in my neighborhood, period. >> reporter: for linda bell, it was three hours of agony. the wait for her 6-year-old son. >> m

gabe gutierrez is there with details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. participate in their own version of the hunger games. sort of, anyway. it was supposed to be about learning and having fun. not everyone saw it that way. in the hunger games teenagers fight to the death gladiator style. based on the best selling books, the stories are wildly popular with tweens. so popular that a day camp in florida devoted an entire week to hunger games activities. dozens of kids participated. this video was taken by the tampa bay times. but when the story hit the website with the headline at hunger games camp, children want to fight to the death, it spread quickly all across the internet and so did the controversy among readers. one calling it murder as children's entertainment. another writing this is disgusting. but camp organizers say there was no violence. kids grabbed flags from each other to collect rather than take lives. the emphasis was on communication and working together. >> avoiding the violence that is within many of the great books is not how you stop

gabe gutierrez joins us. we'll play an extended version of this 911 call so people can hear. there we see a lot of activity. what are you hearing from parents and maybe even some of the kids? >> reporter: well, tamron, yeah, there has been a lot of activity. the school went into session around 7:00 this morning. we talked to parents around 7:00 this morning. school is just dismissing. we're waiting to hear reaction. several parents wanted to thank this bookkeeper. they were amazed she was so calm, cool and collected and was able to talk down this gunman. one woman we talked to, susan hughes, she brought her 10-year-old son. he was in the fifth grade. she was reluctant to drop him off at school because of all they had been through. she had to deal with some tough questions from her son yesterday. she told us about some of those conversations. here's what she has to say. >> we had to get under the table and i think they told him it was a drill but then they said this is an actual emergency and to get under the table until they were led outside. he was terrified. he had butterfl

nbc's gabe gutierrez has the story in decatur, georgia. good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. this is not his first run-in with the law. in march he was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat. this morning, 20-year-old michael brandon hill is behind bars. investigators spent the night trying to pin down his motive. looking for clues at the rental home he shared with this woman and her boyfriend. >> he is having a rough time so i just pray for him. >> reporter: tuesday afternoon in suburban atlanta, police say hill walked into the front office at ronald mcnair discovery learning academy with an ak-47 and at least one other weapon despite the school security system that required visitors to be buzzed in. >> we suspect he came in behind someone authorized to be there. >> reporter: the police chief says the suspect briefly held at least one employee captive and told her to call a local tv station. as officers approached, investigators say he quickly peeked through the front office door firing at least six sho

gabe gutierrez is there with the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.as they deal with the pain of what happened here nearly three months ago a debate is raging over how to make sure that students across tornado alley are safe. when the tornado sliced through moore on that frightening may afternoon, residents took cover, but some couldn't escape. >> nothing feels like it's supposed to. >> reporter: dan and nicole still can't escape. >> i don't know how to call a place a home without her. >> reporter: their 9-year-old daughter was one of the seven killed at the elementary school when the twister rolled through. >> does it make you angry? >> absolutely. every day, all day angry. >> reporter: the school did not have storm shelters and many here have been asking why. >> do you think a shelter would have saved sidney? >> absolutely. >> it is not a question of if tornadoes will come. it say question of when. >> reporter: local attorney john hunt is trying to come up with an answer. he brought together volunteers to raise private money forming a nonprofit orga

for "today," gabe gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. >>> i want to look at the rest of the week, what else> lola is here with the round up. good to see you. >> good to see you, too. >> there's a big party tonight. i have to fly out after the show. >> he can't tell us where he's going. >> jennifer aniston is throwing a bash. there's a speculation it may be a cover for something else. >> this is the day he proposed to her last year. people are saying friends and family are coming over for a birthday, but it might be a surprise wedding. >> what do you think? >> it could be. it could be. think about it. it's a great way to have all your friends and family there, still keep the paparazzi at bay a little bit. it's low key. her last wedding literally had fireworks, a huge fireworks spectacle. this is a way to have everyone you love there and be intimate. > pics. >>> we are talking about amanda bynes. her mother was granted temporary conservatorship. she's placed on a 30 day mental hold. >> psychiatric watch. >> a lot of people are hoping it will help her recover. >> i'm hoping so. it's clear she'

gabe gutierrez, thanks very much. >>> natalie is here with the latest on an alleged chemical weapons attack in syria. natalie, good morning to you. >> good morning, guys. the video is very disturbing and the images out of syria this morning as well as the rising death toll. after reports of chemical weapon attacks, the syrian government is denying allegations that it gassed its own people, but if confirmed, it is the worst chemical weapons attack anywhere in decades. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in cairo with the latest. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. funerals are being held today in syria for what rebels say were the hundreds, if not perhaps more than 1,000 victims from yesterday's attacks. rebels say they were chemical weapons attacks. 35 nations now are calling for a full u.n. investigation. here in egypt, the former president hosni mubarak, who was overthrown in 2011, been in prison since then, today was flown out of jail, taken out by a military helicopter, flown to a military hospital here in cairo. he is not entirely a freeman.