gabe gutierrez, nbc news >>> also developing tonight another sight authorities are taking no chances in the wake of a deadly mass shooting earlier this more. two more teens arrested in florida for threatening violence here's nbc's ron allen >> at nova high school near miami, authorities were taking extra precaution after a student was arrested thursday for posting this on a social media site used by gamers. i want to shoot up a school. this is a genuine feeling. i want people to suffer. >> thankfully someone saw this, recognized that it was, you know, disturbing, had an idea of who this individual was and contacted law enforcement. >> court documents say the student told police he did not have any intent in following through. he said he wanted people to feel the pain he felt but the student faces serious felony charges since august 1st, the nation's police have reported 14 incidents of students threatening to carryut shootings at schools, each one resulting in an arrest a 16-year-old girl was arrested for sending a text to her group chat threatening this catholic school police say sh

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, washington >> and here in new york, a big change takes effect tomorrow that allows victims of child sex abuse to file civil lawsuits against whoever hurt them from allegations against the catholic church to the boys scouts, even if the statute of limitations has expired.ann ompson reports states are doing the same. >> reporter: for sister suzanne robertson and june maloney, saint coleman's home was a house of horrors they say they were sexually abused at the catholic-run orphanage in new york by a nun named sister regina who is deceased what did she do? >> she assaulted me. she put her hands up me. >> reporter: it was around 1962. suzanne and june had just hit puberty. >> she took the washcloth and put the brown soap on it and poured the rest of the bottle of lie so and she brought it up between my legs and shoved it up -- >> reporter: how often do you think about what happened to you? >> every day >> i try not to think about it >> reporter: almost 60 years later, they can finally sue their alleged abusers, including saint coleman's which did not return our r

lester >> all right, gabe gutierrez, thank you.e are learning more tonight about the mass shooting that killed 22 people in el paso and how the suspect's mother called the police before the massacre worried about her son's purchase of a high-powered rifle. our miguel almaguer is in el paso with details. >> let's go, let's go. >> reporter: just weeks before the massacre at walmart, the mother of the el paso gunman says through her attorney she called police concerned her son had purchased an ak-47 style rifle, but because he was 21, had no criminal record, and was not mentally ill, there was nothing officers could do. the mass shooting comes after texas passed ten new laws to loosen gun restrictions. next month, guns will be allowed on school grounds and in churches >> it's the person who decides to use that gun that we're afraid of. >> reporter: with the gunman held here in isolation, police call the attack a hate crime minutes after the gunfire, lionel gutierrez who was off duty with his two children, ran into the chaos, triaging

if convicted, drejka faces 30 years in prison >> gabe gutierrez, thank you. >>> also making headlines this evening, president trump sparking new confusion on gun background checks, pulling new tax cuts off the table, and feuding with denmark over his rejected offer to buy greenland, all while doubling down on his controversial remark about jewish voters. nbc's peter alexander is at the white house. >> reporter: president trump tonight delivering mixed messages about enhanced background checks for gun buyers. >> oh, i have an appetite for background checks. we're going to be doing background checks >> reporter: at the same time after another call with the nra chief on tuesday arguing the existing system is already strong >> we have background checks but there are loopholes in the background checks. that's what i spoke to the nra about yesterday. >> reporter: the president also appearing to reverse course amid concerns the economy may be weakening, an outlook he disputes. after floating the idea of a tax cut tuesday. >> payroll tax is something we think about. >> reporter: today saying

nbc's gabe gutierrez has the video, which we should warn you is disturbing. >> help me help me!eporter: tony tempa has called 911 himself, telling a dispatcher that he suffered from schizophrenia and depression and was off his medicine. >> get on the ground. >> no, you're going to kill me you're going to kill me! >> reporter: these body camera videos from august of 2016 were obtained by nbc station kxas and "the dallas morning news" after a lengthy legal battle tempa is restrained for 14 minutes as officers laugh and crack jokes. >> still with us >> reporter: then he goes quiet. as he is loaded on to a stretcher, the officers realize he might not be breathing. in an ambulance, paramedics begin treating him >> he's not breathing? >> nope. >> reporter: the officers appear stunned. >> he what >> he's dead >> reporter: an autopsy revealed tempa died from cardiac arrest caused by cocaine in his system and the stress of being restrained early their year the dallas district attorney dismissed pending misdemeanor charges against three officers, but his family is now suing, alleging exce

who helped save people, and new insights about the suspects we have two reports beginning with gabe gutierrez in dayton. shortly before his rampage. this surveillance video obtained by cnn shows him at a nearby bar with a woman that appears to be his sister police say about an hour later he would open fire, killing her and eight others as people ran for their lives. >> we have an active shooter on 5th street >> there were shots and everybody laid down. i don't know where my friends are. >> reporter: for the first time the gunman's family is out with a written statement read by police, saying they're shocked and devastated >> they offer their most heartfelt prayers and condolences to all the victims, their families, and friends. >> reporter: lindsay dahl said she dated the gunman in high school, and he told her he heard voices >> the voices told him to harm others he was afraid he would end up harming others, which is absolutely haunting now. >> reporter: should people have paid more atten flags? >> yes, absolutely >> reporter: 57-year-old derek fudge was the oldest victim. he died in his son'

and kept telling him i love you >> reporter: here, the loss is unimaginable so is the strength gabe gutierrez, nbc news, dayton, ohio >> reporter: i'm miguel almaguer in el paso, tonight for a community grieving, the walmart parking lot is a symbol of both heartbreak and hope. 22 lives were lost here, but many more were saved >> i passed by the store today for the first time and i just got a bunch of flash backs. >> help!ng, the walmart employee began rushing dozens >> reporter: when gilbert serna realized gunfire was erupting, the walmart employee began rushing dozens of people out of back doors as shots grew louder, serna ushered more than 150 customers into shipping containers, perhaps saving their lives >> i will never forget that baby that was covered in blood. i will never forget the faces as they're running out of the fire exits.st >> reporter: tonight, a community hurting and healing with the first of 22 funerals set to begin friday. miguel almaguer, nbc news, el paso, texas. >>> and with pressure growing on lawmakers, it appears there may be momentum tonight to pass something known a

gabe gutierrez for us. thank you so much, gabe. good talking to you. i'm joined by veronica escobar who represents el paso in the house of representatives. i first want to start by expressing my condolences to you and the incredible loss you have faced the last couple of days and the reality that now exists that so many victims that are mourning the loss of the victims today. you're not going to be joining the president in el paso later this afternoon when he touches down there. you sent out this tweet. you wrote this, i detkhraoeupcl invitation because i refuse to be an accessory to his visit. talk to us about the reasons and why you chose not to join the president today. >> well, first of all, thank you for your condolences. i really appreciate it. our community is in mourning, a lot of pain, but resilient, full of beauty and love. i'm glad people have had an opportunity to see the beauty and grace of the community. i'm of course devastated that this is why you all are here in el paso. i listened to the president this morning as he was taking off for

that are responsible for placing their children in this situation. >> joining me now is nbc's gabe gutierrez washington post political reporter eugene scott. gabe, i was watching that. i don't know how you kept your cool. because the parents are to be blamed for breaking the law? first of all, there was no enforcement discernible against the employers. the timing of the raid has been questioned. the insensitivity of proceeding with the raid the same day as the el paso visit by the president to comfort a terrorized hispanic community after what happened in el paso days earlier. and yes he's a law enforcement officer, but why didn't they contact mississippi child services in advance? why didn't they bring in hhs? >> and so i pressed the acting director on a few of those things. they say they didn't have to contact child protective services and they did contact school districts. >> not in advance. >> the director says because this is a law enforcement operation, they argue that, you know, for law enforcement operations you can't tip anyone off. that was his argument. now i did press him on why

i don't know what i'm going to do without him." >> gabe gutierrez, thank you so much. >>> all right, bring in danny cevallos, msnbc legal analyst. thank you for being here so early on a saturday. what's the status right now of the hundreds of people who were arrested at the six companies there in mississippi? >> it's difficult to get the hard statistics, but about 270 or so had been released, but still 300 or so remain in custody. it's hard to know what criteria authorities are using to detain or release parents or even nonparents at this point because the standards leave so much discretion up to federal authorities to make that determination. for example, whether the parent pos poses a threat to the child, what the significance of the criminal history is, these are things that have some gray area for authorities and result in some inconsistencies in who is detained and who is released. >> gabe gutierrez, our reporter on the ground there, says those detained were given one phone call. what kind of legal representation do they have here? >> we see it in the movies all the time -- let

gabe gutierrez in mississippi and julia ainsley, thank you to both of you.mber of migrants at the border the last month. the decrease we see during the hot summer months. 82,049 people were arrested or turned away at the southern border in july. that's the first time we have seen a figure below 100,000. the numbers are down from earlier this year, still twice as many people as last july. nbc's cal perry is joining us live where he gained exclusive access to mexican magiciannatio guards. cal, i have been curious of how this is working and what's going on and what did you learn while you were embedded with the mexican national guards? >> reporter: well, i think we got to start by saying the trump policy has a profound effect in the united states. these national guard members, 11,000 members of them. a direct response to president trump's threat of terrorists. that's why they were there. people have travel between guatemala to mexico for centuries. they never needed an id. the other thing we are seeing is actual raids, round ups by the national guards going int

we're going to get more details now from nbc's gabe gutierrez

gabe gutierrez in dayton. we still don't have a motive in this shooting, but obviously taking place just hours after what we saw unfold in el paso. what's the latest? >> reporter: >> investigators are obviously still looking at that motive. no clear motive yet. i do want to tell you something that happened this afternoon. behind me the bar where the shooting happened incredibly has reopened. so have several businesses here along the oregon district in dayton. an incredible show of strength and resilience as the community begins to heal. kasie, this afternoon we heard from local officials. they are still trying to search for a motive as to why 24-year-old connor betts would have opened fire. they found 41 spent shell casings here at the scene, which is incredible when you consider that the shooting happened in the span of 30 seconds or so. meaning the overwhelming power of the weaponry that this gunman had with him. he was able to cause so much carnage in a short amount of time. he could have had up to 250 roun

at least that's what they're telling me. >> gabe gutierrez, live on the street in dayton, ohio. let's cross over to kelly o'donnell at the white house and talk about what the president said as he left the white house this morning, embarking on this two-city journey, meeting with victims and their families and officials in those cities. some of them we know will not be welcoming him to those towns. there's a history of this president making promises on policies, in this particular case about gun policy, that he ultimately abandons. i'm curious to get your thoughts about how he spoke about that issue today. >> reporter: he's signaling an openness to deal with congress on matters of background checks and talking about his own willingness to use whatever political capital he may have to try to convince some lawmakers to move in that direction. he spoke about a movement that he says has occurred because of the scale and magnitude of this deadly violence with members of both parties wanting to take some action. you're right, we have seen this before from the president. after parkland,

nbc's gabe gutierrez has the latest >> reporter: tonight federal investigators are on the scene of the fiery plane crash in rural tennessee trying to find out what caused it to lose control with nascar legend dale earnhardt jr. and his family inside >> the airplane bounced at least twice before coming down hard on the right main landing gear. >> reporter: they're analyzing surveillance video and the cockpit voice recorder the small cessna had just landed thursday afternoon at this airport near bristol >> the airplane went off the runway i need you to roll everything you can. >> reporter: the plane rolled off that runway and tour through the fence before ending up on the side of the highway and bursting into flames if the fence had wrapped itself around the plane's door, it would have been much harder to escape remarkably, earnhardt jr., his wife amy, one year old daughter isla, their family dog, and two pilots all survived. >> you don't often get to have stories where news is good, and this news is as good as it can be >> reporter: eyewitnesses say they made a dramatic mistake >> once

caught families off guard leaving kids frightened and confused as their parents were detained gabe gutierrez is there with the latest >> reporter: tonight a community living in fear, 18-year-old stephanie who asked us not to use her last name says she was at school when she heard her father was detained. >> he told me that i don't have to worry about everything if my family is okay but right now my family is not okay >> reporter: she says her younger sister just three years old was with him when he was taken into custody tony mcgee, the local school superintendent says counselors are now on hand. >> it's been emotional draining on our students and families and staff too. >> reporter: today president trump defended the mississippi raids which detained about 680 undocumented immigrants. >> this serves as a very good deterrent. if people come into our country illegally, they're going out >> reporter: i.c.e. officials tell nbc news they did release some of the parents of young children quickly and notified schools once the raids were under way they also gave everyone detained a phone call, an op

small private jet was destroyed, but earnharacpag dyn his family and the pilot survived the crash gabe gutierrez has late details. >> reporter: tonight the faa says the five people aboard survived with no injuries, incredible considering the fiery wreckage after the small private plane rolled off a runway in tennessee. >> you could hear the commotion. it just was a bunch of metal and screeching like it was sliding maybe. >> reporter: among the survivors, racing super star dale earnhardt jr., his wife amy, and their 1-year-old daughter >> when i got close to the airplane, the first person i came in contact was mr. earnhardt. he was laying on his back totally conscious and alert. >> reporter: the three passengers and crew members had just landed at elizabethton municipal airport. the safety board is now investigating what caused the crash that left smoke billowing into the air >> luckily we dodged a bullet today. everyone got away unharmed >> reporter: 18 years ago, earnhardt jr.'s father died in a viol he was just 49 >> nonracing fans know who earnhardt jr. is, and that's not just because of his

gabe gutierrez is also in dayton, and spoke to some of the survivors. >> reporter: it was chaos, eyewitnesses say, sheer carnage in dayton's historic oregon district. >> i literally like just looked down, and everybody was on the ground and it was so loud i -- i mean, i just freaked out and started running. >> reporter: taylor mulberry was inside this crowded bar. she and about a dozen bystanders took cover in a bathroom, not sure if the people desperately banging on the door to get in could be the gunman. >> it sounded like the gunshots were coming closer i thought that they were just going to come into the bathroom, and i just thought that i was -- that it was over >> reporter: you didn't think you were going to survive? >> no, i didn't they we would get out of the bathroom. >> reporter: today authorities identified the nine people who were killed, including the shooter's sister megan betts >> i just looked down the sidewalk and just saw a row of -- the row of bodies people were shot, some alive, some not. >> reporter: kayla miller was also inside the bar, celebrating a friend's birthday. d

. >> let's get the very latest from gabe gutierrez in dayton and nbc's miguel almaguer in el paso. gabe, first to you. tell us about dayton, ohio. you heard this update from the officials there. >> reporter: andrea, we just got that update from local officials moments ago. i'm here in the oregon district, the bar behind me is where the shooting took place, or rather outside of that bar. this area has just reopened. we heard from local officials who, as you mentioned, are still searching for a motive at this point. they say it's too early to tell exactly what that motive was. they're looking into whether the sister was actually targeted. as you mentioned, she was the youngest victim, 22 years old, megan bet megan betts. we got new information about this investigation and the number of people that were treated and those still hospitalized. number one, of the 37 people that were hospitalized, 14 of those were from gunshots. the others are cuts and other minor injuries as they were running away from the scene. 11 people are still hospitalized at this point. with regards to the investiga

we get details now from nbc's kelly o'donnell at the white house, gabe gutierrez in ohio and, kelly, i'll start with you. can we expect the president to continue tweeting about those who criticize his rhetoric today? >> hard to know, but i think of the course of the next several hours where the president is on the ground and visiting, perhaps in that window of time it is less likely that the president would engage in tweets. he tends to do those more when he's got some time to himself and his team sometimes will prepare a tweet that recaps a visit. so perhaps we'll see that. he is with the first lady and sometimes that also changes the nature of the visit. this is the president in a more ceremonial mode, not in the raw political kind of vibe that we sometimes see the president in. we'll have to see it play out. the president sometimes has a different perception of how his own rhetoric plays. you can certainly take that from his dmon his comments to reporters where he describes himself as toning it down when many of his critics believes that his words and policies and actions have inf

gabe gutierrez has been following the investigation here in dayton. he joins me now. what do we know about where the investigation stands right now? >> craig, the big question is motive as it so often is after these shootings. we do not know why this gunman opened fire, a lot of questions surrounding his sister, what she was doing in the area. stunning surveillance video which many viewers will find disturbing. if we play some of that now authorities released this yesterday and you can see some of these bystanders just ducking for cover as the shots rang out. authorities describe just a horrifying scene but that the gunman was neutralized, they say, in less than a minute. now, craig, you know how just incredible that is that the -- these officers can come in here in less than a minute and were able to take out the suspect. this video released yesterday, less than 24 hours after this investigation began. certainly very unusual craig the authorities were able to, you know, get this much information out there. now, as we mentioned this 24-year-old gunman, connor betts, h

let's get the scoop from gabe gutierr gutierrez. gabe, this is heartbreaking.covered a lot of stories. this is one of the worst you've ever had to deal with. >> reporter: hi, andrea. certainly very emotional here in this community. as you mentioned, hundreds of workers swept up as part of these raids. it's not clear how many children are affected here. local officials say that's part of the problem. they simply have no idea how many children are affected. child protective services here in mississippi was not told in advance about the raid. i.c.e. says they were under no obligation to do so. one i.c.e. said we're a law enforcement agency, not a social services agency. behind me is a church near morton, mississippi. we're in forest, mississippi. this is among the churches that have seen a rise in donations over the last two days and over the last few minutes since we've been here. we just arrived here in the last few minutes. we saw people coming in here, family members of those who were detained in these raids picking up supplies that have been donated. we saw a

nbc gabe gutierrez spoke with some of the survivors. >> reporter: it was chaos eyewitnesses say sheer carnage in dayton's historic district. >> i looked down and everyd it loud i just freaked out and started running. >> reporter: taylor was inside this crowded bar she and a dozen terrified bystanders took cover in a bathroom not sure if people desperately banging on the door to get in were the gunman. >> it sounded like the gunshots were coming closer i just thought, it was over. >> reporter: you didn't think you were going to survive. >> i didn't think we would get out of the bathroom. >> reporter: authorities identifiy eied those that were killed, including the gunman's sister >> i look down and saw a row of bodies he shot some alive, some not. >> reporter: miller was also inside the bar celebrating a friend's birthday. did you know they were gunshots right away? >> it was pretty evident everyone was crawling towards the back exit and fighting each other to get out of the bar. >> reporter: in her struggle to survive, a heroic instinct kicked in. she performed cpr on other victims. >

in dayton this comes as the gunman's ex-girlfriend tells nbc news there were troubling signs gabe gutierrez has more and we should warn you some of this new video of the rampage is quite disturbing >> reporter: these were the panic moments inside the crowded dayton bar people diving for cover before police quickly took the gunman down tonight a growing mystery into why the 24-year-old opened fire. >> this isn't about race this isn't about religion. it's none of those things. this is a man who is in pain and didn't get the help that he needed >> reporter: adelia johnson tells us she recently dated the gunman for a few months after bonding over their shared struggle with mental illness >> people go every day being perfectly fine without having mental illness, me included. and he just -- he got the short end of the stick no support system. >> reporter: she now believes there were red flags she says he showed her video of a mass shooting on their first date later took her to a gun range and performed with an extreme heavy metal band known for sexually violent lyrics. so far police have not dete

nbc's gabe gutierrez has the details. >> reporter: the first look at the dayton gunman shortly before his rampage. this surveillance video obtained by cnn shows him at a nearby bar with a woman who appears to be his sister police say about an hour later he would open fire, killing her and eight others as people ran for their lives. >> hey, we have an active shooter on 5th street. >> there were shots and everybody laid down. >> reporter: for the first time the gunman's family is out with a written statement read by police, saying they're shocked and devastated >> they offer their most heartfelt prayers and condolences to all the victims, their families and friends >> reporter: lindsey doll says she dated the gunman in high school and he told her he heard voices. >> the voices told him to harm others he was afraid that he would end up harming others, which is absolutely haunting now. >> should people have paid more attention to all of the red flags? >> yes, absolutely. >> reporter: 57-year-old derek fudge was the oldest victim. he died in his son's arms. >> he stopped moving i was like,

everything unfolded so quickly and with such deadly results nbc's gabe gutierrez is also in dayton and he spoke with some of the survivors. >> reporter: it was chaos, eyewitnesses say, sheer carnage in dayton's historic oregon district >> i literally looked down and everybody was on the ground, and it was so loud i mean, i just freaked out and started running. >> reporter: taylor marbury was inside this crowded bar. she and a dozen terrified bystanders took cover in the bathroom not sure if people desperately banging to get in could be the gunman. >> it sounded like the shots were coming closer they wanted to get in the bathroom i thought it was over. >> reporter: you didn't think you were going to survive? >> no, i didn't think we were going to get out of the bathroom >> reporter: authorities identified the nine people who were killed including the shooter's 22-year-old sister megan betts. >> i looked down the sidewalk and just see a row of -- there were a lot of bodies people shot. some alive, some not >> reporter: kayla miller was also inside the bar celebrating a friend's birthday.

and gabe gutierrez in ohio. what can we expect to hear any second now as we look at the white house. >> reporter: there could be a slight delay to the president's remarks. the challenge for this president, for any president in a moment like this is getting the tone right. it has been a struggle for president trump in the past when he has visited these sites of mass shootings. sometimes he hasn't given remarks. what we expect him to say this morning is to talk generally about the tone in the country. not get into too specific of policy proposals. that said, as you mentioned, he did hint about immigration reform and something with gun control. we will see to what extent president donald trump makes explicit links between legislations, his own actions, his own rhetoric and what he thinks should be done on both the southern boarder and with guns in this country. it is going to be an interesting mome moment. presidencies are often defined in these moments. we will see if president trump rises to it. >> we look at the

nbc's gabe gutierrez is there. >> it's so bright. >> reporter: the explosion was massive, tearing through a rural kentucky community about an hour south of lexington, the moment captured on this camera from nbc affiliate wlex. >> it was like an atomic bomb went off. >> reporter: the blast so powerful you could see it on radar. the fire ball sprung 300 feet into the air and was visible 40 miles. tonight, the fire is out but the debris is still smoelderring. 58-year-old lisa derringer was killed. >> we don't believe we have anybody else unaccounted for at this time. >> reporter: a ruptured 30 inch gas line caused the explosion. the pipeline cuts through much of the country all the way from texas to new york. it's owned by enbridge. in a written statement the company says we have isolated the affected line and are working closely with emergency responders to manage the situation. >> it sounded like a blow torch. >> reporter: jody is out of the hospital after suffering burns on her arm. >> i thought i was going to die so i tried to call my son. i wanted to say good-bye to him. >> reporter: wi

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, washington >>> and tonight, the faa says that some older apple laptop computers should not be taken on planes because their lithium ion batteries may pose a fire risk. the warning applies to some 15-inch macbook pro s sold between 2015 and 2017. apple has issued a recall saying the batteries may overheat and pose a risk of fire >>> we've got a lot more to tell you about on this wednesday night including "your money, your life." remarkable new drugs to prevent migraines but for some, getting insurance to pay is another headache >>> also new alarm about young people and vaping after almost two dozen are hospitalized with severe lung damage we hope you'll stay with us. severe lung damage. honey, have you seen my glasses? i've always had a knack for finding things... ...colon cancer,to be exact. and i find it noninvasively... no need for time off or special prep. it all starts here... you collect your sample, and cologuard uses the dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers. you can always count on me to know where to look. oh, i found them! i can do this test no

gabe gutierrez has the video which we should warn you is disturbing >> help me help me! >> tony had called 911 himself telling a dispatcher that he suffered from schizophrenia and depression and was off his meds. >> get off the ground. >> you're going to kill me you're going to kill me. >> reporter: these body camera videos were obtained by nbc station kxas and the dallas morning news after a lengthy legal battle he is restrained for 14 minutes as officers laugh and crack jokes. >> are you still with us >> reporter: then he goes quiet. >> wake up >> reporter: as he's loaded on to a stretcher, the officers realize he might not be breathing. in an ambulance, paramedics begin treating him >> he's not breathing? >> he's not breathing? >> nope. >> oh, [ bleep ] >> reporter: the officers appear stunned. >> do what >> he's dead >> reporter: an autopsy revealed he died from cardiac arrest caused by cocaine in his system and the stress of being restrained earlier this year the dallas county attorney general dismissed misdemeanor charges against three officers plus but the family

nbc's gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: good morning. the fourth acting i.c.e. director since trump took office makes no apologies for the raids at food companies in mississippi. another official is being criticized for changing the poem on the statue of liberty this morning, a top immigration official taking heat for rewriting the statue of liberty's famous inscription, reading in part, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free ken cuccinelli saying this when asked on npr if it was still america's message. >> give me your tire and yod anr poor who can stand on your own two feet >> of course that poem was referring back to people coming from europe where they had class-based societies where people were considered wretched if they weren't in the same class. >> they throw things like that out, red meat for their base, people who want to create a whiter nation. >> reporter: democratic presidential candidate beto o'rourke tweeting, this administration finally admitted what we know all along they think the statue of liberty only applies t

gabe gutierrez is tracking that. good morning >> reporter: investigators are digging into whether the gunman had any help planning this attack, this as a former girlfriend shares he once told her that he heard voices, urging him to hurt others this morning, the fbi has launched a federal investigation into the massacre in dayton. >> we have uncovered evidence throughout the course of our investigation that the shooter was exploring violent ideologies. >> reporter: for the first time, the gunman's family released a written statement, read by police >> the betts family is shocked and devastated by the events sunday m district. they offer their heartfelt prayers and condolences to all the victims, their families, and friends. >> reporter: lindsey doll says she dated the gunman in high school. >> he would confide in me a lot about the dark things he experienced himself. >> reporter: some of those dark things, she says, included hearing voices. >> the voices told him to harm others. he was afraid he would end up harming o

nbc's gabe gutierrez in dayton. nbc white house correspondent kristen welker and pete williams. gabe, first to you. we're expecting to hear from the mayor at any moment. tell us how the investigation is going? >> reporter: hi there, andrea. as you mentioned right behind me you see the crush of cameras, expecting to hear from the mayor in a few minutes. this is the crowded bar the gunman was trying to get into when police officers stepped into within 30 seconds and took him down. just an incredible scene to think that how much more deadly this could have been if those officers, which many residents are calling heroes, had not stepped in. authorities have said they have recovered 41 spent shell casings at the scene. but he may have had capacity for as many as 200 rounds. we're learning more about the gunman. investigators digging into his past. overnight, we spoke with one of his ex-girlfriends. she told us she met him at a community psychology college class. she broke up the relationship in may after they had been dating for several months. she now believes there were red flags, i

we're going to get more details now from nbc's gabe gutierrez who remains on duty for us in dayton, ohio. phillip mena is in el paso, texas. peter alexander is at his post at the white house. gabe, what more, if anything, do we know about what happened just a few feet behind you and why? >> reporter: well, an incredible act of rinse yesterday. we are learning more about the gunman as investigators dig more into his past. we are also seeing just some horrifying video, craig, from inside that bar as the shots rang out. we want to worth you some of that video is disturbing, but it does show those panicked moments that unfolded just a short time after midnight on sunday. now, authorities say they were able to recover 41 spent shell casings in and around this area that suggests that, you know, the gunman was firing at a very rapid pace. they say this could have been even more deadly if police officers had not stepped in and taken him down within 30 seconds. again, 41 spent shell casings. they say he had the capacity to have up to 250 rounds, although it's unclear exactly how many did he have.

gabe gutierrez in dayton, ohio, and in el paso, texas. gabe, to you first. have we learned anything new about a possible motive? what do we expect from the governor? >> reporter: hi there, stephanie. yes, as you mentioned, investigators are now digging into the gunman's past, 24-year-old connor betts. and we're also getting a terrifying look inside the bar where this all happened behind me now. a warning to some of our viewers, many may find it disturbing. so here you see that video. and it's just people diving for cover as the gunman was trying to enter the bar. police officers stepped in and were able to take him down within 30 seconds of those first shots being fired. investigators say they were able to find 41 spent shell casings at the scene. stephanie, that's pretty incredible when you think, again, the gunman had only been firing for about 30 seconds. authorities say had the officers not stepped in this could have been sadly much worse. nine people were killed and more than 30 injured at this point. we're also learning new details about the gunman's p

. >> that's gabe gutierrez reporting tonight for nbc nightly news. after these mass raids that were launched yesterday while the president was in el paso, these mass arrests, the trump administration eventually released a few hundred of the people they had arrested and taken away. which of course raises the question as to whether they had any idea who they were arresting in the first place, why they swooped in and arrested those particular people in the first place, particularly when it's evident they had zero plan for what would happen to those peoples families, their homes, even their babies and their little kids. but, again, regardless of whatever they say and whatever comes out of the president's mouth, this is the story of how our government responded to an anti-immigrant massacre committed by someone who quoted the words of the president's re-election campaign about needing to stop an immigrant invasion. our government's response to that, the trump administration's response to that mass killing was to leave up the president's re-election campai

gabe gutierrez joins us now for more on this from morton, mississippi, where some of these raids took place. gabe, the optics of what happened not lost on him, saying it is meant to be a deterrent of sorts. what more have you learned about wednesday's raids and how people are responding there? >> reporter: it is significant that he is viewing them as a deterrent. i can tell you on the ground, speaking with some of these families who are now wondering where many of their relatives are, it is having quite an impact here. this community is reeling, trying to figure out what's next. i'm standing in front of the food processing plant where i.c.e. agents rounded up workers suspected of being undocumented on wednesday. as we have been reporting, 680 people or so were taken into custody. many of them bussed to a military hangar for processing. 300 or so have been released due to humanitarian reasons. we believe that is because those are parents that need to head back to take care of their children. but 400 or so remain in i.c.e. custody and remain in facilities here in mississippi as well as

joining me gabe gutierrez and from washington nbc news correspondent covering the doj and dhs, juliansley. let me begin with you. what has the community there been doing for these separated families in the past couple of hours? >> hi there. as you can see, this is a church in forest, mississippi where donations have been pouring in for many of these families. one of the organizers here tells us that just yesterday they had about 150 or so people come in here and you can see some of these volunteers gathering some of the materials here. just to give you an idea of how this spread across the state, this is the local paper here, i.c.e. raids rock state. really, these communities are reeling. so many of these communities have so many of these workers and as you mentioned, 680 people rounded up on wednesday. we have spoken with a couple of families this morning including an 18-year-old girl who says that she learned that her father had been detained while she was at school on wednesday. she still doesn't know where he is at this point. we also spoke with an undocumented worker. he says --

. >> today nbc's gabe gutierrez interviewed acting i.c.e. director asks for reaction to that very video. >> we conduct our operations with professionalalism, compassion and humanity and try to minimize the impact on the innocent people of the situation. however, we have to enforce the law. the parents or the individuals that are breaking the law are ultimately the ones that are responsible for placing their children in this situation. >> you see the very different ways to defend these policies. cuccinelli picking a fight with poetry, the acting i.c.e. director talk up compassion blaming the parents. think for a second. could compassion and professionalism involve a process where there was communication when you have a minor who is now separated from her parents? i put that question to you with this reporting. five days later she doesn't know where her father is. this immigration policy is the reality right now. raids that leave these children in tears in the wake of a mass shooting targeting latinos, no effort to the communicate with people