jim lewis is that family's attorney. where was it kept? >> in his bedroom in his gun safe with a key. >> reporter: and the key was with cruz? >> it was with mr. cruz. it was his gun and his cabinet. >> reporter: and the family let the gun into the house because? >> because it was part of his possessions. >> reporter: that lawyer jim lewis said that the family had no idea that cruz was going to do this or what his motive was. law enforcement sources are telling nbc news that cruz is being held her in an isolation cell on a suicide watch. lester? >> all right. kerry sanders with us tonight. thank you, kerry. >>> president trump says he plans to visit the site of this horrifying massacre in the coming days. today he addressed a grieving nation while many are calling on the president and congress to finally address guns and mental health. we get more from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: the president's efforts to comfort the nation tonight striking for what he didn't say. >> answer hate with love. answer cruelty with kindness. >> reporter:

so joining us now is jim lewis, the attorney representing that family. jim, thank you very much for being here. this family, i know they feel sickened and devastated today. tell us about why they took him in three months ago. >> well, he really didn't have a lot of choices. his mom died. he wasn't doing well where he was staying. after a week around thanksgiving, they knew the son and offered him a home. they had a room. he really had no other options. they brought him in. >> did they say troubling signs? >> they saw some depression. obviously he lost his mom. but they helped him get a job at a dollar tree store. they got him going to adult education to get a ged. and he seemed to be doing better. >> because he was expelled from this high school. the high school that he went into and brought his, you know, ar-15 style weapon into. he was expelled. what was that about? >> that was a year ago. there were disciplinary issues and fights. he was a smaller kid. there was indication there may have been some bullying going on. he had been away from the school ove

joining me now is jim lewis, an attorney for the family the shooter lived with. mr.is, thank you for joining us. you represent the family who took in nikolas cruz, took him in after his adoptive mother died. are they just stunned by this? >> they are. they can't believe what's happened. they can't believe that this young man was capable of this. they took him in off the street where he really had no other place to go after his own mother died. he had befriended their son at the same high school about a year before, and when the -- nikolas ran out of other really alternatives where he could stay, they opened their home to him, and this happened and they just can't believe it. >> the suspect was living with them since around thanksgiving. tell us about why -- why did they offer him a home? >> well, he was a friend of their son. and he seemed like a, you know, he was described as a little quirky, but he was a quiet kid, but while he lived there, he was very respectful. he obeyed all the family's rules that they had. he's just a kid that needed a home and they had a plac

. >> reporter: cyber-security expert jim lewis says hackers have repeatedly targeted the games. during the olympics in beijing, london, and brazil, there were reportedly millions of attempted cyber attacks a day. some succeeded. >> low level, but scamming tickets, stealing money. >> reporter: this department det of homeland security alert warns travelers to pyeongchang that their mobile devices could be monitored or compromised. one concern in south korea: whether russian hacking units may seek payback for the decision to ban russia's olympic teams from the games amid doping allegations. >> in previous olympics, they've done their usual trick. they hack emails and release things that are damaging to american athletes or athletes from other countries. >> reporter: cyber-security firm threatconnect says a hacking unit with russian ties stalled pawnstorm, recently sent malicious emails to the international ski federation, ice hockey federation, and several other organizations with a stake in the winter games. >> but as far as a direct attack on the games themselves, it's most likel

. >> jim lewis is an attorney representing the family he says took cruz in after his mother died last november. >> i thought they were doing a good deal and helped a young man who was going through some difficult times. >> authorities plan to examine the gunman's social media activity as they try to figure out his motive. a federal law enforcement officer tells cbs news they are working to trace the ar15 back to the first lawful purchaser. reporting in parkland, florida, laura podesta, kpix5. >> president trump tweeted my prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible florida shooting. no child, teacher, or anyone else should ever feel unsafe at an american school. meanwhile u.s. gun control could soon be getting weaker. president trump's newly unveiled budget slashes funding for the national criminal background check system by 16%. >> it is a bit shocking. this is the 18th school shooting in the united states so far this year. >> we are just 45 days into the new year. joe vasquez continues our team coverage and tells us some bay area leaders are loudly speakin

joining me now is jim lewis, an attorney for the family. the shooter lived with. mr.is, you represent the family who took in nikolas cruz. they took him in after his adoptive mother died. are they stunned by this? >> they are. they can't believe what's happened and that this young man was capable of this. they took him in off the street where he had noplace to go after his own mother died. he befriended their son at the same high school about a year before. when he ran out of any other alternatives to stay, they opened their home to him. this happened and they can't believe it. >> the suspect was living with them since around thanksgiving. tell us about why they offered him a home. >> well, he was a friend of their son. he seemed like he was described as a little quirky, but he was a quiet kid. while he lived there, he was very respectful and obeyed the family's rules and he was a kid that needed a home and they opened their home up to him never knowing this would ever happen. >> walk us through yesterday morning. the father woke him up to take him to an adult educati

i also have another tidbit of information from jim lewis, the attorney representing the suspect's family. he says he doesn't plan to be at the courthouse today to represent the suspect. he's expecting for the suspect to get a court-appointed attorney. behind me you can see this is still a very active scene as investigators are scouring through the horrors left behind. we have to warn you some of the individu video you're about to see is very graphic. [ gunshots ]. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: terrifying moments unfolding, a gunman brandishing a semi-automatic weapon, opening fire, killing 17. >> there were tears. some people were crying. some of my classmates didn't know if they were leaving the school alive. >> reporter: the chaos erupting minutes before the end of the school day. the fire alarm sounded. >> the shooter wore a gas mask and had smoke grenades. he went and set off the fire alarm so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall. there the carnage began. >> reporter: students and teachers confused because only hours earlier they had done a fire drill. >> eve

. >> jeff, cbs news, via tweet, jim lewis, he says the family was aware nicolas cruz had a rifle. he said the family was not aware of troubling social media postings from nicolas cruz. that subject of the reporting this morning. also you should know that former presidential candidate mitt romney was expected to make announcement for run for senate for utah. he has postponed that announcement from today saying that via tweet saying that as a father and grandfather, my heartaches for the victims of today's tragic events. my prayers go out all the families and loved ones out of sense less. out of the respect for families, i'll not be making announcement of the senate race. in fact, if you go to the tribune, taking a look at decision, but also some of the reaction from the utah republican party about his planned run for the senate seat. again you can see that at salt lake tribune website this morning. gil, north carolina, an educator, go ahead. >> yes. good morning, not only educator, i'm a father and grandfather. and i propose that the flag, flags and the united states fly at half ma

. >> attorney jim lewis represents the family that took krutz in after his mother's death. >> they had no clue something like this would have happened or they never would have taken him in. >> reporter: broward county sheriff's records shows ly s ly cruz calls the police several times. he threw objects, punched a hole in a wall. the sheriff said his deputies didn't have me options. >> this isn't science fiction. we're not allowed to arrest on what someone thinks about. >> he said, i'm going to kill you, rape you, hurt your family. >> reporter: she talked about cruz threatened her after she advised his girlfriend to leave him. >> they c have done more. >> reporter: the fbi has also apologized for mishandling a tip from january who was concerned about cruz, owned guns and threatening to carry out sh. on average the fbi tip line receives about 2,100 calls a day. gayle? >> the more you hear, disturbing it is. >> you know, the missed warning sign was so important. injuring himself, he could have been committed. >> in this case, see something, say something, and nothing happened. >>> there w

james and kimberly snead and their lawyer, jim lewis. how are you holding up?ter of emotions. um -- you know, it's -- still tough. we're still very -- grieving. >> feeling for the families it's affecting. >> and you opened your home to cruz for nearly three months. >> yes, sir. >> you tried to get him counseling. what was he like in your home? >> nothing that they proper tray on television or the media. >> everything everybody seems to know, we didn't know. we had rules. and, um, he fold every rule to the "t." >> and before he moved into your home, how well did you know him? >> i had met him calm of times before. he had spent the night at the house. he was very polite. he seemed normal. >> and kimberly can you take us back to that day. was there anything unusual before that day? >> no, not at all. the only thing that was maybe different was he didn't go to school. he usually driving him to school. he didn't go that morning. it sometimes happens. >> he said he didn't go to school on valentine's day. >> okay. >> when did you realize what he had done? >> um -- aft

. >> reporter: attorney jim lewis represents the family that took cruz in after his mother's death inember. >> they have no clue something like this was ever going to happen. they never would have taken him in and allowed him in their house. >> reporter: broward county sheriff department records show linda cruz summoned deputies to her home 39 times since 2011. in 2013, she told police nikolas was throwing objects across the room. the next year, she claimed he punched a hole in the wall. sheriff scott israel told a local tv station his deputies didn't have many options. >> this isn't science fiction. we're not allowed to arrest on what a person thinks about on crimes. >> he said, i'm going to kill you, i'm going to hurt your family. >> reporter: junior dana craig says she told school security about threats cruz made against her after she advised cruz's then girlfriend to leave him. >> these things were being reported. when people were being targeted. they could have done more. >> reporter: the fbi has also apologized for mishandling a tip it received in january from someone who was co

students have said they saw disturbing social media posts from the shooter and moments ago i spoke to jim lewisamily who took cruz in after his adoptive mother died. i imagine the family must be devastated. >> they can't believe it. took in this young man, his family, his mother just recently died. he knew their son very well. >> this happened around thanksgiving? >> mother died november 1st last year. he moved with them in thanksgiving and they took him in because he really didn't have another place to go and he was good friends with their son and they don't know what to make of this. they didn't see this coming. they're just mortified. >> have they had a chance to speak with him since he taken into custody? >> no. >> he said something about valentine's day. >> he was supposed to get up and go with the father to the adult education school he was going to but made some comment, it's valentine's day. i don't go to school on valentine's day. >> you say they saw no signs. he built up quite an arsenal. they knew he did have an assault rifle. >> yes, and he brought it into the home and it was in a l

. >> reporter: attorney jim lewis represents the family who gave cruz a place to stay. >> they can't believe that someone who lived in their home that was so close to them for this relatively short period of time was capable of such a horrible act. >> reporter: lewis says cruz was getting an adult education and working at a dollar store where he was a cashier. he told the sun sentinel newspaper cruz legally purchased the ar-15 weapon used in the attack. >> it's like someone would do this, you would expect it to be this kid. >> reporter: after the shooting, students described cruz as a loner who struggled in school. >> people were saying it was going to be. we actually -- a lot of kids threw jokes around like that, saying he's going to be the one to shoot up the school but it turns out, you know, everyone predicted it. >> reporter: paul gold lived next door to cruz in parkland and says the death of his adopted mother had a major impact. >> at times, he had so much anger and pain inside of him. >> reporter: gold says cruz complained about being picked on and bullied in school. >> kids

we'll bring in cnn's gloria borger, white house correspondent jim acosta, matt lewis, a commentator, as well. this story, gloria, is unbelievable. i understand you have new reporting before we dig into more details on rob porter, the outgoing staff secretary in the white house. what have you found out? >> my colleague dana bash have done some digging. he didn't know about all of this until "the daily mail" article was brought to his attention and he was not very happy, he was furious about it. we also know that his daughter ivanka was very unhappy about it. and as you reported before, chief of staff kelly knew about it. we're not sure to what extent, however. but he knew about it this fall, dana and i are told by two sources, because his security clearance wasn't coming through, and he knew that there was something that was keeping it from going through. so kelly had some form of knowledge about this. and the problem i think, kelly has grown to like porter. he's dependent on him. he's the sort of staff secretary that makes the trains run on time. they had each other's back. they trus

pretty lewis was beaten badly. hite man, jim pegg. he was beaten pretty bad. but i was not physically attacked. the police arrested me and in the night, they took me out to a klan mob. the deal was they did not book me into the station, there is nothing on the records indicating i had ever been arrested. and because the idea was to deliver me to the klan and the klan would kill me, and the police would say, i've never heard of him, we never arrested him, we have no record of him ever being in rock hill. i was rescued by a black man who had watched the police and had been assigned by corps to, if anybody is arrested, to report back. and he had been watching the police, and when i was ordered out of the police car at gunpoint, i had to run from the mob and he drove up beside me as i was running and told me to jump in the back seat and get down on the floor. and that is how i escaped from winnsboro, south carolina. host: do you still know that man? hank: i never knew his name. i have tried all these years, and i am pretty sure he has passed. the city of winnsboro

lewis was beaten pretty badly in rock hill. i was on a bus that was stopped in south carolina. the white, jim peck, was beaten pretty badly as he got off the bus. while i wasn't physically attacked, the police arrested me and in the night, they took me out to a clan mob. the deal was they did not book me into the station. there is nothing on the records indicating t indicate th indicating that i had ever been arrested. the idea was to deliver me to the klan and the klan would kill me. the police could say, we have no record of him ever being in rock hill. i was rescued by a black man who had watched the police and who had been assigned prior by the core if anybody was arrested to report back to them. he had been watching the police and whether i wn i was ordered the police car at gunpoint, i had to run from the mob and he drove beside me to tell me to jump in the car on the back seat and get down on the floor. that's how i escaped from windsboro, south carolina. >> do you still know that man? >> i never knew his name. i have tried all of these years and i'm pretty sure he has passed. the city

john lewis was beaten pretty badly in rock hill, and i was on a bus that was stopped in windsboro, south carolina. the jimwas beaten pretty badly as he got off the bus. while i wasn't physically attacked, the police arrested me in the night. they took me out to a klan mob. they did not book me into the station. there's nothing on the records indicated that i had ever been arrested and because the idea was to deliver me to the klan and the klan would kill me and the police can say we never heard of him. we never arrested him and we have no record of him ever being in rock hill. i was rescued by a black man who had watched the police and who had been assigned by core to if anybody is arrested to report back to core and this type of thing and he had been watching the police, and when i was ordered out of the police car at gun point, and i had to run from the mob and he drove up beside me to tell me to jump in the car if the backseat and get down on the floor and that's how i escaped from windsboro, south carolina. >> do you still know that man? >> i never knew his name. i have tried all of these years, and i