. >> reporter: paul weaver, the walton family friend had been at home recovering from surgery when he got an urgent text from catherine. >> what time did the first message come in? >> the first one came in at 12:52. >> and what did she say? >> she said, pray, shooting in westgate. hiding. >> that's a message. >> it just blew me away. so i actually wrote her back, really? and she said, yes, i don't know where the boys are. and she said, find blez. >> reporter: he texted the oldest son blez. i started looking on the internet. somebody put out a statement on facebook saying don't call anybody because when the phone rings, people are getting shot when their phone rings. paul didn't call but stayed in touch with catherine through text messages. >> i sent a text get me out of here not like i thought he could but i was desperate. >> when she sent that one, my heart sunk. >> reporter: catherine didn't text her husband philip because she knew he was too far away and knew she would only panic him. back in north carolina, all phillip could do was wait. it was 6:00 a.m. and news of the attack had