our total weekend weapon haul is three semiautomatic handguns with extra magazines and one semiautomaticifle with a 30-round magazine. total spent, $2800. all done without showing any identification. without filling out a single form. not even so much as a name exchanged. the team now has a small arsenal, which can never be traced. martin savage, cnn, atlanta. >> we should point out we've turned the weapons over to cnn security to deal with. >>> new research polling out today shows 86% approval for expanded background checks on would-be gun buyers. but gun sellers are willing to break existing laws in some cases. we wanted to get the national rifle association's take on the push for greater background checks. so joining me tonight, nra president, david keene. david, in the story we just saw, the producer very easily obtains those weapons at gun shows without showing any identification. it could have been a criminal, could have had a criminal background. why shouldn't he have to undergo a background check to buy those weapons? >> well, if they're private sales, as you know, under the law,

three semiautomatic handguns purchased.per trail none of these weapons can be traced to the buyer. later the same day in greenville, south carolina, it's the biggest show of the five our team attended. after wandering the floor our producer spots this gentleman with a semiautomatic on his shoulder. >> strap doesn't come with it. that's my .22. i just moved it over. >> reporter: the bushmaster xm 15 as its known is a semiautomatic only civilian version of the m-16 u.s. military rifle first introduced in the vietnam war and still used by u.s. troops today. >> it's out in the car. i just didn't want to carry it all around. i brought it to a gun show a couple weeks ago in columbia and the case this big and bulky and there were so many people in there i kept banging people and that's why i didn't bring it with me. yeah. either one. the 223 or 5.56. >> any way you'd go down 50 bucks? >> yeah. i can go down 50. >> all right. you want to walk out and i'll pay you? >> sure. let's do it. >> reporter: the seller takes our offer $1,150

our total weekend weapon haul is three semiautomatic handgun with extra magazines and one semiautomatic0 round magazine. total spent? $2,800. all done, without showing any identification, without felling out a single form, not even so much as a name exchanged, the team now has a small arsenal which can never be traced. martin savage, cnn, atlanta. >> wow. checking our top stories now at 11 minutes past the hour. in suburban atlanta a deadly end to a bizarre hostage take. a hostage sweeps into a gun, and the gunman is dead after a brief gunfight. his hostages firefighters that responded a call that turned into a trap. >> made entry into the home, and they were taken hostage by him, and then he started making demands. these demands were to have his power turned back on. apparently he is going through some financial issues, and the power was turned off along with the cable and cell phone and so on, and he wanted all those things turned back on, and that's why he was holding them hostage. >> one law enforcement officer was shot in the incident, but his injury is not considered life threat n

even have enough support within his own party for his fondest wish, a new ban on some types of semiautomatic rifles sometimes called assault weapons. senator richard blumenthal of connecticut joins us. senator, thanks for joining us. >> thank you, jake. >> senator, i wanted to ask you about this emphasis on so-called assault weapons, these types of semiautomatic rifles being banned in connecticut and then also a push to do the same on a federal level. according to a university of pennsylvania study, assault weapons are only used in 2% to 8% of gun crimes. mostly it's handguns. so can you explain why the emphasis legislatively on assault weapons? >> there's an emphasis on assault weapons because of mass killings that involve assault weapons, the ar-15 in newtown, but also because of the high-capacity magazines which are also involved in the effort that we are under taking to bring that amendment to the floor as part of the effort to control violence in this country, gun violence. keep in mind that this bill also goes against illegal trafficking and straw purchases, school safe city is an obje

and one semiautomatic happened gun and corresponding ammunition for the handguns. >> in all the department of justice in california confiscated more than 10,000 weapons like this since 2006. there is still a backlog of 20,000 people. >> is it worth it? all of this to keep him away from guns? >> i think so. if those guns are in the wrong hands, and we have an opportunity to get them out, it's definitely worth it. >> every year the department sets a goal of taking guns from 2,000 people on the armed and prohibited list. and every year the agents say 3,000 more people are added to the list. just after we filmed the california legislature approved $24 million for the program, which will likely increase the number of agents they have to do the work. >> zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds. zero emissions. top speed, 125 miles per hour, all without a drop of gasoline. this is clearly not your father's electric car. this is the tesla model s. beginning today you can have one starting at less $500 ap month. the billionaire personally backing this bill that can cost north of $75,000. welcome. i want to get to

. >> semiautomatic, that is the most popular rifle in america. >> you can use a 12 gauge shotgun andave a good defensive effect. there is the element of surprise. >> well, all due respect to you, senator feinstein i would like my kimber semiautomatic than on my hip when terror is knocking on my door. your thoughts? >> i am traumatized by the feinstein on your hip thing. but i like the kimber choice especially with what happened. people on both sides will be using it, both sides of the lobby to try and push forward their agenda. on a quick note, the two brothers didn't have permits. they obtained these guns illegally. so where there is a will, there is a way. you can't blame it on the weapons. that's ignorant and not protecting anybody. it is not saving lives. >> bob, is there any reason to bring the gun debate up in context with boston? >> the gun debate is over. your side won. it is simple as that. it is not going anywhere. there is no ban on assault weapon or clips. we don't background check. it is over. >> state to state. >> not for massachusetts. >> and not for nbc over the weeke

. >> following the murder of another prosecutor in texas guards with semiautomatic weapons are patrollingourthouses today. >> this is more than a county dense. >> mike mcclelland and his wife cynthia were found dead. the killer reportedly kicked in their door and fired rounds of a semi assault weapon. >> cenk: it was related to this case possibly. >> two months earlier assistant district attorney was murdered. >> i hope the people who did this are watching because we're very confident that we're going to find you. >> law enforcement is trying to determine if there is a link between the two cases. >> cenk: now, some americans are used to hearing stories out of mexico of about how the police and prosecutors are intimidateed by criminals and the gangs. we're not used to that here in the united states. it's a fascinating new phenomenon. in this case it might not be drug gangs. it might be white supremacists. let's talk talk with mark from montgomery alabama. any reason why people are speculating this is white supremacists? >> yes, i do have a sense of it. the chronology of it there has been a

tomorrow on a second amendment crushing gun control bills that may not include restrictions on semiautomaticsazine capacity but does include background checks and a complete ban on holding your gun sideways because you saw it in a movie once. >> i'm giving a wag of my finger to the senate republicans. last week kentucky senator and home birth cautionary tale rand paul promised woe filibuster this bill. now the republicans have cold feet because 85% of the gun owners favor universal background checks. well, of course owners are okay with background checks. they've already got their guns. [laughter] the same reason i support a mandatory herpes vaccine. i've already had mine. besides the issue is gun violence. why do we keep talking about guns? no one has the courage to talk about the real problems, and when i say no one i usually mean joe scarborough because this morning he hit the head on the nail. jim? >> why don't you say something to people making billions of dollars making video games where you shoot down, you murder, you maul 1,000 people a day. becoming more and more warped, more and mor

. >> sadly without access to semiautomatic firearms, australlians wouldn't be a thing about real freedom. >> bloody earth is for free. we're sitting here doing whatever we want. everybody is just hanging out and having a good time. >> people don't have the same concerns any more about getting gunned down when they're in a tourist resort. >> but what was that worth it? >> yes. >> was it worth giving up your fundamental freedoms just to not get shot in a gun massacre? >> what the ( bleep ) are you talking about? >> australians must now live in this well-regulated nightmare because of ex-politicians like rob who smuggling thinks his country has something to teach us. >> i hope that they would have a look at what has happened here. >> why would people want to live like this? >> because they might want a safer societia to live in. >> but it's pointless for us to study the australian experience because their fear of gun control back then has no parallels with ours. what kind of things were you hearing when you suggest gun control? >> that government was becoming a dictatorship. >> that's one.

remarkably, tonight, police believe that during this entire shootout, the semiautomatic pistol in tamerlan'srs had. that gun was later recovered at the scene, which means that all day friday as the city of boston was shut down, the man holding it hostage, justifiably considered to be armed and dangerous was, at least as far as police could tell right now was an unarmed 19-year-old curled up and bleeding in the back of a boat. despite all the evidence, the boy's mother who pushed them towards religion in the first place believes they are innocent. >> my son was muslim, that's it. tonight, her younker son is facing a criminal charge of using a weapons of mass destruction which could carry the death penalty. while tamerlan lies in a boston morgue. nobody has stepped forward to claim his body. for "nightline," this is dan harris. >> coming up next, singer michael buble on building a family and the goal he says he'll never be table to achieve. . [ tires screech ] [ beeping ] ♪ [ male announcer ] we don't just certify our pre-owned vehicles. we inspect, analyze and recondition each one, until it's

that gun is a 9-millimeter ruger semiautomatic. one official said the gun's serial number had been obliterate. it's likely it was stolen or purchased on the street. investigators say there istill no evidence at all that the rathers had outside -- brothers had outside help. >>> vice president joe biden had some choice words for the bombing suspects. >> why, whether it's al-qaeda or two twisted, perverted cowardly knock off jihadis, here in boston, why do they do what they do? >> he went on to say the terrorists know they can never defeat us. he spoke at the memorial for the mit officer the brothers are accused of killing. >>> and williams-sonoma has stopped selling pressure cookers in its massachusetts stores. they say it's temporary out of respect for the bombing victims. >>> a bay area marine who was wounded two years ago is finally back home tonight. jason ross lost both his legs in afghanistan. he has endured dozens and dozens of surgeries. now he can stand up again, thanks to a special gift. >> reporter: baseball and barbecue.

1996 following a massacre, australia's conservative government enforced a national buyback of semiautomatic weapons. while also heavily regulating the purchase and storage of other firearms. the result was dramatically reduced level of gun violence. so why can't we do that here? to find out i sat down with long time aid to harry reid jim manly. >> the nra is still a very powerful force in this country. they have four million members who are very, very determined to get their way. >> and how can a nation of 300 million compete with that? >> it's difficult to understand sometime, isn't it but the fact of the mat certificate that i've got to think long and hard before you support gun control legislation because you are take on the nra can be political suicide. >> and the democratic party is working tirelessly to reduce the rate of political suicide among its members. surely australian politicians weren't stupid enough to end their political lives for gun control. >> well, i did. >> what? >> i did. >> you did what? >> i took the stand. i was prepared to face the political consequences, and we d

and i had to say to them at one point you know all of them are semiautomatic correct. they were saying why don't we just ban the semiautomatic one science i was saying all right explaining that and pointing that out if you want to make new laws you should probably learn about the one that is are in place. people like jeanne and civilians stopping these snens and making it household names and making it our job to make that happen. it's disrespectful and jeanne is not looking to be a big hero but these are the folks who really do protect us. and their stories are ignored. blatantly, willfulfully on purpose. the gun opponents were using data right after newtown to suggest no civilian had ever stopped a mass shooting. a mass shooting had to be four or more people died. well, a lot of them stopped them before they killed four or more people. this is a good thing. that's an important part, making those folks real. jeanne is the archetype of a hero in every crime drama on t.v. and the liberals won't allow her to be one in real life. >> this will be the last question. sorry fo

well, after this morning's investigation police determined it was a very real looking replica semiautomatic weapon but no one knew that at the time. and this all unfolded right across the street from the mission police station. frightened witnesses ran over and told officers there was a man outside pointing a gun on the crowded street corner. >> officers ran out of mission station and found the suspect pointing the gun at the other group. and fired upon the suspect and in an effort to prevent serious injury or death to the other citizens. >> again, the man who was the suspect is now the victim. he and another man are being traetd for serious life-threatening injuries. only one officers fired his gun but both officers are on paid administrative leave per protocol for the next ten days. there were statements taken from witnesses. and they say they are still looking into whether the altercation that started this all was gang related. reporting live from san francisco, abc 7 news. >> thank you, kiera, and no officers injured there. >>> a deadly shooting happened in concorde late yesterday. poli

like gunfire, obviously semiautomatics, you know. >> shepard: explosions and again gunfire? yeah. you were talking about an ambulance. this ambulance has been sitting here since the initial distress call. because i was here when the fire truck. >> shepard: i think that's what happened, wesley is they have let another ambulance in behind that one from the road block outside the neighborhood. >> he is not here yet. i have been watching this all day sitting in front -- i have been here. >> shepard: our reporter was suggesting that this might have been some sort of flash bang, something that authorities will do right before they enter a place to create -- i don't know what it was. you are closer. you felt it. describe it to me. >> i mean, like i said, my heart just sunk because it was just my house shook. it was crazy. it was just a boom and then the house shook then there was a couple other explosions and several automatic automatics went off. i knew it was over. i was talking to correspondent i said it's over because the guys came out with their hard hats. >> shepard: they did

it was a semiautomatic weapon not a fully automatic weapon.t fully automatic weapons, machine guns, are essentially banned to the public. when asked for an explanation the white house said the president misspoke. this is not the first time a leading advocate for gun control has stumbled on the facts. here is new york city mayor bloomberg on abc's "nightline" just after the sandy hook tragedy. >> but that would ban most pistols. >> pistols are different. you have to pull the trigger each time. an assault weapon you basically hold. >> no, those are fully automatic weapons. >> okay. >> the gun debate is worth having and we'll have that conversation on the sheen have had it and will continue to. it might help the advocates of gun control if in their advocacy for stricter measures they seemed more familiar with what exactly they're trying to ban. >>> washington continues to wrestle with the question of what to do about gun violence that the governor of connecticut just put pen to paper signing a sweeping new bill into law today. it outlaws more tha

one would essentially ban the sale and manufacture of any semiautomatic rifle with a detachable magazine regardless of capacity or features. another one would require background checks for ammunition sales. these are very far reaching bills. i have to think it will be difficult even with the democratic supermajority that we have in the legislature. there is some suburban and rural democrats that will not vote for these probably. they are making a concerted push. these bills come to a first committee hearing next week. >> the issue in california, the gun sales across state lines. in nevada. is there anything nationally that they will do? we had a reporter go to a gun show. it was harrowing to hear the people walking down the aisle and say glock for sale. $100. he handed him the gun. that was the background check. >> that is not supposed to happen, but it does. they should be checking for identification to make sure you are in the state. ironically, the proposal pending in congress is permit dealers to sell across state lines, which they cannot currently do without selling to another deale

again, that's a couple of magazines, semiautomatic fire. hard to tell if it's -- if it's long barrel weapons or not. but that's someone firing with intent and again, the report came in that this woman, the home owner, i believe, noticed something amiss with the boat that is trailered in her backyard. >> well, if you consider that everyone has been on edge and the authorities have told everyone that they are the eyes and ears. and that has been the case since the marathon bombings. for a resident to look in the backyard and see something that looked amiss, and in this case it was a ladder that was now in a different place near the boat. that could be something you normally overlook, but not right now, not when people are paying attention to every detail. the people have been in their homes all day and all night, it was only until 6:00 that they were given the word that they would be a able to leave their homes. as they were getting in their cars and leaving, we saw a lot of smiles, they have been cooped up and they were fearful, there was wo

>> he walked in and shooting overing -- started shooting over 70 rounds of ammunition out of a semiautomatic weapon and i was shot twice in the leg and as we ran outside he continued shooting and there were five of us wounded that day. he shot and killed a filipino american postal worker. >> reporter: the newtown shootings reminded her of her goal of achieving gun control. >> newtown made me feel like a failure. mothier represent their children who didn't make it and that's a responsibility i am you know happy to bear. but i can't do it alone. >> reporter: before the rally, two big events focusing on guns were underway here in the bay area. at city hall in south san francisco, organizers bought back 250 guns spending $23,000. representati ieer wants a more thorgh background check system. >> the universal background check that we have in place now that still allows fo the guns in the country to be purchased without that backgroundckpped about 600,000 people om accessing guns every year. >> reporter: but even as guns are being bought back in south san francisco, people were guying buns and amm

watertown, several law enforcement officials say the brothers appear to have had only a single semiautomatic handgun, now being analyzed by massachusetts police. state authorities say they'll file charges of their own later this week for the killing of sean collier, the m.i.t. campus policeman that authorities say the tsarnaev brothers shot thursday night. members of congress say they want answers about whether the intelligence community should have done more to follow up on the older brother, tamerlan, after the russians complained two years ago that he appeared to be growing more radicalized. >> what about his electronic footprint, the suspect's cell phone they were trying to use to track him, the laptop they were anxious to look for inside his apartment? >> reporter: right. they have all that. they do have his cell phone we were told today. and they're looking through all of that for evidence that others may have been working with them. but they say every day they look into this, they become more convinced or leaning more toward a conclusion that the two acted alone, brian. >> pete willia

there is national guard troops out here with their automatic, in some cases, and semiautomatic rifles. s.w.a.t. team members, police presence everywhere. it's going to be one of the heiferies policed places in the nation. there's no perceived, no known threat of another terror attack against the people of boston. this is out here to let everyone know it is secure. if people have videos, they can come forward and talk to police, find out where they can send pictures of the videos. maybe something in those pictures can help solve this. >> okay, terry. certainly lots of raw nerves out there. thank you so much for your reporting from boston. >>> people travel from all over the world to take part in the boston marathon. a number of people are there from the bay area. some of them just got back home the first flight from boston landed at sfo. >> nbc bay area kristi smith joins us from the airport with her reaction from yesterday's deadly attack. good morning. >> good morning. some of these runners still have on their bright yellow boston marathon shirts, so they are pretty easy to spot in t

team in their gear with their semiautomatic and automatic weapons at the ready. today far, far less of that still some national guard troops and a huge police presence but the security issue seems to have been toned down. even yesterday they said part of the reason they had the incredible police presence, to let everybody know they are on the job. if there's going to be an expanded threat, they want to be ready for it. now they seem to be confident it is not a large scale operation, and they feel perhaps it's safer down here in the area where the bombs went off on monday during the marathon. >> all right. terry mcsweeney, thank you very much for wrapping up a fluid situation there. good job of painting the picture for us. >>> a boy caught in the boston marathon bomb attack. >> aaron hern, 11-year-old from martinez standing by the finish line when the bombs went off. he was waiting for his mother to complete the race. the bombs went off and he took the worst of it. kristi smith has an update on his current condition including firsthand details coming from aaron's

he may be armed with semiautomatic or pistols. you have to assume the whole broad range of force capability. he might have at his disposal. >> don't forget, this is a 19-year-old young man who was really falling the lead, we believe, from all reports of his older brother. his older brother rather than being captured was throwing devices, explosives at authorities and had an ied strapped to him. so they are expecting the worst here. >> and also his desperation would be multiplied by the fact that he has knowledge that he ran over his brother as he escaped and the fact that he had anything to do with the killing of his brother is unimaginable. >> right. >> and now he's alone. obviously guilt-ridden. terrified. >> exhausted. >> yep. >> he may be injured. since monday you can't believe this individual has had any type of normal rest. so all of these factors are playing in right now. so we may in fact be back where we were several hours ago where we're talking about a situation where there could be a standoff and we could try to engage

they have recovered his week at this point they know for certain that he has stolen the least one semiautomatic rifle from the hunting store where the carnage began yesterday afternoon so they are warning everybody that he's he's armed and extremely dangerous now we have at the thirty's from belgrade have also asked for assistance from the neighboring regions as well as ukraine which is really close to the region as well as basically next door so they are also called in calling on people in those regions to be on high alert to give any information of the ballots which could lead to the arrest of the thirty two year old suspects and whoever does prove a twitter does provide that information is offered three million rubel reward for that that's roughly one hundred thousand dollars and of course people are being told to stay inside in belgrade itself there is an extremely heightened police presence on the streets and yet people are staying at the witnesses from the city are saying that they are they have seen people going outside going to the place where they where six people were killed yesterday

when he emerges, he's carrying a semiautomatic assault weapon. what did they ask? >> nothing. i just went up, gave them cash. he's like, cache is all you need. >> reporter: in the next hour, he emerges over and over again. >> i got more than i can even hold. >> reporter: watching the entire time, a former atf agent. what was clear then and still clear tonight, no one inside was doing anything illegal. these sellers did what they're legally able to do? >> exactly. nothing illegal about their transactions. >> reporter: and tonight nearly six years to the day after virginia tech, after omar lost his sister, we check back in, asking if this proposal passed, would visiting that gun show be different? >> it would be different. i would have to undergo a background check for every gun i bought. if you remember, i bought every single one of those guns without a background check. >> he would have to answer questions if passed. he knows it's not a done deal. and there are many who believe it's the wrong move. the nra saying, expanding background checks will not prevent the next shooting,

. >> magazines, clips, and semiautomatic weapons.here's all sorts of strange details to get around these laws already in place. likely they will pass on a party line vote and subsequently when it gets to the floor in a few weeks and then on the governor's desk. >> the bills are announced with great fanfare and usually get out of the first committee okay on the party line vote, and then in the hallways between the committee and the final vote, they go through the lobbying process, and they are shaved and tinkered with and changed. do you see that happening this time? >> because of the violence we have seen in newtown and in arizona and other places, we all recognize that the debate has changed, it's not about gun control anymore. it's gun violence prevention. we even see bipartisan support in the u.s. congress right now. i think this package, the reason it's a package, democratic leadership made the determination, we are going to go together. we are holding hands on these, and we want them to get to the governor's desk. >> what would

the bush master 223 semiautomatic was bought by adam lanza's mother two years ago.l agents raided the gun store after the 26 children and adults were shot to death. they did not say why the license was revoked. >>> near dallas texas this weekend investigators are stumped. both people killed -- police have some theories but no arrests. cnn's martin savage is in kaufman, texas tonight. >> reporter: it was one week ago that the district attorney and his wife were found murdered inside their home. today the mclelland family held a news conference, were very critical, very emotional and angry about how the investigation is being handled. it goes back to the original murder of mark hasse back at the end of january. and their father at the time had concerns that this county didn't have the resources to carry out the investigation and two, protect law enforcement and government officials here. here's how it was sumd up. >> not enough is being done. they're on edge right now. if someone is willing to come out and shoot the district attorney and his wife in their home, obviou

. >> the gun that was produced by the suspect as it turns out is a very real-looking replica semiautomatic firearm, but it does not appear at this point in time that it's a real firearm. it does appear to be a replica firearm. >> the two officers who fired the shots were not hurt. >> a story we brought you as breaking news. cal train crews working all night to clear a mess left on the tracks left behind after a train started gushing fuel. our crew arrived at the south san francisco caltrans station and we'll bring you a live look as soon as we can. it would appear the track is cleaned up and clear. as many as 400 gallons of fuel may have leaked on to the tracks last night prompting the all-night overnight cleanup. the train may have hit metal along the tracks and something tough enough to rupture some of the tanks. hazmat crews were called to the station at 7:30 last night. >> caltrans has 100, 150 people that were taken off the train and taken by bus to where they needed to go. >> service between san bruno and south san francisco was suspended while hazmat crews cleaned up the spill. >> a

and what effect would banning semiautomatic or assault weapons, as some people know them, have on violentmes? 71 percent said none. so who do you trust? do you trust the left wing talking heads or do you trust law enforcement professionals? now, bob, you are humming, huffing, puffing, i'm going to hold you for a second. kimberly, when the pros -- >> -- you're going to hold him? >> i'm going to hold your commentary for just a second. when the pros tell you it's not going to matter who do you trust them or pierce morgan over. >> there forget about p.m. i'm going with the law enforcement professionals. why wouldn't you? they have the experience. they have the history. they have the documents, the statistics to tell you what's going on. of course you should be relying on that. why wouldn't you trust people that this is their specialty in life versus politicians who might be trying to misshape the figures and misrepresent it to the american public. >> robert, 15,000 pros tell you it will have little or no effect. these new laws. >> the bill that's got 68/ 31 to close cloture on this bill in th