pistols. all of the weapons purchased legally. he also ordered more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition through the internet. the ammunition, also ordered legally. we have live team coverage tonight from the bay area to colorado. let's begin with nbc bay area. the connection to california. >> very strong connections to california. we've learn he grew up in salinas before moving to san diego. by all accounts he was smart, pursuing a ph.d.. recently he dropped out of school and now he is suspected of mass murder reportedly dressed up as joker as he shot dozens of people. >> nine george 2. >> reporter: nearly 24 hours after the real life nightmare began to play out, this face continues to haunt people across the nation. it is a face that is very familiar to people here in california. the suspect, 24-year-old james holmes, grew up in a middle class suburb of san diego. high school friends describe him as quiet and normal. >> first i thought about it was him, the first thing thought was expletives. oh, my god. i can't believe this happened. >> i keep thinking what happened. what happened to a nice little boy from a nice family? and it is terrible. >> reporter: investigators say that nice little boy carried out one of the worst mass killings in recent history. nbc animation based on the police account shows how the gunman threw some type of tear gas canister to stun the crowd before unleashing round after round of gun fire. >> then he pulled out a should go on. i could see it clear as day. he just opened fire. >> reporter: the owner of the san diego pawn shop said he talk with holmes several times about guns and rifles in the past year. he said he recognized holmes as a suspect as he watched the coverage of the tragedy from a thousand miles away. >> that's what seemed very familiar to me. just the look around the eye area. and his general features. also, they've been about, he seems intelligent and everything else. so just his general demeanor. >> the suspect's uncle lives in carmel. he describe his nephew as unassuming. the report of holmes' own mother saying you have the right person, indicates she may have detected some red flags. >> a mom's premonition of something he had said, some recent behavior. some long term behavior on his part in terms of showing some very twisted thinking. >> the psychologist believes holmes was a lone wolf. perhaps trying to mirror images from the batman series. a villain spraying bullets into a crowd at a very public place. >> used that same kind of venue. catch people totally unaware. everybody was happy, delighted. they were going to have fun and enjoy and they were going to die. in his mind. >> and he said sure that holmes, the suspect, thought about the proximity to columbine. the theater is less than 20 miles from the high school. very devastating for those communities. also, the suspect's family issued a statement asking for privacy adding their hearts go out to those involved in the tragedy. of course, they are coping and trying to process what has happened as much as anyone else. >> thank you very much. coming together, hundreds of mourners gather tonight at vigils for those shooting victims. stunned and heart broken, friends and strangers cried openly as they mourned and prayed for those killed and injured. the people of aurora stunned by the senselessness of it all. nbc bay area's reporter was at the ridge is and i will has more on how people are coping. >> reporter: several impromptu vigils here in aurora. you can see teddy bears and flowers. here's one note that reads i've lived in aurora all my life. when you take away its people, you take away a part of me, of us. i will never forget this tragedy. we will never forget. this is aurora. we've seen so many emotions here at the vigil. sadness, anger, frustration. we've seen so many people around showing no emotion. because they say they're numb. they're still trying to figure out what happened here in aurora, colorado. folks still singing, praying, for answers. they know they'll never get the answer. one gentleman said he'll never get the answer as to why. in aurora, colorado, nbc bay area news. a man from connecticut who was across the country to san francisco was also trapped in that movie theater. tonight he is in the hospital after being shot in the neck. >> the thought crossed my mind that he was going to walk up the aisles and kill everyone. and so there is definitely a moment when i thought wow, this might be the end. >> from his hospital bed, he described how the gunman unloaded into the crowd in a very purposeful and methodical way. barton said he knows if the bullet had hit him a few millimeters one way or the other, the outcome could have been much different for him. >> wow! an unbelievable and sad twist of fate. one of the victim in colorado had barely escaped a mall shooting weeks earlier. this is jessica, an aspiring sports report he. she tweeted from the theater. the movie doesn't start for 20 minutes. that was the last message she would ever send. her brother still cannot believe it. >> she had a passion for life and it showed. it showed in everything she did. >> jessica left a mall food court in toronto moments before a gunman started shooting at a crowd a few weeks before. on her blog she wrote, i truly understand how blessed i am for each second i am given. just weeks later, a completely different story. a different gunman who ended jessica's life. in spite of that real life massac massacre, the late night movie screenings for "dark night rises" continue all over the bay area. now moviegoers have some extra company. police. george kiriyama is live at the amc in santa clara and there are showings in the next few hours. i imagine security is tight. are moviegoers a little tight? >> reporter: some are, some aren't. they've been moving the lines along quite well. the deadly shooting hasn't stopped these batman fans from coming out, although it does have a different feel here with security measures stepped up in and around the theater. the santa clara police officers are joining other law enforcement to patrol in and around bay area movie theaters. one police officer will be walking around amc mercado checking security. that makes the rodriguez family feel safe. >> i feel fine. i hope it doesn't happen. >> reporter: the amc theaters are not allowing anyone to wear masks. the costumes are okay. despite the extra security measures, some are still nervous. >> where am i going to sit, where can i go if that happens? i am pretty worried. >> reporter: peter said he thought about what he would do if something happened. >> i'm going to try to hide. he just shot everyone who he saw. >> sounds good. but hopefully that will not happen. >> reporter: but most people we talked to tonight said they won't let what happened in colorado change their lives. >> feel safe. otherwise we would not be here. >> reporter: back here live at amc, mercado in santa clara. we saw one woman who came up to security asking if she could bring in her blan. the word getting around athleters that they're trying the make things safe. we understand that the santa clara police will be patrolling throughout the weekend. we're live here, nbc bay area news. >> jittery moviegoers for sure. warner brothers released a statement. it reads in part we extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this time. and stay with nbc bay area for particular coverage of the tragedy in colorado. you can go to our website for the latest updates. you'll also find a slide show of dramatic images. that's nbcbayarea.com. still ahead at 11:00, small businesses but big questions. money men for mom and pop stores going to the tech giants. our investigative unit finds out why your tax dollars are boosting big business. >> also ahead, an emotional reunion. seven months in the making. a big victory for the sheriff. plus a one-on-one interview with his wife i williana lopez. >> and our week will be getting underway with temperatures in the 70s. and how about the upper 90s for many of the valleys tomorrow? and an investigation at four bay area police departments after a mysterious discovery. and our coverage of the tragedy in colorado continues tonight. still ahead, inside the suspected shooter's apartment. tonight the fbi and the u.s. postal inspector searching for answers after several east bay police departments receive some mysterious mail. someone send four letters with a white powdery substance inside to police departments in union city, hayward, san leandro and berkeley. hazmat crews were called out to three police stations as play caution. they have determined the substance was not hazardous. in fact, the hayward police say it is baking flour. they still want to know who send it and why. a long awaited reunion between embattled sheriff and his wife, iliana lopez. >> they want to kiss. >> smiles, a hug and a kiss after the judge lifted the protective order that has kept them apart. since he was arrested in january on domestic abuse charges. now what? >> this is not right. all this process is not right. >> that's why eliana lopez said giving up the fight to help her husband get his job back is not an option. >> this is not domestic violence. the truth is that i want to be with ross. the truth is that we are a family. >> reporter: a family being torn apart by a new years eve fight between us is pepped sheriff ross mirkarimi and his wife. this was record by a neighbor and given to authorities. a neighbor she said she should have never trusted. >> the video took my son's father away from him. the video make my son sick. which is worse? the bruise or the video? >> lopez testified before the ethics commission. she appeared frustrated and tearful at times. >> how much of this do you think is politics? >> i don't need to be a politician to realize that if you are talking with ross's political enemies, nothing good is coming. of course, this is great for them. >> lopez' attorney. >> what i think ultimately will happen is that there won't be enough votes on the board of supervisors to support removal. >> that's what lopez is hoping for. >> the next thing i want is to spend ross's birthday in venezuela far away from all this sadness. that he can take sun, he can be with theo. >> work on your marriage. >> yep. >> cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >> now mayor mirkarimi's job is still in jeopardy. the board of supervisors must vote. it is unclear when that will happen. they are called the engine that drives the american economy. small businesses provide jobs for more than half of the nation's work force. billions of your tax dollars are set aside to help small businesses survive. tonight investigative reporter steven stock digs deeper to reveal the truth behind those numbers. we discovered hundreds of millions of your tax dollars set aside and meant for small businesses. instead going to huge corporations. including dozens of big companies right here in silicon valley. >> a huge pot of cash. up to $422 billion worth of federal contracts. set aside last year alone. men to give small businesses a shot at servicing one of the largest clients in the world. the federal government. the government's goal, to give at least 23% of all federal contracts to small business. instead, year after year, we found the government falling short of that goal. >> what shocks me is it is still going on. >> reporter: lloyd chapman founded the american small business league in 2003 in part because he says big government contracts go to big business, rather than to the little guys. >> it is not random occurrences when every day for a decade, you know, millions of dollars a day in federal contracts that by law should be going to small businesses are winding up in the hands of not only the largest corporations in america but in europe and even asia. >> reporter: he has struggled to land federal government contracts. >> far, far easier to sell into even a general motors than it is to the federal government. >> after founding new gentec in 1997, his company now employs 42 workers with earnings of just under $13 million a year. the definition of a small business, according to the federal small business administration. >> it is a topic that only i would say about 10% of the other owners of businesses that i know even discuss. most of the small business owners i know won't even bother trying to sell to the federal government. >> reporter: after years of trying and failing, the company finally landed several million-dollar contracts were w the u.s. government. to him and his business partner fred, navigating the federal bureaucracy was like running a ghanalet. >> it is frustrating. they're undersourced. under staffed and they don't have resources to allocate, to qualify small businesses like us. >> reporter: the government's own figures and found dozens of silicon valley company have received contracts marked for small business. take a $4.8 million department of energy contract awarded to a company whose parent is ibm. or a 1 million contract with the irs going to oracle. or a $550,000 forest service contract to microsoft. under sba size standards, none of those companies qualify. >> you get mad. >> reporter: raul got so mad over this issue, he founded the fairness and procurement alliance in jacksonville, florida. >> government and elected officials are not allowing small businesses to take a fair share of the contracts that they themselves promised for them to have opportunities. >> reporter: we discovered at least 24 different large companies either based or with major offices in the bay area. from apple to oracle, ibm to microsoft, that received at least 299 different contracts labeled small business for a total of $77 million. and that is just since 2009. >> that seemed wrong. but that's the way it is. >> reporter: the small business administration admits, this is a problem. just last week it released a score card showing that it fell short of its goal of giving 23% of all federal contracts to small businesses. the sba said the reasons for these mistakes, what they call anomalies, range from data entry in coding mistakes to acquisitions of small companies by big companies which are then grandfathered in to growth of a company over the life of a contract to just plain old human error. >> in reality, small businesses probably getting about a tenth of what they're supposed to get. of the dozens of contracts we examined, we found no evidence of any government agency intentionally breaking these rules. in a statement then sba has no tolerance for fraud, waste and abuse and takes corrective action when it come to light. we also reached out to the companies. most refused comment while two said they would do everything they can do to make sure they and the smallest subsidiaries will get the contracts. >> thank you very much. if you have a tip for investigative union, we want to hear from you. call 888-996-tips or of course, you can send us an e-mail. >> the weekend is officially here. we'll see a warm-up. let's check in. >> we got 70s inland and the sea breeze really shut down. light winds in oakland. both indicating not only a warm he start to tomorrow morning but with the equal amount of heating during the day. we will finish the day in a lot of 90s inland. the coast will be immune from it. i think we'll still see some cool temperatures there. 60s and 70s. heat relief around the bay and coast. really seeing the temperature climb on up. we saw all signs pointing to the warm-up. we did see some low 90s. now high pressure will kind of hit its peak on saturday afternoon. build back across central california. and this is going to set us up for temperature for most of our inland valleys. into the mid to upper 90s. anywhere from concord and walnut creek to pleasanton and livermore. maybe even close to 100 tomorrow. and lots of 90s in san jose and probably a few more in the north bay as well. hour by hour, by lunch time we're already seeing those low 90s. the lunch time temperatures tomorrow, pretty close to today's highs. that gives you an idea of how hot it will be. by 9:00, still lots of upper 90s. upper 80 and low 90s around san jose. sunday, a little bit of cooling. we'll see subtle cooling for sun. then big cooling coming toward the middle part of the week. you will see the temperatures dropping off. in the meantime you see the hot temperatures this weekend. again, it is important to point out just the inner valleys. we'll see the temperature soaring up fairly high. the coast, immune from the heat. but pleasanton and livermore, you know what that means. still good news out of london. we've got six days to go. the forecast starting to turn drier. so there's some good news as well. we'll be all excited about the olympics. >> and raj gets there on sunday so he is taking the sunshine with him. he'll be going around saying, top of the day, mate! >> cheerio. >> we're back in a moment with the president's upcoming trip to the bay area. president obama will be back in the bay area on monday. he is coming to get some fundraising dollars. ett set to arrive around 3:00. the president will be in the bay area for less than 24 hours. he will be departing tuesday morning. >> coming up, a big night for the giants and timmy lincecum. . welcome back to nbc bay area. we begin with injury news for the san francisco giants. aubrey huff reinjured his right knee while playing for aaa fresno in las vegas. next step is an mr i on his knee in san francisco. we'll keep you updated. giants took on the phillies today. bottom of the third, no score. tim lincecum thinks he gets the last out of the inning. it is an out. the only problem is the second out. not the third, timmy. come original buddy. take math class. lincecum, seven strong innings. top of the sixth now. 2-1, giants, bases loaded. good night, baby. brandon crawford, grand slam. the giants win 7-2. tim lincecum gets the last laugh, everyone. >> not on that next one and knowing what i did in between the starts to get back to where i'm at now. so this is, i'm back, like i said, i'm trying to get back to that consistency and use it as my spring board. >> over to the yankees and a's. top of the ninth, 2-1, oakland. robinson cano. he says ka-yes! the fourth blown save. game tied 2-2. two on for brandon moss. singles to right. yoenis cespedes. he scored. the a's have won 12 of the last 14 games. that will do it for now. janelle, jessica, have a great weekend. >> you too. an update on the tragedy in colorado. tonight, investigators are still trying to figure out how to safely enter the suspected killer's apartment. police say james holmes set it up with booby traps. photos of holmes' apartment appears to show trip wires, jars full of ammunition and liquid and other items, unlike anything the police chief has ever seen. firefighters have been at his apartment all day trying to figure out how to get inside that apartment, along with a s.w.a.t. team and bomb squad. investigators hope getting inside the apartment will give them some insight into holmes. right now police say he is not talking while he is in custody. now, our coverage continues tomorrow morning on today, starting at 5:00 in the morning. >> those five buildings, four buildings and the actual building are still all evacuated because of the danger. so they're trying to see if they can get this resolved by tomorrow so they can get people back into their home. >> thank you so much for joining us. we will again continue our coverage of the tragedy in colorado starting tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. good night. >> announcer: it's "the tonight show with jay leno," featuring rickey minor and "the tonight show" band. tonight, jay welcomes -- from "the watch," ben stiller, from "damages," actress rose byrne, the music of missy higgins and trevor moore and mikey day playdare." and now, jay leno! [ cheers and applause ] captions paid for by nbc-universal television captions by vitac www.vitac.com ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jay: thank you very much! welcome to the show!