Nightly news begins right now. Nbc nightly news begins right now. Good evening. Behind me is the postcard image of which the people of the roseberg, oregon, area are justifiably proud. But at the top of the hill and surrounded by trees and still cut off by police is a scene of horror. The Umpqua Community College Campus where nine innocent lives were taken in a mass shooting. Last night president obama spoke in frustrated tones about the routineness of Mass Shootings in the country and the fear we have become numb to them. But nothing in the last 30 hours have been routine for the people of this community and it is not numbness but pain they feel tonight because this National Nightmare has come to their attention. Our team on the ground is working the story. Miguel almaguer begins our coverage. Unconfirmed report that he has a long gun. Reporter the first calls for help came at 10 38 a. M. What followed on the umpqua College Campus was nine minutes of terror. Im very lucky. There is some people that didnt make it out of there. Reporter 17yearold sara cobb held in a neighboring classroom, next to the professors writing class when 26yearold Chris Harper Mercer began shooting students and staff. I was terrified. Absolutely terrified. I didnt know if i was going to be alive or get shot. Reporter armed with six guns including a rifle, mers he had body armer and extra ammunition. We may never completely determine what the motive was but well certainly look everywhere. One witness said the shooter was calm and asking students what their religion was before opening fire. It was just multiple gunshots. Everybody was screaming, get underneath the table. One guy ran out of the classroom and i believe he got shot. Reporter it was chaos. Wheel students scramble for their lives. Two officers engaged mercer who was killed in the gunfire. As police secure the campus, students were checked for weapons and bused to the safety of the fairgrounds where parents were waiting for words, was their child alive. The College President said no one could have anticipated this. It is like carnage in eden. Reporter tonight the names of the dead were released. Nine innocent victims. Jason johnson was 34 and was his fourth day at school. I wish that i would have said dont go. If i knew what i know now. Reporter at a vigil, hundreds mourn the dead. He was there for me when i really, really needed him. He was there when i was sad. Reporter nine others were wounded. Among the hurt, chris mintz is being called a hero. He was trying to block the shooter. An army veteran and young father said to have rushed the gunman and may have saved lives. The victims are all seriously injured but expected to survive. As for the dead, they range in age from 1867. The youngest was a freshman, the oldest was the professor here and late tonight we learned the gunman was in fact, enrolled in the school and supposed to attend the class where he opened fire. Miguel, thanks. And that is somewhat of were learned about the man what carried out this massacre. Law enforcement say he was struggling with Mental Illness issues and he left behind a chilling final message revealing himself as someone who believed the whole world was against him. Nbcs Pete Williams has been digging into his past. Law enforcement Officials Say Chris Harper Mercer wrote a long hatefilled document found at the scene of the shooting. According to those who have seen it, said he would be welcomed in hell and embraced by the devil. And in a bad way. That the world was against him and he had no life, no girlfriend. And he showed a detailed interest in other Mass Shootings and wrote on a blog on the recent shooting about a tv reporter and photographer saying of that gunman, so many people like him are all alone and unknown yet en they spill a little blood, the whole world knows who they are. That may be the reason the oregon sheriff refuses to talk about it. I continue to believe that the Community Members who publicize his name will only glorify his horrific actions and eventually this will only serve to inspire future shooters. Mercers parents divorced in 2006. His father ian in los angeles said the killings are devastating. Shocked. Shocked is all i can say. Reporter mercer ascended this Southern California school for emotionally troubled children and moved with his mother to oregon two years ago. Neighbors say it was obvious he was troubled. I thought he was kind of an odd guy. He was a grown little kid. He would have tantrums if things didnt go his way. On his own social media he showed fascination with the military and the irish republican army. The pentagon said he enlisted in 2008 and was kicked out one month later. On a dating website he said he was belonging to a group that was called doesnt like associated religion and he had an assaultstyle rifle and a bulletproof jacket. The jacket had steel plates along with with five magazines. An additional amount of ammunition was also recovered at the apartment. Reporter a search of the apartment where he lived with his mother turned up seven more guns. Officials say all of the guns that mercer had were purchased legally and nothing from his past would have disqualified him from buying them. No court ever ruled him mentally unfit. Which is the Legal Standard under oregon and federal law. Lester. Pete williams, tonight, thank you. And out of the horror committed on the campus behind us, we are hearing of stories that came facetoface with the shooter and survived. Cory and ana boylan are only about as close as two siblings can be, only two years apart and both attend the college but in yesterdays commotion they couldnt have felt father apart as cory became the first to learn his sister was shot. Natalie morales spoke with cory. I dont know how to explain the sound of someones voice when they think they are going to die. He was trying to ach his sister in the classroom 500 yards away and when he finally got through on her cell phone it was terrifying. She was bawling her eyes out and said i have been shot and i cant feel my legs an and i was trying to keep it together for her. Ana was shot in the back and cory said she remembers all of the frightening moments. She said god was telling her to stay calm and still and dont do anything. And the gunman came up to her and said girl in the black, girl with the blond hair, stand up. And she stayed still. So she was playing dead as she reported. Exactly. The wherewithal and the presence and the calm it took to not lose it in a situation like that, shes so brave. Shes so strong and courageous. And she did exactly what she had to do. I dont know how many people could have done that. I dont know if i could have done that. His sister was blessed. The bullet to her spine narrowly missed critical nerves and her lungs. Cory raced to her side at the hospital. The first thing my sister did when a surgeon came in to ask her and to explain the surgery and she said i want one thing, i want the bullet from my gunshot wound and she started laughing. She is an amazing person. And i love her with all of my heart. Im proud of her. Shes my hero. Her doctors say she should make a full recovery. One familys remarkable story giving hope in this communitys time of need. In eugene, oregon, natalie morales, nbc news. The tragedy here in roseberg is reigniting the debate over gun control. Practically by the end of this broadcast, two more people will have been shot and killed in this country according to the cdc, one person is killed with a firearm nearly every 16 minutes in the u. S. And 92 people are killed here every day with firearms, including suicides. Evidence that americas gun violence nightmare goes beyond the Mass Shootings that happen all too often in this country. We get more from peter alexander. Reporter 5monthold killed in a driveby shooting in cleveland, yesterday. Enough is enough. When are we going to stop counting babies being killed out in the streets for nothing. This afternoon president obama was frustrated and fed up about the neverending toll of gun violence. This will not change until the politics changes and the behavior of elected officials changes. And so the main thing im going to do is im going to talk about this. Reporter since 2001, 153,000 americans have been killed by gun violence, compared to 3000 in terror attacks. The vast majority of those on 9 11. Americans agree the violence must end but are bitter le divided on how to stop it. Sheriff hanlin wrote Vice President biden insisting gun control is not the answer to preventing school shootings. He wouldnt talk about it today. Right now im focused on completing this investigation and more importantly focused on the victims and the family of the victims. Reporter on the campaign trail, the republican president ial candidates reacted. Jeb bush insisting even in the wake of heartbreaking tragedies, new laws arent always the solution. Look, stuff happens. There is always a crisis. And the impulse is to do something and it is not necessarily the right thing to do. Donald trump in an interview with meet the press. Guns, no guns, it doesnt matter. You have people that are mentally ill and they will come through the cracks. The latest poll shows less than half support stricter gun control laws but 93 want background checks for all gun buyers. A debate reignited by roseberg, painfully familiar to the principal killed at sandy hook elementary. How many for families and how many more people and how many more times is this going to happen. Until our country does something. A question this family is also asking tonight. Reporter president obama has called a failure to pass gun safety laws the greatest frustration of his presidency. Tonight he ordered the flag to fly at halfstaff here at the white house and on federal grounds in honor of the victims of the oregon shooting. Lester. Peter alexander at the white house. Thank you. We continue to monitor a major weather event effecting much of the eastern seaboard as Hurricane Joaquin tracks out to sea. Another massive system has triggered a flood emergency in several states. What forecasters are calling potentially lifethreatening flooding over the next several days. In a moment the forecast from al roker. But first the latest from gabe guiterrez. Reporter tonight torrential relentless rain is pounding much of the east coast. 2200 people are under a flash flood watch. Parts of virginia and maryland under water. River gauges on the Chesapeake Bay at major flood levels and predicted to rise through the weekend. Down the coast, historic charleston, South Carolina is drenched. People waded through thighdeepwater. Please dont move the barricades and drive through it any way. The saying is dont drown, turn around. So if the flood is flooded, there is no reason for you to go through there. Reporter Hurricane Joaquin is still battling the bahamas and the coast guard is searching for a cargo ship with 33 people on board that disappeared from radar yesterday. Hurricane hunter planes flew low in the eye of the storm to help find the missing ship. The coast guard also rescuing 12 people who abandoned another vessel that took on water near haiti. Intense preparations are spanning nearly a dozen states. Six has declared state of emergency. The nypd getting ready for flash flood with inflatable rafts. Strong wind and heavy surf slamming into the jersey shore. After sandy, you hear the word hurricane and you get afraid. Boats pummelled and sand dunes built up to keep back the storm surge. Tonight the east coast may have dodged the brunt of joaquin but it is facing another storm head on. Right here at the Chesapeake Bay were seeing sustained winds of nearly 30 Miles Per Hour and waves up to 11 feet. Several roads in this area have been closed. And more rain is expected to pound this coast through the weekend. Lester. Gabe, lets check in with al roker now. He is monitoring the storm as it unfolds. Al, where will we see the hardest hit areas. The southeast but along the east coast we are feeling the effects of High Pressure and joaquin as well as it makes its way away. Right now it is 15 miles west northwest of san salvador. Starting to weaken. 125 mileperhour winds. Path brings it parallel to the coast. Away from it but enough to bring in some of the winds on shore that will cause problems. And look at the moisture making its way up and down the east coast. Coastal flooding expected. We have flood warnings and watches for 45 Million People. Currently we have flash flood watches for 22 Million People from d. C. To charleston. And look at the rainfall amounts. Anywhere from 57 inches by saturday night and, lester, by sunday night, were looking at rainfall amounts from 1015 inches of rain, could be as much as 20. It is lifethreatening rain, lester. All right. Al roker, thank you. Still ahead tonight, what is the real story about what happened when the hope came facetoface samesex marriage opponent kim davis. Now there is a whole new twist that few knew about until now. Dys hurtl still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . 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Reporter pope francis in america. A historic widelypraised visit, but less than 48 hours after he landed back in rome, news that raised some eyebrows. A meeting with kim davis, the controversial kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to samesex couples. A visit she described on abc. I hugged him and he hugged me and he said thank you for your courage. Reporter a visit praised by conservatives but disappointing to supporters of samesex marriage. Now an extraordinary statement from the vatican approved by francis himself clarifying his meeting with davis should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects. The vatican downplaying davis visit saying she was one of dozens who met with the pope in washington. Pope francis is, as we know, very adept and politically savvy and will not allow himself to get entangled in local debates and this was an effort to untangle some of the the criticism for this meeting. 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We learned today that american employers slowed down hiring in september. New numbers showing just 142,000 jobs added last month. The Unemployment Rate held steady at 5. 1 . In afghanistan, the death toll stands at 14 after an american c130 transport plane crashed during takeoff. Security is tight around the scene. Among the dead are six u. S. Airmen and five civilian contractors on board and three civilians on the ground. The u. S. Military said enemy fire is not suspected in the crash. Also tonight, in president obamas News Conference today, some sharp words about syria. He called russias military invention there this week, dozens of airstrikes, an act of weakness and a recipe for disaster. And he dismissed Hillary Clintons call for a nofly zone in syria, saying, quote, there is a difference between running for president and being president. Were back in a moment with more on our top story. How this community is coping through an awful tragedy. 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So i felt like this was kind the only way that i could do something. Reporter today is a day for community in roseberg. Where a gofundme page started by a cousin to raise 10,000 has already gathered more than 200,000. For Army Veteran Chris Mintz shot seven times while trying to save others. And where local businesses, some staff were kids from the college share a common message. At the java run, customers have been paying it forward all day. A coffee for the next in line. Nothing big, but oh, so significant. Weve all been through a lot and it is a good time to pay it forward. Something as simple as a cup of coffee might just make a difference. Yes, definitely. Coffee and a smile, definitely making their day better. Reporter simple things, small personal gestures, signs this small town has pulled together to begin the healing. Kevin tibbles. Nbc news, roseberg, oregon. And late today i heard by telephone by the girlfriend of chris mintz and said his actions were not heroic but hume san and we need to acknowledge all of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. Im lester holt reporting from roseberg, oregon. For all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and have a good night. Ou for watching and have a ava and i needed a little vacay. But we needed to watch our spending. Meaning i needed to watch nikki. Shes the spender. Im the saver. So, mobile banking from td bank helps me keep track. For both of us. She was just browsing. We gotta go. Im ava. Im nikki. And we bank human at td bank. What . Thats really unbelievable. I really regret not being there, honestly. Tragic irony for our International Hero as dancing with the stars celebrates aleck for