announcer: this is “nbc nightly news” with lester holt good evening, everyone we re getting a much fuller picture of the apparent plot, the frightening near-miss for another community, and the heartbreaking depth of loss following the july 4th attack on parade goers in highland park, illinois today, the state s attorney there saying the 21-year-old now charged in the murders of seven people has confessed and that he went into details about what he had done officials revealing that after the highland park shootings, robert crimo iii considered unleashing a second attack 2 1/2 hours away in madison, wisconsin. while a possible motive is unclear tonight, a series of numbers is being examined as possible clues. his history with police and the guns he owned also under scrutiny as a grieving community opens its aching heart for a child orphaned in the shooting tom llamas starts off our coverage reporter: tonight, officials say robert crimo iii has confessed. telling polic
we ve already seen more kids this year with bullet wounds than any other year total in history, at this children s hospital reporter: this is the largest level one pediatric trauma center in the state. and the last few months they starte screening for something different. so on this side it goes through the questions. reporter: any teenager that comes to the e.r. for any reason is now asked a series of what some might say are uncomfortable questions. how often have you heard guns being shot? and in the past six months, including today, has someone pulled a gun on you? reporter: nurse alice and her colleagues are hoping not to just treat gunshot wounds but prevent them did you ever think that this would be part of your job description? no, never reporter: shootings are now the leading cause of death for children and teens in the u.s. every day, 22 of them are shot the topic of guns is often seen as political. you see it as a public health issue it is a public health is
trying to change that in our new series crime & consequences. reporter: when madison blackman was rushed to the hospital, the bullet had barely missed her brain. immediately i knew i was going to die i seen black it was like ink spilled in my eyes reporter: a far cry from the care-free social media videos typical of so many 16-year-olds instead, one night in january, she says she was out in a car with friends in brooklyn, when out of nowhere the bullets started hitting the car. it sounded like somebody had a handful of maybe 20 balloons and they all started popping one by one reporter: did you immediately realize what it was? yes i knew it was gunshots reporter: an ambulance took her here, the e.r. at cohen children s medical center, run by northwell health we ve never seen numbers like this. reporter: where this doctor is a pediatric trauma surgeon.