all three onboard one of the helicopters were kill ed. two of them top officials of cal fire. the assistant chief and a captain dying along with their pilot. abc s will reeve on the scene in california. reporter: tonight, the urgent investigation into what caused the midair collision of two firefighting helicopters in southern california, killing three people, including two high-ranking fire officials. there s midair cli s sierra, 5-alpha sierra. reporter: you can see the damaged blades and scorched hillside where one of the helicopters crashed. they were part of six aircraft battling a small fire in riverside county, near palm springs on sunday evening. it was still light out, with good visibility. a sikorski skycrane helicopter like this one, which typically carries water or retardant, was able to land safely. the bell helicopter that crashed was being used for observation. all three onboard killed. we normally keep those aircraft far enough apart that
guard, 27-year-old engineer, and 32-year-old all dead. all kill ed but a hateful gunma. we re learning me made d disturbing social media posts fixated on mass shootings. let s go live to josh campbell live at the scene. reporter: a law enforcement source previously told me that investigators had uncovered this. we re seeing the images from ourselves. cnn has identified a site, a russian social media platform where this shooter had an account. his account is just replete with all kinds of violent material about nazis, white supremacy, his obsession over firearms and past mass shootings and looking to those and discussing those types of attacks. he obviously is accused of coming here this weekend and
the sheriff says his department has used the red flag law more than 200 times since it pass ed. texas does not have one. does that make a difference? it makes a difference at the margins. but let s go right at the problem. there s only one thing that makes us different than every other country that experiences mental health problems, they have angry people, people with grievances, the difference here is that when you re in that category, you can also become incredibly, heavily arm ed with the most lethal military weapons available instantly. that is why we experience gun violence at a rate far off the charts from any comparable nation. because they won t have a conversation about assault weapons and large magazines. that s it. appreciate you re being here. up next, the jury has the case in that battery and defamation case against donald trump. what think need to prove to win that case. that s next. it changes how you eat, how you feel, and how you enjoy lilife. it changes your sm
about 350 ckilometers southwest of kyiv. meanwhile, the u.s.s estimates that russia s mercenaries suffered more than 30,000 casualties. that estimate includes 9,000 dead, half of whom have been kill ed over the past two month. the u.s.-based military think tank believes the sea of bakhmut is unlikely to be in russia aes hands by the anniversary of the invasion. moscow s aim is to capture the city ahead of the anniversary on friday. the fighting in bakhmut is exhibit a of why zelenskyy is trying to drive home need for weapons, but we re hearing from ukrainian soldiers about why they need more fire power. fred pleitgen has the story. reporter: in the soggy t trenches of eastern ukraine, the fighting isn t letting up. ukraine saying russian forces continue to viciously assauassault bakhmut in the donbas region. this unit says they are holding the line but need more fire
winning on the ground and you realize that your activism makes a difference. shannon, thank you so much for joining us. thank you. colorado residents showed their support for one of the heroes in the club q mass shooting. army veteran richard fioro re-opened his family s brewery this week. the line to get in stretched outside the door. this brave man in here, he deserves all the respect he can get from just coming out and loving the community and helping the people in the community right where he was right at the right time. he saved a lot of people s lives, you know. he could have been kill ed, and that s why we re here, to support him. he is one of two people police say took down the accused gunman. five people were killed,