begins right now. good evening. to our viewers in the west, behind me is the postcard image of which the people of the roseburg, 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 a sorrowful 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 town. 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. >> dispatch as many ambulances as possible. >> reporter: what followed on t umpqua college campus was nine minutes of terror. >> i'm very lucky. there is some people that didn't make it out of there. >> reporter: 17-year-old sara cobb held in a neighboring classroom, next to the professor's writing class when 26-year-old chris harper mercer began shooting students and staff. >> i was terrified. absolutely terrified. i didn't know if i was going to be alive or get shot. >> reporter: armed with six guns including a rifle, mercer had body armor and extra ammunition. >> we may never completely determine what the motive was but we'll 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. while students scrambled 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 word, 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 don't 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 18-67. the youngest was a freshman, the oldest was the professor here and 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 we're 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. nbc's pete williams has been digging into his past. >> law enforcement officials say chris harper mercer wrote a long hate-filled 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 lamented that he was 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 when 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 media and community members who publicize his name will only glorify his horrific actions and eventually this will only serve to inspire future shooters. >> mercer's parents divorced in 2006. his father ian in los angeles said the killings are devastating. >> shocked. shocked is all i can say. >> reporter: mercer attended 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 didn't 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 doesn't like organized religion. authorities say he carried six guns, an assault-style rifle and a bulletproof jacket. >> the jacket had steel plates along 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 face-to-face with the shooter and survived. cory and ana boylan are as close as two siblings can be, only two years apart and both attend the college but in yesterday's commotion they couldn't have felt father apart as cory became the first to learn his sister was shot. natalie morales spoke with cory. >> i don't know how to explain the sound of someone's voice when they think they are going to die. >> he was trying to reach 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 can't 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 every frightening moment. >> she said god was telling her to stay calm and still and don't do anything. and the gunman came up to her and said girl in the black, girl with the blonde 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, she's so brave. she's so strong and courageous. and she did exactly what she had to do. i don't know how many people could have done that. i don't 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. i'm proud of her. she's my hero. >> her doctors say she should make a full recovery. one family's remarkable story giving hope in this community's time of need. in eugene, oregon, natalie morales, nbc news. >> a strong and loving brother. the tragedy here in roseburg 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 america's gun violence nightmare goes beyond the mass shootings that happen all too often. we get more from peter alexander. >> reporter: 5-month-old killed in a drive-by 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 never-ending toll of gun violence. >> this will not change until the politics changes and the behavior of elected officials changes. and so the main thing i'm going to do is i'm 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 remain bitterly divided on how to stop it. sheriff hanlin wrote vice president biden insisting gun control is not the answer to preventing school shootings. he wouldn't talk about it today. >> right now i'm 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 presidential candidates reacted. jeb bush insisting even in the wake of heartbreaking tragedies, new laws aren't 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 doesn't 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 roseburg, painfully familiar to the daughter of t 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 half-staff here at the white house and on federal grounds in honor of the victims of the oregon shooting. lester. >> peter, thanks. 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 life-threatening 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. 22 million people 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 thigh-deep water. please don't move the barricades and drive through it any way. the saying is don't drown, turn around. so if the road is flooded, there's 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 have declared state of emergency. the nypd getting ready for flash floods with inflatable rafts. strong wind and heavy surf slamming into the jersey shore. >> after sandy, you hear the word hurricane and you get afraid. >> reporter: boats pummeled, 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 we're 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. >> all right, gabe, thank you. al roker 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 mile-per-hour 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 5-7 inches by saturday night and, lester, by sunday night, we're looking at rainfall amounts from 10-15 inches of rain, could be as much as 20. it is life-threatening rain, lester. >> all right. al roker, thank you. still ahead tonight, what is the real story about what happened when the hope came face-to-face same-sex marriage opponent kim davis. the vatican now disputes davis' account and now there is a whole new twist that few knew about until now. a surprise move from the vatican today, pushing back against a description by kentucky clerk kim davis about her private meeting with pope francis during his visit to washington. after days of debate about the significance of that encounter, the vatican now said davis and her lawyer got it wrong. and we're learning about another private meeting adding to the intrigue. here is nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: pope francis in america. a historic widely-praised 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 same-sex 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 same-sex 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 down-playing 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. >> reporter: and news of another visit with this same-sex couple and his partner of 19 years. grassy is francis' former student. we have been friends for a long time, he said. he knows about me being gay and he has a lot of respect for me being gay and iwan being my partner. and yet another meeting few saw coming after a visit seen by millions. hallie jackson, nbc news, washington. we're back in a moment with some of the day's other news, including the deadly crash of a u.s. military plane. military plane. n military plane. military plane. am military plane. er military plane. i military plane. c military plane. an military plane. 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 c-130 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 obama's news conference today, some sharp words about syria. he called russia's military invention there this week, dozens of air-strikes, an act of weakness and a recipe for disaster. and he dismissed hillary clinton's call for a no-fly zone in syria, saying, quote, "there is a difference between running for president and being president." we're back in a moment with more on our top story. how this community is coping through an awful tragedy. ===take vo=== another blow for the santa clara county jail- two more correctional deputies are under arrest. ===raj/take vo=== plus: san francisco turns to "crowd-funding" to help small business owners. ===next close=== next. ===raj/2-shot=== thanks for joining us. i'm raj finally tonight, here in roseburg, oregon, we're witnessing an outpouring of support in this community and in the nation beyond it. here is kevin tibbles. >> reporter: on a day after so much carnage, they came by the hundreds to donate the gift of life. >> it is my duty. it is my duty as an american. >> reporter: they say they belong here. in this pretty town of 22,000, with this wooded hills and logging trucks and cafe. no one asked them to come. they just knew. >> i kind of felt helpless with the whole situation. so i felt like this was kind the only way that i could do something. >> reporter: today is a day for community in roseburg. where a go-fund-me 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. >> we've 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, roseburg, oregon. one note this afternoon, heard by telephone from the girlfriend of chris mintz for the support chris has been given, she added his actions were not to be heroic but to be human she wanted me to know we need to acknowledge all those that lost their lives in this tragedy. lester holt from roseburg, oregon, from all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. mathai. ===jess i'm jessica aguirre. we start with breaking news. we've learned within the past hour that two more santa good evening, thanks for being with us. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. we've learned in the past hour two more santa clara county correctional deputies have been arrested. >> we have more what the sheriff is saying about the arrests. it's been a trying time for this jail. >> reporter: most definitely. the sheriff did not speak to the media moments ago here. it was a communications sergeant as well as a captain with the police department. they did confirm that two correctional deputies, not officers, deputies have been arrested and booked. one identified as ryan sanders, on eight counts of illegally accessing records of people, according to the sheriff's spokesman, who he had a personal relationship with. the other deputy arrested and booked, mark navarette, identified by the spokespeople here, on a worker's compensation fraud case claiming, according to them, that he had filed a claim that he had been injured on the job when, in fact, he had not been injured on the job. he, according to them, had been injured on his personal time. we do not know the details other than to say it has been a long investigation, predating the focus that's been focused laser-like on the departme