totally, but we could eliminate any crime totally. but we can reduce it. and gun laws to reduce crimes, and i can tell you at atf, we stopped killings every day, multiple times across the country, by taking off bad guys with guns. you can do it, it can help, but you've gotta like somebody who is not only in some city area of the gun lobby. someone who will do something, republican or democrat, to something that's right for the kids and families for of america. >> jim kavanaugh, as always, thank you so much for staying with us through this grueling coverage. we're just watching images of fbi team members. we also want to thank state senator gutierrez. that's it for this hour. i'm alicia menendez. are we live look at the texas mall shooting continues live with a man. >> good evening everyone, i'm

ayman wilkie dean and new york, we are continuing to follow the tragedy out of allen, texas this hour. police reports are -- at an outlet mall just north of dallas. and moments ago, local officials made a very brief statement saying a police officer and an unrelated call at that mall heard shots ring out at about 3:36 pm local time. officials are confirming there are casualties, they have not yet released the exact numbers on those dead, or injured. police also say they's believe the suspect has acted alone. they're saying they plan to hold another press conference in about two hours from now. as you can imagine, lots of questions. we are going to bring you more updates the money they come into our newsroom. a short time ago, governor greg abbott issued his statement writing in part, quote, our hearts are with the people of allen, texas. tonight, during this

unspeakable tragedy. we are going to, as we mentioned, bring you all the information that we get as it happens. joining me right now is msnbc national security analyst and former assistant eric for counter intelligence at the fbi, frank figliuzzi. emerson dc long forsman analyst, carmen best. and clint watts, msnbc national security analyst and former fbi special agent. let me just recap quickly what we just heard there, frank, from both the allen police department and the fire -- island fire chief who spoke to reporters for about five minutes or so. did not give too much information, but at least he gave the overarching headline that the situation is under control, they do not believe that there is an immediate threat to the community. there was some reports speculation, perhaps even some confusion, that there may have been an active shooter. but they believe it was one

individual acting alone. walk me through, frank, your initial assessment of the situation based on this briefing that we just had. and the information that has been coming in since the shooting incident began about two and a half hours ago. >> so -- >> excuse, me half an hour ago, my apologies. >> understood. we have word finally officially that there are multiple casualties. there is not an accurate number yet. that's something that is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable because that could mean there is an uncertainty, there are a lot of people injured and or deceased. the shooter is deceased, it took a long time for us to get that information, but we have that now. and then the key information that was given by the chief saying that they believe he acted alone. so what constitutes that? how did they come to that conclusion? by now they interviewed a significant amount of witnesses,

they have a lot of cameras, a lot of witnesses of course in a large mall, and they've come to the conclusion that through witness statements and through camera surveillance that this person had some reason to do this but not to act in concert with anyone else. they got the i.d. white luckily of the subject, and they've -- vehicles with search warrants, trying to get more information, trying to find family, friends, and do those interviews. but most of, all the big takeaway here is this is yet another weekend in america where we're dealing with a mass shooting. they are happening at record numbers with record numbers of casualties, according to the latest fbi active shooting report. and this is happened everywhere, but it's up in the most according to the most recent fbi shooting in the state of texas, we do know that texas last september implemented a

new law that said you can buy your gun without a permit license or training, and the number of background checks for guns is going up almost every year. so here we, are dealing with a simple routine act of heading to the mall, and shopping discursion, and dealing with a tragedy yet again. >> it is, clint, as frank was saying, saying that we have seen over, and over again this one playing out at a shopping mall. we've seen it in every aspect of american life, this uniquely american tragedy. there was a little uneasiness about watching the press conference, the police chief mentioned the word nine victims that were transported in his vehicles to local hospitals. i think that moment captured a few journalist attentions, and he followed up that that was just the vehicles belonging to the allen fire department.

which suggests that there may have been others transported it by private individuals, perhaps other resources in the area. when you look at the information stream that's coming out, as i mentioned, we're about 90 minutes removed, the police are able to say the situation is under control. is it a cause for concern that they are not being a little more forthcoming with the information that may have played out inside there? >> i think, aim, they're trying to take it slow, trying to make sure that they have everything under control. when you're looking at the scenes hundreds of thousands of people that are in the mall around it, they are trying to make sure that every areas clear, there might be areas related to the shooter. they seem confident about the shooter -- we don't know what's going on at the same point, they win -- any sorts of attacks. so sure the shooter might have acted alone but the one i'm

sure there's no accomplices or that there is no one else involved that might have involved other shootings. that's right they might be taking it a little slow, just depending on the number of people stuck outside on the balls out there, that's probably a massive area that they have to clear, you see them going from vehicle to vehicle, looking for anybody else that might have been wounded, anybody else who might be hiding, anyone else they want to make sure the area is clear. all of that has to take a considerable amount of time and -- of what we've seen so far. >> let me get your thoughts on this from a law enforcement perspective, from a police perspective. as i, mentioned we heard from the police department there who talked about neutralizing the threat, the situation at these from a threat to the community perspective, has been for the time being, brought under control. but give me your nichelle assessment of both the law enforcement response, per the information that was given to

the reporters, and to west by extension, and at the same time, from the visuals that you're able to see. i think we're looking at these pictures, obviously not necessarily in realtime, but within minutes of how the situation unfolded. and assess for us the police response. >> we, yes unfortunately, we have responded with -- a confirmation to the type of tragic mass casualty shootings on when -- there is an agency that compared law enforcement officers who are prepared to respond to the tragedy. we know that people are particularly vulnerable when they are at these large events or large schools, malls, sports facilities, and the like. so there is a setup training for officers to respond in case that we [inaudible]

take a suspect down with a relative short amount of time. but it's certainly supports the fact that we really need to do something in this country about the proliferation of guns and how we've allowed these incidents of massive shooting incidents to occur. law enforcement was -- preliminarily determined the pet was resolved. there was a lot of follow-up in terms of -- any information about the shooter and motive looking for any additional casualties that may have not been located yet. >> we just want to take a quick pause to bring it into the conversation, roland peters, states maybe terrors, it's troubling to have you back on the show so frequently about this particular issue. you and i were speaking about

what happened not too long ago, also, in texas. we have spoken about what happened after uvalde where i would say you've become a national figure. let me just get your initial assessment and reading of what has happened today, if there's any information that you can shed light on, but more importantly your reaction to the tragedy happening in your state yet again. g in you>> ayman, thanks first r having. me and i was just at the mall with my daughter. not this mall, but this is something that we do every day. there is not an activity in that is any activity for us is now colored with this notion that we have to be on the lookout, and keep our head on the swivel. and that's where we are at in this nation, and that's where we're at in the state. and so, the numbers that have been confirmed, we don't have

any numbers. but i think they've said nine people were sent to the hospital. i was told that it was around ten by law enforcement. i was given a body count, and i know that -- i want to confirm, you have to confirm the body count, i said that earlier. where we are at right now in this country, where we are in this state, is in an unconscionable moment. in a moment in our history where we allow people in texas to walk around with these types of guns with impunity. we allow them -- the republicans have created chaos in this country. we have to understand this. and a chaos that we are seeing on the screen unfolds in the state week after week because republicans have made decisions to allow everyone and anyone who wants a gun to carry one without registry.

without any kind of regulation whatsoever. and that is appalling. >> your colleagues, your republican colleagues in the state have reacted including the governor greg abbott. he has offered prayers, our hearts are with the people of allen. keith self, the representative from that district has offered prayers, the lieutenant governor has -- please join jan and i in mourning this tragedy. join us and pray for the victims. prayers are important as we all know in this country but they are not saving the lives of the people in texas were gunned down week after week, day after day. and when you try to speak to officials, they basically deflect from it and say, it's not the time. it is not the time. >> it's a special place in hell, ayman, for people who have this kind of problem's gearing them square in the face and i've

done nothing about it. i don't care about their thoughts, and i don't care about their prayers. i witnessed eight of 19 funerals a year ago, i've spent hundreds of hours looking at body cam footage because i needed to see our cups failed. i saw babies mutilated with an ar-15. and i've gotten to know those families from uvalde. they are my friends, and their my family, and i love them. this governor and this lieutenant governor, i'm sorry, but they can go to hell. i cannot -- i am tired of these people. saying this stuff and doing nothing. when you have responsible governors across this nation. even people like rick scott, a pretty conservative guy, him and republican controlled

legislature in florida created massive gun legislation that helps today. governor billy, pretty conservative guy. he says we need extreme protective orders. and here you have greg abbott and dan patrick praying for all of us some more. i'm sorry, i'm just done with that. i'm just done with that. >> i was going to note as well that we are still waiting on a response from senator ted cruz and john conan, they have not yet responded to this shooting. does it get to a moment where it is just shameful? do you feel a sense of shame that they are unable to prevent these tragedies? it's getting to a point where i'm watching the hundreds if not thousands of people leaving the small like you did, we spend time in walls in america on the weekend, we watch these images of terror, ever not able

to address this as a national security threat in our country that is affecting millions, millions of americans who are unable to go about their daily lives without living with the fear of being shot at a church or synagogue or a mall, or in a movie theater, or in a restaurant. >> ayman, these people have no shame. this lieutenant governor ted cruz, they all came to uvalde, they all sadler and cried for a session of prayer, a vigil if you will. i don't care, i don't need their crocodile tears. it is high time that these maga nuts and do something because they have put our country, and they have put this state in a state of chaos. and this is the chaos that they want so that they can tell everyone that there is disorder in texas. and they can go blame it on.

as the disorder in texas is because republicans have allowed anyone and everyone to access a gun without impunity. they are able to go to geico without showing as much as a drivers license to buy an ar-15. that happens every weekend in gun shows across the state. this governor, this lieutenant governor, and sadly the speaker of the house who i think is a nice person, i think he's a willing tended person. he actually heard a bill, in one of his committee chairman here a bill on raising the age limits texas and ar-15 to age 21, but unfortunately that bill is dying in committee. we have until tuesday for that bill to get out of the comedian out on the house floor. i'm imploring him to do something to have the gravitas and the fortitude to do some things the other two don't. the other two want to sit down and pray for us and tell us that they feel really bad. this should be a market point

in our state's history. i promise you, your governor and your lieutenant governor, and ted cruz, they don't feel bad. they don't care. we just don't. care >> got it, thank you. let me share some information about the state of texas to our viewers who may not be familiar with it. this is about the difference lawson turn. feel free to correct me, or correct us if there is anything incorrect about this what i am looking at this website. assault weapons and texas, texas has no restricting of assault weapons. background checks in texas, they have no law requiring firearm dealers to initiate background checks prior to transferring a firearm. in texas, they prohibit the transfer of ammunition to some but not all of the people who are prohibited from purchasing firearms. both gun purchases in texas, texas has no law restricting sales or purchases of multiple

firearms. the list goes on and on. texas allows people 21 years of age or older to carry handguns in public without a permit. all of these just indicators of how lax the laws are in texas. >> every session we only need every other year as you know, a minute, in texas where a part-time legislator, and every other year and every session for the last five we have been responding to some kind of mass shooting and all they have done is opened up access to more weaponry. and access to all kinds of legislation that would allow anybody to carry a gun. because we always hear from them. it is the good guy with a gun, i am sure that we will hear that tomorrow on monday. i am going to say thank god this cop was here. and thank god he was able to stop him. what if he had missed? what if the cop would have been killed?

where would the next cop have come from? what if the shooter would have gone into the forever 21, or some other store down the road, and what if he had sequestered himself with a bunch of people, what if he would've had the same failures that we saw a year ago in uvalde where cops waited for 77 minutes while children's out there briefly, and died. and died. we were living in some dystopian nightmare. greg abbott calls this the texas miracle, i promise you that this is the texas nightmare. this is the slaughterhouse of they have created. they created this slaughterhouse. they created this chaos. we are unsafe because of them. they perpetrated a fraud on us last summer by creating some federal lawsuit to eliminate age limits on handguns. so abbott can go around telling everybody that they are unconstitutional. his own attorney generals office knows that law is

constitutional. we are aloft in texas because we have leaders at the top, and greg abbott, and dan patrick who do not care. they simply don't care about the people at that mall, or those poor folks in the county they simply don't care. >> i can feel, i can sense, and i certainly share your anger and frustration that this has happened again. not only to the people of texas but to all americans who are probably watching this again with broken hearts. state senator, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> we will bring back into the conversation, clint watts. let me draw on your expertise here for a moment about the years that you spent in the fbi and being able to look at this. i know that we talked about

what constitutes a national security threat. but at what point when you are looking at the millions of americans who are living under threat, and living in fear, just the psychological fear of knowing that, you know i'm a skip going to the mall today. i might be nervous going to a movie theater today. i will be afraid of going to a restaurant. that kind of terror that these mass shootings are putting us in, would normally warrant a national response if it was terrorism. if it was foreign terrorism. if it was any kind of terrorism. yet when it is the same number of people who are being affected, the thousands in that mall today, our national response remains at a standstill. >> indeed. if this many shootings were the result of an international terrorism organization, congress would be passing laws within 24 hours. if this number of people were

dying from some disease, virus, spreading through the community, they would declare an epidemic. and the white house would get involved. but here we are. and it is us doing this to us. and it is not even anywhere near the majority of americans. nor the majority of police officers who are okay with this. they want less guns on the street. they want people who should never possess a gun to never have a gun in their possession. it is common sense. and for those who could recite the second amendment from first letter to last word, and it is the only amendment of the constitution they know but they have got it memorized, i will ask them this question because it keeps coming up. what about what happened today in texas, what about what has happened over the course of the last two weeks, the last two years, looks like quote, a well

regulated militia? what about this is well regulated militia? it is nothing close to well regulated but when people suggest simple things, close the loophole, address the charleston south carolina default to getting someone a gun when there is confusion during a background check. require background checks for private purchases. raise the age to buy an assault weapon. people flip out. why? because of ownership from the nra, and the fear that congress has instilled -- certain members of congress has instilled and people that they will take their guns away. it is fear and a handful of people in our society are controlling our elected officials ability to do anything about it. >> is there anything else that you can think of in our society in which there is a more --

you know, cohesive understanding that includes law enforcement, the general public, victims of past crimes of gun violence, that are all unified in saying that they want some action and the republicans or the politicians are the outlier and not abiding by the will of the people who say we want some measures, any kind of common sense gun control to prevent these kinds of shooting in the politicians being on the opposite side doing absolutely nothing? >> no. this is an absolute tyranny of a slim minority of politicians in this country. it is not even representative of the large republicans anyway. there are many just listed very simple, very straightforward. they are not even gun control members. it just makes sense why we wouldn't want to know the same things about weapons that we do

about our cars. what about the accountability that we would want to hand out weapons of war, ar-15 to be -- it is clearly insane at this point and if we rewound six, 78 years ago, you and i might be talking about a terrorist attack, and it would involve eight or nine people who are injured or killed and we would have questions. nonstop. just like frank said from congress, line force mint, counterterrorism task forces would spring into action over one incident like that. in the last week, the last week alone i have been on three different mass shootings. i've been on for this. i know if my phone rings at anytime, day or night, and it seems like it is just at random, it's coming from the studio. i know there has been a mass shooting in this country. and not just a shooting, a

large-scale shooting like this. so what do we want in our country that we are willing to tolerate every single day. this pales in comparison to the warriors we had 20 years ago about terrorism. other than the 9/11 attacks, we just didn't see this kind of thing and it has only picked up every single year, we have more and more of these. i am worried that we've had three this week. when will it stop? this contagion continuing in the next week. and what would we do to stop it? all of the measures are there. all of the law enforcement committee knows what those measures need to be and it just doesn't make any sense. it is clearly an insane principle that we have our country at this point where we cannot come up with some sort of protection for families, children, our communities, anywhere they are around the united states. >> give us the consensus, if you will, among police departments in this country.

i have been on the air many times where i have heard from police chiefs, briefing reporters in the wake of mass shootings. whether it is uvalde, or nashville, or elsewhere. talking about the need to do something about the guns. in many cases they are sometimes outnumbered, not outnumbered but outgunned. even if they had the numbers. as we saw in the case of uvalde. what is the consensus among police departments, among police unions, about the need to do something on this front? >> i think the consistent event, most people in this country agree that we need some common government. i have to concur with what we have from the other guests here today that most folks know that we are not safer with more guns on the streets. no rules, regulations, and laws surrounding the approaches, and

having these weapons. particularly assault rifles where in some cases, we could be as young as 18. so i think that most folks would agree that we have to have the legislation. we know that our cops are not safer with all of these guns out in the field. as you mentioned, they are out armed. in this situation, just the tragedy. no one should have to be, you know, afraid of being a victim of a mass shooting at a mall, where there is shopping. but this is happening in all of this country and it is really time that people come together and force this issue through regarding having common responses to legislation. >> i was just looking at the gun violence archive. literally just in the last few days. may 5th, may 5th, may 5th. we've had a total of nine shootings over the past two days. some of them don't even make national news anymore.

we had shootings in mississippi, mississippi missouri, mississippi ohio, and today, texas. all considered mass shooting incidents. thank you to the three of you. we are going to take a quick break and we will be right back, stay with us. with us at pnc bank, you can find us in big cities and small towns across the us, where our focus is to always support the people who live and work there. because you call these communities home, and we do too. pnc bank. with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. frustrated by skin tags? dr. scholl's has the breakthrough you've been waiting for. the first fda-cleared at-home skin tag remover

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continuing coverage of the mall shooting in island, texas. frankenstein with me, and also joining the conversation as julián castro, former secretary of urban development and msnbc political analyst. also democratic congressman, of maryland, and msnbc political analyst and a columnist for the washington post. it is great to have both of you with us. secretary, i will start with you. i know that texas is your home state to let me get your reaction to this, yet another

mass shooting in texas and in america. >> this is unconscionable. the inaction by the leadership here in texas, it can't be stated enough that this environment that we are watching all of these mass shootings that are happening in the state, this is not happening by accident. this is happening because republican leadership, over the last couple of decades, but especially in the last few years have created this problem solving by bullet mentality. and they have given people should never be able to get these types of weapons of war in the first place, the ability to get them. they have systematically made it easier and easier for anybody and everybody, as long as you are over the age of 18 to be able to get their hands on these weapons. in some cases, children get their hands on these weapons because their parents have them. and what strikes me is that just in the last few months, we

have seen so many different situations where these mass shootings occur. whether it is in a church, in a school, a few days ago a neighbor who gets angry because their neighbor asked them to stop shooting their gun at night because a baby is trying to sleep. today, at a mall, and we have seen it all before. nothing changes because these republicans are completely in the pocket of the nra. neither too afraid to do anything, or they do not care at all. it is unconscionable what is happening here in this state. >> congresswoman, let me read you the statement from chris brown, president of brady which is the country's oldest gun violence prevention organization. this is the reaction to today's latest shooting and i am just reading a part of it. these horrific tragedies are occurring with increasing regularity. and it is clear that there is no place in this country where americans are safe from gun violence. but this will continue to be

our reality unless, and until the u.s. changes its relationship with guns, and our lawmakers find the answer to the american people, not the gun lobby. our hearts go out to the victims and families of yet another mass shooting, and for me i think what stood out to me was the point that i was trying to get to earlier. with frank and clinton and the chief. that is the american people are on one side of the divide on the right side of the divide, and then the politicians they elect are on the wrong side of the divide. and i can't think of how this country can be a functioning democracy when you have the will of the people not reflected in the laws that they want passed. >> yeah. i think that we should be really clear that when we talk about politicians, it is not

politicians, it is republican politicians. democrats overwhelmingly support common sense gun legislation, republicans stand on the side of the national rifle association, and against the will of the american people, the majority of americans want expanded background checks. the majority want to get rid of these secretary castro, as he has described, these assault weapons. the majority of americans do not support these high capacity magazines that are within seconds, you could shoot until so many people, the majority of americans support red flag laws, even when that legislation is passed, many states like texas will not even adopted that. so you are right, the majority of the american people, the majority of democrats on one side, and the national rifle

association, and all of this gun lobby money, and republicans are on another side, and there is no more safe space. where can you go safely that you would be exempt from experiencing gun violence? so, you know, i just think that we have to elect, i would say politicians, we have to elect democrats who believe in gun safety. because democrats are on the right side, and republicans are not. >> frank, let me get your thoughts operationally here for a moment. and the situation that was used was fluid, to describe it. but walk me through where it goes from here. we will get another briefing, it will probably be around 10 pm eastern time. walk me through the operation, what happens in the next two hours, for three hours and may have already gotten underway. what is the police doing right now to try to answer that

motivational question? >> well, most immediately of course, from logistics, you have got to make sure that small is safe. and there is nobody else cowering, by the way, in a closet or in backroom, an employee, or a customer who just doesn't know that it is over. that all has to be resolved. the crime scene, and who is going to take the crime scene. so allen may not have the very best, or any, for that matter evidence. they might defer to a sheriff's office, or a larger department. they might ask the fbi to come in and do it themselves on behalf of the department. that is got to be the cited, who is processing the crime scene. notification of victims really victims families, really tough. a center is set up i am sure for people who cannot find their loved ones, they're identifying if there is deceased people, they are identifying them, trying to reach out to next of kin.

interviews are being done with the witnesses. but regard to motivation, search warrants by now have been sworn out. they have got this guy identified, or female. i'm not even sure of who we are dealing with here based on the limited details. but warrants would be executed on vehicles, on storage lockers, on residences, anywhere this person has touched. they are going to get in and they are going to particularly look at devices, and do forensic examination to determine if he or she has written or posted or researched or studied anything. then more interviews of friends and family and coworkers as to why this person would do this. atf will be tracing that gun back in time. where was it purchased, was it reported stolen? was it purchased by this individual or private purchase. and medical history, all of that being done as we speak by a multi agency team that has

been assembled. >> all right, everyone stay with me for a moment. i do want to bring into the conversation nbc's morgan chesky was just arrived on the scene in texas. morgan, i know that you just got, there you've been collecting some information speaking to some folks. what are you able to tell us about what this scene is like at the moment? >> yeah, amen. incredible scene right. now we are just across the street from the island outlet mold. this is where the shooting took place around 4:00 today. we've heard multiple updates from authorities. the last check, nine people have been hospitalized in the shooting. the shooter is dead, and there are a unknown number of fatalities. we anticipate a number within about an hour or so from investigators but important to point out the sheer scope of how big this perimeter is. we have law enforcement around this entire property which is several acres. then, if we could just pan over here, you will see in the

distance a fire truck, but in front of that, hundreds of people are waiting for a couple of reasons. number one, they can't get back to their cars right now. number two, word spread so quickly about the shooting here in this very populated area, but a lot of people who knew they had loved ones here came to try to connect with them, and make sure that they were safe. i just had a chance to speak to a mother, abby perez, who lives in texas. made the drive to dallas this weekend for what was supposed to be a pre-summer shopping trip, or her daughters were inside. when she said that she started hearing what she thought were fireworks, and then she realized the worst. this was an active shooter, those were gunshots, who are about 20 people inside that store. she said that they were able to herd everyone into the back, hiding in dressing rooms, she put her two daughters in eight bathroom, and then that mother told me that she is a concealed carry license holder, she

withdrew her side on and stood outside that door while she continued to hear gunshots throughout that mall area, and they waited about 30 minutes before police were finally able to escort everyone outside safely, she says that she thinks they were being walked outside, she saw at least one person on the ground who was killed, that she believes was the shooter. one of the things here that right and so many people inside is that throughout this waiting game. this incredibly tense ordeal, they were hearing rumors and words that the shooter had body armor on and that he may have looked like an officer of sorts. so even when police came to let everyone know that they were safe and to get them out all safely, there was a lot of fear that, is this really -- are these really the right people coming to rescue us? because they have heard that this individual who opened fire, was dressed similarly to a law enforcement officer. again, officials confirmed

about two hours after the shooting began that the lone gunman in this case has been killed. we are, however, awaiting the unfortunate update as to how many victims were killed as well. >> morgan. i will ask you to stay with me just for a moment because you have given us a lot of information i want to be able to digest with my panel for a moment and i will come back to you for more. frank, morgan was just giving us incredible insight there in detail, based on that eyewitness reporting. and there were two moments of what he was describing that stood out to me. one, the chaos of the situation that perhaps some of these individuals, some of the innocent bystanders who were there, they could not tell who is a law enforcement officer from that to the possible shooter based on what he was wearing. maybe he was wearing tactical gear, maybe he was dressed to look like a policeman entering the situation. and the second part, the striking account of the mother who put her children in the

bathroom, and also took a weapon. i'm thinking, imagine if police entered the scene and see a woman with a gun who is also now trying to identify the shooter. how difficult and complex and dynamic situation that must be for law enforcement to navigate. >> yeah. what morgan just gave us is where we are right now in society. why do i say that? the most recent fbi active shooter report out in a week or two, it told us that there is an increased use of body armor by active shooters. so that has gone up. and that raises questions of whether we should allow the sale of body armor to just anybody out there. people who are involved in security work, or executive protection. why is that readily available? number one. number two, yes, it causes confusion. even to a responding officer. we know that this was an officer who was responding. and now, he or she comes upon

the scenario where they see somebody that is confusing. they have body armor on. maybe they have tactical gear on. out into the mix, as you just said, now here comes a citizen who is also armed, as many people are. throughout america, especially in texas. and now you have the shoot, don't shoot decision to make if you are the police officer. and that may have contributed to the number of casualties in this scenario. they work of law enforcement is incredibly challenged here. because of where we are, and we still have people armed who shouldn't possess a gun. the one thing we know about the shooter, and we know nothing else, is that they shouldn't have possessed this gun. they were someone who should not have had a gun today. >> frank, that is exactly what i was immediately thinking of. just how frightening this must be and how difficult of a situation it must be for the law enforcement as they are entering this dynamic shooting

scene, and unable to differentiate between who was the mass shooter, and who is a private citizen acting himself defense, for reacting to this, pulling out whatever weapon they have. they have to meet those decisions. they probably also contributed to some of the confusion where some people were saying that there was a second active shooter, and as we heard there, the police saying that that is not the case. there was only one. thank you so much. i do want to go back to morgan really quickly. morgan -- this scene is right now under control. do you have any sense whether or not anyone who is inside has been removed from their? or are they speaking to eyewitnesses? what is the police doing in terms of gathering information about what transpired inside? >> eamonn, right now they are only calling an active scene that is under control. they have stressed the fact that a shooter has been killed and is no longer a threat. as for whether or not there are still people inside -- perhaps hiding, waiting to be

escorted out, we do not have official confirmation from authorities at this time if the scene has been officially cleared. however, they set up a time about an hour from now where we anticipate a more lengthy update. important to know that in the prior update from law enforcement, they did say that there was an officer nearby this location, if not stationed at the mall who understood the threat and engaged the gunman, as soon as they could. and they have been credited with taking that gunman down. him in? >> morgan chesky, frank figliuzzi, a thank you for coming. frankly, we'll get back to you in an. hour -- we will come back to you later as well. we're gonna squeeze in a quick break, stay with us. tay with us. get a private 5g network. so you can do more than connect your business, you can make it even smarter. now ports can know where every piece of cargo is. and where it's going. (dock worker) right on time. (vo) robots can predict breakdowns and order their own replacement parts. (foreman) nice work.

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baggins's prevention task force. congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us on this tragedy, unfortunately. first, i want to get your reaction to this unconscionable mass murderer that we've seen now in texas. >> thank you for having me. first, i just want to say that my heart goes out to the families, the victims, and the survivors of this tragedy. and the tragedies that we have seen this year and prior years. deaths at the hands of shooters because of gun violence. it's horrific. and it just reminds me, and it should remind everyone that there are no more safe places for us to go or for us to send our children. if not this, what next do we have to see and witness before congress, before the majority, before the republicans, get their act together and work

with us to pass a gun reform legislation? >> let's talk about that for a moment because out of all the people that we have spoken to tonight, you've perhaps the most realtime assessment of what is happening in congress in terms of doing something, and we have gotten word that president biden has been briefed on the shooting in texas, we also know that the white house is in touch with law enforcement as they continue to receive updated information. but from a legislative standpoint, congresswoman, you sit on the committee for gun violence prevention. tell us about what is happening in congress, and if anything, to prevent this? what are republicans doing to prevent these types of mass shootings? we've been getting reactions over the past 90 minutes or so. we've only gotten one recently from marjorie taylor greene in part, that reads, the federal government must partner with states for mental hospitals and drug rehab centers for the good of our society.

our nation is plagued with mental illness, drug addiction, homelessness, and out of control crime. possibly all true, but absent from her statement anything to do with the white word gun. >> amen, brother. those kinds of statements are taking the can down the road, and they are not steeped in reality. i am a legislator from california, we have some of the strictest gun reform laws on the books. it does not matter if it does not come with it a federal national counterpart. because we can still see pick up the phone and have guns, have the mailed to you if you so desire. i will say, when i'm in a very deep blue sea and constituents far and wide i'm i willing to work bipartisanly to work with issues that they care about, like gun violence reform, that's exactly what i did. i joined on to the gun prevention -- gun violence prevention

workforce. it is a working committee, a working caucus. and i've been talking to republicans. i've been spending my days on the floor talking to republicans, asking them what it will take to bring them to the table. should we be talking about background checks? increasing the age at which you need to be in order to purchase a gun? if you're talking about safe storage, if we're talking about a national database. but will it take, red flag laws, for them to come to the table and have discussions with us so we can pass legislation that is bipartisan? democrats are not in the majority or else we would've already done this. >> what do you say when you say that to? them a sorry to cut you off, because you bring up an interesting point. because of yours who do no, no. but what does happen when you -- give me any suggestion that we can try to get something done on? >> some, you know, want to lean on mental health, others have been able to have meaningful

discussions. who say i'm interested in more red flag laws, i'm interested in background checks. there are certain people who shouldn't have access to guns at all. okay, will then get off your [bleep] and come to the meeting and we'll see what it takes for you descend for bill and vote for it. but it's going to take more of my colleagues and we have a very large committee of democrats working on this. getting that kind of feedback from republicans. the younger issue is, they have to find the courage within their own party to stand up and say this is an issue that we have to tackle and face. we can't just blame it on folks who have mental health issues and blame it on folks have substance abuse issues. because they are not the only ones contributing to this kind of devastation. >> to the point is, this is a uniquely american problem, america's not the only country in the world with drug problems, or mental health problems, or homelessness. and yet we do have the most

amount of gun violence that we've seen in any western developed democracy. so it defies any logic that i'm looking at five or six statements from republican politicians all to come out within the next 90 minutes of a mass shooting, and none of them, barely, i haven't seen the word mentioned in any single statement that has come out of a republican official in the last nine minutes. they talked about drugs, mental health, drug rehab said to her here, it's a lot of prayers, but i have not seen one mention of the word gun. >> right. we've had close to 200 mass shootings this year. gun violence is the number one killer in death. number one killer of teens in our country. we have unfettered access to guns, compounded -- by triggered by aggression and hate. also what you're not seeing in those tweets are republicans

talking about the vitriol, the hate, the aggression that they are promoting as well? we have got to, like i said, stop silencing and expelling gun reform advocates who are in state legislatures, talking about this issue. and get to a point where we can have honest conversations about guns and the second amendment. their interpretation of the second amendment is incredibly antiquated. you're not using an ar-15 to shoot deer. that's just not how it goes. shoot deer >> that me read you some data from the pew research center, and that's according to the last, or the latest comprehensive data that has been collected. this is the number of u.s. gun deaths which include suicide and murder has changed overtime. the record 48,820 guns in 2021 briefings a 23% increase in

2019. that's before the coronavirus pandemic. gun murders in particular have climbed sharply during the pandemic, increasing 45% between 2019 and 2021. while the number of gun suicides rose -- during that span. we are becoming a more deadly country. we've seen this in texas last week with a neighborly dispute. something that happens millions of times, perhaps, on any given day in this country. turning to a mass shooting and a man hunt. >> we're solving problems with hates, for solving problems with guns, we are solving problems with mass shootings. that is not what it democracy should look like. . and that is not what america should be turning into. we have an obligation