NBC Nightly News Full Episode - Sept. 10

TONIGHT CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATED. WHILE SPEAKING ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS, AND THIS JUST IN WORD OF A PERSON OF INTEREST NOW IN CUSTODY. THE CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR SHOT WHILE TALKING IN FRONT. OF A LARGE CROWD AT UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY. WITNESSES DESCRIBING A BLOODY AND GRAPHIC SCENE. PEOPLE FLEEING IN TERROR AFTER KIRK WAS STRUCK BY A BULLET NEAR HIS NECK. BLOOD SHOOTING OUT OF HIS NECK, HIT THE FLOOR, AND WE JUST HAD TO BOLTED OUT OF THERE.

MOMENTS AGO, LAW ENFORCEMENT SAYING A PERSON OF INTEREST NOW IN CUSTODY. POLITICAL LEADERS FROM BOTH PARTIES CONDEMNING THE ASSASSINATION, THE LATEST ACT OF CHILLING POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN AMERICA. PRESIDENT TRUMP POSTING HE WAS LOVED AND ADMIRED BY ALL, ESPECIALLY ME. KIRK WAS KNOWN FOR HIS OFTEN INFLAMMATORY TAKES ON CHARGED POLITICAL ISSUES. MEET THE PRESS MODERATOR KRISTEN WELKER REPORTING ON. HOW KIRK HELPED GET PRESIDENT TRUMP ELECTED AND BROUGHT A. MASSIVE WAVE OF YOUNG PEOPLE INTO THE MAGA MOVEMENT.

ALSO TONIGHT, STUDENTS IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER BEING SHOT AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN COLORADO, NOT FAR FROM COLUMBINE, AND NEW FEARS THE WAR WITH RUSSIA COULD BE EXPANDING BEYOND UKRAINE. NATO HELPING SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN DRONES INSIDE POLAND. THE PRIME MINISTER THERE SAYING THE COUNTRY IS CLOSER. TO WAR THAN ANY POINT SINCE WORLD WAR II. NIGHTLY NEWS STARTS RIGHT NOW. THIS IS NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH TOM LLAMAS.

AND GOOD EVENING. TONIGHT, A NEW CHAPTER IN THIS ERA OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE. CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTIVIST CHARLIE KIRK IS DEAD, ASSASSINATED WHILE SPEAKING ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS IN UTAH. THESE VIDEOS CAPTURED THE CHAOS IN THE CROWD AS AT LEAST ONE GUNSHOT RANG OUT, STRIKING KIRK. NEAR HIS NECK, IT HAPPENED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN FRONT OF A LARGE CROWD OF THOUSANDS. KIRK HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS WHEN THE SHOT WAS FIRED. LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE SHOOTER, BUT MOMENTS AGO, AUTHORITIES SAID THEY HAVE A PERSON OF INTEREST NOW IN CUSTODY,

BUT THE INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING. THE PRESIDENT CALLING KIRK GREAT AND EVEN LEGENDARY, CALLED A MAGA INFLUENCER. KIRK WAS A MAJOR SUPPORTER OF PRESIDENT TRUMP. AND HELPED BUILD HIS 2024 COALITION WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. THE 31 YEAR OLD HAD A MASSIVE FOLLOWING BUT WAS DIVISIVE AT TIMES, OFTEN LEANING INTO THORNY POLITICAL ISSUES WITH PROVOCATIVE COMMENTARY. AT LEAST 1000 PEOPLE REPORTEDLY SIGNED A PETITION TO TRY. AND STOP HIM FROM SPEAKING AT THE EVENT TODAY. TONIGHT,

POLITICAL LEADERS FROM BOTH PARTIES CONDEMNING THE ATTACK. AS AMERICA REELS FROM ANOTHER POLITICAL ASSASSINATION. WE HAVE TEAM COVERAGE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WE BEGIN WITH LIZ CREUTZ AND LIZ, WE HAVE NEW INFORMATION TONIGHT JUST IN ABOUT THAT SHOOTER. YES, TOM, THAT'S RIGHT. THE FBI DIRECTOR CASH PATEL HAS JUST POSTED. THAT THE PERSON OF INTEREST THEY HAD IN CUSTODY. HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED. THAT MEANS THAT TONIGHT THE MANHUNT CONTINUES FOR. THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS HORRIFIC ASSASSINATION. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WERE THERE AT UTAH VALLEY. UNIVERSITY TO SEE CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST CHARLIE KIRK,

WHO HAD JUST THROWN HATS TO THE CHEERING CROWD AND POSTED ON X, WE ARE SO BACK, TOUTING THE FIRST STOP ON WHAT HE CALLED THE AMERICAN COMEBACK TOUR, THE 31-YEAR-OLD CONSERVATIVE STAR WHO RALLIED. YOUNG PEOPLE BEHIND PRESIDENT TRUMP. HE JUST STARTED TALKING THERE UNDER THAT WHITE. TENT WHEN WITNESSES SAY ONE SHOT RANG OUT. THE SHOOTING WAS CAPTURED ON VIDEO AND IS TOO DISTURBING TO SHOW. IMMEDIATELY CROWDS STARTED RUNNING FOR COVER. WE JUST HEARD AN IMMEDIATE POP.

WE'RE LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? AND THEN AFTER THAT POP WE JUST SAW HIM IN HIS NECK. WE SAW HIM FALL BACKWARD. I WAS THE LAST ONE STANDING BECAUSE I COULDN'T QUITE BELIEVE. I THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS A STUNT. I'M STILL SHAKING. AND I'M STILL. STILL CRYING. I LOVE CHARLIE KIRK. HE'S AWESOME. AND I PRAYED FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY. BRENDAN SAYS HE WAS JUST 15 FT AWAY. HE SAYS KIRK WAS ANSWERING AUDIENCE QUESTIONS. HE HAD JUST BEEN ASKED ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS WHEN THE SHOT WAS FIRED.

HE WAS ACTUALLY JUST TALKING ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS TOO, WHICH IS CRAZY. WITH THE SHOOTING THAT JUST HAPPENED RECENTLY WITH THE SHOOTER. AND AS SOON AS HE GOT DONE ANSWERING THE QUESTION, WE HEARD A LOUD POP. HE GOT HIT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF HIS NECK AND DROPPED. WE ALL DROPPED. HIS SECURITY DRAGGED HIM OUT OF THERE. AND WE JUST RAN. I WAS MORE ANGRY, I WOULD SAY THAN TERRIFIED, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR ALL THE TIME THAT WE'RE THE PROBLEM, WE'RE THE VIOLENT ONES, WE'RE THE ISSUE, AND YET THIS IS THE SECOND MASS SHOOTING ATTEMPT ON A POLITICAL FIGURE,

FIRST DONALD TRUMP. NOW WE HAVE CHARLIE KIRK. KIM HAD COME TO SEE KIRK WITH HER DAUGHTER BENTLEY. IT WAS. SCARY BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW IF IT'S REAL OR IF IT'S NOT, BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO GO WITH YOUR GUT. AND GET OUT OF THERE. FORMER CONGRESSMAN JASON CHAFFETZ WAS ALSO THERE WITH HIS FAMILY. PEOPLE CAME OUT TO HEAR THE DIALOGUE, THE BACK AND FORTH, ASK HIM ANYTHING. THAT'S WHAT TURNING POINT CHARLIE KIRK IS ALL ABOUT. ASK HIM ANYTHING IN THE MIDST OF THAT. THE SHOT RANG OUT, HE SAYS. EVERYONE STARTED RUNNING AND SCREAMING, AND I JUST HOPE AND PRAY.

THAT SOMEHOW, SOME WAY HE SURVIVES THIS. BUT JUST BEFORE 5 THIS AFTERNOON, PRESIDENT TRUMP POSTING THE TRAGIC NEWS. THE GREAT AND EVEN LEGENDARY CHARLIE KIRK IS DEAD. NO ONE UNDERSTOOD OR HAD THE HEART OF THE YOUTH. IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BETTER THAN CHARLIE. HE WAS LOVED AND ADMIRED BY ALL, ESPECIALLY ME, AND NOW HE IS NO LONGER WITH US. MELANIA AND MY SYMPATHIES GO OUT TO HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE ERICA AND FAMILY. CHARLIE, WE LOVE YOU. IN THE HOUSE, A MOMENT OF SILENCE.

I'M JUST GOING TO STATE THE OBVIOUS HERE. THIS IS. DETESTABLE WHAT'S HAPPENED. POLITICAL VIOLENCE HAS BECOME. ALL TOO COMMON IN AMERICAN SOCIETY, AND THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE. POLITICAL VIOLENCE MUST BE CALLED OUT, AND IT HAS TO STOP. THE UNIVERSITY SAYS THE GUNMAN FIRED FROM A BUILDING 200 YARDS AWAY. FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL SAYING THEY HAVE A SUBJECT FOR THE HORRIFIC. SHOOTING IN CUSTODY WHILE UTAH'S GOVERNOR DESCRIBED A PERSON OF INTEREST. WE HAVE A PERSON OF INTEREST IN CUSTODY THAT IS BEING INTERVIEWED RIGHT NOW.

THE ONLY INFORMATION WE HAVE ON THE SUSPECT, THE POSSIBLE SHOOTER IS TAKEN FROM CLOSED CIRCUIT TV HERE ON CAMPUS. WE DO HAVE THAT. WE'RE ANALYZING IT. BUT IT IS SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE SO YOU CAN KIND OF GUESS WHAT THE QUALITY OF THAT IS, BUT WE DO KNOW, DRESSED IN ALL DARK CLOTHING. WE DON'T HAVE A MUCH BETTER DESCRIPTION, BUT LATE TONIGHT, THE FBI DIRECTOR POSTING THAT PERSON OF INTEREST HAS NOW BEEN RELEASED. SO MANY WITNESSES SAYING THEY SAW NO. SECURITY AT THE EVENT BEFORE THE ASSASSINATION.

NO, NOTHING TO GET IN HERE. EVERYONE WAS ABLE TO WALK IN. CHARLIE KIRK, SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE AND TWO YOUNG CHILDREN. HIS ORGANIZATION TURNING POINT USA, ASKING THAT EVERYONE KEEP HIS FAMILY AND LOVED ONES IN THEIR PRAYERS. ALRIGHT, LIZ JOINS US NOW LIVE. LIZ, THERE IN YOUR REPORT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE LACK OF SECURITY. WHAT MORE DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE EVENT THAT. WAS BEING HOSTED THERE ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUS? WELL TOM, THIS EVENT HAPPENED AROUND 12 P.M. LOCAL TIME AND.

IT WAS OPEN TO BOTH STUDENTS AND THE PUBLIC, AND WE HEARD WITNESSES SAY THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF SECURITY THERE, NO CHECKPOINTS. IT WAS ALL PART OF CHARLIE KIRK'S AMERICAN COMEBACK TOUR WHERE HE. WAS GOING TO BE GOING ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO DIFFERENT COLLEGES. ENGAGING WITH STUDENTS ON POLITICAL ISSUES. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE VERY START OF THAT TOUR. TOM. ALL RIGHT, LIZRO LEADING US OFF. THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF LATE DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS INVESTIGATION, SO I WANT TO GET TO KELLY O'DONNELL. KELLY, YOU'VE BEEN TALKING TO YOUR SOURCES AT THE FBI. WHAT ARE THEY TELLING YOU?

TOM, I'VE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH SOURCES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TONIGHT. WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A SUSPECT HAVING BEEN IN CUSTODY, A PERSON OF INTEREST. FBI DIRECTOR CASH PATEL HAS NOW POSTED THAT. THAT INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN RELEASED AFTER AN INTERROGATION. TODAY HAS BEEN FILLED WITH CONFUSION. THE CHAOS, THE VIOLENCE THAT PLAYED OUT AND CLAIMED THE LIFE OF CHARLIE. KIRK HAS NOW MOVED INTO A NEW PHASE OF A MANHUNT, AN OPEN AND INACTIVE INVESTIGATION.

THERE'S BEEN CONFUSION. THERE WAS AN ELDERLY MAN DETAINED BY AUTHORITIES SHORTLY AFTER THE SHOOTING. HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AND CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION, NOT BELIEVED TO BE A PART OF THIS SHOOTING EVENT. THEN THIS. AN INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED AS A PERSON OF INTEREST OR A SUBJECT WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY. AUTHORITIES SAY THEY HAVE DONE AN. INTERROGATION AND HAVE RELEASED THAT INDIVIDUAL. PRESUMABLY THEY HAVE NO PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD THAT PERSON. SO NOW IT WILL COME TO THINGS LIKE SCANNING THE VIDEO,

DOING A DIAGRAM OF THE SHOOTING, WORKING OTHER KINDS OF SOURCES. HAVE THERE BEEN TIPS OR THREATS AGAINST CHARLIE KIRK? HE DID HAVE HIS OWN PRIVATE SECURITY. BUT EVEN THAT. AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IS NO MATCH FOR A HIGH POWERED WEAPON. FROM A DISTANCE FROM ABOVE IN THE OUTDOORS. SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK STILL TO BE DONE. IT'S BEEN RAPID EVENTS AND CERTAINLY WE'LL KEEP YOU. POSTED AS WE LEARN MORE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. TOM, KELLY, OUR THANKS TO YOU. LET'S GO LIVE TO THE SCENE NOW. MIKE HEDRICK WITH OUR NBC AFFILIATE KSL IN SALT LAKE CITY IS THERE TONIGHT.

MIKE, INVESTIGATORS, POLICE DOING TWO THINGS RIGHT NOW, TRYING TO COLLECT CLUES, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE ALL THOSE STUDENTS ARE SAFE. YEAH, AND IT IS A HEAVY LOAD THAT THEY HAVE TO BEAR RIGHT NOW. ON ANY GIVEN DAYTIME, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE 40,000 PLUS STUDENTS WHO ARE COMING ON CAMPUS HERE. THE CASE TODAY WITH THIS SITUATION, YOU HAD AN EXTRA 1000 TO 1500 PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE. TO SEE THIS ALL PLAY OUT. AND AGAIN, TRAGIC, SURREAL. THAT'S HOW MOST PEOPLE EXPLAIN THE SITUATION TODAY.

YOU LOOK BEHIND ME AND YOU SEE SOME OF THE BUILDINGS HERE. THAT'S WHAT POLICE WERE FORCED TO DO FOR HOURS. THEY WENT INTO EVERY BUILDING, EVERY ROOM, THEY CLEARED EVERY. ONE OF THEM, YOU HAD CHOPPERS ABOVE. YOU HAD DRONES. THEY DID EVERYTHING THEY COULD. TO FIND THIS SHOOTER. YES, IT SEEMS A LITTLE QUIET RIGHT NOW, BUT THE POLICE PRESENCE IS HEAVY. TOM. ALL RIGHT, MIKE HEDRICK FOR US. MIKE, WE THANK YOU FOR THAT. JUST MOMENTS AFTER THE SHOOTING, I SPOKE BY PHONE WITH A MAN NAMED JUSTIN HICKEN WHO WAS. AT THE EVENT AT UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY AND WITNESSED WHAT HAPPENED.

I WAS ABOUT 20 YARDS AWAY ON CHARLIE'S LEFT. THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THERE. UNFORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO. METAL DETECTORS. THERE WAS NO, I MEAN THERE WAS SECURITY BY CHARLIE, BUT. YOU KNOW, ANYBODY COULD HAVE SHOWN UP WITH WHATEVER UNFORTUNATELY. AND THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO STEPPED UP IRONICALLY. COINCIDENTALLY WHO ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT. MASS SHOOTINGS. AND ABOUT 60 TO 90 SECONDS IN WE JUST SAW,

WE HEARD A BIG LOUD SHOT. I SAW A BUNCH OF BLOOD COME OUT. OF CHARLIE. I SAW HIS BODY KIND OF. KICK BACK AND GO LIMP AND. EVERYBODY DROPPED TO THE GROUND. AND. LUCKILY THERE WERE NO OTHER BULLETS SPRAYED INTO THE CROWD BECAUSE. NOBODY WAS REALLY ABLE TO GO ANYWHERE. WHEN YOU HEARD THE SHOT, DID IT SOUND LIKE IT WAS CLOSE, NEAR TO WHERE HE WAS SPEAKING, OR DID IT SOUND LIKE HE WAS COMING FROM AFAR, MAYBE IN THE BACK OF THE CROWD, OR COULD YOU TELL? NO, IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS THE BACK OF THE CROWD. I DON'T KNOW THOUGH. IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE IT MUST HAVE BEEN CLOSER, BUT THEN AGAIN,

IT'S LIKE IF IT WAS THAT CLOSE, HOW DID NOBODY ELSE, YOU KNOW, SEE THIS MAN PULLING A GUN OUT OF HIS, YOU KNOW, SIDE OR POCKET OR WHATEVER. WE SORT OF ALL WITNESSED WHAT HAPPENED TO. PRESIDENT TRUMP WHEN HE WAS ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. IN PENNSYLVANIA AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE WHEN THIS WAS HAPPENING. I MEAN, DID IT KIND OF REGISTER IN YOUR HEAD? SOMEONE'S TRYING TO KILL CHARLIE KIRK. OH YEAH, IMMEDIATELY, IMMEDIATELY. I MEAN FOR A SPLIT SECOND, I, YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF LIKE, WAIT A MINUTE, IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING AND. YOU KNOW,

YOU, YOU, YOU SAW THE AMOUNT OF BLOOD THAT, THAT CAME OUT UPON THE INITIAL SHOT AND YOU KNEW THAT IT WAS, YEAH, IT, IT DID NOT LOOK GOOD. AN ASSASSINATION WITNESSED BY THOUSANDS THERE. CHARLIE KIRK WAS AN EARLY AND VOCAL SUPPORTER OF DONALD TRUMP. HE USED HIS LARGE FOLLOWING OF YOUNG VOTERS TO HELP POWER THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT. AND CEMENT HIS PLACE IN THE MAGA MOVEMENT AND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP. KRISTEN WELKER HAS MORE. CHARLIE KIRK'S INFLUENCE IN THE MAGA MOVEMENT. AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WAS MONUMENTAL, HIS POWER AND INFLUENCE EXTENDING FROM COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

ALL THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE. VISITING IT. YESTERDAY WAS VERY MOVING. KIRK WAS A GUEST AT THE WHITE HOUSE BACK IN MAY, SHARING HIS EXPERIENCE ON YOUTUBE. I GOT TO SEE THE ORIGINAL COPY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. A CLOSE CHAMPION OF THE PRESIDENT, KIRK WAS A CONSTANT PRESENCE AT RALLIES, EARNING A SPEAKING SPOT AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. DONALD TRUMP REFUSES TO ACCEPT THIS FAKE, PATHETIC,

MUTILATED VERSION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. KIRK HAD BUILT A FOLLOWING OF MILLIONS OF ONLINE SUPPORTERS, ENERGIZING YOUNG PEOPLE, HELPING PRESIDENT TRUMP'S RE-ELECTION. I WANT TO EXPRESS MY TREMENDOUS GRATITUDE TO CHARLIE KIRK. CHARLIE KIRK HELPED FUND THE CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATION TURNING POINT USA IN 2012, WITHIN YEARS TURNING IT INTO A MAJOR POLITICAL FORCE, RAISING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. HIS SUPPORT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO MR. TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN IN 20.

16 WHEN HE HELPED HIM WIN THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME, KIRK THEN DEVOTED HIS FOCUS TO GETTING MORE REPUBLICANS ELECTED TO OFFICE. KIRK BUILT HIS OWN POLITICAL EMPIRE BY TRYING TO WIN OVER LIBERAL AUDIENCES ON. COLLEGE CAMPUSES AND HIS OWN PODCAST WHERE. HE INTERVIEWED POLITICIANS FROM BOTH PARTIES, BUT IT WAS PRESIDENT TRUMP WHO KIRK FOCUSED HIS. ENERGY ON LOYALTY THE PRESIDENT HAS ALWAYS VALUED. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP. THROUGHOUT THESE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS,

OVERCOMING ALL THESE ODDS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD. AND LET'S JUST SAY THANK YOU GOD. FOR GIVING US DONALD TRUMP AND GIVING OUR COUNTRY BACK. CHARLIE KIRK WAS JUST 18 YEARS OLD WHEN HE FOUNDED TURNING POINT USA. I SPOKE TO A WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL WHO TELLS ME EVERYONE THERE IS JUST IN SHOCK. BECAUSE THEY ALL HAD CLOSE TIES TO CHARLIE KIRK. TOM, KRISTEN, WELCOME FOR US. KRISTEN, WE THANK YOU. I WANT TO BRING IN TOM WINTER. TOM, SO MUCH OF THE FOCUS NOW IS GOING TO BE ON SECURITY.

AND PROTECTING NOT ONLY ELECTED POLITICAL OFFICIALS BUT ANYBODY IN POLITICS. TOM, JUST LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH RECENTLY. WE HAD. TWO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS ON PRESIDENT TRUMP. THOSE MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS WERE TARGETED. EVEN THAT HEALTHCARE CEO SHOT ON A NEW YORK CITY STREET. TONIGHT, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TELL ME THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED ENVIRONMENT. AND THE ENORMITY OF PROTECTING ALL THESE HIGH PROFILE FIGURES AND. INSTITUTIONS ALL THE TIME IS THE TYPE OF SECURITY CHALLENGE THE. COUNTRY HAS NOT FACED SINCE 23 YEARS AND A DAY. ON 9/11 EVENTS LIKE TODAY'S AT A COLLEGE CAMPUS.

PRESENT SERIOUS CHALLENGES FOR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO SECURE. THE NYPD'S TOP TERRORISM OFFICIAL WARNING. THAT THE THREAT ENVIRONMENT IS EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. TOM AND TOM, BEFORE YOU GO, LET'S GO BACK TO THE SUSPECT THEY HAVE IN CUSTODY NOW. WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT HIM, BUT APPARENTLY WEARING DARK CLOTHING AND MAYBE. BE SEEN ON CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION. THAT'S RIGHT, TOM, AND THEY'RE GOING TO TRY TO SEE IF THEY HAVE THE GUN. ON THAT PERSON, THEY DIDN'T QUITE ADDRESS THAT AT A BRIEFING EARLIER TODAY. ON TOP OF THAT, THEY'RE GOING TO CHECK WHAT LAW ENFORCEMENT CALLS THEIR HOLDINGS,

BASICALLY THEIR FILES, TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'VE COME ACROSS THIS INDIVIDUAL IN THE PAST. OK, TOM WINTER FOR US. TOM, THANK YOU. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE ON THE POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN UTAH IN JUST A BIT, BUT WHEN WE RETURN, THE TERRIFYING SHOOTING AT A SCHOOL IN COLORADO NOT FAR FROM COLUMBINE. NIGHTLY NEWS BACK IN A MOMENT. BACK NOW WITH MORE GUN VIOLENCE, AT LEAST 3 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE IN. THE HOSPITAL AFTER A SCHOOL SHOOTING IN EVERGREEN, COLORADO TONIGHT, NOT FAR FROM THE SITE OF THE TRAGIC COLUMBINE. HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING MORE THAN 25 YEARS AGO.

TOM COSTELLO HAS THE LATE DETAILS. TERROR ON THE CAMPUS OF EVERGREEN HIGH SCHOOL, 30 MILES WEST OF DENVER. A MASSIVE EMERGENCY RESPONSE AFTER A SHOOTER OPENED FIRE RIGHT ABOUT NOON. STUDENTS EVACUATING THE SCHOOL AS POLICE RUSHED IN. THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. THREE VICTIMS WERE RUSHED TO ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL IN DENVER,

ONE OF THEM, THE SHOOTER. ONE PATIENT HAS NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURIES AND IS STABLE. THE OTHER TWO ARE CRITICALLY INJURED. IT HAPPENED IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO, ALSO HOME TO COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE 16 PEOPLE WERE MASSACRED IN 1999, AMONG THE WORST HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS IN HISTORY, AND IT COMES AMID A VIOLENT START TO. SCHOOL YEAR 23 PEOPLE SHOT NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING TWO WHO DIED. COLORADO GOVERNOR PO IS POSTING ON X TODAY. STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL SAFELY. AND WITHOUT FEAR ACROSS OUR STATE AND NATION.

WE ARE ALL PRAYING FOR THE VICTIMS AND THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT SAYS THEY HAVE NOW CLEARED THE SCHOOL, AND THERE IS NO ONGOING THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY, TOM. OK, TOM COSTELLO FOR US. WHEN WE RETURN, TENSIONS RISING IN EUROPE. NATO SHOOTING DOWN RUSSIAN DRONES, THE NEW WARNING ABOUT AN ESCALATION IN THE WAR, AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR THE US. THAT'S NEXT. WELCOME BACK. WE HEAD OVERSEAS NOW TO POLAND, WHERE NATO FORCES SCRAMBLED TO SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN DRONES OVERNIGHT.

THE INCURSION IS STOKING FEARS IN EUROPE THAT THE. WAR IN UKRAINE COULD SPILL OVER TO OTHER COUNTRIES. HERE'S RAF SANCHEZ. TONIGHT SCATTERED OVER HUNDREDS OF MILES ACROSS POLAND, THE REMAINS OF RUSSIAN DRONES SHOT DOWN BY NATO FORCES. IT'S THE FIRST TIME NATO HAS OPENED FIRE ON RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT. OVER ITS TERRITORY SINCE THE START OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE, LEADING POLAND'S PRIME MINISTER TO WARN HIS COUNTRY IS NOW CLOSER. TO ALL-OUT CONFLICT THAN ANY TIME SINCE WORLD WAR II,

A CONFLICT THAT COULD DRAG IN ITS NATO ALLY, THE US, EUROPEAN LEADERS STRONGLY CONDEMNED RUSSIA. LAST NIGHT. RUSSIA LAUNCHED DRONES INTO POLAND IN AN UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK. PRESIDENT TRUMP POSTING A ONE LINE STATEMENT WRITING, WHAT'S WITH RUSSIA VIOLATING POLAND'S AIRSPACE WITH DRONES? HERE WE GO, AND SPEAKING BY PHONE TO HIS POLISH COUNTERPART. POLAND SAYS THAT DURING A MASSIVE RUSSIAN AIR RAID ON NEIGHBORING UKRAINE,

19 DRONES CROSSED INTO ITS AIRSPACE, OF WHICH AT LEAST. WERE SHOT DOWN. MOST OF THE INTERCEPTIONS CLUSTERED AROUND THE POLAND-UKRAINE BORDER, BUT AT LEAST 2 DRONES APPEAR TO HAVE FLOWN DEEP INTO POLISH TERRITORY. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED, BUT THIS HOUSE DAMAGED BY FALLING DEBRIS, AND WARSAW'S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CLOSED FOR SEVERAL HOURS. POLAND'S FOREIGN MINISTER CALLING IT AN INTENTIONAL ACT. THERE WERE 19 BREACHES, AND IT SIMPLY DEFIES IMAGINATION THAT THAT COULD BE.

RUSSIA'S DEFENSE MINISTRY SAYING TONIGHT THERE WERE NO. TARGETS ENVISIONED FOR DESTRUCTION ON THE POLISH TERRITORY. IT'S BEEN NEARLY A MONTH SINCE PRESIDENT TRUMP HOSTED VLADIMIR PUTIN IN ALASKA, HOPING TO END THE WAR IN UKRAINE, BUT TONIGHT THERE'S LITTLE SIGN HIS DIPLOMACY IS WORKING. ALL RIGHT, RALF JOINS US NOW LIVE. RAF, THERE ARE A LOT OF US TROOPS STATIONED IN POLAND. TALK TO OUR VIEWERS ABOUT THE ROLE THEY PLAYED, IF ANY, IN THIS INCURSION HERE.

SO TOM, THERE ARE AROUND 10,000 US TROOPS STATIONED IN POLAND. NATO SAYS IT WAS POLISH AND DUTCH FIGHTER JETS THAT ACTUALLY SHOT DOWN THESE DRONES, BUT US JETS TAKE PART IN THAT SAME AIR PATROL, AND SO ON ANOTHER NIGHT IT COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN. AMERICAN PILOTS THAT WERE CALLED UPON TO PULL THE TRIGGER. TOM RAF SANCHEZ FOR US, RALPH, WE THANK YOU. WHEN WE COME BACK, MORE ON THE ASSASSINATION OF CHARLIE KIRK AND. THE WAVE OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE ROCKING AMERICA. BEFORE WE SAY GOOD NIGHT,

IT IS IMPORTANT TO MARK WHAT WE ALL JUST. WITNESSED A MOMENT OF TRAGIC POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN AMERICA. WHEN THE FOUNDING FATHERS DREW UP THE ROAD MAP FOR THIS INCREDIBLE. NATION THERE AT THE VERY TOP OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. TODAY, WITH A SINGLE BULLET, AN ASSASSIN TOOK ALL THREE AWAY FROM CHARLIE KIRK. IN THE LAST 14 MONTHS WE HAVE SEEN TWO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS ON THE PRESIDENT, ONE OF THOSE IN BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, JUST INCHES FROM TAKING HIS LIFE.

BUT COREY COARTORI, STANDING BEHIND THE PRESIDENT. WASN'T SO FORTUNATE. IN MINNESOTA, LAWMAKERS MELISSA HARTMAN AND HER HUSBAND. WERE KILLED INSIDE THEIR HOME. STATE SENATOR JOHN HOFFMAN AND HIS WIFE ALSO SHOT, BUT THEY SURVIVED. AND NOW CHARLIE KIRK, A HUSBAND AND A FATHER. IN THIS COUNTRY WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEBATE. TO SAY AND TO EXPRESS HOW WE FEEL WITHOUT VIOLENCE, WE CAN BE BOLD, WE CAN BE BRAVE, WE CAN ALSO. BE TOLERANT. THAT IS AMERICA.

AND THAT'S NIGHTLY NEWS FOR THIS WEDNESDAY. I'M TOM LLAMAS. WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING. TONIGHT AND ALWAYS, WE'RE HERE FOR YOU. GOOD NIGHT.