Show: THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O`DONNELL Date: October 3, 2017 Guest: Tammy Leitner, Melissa Mark Viverito, Miguel Almaguer, Stephanie Ruhle
JOY REID, MSNBC: Machine gun type -- sprayed that crowd of concert goers with what appeared to be machine gun-type gunfire.
It`s been a pretty heavy night of listening to -- of learning what happened in that case and what we do not know.
That does indeed do it for us tonight, now it`s time for THE LAST WORD with Lawrence O`Donnell, and Lawrence is live in Las Vegas tonight, good evening, Lawrence.
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, HOST, THE LAST WORD: Good evening, Joy, thank you. As Joy said we are live again tonight in Las Vegas, we have new information about the victims and the massive amount of firepower that the shooter was able to get into that hotel suite.
And in the last hour, police released video from police body cameras taken as they responded to that shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a significant amount of body-worn camera footage that we`re going through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy was geared up for war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are aware of the device called a bump stock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But allowed conventional assault-style rifles to be fired like machine guns.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know anybody who goes deer hunting that needs to retrofit a gun to fire hundreds of rounds a minute. It`s to slaughter people.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We`ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by.
CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR, MEET THE PRESS: The debate about whether to have a debate about a debate.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER, SENATE: I think it`s a premature --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can have that discussion at another time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think now is the time for this.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: Now is not the time, well, when is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single day people are being killed by guns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rights to bear arms does not usurp the right to life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There he is, tossing single rolls of paper towel into a crowd of people on an island where 95 percent of its citizens don`t have power.
TRUMP: I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you`ve thrown our budget a little out of whack.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Stop blaming Puerto Rico, roll up your sleeves and get the recovery on track.
TRUMP: I think it`s now acknowledged what a great job we`ve done. He was giving us the highest grades. We have done an incredible job.
GEORGE WILL, JOURNALIST: We`ve worn out the word narcissist, but it still fits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Las Vegas authorities have just held a press conference updating their investigation into the deadly shooting here, the massacre here Sunday night.
They have also released police body camera footage of officers trying to locate the shooter, which we will show you in just a moment.
Police now say that 58 people were killed in the massacre before the shooter then killed himself, bringing the death toll to 59.
They say three of the dead have not yet been identified. Earlier today, Las Vegas police raised the number of injured to 530 people.
Tonight police said 12 of the weapons in the shooter`s hotel suite were outfitted with bump fire stocks, making them capable of rapid-fire.
The shooter had two cameras in the hallway and another camera in the peephole of his hotel suite so he could see anyone approaching.
Tonight, we have our first look at the shooter`s hotel suite. This is new video showing the bullet-riddled door that was breached by the SWAT team and an assault rifle on the floor inside the suite where the police found the gunman dead.
Police said today their investigation has found seven more guns at the shooter`s second home in Reno, Nevada.
Tonight, police said a total of 47 guns have been found so far in the investigation that were in the possession of the shooter in his homes and in that hotel suite.
Here is the body camera video which was just released at that police press conference tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That wall faces Mandalay Bay and they`re hunkered down behind that wall after an initial volley of shots.
(SIREN)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, you guys, get down! Go that way, get out of here! There are gunshots coming from over there, go that way! Go that way!
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point they`re still trying to figure out where the rounds are coming from.
(SIREN)
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go that way, go that way, go that way. (INAUDIBLE) everybody stay down, stay down! Roger that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, (INAUDIBLE) come out of a window.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), they said, window.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a couple of officers hunkered down next to a patrol vehicle on Las Vegas (INAUDIBLE), we hope none of our officers get shot.
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) stay back. Get back! Get back (INAUDIBLE) get in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This way, this way, this way, this way -- go, that way, that way, that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Joining us now is Mark Lacy, he was sitting in the VIP section when that shooting began. He helped carry many of the wounded to safety.
Mark, what`s it like for you to see that video that the police just released? You had your experience of it, and now you see that experience of it.
MARK LACY, EYE WITNESS TO MASS SHOOTING: Yes, it`s shocking to see the response and to see how well metro did respond to stabilize the situation so that the first responders could get in.
O`DONNELL: How long did it take you to realize what was happening? We`ve had reports from people saying they didn`t realize that it was shooting.
LACY: Yes, we didn`t realize at first, that the first volleys, we thought it was firecrackers or pyrotechnics from the stage.
It wasn`t until the second volley that people started backing off of the stage, and we could see people laying on the ground and people covering them up.
And then we realized that something was wrong. And then the third volley of rounds came in, it was very many rounds and it lasted for a substantial amount of time.
And at that point in time, it was just a mass exodus out of the floor area and then into the suite area.
O`DONNELL: When was the moment you knew this is shooting and I`ve got to do something? What did you say? Did you say anything to anyone with you?
LACY: Well, I had my wife and friend with me and when I saw Metro running towards the direction of the sounds, I immediately jumped up out of my seat and ran to the back of the VIP area and looked out the back -- the back of the tent to see where the sounds were coming from.
And at that point in time, another round of shots came out, so I ran back down, told my wife, get down.
Told people that were in the section A and B of the VIP area to get down, and then the third volley happened and then it was just get out.
O`DONNELL: Was there any kind of protection in this VIP space or was it all open air? Was it all within the line of fire?
LACY: There was a standing area that was covered about the seating area. And so it was -- you know, it was a tent, basically.
So it didn`t provide much cover, and we were in the line of trajectory from the position where the individual was firing from.
O`DONNELL: And so did you stay there or what were your next moves?
LACY: So went back down and told my wife to leave, and where I was standing, the guy behind me to my right, they were initially standing.
But by this time they were laying down, and the wife was screaming hysterically. And the individual identified himself as a fireman and said that we have a head injury and the wife was screaming.
And so I pulled her off of her husband, she said she didn`t want to go. And I just said here, go with my wife, and I pulled her off of her husband and gave her to my wife and then I pulled the friend off.
And at that point in time we started dragging him off of the second row of the VIP in section A and started carrying him up the stairs to at least somewhere where he could help him.
And then at that point in time two other individuals came by and helped carry him up to the upper level of the VIP where they started life-saving measures for this individual.
O`DONNELL: And what did you do next?
LACY: At that point in time, I ran down to where they were at and just started telling people to get out, to go up and to the right because that`s where the police were initially directing people to go.
O`DONNELL: So your impulse next was to go help people and help direct them. You did not immediately try to get yourself out of that?
LACY: Absolutely not. My wife said come on, let`s go, we got to get out of here, I said, hey, you go, we`ll catch back up.
But my instinct and my training kicked in, and we always run towards this - -
O`DONNELL: What`s the training you had for this --
LACY: Spent 20 years in the Air Force and I have been almost 11 years with the Department of Defense as a contractor, in law enforcement and security.
O`DONNELL: And how long did you stay helping?
LACY: I stayed -- we stayed until approximately 12:20 last night, we were right here on Reno and you know is where we were staging the injured and the deceased.
And we left about 20:20 after they put the sheets over the last two bodies that we had in this area.
O`DONNELL: So that`s about two hours after the shooting stopped. The danger was still going on because they hadn`t apprehended the shooter yet. But when did you catch up with your wife and how did you catch up?
LACY: So initially, my wife said -- you know, we were arguing, I said look, as long as I can help, I need to help, I can`t leave.
I said if you need to go, go, and she decided to stay. And so I said OK, this is what you need to do, we need to get people out of here.
And so she just started telling people to go, and people were hesitant, they refused to leave, and so we were actually pulling them and saying go, you have to go --
O`DONNELL: Why refuse to leave? Why were they refusing to leave?
LACY: A lot of training people have been trained to cover in place. But at this point in time, they were in the line of fire --
O`DONNELL: Yes --
LACY: From the gunman. And it was -- you needed to get out of the area where the bullets were impacting all around us.
From the left to right in that section A, B, and C, people were getting shot and down on the grounds in front of us, so people needed to get out.
And then as people were coming off the grounds, they smashed into the barricades and then were just smashing and trying to get over people, going underneath the bleachers, it was just a chaotic scene.
And so finally people broke open the barricades, and we just told people to go up and go to the right, and then Metro was on the other side and getting people out on Tropicana.
O`DONNELL: Mark, that decision that you made to stay and to help, did you consider that this could mean the end for you?
LACY: Never did cross my mind, because that`s not how -- that`s not what we`re trained for. We`re trained to keep going until we get the last person out.
O`DONNELL: Well, you did, Mark, you kept going as long as you could. Really appreciate what you did and really appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you very much, appreciate it.
I want to bring in now Dr. Christopher Fisher, he is the medical director of trauma services at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center where over 200 of the victims were taken.
And Dr. Fisher, have you ever done training for the arrival of 200 emergencies?
CHRISTOPHER FISHER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, TRAUMA SERVICES, SUNRISE HOSPITAL & MEDICAL CENTER: We do mass casualty disaster training several times a year.
It`s required of all trauma centers to be prepared for something like this, but it`s never the same in real life versus the drill.
O`DONNELL: And so this is the biggest event you`d ever been a participant in terms of the --
FISHER: Yes, I mean, I think this is the biggest event that any civilian hospital has seen.
O`DONNELL: What is -- what percentage of the injuries were gunshot injuries?
FISHER: At our hospital, approximately two-thirds were gunshot wounds.
O`DONNELL: And others could be from falling while running or --
FISHER: Right, trampling --
O`DONNELL: Yes, and all that --
FISHER: Injuries.
O`DONNELL: And so how did you make the decisions about who to treat in what way?
FISHER: Well, we had our systems set up so a lot of our ER physicians triage the patients, which ones were the least ill to the most critically ill, who needed surgery right away.
They refer those patients then to my group of trauma surgeons that got those patients back to the operating room.
We had a huge response from orthopedic, neurosurgery, cardiovascular surgeons. The pediatric surgeons came and just helped us even though we didn`t have PEDs patients just to get those surgeries going and get patients right back to the operating room.
O`DONNELL: And what about the personnel? These things happened, they don`t happen in the schedule that works for everyone`s work shifts.
People could have been leaving at the end of their shift at that time of night. How did you assemble enough people?
FISHER: Yes, remarkably we have -- you know, command chain that lets out - - that sends out the emergency. But we had fortunately so many people in town, all six of my trauma surgeons were here and everyone just responded.
We probably had somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 surgeons ready to take patients as the patients started flowing in --
O`DONNELL: And how long did you all work? When was the first time you personally had a break?
FISHER: I probably about 24 hours later at the end --
O`DONNELL: So no break at all for you for 24 hours.
FISHER: Yes, we had -- I probably had a break in there to get something to eat, you know, about halfway through.
And we started to break some of the guys that we knew were going to be on the next day to help clean up with the surgery and start to (INAUDIBLE) our staff up about -- but I think everyone saw -- when saw that first 16 hours and then we started to give people relief.
O`DONNELL: And we don`t have real numbers now about exactly how many people are still in the hospital, still being treated or are still in critical condition.
We have it from some facilities but not for the entire area. Do you have an estimate --
FISHER: So -- well --
O`DONNELL: Of that?
FISHER: In our facility, we currently have 59 patients, gunshot wounds still in the hospital.
O`DONNELL: Gunshot wounds patients --
FISHER: Correct --
O`DONNELL: Fifty nine --
FISHER: Fifty nine, and we have 31 still in critical condition.
O`DONNELL: Doctor, thank you very much for the work you`ve done and for the work that everyone in this medical community has done.
The world is watching, and you people rose to this --
FISHER: Thank you --
O`DONNELL: It was an amazing challenge that you faced and we`re all here talking about these numbers that we know could have been much worse if you hadn`t all sprang into action. Lives were saved where you were working.
FISHER: Thank you, sir.
O`DONNELL: Thank you. Coming up, the Las Vegas shooter was able to kill and wound so many people because of the weapons that he was able to obtain.
And later the president`s comments today in Puerto Rico.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O`DONNELL: Tonight, law enforcement officials confirmed that 12 bump stocks had been identified on the firearms found in the gunman`s hotel suite.
The attachments allow a semi-automatic rifle to mimic a fully automatic weapon. Today, congressional Democrats called on President Trump and Republican leaders to create a special committee to investigate gun violence in America.
Here is Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer on the floor of the Senate earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHUMER: I`m also calling on President Trump to bring together the leaders of Congress and let both sides know he is ready and willing to address this issue of gun safety head-on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Senator Schumer and Democrats are also asking Republicans to withdraw a bill that would deregulate the sale of gun silencers.
The House was expected to act soon on that legislation which is backed by the National Rifle Association. President Trump, when asked about the legislation this morning replied, quote, "we`ll talk about that later."
The last gun control push, a bipartisan bill on background checks by West Virginia`s Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania`s Pat Toomey failed in the Senate four years ago.
That was in the aftermath of the shooting of 20 children and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Dean Heller; the Republican senator from Nevada said this today about the kind of accessories that would allow gun owners to turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DEAN HELLER (R), NEVADA: You can go on the internet right now, and there are -- there are videos on the internet right now that will show you how to manipulate a semi-automatic and turn it into an automatic weapon.
We need to talk to some of the gun makers and try -- and figure out, there has to be a way to be able to stop it. I think at this point, I think we need to have -- again, that discussion with the gun makers and figure out if there is a way we can keep this manipulation from happening in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Joining us now, David Frum; senior editor for "The Atlantic" and Democratic Congresswoman Jacky Rosen who represents Nevada`s third district.
Congresswoman Rosen, thank you very much for joining us tonight --
REP. JACKY ROSEN (D), NEVADA: Good to --
(CROSSTALK)
O`DONNELL: Tell us about the impact of this event on this community and what you think it will mean to the gun debate in Washington.
ROSEN: Well, this is the worst tragedy in American history. What does it mean to our community? Our community is mourning and it means everything to us.
Mothers and fathers sent their children -- look what a beautiful night it is. They sent their children to a concert, a beautiful country western concert, and they never get a call that their child is safe.
They hear the gunshots on TV, waiting and waiting for that call. So we`re a community in mourning. We`re a community that`s coming together with heart and soul.
Our first responders, our police department, the doctors, the hospitals, proud of our community, but we`ll never be the same.
O`DONNELL: It sounds like Senator Heller is prepared to take some action on of some of the accessories, including the accessories that were used to essentially turn those weapons into automatics.
ROSEN: Well, I`ll tell you this, if he didn`t have those bump stocks that we think he may have used to modify these guns, maybe we wouldn`t have this amount of carnage.
So for $100, you can go ahead and you can modify a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic weapon that can produce over 400 shots a minute.
That`s unacceptable -- again, I want every Congress person and senator to look parents who have lost their children in the eye and tell them that this kind of tool to sell on the internet is acceptable.
O`DONNELL: And David Frum, part of the ritual of these aftermaths is the chorus of politicians, usually on the Republican side saying now is not the time to talk about the things that the congresswoman has just talked about.
DAVID FRUM, SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC: Well, one of the things that we tell ourselves is that after these events, these terrible atrocities, nothing changes.
But in fact, after Newtown, we have had five years of the most dramatic changes in American gun laws in a long time.
All of them aimed at making guns more available in more places. That we have seen, and I detail this in "The Atlantic" today.
State after state say not only can you carry a weapon in a concealed way, you can carry it in an open way.
You can carry into it a bar, you can carry it into a church. You can carry it into a day-care center of all places.
In Georgia, you can carry it everywhere, all the way up to the TSA outpost at the airport. And in Nevada, in 2015, they very seriously considered expanding their version of the stand-your-ground law to allow people to kill people they found trying to steal their car, a motorbike or a bicycle that didn`t ultimately go to the governor`s signature, but it passed through the House of Representatives in the state.
So the question we ask is what small technical improvement should you make to make guns a little bit more restrictive flies in the face of what is actually happening.
Which is after a massacre, gun laws are loosened, not tightened.
O`DONNELL: I want to go to a video of former Chief Justice Warren Burger, and this is Justice Burger speaking after he retired in 1991, and he was appointed to the court by President Richard Nixon.
And this shows you how far Republican thinking has gone on individual gun rights. And this is Justice Burger saying that what is now the current Republican interpretation of gun rights is just a fraud on the public. Let`s listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BURGER, FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE: This has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word "fraud" on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.
Now just look at those words. There are only three lines to that amendment, a well regulated militia.
If the militia, which was going to be the state army was going to be well regulated, why shouldn`t 16 and 17 and 18 or any other age persons be regulated in the use of arms the way an automobile is regulated?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: It`s very hard for you to find Republican members of Congress, if any, who share Warren Burger`s view of this.
ROSEN: Oh, I tell you this. Like I said, I challenge each and every one of them to come to my hometown where tomorrow I`m going to meet the parents who are burying their 20 and 21-year-old children`s lives cut off needlessly.
And to -- we need to honor those memories. And we need to do that, carry those forward and come to the table and have reasonable conversations.
I want to tell you that I can`t imagine that the majority of Americans don`t believe we should honor the dead and the victims` families whose lives are reparably changed by at least coming to the table, having a conversation, acting like they care.
This is too important, the time is now. We must come and have these discussions. I can`t think of any better time than the present.
O`DONNELL: And David Frum, the polling shows that most Americans agree with the congresswoman on this.
FRUM: Well, I wish that were true, but I think when you face the reality of this problem, it just isn`t.
That one of the things we have seen over the past decade is a rising support among Americans for ever broader definitions of gun rights.
In exactly the way Justice Burger warned us against. But that is where the country is. And so it makes this -- and this is a really painful thing to say.
These technical fixes that people look for, maybe if we bend this implement or regulated that implement, there is something very wrong with the American gun culture.
Three percent of the people own 50 percent of the weapons in this country. I mean, a tiny number of people and vast numbers of weapons.
Until you persuade people that it is just dangerous to themselves, their children, you`re not a good parent if you have a gun in your house.
You`re not protecting your family, you`re a bad parent if you have a gun in the house. Until you drill that idea into people`s heads and persuade them to change the way we change our cigarettes and seat belts, these technical fixes aren`t going to accomplish a lot.
In public opinion, you can make it look like it`s on your side if you ask the poll question the right way, but operationally, it`s not.
O`DONNELL: Well, have our Nevadan gun laws part of the problem of what happened here?
ROSEN: I think gun laws across our country can be part of the problem. But what`s a bigger part of the problem is that we`re living in this culture of fear where people feel insecure.
They feel the hatred, they feel divided by what`s going on. So we need to have empathy, we need to show people that they shouldn`t be living in fear.
They should become better members of our community. We regulate our cars, we regulate so many other things that we can have common sense, common sense solutions to these problems that are affecting so many families, and now something I never thought I`d do in my own community, having to deal with this.
And we have to come and change the culture of living in fear of the other.
O`DONNELL: Congresswoman Jacky Rosen, thank you very much for joining us - -
ROSEN: Thank you --
O`DONNELL: And we`re all very sorry that this has come to your district and come to Las Vegas, really sorry about it --
ROSEN: Really appreciate your time.
O`DONNELL: And David Frum, thank you for joining us --
ROSEN: Thanks --
O`DONNELL: I really appreciate it. Coming up, the president went to Puerto Rico and scolded the people of Puerto Rico.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: We have breaking news tonight. The Governor of Puerto Rico says the official death toll from Hurricane Maria has been increased to 34, 34 from 16, more than doubled. Governor Ricardo Rossello also says he believes the hurricane caused $90 billion in damage across the island. President Trump visited Puerto Rico today nearly two weeks after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Here is what the President said before he left the white house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I think it`s now acknowledged what a great job we`ve done, and people are looking at that. And in Texas and in Florida, we get an A plus. And I`ll tell you what. I think we`ve done just as good in Puerto Rico. And it`s actually a much tougher situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: During his four-hour visit to the island, President Trump toured a neighborhood outside of San Juan and visited a relief center where he met storm victims and helped distribute items such as rolls of paper towels, if you can call that distributing paper towels. He also met with federal and local officials. Here is what he said during that meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you`ve thrown our budget a little out of whack because we`ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico, and that`s fine. We`ve saved a lot of lives. if you look at the -- every death is a horror. But if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina and you look at the tremendous hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died, and you look at what happened here with really a storm that was just totally overbearing, nobody has ever seen anything like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: In the last hour on the Rachel Maddow Show, the Mayor of San Juan had this reaction to President Trump`s visit today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARMEN YULIN CRUZ, MAYOR OF SAN JUAN: He was insulting to the people of Puerto Rico. he kind of minimized our suffering here by saying that Katrina was a real disaster, sort of implying that this was not a real disaster, because not many people have died here. Well, you know what? They`re dying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: NBC`s Tammy Leitner was in San Juan since before the storm hit and has been reporting on the ground everyday since. She joins now and Tammy the President had a fairly limited itinerary there in San Juan today and around San Juan. What are some of the things you think would have been more helpful for the President to see if he had more time?
TAMMY LEITNER, NBC REPORTER: Lawrence, can tell you that President Trump did not get an accurate portrayal of what is going on. For the last two weeks, we`ve traveled basically across the island. And we`ve visited towns that have been completely cut off where the roads are washed away, where people still have no food, no power, no water. And they`re having to drive 90 minutes, two hours to come into San Juan to go to a grocery store because their grocery stores still are not open.
And once they do get here, the shelves are very limited. There are no frozen items in the grocery store, very little refrigerated items. This means no milk, no ice and what canned goods they do have, they`re being rationed out. I can tell you, there are still lines for gas. And people are desperate for cash.
Right now this island is operating as a cash only island. And we`ve seen long lines at Western Union. People telling us that they don`t know what to do. They have no more cash on them. They`re trying to get family members who live elsewhere to send them cash.
So what President Trump saw today was not an accurate portrayal of what is actually going on here in Puerto Rico and the desperation and the day to day struggle that people are still going through. Lawrence.
O`DONNELL: And Tammy, the death toll official count has more than doubled today, going up to 34. That`s obviously not necessarily related to any new deaths, but more a catching up with what has actually been happening there. There must be a lot of other areas where the official statistical reporting lags behind the reality.
LEITNER: Absolutely. And they are expecting that death toll, unfortunately, to climb even higher as the days continue. Lawrence, I can tell you, we`ve been to some towns, Utuado for example. It`s about 90 minutes outside of San Juan. And the main bridge was washed away there.
People are using a rope to cross the river there, to walk across and to send food across to some of the people that can`t cross over. So rescuers are still getting to some of these more remote parts of the island. And so it`s still unclear if there are people out there that need medical help that want to be rescued. and that will come in the coming days and weeks. Unfortunately, that`s why they`re saying that they expect the death toll to increase. Lawrence.
O`DONNELL: Tammy Leitner, thank you for your invaluable reporting from Puerto Rico from before this storm even hit the island. Thank you very much, Tammy.
we`re joined now by Melissa Mark Viverito, the New York Council City speaker. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Her mother and other family members still live there. She returned from Puerto Rico last week after a three-day visit. Tell what`s you saw in Puerto Rico and your assessment of what you saw of the President`s trip today.
MELISSA MARK VIVERITO, NEW YORK COUNCIL CITY SPEAKER: I mean, the President`s visit was an utter disgrace. And unfortunately, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Rossello, and the Resident Commissioner Jennifer Gonzalez are becoming apologists for this administration`s lack of seriousness to this crisis. The bending over backwards, the selfies, the smiling photos, you know, this President needs to be called out for his lack of seriousness to this humanitarian crisis.
And this visit today was an utter disgrace and an insult to the Puerto Rican people to be throwing and lobbying paper towels at us as if we were animals, you know, is really making light of a situation that is very severe. And continues to paint with a brush as if trying to paint a different reality that is this is not really what everybody is talking about.
This is really all going very well. This that is not true. What your reporter on the ground indicated is very true. You know I`ve had to find ways to get money to my mother. It is a cash only society. People in the hospitals are not getting the proper attention.
95 percent of the island still has no electricity. The lack of consistency in getting supplies and food and water to the outside areas of San Juan is real. This is not getting better. It`s only getting worse if there is no serious attention.
I continue to say that we probably have no more than 50,000 -- 15,000 personnel on the ground in Puerto Rico when we had 40,000 in Florida after Irma. when we had 30,000 in Texas. We are being treated in a different way, and there is a double standard when it comes to the people of Puerto Rico and when it comes to the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
And that is unacceptable. So I`m going to continue to raise my voice. And the only voice of indignation and the only voice of resistance to what is happening is coming from the Mayor of San Juan and that is the reality. And so I really am here to condemn that we still have not seen an appropriate response to Puerto Rico, even when the general on the ground is indicating that he does not have the sufficient resources or personnel to handle it.
So we need to continue to pay attention. I want to thank all the media that is giving this attention. We need to get the proper response. And we still do not have an appropriate response on the ground in Puerto Rico.
O`DONNELL: If you had had a chance to consult with the Whitehouse about this trip, what would you have told them about what the President should see as opposed to what he actually did see today?
VIVERITO: He needed to go out into the mountainous areas. He needed to go into the towns of Utuado as your reporter indicated or Orocovis where I was last week which was in the heart of the island, and which is almost impenetrable to get to. That is what he needs to see. People that are not getting any sort of assistance, that have not seen FEMA response, that are hungry, that are not getting water.
That again, the hospitals continue to run on generators, that is not a reality that can continue moving forward. And so as we discuss this, you know, it continues to defy reason. When the President is talking about the debt or the President is talking about the fact that this is costing us so much money.
This is -- this has to be set aside. We have a humanitarian crisis. And it needs to be paid attention to right now.
O`DONNELL: Melissa Mark Viverito, thank you very much for joining us tonight. I really appreciate it.
VIVERITO: Thank you.
O`DONNELL: Coming up, we have the latest on the victims of this massacre here in Las Vegas.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN MCMAHILL, UNDERSHERIFF: Officer Hartfield was at the route 91 concert that night along with his wife when shots rang out. Even though Officer Hartfield was at the concert as a civilian, he immediately took action to save lives.
In that moment, he was acting as a police officer. He ultimately gave his life protecting others. Officer Hartfield was an 11-year member of the LVMPD and leaves behind a wife and two children. We`re very grateful for his sacrifice.
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O`DONNELL: That was Las Vegas Undesheriff Kevin McMahill tonight, remembering one of his colleagues and friends killed in Sunday`s massacre. Tonight police are still trying to identify three of the 58 victims killed in the massacre here in Las Vegas.
The coroner says he hopes to have all identified by tomorrow morning. As the nation continues to grapple with the horrific event that happened here Sunday night, we are starting to learn more about the people who lost their lives here on Sunday night. NBC News National Correspondent Miguel Almaguer has some of their stories.
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MIGUEL ALMAGUER, NBC REPORTER: Across the country, bells for each of the victims, prayers and songs of mourning. All to remember the unforgettable, the lifetimes lost in an instant. Angie Gomez, just 20, celebrating her new job as a nursing assistant, Bill Wolfe Jr., a wrestling coach in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary. Heather Melton also had a storybook marriage. She was a surgeon. He was nurse. It ended too soon.
SHOOTING SURVIVOR: And we couldn`t tell where the bullets were coming from. and he grabbed me from behind and started running with me. And then I felt him -- I felt him get hit in the back.
ALMAGUER: Her husband Sonny shielded her, sacrificing his life to save hers. SHOOTING SURVIVOR: He took care of other people, again, at even his own expense.
The shooting left so many children without loved ones. 54-year-old Tom Day Jr., the best dad say his four children, who were with him at the concert. At 28, Christopher Roybal had seen a battlefield before. He served in Afghanistan and is missed by his mother.
CHRISTOPHER ROYBAL MOTHER: he is a vet. He has a shirt with a gunshot through it. He sat on a lot of bombs and never blew them up.
ALMAGUER: 32-year-old Michelle Vo had a sweet soul and a bright smile. Kurt Von Tillow 55 was that next-door neighbor dad who loved golf
Kurt Von Tillow brother-in-law: My brother in law is the most patriotic person you ever met. I guarantee you he is fully covered in red, white and blue.
ALMAGUER: Tonight Sonny Melton`s mother shares the pain, her heartbreak felt by a nation.
SONNY MELTON`S MOTHER: I`ll miss his smile. And I`ll -- I`ll miss him saying I love you, mama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALMAGUER: Nearly 60 families are now planning funerals, lives cut tragically short, lives being remembered by so many. Lawrence.
O`DONNELL: NBC`S Miguel Almaguer, thank you. Coming up, how some people are reaching out to help the victims
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STEVE SISOLAK, BUSINESSMAN: When we started it, we set the goal at $500,000 dollars, and one individual called and said I`ll get you to your goal. That individual was anonymous until now. He said we could release his name. It was Stephen Cloobeck who donated $$400,000 to support this community.
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O`DONNELL: Joining us now MSNBC Stephanie Ruhle. Stephanie You`ve been reporting on how people have been reaching out and helping.
STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC REPORTER: It`s a lot more than that. Las Vegas is a town of tourism. But it`s also a state that loves it`s guns. I sat down with Steve Cloobeck. He runs Diamond Resorts. He ran Vegas beautification project and said what does this town mean more than money? Enough is enough in terms of guns. And that`s what we talked about.
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STEPHEN CLOOBECK, BUSINESSMAN: Enough is enough. It`s about time we had some bipartisan leadership and fixed he`s gun laws. I talked to my ultra republican friend and I`m on the other side and I have a gun. I`m OK with guns. It`s just not 42 mechanized weapons with thousands of rounds many ammunition.
RUHLE: Let`s say that the gun laws don`t change. How do you run a hotel safely in a place like this knowing you`ve got gun laws as lax as they are?
CLOOBECK: Let me tell you how you do it. First of all I can tell you that Mr. Murren at MGM, Mr. Aldleson and Goldstein at (INAUDIBLE) and Palazzo, Mr. Wynn at his resorts and the others, they have the best security professionals in the world working at their hotels. What you need to do is start to pass gun laws. And we did actually.
The voters passed a gun law last cycle. And unfortunately Mr. Adam Laxalt, our Attorney General killed it so shame on him. Shame on Adam Laxalt. If he wants to see something, tell him to come down to this site and see lipsticks and empty shoes and dead bodies and shame on him and shame on the others in Washington that don`t get it. if they want a first understanding of what it`s like to be in a war zone, come down here.
RUHLE: President Trump has said he`s bound to no one, he`s pragmatic. Could this not be his moment to say let`s go, gun control. Imagine all the people in the middle he would win over. Now, Steve Bannon has said if the President touches gun control, it`s over, he loses his base. What do you think happens?
CLOOBECK: I`m a hotelier like him, we both made money. He started with a little bit more than me. But if he wants to stand his line and be like I am, an independent spirit, a businessman, a true entrepreneur, enough is enough, Mr. President. Stand up and say it, enough is enough.
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O`DONNELL: Stephanie you find people outside of politics have no problem talking about this.
RUHLE: Listen, Steve Cloobeck is thinking about running for Governor as a Democrat of Nevada. But Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, these are big Republicans in this town but they need to run massive hotels at a time when are you going to get 45 million tourists feeling safe in Las Vegas? This is a moment for President Trump. We said is he ever going to pivot?
This could be a moment for him. He says he`s pragmatic, He says he`s bound to no one. well, great, do something. Do something now. 22,000 people ran right by where we are running for their lives two nights ago. Think about all the people who want some sort of change, Lawrence.
O`DONNELL: And the President so far is in that Republican chorus of now is not the time to talk about it.
RUHLE: when is the time to talk about it? After a massive storm, are you not supposed to talk about climate?
After the financial crisis, didn`t you talk about banking? After something like this, it`s the top of mind, I assure you, parents, family members of those who lost their lives, they want to talk about gun control.
O`DONNELL: And when we have industrial accidents, people talk about the safety measures you have to take for that particular plant. That is whether you talk about it.
RUHLE: It`s exactly when you talk about it. And Lawrence it`s not saying let`s do a way with guns. But in terms of what this man did, the access he had and again how lax is t is in the state of Nevada, the fact you could walk into a hotel, request a room on the 32nd floor and bring in dozens weapons, its got to be something we need to address.
O`DONNELL: STEPHANIE RUHLE, thank you very much, a long day for you. I appreciate you staying with us. Thank you. We`ll be right back with Tonight`s Last Word.
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O`DONNELL: Some people say it`s too soon to talk about gun and ammunition control. But for the people who were killed right here behind me on Sunday Night, it`s too late.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED MARKEY, UNITED STATES SENATOR: Some people say it`s too soon to debate gun control. Las Vegas last night tells us it`s too late to debate gun control. Maybe this is it, where the American people just get so outraged that we`re able to begin to pass laws.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey gets Tonight`s Last Word. The 11th Hour with Brian Williams is next.
END
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