Concertgoers trying to escape crazed gunmen in the Paris attacks fled into the dressing room of the American rock group Eagles of Death Metal, two band members said in an interview with VICE news.

But the hiding spot offered no safety.

"The killers were able to get in and killed every one of them, except for a kid who was hiding under my leather jacket," frontman Jesse Hughes said in an interview that will be posted on VICE's website next week.

The band was performing at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris on Nov. 13 when three gunmen stormed the hall and opened fire. The attack killed 89 people, and occurred during a series of coordinated terror attacks in Paris.

The Wrangler Family Barbeque Restaurant in El Cajon will host thirty families registered with the Wounded Warrior Project for Thanksgiving.

“This is our family’s way of giving back to those who have given so much. We have family and friends coming in from all over the country to help us serve these special families,’ said JR Henderson, owner of the Wrangler Family Barbeque Restaurant. “But we want to do more for this organization. We are asking the community and local businesses to stop by the restaurant and drop off financial gifts for the Wounded Warrior Project. Let’s show these heroes how much we care.”

The restaurant is also asking for gift cards or other prizes to give to the families on Thanksgiving Day.

“We want every family to know how much the community appreciates their service to this great country,” Henderson added.

Donations can be dropped off at Wrangler Family Barbeque, 901 El Cajon Blvd, El Cajon from 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Envelopes should be marked Wounded Warrior Project. Donations can also be made at Wounded Warrior Project’s Website.
 

Veterans in the South Bay got a special visit from some of the models featured in a charity calendar that benefits veterans causes.

Pin-Up for Vets charity founder Gina Elise and several other models visited the Chula Vista Veterans Home of California this month to entertain the veterans and hand out free 2016 calendars.

The calendar draws inspiration from the World War II pin-up girls, whose photos boosted morale for U.S. soldiers fighting overseas. They sell for $15 to raise money for veterans causes, but they are given for free to the veterans the group visits, thanks to donations.

"I just really wanted to do something creative to give back to our troops and veterans," Elise said.

Elise is from Lake Arrowhead, and attended UCSD before tranferring to UCLA. It was after graduation that she decided to combine her love of the 1940's look with her desire to honor veterans, like her grandfather Lou. He served in the army during World War II.

This is the tenth calendar for the organization. This year's features more veterans than any in the past: 17 veteran male and female models, in all.

Elisa said she loves to see the response when veteran models visit veterans in homes and state hospitals.

"For the vets there to see our ambassadors are veterans, it's really special," Elisa said. "It's a really nice connection, a kinship of an instant brotherhood and sisterhood."

The Pin-Up for Vets tour has made at least half a dozen stops San Diego County in recent years, including stops at Camp Pendleton, San Diego Naval Medical Center, and the VA hospital.

Elise said the non-profit donated $15,000 to Naval Medical Center for rehabilitative equipment, and teamed up with the Wounded Warrior project to help provide Thanksgiving to Marines here.

The group has visited 7,000 veterans since the project started. The organizaiton also sends care packages to deployed military members.

To purchase a calendar or donate one to a veteran, visit the Pin-Up for Vets website.

At least 10 people were injured when gunfire erupted during a parade Sunday night in a New Orleans park, authorities said.

At least nine victims were transported to University Medical Center New Orleans, a hospital spokeswoman told NBC News. She could not provide details on their conditions.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison told NBC station WDSU that the shootings, which occurred shortly before 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET), may be gang-related. They occurred during an after-party following an annual "second line" parade at Bunny Friend Park in the city's 9th Ward.

Video published Sunday night by the New Orleans Times-Picayune showed multiple people lying on the ground being attended by emergency personnel or being taken away on stretchers.

Coming to the United States as a refugee, says David Murphy, the Executive Director in San Diego Chapter of the International Rescue Committee, is not an easy journey. It can take from one and a half to ten years to go through the vigorous screening process. “To come into the United States through the refugee avenue is the most difficult way to get into the United States, because of the stringent security vetting that takes place. Any other way is easier than being a refugee.”

The United Nations estimates there are 20 million refugees worldwide. Murphy has worked with refugees for decades. He set up refugee camps in Africa and Afghanistan. “At any given time there are many, many wars going on – mostly civil wars throughout the world and the United States will then begin a process to identify individuals in these countries most at risk.” According to the United Nations some of the most war torn countries include: Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somalia. The U.S. has agreed to take 85,000 refugees in 2016, of that a few thousand are from Syria.

The U.S. has been taking refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan for years, and new refugees continue to arrive. “That's because the Iraq war was happening eight years ago, five years ago, and so that's when those refugees we're coming forward, so even today with Syria we are not going to see Syrian refugees coming in big numbers anytime soon because this vetting process takes so long.”
The largest group of refugees who arrived in the U.S. last year came from Burma. “That's because the conflict in Burma was going on 10 years ago, five years ago, and that's when initially the refugees were coming in for resettlement.” In San Diego the highest number of refugees came from Iraq last year at 49% or 1,226. In part because they have family already here, refugees from Afghanistan and Somalia were the next highest groups.
Many have criticized the vetting process for the resettlement. Critics say the intelligence is not good enough in countries where their records cannot be obtained and people who may want to do the U.S. harm could slip through the process as they allegedly did in France.

Murphy says the current system in Europe is nowhere near as secure as the system we have here in the U.S.; he describes the process beginning with multiple interviews from multiple applicants, which take place at settlement camps outside the U.S.

“They will check biometric data they will take your fingerprints, even retina scans, and check it with a number of the databases. They will also go back into those countries to try to provide interviews. All of this is done by trained U.S. government staff employees with the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, CIA, FBI and if at anytime there's a question mark they will then go in for even further screening, “says Murphy.

Ablo Sayad, a woman from Somalia, said the people in her village were constantly being killed. “They kill a lot of people there, still they do it in our village,” she told NBC7. With the help of a friend she and her six children were able to escape to a refugee camp in Kenya. It then it took several years for her to finally be able to resettle here in the U.S. “This is my home now in America is good life and good people. We safe, God bless America, we safe,” Sayad said as she fought back tears recalling the violence.

Sayad said her second husband, whom she met in Kenya, was not able to enter the U.S. as a refugee. He could not get through the long process. But she said her children were able to get an education here and one of her sons served in the U.S. Army. They are grateful to have escaped their war torn country to come to San Diego.

At any time in the process if there is a question or a ‘ding’ as he calls it, the person seeking resettlement in America is rejected. David Murphy says “This is FBI, CIA, these are our Department of Homeland Security. They don't want to bring in anyone that's going to cause a problem, and so they are extra stringent. The U.S. government personnel that are part of these processes and the security vetting go through their own training programs so that they're trained up on how to spot fraud.”

There are many other ways, Murphy says, to get into the U.S. There are a variety of Visa programs: student, work, or tourist. Every year a million people enter the United States. Very few come in through the refugee program. But critics say it is too risky too let groups come into the country that may pose a threat, but Murphy says this program is for those most at risk. “These are refugees that are fleeing ISIS, these are refugees living in Syria that have been facing ISIS and ISIL for the last four and a half, five years,” grandmothers, women and children.

Adding, “Just by shutting down the refugee pipeline that's not going to keep Terrorists out. Terrorists can still get in. We have very open borders there are quite a number of ways to get in the United States. The refugee population that comes here, they are the most thoroughly security vetted population of any group.”

Murphy says since September 11th nearly 800,000 refugees have entered the U.S. and become hard working, tax paying citizens. “Just by shutting down the refugee pipeline that's not going to keep terrorists out, terrorists can still get in. We have very open borders there are quite a number of ways to get in the United States. The refugee population that comes here they are the most thoroughly security vetted population of any group.”

On Thursday the House of Representatives voted to halt the Syrian Refugee Program.

Fans were searched, wanded and checked before stepping foot in Qualcomm Stadium Sunday.

“I think it’s wonderful. I want to be safe,” one fan told NBC7.

SDPD is working with the FBI and NFL to increase the number of officers at the game in light of the Paris terrorist attacks.

"The safety of our fans, stadium personnel, and teams at all NFL games is our priority, and security at our games is robust,” a statement from the NFL said. “Our procedures have been certified and designated by the Department of Homeland Security since 2008 as effective anti-terrorism technology. All NFL clubs use mandatory metal detector screening and multiple layers of perimeter security external to the stadium to safeguard fans and the stadium from explosive threats.”

Back in May, the NFL Commission on Stadium Security unanimously recommended a stricter bag policy. Bags that are brought into the stadium must be clear plastic, vinyl or PVC, and may not exceed 12” x 6” X 12”.

“When fans come to the stadium today they will see an increased number of uniformed officers. They’ll see an increased number of private security guards," Lt. Paul Connelly explained. "What they won’t see is a lot of undercover officers working the crowds. And we’re specifically looking for any suspicious activity out there.”

Items prohibited inside the stadium include purses larger than a clutch bag, coolers, briefcases, backpacks, fanny packs, cinch bags, seat cushions, luggage of any kind, computer bags and camera bags or any bag larger than the permissible size.

“All the games have a really heightened sense of security already, and I think it really shows that we also need to be aware of our surroundings,” another fan said while going through the security line at the stadium Sunday.

Many fans are taking the extra measures in stride. They say longer lines is a small price to pay to enjoy the game.

Officers say there is no known credible threat to Qualcomm Stadium at this time, but fans will have to go through extra security measures at the next three Chargers home games.

A rafter of fearless turkeys swarmed a suburb of Denver, Colorado, merely days before the birds' presumed worst nightmare: Thanksgiving. 

On Sunday morning, Amy and Ruben Rodriguez counted about 18 of the avian guests on their front yard, NBC affiliate KUSA reported. 

The couple watched the turkeys peck and gobble on their lawn, according to KUSA.

Hopefully the gang gets out of there before Thanksgiving. 

A street in Escondido is now filled with eleven new homes and eleven very grateful families.

“This is our home. This is a place that we have the dignity of paying mortgage,” Al Lejarde, a Marine veteran told NBC7. “And just to be able to pay down 10 years instead of paying a landlord – this will be our home.”

San Diego Habitat for Humanity helped open the doors for people like the Lejarde family.

Lejarde and his wife live with his mother-in-law and are expecting their first child early next year.

“[It] inspires my family to say...not only be thankful but also to share this opportunity and our story to other families...saying that you could be here with us for thanksgiving in a community like this,” Lejarde said.

He said the house means the world to his family – to be able to have a sense of security and for his son to grow up there.

Habitat for Humanity sells affordable homes to families earning between 50 and 80% of the area’s median income – but each family here worked for their home by helping build theirs and their neighbor’s.

“All of these families have to put in 500 hours of sweat equity; It's really their down payment to help build their own homes,” Lori Pfeiler, Executive Director at San Diego Habitat for Humanity explained.

“Now we have a safe home to have Thanksgiving, Christmas,” Lejarde said.

Each of the homes is 1,300 square feet with three bedrooms and two baths.

During this holiday season Al and his wife Kristin are not only grateful but are eager to help open the doors for others.

“It inspires us more to give back. There's more families out here who are struggling, more families out here whose lives would change.”

A Escondido structure fire sent heavy smoke plumes into the air above the blaze, Battalion Chief John Tenger said.

The fire broke out around 11:19 a.m. Sunday on the 800 block of E. Lincoln Avenue.

When crews arrived on scene, they found the single-story building with heavy smoke coming from the back of the building.

Within ten minutes, the fire was contained to the black portion of the house. The estimated structural damage is at $60,000.

Two patients on scene were treated for smoke inhalation. Displaced residents received aid from the California Fire Foundation and The Red Cross of San Diego. 

Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.  

No further information was immediately available. 

One of the last living northern white rhinos has passed away, leaving only three left in the world, the San Diego Zoo announced Sunday morning. 

Nola was a 41-year-old rhinoceros at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and lived there since 1989. Her species is critically endangered with just three others living in a preserve in Kenya.

"This is a very difficult loss for the animal care staff who worked with her, our volunteers, guests, and to her species worldwide," the San Diego Zoo said in a statement on its Facebook page. 

The 4,500-pound rhino was under veterinary care for a bacterial infection as well as age-related issues when her condition took a turn for the worse. 

"In the last 24 hours, Nola’s condition worsened and we made the difficult decision to euthanize her. We’re absolutely devastated by this loss, but resolved to fight even harder to #EndExtinction," the San Diego Zoo Safari Park said in a statement.

Nola had previously undergone multiple procedures and diagnostic tests over the past few months to find the source of an infection near her right hip. She had previously underwent a surgical procedure to remove an abscess discovered during a recent ultrasound. 

"Nola’s legacy will live forever as her death leaves just 3 northern white rhinos on the planet," the zoo said.

"You will be deeply, dearly missed," the San Diego Zoo Safari Park said.

Northern white rhinos are at the brink of extinction due to poaching for their horn, zoo officials said.

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park recently received six southern white rhinos between four and seven years old from private reserves in South Africa. These rhinos will become surrogate mothers for northern white rhino embryos developed by researchers.

Researchers are optimistic within the next 10 to 15 years a northern white rhino could be born from these efforts.

San Diego Zoo Global has one of the most successful rhino breeding programs in the world. To date, a total of 94 southern white rhinos, 68 greater one-horned rhinos and 14 black rhinos have been born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Sixteen people were arrested in Belgium after a series of raids Sunday across Brussels, although a fugitive wanted in connection with the Paris attacks wasn't among them, Belgian federal prosecutors said.

The raids came as heavily armed troops and police deployed across Brussels and as the city prepared to remain under maximum threat level for a third day Monday after warnings of a Paris-style attack. The country's prime minister, Charles Michel, described the threats as "serious and imminent."

"I indicated yesterday that what we are concerned about an attack similar to the one that was carried out in Paris involving several individuals and maybe targeting attacks on several sites simultaneously," Michel said.

Schools were to remain closed Monday, and public events and transportation were to be canceled.

At least 10 patients were treated, the youngest 13-years-old, and others taken to the hospital after consuming a bad batch of spice in downtown San Diego, police and fire officials told NBC7.

The incident happened at approximately 3:20 p.m. Sunday near 6th Avenue and C Street downtown, San Diego Police and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department officials said. Spice is a type of synthetic marijuana.

"They are disoriented they are slightly hallucinogenic," Mike Finnerty, battalion chief at SDPD said. "They ramble when they talk."

Though initial reports from police and fire officials said the incident was a drunken brawl or possibly a tainted brownie, police have confirmed that a group of people became sick after using the synthetic marijuana.

"It's a manufactured substance and depending on who manufactured it it could be of different qualities, different strengths," Finnerty said. "It could be that the current batch that these people are accessing is much stronger than what they are used to or it could have some other unknown chemical in it that's not normally in it."

Police said the drug has been sold on the streets of downtown San Diego in a black package with blue dragons on the side and are asking people to be aware if they have purchased it. 

At least 12 people are being treated altogether as of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, two of which were taken to the hospital in critical condition. At least five adults and five juveniles suffered serious to mild symptoms after smoking the drug. Some of those affected passed out in the middle of the street. 

"We had two individuals that were transported in serious condition that evidently had taken a lot more than the rest we have had today," Finnerty explained.

Medics and other crews are treating people at 6th Avenue and C Street, 7th Avenue and Broadway and 14th Street and Imperial. 

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story. 

Prince Charles is crediting the world’s failure to tackle climate change as a root cause of the war in Syria, terrorism and Europe’s refugee crisis, NBC News reports.

In an interview with Sky News recorded before the Paris attacks, the prince said the symptoms were caused by not “dealing with the problem.”

"Some of us were saying 20 something years ago that if we didn't tackle these issues, you would see ever greater conflict over scarce resources and ever greater difficulties over drought, and the accumulating effect of climate change which means that people have to move," he said.

He is to give a keynote speech at the opening of a global climate summit in Paris next week.

A homeless man walking through a Bronx park near Yankee Stadium found several guns that had been stolen from an Army facility in Massachusetts, police said Sunday.

Investigators traced the weapons to a recent break-in at a military armory in Worcester.

The 51-year-old homeless man stumbled upon the weapons while collecting bottles and cans at Mullaly Park near Yankee Stadium. The man reported his find to police, who said the weapons included a fully automatic M4 carbine and two 9mm handguns.

Authorities say they found six of the other 16 guns stolen in the Nov. 14 heist at Lincoln Stoddard Army Reserve Center, though it wasn't immediately clear where those had been located.

James Morales, 34, a former army reservist accused of child rape in an unrelated case, faces federal charges accusing him of stealing the weapons. A surveillance video shows Morales leaving the armory with duffel bags and placing them in a black car, according to an FBI affidavit.

Blood drops found at the scene were tested and match Morales' DNA, authorities have said.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in New York said Morales waived identity and probable cause hearings during an appearance in court Friday.

His attorney couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The Army says Morales was in the reserve from Sept. 2008 until Nov. 2013 and his discharge had nothing to do with any legal trouble.

Ahead of the nation's busiest holiday season, Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he knows of no "specific threat" to the U.S. — and remains confident that "ISIS will be defeated."

"ISIS is not 10-feet tall," Kerry said on NBC's "Today" show. "The pace has to be picked up and more needs to be done and everybody understands that."

"People need to not panic. There is a strategy in place, growing by the day," said Kerry, who's in the United Arab Emirates, his first stop during his Middle East visit that also will include stops in Israel and the West Bank.

He is scheduled to meet with senior government officials to discuss the situation in Syria and a recent spate of violence in the area.

More than 50 animals were killed in a fire Monday morning at an animal shelter in Paxton, Massachusetts, according to shelter staff.

Flames sparked early Monday at the Sweetpea Friends of Rutland Animals shelter on Pleasant Street, a non-profit, no-kill shelter founded by a retired animal control officer.

"They're really just like family to us, so we miss them all," said shelter founder Dick Clark, choking back tears. "But they're gone."

The shelter put out a call on Facebook asking veterinarians and other volunteers to help move and treat animals pulled from the damaged shelter.

"This is not a drill. Please help!" the shelter posted on its Facebook page early Monday.

Volunteers sprang into action but only a a handful of animals survived. Rescuers pulled five dogs from the blaze, two of which died overnight. Three remain in stable condition and another is critical, according to the shelter.

One cat was also rescued and in stable condition. Another remains loose in the woods.

The shelter's president said 17 dogs and 39 cats were killed.

According to a post on the shelter's Facebook page, the facility "lost almost everything" in the fire, including computers and files dating back to 2012.

"Awful big expense in front of us now too, and we can't replace the animals," Clark said. "I wish we could."

There is no word on what sparked the blaze. Paxton fire officials believe a faulty heating unit may be to blame.

Below is a wish list Sweetpea Animals has requested on Facebook:

Jacob Marberger picked a peaceful place to die.

The Washington College student whose disappearance prompted his school to shut down for two weeks shot himself in the head at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, a natural area with beautiful vistas and landscape, authorities said. The famous terrain, which sits alongside the Appalachian Trial in Berks County, Pennsylvania, is the world’s first refuge for birds of prey.

The serene setting was 15 minutes from the Wal-Mart where Marberger bought bullets Monday morning, and a stark contrast, perhaps, to his school life about three hours away in Chestertown, Maryland, where his last six weeks became difficult, embarrassing and then unbearable.

News of the 19-year-old's death triggered a flurry of condolences, as well as questions and accusations about what pushed the Cheltenham Township teen to a point where he felt death was his best option.

"So many of us were looking forward to seeing where life would take Jacob Marberger — or where that powerful, clever, thoughtful mind of his would lead him. What a heartbreaking end," Nathan Kleinman wrote on Marberger’s Facebook page, where there is talk of a very bright, energetic young man whose Thespian skills, wit and delivery of rhetoric on the debate team were enviable.

"I'm still trying to comprehend this awful event. Jacob Marberger was an amazing friend. He never failed to put a smile on my face and enlighten me with his views on everything," Willa Douglas posted.

On the Facebook page for the small, private liberal arts school of about 1,400 undergraduates, comments included a collection of compassionate, sad and angry sentiments.

"This is what bullying does. A bright young person lost his life and his family lost their son. Senseless," wrote Holly Osbourne.

The day before Marberger was found, Dr. Jon Marberger opened up about his son's social struggles.

"He had lots of positive contacts but he didn’t really know how to deal with the negative ones and the people who didn’t accept him,” Jon Marberger said.

But suicide? How did the mind of a young man who seemed fairly well adjusted, and on most days happy, take him there?

"Apparently the Yik Yak got very ugly on Sunday," Jon Marberger said, of an anonymous location-based smartphone app. "I’m really curious what happened Sunday night between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m."

HOW JACOB'S LIFE UNRAVELED

To understand why those two hours are critical to Jon Marberger, you have to understand the troubling six weeks that led up to last Sunday.

Jacob Marberger’s father believes the teen's troubles started early in October when he fell out of favor with members of two groups he loved being a part of on campus: his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, and the Student Government Association (SGA), where he served as speaker of the senate.

Jacob Marberger was at an SGA function when he saw two other SGA members texting sexually inappropriate comments about a woman in the group. He reported them to school administrators, saying their actions created an environment of sexual harassment, Jon Marberger said.

When both lost their jobs, that upset some of the younger Marberger’s fraternity brothers, who were on the same sports team as one student who’d been disciplined. They told Jacob Marberger if he had an issue, he should’ve handled it within the fraternity rather than tell administrators, according to Jon Marberger and two students familiar with the case. The students who spoke on the situation did not want their names used for fear of being reprimanded by the college.

After that, Jacob Marberger was retaliated against, allegedly by members of his own fraternity. According to a student who was his friend, Jacob felt "very persecuted by them" when they leaned a trash can full of water against his dorm room door so when he opened it, water spilled into his room.

Two days later, on Oct. 7, Jon Marberger said his son was drinking wine and some of his fraternity brothers kept carrying him up to his room because they thought he was too drunk. This went on four or five times and Jacob Marberger kept going back downstairs. The last time the fraternity members carried 5-foot-6 Jacob Marberger back up to his room, they tried to put a bureau in front of his door, Jon Marberger said.

"After the fourth or fifth time, that’s when he came out with the gun. I don’t know what he said, but he held it over his head," Jon Marberger said.

The gun was unloaded but the gesture was enough to put people on edge.

"I’m in another fraternity. When we heard that, we were like, 'Holy s---, if this gets out, it’s going to destroy Greek life here,'" one student said.

Because no one came forward, it took nearly three weeks for the school to figure out what happened and recover the gun from a house off campus. Jacob Marberger was suspended from school on Oct. 29. He was also kicked out of his fraternity.

"He was just embarrassed for what he had done and how it was misinterpreted," said Jon Marberger, who believes this was the first time his son faced what he considered real failure.

When Jacob Marberger left campus, only a few people knew the real reason. In his meticulous manner, he sent an email to SGA members saying he was sorry he’d be absent from senate, but with no explanation as to why.

Jacob Marberger returned to school and was back in classes on Nov. 9 after a forensic psychiatrist determined he was not a threat to himself or others. It was a difficult week, and he still faced a hearing before the Honors Board, but his father said Jacob Marberger was adjusting. He pointed to a text message exchange between Jacob Marberger and a friend at 9:03 p.m. Sunday, the night before he vanished.

Friend: Hey, how are you doing?
Jacob: Alright, what’s up?
Friend: Nothing with me. I’ve just heard a lot of stuff has been going on with the brothers lately and wanted to make sure you were okay.
Jacob: I’ve been better, but I’ll get through it.

His good friend and former roommate, Joseph Swit, also thought Jacob Marberger was dealing with everything. They’d talked a lot after Jacob Marberger moved from the frat house back into the dorm. The two ate dinner together around 6 p.m. Sunday and Jacob Marberger "seemed to be his normal, pleasant self. He sported his typical big grin and we had, as we often did, a good-natured political discussion. I never would’ve thought that this was the last time I would see my friend," Swit posted on Marberger’s Facebook page.

"See you later," Jacob Marberger said as the two parted ways, Jacob Marberger to his room and Swit to watch football downstairs.

What changed? Jacob Marberger found out that night some SGA members were very upset — angry that he was being allowed to return to the group when the two people he’d reported had been fired. Their anger boiled into a string of comments and conjecture on Yik Yak, where people can post anonymously.

The truth — and lies — about Jacob’s absence from campus were revealed.

"Nobody knew, I think 20 people knew, and then suddenly in the span of two hours, the entire school found out," said one student.

Shortly after 11 p.m., Jacob Marberger wrote a letter resigning his position as speaker of the student senate.

At 12:25 a.m., the same friend he’d talked with earlier texted again.

Friend: I wish they would quit talking about it on yik yak.
Jacob: Me too. I’m not sure what to do about it.

Jacob Marberger, whose senior class at Cheltenham High School voted him "Most Likely to Be a Motivational Speaker," left campus early Monday, made the two-and-a-half hour drive to his home in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, snuck in while his parents were sleeping and took a gun from his antique collection.

He stopped answering his phone or responding to texts and drove first to a Wal-Mart near Hamburg, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and then to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, where he parked, left a letter and then ended his life.

WHO WAS JACOB MARBERGER?

Jon Marberger isn’t ready to talk about his son's suicide note, but he spoke Friday about Jacob Marberger’s spirited, opinionated personality, as well as some of his challenges.

Jacob Marberger loved the theater and was given prominent roles each year in school productions. He was a National Merit Scholar, a member of the school’s ski team and debate team. When he was younger, he played video games and would get together with friends for Nerf ball weekends. He loved visiting friends who’d emigrated from Ukraine and talking about the politics and culture of their homeland.

About a year ago, he began collecting antique guns because he was fascinated with metallurgy.

"He could tell you everything about them," Jon Marberger said. "Jacob knew things to the degree that you couldn’t believe; I mean, the detail to which he knew of so many topics, especially politics, and world politics, you know? ... But you know, someone of that caliber has difficulty relating to a lot of common things, and you know, developing close friends had always been a challenge and Jacob was always striving for acceptance."

At Washington College, Jacob Marberger earned enough respect to be on the search committee for the school’s new president, Sheila Bair, whom he deeply respected because he thought she’d made big strides with morale when she chaired the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He was excited about a project he’d been hired to work on with one of the school’s professors.

WASHINGTON COLLEGE'S RESPONSE

In the six days it took to find Jacob Marberger, college administrators made the unprecedented decision to close the campus and send everyone home until after Thanksgiving break.

When Jon Marberger called the school Monday morning to tell them his son had taken a gun case — and possibly a gun — and was no longer answering phone calls, the college had to consider the safety and emotional well-being of students and parents who were afraid Jacob Marberger might harm others, even though he made no direct threats, Blair said.

When the college posted news of Jacob Marberger’s death on its Facebook page Saturday, the conversation included comments expressing sadness and compassion, along with accusations of bullying and questions about whether the college did enough, soon enough to help Jacob Marberger.

"We have lost a member of our family and I’m still struggling for words. Let’s find ways to honor Jacob’s memory, to learn, and to heal,” Sheila Bair tweeted Sunday morning.

Counseling will be provided when students return to class on Nov. 30.

Swit, for his part, acknowledged returning to school will be tough, but "if any school can handle this, this college can handle it. It's a really close community."

One student, who was close to the case but didn't want his name used, said "Nobody wins. Nobody," but thinks the college shouldn't be blamed. "In hindsight, it was a few key students — including Marberger — who should have made better decisions."

Swit said he will miss Jacob terribly.

"Looking back, I think it was the perfect storm of unfortunate events," he said.

He's grateful for their last dinner together.

"I am glad it was a happy memory because we had so many. It pains me to think that in the hours after that, Jacob felt so tortured and alone. I wish he would’ve known that no matter how bad things seemed, he was always loved and cared for by so many," Swit said.

SUICIDE PREVENTION: If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

A celebration of Jacob Marberger's life will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael-Sacks, at 6410 N. Broad St. in Philadelphia. Interment is private.

U.S. airstrikes destroyed around 280 of ISIS' oil tanker trucks along the Syria-Iraq border on Monday, U.S. officials told NBC News.

The vehicles were targeted at a "fuel collection point" in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.

Before the strike, the planes dropped leaflets warning the drivers to "run immediately or you will be killed," according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Airstrikes against ISIS have intensified after the terror group claiming responsibility for the massacre in Paris as well as blowing up Russia's Metrojet passenger jet.

Chicago community leaders hope a meeting with Mayor Rahm Emanuel Monday will help the city avoid Ferguson-like protests after dashcam video showing the 2014 death of a 17-year-old shot by police is released this week.

City Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton has told aldermen the video shows a white officer shooting Laquan McDonald, a black teen, 16 times as he walked along a street last October.

Last week, a judge ordered the video to go public by this Wednesday against the city's wishes, and a source has told NBC Chicago the officer involved in the shooting is expected to be indicted Tuesday.

City leaders have called on the mayor to keep the peace for fear that the video's release could spark dangerous riots. Tensions are high as dozens of black leaders warn that Chicago could be on the brink of erupting when police publicly release the "disturbing" footage.

"I'm cautioning people not to set the city on fire," said Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin. "This is not an opportunity for people to take advantage of a situation -- this does harm to the memory of Laquan McDonald. If we decide to do that I'm urging people to do peaceful protest."

The video has been described as so graphic, even McDonald’s mother is afraid of the potential for an impending uproar. Attorney Mike Robbins, who represents the McDonald family, said Thursday McDonald's mother "is not looking forward to the day this is released."

According to a family attorney, the video shows McDonald holding a small knife and walking away from officers when one unexpectedly opens fire, spraying the teen with more than a dozen bullets and continuing to fire as McDonald lies lifeless on the ground. The city settled with McDonald's family for $5 million.

Police said the shooting was in self-defense and that McDonald lunged at the officer with a knife while authorities were investigating car break-ins in a trucking yard.

His is not being identified at the request of his attorney, Dan Herbert, who said the officer fears for the safety of his family.

"He is scared to death about possible outcomes here," Herbert said during a press conference Friday afternoon. "But he has been a professional and he has really been selfless. His concern is for his wife and his two young kids, who are in grammar school."

Community leaders hope the emergency meeting with the mayor Monday will result in a plan to keep emotions at bay and the city calm.