silently protesting outside of the anne arundel district courthouse, these animal lovers want justice for bear bear. >> we need to let the government officials know that we are tired of watching animals be abused and we want something done. the laws need to be changed. >> the ought to be a federal police officer charged with animal cruelty and firing a weapon near homes said that he was trying to protect his wife and stop a dogfight. he confessed to shooting the dog. this happened on august 2nd. he said that bear bear was playful at first but had an unmistakable change in demeanor and he attacked his dog. he was worried about his wife. after repeated requests to the handler to help, he intervened.

he finally yelled, get your dog, get your dog, where i'm going to shoot your dog. they played the tape at the trial. >> i'm a federal officer and i just discharge my weapon at a dog that was attacking my dog. >> did you kill the dog? >> no, i did not. >> he asked about other options. >> there has been a lot of dog shootings in different situations. i understand dogs are animals but i don't have kids. my dogs are my kids. >> keith shepard received probation. my colleague will have much more on this tonight including reaction to the verdict at 11. >> baltimore city police and animal control rescued nearly

half a dozen dogs from a house in west baltimore. >> detectives are searching for the one responsible for organizing dogfights and he treated the animals so badly. david collins is outside of the house with more. >> tonight, police have not only develops solid leads but they have identified a person of interest. >> an overwhelming stench permeates from the basement, penetrated the nostrils, triggering an instinct to hold your breath or gag. some of these pictures are provided by baltimore city animal control. cajuns line to the basement wall's like many jail sales. two had been on the bottoms. this left their feed vulnerable to a piercing. -- two have no padding on the bottoms. there's no sign of food or

water. this is one of the sixth dogs that was rescued. at about 9:30 p.m., authorities responded to a dogfighting complete. the house appeared vacant except for a light on the stairs. the entered through an open back door. a rear room on the third floor appears to be the battle ring because of the amount of blood spattered on the mattresses. on five of the rescued animals were puppies. they might have been there as either training to be fighters or used as bait. >> one of the ways they trained dogs for the fight is to use them that really don't know how to fight as what they call 8 dogs. they put them into an area with a dog that can fight and this helps the dog to build confidence.

>> some of them had their teeth filed down or they had been removed. police and animal control found one pit bull dead inside a plastic bag with a good amount of blood. it appeared to have a bite marks. in the middle room on the third floor, they spotted another dog. but the neighbors who declined to go on camera said they had no idea what was going on and there is a school run across the street. >> not something that animal control or anyone can do. we really need the community involvement. >> animal rescue experts have determined that all six dogs are gentle and they believe would make good on most pets. they will be up for adoption soon. -- they believe that they would make good and harmless pets. >> a man was killed while

pushing a disabled car. the driver stopped to help but the victim died at the scene. the accident is still under investigation. police are searching for a man who robbed a woman inside a supermarket. last wednesday, the suspect walked to the giants food store. police say the man smashed a woman's purse and then ran out of the store. if you know who this man is, you are urged to call metro crime stoppers >> police have arrested a former morgan state university football player accused of physically assaulting a woman student on campus. we go live to morgan state with the story. >> that football player is now in central booking charged with second-degree assault all because of what happened here on campus wednesday night. school officials say it started out as a jovial conversation

between the accused and the victim. >> that there was some conversation. it was not really an argument, just some conversation that turned a little bit more serious than it started out being. >> the female student who was physically attacked apparently refused treatment at the scene. the incident was witnessed by fellow students and reported to campus police. >> the witnesses did not come forward immediately following the incident. we understand there might have been some of all involved. again, we are pursuing every avenue to get to the bottom of what happened. >> the police have issued an arrest warrant for the male student. the athlete has since been dismissed. >> we take this very seriously. every time you have a male

student involved was some kind of assault, we take that very seriously. >> the unidentified football player is in central booking. >> a discrimination lawsuit claimed that a local apartment complex made fewer apartments available to black renters. black renters were told that there was one unit available, white renters said there was between 12 and 14. >> martin o'malley has appointed it -- the experience in working with law enforcement and grand juries

in prosecuting cases across the state. newly elected members of the house for playing the lottery today. veteran lawmakers can move to better days, incoming freshmen have to draw up a number in order to get the leftovers. >> there is prime real estate on capitol hill and then there are the freshmen lawmakers. >> welcome to the great shuffle. the price, and a shot at one of the 85 worst congressional offices on capitol hill.

>> the lower the number, the better the office. >> "mr. landry drew number 3. >> jeff landrieu of louisiana was off to scope out the best of the worst. >> it is important that people have a comfortable place to work. we're trying to keep that in mind. >> decisions, decisions. there are tricks to select, a paint scheme, multiple carpet styles. -- there are drapes to select. >> we have an unusual situation. >> thanks to his new seniority status, he has to say goodbye to his cushy digs.

>> this representative will be hurting a little bit after his pick. >> he drew number 85. >> this ensures that he gets the office that no one else in congress wants. the offices are packed and getting ready. the walls with painted and the new drapes will be put in. >> the national park service has granted the hebrew orphan asylum a historic site designation. the building is the oldest surviving asylum in the u.s.. it was injured in an online competition. the asylum placed ninth after it moved from the building that was the west baltimore general hospital. >> we have a lot more news straight ahead.

>> hundreds of local families will have a meal thanks to a local basketball star. >> the turks are having a great ring now. -- terps are having a break right now. >> 43 degrees at the airport. >> 43 degrees at the airport. it was up to me to support our family. [ male announcer ] karri danner went back to school, to become a nurse. my education made all the difference... [ male announcer ] but now some in washington want regulations restricting access to career colleges and universities, denying opportunity to millions of people like karri,

letting government decide who can go to college. it's my education, and my job, it should be my choice. [ male announcer ] don't let washington get in the way.

>> 400 families are all set for thanksgiving. people lined up at the youth development center in east baltimore. that is where members can deduct interest to those in need.

they handed out turkeys with all of this side. inmates did their part to help deserving families. they prepared more than 350 turkeys. organizers expect to see tens of thousands of people this holiday. this is at 425 north festered -- chester street. thanksgiving dinner for under $30. you can get your shopping list on wbaltv.com. >> retailers are offering all kinds of bargains. will the customer service measure to your expectations. >> hopefully this service you

receive will be great. we went to more than a dozen stores in the baltimore area. she will make the assessment of her shopping experience. some people do very well. >> they greeted me the minute they walk in the door. >> i asked politely and he shook his head and said, what do you think. >> the annual customer service test. sea which did the best and see which did not live up to the secret shoppers expectations. -- see which did the best. >> type temperatures today only in the low 50's. we are starting to see these numbers settle back closer to normal. we will see some of. moving next week. warm and then a blast of cold

air all within about a week. today, two degrees short of the normal high of 55. the record low, 20. 40's around the beltway. some 30's out in the far western part of the state. on the lower eastern shore, the chilly air settling in to the low-lying region around the sauls very airport. they are down to 39 degrees. look for nearly collins for most of the night. that will send the temperature down word. you can see the cold starting to build in northern sections of canada all the way to the border. some of this will get here towards the end of next week. behind the front, there is plenty of cold air.

the real shot of cold arctic air hold off until about friday of next week. tomorrow, sunshine. it will be brisk in the morning. the wind will settle down and out of the west. 46 for the high-temperature tomorrow. a lot of sunshine out in the mountains. we will probably see some 60's down on the lower eastern shore down towards somerset county. if you are traveling south, see the ravens and panthers, it looks like a mild day. 64-68. lots of sunshine as a kickoff in charlotte for the ravens and the panthers. the rest of the forecast heading towards the big holiday gets tricky but the weekend looks

nice. sunny skies saturday and sunday. a little bit warmer monday and tuesday, 63-65. with the warmth comes the moisture and a shower chance on tuesday afternoon. the travel chance could be slowed down across the ohio valley and maybe even some rain. 57 on wednesday. 60, thanksgiving day. here comes the western canada cold that arrives in baltimore next friday. >> has maryland faces 16 ranks of illinois. they had a chance to play the title game for the terms of the 16-3. today, gary embraces friday.

he had 10 in the first half of this year. illinois, goodness gracious. leonard, 28, 23. a nice feed to james. he slams it home. 40-46, illinois at home. maryland has taken the lead. i'm interested group of linemen. one went to the skin and -- had a skin condition and he went to the hospital. marshall returns to practice the day following the birth of his son. they had doctors induce labor said that marshall would not miss a game. to the impassioned plea for the offense to wake up. the series resulted in the five- yard touchdown. i asked if they mind the fact that the verbal leadership came from somewhere other than quarterback. >> we have a lot of veteran

leaders. they will wait for the quarterback. this is a collective group and they are trying to achieve a common goal. if you are feeling this, let it come out. there is no pecking order on our offense. if you are feeling that moment, let it come out. >> many congratulations for donovan smith. the left tackle for the eagles has been named the all-american and will play at the u.s. army ball at this -- in san antonio, texas. he was left speechless upon learning of the honor. >> we are going through first period. everyone knows that he will be okay. make sure that you spoke with him because it goes by quickly.

telling me to soak it in. >> with a tremendous honor for smith. they failed to make the playoffs. we have highlights coming up from a pair of regional finalists. please stay with us, we will have a chat coming up right after this.

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. >> a local mortgage relief firm is told to shut down. we will follow the conviction of the man he shot and killed bear

>> we are looking for the return of some beautiful weather. >> there will be some golf on the way. this is beautiful. i cannot wait. 59 tomorrow with sunshine. this will be chilly in the morning. into the 60's monday and tuesday. with the warmer air becomes a threat there. tuesday comes to as a tough day for travel. a big storm rolling through on thanksgiving day with a thunderstorm possible followed by windy and cold weather as the shopping season begins. it will be blustery with highs in the low 40's. >> still looking for a day in november to wear shorts. >> "nbc nightly news," with brian williams i