in black blew themselves up and issued a wanted notice for the third suspect the man in white wearing a hat. >> another deadly explosion rocked a busy subway station an hour later. some passengers evacuated through dark tunnels. belgium authorities say there is the strong possibility of another terrorist attack and people in brussels are allowed to walk around again and the subway system is slowly reopening. speaking in cuba, president obama condemned the attacks. >> we must be together, regardless of nationality, auras or faith in fighting against the scourge of terrorism. >> the attacks come days after authorities arrested salah abdeslam a key suspect in last fall's paris terrorist attacks. >> the one thing that is shocking to me in the wake of the paris attacks another sophisticated attack coordinated attack under the noses of european authoritys.

were moved up in the wake of salah abdeslam's arrest. among the american victims three missionaries from utah seriously injured and an american service member and his family. >> thank you. our news partners at the "charlotte observer" report two lifelong friends are safe after a bomb went off 100 feet in front of them at the brussels airport. alex giles is live in the alert center and has more on that. alex? >> yes, maureen, absolutely amazing. we can show you one of the friends and video of that ridiculous explosion. tanner was the one man you see there. he and his friend ana from huntersville safe. they had been on a european vacation and getting ready to head back to our area when that explosion went off and they were getting ready to board a plane for the beginning of the trip to charlotte when that happened. tanner and his friend not hurt.

tanner's mother says they were taken to a secure building uninjured and that explosion is incredible and we are happy they are safe tonight. >> thank you. >> the university of south carolina says four students studying in belgium during this morning's attacks are safe. these are more photos of the aftermath of the attacks that claimed 36 lives. the study abroad program says the students are accounted for and the university is continuing to monitor the situation there. presidential candidates ted cruz, hillary clinton and donald trump are condemning the attacks. cruz gave condolences to the victims and the people of europe. clinton said we must learn and get ahead of who she calls thugs to prevent an attack from happening here in the united states. and donald trump posted this tweet reading: my heart and prayers go out to all of the

this madness must be stopped and i will stop it. the tweet from donald trump today. >> here in charlotte local officials are preparing should another shooting with mass casualties happen here in our area. today, johnson c. smith university and the f.b.i. partnered to ensure all campus officers are prepared should an active shooter situation happen on campus. all johnson c. smith university officers participated in the training today. the f.b.i. says the goal is to ensure all responders are on one cord. >> all the officers on the same page when it comes that they know how to go in even though you are from a small department and somebody's responding from a large department that we know how to handle one problem together tactically. you may be trained differently, but when we come in for this we will handleth this way.

active shooter training courses a year ago starting in union county. >> we have continuing coverage of the terror in brussels. later we are talking with a local man who was supposed to have a connecting flight in brussels and hear what he has to say as he and his father wait it out at charlotte douglas international airport. >> and we are talking with the french ambassador about the attacks months after his country was targeted. that is at 6:00 p.m. >> this is an accident in catawba county, highway 70 shutdown and medivac helicopter arriving on the scene as well in this video. one person was seriously hurt. this involved a pickup truck broadsiding another vehicle. can you see the heavy damage there to the side of that vehicle in the intersection and again the medical personnel arriving by helicopter. highway 70 in hickory shutdown at fourth street southwest.

you new information. right now, a 15-year-old charlotte-mecklenburg school student will be charged with robbery after police say he robbed his classmate at gun point. it happened near west mecklenburg high school when the students were supposed to be in class. >> neighbors say they are tired of this true ant behavior while police have a message. dedrick russell live at the center where police wrapped up a news conference. what are police saying? >> well, police tell me truancy oftentimes leads to trouble. and several students from west mecklenburg high school were present at the time of the robbery. and police say it was a robbery that could have been prevented. the suspect and victim were supposed to be learning at west mecklenburg high school today. but they decided to skip school. that decision landed them both in the hospital and one on his way to jail. >> example truancy when kids are not in school the things they

becoming victims of crimes. >> the crime happened near west meck high school a 15-year-old with a gun told the 15-year-old victim to empty his pockets when the victim was pistol whipped interest and the victim tries to take the weapon from the suspect and there was a struggle that ensued. >> the victim ran back to the school and told police what happened and gave a description of the suspect and police located him. officers knowing the places where kids hangout, helped. >> they were able to go through the woods. >> police have beefed up patrols around the high school because of neighbors' concerns. parents are tired of seeing students not in class. >> i drop my son off for school and the parents drop them off and then go to work which everybody has to do and they are starting to walk down the road. >> parents want action. >> probably have somebody walking through the area making sure all the kids are safe. >> be more productive making

staying in school. >> and officers are asking parents to give their kids this message... >> tell them to stay in school and get an education. >> now, police say both victim and suspect suffered scrapes and officers say they will continue to work with the school district to try to get a handle on this truancy problem. you can expect more police presence at west mecklenburg high school tomorrow morning. live in west charlotte, dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> thank you. cms responding to this robbery. the school district encouraging parents to have conversations with their children about unacceptable behavior and consequences. >> right now, sunshine, blue skies. but we have cool winds. >> we do but we are getting a little bit warmer as the days progress through the week but the warmer temperatures could mean rain. >> over to chief meterologist, eric thomas in the first alert weather center with the latest. >> all right.

right now has built over the southern eastern u.s. and pushing the flow of cold air away to the northeast and that will kick the door open for the sunshine. not a cloud anywhere. 66 and we continue to get milder here. it's been breezy. winds out of the southwest at 15 gusting over 20 in the last two hours. here it is. 56 at 9:00 p.m. and mild. 54 through the 11:00 p.m. hour. outside of that we will be talking about what you can expect going into the easter holiday weekend. we have two systems heading our way. and the rain is part of the seven-day first-alert forecast. >> thank you. a father accused of killing his six-month-old baby representing himself in court. today he took the witness stand. todd boderick was hammered with questions as he fought to plead his innocence. he is charged in the murder of

sharon smith has been following the story and joins us live. what was it like in court today? >> maureen, it was definitely heated. it felt like this was the moment to put this case away. you have this accused father defending himself up against this homicide team who so dearly want to lock him away for life. boderick started his testimony very soft spoken. he vaguely talked about the day keyoni died and four years later talked about the strange man who lived with them. prostitution in that hotel room and he broke down talking about the day keyoni was born that he delivered her in another charlotte motel. suffice it to say the prosecutor

cross-examine. >> [inaudible] >> yes. >> and you decided the best thing to do is lie to the police? that was your plan? >> no. actually they thought i did it off the gate. >> and one detail that i picked up on in there was that you could hear todd boderick blame police for making him feel like a target from the get go and hear him talk about blaming his girlfriend for not calling 9-1-1. and talked about how he was not the main caregiver did not know how to hold keyoni. but i never heard him say while i was in there for most of his testimony we never heard his talk about the love or the loss that he felt about his daughter. for now, live outside the courthouse, sharon smith wbtv on your side. >> sharon we talk for that and

story and bring you any updates on air and on-line. >> let's update the evening commute. looks like some of our interstates are resembling parking lots. >> that is correct, here i-77 northbound heads up by 485. that is around exit 19a and b and we had lane closures earlier. it's on the shoulder now and they are trying to get this moved out. and the slow-moving traffic traffic which bottlenecks everyday. and the accident does not help. statesville is a great alternate route. and highway 115 there is not a lot happening on this side of town which is good and that backup towards huntersville and mooresville a delay. the drive to 150 about 67 minutes. back to you. >> thank you. still ahead at 5:00 we are on your side with continuing coverage of the terrorist attacks in brussels, belgium. >> new details coming up next. and still ahead...

the care of rowan county's animal control has led to a major overhaul in the way the

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>> as we keep close watch on the terrorist attacks in brussels, belgium we are getting word of developments at an airport here in the united states. alex giles is live in the alert center tracking that down for us. >> we know everyone is on edge. and media outlets are saying parts of deposit verb airport is being -- denver airport is being evacuated because of a possible security threat and police are vacking part of the main terminal. vehicle traffic is blocked on one side of the airport. right now, the airport says flights are continuing.

impacting flights coming in or out of charlotte douglas international airport. >> thank you. right now, major changes have come to the way one local county treats animals and it's due in part to a disturbing case involving this cat's jaw was broken as workers tried to insert a microchip. david whisenant has more on the changes. >> it is a real natural fit. >> rowan county manager church said major changes did not come about as a result of what happened to this cat. >> we have been looking for a longtime, months, and months, and maybe a year at how to make things easier. >> but the story of cooper the cat did spur change. the cat had its jaw broken when county workers tried to insert a microchip. the foster parent described what happened. >> my first initial reaction was i was irate.

behind closed doors and you have an animal and they are fine and they come out and injured. >> a investigation cleared the county of breaking any law but the county did pay for the treatment. people in the community were outraged and starting a petition that has nearly 5,000 names calling for the firing of the animal control director. under the new arrangement that director will not be fired but will no longer be in that position. >> i think we are blessed to have good employees. >> county manager says the overhaul of services will improve conditions and the county has a department of animal services combining the operations at the park with the shelter and what used to be animal control. >> the head is john pender graft well-known for his expertise in working with animals. >> making sure that our animals are taken care of to the best possible means available. >> david whisenant wbtv on your side. >> and that new animal services

divisions including veterinary service, animal enforcement, nature center and animal shelter. >> tonya rivens is busy. let's get an update on the commute from the first alert traffic center. >> i don't know what happened. cars are everywhere. this is trade street i-77 north it's not this busy this time of day but we have congestion on i-77 northbound and it's backed up. and center city problems at third and davidson and third and caldwell two lanes blocked and the situation at kennelworth avenue. and then a problem here by morehead at i-77. look at the red line on the right side. that is i-77 north. and that traffic is backed up all the way back towards westinghouse boulevard. back to you guys. >> all right. we saw that sunshine out there. but it will not last forever. let's check in with chief meterologist, eric thomas.

a delightful day. 64 . official high 66. and it looks like we are setting up a nice sunset. if you are heading out this evening, you picked a winner! not bad, a light jacket perhaps that should cover you just fine. we are in the mid-60s through morganton and 57 around boone and blowing rock. here is a look at the temperatures as they trail off a little bit. still mid-50s through 11:00 p.m. we'll pull out on the map. take you through the overnight hours. and you will start to see moisture and cloud cover showing up to the west. overall it's not here by day break and clear and cold. 37 in the high country. and down to charlotte and it should be fine. 47 , cool conditions and a quiet start to your wednesday. and back and talk about the systems that are brewing out to the west. yeah, that is a stripe of snow that system will push this cold front toward the carolinas over

watching out for in terms of rainfall. and again wednesday should be fine. 66 at noon and 76 at 4:00 p.m. now, this is probably the most important map in this weather cast watch you will see the showers gathering now and racing towards the carolinas and showing newspaper eastern tennessee by 5:00 p.m. on thursday. they will be pushing through thursday night. but it might workout well moving out quickly on good friday morning. but then after that we get a break saturday and easter sunday now, more rain pushing into the area. and it looks like the worst of that could be sunday night into monday and maybe we end up dodging the rain drops and the temperatures will be fine as we hover in the low 70s. another update at 5:30. >> next, a charlotte man browned for brussels learns his flight is canceled in the midst of the terror attacks there how he and

>> and new at 6:00, failing our veterans we continue demanding answers for problems delaying treatment for those who served our country. an on your side investigation is next.

on wbtv news is sponsored by... >> we still have much more ahead here on wbtv news at 5:00. >> we are not going to roll out the red carpet for isis. >> some south carolina lawmakers say today's attacks in brussels are more reason to pass a refugee bill. >> and others say it violates

we have details next. >> announcer: wbtv on your side. wbtv news starts right now. >> now, at 5:00, america on alert. after another attack by isis. we are on your side with details how u.s. officials are working to keep all of us safe from terrorism here at home. plus... >> we offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to the victims and the families of the victims. >> charlotte douglas international airport changes after the attacks coupled with spring travel. we have the latest on the security efforts tonight. and a charlotte man stuck at the airport after his flight to brussels was canceled. what he has to say after learning what happened. good evening and thank you for joining us i'm molly grantham. a lot going on. we begin with team coverage on terror in brussels and the

the brussels airport is closed after 36 people died and nearly 200 others hurt in horrifying attacks at a brussels airport and a subway. those attacks coupled with the charlotte douglas international airport heightening security. if you are going to be traveling over the next couple weeks you will notice security in place at charlotte douglas international airport like you see here. right now, there are no immediate threats in charlotte but cmpd is working closely with the f.b.i. to monitor all things. now, charlotte is not the only big city taking extra steps to keep americans safe. airports and train stations across the country are on alert. maureen o'boyle begins our coverage. >> passengers at airports say there is a sense of comfort knowing security has been heightened but it does not take away all their fears. >> canine units sniff the luggage of amtrak passengers as they waited to board trains at washington's union station.

york's penn station, a major transportation hub where commuter rails meet the subway system. >> we in new york city stand ready to fight against terror in every way. >> the heightened security at u.s. airports and train stations brussels-style terrorist attack which targeted travelers for maximum impact. >> airports and in subways is the perfect place for them to conduct an attack because it creates the most fear. >> law enforcement and emergency officials trained for situations just like this. >> kind of attacks in brussels are one of the many risks that the washington metro region studies, prepares for, drills for. >> david snyder helps coordinate emergency preparedness in the capital. and passengers have a role to play. >> they see a left suitcase for example or they see someone acting unusually, it's critical that they contact the