[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> i can't believe everything is gone, everything is gone. >> a terrifying wake-up call, flames shooting from a condo complex in montgomery county. the dash to safety and the silver lining for one woman. >> plus, federal investigators raid a sterling home. we are finding out why. >> and a cold spell crippling parts of the country. the bitter blast threatening new year's celebrations. what it means for our area. atouncer: now abc 7 news 6:00, on your side. kimberly: good evening, i'm kimberly suiters. investigators are shifting through rubble after flames engulf a condo complex in montgomery count

lives into the bitter cold. multiple apartments were destroyed. ryan hughes, live in gaithersburg with the frightening wake-up call for many people. this happened at a dangerous time, ryan. ryan: it did. we just got an update, the cause being called undetermined. it started in the attic around 5:00 in the morning, a time when many people were asleep. police and firefighters went door-to-door to make sure everyone got out safe. you can see there is a tarp over top the roof where flames went through earlier this morning. this afternoon, residents were allowed back for a short period to try to salvage anything they can. for so many, not much is left. >> i can't believe everything is gone. everything is gone. ryan: two days before ringing in the new year, dozens of people are forced to start over. >> i am broken, broke down. ryan: towering

through the roof at the potomac oaks condos, forcing families into the bitter cold. eileen lives on the bottom floor and smell the smoke. >> i went to the front door. i felt it, it was not hot, but i opened the door and it was built smoke. >> we had to get out of the building. ryan: police said firefighters went door-to-door, getting people out. >> the bathroom, water everywhere. ryan: with snow on the ground, 100 firefighters battled against freezing equipment. they knocked down the flames, but now marie's apartment is underwater. >> there is a lot of water inside their. we cannot take anything out, only a few food i take. ryan: eileen and her husband barry escaped with the clothes on their backs. she was diagnosed with breast cancer 13 months ago and is now determined to beat this. the silver lining -- >> our wedding album did not get

somehow. don't ask me how, miracles happen and i believe in miracles today. ryan: yes, miracles happen. miraculously, no one was seriously injured. you are looking at crews boarding up the doors and windows. the red cross has set up a temporary shelter across the street at brown station elementary. tonight, we are told they are assisting 39 adults and 22 children. live in gaithersburg, ryan hughes, abc 7 news. ryan: such a tough time to be out of your home -- kimberly: such a tough time to be out of your home. another fire under investigation in anne arundel county. fires broke out late last night. authorities say a man was seriously injured and a firefighter has a minor burn. 12 apartments are heavily damaged, another 12 being inspected, the red cross helping several people who are displaced. this fire, just days beforth

maryland. starting monday, you need to have a battery-operated detector in your home and batteries need to be sealed in with a ten-year lifespan. that attackers need to have a silence or harsh feature -- or hush feature as well. in northwest d.c., investigators say a candle sparked a fire, flames breaking out this morning at fifth and shepherd streets. five people are displaced, no one was hurt. now to the bone chilling temperatures. crews have been so busy deicing planes at airports after an early morning snow across the region. need your bama alex liggitt in the weather center, tracking what we can expect tonight. it is such a bummer. if it is going to be this cold, we might as well get more snow. alex: we are getting a couple more snow showers this evening, but they will taper off. we see them right over d.c., also some over montgomery county. let's see what the temperatures are right now. this is a funny

the sun sets, we have snow showers over reagan national and temperatures finally get above freezing. why the high of the day decides to occur after sunset, not typical, but ok, we will take whatever we can get. northwesterly winds 14 miles per hour, like 23 degrees. dusty winds are going to make it feel cooler overnight. other temperatures in the upper 20's. manassas, leesburg, 30 degrees 20 gaithersburg and quantico -- 20 gaithersburg. you can see the snow band from alexandria, falls church, extending through prince george's county as well. it will taper off in the next couple of hours. the cold is going to hang around. i will let you know how long, seven day outlook coming up. kimberly: see you then. you can follow the forecast no matter where you are. just dowoa

smartphone. we are not the only ones seeing frigid temperatures. it is across the country. some places are still digging out. brian clark now with the warning for partygoers as we approach new year's. brian: it is expected to be the coldest new year's eve in decades for much of the lower 48. times square, temperatures in the teens expected. the real feel, negative five. the cold weather causing delays that area airports, but no match for this couple from south africa. bute are quite a gap did, it is snowing, so we are enjoying it. brian: you're a, pennsylvania digging out from 5.5 feet of snow. some forecasters predicting another 18 inches. the snow blamed for causing this roof to collapse at a roofing company. fortunately, no one was inside. niagara falls, frozen over, a winter wonderland. the windy city, varied

of ice. members of the salvation army concert for the homeless. >> this is a dangerous old, people's lives could be at stake. we are checking up on them. we want to make sure they are getting the resources they need to be safe. brian: for the west, multiple slide offs and crashes along i 90 in montana. the heavy snowfall and wide-out driving conditions to blame. >> sometimes we lose fingers from hypothermia. brian: officials are concerned holiday revelers will ignore the dangers. they are urging people to stay indoors. ryan clark, abc news, new york. kimberly: metro is going to be open until 2:00 a.m. sunday night for new year's eve, but trains and buses will be running on a sunday schedule. they will also run a sunday schedule on new year's day. metrorail will be open monday from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. new developments about the fbi raid in loudoun county. federal agents swarming the sterling home yesterday, box

we know one man has been arrested. on why federal investigators were there in the first place. reporter: i have been going over these court documents. they really break down why fbi agents raided this town house in sterling. they wanted more information about sean duncan. you are watching the camera footage. we were there when agents carried out the evidence boxes. we know the fbi got a tip from duncan's relatives saying that duncan, who moved from pittsburgh earlier this year, possibly converted to islam and was an isis sympathizer. during the investigation, they found a twitter account they say belonged to duncan that pushed isis views. they also say they have proved duncan wanted to join the terror group and carry out attacks here in the united states. he is also accused of giving potential terrorists information on how to make him it explosives. duncan and his wife were also planning a secret

were stopped by a customs agent in turkey. these documents also said duncan was arrested and is accused of destroying and hiding items like a thumb drive and memory chip to obstruct the investigation. a lot of information in these documents. we will be covering them all night long. that is the latest from the live desk. back to you. kimberly: developing now, a prince william county police officer is recovering after being assaulted during a traffic stop last night near west longview drive in woodbridge. police arrested the person who fought with the officer, but two other people ran off. the officer had to be flown to the hospital but is expected to be ok. right now, president trump may be gearing up for a staff shakeup. live to the white house, the reshuffling would focus on behind-the-scenes political staffers in an effort to avoid a midterm repeat of gop defeat.

losses in alabama and virginia prove there is a hole left by steve bannon's departure. coming up next, a family demanding answers after a teenager was being. now the community is also responding. plus, a terrible, debbie prank. the fake call that ultimately led to an unarmed man's death. how online gaming could be connected to that. and a driver recording a massive pileup. the chaos on the highway.

kimberly: such a tragic story. police make an arrest in a prank call that led to the death of an innocent man in kansas. investigators say a california man called 911 thursday night, saying he shot his father and was holding his family hostage. officers rushed to the address. when 28-year-old andrew

came to the door, they told him to raise his hands but say he moved his hands to his waist. >> he feared the man would pull a weapon from his waistband -- he fired one round, striking the man. >> my granddaughter, who witnessed the shooting, stood over her dying uncle's body. the cop murdered my son. kimberly: police are looking into whether an argument over an online videogame sparked the call. it is called swatting when you call officers to a fake seen. investigators say the victim was unarmed and was not involved in that dispute. a community rallies for an alabama teen after he was beaten by police on christmas eve. ulysses wilkerson was severely injured and hospitalized. the photos taken after his arrest, you can see his nose, lips, and eye swollen. his mother claimed officers assaulted her son while he was in handcuffs. she is demanding they be held accountable. >>

to this day, i don't know what happened. police have not told me nothing. i hear what they telling the reporters, but they have not told me nothing. kimberly: officers say they saw wilkerson walking out from behind a business. they chased him, he ran away, and they say when he resisted arrest, the force that was used was considered reasonable. >> there is a big truck. woah, woah, right in front of us, down in the ditch. kimberly: cars and trucks slamming into each other along the highway in michigan, a driver recording the pileup. more than 40 cars and big rex collided yesterday during the snowstorm. only three people have minor injuries. ,oming up on abc 7 news at 6:00 there could be a lucky end to 2017 for someone. the big powerball jackpot still waiting for a winner. and a live look outside. how many layers are you going to need for christmas eve?

"what if" more of the came from renewable resources? "what if" the electric grid could detect, fix and even prevent power outages? "what if" our grid were less vulnerable and more secure? "what if" all these "what if"s became a reality? well, they are. at dominion energy, we're completely transforming our power grid and the way we think of energy... ...to move from "what if" to "what's next." dominion energy.

prices of the season' on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort, your sleep number setting. does your bed do that? right now our queen c4 mattress is only $1199. plus 24 month financing. ends monday. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you.

kimberly: it was so nice to open the curtains and see a dusting of snow. you can see some families enjoying it. alex: it did not have a huge impact on travelers, commuters. eepable at my house, i literally used the kitchen broom. temperatures have reached above freezing at reagan national, the first time in 85 straight hours. since wednesday morning, we have been at or above freezing. just one spot, reagan national. gaithersburg 27, manassas, chantilly, 24 martinsburg. there is a lot cold air across the mid-atlantic, northeast, midwest. 14 right now pittsburgh. two chicago. four

moving towards our region. it will moderate some, but we are expecting highs in the 20's tomorrow. here is a look at some showers from montgomery county, now over d.c., points to the south through southern prince george's county. they will wind down over the next couple of hours. temperatures over the next few hours, upper 20's by 10:00, back to around 20 degrees by 4:00 a.m. overnight lows mainly in the teens, some spots low teens. winchester 12, hagerstown 12, gaithersburg 12. 13 manassas, 19 downtown. you factor in the winds, it feels like single digits. new year's eve, a high around 25 degrees tomorrow. dropping back into the teens by the time the ball drops around midnight. factor in the wind again and it will feel like single-digit, so definitely a cold new year's eve. better bundle up, where lots of layers. for monday, new year's day, highs in the lower 20's.

to continue monday morning, tuesday morning, wednesday morning, finally getting back to around freezing on wednesday. that is brief as we see the next system moving in, adding clouds wednesday and thursday. behind that system, we have more cold air coming back to the region, temperatures back into the low and mid 20's. i was looking at some model don't get outhey of the teens friday and saturday of next week. i hope you guys are enjoying this cold air. kimberly: [laughter] not so much. >> give me 80 degrees, beach, and sunshine. virginia had a close one against boston college, good game in charlottesville today. it was another busy saturday of college basketball action. virginia had the acc opener facing boston college. also georgetown battling marquette. plus, kirk cousins in the redskins ready to take on the giants. why the skins'

getting one where win.

announcer: now the toyota sports desk brought to you by your local toyota dealer. >> over the last two months, it has been obvious the georgetown men's basketball team plays hard. first-year head coach patrick ewing has a gritty bunch of players. the only problem -- the hoyas cannot close games. two weeks ago, they blew a big second-half lead to syracuse. on wednesday, they did the same thing again with butler, both resulting in losses. the hoyas trying to get back on track today at marquette. first half, hoyas down by six. mostly drives. the running one hander is good. georgetown behind 34-37 at the half. in the second, hoyas still behind by six. jesse go

in. late in the second half, georgetown is losing big, 65-51. in the a-10, george washington up against saint joe's second half, colonial up 42-29. steel, slam, and the foul. he is fired up. gw opens up conference play with the win, 70-64. men's basketball, virginia hosting boston college. a huge day for tied jerome. he drains 63-pointers, a career-high 31 point. his last three gave the cavs a 57-53 lead. 3.1 seconds to go, uva off wine. bc with a chance to win. an offensive foul is called in virginia. they win 59-58. tony bennett picks of his 200th win in charlottesville. before this season started, there were a lot of people expecting a big drop off from

quite the opposite. at just about the halfway point of the season, the caps are fighting for first place in the metropolitan division. the team chasing new jersey in town tonight at the capital one arena. the boys in red just one point behind the devils. in their first meeting back in october, the caps won 5-2. on wednesday, washington snapped a three-game losing streak, beating boston. the redskins and giants are both headed to an early off-season, but don't tell either team that there is nothing to play for in tomorrow's regular-season finale. with a win, the skins will close the year on a three-game winning streak and finish 8-8. new york is still searching for their first division win this season. all eyes will once again be on kirk cousins. the quarterback might be playing his final game in a redskins uniform. but number eight is only concerned about one

>> i have not been a part of a season yet where we have won the last game. we made the playoffs, we lost, then went 3-13, 4-12, and last year lost in the last game. i want to walk away from the season with a win. that way i can drive him, go back to west michigan or atlanta or wherever and feel good for a couple of weeks before we look at the big picture and move on. scott: the opening kickoff the new york is set for 1:00 tomorrow. serena williams back on the court today. she lost her first match. the french open champion, you lane austin banko, beat serena in an exhibition contest. serena took some time off after giving birth to her first child in december. she is the defending australian open champion, which starts in a couple of weeks. serena is trying to get a tuneup before the real thing starts. kimberly:

kimberly: feeling lucky? $727 million up for grabs between two big lottery games. tonight powerball drawing, $384 million. next tuesday, a drawing worth more than $300 million. you might think it is rare for both jackpots to get so big, but it is about to become more common because the games have been changed, which means the odds are longer and jackpots are bigger. alex: if i win tonight, i will not be at work tomorrow. kimberly: i thought you were going to give me a portion. [laughter] how is the weather looking? not hitting the jackpot there? alex: not so much. get your lottery ticket, then come back to the house as quickly as possible. 25 for the high tomorrow.

teens and single digit that times. back in the lower 20's monday and tuesday, a lot of this coming up. kimberly: i found the limits of your love. thanks for joining us. really? really? really? really? really? really? see zero in a whole new way. get zero down, zero deposit, zero first month's payment, and zero due at signing on select volkswagen models. now with the people first warranty.

tonight, the new year's deep freeze. america in the grip of an arctic blast of life-threatening cold and snow coast to coast. and the deadly menace on the highways. will 2018 bring any relief? holiday on alert. vigilance in times square and at other new year's celebrations. the extraordinary show of force both seen and behind the scenes. swatting death. >> show your hands! >> police responding to what they thought was a violent domestic assault, killing an unarmed and innocent man. that call was a prank. the alleged caller arrested more than 1,000 miles away. cutting edge clue.