captions by: caption colorado, llc (800) 775-7838 e- mail: . guard gunned down. a security officer tries breaking up a fight. moments later, he ends up dead. good evening. i'm adam may. the security guard was working at the bank of america building on light street. then overnight, he was shot to death while trying to help out a woman. wjz is live in downtown baltimore tonight. suzanne collins has the latest from police. suzanne? >> reporter: it began with the dispute over the treatment of that woman. when the security officer was called in to help, shots rang out and he was struck. the central district in baltimore at night on weekends

is a bustling place. at 2:00 a.m. after the bars let out a couple was headed to their car when a group of men made advanced toward the woman. the man sought out the bank security officer. >> one of the suspects went to his vehicle, pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots. we believe he was traying to strike our intended victim and the security guard trayed to intervene and was subsequently hit and killed. >> no! >> reporter: do you know him, james ball? >> yeah! >> reporter: some people who regularly pass by there knew ball. >> he is a lovely gentleman always trying to help people. anything he can do for you he would try to help. he's helped a lot of homeless people in this area, too. >> reporter: in the central district downtown, violent crime is rare. last year when there were several violent acts against innocent people at the inner harbor, mount vernon and the belvedere area, the police commissioner assigned more officers to the area. this murder surprised young

city residents. >> i mean it is a beautiful area. i walk down to the harbor from mount vernon where i live. i just never would think that would happen here. >> terribly unfortunate. no one should lose their life doing something that's right. >> reporter: police spent the day looking through city and bank security cameras to see if the murder was captured on tape. police say they do not have a suspect yet, but they are hoping that the men who were with the shooter, maybe they didn't know a gun was going to be fired and will come forth and help police solve this case. adam, back to you on tv hill. >> all right, suzanne, thanks. the security company is shocked and saddened by the loss of officer ball and are cooperating with police in the investigation. today in baltimore county, police are investigating a fight and stabbing in the middle of towson town center. police say the fight broke out between two people near the mall's food court around 7:00 tonight. one victim was treated for minor stab wounds. despite numerous security cameras in the mall, no arrests have been made at the scene.

police are investigating the incident tonight. former u.s. secretary of state alexander hague has decide at johns hopkins hospital. tonight, we take a look back at his profound effect on our nation. >> reporter: alexander hague rose to four star general. at chief of staff for richard nixon, hague kept the white house running as the nixon presidency unraveled. it was hague who first approached vice president gerald ford about pardoning nixon a week before the president resigned in disgrace. >> challenging blatant, illegal soviet intervention. >> reporter: hague later became ronald reagan's first secretary of state. >> i will be his chief administrator, if you will, and i use the term vicar. >> reporter: on the day president reagan was shot in 1981, hague let his ambitions show when he became famously confused about the line of

succession. >> as of now, i am in control here in the white house pending return of the vice president. >> reporter: hague was dismissed after just 17 months. he later made his own bid for the white house, but his 1988 campaign never got paste new hampshire. alexander hague was 85. >> that was anthony mason reporting for wjz. he was admitted to johns hopkins hospital in late january after complications associated with an infection. nato forces continue the push for afghanistan tonight trying to minimize the number of civilians caught in the crossfire. right now, marines are trying to oust taliban fighters from the strong hold in southern afghanistan. leaders say the fighters seem to be low on supplies and ammunition, finally offering relief for nato forces. in a passionate plea, hamid karzai urged nato to be more careful. at least 16 civilians have died in the latest offensive. all of the piles of snow

across maryland are serving as a constant reminder of the wicked winter we've had. now many are reacting to the president's declaration of disaster as a result of all of the snow in december. baltimore, caroline, cecil, hartford, montgomery and queen anne's counties are eligible for federal funding. senator mikulski says these storms can't turn that a budget disaster for maryland. the governor took time to thank federal officials today for working quickly to help reimburse the state. we've been warning you about the dangers of getting around on foot in the wake of all of the storms. tonight that danger has claimed a life. police say an employee with the department of agriculture was struck and killed in a hit and run accident as he was walking in the street to avoid the snow-covered sidewalks. the 32 year was on his way to the metro station in suitland when he was hit from behind. police are still looking for

the driver of the vehicle. finally, the sun is taking care of some of the snow that's piled up outside. taking a live look outside tonight it's clear out there. so can we look forward to another sunny day to end the weekend? burn that debt woods has a look at fist warning doppler radar. >> reporter: we'll go to first warning doppler radar and show you nothing's going on around us after melting conditions today and the last two days. it has really brought down our snow pack. on to the west, there is a storm out there. had one is not going to become our issue. it will die out as it moves our way. to the west of that, there is another system coming together. that is going to be our next storm. it's going to move our way on monday. i want to show you the graphic here. for the most part, this will be a rainmaker for most of us. it will have winter weather with it, but a lot of that will be pushed off to the north. it will be a little bit of sleet at the beginning part of the storm before changing to rain. we'll have that coming up in detail in the forecast shortly

adam. we have an update to the financial limbo surrounding the horse racing venues. this is the fourth time the auction has been postponed. it's now pushed to this tuesday to march 25th. a hearing on maryland's role at pimlico has been also post toned. it was a neat story coming out of a conference for black engineers this weekend in baltimore. a pair of teenaged sisters have really literally set the bar quite high. gigi barnett explains how they are soaring above their peers. >> reporter: at 16 and 17, chemly and kendra are already breaking records. kelly is the youngest african- american female pilot to fly solo in four planes in one day. and for kimberly? >> i get a -- i did a traps continental flight all in 13 days. i was the youngest person to do

so at 15. >> sisters started flight lessons four years ago after visiting a museum that featured the black history of aviation. that's where kelly and kim learned about the tuskegee airmen, a group of world war ii african-american fighter pilots at a time when the military as segregated. they were the first black aviators in the armed forces. with their parents' blessing, the sisters took to the sky. >> they were an amazing group of men who stepped over boundaries. when they were told no, they exceeded people's expectations. >> reporter: the sisters say during the record breaking flights and hours of training, they experienced determination, too, but much of it was because of their gender or their age. >> sometimes our instructors would not take us so seriously. they'd be like, okay, you have the controls but they'd be holding on to the controls. >> reporter: kelly and kim under baltimore to meet students at the black engineer of the year awards conference.

the message is color-blind and crystal clear. >> we just have to stand and show people that we're more than these bare years that are already set. >> reporter: kelly and kim are planning another adventure in the skies, one that includes both of them, but the aviation sisters won't reveal what they are working on. now back to you. >> thanks. for kelly, the older sister, turns 18 next month and is planning to attend ucla. after earning her pilot's license, she wants to become a heart surgeon. state superintendent of schools nancy grasnick honored 60 educators who worked to introduce young african- american students to science, engineering math and technology. still to come tonight on wjz, debating the term terrorists. new questions about the man who flew a plane into an irs

building. was it a criminal act or act of terrorism? tearful reunions for haitian families. and what a drugmaker did not want to you know about a popular medication ahead in the healthwatch. i'm at the sykesville fire department. the snow collapsed the roof that severed the gas line which burned the building. how the sykesville fire department is rebuilding when "eyewitness news" continues. i'm meteorologist bernadette woods. we have changes coming our way. that's coming up when "eyewitness news" returns. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

the debate continues tonight over whether the plane crash into the irs building of texas was an act of terrorism. joseph stack flew the plane into the building on thursday killing himself and one person inside. some say it was a criminal act but some lawmakers in texas have come out saying fly action airplane into a federal building trying to kill people fits the very definition of terrorism. the children almost take ton the u.s. by church groups all had parents. that contradicts statements from the church group leader said all were orphans. parents of some of the children

told the associated press that they handed over their children to the american missionaries because they promised to provide a better life. eight of the missionaries were allowed to return to the u.s. this week but two remain in custody. a massachusetts college student who died in the haitian earthquake was laid to rest today. 19-year-old brittany gengel died while on a humanitarian mission in haiti. it drew dignitaries and people from the haitian community. brittany's parents say she dedicated her life to helping others. >> brit was always watching out for the underdog. that's one of the reasons she went to haiti, to help those that needed it the most. >> a fund has been set up in brittany's name to help the poor in haiti and the u.s. at least 32 people are dead from heavy flooding. floods swept away cars and knocked do un houses at the islands.

power and phone lines are down. portugal's prime minister says emergency aid is now on the way from the mainland. seven years ago today, 100 people lost their loved ones in a fire. the fire broke out when pyrotechnics from the rock band great white ignited foam surrounding the stage. a memorial service will be held tomorrow. heavy snow then a roof collapse snapped gas lines then finally a huge fire. that chain reaction disaster left the sykesville carroll county fire department in ruins. now one week later, mike schuh reports how the firehouse is rebounding. >> reporter: the damage is massive, the social hall completely destroyed, the kitchen went up in flames. >> you can look out over the halls. >> reporter: next door, the offices and living areas sore severely damaged, they don't know the insurance company will want to save any of it or bulldoze it and start new. office equipment is wrecked,

but all of the firefighting equipment was saved. they pulled it out and fought their own fire. though they haven't missed a call sin the fire, they are now working and living out of these tents. furnaces blow in warm air, a generator proifs electric. >> we divided this tent into four areas. >> reporter: this is a commercial grade kitchen. >> meets all of the code requirements. >> reporter: here is the living area. >> this is our temporary sleeping quarters. >> reporter: a dozen beds are here for the overnight shift. next door, two trailers. >> rest rooms on the right, showers on the left. >> reporter: like those used by survivors of hurricane katrina. >> so again, we can function in there with our radios. >> reporter: looking at and living with the ruins is like a wound not healing fast enough. >> it makes it that much worse because we're here every day. >> reporter: since they are fully insured, it will be

rebuilt. >> take a bad situation and turn it into a good thing. i hope that works out for us. >> reporter: demolition could begin as soon as two or three weeks. if everything goes well, the facility could be rebuilt within a year. mike schuh, wjz "eyewitness news." back to you on tv hill. >> the damage is estimated at more than $4 million. in tonight's wjz health watch report a senate report says that drugmaker glaxosmithkline knew about the heart attack risks tied to a diabetes medication years before the reports were made public. it's been inquired why the fda allowed it even after 83,000 heart attacks were caused over an eight-year period. in 2007, a warning was adding to avandia's label. the first lady is leading a new push against childhood obesity. >> it is a nationwide campaign to rally the country around a single ambitious goal, and that

is to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation so that the kids born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight. >> speaking to the national governor's association, michelle obama said childhood obesity is a health and financial crisis. noorly one in every three kids in the u.s. is currently overweight or clinically obese. obama says the nation must address childhood obesity as part of tackling the overall health care problems in the u.s. a local hospital gets women focused on fitness in the special information session. they also offered free massages. this morning at the anne arundel medical center, women flocked to a special girls morning out. the event called fit, healthy and fab offered health screenings, massages and manicures for everyone who showed up. our own jessica kartalija was there. i'm sure she was there knowing her. >> fit, health yip and fab,

perfect for her. >> and a great day to get out and do something. wye finally got sunshine and the snow was melting. >> didn't it feel warm today? >> felt really nice. >> one of the warmest days so far this month. our average is only up to 46 degrees. the combination of that sunshine and temperatures above freezing and the weather out there made for fantastic melting conditions. it's all come down considerably from where we were. that's good news because of the storm system on monday. let me show you what we have going on. 31 in baltimore. 27 in oakland. we're dropping below freezing in a lot of places. it's still varied out there. 39 in d.c. and 36 at the ocean. the winds have come down considerably, also. tomorrow's not going to be as much of a factor as the past few days. it's breezy out of the west during the afternoon tomorrow. again we'll have sunshine. as we head to the afternoon as this storm moves our way, yes

this one back in here that's going to be our next problem. this one out ahead of it will weaken as it moves our way. as the one over the rockies makes its way out into the plains it will gain strength then move our way. then you see the clouds increase as we head through the afternoon, but then as the storm arrives, for most of us this is going to be in the form of rain. notice the warm front. it passes through the mid- atlantic. that puts us in the warm sector part of the storm meaning we'll get above freezing and mainly rain for most of us. there's still a lot of snow pack on the ground and the rain's coming on top of that, flooding is a concern. that's why it's good if you can clear the storm drain areas now. check the gutters before this arrives on monday. then the storm's going to continue into tuesday. the very beginning of it we could see a sleet mix and you see most of the frozen precipitation will be off to our north. this storm will set the stage for what will happen later in the week and move up toward new england by tuesday into wednesday. make a connection with cold air

going on in the arctic and bring it straight down or way. although we're going to be in the 40s for our high the next few days that will change by the middle part of next week. the arctic blast is headed straight toward our area. wednesday will start to feel it more so for the second half of the weekend. as it does, so does the chance for a little bit of snow return around here. more so on thursday. so on the waters right now, northwest winds turning around to the west at about 10 knots coming down for the past few days. tomorrow we're going back up into the 40s. if we hit 44, that'll be our warmest so far this month. still below average. we stay in the 40s for the next few days. some sleet could mix in, then on wednesday 40 but the temperatures start to drop in the afternoon. thursday only hitting highs in the 30s and there is a chance for a little bit of snow. adam? >> thanks. check in with tim and gigi tomorrow for "eyewitness news" for the updated forecast. coming up next in sports

tonight, maryland saved its best for last against georgia tech. the exciting finish is coming up. @

[ sighs ] dreaming about the taste of chocolate? then hurry into dunkin' donuts today. and satisfy that chocolate craving with any small latte, like our new white chocolate latte, for only 99 cents. america runs on dunkin'.

hello, everybody. just as you get ready to wind down for the night and for eye- opening big shot basketball, acc battle galactic ka that went down to the last shot. just over two minutes left in the game, eric hayes driving to the hoop with the heart of a warrior. high off the glass tied up at 68. later teammate vasquez 18 points today watch him take it to the lane. 73-72 maryland. three seconds to go. georgia tech's derrick favors strong on the follow up. the rambling wreck ensuing play. the game oner? no. maryland called time out doing what they've got 1 seconds back open the clock. then came the big shots

inbounds play. game winner as time expires and the terps win in dramatic fashion. those are the breaks. georgia tech 76-74. terps unbeaten at home. meantime, morgan state in kentucky despite st. francis academy. the 20-9 regular season tampa bay and morgan led 33-30 at the half. in the end, msu fell to many. su. the ohio valley conference champs 75-66. baseball now, masn our wjz spring training report. we check in on the birds pitcher, the new wi acquired lefty, 54 over seven years. why do you like it here, mike? >> very up and coming great talent. great bunch of guys so i heard before. i wanted the opportunity to ge out and get it done. they've given me that chance. >> we'll be keeping up with

them. navy hosting number 11 loyola. out in northeast baltimore, cooper mcdonald of loyola had six goals. watch that ball. here's the final. loyola over navy in the upset 8-7. mcdonald hit the winning goal in the extra period. good match there. finally in catonsville -- no, this isn't catonsville that's northeast baltimore county at loyola university of mafort where the -- of maryland where the men's swimming team cop chored another championship today in their own cement pond as the beverly hillbillies used to say. ryder was second, mars third for the women mars followedly ryder. loyola freshman morris shattered a conference record for the third consecutive day. named most outstanding male swimmer. brennan morris, a name we'll be

hearing in the future. >> in that cement pond. >> yes, sir. still ahead, mardi gras' gone to the dogs. that story ,,,,

let's hear it for saving on the healthy stuff. the stuff you want your kids to reach for. the stuff you want to reach for. now you can enjoy good choices even more. people who spent $100 a week at leading national supermarkets... on frequently purchased groceries... could have saved $55 in one month... by shopping at walmart instead. it's another cupboard filled. and another great day for the savers. save money. live better. walmart.

the weather in louisiana was perfect for the fifth annual costume canines otherwise nope as paw-di-gras. before the parade, all of the pets participated in the crowning of the royal court featuring everything from berries to hot dogs to i guess that's a little t off the tcht o there. the proceeds benefit a no-kill facility for homeless animals. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,

with fios you have instant access to news, traffic and weather without changing the channel. i will be ready for whatever the day throws at me. uh, looks like torrential rain, bumper to bumper traffic and some kind of weird smell downtown. i will be working from home today. my sister's coming. i can make it. i'm sure she's lovely. [ male announcer ] instant weather and traffic without changing the channel and 3 times more very satisfied customers than comcast. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v.