this is wjz tv, baltimore. >> from the city to the counties to your neighborhood, now it's complete coverage. it's wjz, maryland's news station. major man hunt under way. police search for the gunman who opened fire on a howard county officer. >> the intense efforts to find the shooter and the latest on the officer's condition. hello, everybody. >> we stay on breaking news tonight. >> the man who shot a howard county police officer this afternoon is still on the run 7 hours later. police believe they know who they're looking for and they're offering a $50,000 reward to find him. the officer is still in the hospital. wjz is live at the scene in laurel and shock trauma. we have new information about the officer. let's go the intense search in howard county first.

>> reporter: he was shot around 4:00 o'clock this afternoon and in just the past half hour, howard county police have identified the person they believe to be the gunman. he is 29-year-old stefan. there is a massive man hunt to find him. this is a surveillance picture of 29-year-old stefan t.efan. swat teams with automatic weapons combed for clues. >> we have helicopters, dogs, officers on foot. >> reporter: police received a call about a man pacing outside this red pickup truck along route 1 holding a handgun. when three officers approached the man, he opened fire. >> i heard the gunshots in my car. >> reporter: he watched the officer collapse as the gunman took off running. >> as the gunman jumped over

the guardrail into the woods, another officer was firing shots into the woods. >> reporter: from chopper 13, you can see the densely wooded area where the man disappeared. police from all across maryland, howard county, laurel, montgomery, and even state police have all been called in to assist in the search. the perimeter stretching half a mile from the crime scene. that has neighbors nervous. >> that's the scary part. people live all around here. >> reporter: police telling residents to take precaution. >> it's a good idea to keep your doors locked and call 911 if you see anything suspicious. >> reporter: tonight that shooting suspect again has been identified as 29-year-old stefan. an up to $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his capture.

>> thank you. kai is at shock trauma where the officer has been recovering since this afternoon. >> reporter: we want to tell you more about that officer. he is a two-year veteran of the howard county police department. we are glad to report tonight he's listed in serious condition at this moment. let's listen to howard county executive. >> i got a a chance to speak with him and he is under the great care of the men and women here at shock trauma. we are blessed to have this wonderful resource here in baltimore. >> reporter: so in serious condition. we understand his family members are by his side as well as other officers who came out here and wanted to make sure he was going rob okay.

we understand the state medi- vac has been trying to find the suspect. so far no luck. this situation isn't over. even though county executive thanked people for service, it's not over because they haven't caught the suspect. basically, howard county police and the residents of howard county are still on edge until this suspect is caught. >> anyone with information on the suspect should call howard county police. they're offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. police are investigating a strange incident at a city school. five children sickened after ingesting an unknown substance. they were rushed to the hospital. cxsgsufitis still not clear what the questionable substance was or where the students got it. the child abuse division is working with the hospital and

the state's attorney on this case. a high schoolteacher in massachusets murdered at school. tonight a 14-year-old student is behind bars. blood in the school bathroom led police to the body of a popular math teacher. they arrested a 14-year-old just hours later. he is being held without bail. the verdict is in. a jury finds mark maday liable in a lawsuit accused of giving unnecessary stints to hundreds of patients including a local developer. >> reporter: it took the jurors two days to finally reach a verdict. they struggled to come to a unanimous decision. attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case walk out of the courthouse in victory after six jurors found he breeched medical care standards in the case of their client. he claims he lost $50 million

in business after scaling back to deal with matters of the heart after he says he was told by the doctor the stints were needed. he has defended his actions from the beginning. >> what i did is what i would want for myself, for anybody in my family, my mother, my father. they were treated appropriately and with the highest regard for their well being. >> reporter: although malpractice lawsuits are common, many are not argued. >> you have to actually go through about a hundred cases before you find one case that's good enough. the vast majority of these, the lawyer rejects because there really isn't a case. >> reporter: in 2009, st. joseph medical center sent hundreds of letters to patients warning them they may not have needed the stints. the percentages referred to

blockages in the blood vessels. the higher the number, the greater the need for the stint. he was in the courtroom when the verdict was read and showed little to know emotion. winter weather hits western maryland and it's about to get a lot colder here as well. these are images with temperatures hovering around freezing, that snow is not going anywhere soon. freezing temperatures are also coming to the baltimore area. we >> they're still getting a few flurries. around here, temperatures now down to 44 degrees. still 32 in oakland. it's been that way all day long. 43 in cumberland. d.c. at 48 and easton at 50. tomorrow night looks like it will be colder than tonight. because of that, we expect to see clear skies, lighter winds,

freeze watches, freeze warnings, and freeze advisories late thursday night into early friday morning. temperatures could get down to 31-32 in some of those neighborhoods. bring those tender plants in. will the cold be here to stay? i have the details coming up in minutes. a warning from the fda about jerky treats that may be sickening thousands of dogs and cats across the country. more than 500 have died after eating the treats made in china. we have more on the outbreak. >> reporter: the fda has received nearly 4000 reports of sick cats and dogs dating back to 2007. it's estimated that 580 of those pets died. >> they're vague symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, they're lethargic. >> reporter: he's a professor at the university pennsylvania

school of veterinary medicine. he's been studying the medicine at his lab. >> jerky treats have been associated with this syndrome. >> reporter: though the fda has made trips to manufacturers in china, they've been unable to pinpoint the problem. for pet owners, waiting for answers is frustrating. >> you can't have so many healthy pups die and the one common denominator is the chicken jerky imported from china. >> reporter: in 2012, her two- year-old pug died from kidney failure. purina voluntarily pulled the project in january but said they don't pose a health or safety risk. >> the fda released a letter to veterinarians asking they

provide samples from affected animals and continue to report on jerky related illnesses. good for jobs and good for the city. amazon.com chooses baltimore to open its next massive distribution center. city leaders are applauding the move and retail experts say the amazon could get the ball rolling for even bigger business. >> reporter: amazon, the online retail giant, is coming to charm city creating more than 1000 full-time positions. >> it's a great day for baltimore and i'm pleased at the pork that was done in order to make that happen. >> reporter: the 1 million square foot facility will be built at the former gm assembly plant and will look similar to this warehouse. this location in baltimore is one of eight new warehouses planned across the country. according to amazon, each city has a large consumer base. amazon's moving toward same-day delivery. the new fulfillment center

would serve the baltimore, washington area. >> i love that kind of work. i've been doing that all my life. >> reporter: they will pay 30% more than the average retail job. plus benefits include a 401-k, health care, and prepaid tuition for college. >> i will be the first one there. >> reporter: this will energize the area and could attract other fortune 500 companies to baltimore. >> consultants realize businesses are going to that area. they look at our demographics, our can-do work force, and they say maybe we should think about baltimore too. >> reporter: this is more proof that baltimore is open for business. if you shop on amazon.com, once the center opens, maryland residents will have to pay a sales tax. >> and no word when construction or hiring will begin.

time to grab your scuba gear. somewhere in middle river, there is a super bowl ring just waiting to be found. a ravens receptionist received a super bowl win after last year's win. a friend borrowed the ring and lost it while docking a boat on the river. divers were called, no ring. insurance and the nfl will see to it she gets a new ring. but the old one is still out there somewhere tonight in the silt of middle river. >> no sighting of the friend who dropped it either. coming up, chilling connection. one of the brothers suspected in the boston marathon terror attack is now linked to three more cold-blooded murders. police shoot and kill a 13- year-old trumpet player in his neighborhood. why they believed he was a threat. behind the numbers of maryland's black bear hunt when

we continue. when will we see a warm up? i'll have the complete forecast coming up next. ,,,,,,,,,,

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uh-oh. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. mostly clear and 44 degrees in central maryland right now. the complete forecast is coming up. a bull runs loose on the streets of romania injuring two people. it weaved through traffic. the bull hurt a police officer and a man who stood in front of

the animal to protect his son. the animal was later caught and tranquilized. connected to a triple murder. his friend who was killed during police questioning told officers the suspect participated in the killings. in the unsolved case, three men were found with their throats slit september 11, 2011. one man was believed to be his friend. he was killed, of course, during a shootout with police. his younger brother is being held at a medical detention facility in massachusets. shoot and kill a 13-year- old boy who was carrying a fake rifle. they spotted him walking and asked him to drop the rifle and when he didn't, he was shot 7

times. he was pronounced dead at the scene and was carrying a plastic handgun in his waistband. the incident is now under investigation. a woman survives crashing her car and swarmed by bees. she went over a median wrecking her vehicle and running over a beehive. more than one thousand bees swarmed the area. she was rushed to the emergency room. she's doing fine now. maryland's black bear population is growing and that means hunters in this state are killing more of the animals. state officials have raised the limit that can be hunted. the hunt is playing out right now and we explain why natural resources police say it's a good thing. >> reporter: deep creek lake settles into autumn and trucks pull in and out of a check in station carrying dead black

bears. >> we promise we would never wipe out the bear population. >> reporter: nine years ago there were 500 bears. now it's estimated at one thousand, so the harvest quota is up. this year between 95-130 bears will be taken as their range had spread east into washington and frederick counties. >> we're averaging about three cubs. >> it's slowing the growth but the bear population continues to grow. >> reporter: groups opposed to the hunt see that control as unnecessary. >> we've heard these arguments time and time again from the department of natural resources. we have to look at the land mass out there. it's huge. >> reporter: bears seeking more room are now being spotted in central maryland backward yards and because of crop damage,

farms have become hunting grounds. >> i was about 80 yards away and took a shot. >> the bear that this gentleman took was a prior nuisance bear we captured. this is a hunt that directly targets some of the problem bears. >> now hunters aren't the only ones taking black bears. 50 bears have been hit and killed by cars during the past year. that's about half the number being hunted. time now to check in with bob. i was out for dinner this evening and it was so cold out there. >> you're a wimp. >> oh! >> it's been breezy. we'll get used to it, trust me, in a couple weeks. this will be nothing when we get back in the 20s and 30s you feel it. right now 44 degrees. west winds at 7. they were stronger earlier. this the barometer is rising. locally 32 out in oakland. it's been freezing all day long. they got about an inch of snow

and a lot of places on the grass and trees. 48 d.c., 50 at easton. the airport at 43. locally we have a few upper 30s showing up in a few locations, otherwise generally still in the low or mid-40s. looks like the wind will gradually diminish. 7-mile an hour wind with 32 degrees makes you feel like 27 degrees on your skin out there. they have snow blowing around. northwest winds here in d.c. at 9. to the north of us, that's where the chilly air continues to flow in. 36 bismarck. generally from that direction toward our area, it's chilly, below normal. florida still warm, 78. generally we're talking about a line from eastern montana down to kansas city to about the

virginia, carolina border. that's where the cold air is. it will stay that way for the next couple of days before we see warm air. still some lake effect snow late this afternoon and early this evening. you see snow here near lake michigan. the winds off the lake, the lake is warm, the air is cold, it picks up the moisture and drops it in the form of snow. we've cleared out nicely. generally clear overnight. and a cool but sunshiny thursday, friday. temperatures below normal. by the weekend, this moves off and it begins to warm up. thursday night frost and freeze advisories north and west of the area into friday morning. the bay temperature around 63. overnight down to 35. tomorrow 54, breezy, clouds and

sunshine. 54 on friday. again, thursday night, friday morning a good chance of frost. close to 60 sunday and monday. not a bad weekend. >> fun. thank you. coming up, mark will have the night's sport report. >> the ravens hope to get better and healthier when they resume play after the bye week. we'll hear how one ravens revival could be a key to their,

the ravens may not have a game this sunday, but they're still practicing. we have more in tonight's fan sports report. >> ravens players began their mini vacations today at the conclusion of practice and team meetings. they will return next week to focus on the remainder of the season. if they're looking for an inspiration to pick themselves

up from a losing record, they can look to their own linebacker. his career was in question after he suffered a spinal cord injury. he was tireless in his quest to come back healthy. he made it back on to the field for the ravens game at pittsburgh this past sunday. with limited preparation, he started at insidelinebacker and made six tackles. his return came as no surprise to him. >> i felt ready two months ago. when you ask me, i feel ready all of the time. >> for a guy to be out 10 months and come back and practice three days and play 28 plays in that game, amazing. >> they return to game action on november 3rd with a trip to cleveland to face the browns. >> the ravens are currently two games behind first-place cincinnati in the afc north. >> and we'll be right back. ,,,,

one california couple decides to combine two different holidays creating a haunted christmas. they decorate their home with chucky dolls, a creepy collection of baby doll heads, and disturbing versions of santa claus. they have observed the hybrid holiday for 16 years. >> isn't that special? we'll be r,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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