man who was always ready to help a friend. roosevelt leftwich has the latest. >> reporter: police say 55-year- old rodney lewis was known to take in friends and give them a place to stay. his home is large with a big yard in the back. it was one of those friends who found him. >> another resident walked in after noon, and found mr. lewis on the kitchen floor, stabbed in a pool of blood. police were called but he was indeed murdered. >> officers were at the house again today, police have few clues to go on here, they're not sure if anything was missing from inside the house. they do know the victim's 1998 lincoln navigator was stole 14 his home. it was found in baltimore city this morning. folks who live nearby say it's shocking because there are so few homes here. >> i grew up just over here, kings park. so definitely this is the first time i ever experienced this in the community. >> they're hoping someone saw something, after all this part

of liberty road is always busy. >> and that's what they're counting on if they have no suspects, no motive, and few leads. >> anybody out there knows anything about this, does anyone -- see anyone coming outs of that house between noon and 4? then found dead at 4:00. anybody see or hear anything weird at that time, police would love to hear about it. if anyone has any information about this crime, you can call police at metro crimestoppers. put mcs at the beginning the of the message. a police officer injured after being dragged five blocks by a car this afternoon just after noon on mount street in best baltimore. ricky hughes, a wanted suspect was supposed to meet with officers but became suspicious. he ran away and got into his car. one officer reached into the car and tried to grab the keys,

but hughes drove off, dragging the officer with him. another officer fired several shots, shooting out the red car's back window. the injured officer is being treated at shock trauma. police have not released his name or the name of the suspect. and a city officer shot and injured during a -- during a drug investigations. police say this afternoon officers working with the fbi safe streets task force on peer ponte avenue when a drug deal went bad. >> that narcotics transaction appeared to take a turn south, suspect pulled out a weapon. at that point, police officers identified themselves at the suspect, he do not comply, officer fired one shot, defensive shot, striking the suspect. >> police say one of officers shot the suspect several times. the suspect who has not been identified is in serious condition at shock trauma. firefighters were busy today fighting a two-alarm fire

in southwest baltimore. fire broke out around 1:00 in afternoon in a two-story rowhome in the mount claire neighborhood. the fire at 12 south bruce street spread to two neighboring homes. no one was hurt and there's no word on what caused the fire. now to an abc 2 news exclusive. a woman is recovering from burns after a fire started in her northeast baltimore home. the fire started just before 1:00 this morning on sheldon avenue. when the fire department arrived at the home, they found the woman out front and badly burned. she was taken to baby burn center but her condition is unknown. one firefighter suffered a minor burn on his ear. fire officials are trying to determine what caused that fire as well. a man was shot and wounded as he sat in his car last night. the shooting happened around 11:30 lasts night. police say three gunmen walked over to the car and fired several shots of a 23-year-old woman in the car drove to a nearby mcdonald's on reese

road. she called police. >> he was sitting in his vehicle with a 23-year-old female victim earlier, a short distance away when they were approached by three male subjects who fired shots into their vehicle. apparently struck the male victim. they then trove to the mcdonald's where they met police to call police. >> the 30-year-old man was taken to shock trauma. no word on his conditions. a thief stole parts from bolts on display in stevensville. american performance marine employees discovered the theft last week. the queen anne's county sheriff's office says propellers, tie bars, out drives and hydraulic steering were stolen from three boats. all boats are privately owned and for sale. estimated cost of the missing items is more than $105,000. the commander of baltimore southeastern police district has been suspended, pending a review on a personnel matter. majorror roger bergeron is home

with pay. he has commanded the district since 20007 and has been a member of the police force since 1991. details on why he has been suspended have not been released. you know, every little bit helps, i bet. businesses hit by the water- main break have been given an extension on tax payments. the october 15th due date has been extended to november 15th. they won't have to pay interest or late payment fees. they want to be sure the business owners are not penalized by something that was totally out of their control. another breezy, cool day. there you can see no precipitation across the region. but that's about to change by this time tomorrow evening as a frontal system starts making its way in our direction. here's your forecast for the next couple hours. partly cloudy, a few sprinkles are possible. but not until probably tomorrow evening. we'll have the complete forecast coming up in just a

couple minutes. maryland lawmakers are losing a perk. no more free ez pass. how speaker michael bush asked the transportation authority to end its program that allowed lawmakers to avoid paying for ez pass. lawmakers will still be eligible to seek reimbursement for their tolls. about 15,000 government employees and officials in the state have the free accounts. and we have a school closing to tell you about tonight from queen anne's county. churchill elementary will be closed tomorrow because of a water-main break. staff should report as usual. we've ben hearing about the swine flu vaccine for weeks now and finally next week we'll start seeing it. terry owens has who will be getting it first and in what form. terry. >> reporter: with the city still reeling from the death of a 14-year-old, we've learned the h1n1 vaccine is expected to arrive on tuesday at clinics and hospitals across the nation. and experts are encouraging everyone to get vaccinated if possible. a top priority group, pregnant

women. they proved to be especially vulnerable to the virus. the first available doses of the vaccine will come in the form of a nasal spray which is safe for those ages 2 to 49 who are not pregnant. pregnant women will receive an in jerks. . >> we hope pregnant women and caregivers will be taking advantage and we encourage caregivers to vaccinate pregnant women. >> it's a little like boarding the bus or airplane, eventually everybody gets on but we have to put the first groups on first. >> the department of health and human services is released to states 300,000 individual doses of tamiflu to help children who have become sick with the swine flu. terry owns, abc 2 news. >> just mentioned about that young girl who died, and grief counselors will be on hand again tomorrow at montebello academy, where that student died from the swine flu. state health officials say the death of the 8th grader with h1n1 viruses stresses the need for children to get the vaccine

when it becomes available. this is the second pediatric death in the state attributed to the swine flu. and coming up on abc 2 news at 5:30, could maryland soon become dangerously low on hospital beds because of the swine flu? health reporter kelly swoopes takes a look at that possibility. and also on abc 2 news.com we posted a link to the centers for disease control swine flu website, find everything from vaccine recommendations to everyday actions to stay clear of the swine flu. find this under the links mentioned on air section of our website. it turns out michael jackson was not the sickly skeleton of a man portrayed by the tabloids. he the the autopsy report is out, saying jackson's arms were covered with punctures, his face and neck were scarred and he had tattooed eyebrows and lips. but overall, he was mostly a healthy 50-year-old. the report says his weight was fine, and his heart was strong. he had arthritis, and his lungs

were damaged, which may have left him short of breath. but the report said none of those issues was life- threatening and what killed him was the potent anesthetic given to him by his doctor to help him sleep. just about 24 hours away from the announcement on where the 2016 olympics will take place. the president, first lady and oprah are using their power to push for chicago. what other stars are standing behind them? an heroic rescue, and is saved a young life. the death toll from yesterday's tsunami and quake continues to grow and thousands are still trapped. wrap up the latest from the south pacific.

thousands of people may have died in the south pacific

and southeast asia this week after earthquakes and tsunamis devastated that part of the world. president barack obama calls it a terrible loss of life and says the united states will do all it can to help. meanwhile, the search for survivors continues. we have the latest from abc's tj winick. >> reporter: in the tropical paradise of the south pacific it's a living hell as residents of the islands clean up after a tsunami that cleaned at least 150 lives. >> scary. so scary. >> it was tuesday morning when the islands were engulfed by four tsunami waves, 15 to 20 feet high, that reached up to a mile inland. charlie pierce from new zealand was trapped under water and thought she was going to die. >> my time to come home, take me home, i'm leaving. [not understandable] >> this couple lost both their children, ages two and one.

the two-year-old is still missing. >> already dead, all i want it his body. >> continue to provide the full support of the federal government for relief efforts there. >> president obama also offered assistance to indonesia, where 7.6 magnitude quake on wednesday destroyed hundreds of buildings including several schools. dozens of students are missing. more than 700 confirmed dead. searchers are hampered by major fires and by another quake thursday that measured 6.8. comfortable this woman said, i feel less comfortable when staying inside the house. thousands are believed trapped in the wreckage, touring the devastation the indonesian president said i asked rescue workers to continue working in teams with clear goals to keep looking for survivors using all available tools. tj winick, abc news.

beautiful day today. >> nice day, little breezy and another cool one. but we start to warm up over the next couple days. but long with that warmer weather comes clouds and also some shower activity. it's that time of year, plants and trees and grass will need a good drink of water before we get into the colder weather. let's look outside right now. your shot from harbor cam overlooking the downtown area, things are looking nice out there. right now at bwi officially 63 degrees with 41% humidity. the wind is currently from the northwest at 9 miles an hour. and as far as the barometer, steady at 29.99. there are your tides tomorrow. lapp winds tomorrow from the south 6 to 12 miles an hour.

our temperatures across the area right now and 64 in hagerstown, york pa at 60. 54 in oakland. eastern shore, we're seeing 63 in's tin, 67 in ocean city and 63 at the naval air station. throughout the day today, lots of sunshine but few light clouds in the west. all things considered a nice evening. all the shower activity stayed in portions of pennsylvania on the new york state line. see this wedge of clouds there? that's the leading edge of the system heading in our direction. that's where it was early this morning and throughout the day it's been moving into and through the ohio valley with pretty heavy rainfall around chicago, indianapolis, getting some good rainfall. getting showers right new from cincinnati, stretching on down into the lexington, kentucky area. that's a system that will start moving in our direction. there's maryland. later on tonight, the first shield of clouds starts making their way over the region. so tomorrow will be a cloudy day with thickening clouds,

then this shower activity, majority of that will pass to the northwest of us but then some showers move into the region tonight and also during the day saturday. right now nothing showing up on radar. maryland's most powerful radar, nice clear scan. currently in moncton, 58. elders burg, 62 degrees. chestertown right now at 65 degrees. here's your forecast for tonight. few clouds to the northwest, we'll have a nice evening up until about midnight. then the clouds start rolling into the region during the day tomorrow. a chance for a passing shower but then the majority of the rainfall looks like it will come in during the day on saturday as scattered showers and what that also does is bring in warmer air. so let's break if down for the forecast for tonight. increasing clouds, cool, overnight low of 52. tomorrow during the day, mostly cloudy, with some evening showers. 72 for the daytime high and extended outlook for the next seven days, there's a cloudy skies with chance for scattered

showers tomorrow evening. then more general rainfall on saturday, 77. 73 with sunshine on sunday and monday looking good, 73 and 71 degrees. tuesdays we get mostly cloudy skies, scattered showers. more rainfall on saturday and thursday partly cloudy and 69 degrees. back in a while with more on the weather. president obama is about to catch a red-eye flight to den park in where he'll add his personal touch to chicago's bid for the olympic games. he addresses the international olympic committee tomorrow. tomorrow hoping to help win the 2016 summer games for his adopted hometown. and meanwhile the first lady is already opened up her own charm offensive. abc's is in copenhagen. >> reporter: the first lady began her day bright and early meeting with the president of the international olympic committee, as the first of many closed door talks she's holding to try and bring chicago the gold. >> we're fired up and ready to go in here! >> on the campaign trail, they called mrs. obama the closer,

because she could lock down last-minute votes. now she and some high-profile friends -- are trying to do it again for vote 2009. >> really, just ask that i show up and be friendly, so that's not very hard foe me. >> oprah is not the only one on the first lady's dream team. star athletes also working the rope line. >> it would be an incredible honor for the united states to be able to host those games. >> so they're telling ioc members their stories, hoping to secure those undecided voters like um chang. >> what are you looking for? out can someone convince you? [not understandable] >> the president will take a red-eye flight tonight from washington to arrive here in copenhagen in the morning, in time for the final presentation. he's on the ground for just a few hours, but they're hoping it's enough time for him to

seal the deal. we're taking a second helping tonight, back by popular demand the landsdowne inn where you can fill your belly, get your fortune told, meet your bested friend and help out some royal locals. and this is no tall tale, how a five-year-old nabbed this 800- pound gator! san francisco blast

abc 2 news at 5:30 is minutes away. hello, everybody. watch your speed! those new speed cameras are now the law. we'll tell you where they are. she was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. today the details of a horrifying ordeal. and how about a night out on the sheraton? the deal offered by the hotel

chain to show off a major makeover, and our most accurate forecast, next on abc 2 news at 5:30 jure our look at news around the nation takes to us new york where a man is called a hero after saving a boy from a burning building. the store owner heard screaming and noticed smoke was coming from the building and he jumped into action. >> i heard somebody scream, didn't know what was happening. as soon as i went i heard the screams from upstairs. and when i looked you couldn't see nothing. too much smoke. and i guess -- i just kicked in. i kicked in gear. i put -- the ladder down, i went upstairs and did the best i could. >> he has great instincts. firefighters took over once this good have marathon reached the ground. the boy is in serious but stable condition. armed men stormed a convenience store in south florida, caught on camera. the pen pointed their guns at the clerk and cashier and demanded money. one of of the men who is wearing a mask jumped over the counter and snatched a thousand

dollars. but not of before the store's dog tried to pounce on him. the suspect's fired shots at the dog but missed. the suspects then ran away. a would-be thief learned a lesson after he tried it take a hat from a benjamin franklin impersonator. actor richard white was in front of the church in boston when a bystander grabbed the hat on his head and took off. white ran after the thief, staying in character, yelling, halted! and undercover police officer helped white stop the man in his tracks. and he was arrested. this next story really does sound like a tall tale but a texas boy says there's nothing fishy about his big catch. the five-year-old shot and killed an 800-pound alligator. simon hughes was hunting with his father over the weekend when he nabbed the 12-foot gator. the first grader says he wasn't afraid of the animal, a tax determinist is mundting the head for the young hunter. wow. no one wants crime crawling

around their neighborhood. get ready to see who you should be on the lookout for in tonight's crime checker. when abc 2 news at 5:30 starts in just two minutes. me again. okay, now this is the last time alright? thanks, you know we don't deliver anything like this. this crispy flatbread. mmmm. mmmmm! introducing the taste that's never been delivered. digiorno crispy flatbread pizza. it's not delivery, it's digiorno.

you have been warned, cameras will now be watching you drive through school and work zones in maryland. good evening. i'm terry owens. the new law goes into effect today. but as cheryl conner reports, big brother is not keeping watch over the baltimore region just yet. >> reporter: we headed out this afternoon through two work zones, 695 at charles street and 95 between whitemarsh boulevard and 895. those two areas will be a focus

of the state highway safe zones program, but we spotted no sign and no cameras. today's october 1st. why the delay. >> we're in a pilot days right now. this is actually pretty quick turnaround. we're only the doing warnings for the 30 days, want people to get used to the idea. >> in the coming days expect to see warning signs and an suv with a camera mounted on it. the law states those cameras have to be set up on expressways with the speed limit of at least 45 miles per hour. if you're caught on camera going at least 12 miles per hour, over the posted limited, a fine will be mailed for $40. >> there's a lot of fatalities in the country every year for work zones, so it's probably a good idea. >> the state highway administration says there have been 12 people killed in work zone crashes over the past 10 years. now two cameras will travel to work zones often targeting the most dangerous areas fi