>> and baltimore county students talking back to their superintendent of schools. what he said when they asked them if their schools were safe. an officer's dunn went off at st. joseph's medical center -- gun went off at st. joseph's medical, sr. >> center. >> reporter: they're trying to figure out what happened. as you look behind me, you can see the emergency department. that's where the shooting happened inside the emergency department. the police had been escorting a prisoner. he was getting emergency treatment when there was some kind of a struggle. it started when pan employee found there was some kind of a needle on the surpt -- suspect

there and there was a struggle where the suspect wound up grabbing at the gun of the police officer who was escorting him. here's what the spokesperson had to say a short time ago. >> there was a struggle when the prisoner attempted to grab one of the hospital staffers. at that point our officer intervened immediately and the struggle continued between the prisoner and our officer. the prisoner attempted to take the weapon. there was a struggle over the gun. at some point the weapon discharged firing a shot into the wall. >> reporter: right. so that is the key question for investigators who are out here. how exactly did the gun go off. when it did, no one was injured, although there would be a number of people. pepper spray was used in an attempt to subdue the suspect.

the name of the suspect has not been released. once again, a gunfire inside the emergency room at the university of maryland st. joseph medical center, no one injured. live in baltimore county, christian schaffer, abc2 news. a dramatic chase on route 250. only the car being chased was an ambulance. >> reporter: juan williams went to the hospital in seeford hospital yesterday in an ambulance. no problem. this was the leaving part that got him in trouble. he needed a ride home so he stole the am blafnlts williams headed toward the bay bridge. several calls came am about the e rat -- in about the erratic driving. he had a welcoming committee waiting for him in queen anne's. >> they spotted it headed westbound toward the outlets in

queen anne's county. >> reporter: williams had the attention of five police cars. >> traffic became congested. the operator of the ambulance made a u turn on route 50 and continued toward chesapeake college. >> reporter: they were trying to deploy stop sticks. >> could turn in at very high speeds. he ran through the red light on route 50 still heading east and shortly thereafter crossed the grass median but still heading eastbound. >> reporter: state police said the ambulance drove into the bessie park n ride, hit a bounced cadillac and bounced off the curb. williams tried to use the lights and sirens but told police he

had a problem. >> we believe he was trying to use them but couldn't figure out how it turn them on. >> reporter: susan had a better solution for a ride home than stealing an ambulance. >> there's taxi service, request your friends. >> reporter: in queen anne's, don harrison. an accident claimed the life of a promising if i si signatures. a car traveling westbound crossed the center line struck the toyota corolla. the 32-year-old woman died at the scene. she spent the last would years at the carroll regional cancer center. >> chita is a young woman, professional, really starting

out in her career. her career is helping to save lives or at least make sick people feel better. as a medical physicist, she's a vital part of the hole treatment program, really the -- whole treatment program. >> the driver of the truck was medivaced to shock trauma with non-life-threatening injuries.ed pending the investigation. a man's car went over an embankment and ended up on the roof in the water below. emergency crew were called to south of singer road. they made their way down 40 feet to get to the man. he was flown to shock trauma where he remains in serious condition. firefighters were called to

a towing company. fire officials said flames were in towny town pike. we have an update on the breaking news we brought you you a couple hours ago. nicole fitzgerald, the mother, baltimore police say who killed her mother over the weekend has been charged with murder and child abuse. he is was found bleeding from the neck along with her son. she has a hearing jan right 8th. a crystal clear night. we saw the numbers dropping on a cold northwest wind. fresh canadian air blasting its way into the free state.

you see the temperatures suggesting that. low 40s across much of central maryland. colder by midnight, mid-30s, 29 with a frost at daybreak. things will stay chilly. then they warm up in the outlook. we talk about when that happens and how warm, coming up. it was a first of baltimore schools, an interactive meeting. >> the kids had some hard questions about everything from school safety to vegetarian options in the cafeteria. abc2's roosevelt leftwich has more. >> it was a townhall and the children's questions basically centered on trying to make things better in their schools. about 60 students from the eastern half of baltimore county had a frank talk with the superintendent. it was televised on the county

school's network. one of the big esh use, school -- issues, school safety. they have heightened awareness about violence and bullying. it's about students being aware of their own surroundings and being involved in their own education and own safety. >> i think we have a good plan for being reactive. i want to change it to proactive. when you're proactive, kids feel like they're connected to the schools. you always har me talk about -- hear me talk about do the kids think someone knows them, understands them. we have some schools that do it extremely well, some schools starting to build those systems now. >> help wants input from all sources and he says he can be reached by facebook and twitter and promises to answer questions

in about seven days. roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >> thanks a lot. get back to you in seven days. all right. 'tis the season for gifts. abc2 is a proud sponsor of the kindertime toy drive. >> wyatt everhart is collecting giflts in the lobby, one of the many locations you can drop off gifts. >> i consider myself chief toy collector. i've got my good friend squiggle. lisa hinkle, you're the director of operations, squiggle's manager as well. talk about your involvement. this is year number two. >> we are so excited to be involved with pete and the toy drive. it really gives us a chance to be very active. we do more than collect toys. we show those children how we

can support other children. we include it as part of our curriculum. we feel like we have a wide reach. it's not just our children and sell le brie family but everybody in the community. >> you have 20 locations and people can find them. >> we're in harford county, baltimore county, prince george's county, even as far as bear, delaware. if you're looking to give a toy, we have a location. >> we appreciate your involvement again this year. i know you're excited as well. you can give us a nod. look at squiggle bag. this is not stuffed full. we have two weekings through the 18th. we want to get all the gifts in here at the abc2 studios or at

the celebree learning center. >> the battle of the beltway is almost here. ray lewis returned. want you to watch ray rice. watch this. >> he's got moves. now ray lewis, even though he won't play, he is helping them, getting ready for rg3. the ravens take on the redskins coming up on sunday. home for the holidays has a special meaning for active duty members. how they got into the holiday spirit. >> you know, books may not be on every child's list but amazon's got an idea to do that. it's aimed at getting kids hooked on reading.

wyatt everhart back for this year's kindertime. one of our sponsors next day floors. >> next delay floors is big on giving back to the community. we're always involved with kindertime. >> steve has been doing this for years. >> yes, he has.

>> hey, wyatt. >> that's right, we need to take -- goat the toys to fill up the lobby. next day blinds always one of our sponsors. >> yes, next day floors. >> we need more gifts, new unwrapped toy. bring them to any celebree learning centers or abc2 studios.

this time last year u.s. military members were deployed in afghanistan. now they're spending christmas with their families. some local companies have stepped up to help. >> reporter: last year he was stationed in iraq. his wife mary was home trying to hold down the fork. >> it would take me three days to mow it. i had to do it during nap time.

>> reporter: his service helps veterans maintain their lawns. >> it was nearly impossible for her to take care of the lawn, so we took care of the lawn for the summer. >> reporter: als the christmas season approached, rob's season turned to decorating houses. >> decorate their house. they liked the idea. >> this is the last thing you think about doing. you're trying to survive christmas. >> reporter: jeff didn't return from iraq until april and didn't see the decorated house. so rob decided to do the house again for free. >> i know it's from his heart. he's doing it for the veterans. he's in the spirit of giving. i think it's wonderful, great. >> reporter: besides, if the christmas decor wasn't on the roof, guess who would be? >> if it weren't for these guys,

it wouldn't be as glamourous, i don't think. >> i would be concerned whether he would make it off the roof. >> give a little back. it's a good feeling. >> just to have everyone together. it's a huge -- you look at it differently. >> reporter: in aberdeen, i'm lamont williams, abc2 news. >> how about saluting rob tonight. hey, one of the best parts of christmas is meeting santa and telling him what's on their gift list. for many, a trip to the crowded mall is not possible. one howard county group decided to do something a little different. this morning kids and their family were able to come to the columbia mall and meet santa before the mall opened to the public. >> a lot of kids have multiple

stimuli coming at them at one time. it can be overwhelming. our ability to reduce that amount of distraction, the loud sounds in the mall, the crowds and all the hustle and bustle allows them to enjoy the environment and take away some of the industries. >> you all yell at us, these last two stories are incredible. for more information, just head to abc2news.com/holiday guide. you can find addresses for the best places to see light displays and christmas parades. >> baltimore elementary schoolers are getting reading help to make sure they excel. the mayor announced the program. it pairs tutors with third

graders. >> our objective is to increase the rate of learning. >> the program targets third graders because it's those early school years when kids are taught to read. if they aren't reading well by third grade, they risk falling behind. amazon, the company behind the kindle e reader is launching a special subscription for kids. it will be available in the next couple of weeks as part of an automatic software update. their target is kids between three and eight. for $5 a month they will get access to videos, games and, of course, children books. did you feel the change today? i think you did between the mornings midday and evening.

temperatures keep falling. 49 at bwi, making it feel colder than that. a day of changing weather. look at the chop on the severn river as those winds kicked up. even a few gusts higher. mt. area ri blue skies. chilly winds blowing in. temperatures now in the mid-low 40s for much of the state west of baltimore, still a few low 50s. all of the state dropping. chilly north wind, gusts up around 18 or 28 at the top of the hour at reagan in d.c. some snow showers coming down in upstate new york but mainly skies continue to clear across the mid-atlantic. sunshine dominating the scene but cold air continues to settle

in tomorrow. that chill will be there, never out of the mid-40s. to the west on friday some weather developing. friday partly cloudy and still on the chilly side. temperatures to the north are falling in the mid-30s. we'll she that overnight. tomorrow we struggle to get out of the mid-40s. temperatures will rebound. on the whole, the numbers will be slow to warm up the next two days. on the big picture you can see our frontal boundary continues to push offshore. maryland continues to clear out. so a bright sunny start after a very cold scenario. a right day tomorrow. sunglasses required, the visier. a colder day. tomorrow into friday close to 50. by the weekend mild hair begins to mick a return -- air begins to make a return. at some point i'm sure thing

also get way colder than average. back and forth we go riding the roller coaster. mild weather does set up for that big showdown at fedex field. there you go. >> got your purple on today. >> starting early. >> right here. kelly swoope the third. >> i'm moving. just in time for the holidays. the towson y, it's a new era and it marked the launch of the new campaign. >> keep it right here. we've got a great night of all new episodes of your favorite comedies. >> let's check in with the all new list. it's the annual monument lighting in mt. vernon.

the holiday season is here. it's kindertime, getting presents to kids in need. we couldn't do it without a lot of our sponsors. anytime fitness is part of it. >> this year we're involved for

the first time. we are giving away 14-day passes to anyone who drops off a new unwrapped toy at our location in perry hall between now and december 19th. >> so come on out. get out of the cold and come into the gym. >> this is located where? >> in perry hall, honey go for the holidays.com. >> one of the places you can go, perry hall and abc2 studios and don't forget the celebree learning centers, 20 of them across maryland.

we told some great stories tonight. a lot of people doing a lot of great things. >> and right here in hour

community. >> we'll show you more tonight at 11. >> have a good night.