more now on the breaking news in virginia tech. a police officer shot during a routine traffic stop on campus. a gunman walked into the parking lot and killed a virginia tech police officer. that shooter was later found dead in another campus parking lot. a lockdown has been lifted at this hour. virginia tech university president spoke out about how tough it is for the entire

school community. >> our hearts are broken, again, for the family of our police officer and we extend our deepest sympathy and condolences. police officers on this campus and in every police force in the nation routinely put themselves at risk for our safety and we are grateful for their service. >> jane watrel is on the campus in blackburg, virginia. she has reaction from the students. jane? >> reporter: there seems to be two types of reaction. one is relief. they are glad it's over. they were scared when they got the first text alert. the other emotion is sadness. many students expressed sadness that a police officer lost his life. they feel safe on campus. the police do an outstanding job. in fact, the scene is only about a quarter mile from where i'm standing. many of the students walked past

the scene as investigators are wrapping things up. here is what they had to say. >> heart breaking. we are all just distraught about it all. we have had several encounters with the police officers and they have always been polite and nice to us and try to help us. when one goes down, it's really hard. >> it's really crazy today. campus is on lockdown. we got the alerts. police did their job. >> we were nervous. we knew we were okay. the first reaction was for me to call my family and friends and tell them i was safe then to call my friends and make sure they were safe. i followed to story to know what was going on. >> it was scary. with it being finals and stuff, it was stressful. most of us were worried about what was happening. hoping our classmates and friends were okay.

>> reporter: many of the students said they were on their way to either take finals or study for finals when this whole incident went down. finals have been postponed for friday. to recap the time line, around 12:15 today, campus officials say a campus police officer, a four-year veteran of the force made a routine traffic stop. at some point, witnesses say the shooter walked up to the police officer, shot him and took off on foot. the police officer apparently died. a short time later, another police officer spotted an individual a quarter mile away in a student parking lot. that individual was observed with a weapon and then not much details were given. c campus officials said that person was then dead. no identities have been released. for five hours today, from 12:30 to about 4:30 this afternoon, this campus was on a lockdown. the second time in four years.

such a tragedy has struck. back to you. >> jane watrel, thanks. a couple is on the loose after a hit and run crash in montgomery county. they were passengers in a cab. >> at one point, one of them got out and took over the wheel in the middle of the ride. pat collins reports. >> reporter: police say they are looking for this man and this woman for questioning in connection with a cab jacking. a hit and run and possibly some other crimes. this is how police tell the story. wednesday night, 6:34 p.m., a barwood cab picks up a fare, a man and woman. the destination, the target store in rockville. once they get to that target, something terrible goes wrong. >> the cab driver related to us,

from the moment the two fares entered the cab they started critici criticizing his driving skills and calling him names. >> reporter: the male passenger takes things into his own hands. he gets out of the back door, comes around, pushes the cabby to the passenger seat. he gets behind the wheel and starts driving. why didn't the cab driver call police? >> we believe that both of these subjects were on him in a hostile way from the very beginning. when he went for his cell phone at one point, the male suspect said it just wouldn't be a good idea. >> reporter: at old georgetown road, that cab with the passenger still at the wheel hits another car and keeps ongoing, all the way around, up the road, back to the target store. there, the passenger and his

female companion get out of the cab and go into the target apparently to do some shopping. gone but not forgotten. you see the man and that woman captured by surveillance cameras leaving the store with their purchases. how did that couple get away from this target? police say they took another cab. i'm pat collins, news 4, montgomery county. >> police say the couple never paid the taxi fare. it was $18.50. the air force is under fire about the remains of some of america's war dead. body parts of the troops have been lost on two occasions at t the. the air force is criticized for not being up front about the extent of the problem. reports the remains of 274 u.s.

servicemen and women were sent to landfills. far more than previously acknowledged. a high school teep teacher was arrested this morning. he's accused of having sex with three students. he's 29 years old, an english teacher and basketball coach. police charged him with sexual abuse, sexual assault and other offenses. they have identified three victims. all three of whom, girls between the ages of 15 and 16. >> as a mother, a grandmother and someone who spent my entire adult life in education, these charges make me absolutely sick to my stomach. >> he's been working at the high school since 2006. school officials say they removed him from the classroom on november 1 when those allegations first came forth. bond set at $3 million.

a teenage girl charged as an adult this week. police arrested 17-year-old brianna of silver spring yesterday. they say she admits to stabbing the 17-year-old victim several times on tuesday night. it happened outside northwood high school after she got into a fight with friends. the victim is expected to survive. she's charged with attempted murder and assault. d.c. mayor vincent gray appeared for a taping of the nbc 4 viewpoint program. he told tom sherwood the federal investigation of him and two d.c. councilmembers is a serious distraction in the city. he doesn't believe the probes are racially motivated. >> i have not been asked to appear before anybody at this stage. >> but you would go, obviously?

>> absolutely. >> i guess you would have to go. the u.s. attorney is african-american. attorney general, eric holder is african-american. do you get a sense the probe of three elected officials who are african-american in this city is tied to a racial consideration? >> i don't know anything of the sort, tom. i certainly would conclude comfortably that the u.s. attorney will investigate issues that are put before them no matter who they are about. >> the viewpoint program airs sunday mornings at 7:00 a.m. flash floods drenched parts of prince george's county last night. now the people who live there are assessing the damage. more than three inches of rain fell in upper marlboro. water street near the courthouse was closed after creeks overflowed. it's the same location where flooding damaged several businesses last summer. business owners, once again, are dealing with flood damage.

some say they are glad it wasn't worse. >> inconvenience and a couple thousand dollars worth of damage, maybe. absolutely minor. this is nothing for us. >> in comparison -- >> the last one cost me $750,000. >> business owners say they haven't had these kinds of issues with high water until the last few years when all the development in the area began. that is snow you see in washington county, maryland. the roads were clear for drivers. in huntington, west virginia, people saw snow. forecasters say the slushy snow [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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hello, everybody. welcome back, i'm meteorologist, doug kammerer. looking at a fairly chilly evening out there. it's what you expect for december. 34 in gaithersburg. 34 towards frederick, maryland. cup pepper, 36 degrees. as we look at the doppler radar, nothing as far as rain is concerned on the radar. that is good news. we are going to be dry for the

next week or so. the big deal is going to be the temperatures. just because we have not been this cool yet. 34 in washington. 26 in gaithersburg. 24 in frederick. leesburg, 25 degrees. a cold night but seasonably cold for this time of year. tomorrow, a beautiful afternoon. a high temperature of 50 degrees. i think tomorrow is going to be gorgeous. 49 in manassas. 51 in culpeper. temperature 47 degrees. it will get colder this weekend. i'll have the forecast one more time coming up. >> thanks doug. good news from the capitals front. the opposing teams fans were unhappy. the burgundy and gold prepare for tom [ baby coughing ]

[ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ]

there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards to protect our kids. [ baby coughing ] could this be real, one to ten, one low, ten high. what chance do the redskins have of beating them? >> let's say five. >> any given sunday. >> case and point, the eagles. they were supposed to have a great season, they are terrible. not a great chance, but they have a chance. when the redskins look in the mirror, they don't see the patriots. it's a model of -- the patriots about to lock up their ninth in

the last 12 seasons. one of the reasons for their dynasty, perhaps their main reason is quarterback, tom brady. he's playing at a hall of fame level right now. 30 touchdown passes. the second highest rated quarterback in the nfl behind rogers. the patriots have a 9-3 record. 30 points per game. he had help from tight ends. the skins know it's the quarterback that makes this offense go. >> tom brady is what makes it go. they are not going to be stopping. you have to challenge. you have to make plays when you get the opportunity. you know who they want to throw it to. they have a lot of weapons. you have to challenge. you have to make play. you can't just be in position. >> you have to do whatever you can. everyone has to play until they get punched in the mouth. i'm sure we'll have a great plan. they will counter punch and

we'll have to adjust. it's a tall order but i think we're up for it. >> is he the kind of guy you can talk trash to? >> you can try. i think he made a conscious business decision when he put those uggs on in that commercial. i think he knew they were going to make fun of him. he's married to a supermodel. he's got rings. what are you going to say? the only way to hurt him is win. you have to win that day. >> i think he's made uggs cool. the only thing that would be better is uggs in his locker. >> get in his face. >> he said hey, he's getting paid. that's fine with him, too. a much needed victory for the capitals. a four goal third period. it wasn't without controversy involving who else?

alex ovechkin. he did damage in more ways than one. ovechkin is in the corner, gets hammered by chris neil. watch as they skate back up ice. watch his stick. boom, caught him in the midsection. the officials didn't see his stick. no penalty. neil was given a minor for diving. the guy who got hit got the penalty. in the third period, ovechkin skates through everybody. watch this. loses the defender. a shot there. you know what this is like? it's like a pump fake in basketball, then you get the lay up. you can't see this too many times. this is amazing. >> pick it up. >> yep. oh, that is beautiful. the capitals win 5-3. maybe this is the wake up call

he's needed. >> alex has been playing well. he's got -- he's been hitting, got lots of shots. his speed, last night, he had lots of speed. you feel good about yourself. he could have scored a lot more last night. it was a big goal he scored. that's the important thing. >> he's trying to expand his game and make things work when he's having a tough time. you know, he's working hard and trying to be as patient as possible. for him to get a goal, it's good to see a good confidence builder. >> that's troy broward. capitals hosting the maple leafs on friday. it's good to see it is not empty. basketball is back. the nba is going to be like the nfl and free agents will be joining teams while training cramp is in progress. they would like a add a couple pieces to it. >> trying to build chemistry,

you know, it's going to be a lot going at it this year. they know us better. we don't have a name but you know, they know us. try to compete. anybody that comes at us. >> it's great. to see the guys and get to play with people getting in shape. come here and practice and get together. it's helping us. we know to look for certain players when you come into the season. >> we are a young team, very athletic. in my younger days, i played hard. i was successful at it. made noise in the nba. we had a team to do it. you have to be consistent with it. we can't lose four or five games. you have to get back and win. >> rashard lewis, the veteran member of the team this year. we talked about the deal pujols was going to get from the marlins, right? >> yeah.

>> he turned it down. how about ten years, $254 million from the angels? that is not too shabby at all. they are like the marlins west. they signed pitcher c.j. wilson to five years $77 million contract. let's hit the hellie pad. >> caron butler gets three years $24 million from the clippers. lakers closer to acquiring chris paul from the hornets. shane battier is taking his talents to miami to join the heat. we ran out of music. >> we can hum along next time. >> thanks, dan. she's being called a miracle mutt. how she defied the odds and was reunited with her family. we invite you to follow

transportation secretary ray lahood denied an allegation the government suppressed a safety problem in the volt. they made the allegation last night in a letter to the highway traffic safety commission. the agency deliberately failed to disclose that a volt caught fire last spring after undergoing crash tests. ray lahood told reporters today, the safety investigators needed time to determine whether the volt was the source of that fire. quite a story of survival for a brave dog in texas. she was inside her home yesterday during a firy natural gas explosion. they made it out okay. they couldn't find the dog and

thought she was dead. this morning when the fire was out and the smoke cleared, there was diva. >> between the pantry and the freezer. under a couple hampers of clothes. she saw me and her eyes opened up. i picked her up and got her out. >> investigators aren't sure what caused the explosion. call 911 if you ever smell natural gas. coming up at 11:00. the latest on the shooting at virginia tech. the air force responding to criticism that it handled america's war dead. a school mascot that's become the star in a special homecoming on army sergeant. a check on the weather. >> the dog little diva, that could be my dog's name. she's a little diva. >> moving on. >> out there now, looking at a nice night tonight, on the cool side. the temperatures get down to the 20s for most of us.

50 tomorrow afternoon. a great day tomorrow. nice and cool for the weekend. a lot of you have been asking for cooler weather. 43 sunday. temperatures into the 20s for everyone sunday morning. looking toward next week, we stay around average for this time of year. no swings in temperature. 40s to 50 degrees each day. the next chance of rain coming up on thursday at 51 degrees. >> we can wait. >> we can wait. >> thank you, doug. >> that's the broadcast for now. "nightly news" coming up next. >> we hope to see you at 11:00.