♪ there is no royal blood in this country. nothing is reserved for anyone. it's all just out there waiting for someone to reach out and take it. ♪ and the ones who do. these are the kings and queens of america. ♪ a violent crime spree led to chaotic scenes on local streets. a woman kidnapped, a security guard killed and a suspect gunned down in a police shoot-out. >> oh my goodness this is really scary. >> i thought they were shooting a movie at first. then i said this isn't a movie.

had is real life. >> we have live coverage of a census bureau shooting. >> news dt 4 at 11:00 starts with breaking news. >> you're looking live at h street northeast still shut down at the hour after a wild police shoot-out that left a suspect critically injured. >> and a look at the yourself census office open again after a shoot-out this evening. it has been a chaotic night for law enforcement agencies. things are just becoming clear about a violent crime spree. >> the wild day began with an armed kidnapping then spiraled from there. police say that a man kidnapped his wife on t street northeast about 5:30 this evening. the suspect then drove to the census bureau building in suitland and shot a security guard there. when d.c. police caught up to the car, the wild shoot-out happened at 11th and h streets. >> we have a team of reporters covering this story.

we begin with shomari stone who is at the census bureau building. >> reporter: right now silver hill road has reopened. prince george's county police had it blocked off so people could not go through. and there were people on lockdown here at the u.s. census bureau headquarters. all is clear right now on campus. this all started this evening. the suspect ran the front gate at the headquarters. police say he shot the guard in the chest and got away from the scene. prince george's county police federal officers shut down the campus. they searched for the suspect, not knowing if he was still on the property. they looked in the parking garage. they looked in the area. u.s. census bureau employees were on lockdown at the time. we'll now hear from matt expense. he told me he was terrified. >> about 6:30 we saw -- we heard gunshots. and i thought it was just people in the neighborhood. but then a friend of mine who sits right near the window said oh my goodness something's going on. i ran to the window and i saw the security guard was down because he was in the yellow

vest. and i saw a guy driving away really quickly and another security guard was pursuing him on foot shooting at the car. we thought oh my goodness this is really scary. >> scary indeed. he tells me that some of his colleagues will not be going to work tomorrow. many are traumatized by what happened. live here in suitland shomari stone. back to you in the studio. >> chris lawrence joins us now. >> just got new information about the guard who was killed. he's alive at the prince george's hospital with details. >> reporter: we've learned that his name is lawrence bucknell. he's 59 years old. he's a married man. right behind me his family is inside the hospital right now. we were here in the last hour when a lot of the family members started arriving. i can tell you that a lot of them were visibly distraught as they were going in. i spoke with one man who told me he was mr. bucknell's cousin who said he also works in security and the family started getting the call about an hour or two

ago to come to the hospital. i also spoke with sources here at the hospital who say mr. bucknell was still alive when he was brought here earlier tonight but he passed away about 7:20 so less than four hours ago, from that gunshot wound to the chest. again, the family is still inside. we'll be working to try to get some more information, but the bottom line is lawrence bucknell 59 years old, a married man shot dead at the krens us bure census bureau. >> jackie bensen quickly diverted from suitland to h street when we heard shots were fired there. she continues our live team coverage tonight. >> jackie in fact is at the command post at 12th and h. jackie? >> reporter: well this is wild and unbelievable. i mean this is h street right behind me blocked off. people in all the bars and restaurants walking by wondering what happened. this leaves a d.c. police sergeant he was shot shot in the leg, two other officers we

understand were injured in the backup the crash that happened at the very end of this. and right now there are conflicting reports as to the condition of the suspect. >> there was a car crash literally right outside the door. and we heard pop, pop, pop. >> reporter: the images show the force of the collision that ended the bizarre and violent chain of events in the heart of one of the district's most popular nightlife areas. people could not believe what they were seeing. >> i was at the corner of 12th and h street and sitting in my car. i just heard some gunshots and looked up and this guy in a green car shooting at the police officers and they shot back. i thought somebody was shooting a movie at first. then i thought this isn't a movie, this is real life. let me duck down. >> reporter: d.c. police chief cathy lanier confirms that an officer was shot during the gunfire after the suspect found

himself blocked in by the cruisers that had been pursuing him. >> right now we have reason the believe that the car with have in the last incident here is the same car involved and the same person involved in the kidnapping that started at 3rd and t, involved in the shooting police at the census bureau shooting of the guard at the census bureau in prince george's county shooting at police in southeast and shooting at police officers again at 3 and k northeast and then at the final confrontation here. >> reporter: the shooting was heard by many people inside h street's bars and restaurants. >> this is my really first time in d.c. kind of experiencing downtown and it was a little bit scary, but everyone's been really nice and apologetic for this this. >> reporter: we're told that the suspect was shot multiple times and again there is a lot of conflicting information from very high levels in the police department tonight as to his exact condition, whether he is dead or alive.

in northeast washington jackie bensen news 4, back to you. >> thank you, jackie. we turn our attention now to those officers who were injured. our team coverage continues with our mark segraves. >> he's live at medstar washington hospital where two police officers are being treated. >> reporter: doreen and jim, here's what we know for a fact. d.c. fire and ems spokesperson confirms that three victims were transported from the 11th and h street shoot-out scene here to medstar hospital earlier this evening. we can tell you that we have seen d.c. police officers and officers from other law enforcement agencies coming and going here in the last hour or so. now, our sources tell us that two officers were transported here one was shot one was injured as a result of the crash that ended that car chase and the third person transported here was the victim. again, conflicting reports about the current condition of that victim but here's what d.c. police chief cathy lanier and mayor bowser said about an hour

ago at a press conference. >> right now we know we have a sergeant who has been struck. he's struck by gunfire, he's at an area hospital being treated and we know the suspect has been struck. i don't know conditions on either. both were conscious and talking when they left the scene but both have been struck by gunfire. >> you certainly have the sergeant in our thoughts and prayers and certainly the officer that was wounded in prince george's county as well. >> reporter: now, i just got off the phone with the d.c. police spokesperson who again tells us that the suspect, the last time she checked, was still alive. she said only one officer was shot but she said that other officers could have been injured during that incident during the car crash that ended the car chase. again our sources tell us as many as two other officers besides the officer who were shot were injured and we're told none of those officers are facing life-threatening

injuries. >> mark segraves thank you. throughout the night you've been sending us pictures the of the shooting scenes. here's a look at some of the aim js you've shared. the hours long crime spree had an impact on people across our area. >> we sent out alerts throughout this situation and we'll continue to push out updates during this newscast and on our nbcwashington app. also we'll have latest details on news4 today in the morning. on to other news right now. reports of serious damage from a tornado just west of chicago tonight. the large storm touched down in rochelle illinois leveling four homes. rescuers expect this to be a very long night looking through damaged houses. the storm slamming the midwest right now are headed our way. take a live look at our storm team 4 radar. we could be hitting with some severe weather here tomorrow. veronica is following the developments and she joins us now with the timing for your area.

veronica? >> yes, not necessarily those same storms but certainly part of the same weather system all driving eastward. we robust area of storms earlier across west virginia or western pennsylvania. that area is falling apart but we've seen clusters that have broken off producing some lightning around leesburg and making its way to wheaton and reston of the next couple of minutes. the area of severe weather pivoting to the east. i-81 all the way through i-95 tomorrow will be a risk zone with high winds, hail and even the threat of an isolated tornado. i'll take you hour through hour and show you when we'll be impacted. we continue to follow our top story now. a security guard is dead. a man kidnapped his wife and then opened fire at that security guard at the u.s. census bureau. our reporters will continue to bring the latest developments on this story. and in other news tonight. cigarette smugglers cashing in

on the black market. the ne

the newest twist in the underground world of cigarette smuggling exposed by the i-team. agents say it's now happening in broad daylight. the i-team scott mcfarland goes undercover on the tobacco trail right here in crowded stores you've probably visited. >> big box stores offer it all. from diapers to detergent. to dinners and desserts. but ever spot this at the

checkout line? shoppers buying huge loads of cigarettes. we're talking tens of thousands of dollars worth at one time. >> it's very easy for them to buy products. >> paul kerry says this is where he's now seeing the tobacco smuggling trail begin. he's the enforcement coordinator with the cigarette tax board. >> they buy anywhere from five to like $50,000 worth of cigarettes. some go as high as that in any one time. >> reporter: they're able to do it by logging on to this website. >> they need to create a fictitious account. >> reporter: they sign up and print out a special certificate that allows small businesses to buy lots of product tax-free. >> they apply for a sales certificate. >> reporter: with the agreement that they'll pay back the sales tax to the state once the product in this case cigarettes is resold. >> most of the box stores sam's club bj's supply cigarettes to small mom and pop type businesses. >> reporter: when the news4

i-team started digging we found out that some of these businesses are not as they appear to be. here's one of the big buyers we watched for weeks. early on a tuesday morning in woodbridge. our i-team cameras rolling as he makes the buy. so many cigarettes a store employee had to help him roll them out. almost $70,000 worth of cigarettes bought and loaded into his van in one shopping spree. so where is his mom and pop shop? the i-team found according to state records this man is connected with multiple companies and addresses in the fredericksburg area. one of them a house in an upscale subdivision. the other is an industrial lot, no sign at the door the windows covered. he also listed this dress in glen allen, virginia. when we it's nothing more than a vacant lot filled with trees. this suspected smuggler one of hundreds the team has been pursuing and in this case he's suspected of buying close to $10 million worth of cigarettes in just six months.

>> the fake companies have increased probably in the last like year year and a half tremendously. >> reporter: as the i-team has shown you before cigarettes smuggled out of virginia often head north, far north, to new york city where traffickers can make big profit selling the smokes for more than they paid at the virginia big box stores. we easily found and bought smuggled cigarettes supposed to be sold only in the commonwealth. >> the box stores know that there's something afoot when this is happening. >> reporter: a spokesman with virginia department of taxation who issues that special certificate they do hear from stores and know that it's part of our audit process to verify their location. they've conducted more than 1700 audits in the last five years. the department couldn't tell us if that included any of the buyers we watched week after week load up at local big box stores. the virginia general assembly recently passed a bill allowing

vendors to confirm the department of taxation whether a company is registered as a sales and use dealer. but paul kerry is skeptical about its impact saying it would till not provide any red flags about possible smugglers who have signed up. scott macfarlane news4 i-team. >> it does welcome any tips about possible problems. we've put that information on our website at nbcwashington.com. click on "investigations." veronica is back with more about our weather. strong storms. how is that going to affect us tomorrow? >> yeah it's really going to slow us down, traffic on area roads and make nor delays with outdoor plans. as early as 1:00 a very first big outbreak of spring right? heads up folks. a high impact weather day for tomorrow. we start out with the dense fog. strong thunderstorms after 1:00. because of it all, it is going to be a weather alert day. what that means is outside of

the newscast we'll still be doing weather updates. download that app. the day starts with fog. it will be widespread dense and thick early tomorrow morning. 50 degrees the temperature. so we're going to be seeing temperatures rise over the next couple of hours. then stormy conditions for the afternoon as we hit the heat we'll hit that heat early by around lunchtime tomorrow. temperatures rising very quickly. we've got a few storms out there right now. this is all part of the line that was driving through areas of west virginia and out of pennsylvania earlier today. gaithersburg now around 2:70. look at all that pocketed there north of woodburn it is sliding into broadrun farms, eventually to sugarland run and sterling in the next couple of minutes. the other part of the line in howard county that's headed towards aspen hill. camp mill by 10:36. that line slides down to the south and east. 57 degrees. 70 degrees by 11:00 a.m.

that's just two hours we'll see the temperatures rise quickly. and you're going to notice more and more humidity in the air and with high humidity these high temperatures even though we're not going to see the cloud deck thin a lot, i think that will be enough energy for storms. here we are 1:00, gaithersburg to charlottesville to manassas and culpepper. look at that baltimore gaithersburg fredericksburg at 4:30 we're talking about. downpours, damaging winds, even the threat of an isolated tornado that could come during that time period. the heaviest weather fairly brief. high winds up there, gusts around 40 miles per hour. perhaps even higher in a location or two west. but 1:00 p.m. and as late as 6:00 p.m. and winds around 40 miles per hour. that could lead to a few branches down and a few blossoms around the tieded a basin. 64 degrees with the rain moving out of here already. breezy conditions from 9:00 to

11:00 p.m. 59 degrees. you will need a jacket after hitting that high of 81 degrees. take a look at the weekend right now. breezy conditions on saturday the high 67 degrees. closer to 70 on sunday. and i do think that sunday will be the best day out of the weekend, less wind, a lot of sunshine, just nice and relaxing and most of next week we're parked around 70 to 75 degrees. >> nice and relaxing sounds like a great weekend plan. >> we like that. sports coming up. tiger's temper at the masters.

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this is the xfinity sports desk brought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. the nats play the mets again and did not do very well at all. >> no they did not. i want to say like may 5th, may 10th that's when we want to start paying attention to the nationals. that's when the team is healthy. as for now not so much. august 31st of 2013 that was the last time the nationals lost a series to the new york mets. with three position players on the disabled list randone, span this is not the team we expect to see later this season. a beautiful day at the ballpark with two aces on the mound.

stephen strasburg going for the nationals against max harvey for the mets. making his first return since tommy john surgery. bottom of the first he strikes out bryce harper here. harvey was outstanding. nine strikeouts over six shutout innings. strasburg facing david wright. a double play ball that ian desmond can't handle. he boots it, his third error in three timegames. mets up 2-o. travis d'arnaud finds green grass there. strasburg goes 5 1/3 giving up six runs. not too concerned about the defense behind him this season. >> can't let those things affect you. they'll give it everything they have. and that's all i'm expecting because i'm trying to go out there and do the same thing. when you face adversity out there you want to go out there and pick each other up.

i tried didn't work out. the nationals a three-game series with the phillies. let's move over to golf now. first round of the masters today. tiger woods has won this major four times in his career. his success at augusta one of the reasons why he returned to the game after missing the last several months of competitive golf. 14 majors and 79 pga tour wins for tiger woods. can he add to that this weekend, 9th hole not a good tee shot here. drops the club. the ball lands in the adjacent 1st fairway. second shot not good either. tiger swings the club in anger. he finished at 1 over nine shots behind the leader. and that leader is this man right here. jordan spieth. best opening round at the masters in 19 years. check out that shot on 14 right near the pin. he cards an 8 under 64. the 21-year-old the youngest ever to lead the masters after the first round.

next up for the masters, they get under way round two taking place tomorrow. let's move on to the nfl now. the preseason schedule was released for all teams. the skins kick things off in grand fashion. they'll take on the cleveland browns. the season home opener against the lions, then the redskins head up 95 to take on the baltimore ravens. they wrap up the preseason at home against the jacksonville jaguars. all those games can be seen right here on nbc4. >> we'll be sure to be watching.

we're back with our top story now and some new information about what led to a shooting at the u.s. census bureau. d.c. police say that guard who was shot at the bureau saw two people fighting in a car and when he went over to the car, somebody shot him. that guard, lawrence buckner, died at a hospital. >> the suspect took off and was spotted by d.c. police who got into an exchange of gunfire with him on h street northeast. that's just blocks away from the atlas district. that suspect was shot and is in the hospital now. plea three police officers were also injured including one who was shot. none of the officers has life-threatening injuries. we'll continue to monitor the dual investigations and keep you updated on nbcwashington and look for more information on news4 today in the morning. >> we also got some funky weather coming our way. >> that's right. potential starting at 1:00 tomorrow. anything from downpours to high

winds, damaging winds coming through, maybe even an isolated tornado. the window is 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. for tomorrow. it will be very hot. 81 degrees the high temperature. a weather alert day. tom will be up early tomorrow morning.

>> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon."night, join jimmy and his guests -- madonna, nikolaj coster-waldau,