ed officer is arrested by the police. >> we begin this afternoon with the weather and the potential for storms as you head into your friday evening. >> this is a forecast we've been tracking for you all week. good afternoon. i'm chris lawrence in for tonight. >> we thought it was going to be warm today. >> and because our temperatures aren't as warm the threat of severe weather in the d.c. metro area areas back to the west and north highly unlikely but for the remainder of the afternoon and evening hours going to continue to monitor the potential for some storms that could still be severe to develop in parts of southern maryland and the northern neck. look at the range in temperatures. from 60 in washington to 78 degrees in luray and 57 for those of you in frederick. now, why do the temperatures not warm up? well it took a while for a warm front to lift north of the area and plenty of cloud around. that marine layer kept us cooler

for many locations. now, the severe weather threat for the remainder of the afternoon and early evening hours, some strong storms still possible in part for the northern neck charles, st. mary's county calvert counties and extreme st. mary's county. we can't rule out some severe thunderstorms there. the main threat would be high winds and hail. on storm team 4 radar, only some meager showers across the area a little bit of a heavier cell around the luray area. coming up in my full forecast when the chance of storms leaves the area when the threat of rain leaves most of the area and how that will impact your plans tonight. >> thanks amelia. new video shows the extent of the damage in i'll wril the governor spent most of this day surveying the devastation. tornadoes killed two people as they roared through last night. a third person is in serious condition right now. 30 homes were destroyed in northern illinois and nearly 50 have sustained significant damage. the governor thanked first responders and said the small number of fatalities was due to

all the advanced warning they got there. new details about a wild series of crimes that unfolded across our area last night ending with a police shoot-out and the death of a security guard. it started with a kidnapping in the district. then a shooting at the census bureau in prince george's county before ending up along h street northeast. mark segraves and jackie bensen have been working on this story since last night. mark kicks off our team coverage. >> reporter: i talked to mayor bowser earlier this morning. she described yesterday's chain of events and the shoot-out that took place on 8th street as shocking. as you said, this started with a kidnapping here in the district went into maryland where a security guard was shot and killed then came back here into the district where there were multiple shooting scenes. the suspect is 48-year-old ronald anderson of southeast washington. >> we know that our officers put

themselves in harm's way. >> reporter: the first sign of trouble came about 5:30 yesterday evening when police got a report of a man with a gun kidnapping a woman. at the intersection of 3rd and t streets northeast. he was driving a green honda accord. about 30 minutes later there's a shooting outside of the u.s. census bureau headquarters in suitland maryland. at this point the police don't know the two incidents are related. the suspect flees in a green honda. that car is spotted sometime later back in d.c. in the woodland terrace neighborhood. the suspect, while driving, opens fire on police officers. the suspect continues to flee from police and then near the intersection of 3rd and m streets northeast the suspect again opens fire on police. no one is injured during those two shootings. once the suspect makes it to h street police end the chase by crashing into the suspect's car. at that point, the suspect for

the third time during the chals opens fire on police hitting one officer in the leg. police returned fire wounding the suspect and bringing the inconsistent to an end. >> i'm pleased to say that our officer, who sustained a gunshot wound, is doing well. >> reporter: now that woman who was kid named was later found safe and unharmed. it is unclear how or when she escaped from her kidnapper and we don't know the relationship between her and the suspect, although last night the chief said the kidnapping was domestic incident. back to you. >> here's what we know at this hour about the census bureau security guard who was kill. lawrence buckner was married to his wife linda, for 36 years.ived in virginia and they have one son and four grandchildren. he was in the army for eight years but he spent the last 20 working security. buckner spotted two people arguing in a car last night at the census bureau.

he was shot as he approached the car, not likely knowing anything about the man who killed him. jackie bensen has been digging into the past of the suspect, ronald anderson. she's live at d.c. police headquarters. >> the recent past is what's significant because it fills in some of the blanks as to motive for what happened yesterday. 48-year-old ronald anderson was due in court today, due in court to face charges of assault on his girlfriend in february at the suitland home the two shared. instead tonight he is clinging to life in a hospital, shot by police after can kidnapping that same woman who moved to the district and was hiding from him. it is not clear he figured out where she was. he headed out on a murderous rampage that ended at 11th and h streets in northeast washington. by the time it was over an officer at the census bureau had been shot and killed a d.c.

police sergeant shot and two others injure. the kidnapping victim 20 years old, did manage to get away from anderson in that confrontation at the gates of the census bureau. coming up on news4 at 5:00 this is certainly not ronald anderson's first brush with the law. evidence of the chaotic shoot-out along the h street corridor lasted well after sunrise. it left some residents and business owners uneasy and inconveniented. police activity kept the street blocked off for much of the morning rush. one shop owner said she wasn't able to open on time this morning. >> my employee everybody waiting here but they already go back home. >> our team of reporters will continue to work sources and get you new information on air and on the nbc washington app throughout the evening. i'm wendy rieger at the live desk. yet another member of the secret service is in trouble with the

law this evening. a uniformed division officer, arthur baldwin, was arrested in d.c. earlier this morning. according to the court documents, police were called to baldwin's ex-girlfriend's home in southeast d.c. for the report of a burglary. when they arrived, they found the door of the home had been kicked in and two windows broken. the woman there said her ex-boyfriend wouldn't leave her alone. baldwin left before police arrived, but he did return to that home while police were still investigating. officers say he did admit to kicking down the door. but he says he didn't break the windows. baldwin now faces charges of attempted burglary and destruction of property. this arrest comes just one day after we learned a secret service supervisor was being suspended for making unwanted sexual advances to a co-worker. at the live desk i'm wendy rieger. >> right now we're following an all-out manhunt under way in the annapolis area. anne arundel county police officers k-9 teams and recruits

are searching for the man who shot one of their own and critically injured him. this happened overnight at a 7-eleven in the town of arnold. someone inside the store told the officer on patrol there's someone hanging around outside who seems suspicious. >> he went up to that person some type of trouble ensued where they both ran. the suspect ran from the officer. at that point, a gunshot was fired by the suspect, triking our officer. >> the officer called for backup before the shooting then stopped answering his radio. the first officers to get there found him lying on the ground wounded about a few hundred feet from the store. he's in critical condition in shock trauma in baltimore. an ashburn teenager died from bacterial meningitis, but health officials say there's no danger to others. madison small got sick suddenly early this week and died.

the county health department says it has gotten a number of calls about possible exposure to the infection but says there's no evidence of an outbreak. broad run is now on spring break and the school has already been cleaned. coming up on news4 at 4:45 how classmates are keeping her memory alive. ready to run. first at 4, it's the story that the probably going to have a lot of you talking this weekend. why the start of hillary clinton's campaign could actually be rather low key. and caught on camera. a shocking new look at that tornado outbreak as it happened. has a lot of people dealing with

police want to find a person who hit a jogger with their car and then took off. it happened at the intersection of ox road and zion drive in braddock in fairfax county. a woman was jogging in a crosswalk when someone in a

small gray sedan made a right turn on the road and hit her. she's expected to be okay. if you have any information, please call police. we have some new information about a crash that tied up traffic for hours. two people died in a crash last night in the southbound hov lanes of i-395. virginia state police say robert trim from springfield was driving the wrong way when he hit another car and that caused a chain reaction. trip died and so did the 75-year-old man who he allegedly hit. police are still looking for any witnesses to come forward. what really happened? first at 4, brand-new information in a controversial police shooting and whether police believe the officer's side of the story. cloudy chilly and potentially stormy for some. storm team 4 is keeping busy right now, but what's on the other side of the weather tonight will be worth the wait.

right now, storm team 4 radar is tracking a line of springtime storms. it's a forecast that's been changing throughout day. amelia segal has the most up-to-date forecast in about three minutes. but first new details about the investigation into that deadly police shooting of an unarmed man in south carolina. >> law enforcement officials are now revealing they were doubtful from the beginning about the version of events given by the police officer charged in the case. nbc's sarah dallof is live in

north charleston south carolina weather those new developments. sarah? >> reporter: well good evening, chris and pat. michael slager initially claimed that walter scott tried to grab his tayer, but investigators now say they were questioning his story long before that cell phone video ever surfaced. we heard from scott's family who said they believe charges wouldn't have been filed without that video. this new information leads us to believe investigators may have been on the right track before that. they say when they saw that cell phone video it really confirmed their suspicions of what happened. in the past 24 hours we've seen te re lease of a dashcam video showing the stop that brought the two men together. at first it appears to be a very routine stop. scott was pulled over for a faulty taillight. he and the officer chat. the officer returns to his car. then he opens the door and makes a run for it. there's no video in between what happened there and where that

cell phone video picks up that very disturbing video where you see the officer firing eight shots and walter scott falling to the ground. the mother of the officer, michael slager's mother, is speaking to the media. she expressed her condolences to the scott family. she says they are two families greatly affected by what has happened two families that are grieving. back to you. >> thank you. this is a story a lot of you have been sharing and talking about all day. the college basketball player who'd been battling cancer has died. lauren hill was 19 years old and she played for mt. st. joseph university near cincinnati. last year doctors gave her weeks to live but that was a year and a half ago. so she kept playing. and in doing so inspired millions of people with her never-give-up motto. lauren helped raise more than $1.5 million for cancer research. holy [ bleep ].

going right over the bridge. >> these storm chasers shot sh this video at northern illinois as they experienced the massive storm first hand. now, most people were trying to get out of the way of last night's huge tornado, but there are people who take this seriously and drive right into potentially dangerous weather to record the storm. >> storm chasers also captured this video. winds near the tornado were so strong a truck flipped over an its side as a result as the tornado crosses the highway. you can see the debris being launched into the air. emergency crews started going door to door to check on people after that storm passed. some of us could get some storms of our own before the end of this day. >> amelia nothing like what we just saw there, but what are we looking at? >> well we could see some storms developing especially south of washington containing some heavy rain potentially even some small hail and isolated damaging wind gusts. if you notice our graphics are red today, under a weather alert

through the evening as we continue to track the potential for the isolated strong to severe storms moving through the area. that is your first weather headline. showers for most of us few storms for some gorgeous weekend, though right on into next week. all in all, the weather is looking good after this cold front clears the area during these evening hours. d.c. metro area for the most part dry potentially, some light showers in parts of southern maryland but this cell just developing. you can see right along the i-81 corridor just to the east of winchester moving over luray. as this continues to move toward the east myself and veronica going to continue to track it. here's the latest timing if all else remains equal. it will be making it into washington not d.c. but washington on the map by about 4:38. warrenton by about 5:17. and gainesville by about 5:23. containing some heavy rain but no lightning right now. storms are going to favor areas where we see warmer temperatures today and more sunshine as well. you can see luray is one of those spots. warrenton is as well.

and fredericksburg also camp springs coming in at 61 washington at 60 degrees. for the remainder of the day, these temperatures for mainly the d.c. metro area, if you're south, know your temperatures will be as much as 10 degrees warmer north, about five degrees cooler. 65 at 6:00 p.m. with a few showers at 8:00. showers around the northern neck and southern maryland by 10:00 p.m. the entire area is dry. clouds begin to break up and a temperature of 60 degrees. now future weather showing you the timing. notice at 5:00 some heavy rain down in parts of st. mary's county and the northern neck. by 6:00, d.c. metro mainly that rain and thunderstorm activity still focused south of the metro area. by 8:00 p.m. we have clearing skies. so if you're heading out tonight, might want to grab the small umbrella. you don't need your rain boots, but i would recommend a jacket as well heading out for your friday night dinner. it is going to get chilly. temperatures dip into the 50s and eventually 40s where we'll begin tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. overall it's a nice day.

sunshine wind out, breezy for midday and afternoon, and we hit a high temperature of 66 degrees at about 3:00 in the afternoon. it gets better on sunday. 69 for a high. we lose the winds but keep the sun. plenty of sunshine around on sunday. monday clouds will slowly be increasing throughout the day. high temperature of 75. a bit breezy on monday and there's the chance of a few showers on tuesday, mainly earlier in the day. not bad with the temperatures. 70 degrees. then we'll keep you dry next wednesday through friday with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. chris, coming up in a little bit, i'll have the latest on the cherry blossoms if you're heading down to the tidal basin. what you can expect there and what i think is going to be the best day to go there and check them out. >> thanks amelia. peak bloom. all right. remember this? well of course you do. it was only about a month ago we had it here. we may be dealing with some annoying rain but take a look at this. snow falling across michigan overnight. there were at least 7 inches there. get this they're expecting more

along with strong winds and freezing temperatures. a viral video gets results. the disturbing video that has many parents talking. it was a day that soldiers and civilians will never forget. the special honor today for the survivors of a real tragedy at ft. hood. and as our forecast changed, storm team 4 was busy updating the nbc washington app.

a video shows a toddler rounding in a market. the man runs after him, hits him in the face knocking him to the ground and grabs the boy by one arm and shoves him to a woman, who takes the child away. this video was posted on facebook last night. police arrested the man on child endangerment charges this morning. the toddler was checked out by a medical team and was said to be fine today. a mother and daughter made it out of a car that plunged into an ocean but their 13-year-old boy was killed. a family of four drove off a shoreline and went into the harbor. the parents were able to swim back to shore, but divers found the car submerged in 30 feet of

water with the two boys trapped inside. the 8-year-old remains in critical condition tonight and right now police are investigating the incident as an accident. the jury is done deliberating for the day in the case of the former nfl player accused of murder. aaron hernandez is charged with the shooting of odin lloyd. lloyd, a semipro player at the time, was dating the sister of hernandez's fiancee. hernandez's lawyer acknowledged the former patriots player was there when lloyd was killed but says he didn't do it. the jury will resume deliberations on monday morning. you've now got less than five days if you're among the millions who have yet to file your 2014 tax returns. irs has processed more than 99 million returns so far. about a third of americans still need to file or request an extension. the average of all of the refunds issued at this point comes out to about $2,800. arm articlelington county is going

to start using digital scanner vote mag sheens. the electoral board approved the plooufs night. the new system yous a paper ballot but it's then scanned into the ballot box. the machines are supposed to speed up voting at the polls and provide backups of ballots. they're also compliant with virginia law. the system will begin with the democratic primary in june. jumping into the race. new details about the announcement that many in washington have been expecting for some time and why it may not be what you expect. >> reporter: it is a beautiful day at the tidal basin. perfect timing for blooms. coming up next, what you're missing if you're not here. here's a look at storm team 4 radar. this is a forecast that just keeps on changing. a lot of you could see some rain and possibly even storms.

♪ 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. ♪ springtime showers and storms right now at 4:30. we' keeping a close eye on a forecast that's been changing by the hour. right now those showers and even some storms are moving across the region. >> a lot of people want to know is this going to ruin the cherry blossoms? amelia what do you think? >> well i think that the breezy conditions are going to have more of an impact on the cherry blossoms than any rain that would be moving through the area, through washington this evening.

so your cherry blossom forecast for tomorrow it will be breezy especially around the midday and afternoon hours. of course that's bad for the flowers. might want to grab a light jacket if you're heading to the tidal basin tomorrow pap bit of a chill. as long as you do that though it will be just fine. sunday warmer almost the perfect time to check out the blossom, monday still gorgeous temperatures eve an little warmer and the national park service saying peak bloom will be sunday through tuesday. so this is the weekend to go. now, here's the latest on storm team 4 radar. i'm tracking this line of rain developing. no lightning right now. impacting reston at 5:25 and fairfax at 5:43. this is a cold front that moves through. more on the timing of this coming up in a little bit. the speculation appears to be coming to an end. nbc news has learned hillary rodham clinton's cam pin kickoff is likely to happen on sunday on social media. nbc's edward lawrence has new

details. >> don't you someday want to see a woman president of the united states of america? >> reporter: former secretary of state hillary clinton will finally announce her presidential bid in a video message over social media. then do intimate events with voters in primary states. >> humility is the word of the hour and going and meeting voters and relating to them as human beings and revealing more of herself. >> analysts say the big splashy events from clinton's first run in 2008 didn't connect with voters. sunday she will immediately be the front-runner for democrats. >> i think she's going to be head and shoulders above anybody. >> reporter: she won't have to spend as much in he primary as republicans will for theirs. >> this is going to be the most expensive presidential campaign in history. >> reporter: about $2 billion spent when it's all done and she'll need it. new polls show voters in free

three primary states giving low marks for being trustworthy largely because of erasing e-mails and what she knew about benghazi. the gop today released an attack ad on youtube. >> this is just par for the course for the clintons. they're always will it built secretive. >> no more secrecy. no more zone of privacy. after all, what do me? >> reporter: this time around clinton says it will be different. >> i'm back! >> reporter: as she tries to shatter glass ceiling. right after the announcement on sunday she's expected to travel to iowa and new hampshire for small events to meet voters. in washington edward lawrence nbc news. president obama and cuban president raul castro are expected to talk tomorrow at the summit of the americas in panama. that's according to the white house. we've also learned the two leaders talked on the phone yesterday -- wednesday, rather before the president left washington. it was at least their second

phone conversation. they spoke in december right before they northern plainsed plans to restore diplomatic ties and they shook hands and spoke briefly at nelson mandela's memorial service in 2013. an emotional ceremony at ft. hood. military survivors of the shooting in 2009 were awarded the purple heart. civilians and families of the victims were given medals pap lot of them say today's ceremony is long overdue. the army did not agree to confer the medals until congress changed the criteria that governs the purple heart. an army major, nidal hassan was convicted of the murders in 2013 and sentenced to death. going to be a beautiful weekend and the cherry blossoms are expected to peak. >> that's right. kristin wright is down at the tidal basin. boy, we're really jealous of you right now. how is it looking out there? >> reporter: it's beautiful.

it's beautiful. when we set out this morning i really wasn't sure to be honest because it was cold it was drizzly. i didn't know who we'd find out here. but let me tell you, all day long we've been here since this morning, we've seen a steady stream of people stopping along the tidal basin. they are taking pictures. they're showing their children. they're spending time with their families. they're just looking at how beautiful the blooms are. and the timing like i said is just perfect this year. and people understand that because sometimes some years things just don't turn out the way you want to and you just see buds. but this year the blooms are perfect for the weekend. we've met people from everywhere people from near and far, a lot of first-timers to the cherry blossom festival. they are excited to be here. they say it's just beautiful. take a listen. >> we knew once they bloomed, as many as there were it would be so beautiful. that's the reason we came up here just to see the cherry festival.

>> reporter: are they as beautiful as you've seen them in the pictures? >> more much more beautiful like that. i really just want to touch one. >> reporter: we met one couple from tennessee who they couldn't find any great blooms. they're happy that they came back a few days later today and just looked around. it's just gorgeous. if you can get out here this weekend, you really should. there is the cherry blossom festival parade happening tomorrow as well as some children's activities. should be a really good time. back to you guys. >> all right. take some more great pictures, kristin. >> reporter: i will. a reminder, the georgetown business improvement district plans to widen sidewalks with temporary barriers along ann street to help accommodate all of the extra cherry blossom visitors. so expect more space for pedestrians and more parking restrictions in that area beginning tonight at 6:30 through sunday at 5:00 in the afternoon. kids and technology. should you wait to introduce your children to those gadgets

we all use or could some early exposure actually h them? storm team 4 radar watching a line of rain that's about to move into northern virginia. and some of us could see stormy weather before the end of the night.

you don't need a smart watch to know how quickly apple's new

offering sold out. the apple watch went on sale and just like that it's gone. the company started taking preorders today on its apple watch, but due to the immense demand most of those models won't even ship until june. they were supposed to be delivered in two weeks. people descended on apple stores across the country today to try on and preview the watches. ipads in kindergarten. there have been some concerns about that but there are apparently significant benefits to having them in kindergarten classrooms. that's according to a study from northwestern university. it found that student who is shared ipads with their peers greatly outscored those without ipads on literacy tests. that's regardless of demographics. the combination of technology and collaboration with peers had the greatest impact on learning. well since this weekend is going to be so nice, it might tempt you to open the windows and let the nice breeze in. consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here now with a warning. if you do decide to open the windows. erika? >> that's right, pat. because if you have children

that open window could very well be an overlooked hazard. coming up tonight on news4 at 5:00 preventing window falls. thousands of thirn fall through the screen of open windows each year but parents and caregivers can prevent those falls for as little as a $15 fix. you can watch one of those lifesaving steps right now on our consumer watch facebook page and i'll have some more coming up tonight on news4 at 5:00. pat, back to you. >> thanks, erika. i'll take it. smuggling cigarettes in stores a lot of people probably viz all the time. why our area plays a role in the black market. the news4 i-team goes on the tobacco trail. on storm team 4 radar, i'm tracking a line of rain that goes from loudoun county all the way down to around the roanoke area ahead of a cold front. when this clears our area and what it means for weekend temperatures .

♪ ♪ wow something sounds sweet in here!!!! ♪ ♪ need a little honey in the bowl. yeah!!! badabopbopbopa!!! no? must be the honey!!!

right now first at 4, storm team 4 keeping a close eye on a line of storms that will soon arrive in our area. >> this is one of those day where is things have been changing by the hour and some of us could be seeing some storms pretty soon. >> amelia what are you seeing right now? >> what i'm tracking is cloudy skies over the d.c. metro area arias north and west only some limited sunshine trying to break out where temperatures have remained cooler. it's areas south of washington

where there's still a bit of a concern from strong to isolated severe storm developing as this line that i'm tracking on storm team 4 radar continues to move off to the east. you can see a little bit of heavier activeity moving into part of faulkier county. this is the cold front that's going to muf through our area and behind it it sets us up for a beautiful weekend. here's the latest timing on this rain. gainesville getting some rain about 5:17 gaithersburg at about 5:30. fairfax, 5:45. and burke just before the 6:00 hour. and again, as this line continues to move toward the east we can see it intensify, especially around charles, calvert, st. mary's counties, fredericksburg and the northern neck. elsewhere severe weather is highly unlikely this evening. so your evening rain chances 6:00 p.m. still there for the d.c. metro area 7:00 p.m. as well. by 8:00 even the threat of a thunderstorm quickly drops off. 9:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m. most if not all of the area is dry. so heading out this evening maybe grab that small umbrella.

know you won't need to use it. more importantly i'd recommend a jacket. don't need the rain boots. your impact forecast for tomorrow it's low, breezy pollen levels are up for the allergy suffererers out there. seasonable with plenty of sunshine. your weekend outlook all in all, great for yard work, cherry blossoms peak bloom forecast. to start on sunday exercising outdoors the typical spring forecast with warm mornings stunning afternoons. 50s and 60s for the washington metro area. washington at 63 and bowie at 59. again, here's the latest. tracking this line of course veronica will continue to track it through news4 at 5:00 and 6:00 bringing you the latest but for tomorrow morning, dry, temperature around 49. by the midday we jump up to around 60. it's breezy for the midday and afternoon hours but beautiful sunshine 66 for a high. 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening a

temperature around 61. this is sunday morning. it's a cold start especially in the most rural areas. you want to be aware of that. temperatures generally in the mid-30s for those in the suburbs. 43 for a low temperature in washington. look at the high on sunday. 69 degrees. plenty of sunshine relatively calm winds. it's a bit breezy but mild on monday a high of 75. chance of showers in the forecast on tuesday, especially earlier in the day. a high temperature around 70. next wednesday, thursday and friday keeping it mainly dry. temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. i'm wendy rieger at the live desk. we have just learned that the ten san bernardino sheriff's deputies have been put on leave after that video showed them beating and kicking a man who was accused of stealing a horse. our sister station out in l.a. shot this video from their chopper on thursday. it shows deputies chasing the

man in southern california. the man was on a horse. he gets off. he is handcuffed and this begins to happen. they taze him and begin to kick and punch him. again, he's on the ground and he's handcuffed. nbc counted a total of 37 punches, 17 kicks, and now 10 sheriff's deputies in san bernardino county are on leave. back to you. the newest twist in the underground world of cigarette smuggling exposed by the news4 i-team. agents say it's now happening in broad daylight. >> that's right. the i-team's scott mcfarlane goes undercover on the tobacco trail which starts at some stores you've likely visited yourself. >> reporter: 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 product. >> reporter: paul carey says this is where he's now seeing the tobacco smuggling trail begin. he's the enforcement coordinator with the northern virginia cigarette tax board. >> they buy anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 worth of cigarettes some go as high as $170,000 worth at one time. >> they're able to do it by logging on to this virginia government website. >> they need to create a fictitious account. >> reporter: where in minutes 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 and use certificate. >> reporter: with the agreement they'll pay back the sales tax to the state once the product is resold. >> most of the box stores costco sam's club b.j.s, supply cigarettes to small mom and pop-type businesses. >> reporter: when the news4 i-team started digging we found some businesses are not as they appear. here's one of the big buyers we

watched for weeks. it's early on a tuesday morning at a warehouse store 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 multiple addresses in the fredericksburg area. one of them a house in an upscale subdivision. >> the destination is on your right. >> reporter: another is an industrial lot, no sign at the door the windows covered. he also listed this address in glenn allen, virginia. when we arrived we found it's nothing nor than a vacant lot filled with trees. this suspected smuggler one of hundreds carry carey and his team have been for suing and he's suspected of buying $10 million worth of cigarettes in six months. >> the fake companies have increased probably in the last,

like year year and a half tremendously. >> reporter: as the news4 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 profits selling the cigarettes. we easily found and bought smuggled cigarettes supposed to be sold only in the commonwealth. >> box stores know there's something afoot when this is happening. >> reporter: a spokesman with virginia's department of taxation which issues those special certificates say they do hear from stores about big buyers and know there are false businesses telling the i-team it's part of our audit process to verify their location. they've conducted more than 1,700 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 tack situation, whether a company is registered as a sales and use dealer.

but paul carey is skeptical about its impact saying that would still not provide red flags about possible smugglers who have signed up. scott mcfarlane news4 i-team. virginia legislators have tried to tackle this problem but can't agree how to do so. the investigation continues tonight on news4 at 6:00. meantime, the taxation department told the i-team it welcomes any tips about possible problems and we put that number on our website at nbcwashington.com along with more information about their audit program. just click on investigations. now some stories we're working on right now in our newsroom. just a day after a big arrest in a high-profile hit-and-run, hear from the mother of the groom-to-be who was hit and killed while he was parked along the side of a highway. plus a local police officer finds he's on the wrong side of the law this afternoon, and this officer won't be back on the streets anytime soon. she died suddenly last

weekend, leaving an ashburn, virginia, community devastated. now we're learning more about the illness that took the life of madison small and the outpouring of support from friends. news4's chris gordon is in ashburn. >> reporter: the loudoun county health department today confirmed 18-year-old madison small died of meningitis. she went here to broad run high school in ashburn, virginia. she was a senior captain of the girls softball team. >> the students sort of impromptu said why don't we wear pink for madison today, a show of support of madison small, a student we lost obviously earlier in the week. >> reporter: at 5:00 madison's dad tells me how the community has reached out to comfort the family and honor her memory. that's the latest from ashburn, virginia. chris gordon news4. tangled pieces of buildings and belongings. right now millions of people are cleaning up from a devastating round of storms and they could be just the beginning. >> we are staying on top of some

strong weather of our own. storm team 4 is tracking the chances of rain and storms. watch for updates as they come in all evening. >> reporter: i'm tracee wilkins. coming up on news4, we are learning more about the security guard who gave his life outside of the census bureau yesterday.

storm team 4 radar is

lighting up as rain and maybe thunderstorms move into the area but who sees what and when? v.j. will join us in a few minutes but it has been a long day for a lot of the country. over the last few days millions have seen strong storms and eve an tornado outbreak. now we know two people did not survive. nbc's jay gray is following this developing story. the violent storm splintered or swallowed everything in its massive path. the intensity and magnitude of the funnel overwhelming. >> very scary. and one of that size. i had to take a double take because i've never seen anything that big in my life. >> reporter: the aftermath almost unbearable. >> the worst thing i've seen. >> cars and trucks tossed aside, roofs torn away power lines downed the tiny town of farm dale wiped away. but there is an even bigger loss this community struggles to deal with as they work to clear away

debris debris. >> unfortunately, two people have lost their lives in this terrible storm. >> reporter: a search continues now for others still missing. >> we're hopeful that our search will be fruitless in the sense that we won't find anybody, but we're going to go through all the spaces. we've gone through the buildings a number of times and so far we haven't found any additional folks. >> reporter: that hope may be one of the most important factors in the recovery here. delivered by neighbors along with the basic necessities so many will need for the difficult day ace head. jay gray, nbc news. news4 at 5:00 starts now with pat and wendy. new information at 5:00 in that deadly rolling rampage that ended in a hail of gunfire in one of db's trendiest corridors. >> tonight we know who the suspect is. police say 48-year-old ronald anderson kidnapped a woman and killed a census bureau security guard last night.

>> that woman escaped and anderson took off, exchanging shots with officers several times until he was taken down in a shoot-out at h and 11th streets in northeast. >> we just obtained new documents that show anderson was supposed to appear in court today accused of assaulting his girlfriend back in february. >> also new tonight, our first look at the innocent man who was killed. 59-year-old lawrence buckner. he was the guard at the census bureau and he is leaving behind a wife children and grandchildren. >> we have live team coverage right now getting the answers to the big questions that remain in this case. er starting with jackie bensen and breaking information about the accused shooter. jackie? >> reporter: pat, we've just learned something and it adds to the timing of this why it happened when it happened. we've learned that the suspect was due in court today to face assault charges because of an incident in february involving the woman he is now accused of kidnapping. 48-year-old ronald anderson's

deadly rampage appears to be related to a february 17th incident at the suitland maryland apartment he showed with hi girlfriend. court records indicate neighbors called 911 after hearing noise next toor and when officers arrived the victim was shaking, crying and whispering while speaking because she was afraid of the suspect hearing her. the documents go on to say the victim reluctantly stated that anderson smacked her several times causing her to fall into the walls of the hallway, bedroom, and bathroom. the officers noted the victim had her 10-month-old son with her. the victim who's 20 moved out of the apartment shortly afterward and attempted to keep her whereabouts hid frn anderson. it is not clear how he discovered where she was yesterday. this is not the first time ronald anderson has been involved in