the nra and its campaign cash are what stands between us and gun reform. "searing tragedy struck in a place parents felt their children were safe" chris van hollen met with nra lobbyists to craft a loophole that would let the nra skirt a new campaign finance law and block gun control. but democrat donna edwards said "no" to the nra loophole and stood up to the gun lobby. and she would ban assault weapons. democrat donna edwards, maryland's next senator. working for us pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. news4 at 11:00 begins with breaking news. that breaking news tonight in temple hills, maryland. two firefighters and a civilian shot, both firefighters in critical condition.

they were worried about a person in a home on sharon road. the caller went to the door with two firefighters and that's when the shooting started. we have team coverage tonight. >> we begin back in the neighborhood where it all went down tonight. jackie bensen has the latest from police. jackie? >> reporter: this is the type of call firefighters do every week, sometimes every day. now, it happened about 7:30 and resulted in a lockdown of this neighborhood, which is just off branch avenue. we know there was a 911 call by a concerned citizen, someone worried that the occupant of a home on sharon road was in medical distress. a fire engine and ambulance responded, meeting the 911 caller at the house. when they're knocking on the door and got no response, there was concern that the occupant's

threatening. at that time, a decision was made to force entry into the home and try and help him. here's how police chief hank stewinski describes what happened then. >> they were in the process of trying to gain entry into the home to ascertain the condition of the person inside. as that process is unfolding, the shots ring out. >> reporter: we know that the two firefighters were shot. one, according to the chief, was shot multiple times. the concerned person, the one who was less seriously -- excuse me, the concerned person, the one who called 911, was also shot. he was less seriously injured. we can tell you that police have told us that they went into the house and took this suspect into custody. they are speaking to him right now. jackie bensen, news4. >> jackie, thank you. our team coverage continues now at southern maryland hospital center.

route 5 in clinton. >> we're expecting officials to update us soon, but what can you tell us about what it's like where you are? >> reporter: chris, the mood is very somber here at the hospital. police, firefighters are all gathered here outside the emergency room exit behind me. let me move right out of the way. you can zoom in over there and you can see them. they are over there, we saw people hugging, many had sad looks on their faces. let's roll some video. medics flew one of the firefighters here. we're told he's in extremely critical condition. medics flew the other firefighter to baltimore. we're hearing he's in critical condition. one of these firefighters were responding, he's a senior member of the department. the other one was from an engine department, described as a junior member. we're looking to learn how long they've been with the department.

hospitals. >> right now the families are with both members and i -- at this time, i'm not able to release their specific condition. we're still waiting on some other information to come in before we provide that. >> reporter: now, county executive baker is also here at the hospital. officials have not released the name of the firefighters. i just found out literally, while you heard the firefighter talking, well, there's supposed to be a noose conference with new information within the next five minutes. that's what i was just told. we will bring you that live here on nbc washington news4. shemari stone. back to you in the studio. >> five minutes we'll be coming right back to you. this is the fourth time we've had to tell you about

shot in the line of duty. in february, ashley gwendon was responding to a call and was shot and killed. it was her first day on the job. two weeks later, a man got into a shootout with prince george's county police, trying to get officers to kill him. officer collison was hit by friendly fire and died. and then a man shot a virginia state trooper at a bus station in richmond. he was just trying to talk to the man during a training operation. we want to give you a recap of what we know about tonight's shooting. two firefighters responding to that medical call on sharon road in temple hills were shot and critically injured. they were hit around 7:30 this evening. one was rushed to southern maryland hospital center, the other the shock trauma in baltimore. a third person was also shot but not seriously injured. about an hour ago, police updated us on the shooting.

half hour. stay with news4 and our nbc washington app for new developments in the case. we're also learning new developments about that crash that injured a maryland state trooper. police say trooper ezra is still in critical condition after a car hit his cruiser on the beltway thursday. today, we learned more about the chain of events that led to that collision. investigators say this mercedes was hit from behind from another vehicle and crashed right into the trooper's parked car. the driver of the mercedes was a 60-year-old man. he's still in the hospital awaiting charges. a week of democracy string protests at the capitol ends with close to 150 people arrested, including actress rosario dawson. dawson has been retweeting reports of her arrest tonight. we reached out to capitol police to confirm that.

presidential candidate bernie sanders, who has maligned the role of money in politics. protesters want the supreme court to overturn the citizens united decision that allows unlimited political spending by corporations. someone carjacked a 76-year-old woman right after she walked out of her church in silver spring. we're not identifying her, but she tells us last night she left the meeting at the episcopal church of our savior and noticed a man walking along the road and hustled to get into her vehicle. that's when she came up and demanded money. >> before i could get the door closed, he was at the door and he said, give me your money. he backed up the car after he threw me out of the car and i thought he was going to run over me. >> the woman was rattled but not seriously hurt. she was able to walk to a gas station where people helped her call pole. the highlander has maryland

call the police if you have any information about it. police have arrested a fairfax county employee for a sex assault that shocked a local community. malcolm hall faces attempted rape charges. investigators say he entered an unlocked centerville apartment and sexually attacked a 77-year-old woman. the crime alarmed people at the forest glenn at sully station complex. most of the residents are elderly or disabled. fairfax county fired hall from his part-time job, pending an investigation. tomorrow marks 28 years to the day a man from virginia simply vanished. now police are hoping someone comes forward to solve this cold case. this is a look at jerry plaster. he went missing april 16, 19 88 from the manassas mall. tonight, police released this sketch of a man who may have been with plaster when he

video of a student using racially insensitive language has divided the school community in potomac, maryland. the video was posted on twitter today. we're not identifying the student in the video by name. >> now, we don't know what happened before or after this video was shot last saturday night. the student was dismissed from school, but has the right to appeal for reinstatement. his family says he was studying racism in the civil war and was quoting the horrible language in the movie "django unchained." >> when the video was released, i was shocked in just seeing what was said. i think it was an unfortunate situation all around, especially for the community.

students and parents to participate in discussion groups to raise awareness about racism. the student wrote a statement saying he deeply regrets his actions. you can read his full statement on our nbc washington app. we're seeing clear skies. another cool night but quite nice across the region. will the clear skies stick around for the weekend and just how warm can we get? the complete forecast is right after the break. and we're staying on top of the breaking news in prince george's county. a news conference set to begin from southern maryland hospita l

we continue to follow that breaking news. two firefighters critically injured while responding to a medical call at a home in temple hills. >> the suspected shooter is now in custody. jackie bensen is loive with the latest developments. we're waiting for the news conference to come up in a couple of minutes. >> reporter: operations have pretty much shifted down there. in this neighborhood in temple hills, we've seen a dialing down of the situation in the last 15 minutes or so. when we first arrived tonight, i think we have video to show you what it looked like. police blocking every intersection. when we got close to the home on sharon road where this was taking place, we were told y

safe to be here. because at that time police did not know for sure if the suspect was in custody, which as you said he is and we understand that police are talking to him. again, this is the situation where emergency responders were called here for a report of a man who might be in medical disstress in a home. they met the caller at the home. could not make contact with the person inside. they made the decision to force entry, according to police. and at that time, there was a shooting. again, we understand that one of the two firefighters who was shot, was shot several times. the 911 caller, the person who initially had firefighters come there, also injured. so that is the scene here right now as this scene is dialing down. jackie bensen, news4. >> we want to go back to this live news conference now at the hospital. let's listen in. >> we've got a news conference

this county is, for the second time in five weeks, grieving the loss of a member of our public safety family. we're going to begin by bringing up deputy chief ben barksdale of the prince george's county fire department. >> this evening, at around 7:30, our paramedic and rescue engine responded to the 5,000 block of sharon road to assist a person who was nonresponsive. they knocked on the door and received no answer. so they began to force entry so that they could render care. it was as they were forcing entry that several rounds were fired from the house, through the door, striking two fire department personnel.

pair paramedic john homshneider and volunteer kevin swayne. sadly, fire paramedic john homschneider succumbed to his injuries, he was a 13-year victory of the ems and fire department. the volunteer is in stable condition -- sorry, correction, he's in surgery at this time at shock trauma in baltimore. right now, we're here supporting the family as best as we can, and to begin to prepare to send our brother home. >> this is grant walker, the

prince george's county fire department. >> good evening. thank you for being here. my name is grant walker, acting president of local 1619. thank you to every single person that has reached out to our local, as well as our brothers and sisters from surrounding jurisdictions and the other firefighters from this department in this very difficult time. it's a tragedy. our firefighter was a close friend to many, a very strong community member. and we are thankful for your thoughts and players in this very difficult time as we prepare to honor the life of one of our firefighter paramedics. i would ask that if you guys have any questions, feel free to reach out. i'll be coordinating on behalf of the family as well as the firefighters of prince

county. thank you very much. >> good evening. i am profoundly sorry to be coming before you talking about the loss of a firefighter, the injury of another firefighter, not quite 24 hours after a maryland state trooper was seriously injured on the beltway. this evening, at about 7:30, a relative of the involved individual, a resident of 5007 sharon road, called for assistance because he believed that his relative, the resident of 500 7 was experiencing a medical emergency. they knocked on the door, the door was not answered. at that point, they decided the best course of action was to try to enter the home to check on the individual. shortly after beginning that process, a series of several shots were fired at the firefighters. and two o

were struck, as well as the relative who initiated the concern on behalf of the resident. the resident was apprehended by responding police officers. he is in the criminal investigations division right now, and our detectives are interviewing him. we are currently working through a number of crime scenes, and i unfortunately almost four hours into this don't have a lot more details for you. but i will invite the county executive to come up and make an address and after that, if you have particular questions, i'll endeavor to answer them. thank you. >> once again, unfortunately, i have to go before the people of prince georges county and let them know we lost another one of our brave firefighters doing what they do every day. these men and women put their lives on the line. unfortunately tonight we lost one of them. we have one that is in surgery.

[000:19:59;00] to him and to his family. i met with the officer, firefighter who we've lost, i met with his wife and mom. this is a sad day in the county. as the chief said, this is an ongoing investigation, which is why i'm glad that our states attorney here is here today. as the assistant chief barksdale said, he gave you the background of what happened. it's a sad day for us, but this will be ongoing. as we get more information, we will let you know. right now the main thing we ask for the men and women of prince george's county is for your prayers, your thoughts, as i know that from my family go out to our lost brave soul, and with

that, i will turn it back over to answer any questions. >> he was a volunteer, yes. >> can you tell us if he had a partner, children -- >> yes, his -- as i know his wife is here. his mom, his mother-in-law, several family members. as you can imagine, you know, they're very grief stricken, as all of prince georges county is, and all of this region. we were here not long ago. so yes, they are here right now. yes, he was a father.

he is a father. [ inaudible ] >> what are your thoughts on all this? >> well, the reality is that in the wake of the loss of detective colson and a state trooper was injured, and now we lost a firefighter. and yet you're going to find tonight firefighters and police officers that will be responding to calls, state troopers responding to calls to protect this service. will it ever end? god, i hope so. but at the end of the day, the men and women of public safety are going to be there when the community needs us. that's the reality.

[ inaudible question ] >> right. it's an array of emotions. anger, but this has happened. we were firefighters, we're not armed. we're there to render care, but yet someone starts shooting. while at the same time understanding in this day of age of not knowing who is coming in, maybe someone is breaking in and wanting to protect yourself. so mixed emotions at this time. [ inaudible ] >> absolutely. we have relieved the crews that were at these two stations, but for the remainder of the county, and we have firefighters in to replace them this evening.

but yes, we will not stop delivering i can be done for situations like this? is this man going to face charges? how are you feeling about this? >> i am so sad, it's hard to describe, really. the sorrow is unbelievable in watching, the wife and mother is here, there are small children involved. but when you ask us what we'll do about it. it's still early. i have two prosecutors on the scene right now. the chief of our homicide division, as well as the prosecutor who will be assigned at this case or at the crime right now. we're going to make sure we work alongside the chief's department. we'll do a very thorough investigation, as we always do, and we will apply the law to the facts as we find them and decide what will happen from here. but tonight, we're here to express our sorrow, to support the men and women of this

department, to wrap our arms around this family. chief of the fire department, all of us together. we're here tonight as humans, as family members. >> anymore questions or are we all set? [ inaudible question ] >> thank you very much. >> any further updates will come out from both the fire department and the police department's twitter pages. thank you. >> we were just listening to that news conference updating us on the shooting of two firefighters. we're now learning that one of them has died and the other one is in surgery up in baltimore. firefighters put their lives on the line every day, and i've got to tell you, the first thing that comes to my mind is, not like this. smoke, flames, you understand. this is hard. >> certainly another difficult and indeed tragic day for public safety, and the community there

in prince georges county. this

paramedic by the name of jo delores kelley: although we were all one maryland, our schools weren't treated the same way. narrator: with neighborhoods getting unequal funding for schools, something had to be done for our children. kelley: it didn't matter where chris was from. he knew that we couldn't leave a child having less just because they lived in a region that was poor. joanne benson: he has not just talked about it. he is going to stand tall for all children to succeed. i'm chris van hollen,

and i approved this message. it's been a tough night. i know you felt it. we can all use a bit of good news here. >> the good thing about the weather, we're going to continue on this great stretch. we have seen some phenomenal weather and it's going to continue right on through the weekend. we have not seen a weekend like this in so long. current temperatures in the low 50s. 52 at the airport. winds out of the south at 8 miles per hour.

and a southerly component, warmer. right now temperatures in the low 40s. down to 40 in warrenton. we're going to cool in some areas, and it will be a cool start to the day tomorrow. then we warm up nicely. no rain, nothing to talk about on the radar. you can see we're clear, all around the region, high clouds towards richmond, but take a look. high pressure, and it dominates. here's the high pressure area and it doesn't allow pressure to move into it. these clouds moving way up into canada, clouds moving back down to the south, and we are stuck in an area of high pressure. that means we're stuck in the sunshine. so cool nights, in the 30s in most locations. 43 inside in city. nice warm afternoons, highs tomorrow upper 60s to around 70 degrees. all of this coming with abundant sunshine. once again, great day on our saturday and a great weekend.

sports lacrosse, baseball, soccer, all looking good. maybe just getting around in your neighborhood, going to be a really good one. if you want to mow lawn, good time to do it. might be a good time to water that lawn, because we'll be on the dry side through the next seven days. 70s, near 80 on monday. 80 again after a cold front tuesday and wednesday. we'll get to 80 again next thursday. next chance of rain next friday. >> doug, thank you. before we leave you tonight, we want to recap our breaking news out of temple hills, maryland. a fire paramedic has died tonight, a volunteer firefighter is in surgery right now at baltimore shock trauma. his name is kevin swayne. >> detectives are interviewing the man who shot them, and the assistant fire chief says we're preparing to send our brother home. >> the latest beginning at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. have a good weekend.

we'll see you back here on mond [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon." tonight, join jimmy and his guests --