rang out at north lake mall on christmas eve. >> they came in one after one from shoppers from mall employees and frightened family members praying their love ones were safe. eyewitness news anchor brittney johnson takes us through the calls and talked to one shopper who was inside the mall that day. >> reporter: these calls give us a different perspective. you can hear the shoppers trying to stay safe as chaos unfolded during the deadly shooting inside the mall. >> i got a text telling me how much she loved me, that she's heard shots. >> as police surrounded north lake mall, dispatchers tried to comfort families that went from shopping to being scared for their lives. >> you guys are all locked safely in the back room. no one is injured. >> eyewitness news obtained 911 calls that reveal how frantic parents tried to get help for their kids when they learned there was a shooting in the mall. >> is there more than one

can you please tell me? >> they said there's a shooting there. >> the automobile fear takes chad back to being packed in a hallmark store where strangers huddled following news updates on their phone. >> different people would try to come to terms with it. it was an emotional deal. >> it started when two groups got into an altercation. off duty cmpd officer thomas ferguson responded and said dae'quan westbrook pointed a gun at him. the officer shot and killed westbrook. less than an hour before that, greer says he ran into officer ferguson. >> small talk about football and the kids and merry christmas, you know, have a great day. he was shocked at the violent turn of events but grateful the officer and mall employees kept shoppers safe. >> thankful and respectful of him for being able to be there and just heartbroken for the young man that was on the other side of it. >> cmpd is still investigating this shooting.

from north lake mall, brittney johnson, channel 9 eyewitness news. thank you brittney johnson. we posted the full 911 calls on our website, wsoctv.com. find it inside brittney's story on the home page. back to breaking news out of hawaii where this video was released of this tour helicopter crashing into the water near pearl harbor. this chopper just dropped out of the sky. and it starts to spin right in the ocean. the coast guard saying that five people were on board as it went down. a 16-year-old boy in critical condition. all of this happening near the u.s.s arizona memorial in pearl harbor which is a popular site for tourists. a lancaster woman accused of shooting a man in the chest this month has been caught hundreds of miles away. police say martina jenkins was arrested in new jersey last night and is now waiting on a hearing to bring her back.

during an argument at their home. he survived. jenkins will now be charged with attempted murder. a man is accused of trying to smuggle cocaine through charlotte's airport using a computer mouse. rocky faces felony possession charges after officers arrested him last week. the tsa posted this picture of the cocaine and the computer mouse. he's accused of using. agents say he concealed it in the battery compartment of the wireless mouse. an investigation into black tar heroin in iredell county led to three arrests, matthew carpenter, michael, and kristin face possession charges. the iredell county sheriff says his office received information about black tar heroin sales around highway 150 and i-77 near mooresville. surveillance and undercover operations led to the arrest. we followed the growing black

it's getting into the charlotte area. last year authorities believed they made a dent in stopping it coming here from the area. a judge sentenced mexican drug cartel leader carlos roacha to 11 years in prison. he shipped more than $1 million worth of black tear heroin into charlotte. two days left until an expected number of voters will turn out for the primaries. saturday's vote will likely make or break several candidates and he's live at one rally right now. greg? >> reporter: that's right, jeb bush just arrived here five minutes ago. he'll hold a town hall meeting in that building behind me. i took a walk around the parking lot here. there's not one empty space. a lot of people are parked on the curb. experts say this may not be about who wins south carolina but who survives it.

the 2012 gop presidential primary. york county republican chairman wes says they'll do better this time. >> there will be absolutely record blow out turn out across south carolina. >> he points to large mostly standing room only events around the state. yet even republicans believe only three of the six remaining candidates may survive beyond sad. >> south carolina can be a great momentum builder for a candidate. or it can be a place where the candidacy comes to die. >> political experts like karen at winthrop university agree partly because she says some campaigns seem stuck in neutral. >> everybody other than trump is following a standard campaign play book. and it's just not working. >> south carolina is the most diverse state to vote so far. she says a large military, evangelical, retiree, and business community gives presidential hopefuls a broad range of voters to court. and in south carolina, delegates are proportional. some are won based on where a candidate finishes in the

others are won but who wins a congressional district. and other candidates have vote their opinion. candidates that drop out after south carolina don't usually do so because of poles or even lack of votes. >> they end up dropping out because they run out of money. >> local republicans here expect a turn out in york county to be very good because all the presidential candidates have stopped here. some of them more than once. live in rock hill. greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. breaking news in the past 90 minutes. north carolina's senate approved changes to voting maps for the state's congressional districts. our crew was there in raleigh for that decision. and coming up next, we're breaking down what this means for the upcoming elections and your vote. north carolina's international guard in charlotte will be home to much larger military aircrafts if approved by congress, a new proposal shows charlotte will

but will receive 8c 17s. the international guard says the c 17 is used for military cargo and shows a shift in an air force structure plan. >> what the c 17 is able to do is more strategic in nature of which the budget and the dod, the department of defense staff has decided as being an emphasis item. >> the c 130s are expected to go to other bases in the country. the north carolina international guard said the hanger in charlotte was built for c 17s. no major adjustments will have to be made. >> covering the carolinas county by county tonight. in iredell county, a 20-year- old was air lifted to the hospital after a serious crash. troopers say shiloh was turning from robinson road on to highway 150 when a truck hit him. the driver went to the hospital with minor injuries. troopers plan to file charges. it's not clear how he's doing

in mecklenburg county tonight, davidson residents can share thoughts about a plan to revitalize their downtown. the town is considering adding shops, restaurants, housing and businesses to the area. and they could also add more parking as part of the catalyst project. neighbors can share their thoughts at a round table that will be held from 6:00 to 7:30 at the davidson college presbyterian church congregation house. >> two high schools have lost their playoff privileges after a fight at a basketball game. the state high school athletic association sent these letters to the principals of north rowan and salisbury high schools. you can see some of the areas are redacted on this letter to protect privacy. the letter says players left the bench to fight at last friday's boy's basketball game. each school must also pay a thousand dollar fine. for the second time this week, families packed out a

reassignment plan that could move thousands of students into different schools. eyewitness news anchor stephanie maxwell takes us inside the debate over why some want to move students in the first place. >> the parents will not fix the fundamental problems. >> between the sign waving and sharp dialogue over charlotte mecklenburg school student reassignment debate today a community conversation about the heart of the issue, diversity. >> we're asking them to think about all children. not just their own children. and that inspired people to be passionate and to speak their mind. >> the conversation has been dividing parents. some afraid their children will be bussed to new schools. others feel all cms skyzooms should be equal and more diverse. for the children living it everyday, diversity is all ready a motivation. independence high school senior hannah says in some of her classes, she's the only black student. >> it pushes me. it makes me go harder. because i don't want to be seen as the one left behind.

par like theirs are. >> today's discussion was facilitated by mec ed. a group that's not taking sides but letting people talk about their feelings. >> we wanted our children to be competent citizens in the world in which they live. that means being comfortable with and being able to work with folks who are different from themselves. other parents believe moving children to skyzooms further from their homestake away parent involvement. >> i think there are other opportunities to really embrace diversity. >> now mec ed will pass along many opinions to cms leaders who have a lot to consider. eyewitness news. part of the board's decision making will be based on the online surveys. we posted a link on wsoctv.com. as well as upcoming forums. look for all that information inside stephanie's story on the

an entire charlotte community brought together by a new football field. how this carolina panthers donation is helping reshape west charlotte high school. >> we managed the mid 50s this afternoon with all the sunshine as we head into the weekend.

will also bring a price. will also brin tonight there's a call for environmental testing at hope well high school in huntersville. it comes nearly two years after channel 9 uncovered a possible cluster of rare eye cancer cases in the area. eyewitness news reporter jim bradley has led this investigation and pushed for answers for the past 20 months. and now he's discovered the call for environmental testing at has hit a roadblock. charlotte mecklenburg schools won't allow access to the hope well campus. >> it's been almost two years

cole from a rare eye cancer began shinning an uncomfortable spotlight on huntersville and hope well high. since then we talked with a dozen patients diagnosed with ocular melanoma that usually strikes 5 people in a million. who attended hope well or live or work nearby. and jay knee who's daughter is one of the victims has repeatedly made the same plea. >> i would like to see them do a test for the soil, the water, in environmental. some building materials in the school. >> state and county health officials have said they see no need for sen environment tall testing but tonight huntersville town commissioner is joining the fight pushing for an independent third party to test the campus for possible environment links to eye cancer. >> if there's something there, let's find it, if there's nothing, let's move on to other theories.

to do testing at hope well high school, you have to have access to hope well. and its buildings and grounds. and right now charlotte mecklenburg schools that controls the access is saying no. county commissioner jim wonders why cms wouldn't allow access at least to ease the minds of residents worried about what is causing the eye cancer cases. >> when you constantly say no, no, no, then you begin to question are you hiding something? i don't think that's the case. but i can't understand why they won't let somebody in? >> they declined the request for interviews but superintendent anne clark explained the decision to deny access by writing it's my understanding that the state reviewed and investigated this concern. in fact, the state health department's investigation involved analyzing data from questionnaires filled out by eye cancer patients. no one has done on site testing

but deputy dhh secretary randal williams says he's fine with cms allowing it. >> if the school system wants to do it to answer these patient's concerns, we would not weigh in on that. >> all of which leaves jim promising to keep pushing against what he sees as cms stone walling. >> when you have this high a concentration of a rare cancer it makes people worry. and you'd like to eliminate every possibility. and i think you absolutely owe people answers. >> in huntersville tonight, it's questions that remain. jim bradley. channel 9 eyewitness news. now tonight, charlotte mecklenburg schools says that it's reaching back out to state and county health officials for direction on what it calls appropriate next steps. mecklenburg counties health director told channel 9 he is not recommending testing at hope well.

problem if cms wants to allow it. commissioners kid well and pucket plan to keep pushing on this issue. we've been reporting on this issue since the summer of 2014. see past coverage by going to wsoctv.com. look right inside jim's story on the 9 investigates page. high clouds acting as a perfect backdrop for a sensational sunset. this is the view from the queen city. it's the same all over the carolinas with these high clouds. nothing going on on live early warning doppler 9. through the midlands, highway 74. through charlotte. a few clouds over the foothills and northern mountains. it's chilling down pretty quickly. down to 29 in banner elk. 43 at boone. 41 jefferson. low 50s along the i-40 corridor. charlotte points south, still safely in the lower 50s. forecast if you're heading outside this evening, readings falling back quickly in the 40s

morning, most neighborhoods bottom out around freezing. near 30 up toward lenoir and hickory, statesville, and mid 20s as you hit the high country. but the sun will be shinning, bus stop forecast, a touch of february chill. still need a coat. maybe gloves too. near freezing at 6:00 a.m. by 8:00 a.m., as the kids get into school. it will be in the upper 30s. a few clouds tomorrow morning in the mountains. that's all. other than that, plenty of sunshine, a few passing clouds. another gorgeous february afternoon. look at the hour by hour forecast, the average high is only 56. pretty much where we will be through mid to late tomorrow afternoon. not bad as we work through the neighborhood forecast, north of charlotte up toward boone, high country getting ready for a great weekend of skiing with all that natural snow. manmade snow has been so cold. temperatures tomorrow will warm smartly as we work our way down toward indian trail.

let's talk about the weekend. there will be a price to pay for the forecast warm up. that price will be in the form of cloud cover. but that's all we see. an increase in clouds all over the carolinas. no chance of rain just yet. with your weekend always in view, saturday we'll have the clouds, lower 60s. a chance of a sprinkle on sunday. but even more warmth with highs in the upper 60s. rain chances however next week start to pick up. at 6:00, we have a future cast to show you of what we're looking at as far as rain totals go. the five-day forecast keeps us high and dry into the weekend. >> the weekend will be left alone though. >> looks good. >> thank you steve. she tried to hire people to kill her ex-husband. now she's heading to prison for ten years and she's speaking out. >> do you think your ex-wife is a changed woman. >> what the judge said was behind his tough sentence. people hunting for jobs and scammers hunting for them. >> it seemed so good. >> next at 6:00, action 9

job scams and four red with a scoop of dirt, west charlotte high school celebrated the ground breaking for the new football field. the carolina panthers actually donated $200,000 to fund the multimillion dollar project. >> eyewitness news reporter joe bruno found out why this is a celebration that the whole community is taking part in. it's not everyday you see cheerleaders at west charlotte high school. or see sir purr and the top cats dancing for that matter. >> they deserve it. they deserve it. the celebration at west charlotte wasn't for the

they only had two wins. at most schools, the reason they were celebrating wouldn't be a big deal at all. charlotte leaders broke ground on a new football field for west charlotte high. the carolina panthers donated to help make it happen. >> today, we are well on our way to restoring the roar. >> but this new field benefits for than just the football team. students say it benefits the school and community. west charlotte is a project for students who perform poorly in the classroom but things are getting better. the graduation rate is improving and the new field is a symbol the best is yet to come. the man who made this day happen wasn't there to see it. former coach mo collins died in october 2014. >> it would mean a lot to him. he brought the school and

say that brother hood still remains. crews are working to build the field for a strong community being rebuilt with it. in west charlotte, joe bruno, channel 9 eyewitness news. and school leaders tell us the field will be ready for the 2016 football season. and you might have to pay a little bit more to see the carolina panthers play in 2016 after their incredible season. nearly 2/3 of tickets will see an increase of between 5 to $12. nonpremium ticks will range from 48 to $195. there will be some renovations made to bank of america stadium this off season. including more concessions and tvs as well as improvements to

a qu channel 9 eyewitness news at 6:00. we begin with major breaking news that could impact lawmakers fights to protect your rights in washington. in the past two hours there was a vote to approve this new congressional map. it changes the u.s. representatives for mecklenburg, several other local counties now it goes on to the house. these changes will impact hundreds of thousands of voters across the area. >> eyewitness news reporter jim bradley has been in raleigh today monitoring the breaking developments and he joins us live with the latest. >> reporter: top republicans hurdled early and often during a special legislative session today called to vote on new maps for the state's controversial congressional boundaries, criticism from democratics wasn't hard the find. >> the republicans in raleigh

there are 10-3. 10 republicans to 3 democratics. we don't believe that's a fair representation. despite their objections, chairman bob insisted major changes announced yesterday will satisfy federal judges who ruled the current districts unconstitutional. >> we achieved everything required of us. >> you feel like the maps are fair. >> absolutely, fair, and legal. just like the other, fair, legal, and constitutional. >> the districts make major changes in charlotte and consolidate many other districts across the state. approval. that. >> it's questionable as to whether this particular map will actually satisfy the judges. >> while the senate has been talking about this map, house