response from district leaders saying that this school's top leaders at salisbury high were suspended but they will not tell us why. it's been one controversy after another for salisbury high school. about two weeks ago, violence erupted at a basketball game between salisbury high and north rowan high. in this video you can see players and some fans apparently brawling on the court. >> it was getting out of hand. people just didn't know how to control themselves. >> the north carolina high school athletic association resumed against both teams leading to a loss of 2016 playoff privileges, a fine, and some students were suspended from game play next year. today the school district confirmed salisbury high assistant principal dr. michelle taylor was suspended without pay two days last week and headpins pal luke brown was suspended with pay wednesday, thursday, and friday of this week. they wouldn't explain why or say if the suspensions have

at the basketball game. >> i would like the know, you know, what was the cause. why two principals were suspended. >> on the phone, one school board member wouldn't talk about the suspensions but assured me steps have been taken to address the fight and ensure it doesn't happen again. >> based on my knowledge of what happened at the game, the board and the superintendent and our athletic directors all together have come together and addressed the issue in the best way that we can. >> yeah, and this week the school district did reach out to the state asking it to reverse its decision and allow both schools to finish out the rest of the year but the state answered no to that question, scott. >> the question is, is it a final no. do you think they'll continue to push the state on this issue? >> reporter: yeah, they are, district leaders say they

students who were at the game that night were not fighting and they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. so they are reaching out to the state today sending off various videos of that fight to prove that about 19 of those students were not involved and they're hoping that they will reverse the suspensions for next year, reporting live in salisbury, tina terry, channel 9 eyewitness news. turning to a major developing story tonight at 6:00, investigators are getting closer to trying to understand what led to a terrifying shooting rampage in a small kansas community. police and coworkers saying that 38-year-old cedric ford is the one responsible. just before 5:00 on thursday, officials say he first opened fire from his car on other drivers. two people were hurt before he drove to his workplace. there investigators say he shot one person in the parking lot of the industrial plant and then went inside. in all, three people were killed and 14 others injured.

painters in the booth. and one of them he shot was the good gentleman that just took me out. took my spot. >> a deputy shot and killed ford. the sheriff says that that likely stopped others from being hurt or killed. months ago ford posted this pick cure and this video of himself on facebook firing a rifle there. he had an extensive criminal record including arrests for burglary and battery. less than two hours before his rampage, deputies served ford with a protection order at work. the team at world news will have much more on this developing story immediately after eyewitness news at 6:00. we've been updating you on breaking news tonight. the crash between a fire truck and two cars in dilworth. investigators say firefighters were on the way to a call when the crash happened outside levine children's hospital. two people from the smaller vehicles did so go for treatment. tonight we're asking what led to the crash. thousands of people are in uptown tonight for the city's

it's one of the most lucrative events for charlotte businesses and the nice weather could bring even more people to the area. eyewitness news reporter ken lemon is live in uptown where the party gets under way later on tonight. ken? >> it's the largest annual event in charlotte. and for a lot of people, it's just getting started. i spoke to several people who told pi they just got in last night. if you look at the lines right over there. you see a lot of people are here to see those games but there are a lot of businesses relying on the same crowd to boost profits during a slow time of year. the festivities are just beginning for tammy hinton and her friends. >> reconnecting with past friendships. >> three of them drove from raleigh. dotty moore came from hampden virginia. the bulk of the economic impact will come from people like them according to the charlotte regional visitors authority. 83% of attendees will travel 50 miles to get here and stay 3.4 nights. last year the tournament

>> it's like nothing i've seen before. >> businesses booming at the hyatt house. all the rooms are booked in what is usually a slow month. >> they're spending money and drinking and eating and enjoying the city. >> operators are passing out menus at local hotels hoping to attract some visitors. >> we're hoping a lot of people step in. >> there are no walk ins. the barber shop is next to the arena and business is up by 50%. the visitors authority says the weather can be a big factor with ciaa. this weekend we expect clear skies. that means a number of attendees and the amount of money spent maybe up. live in uptown charlotte, ken lemon, channel 9 eyewitness news. looking forward to a great weekend, thank you, you can find a full list of the events online at wsoctv.com. we have that and ken's story on

new tonight at 6:00, two teenagers and a third man are accused of forcing their way into an 84-year-old man's home in clover and sticking a gun in his mouth last summer. kyler brake field, jordan brooks. and wesley henny are charged with kidnapping and other charges. it happened on cedar grove road in clover. the trio woke the victim up and demanded money from a safe and ransacked his house. it took workers with shovels and a bobcat more than an hour to clean up this mess. we brought you live pictures as breaking news this morning on daybreak, a driver lost control of this truck. it flipped over and spilled 20,000-pounds of gypsum. the driver was coming from duke energy's marshal steam station in catawba county. a person was taken to the hospital after they were hit by

police cars were on the scene near independence and farming dale drive. when channel 9 got there at 5:00 a.m. officers say a pedestrian that was hurt had minor inge ris. inge investigators say the fire started by food on the stove and caused $7,000 worth of damage. strong wind likely to blame for a downed tree that was hit by a train in rural burke county. a channel 9 viewer sent us photos from the scene showing crews looking at the damage at around lunch time. branches there just sticking out from the front of the engine. crews dug out the tree and then the train was able to continue on. new tonight, the u.s. economy ended 2015 stronger than expected. and that could mean that we're

slipping into a recession. today the government says the nation's economy grew 1% between october and december. experts say we shouldn't celebrate too much though. the economy is still under pressure from the slowing global growth and the strong u.s. dollar. not much moving on wall street the day. at the closing bell, the dow jones closed down 57 points. nasdaq closed up 8 points. uber is officially approved for use at charlotte douglas international airport. officials say uber starting march 1st passengers can be picked up and dropped off from zone d. according to uber passengers, they'll be charged an extra dollar to use the service to and from the airport. tributes continue to pour in tonight for former charlotte city councilman, malachi green. green died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. but eyewitness news reporter jim bradley says his legacy in charlotte as a politician, mentor, and influential voice

community is still very much alive. malachi green's face changed over the years. but not even a long bout with cancer could change the passion he felt for politics and the community long time friend ivan petis says he loved to serve. green was best known by much of charlotte for the two terms he spent on charlotte city council in the 90s. but he kept a finger in politics after words. mentoring malcolm graham. he councilled all of us and gave us political direction. never got in front of us. but made sure he was around to lead us. >> green made one of his last visits to the tuesday morning breakfast. a staple of west side politics. >> it's up to us. >> she was a strong and consistent voice for the west side. until a few months ago spent

the bojangles on west trade. he called it his office. today i sat there with his friends who recalled lively debates about politics and anything else. >> we talk about everything. we don't have any limbs at this table. if you're thin skinned, please don't sit on this end. >> malachi green's smile was contagious but it's his wisdom city councilman james mitchell will remember most. he tried to do it right for 73 years. in charlotte, jim bradley, channel 9 eyewitness news. malachi green's passing brought tributes from many, including the governor, the state. you can find a list of them on our website. go to wsoctv.com. all that sunshine we saw today, it was great. but it didn't do anything for we're exactly where we were i'll show you how much that will change as we head through the weekend. trash pick up could soon be eliminated for homeowners in

pick up the bill. we should not be punished by our choice in housing. next at 6:00, why the city says the property taxes

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this is channel 9 eyewitness news. covering the carolinas. charlotte city officials just faced some tough questions from renters and condo owners who are upset. new at 6:00, eyewitness news reporter jenna deery was there for a very heated discussion. >> this is a for real honest conversation. we're here to listen to you. >> reporter: city leaders opened the floor for feedback. perhaps not realizing the eager crowd they were in front of. they were cut off during a citizen's for rum forum by questions from renters and condo owners. >> the fact that my building

not have any bearing on whether or not my tacks pay for my services or not. this i find discriminating. >> it's an idea that's been four years in the making but is now getting traction. city staff says it could save up to $3.6 million when funds are limited. and expensive feeds like more police officers are on the horizon. >> this is a really sensitive issue. and we recognize that. >> councilman greg says this isn't about moving money around, it's about whether this is a service the city should still provide. >> we're always looking at ways to be more efficient. how we can deliver services to be, you know, to the advantage of taxpayers. >> what's upset these taxpayers, the fact they'd be paying the same tacks single family homeowners do but without getting the services they receive. >> if you're going to cut my services, cut my taxes. that's just fair.

their points would be taken into account before city leaders will make a decision on whether or not to throw out the idea. jenna deery, channel 9 eyewitness news. charlotte city council will go over this again next month. but another citizen's forum is happening march 11th at the government center. charlotte mecklenburg police outlooking for someone they say robbed a grocery store with a knife in east charlotte. they say it happened wednesday night at the save-a-lot in the plaza where the suspect took $300 from the cash register if police. strong winds fueled a fire that destroyed this home on bureau. it started yesterday afternoon with an extension cord outside of the mobile home. the wind then drove the flames toward the home. safely.

preparing for an active shooter situation. we see it happening as recently as yesterday. more than 100 people took part in the active shooter training this morning at the weston hotel in uptown a company hosted this seminar with charlotte mecklenburg police. >> more preparation we can find for them and the more training we can give them is clearly an advantage for them. officer chris cop gave the presentation today. specialist with cmpd. the city of charlotte is partnering with a technology giant to offer summer internships to under privileged children the program with microsoft is part of president obama eat my brother's keeper initiative. microsoft's charlotte campus will offer 360 paid internships and 4,000 career exploration opportunities for charlotte's youth. the president created the program to give children something to do during their summer break as a way to top violence and give them an educational opportunity.

on i-85 in cabarrus county will be shut down for demolition activities as progress continues on the 85 widening project. crews will have the north ramp closed from interstate to u.s. 29 beginning at fine o'clock. they say the closure will remain in place until 6:00 a.m. monday. drivers can detour from the dale earnhardt boulevard exit. let's check in with chief meteorologist steve udelson. sun officially set two minutes ago. clouds. in boone. you can see clouds hanging overhead. notice the snow on the street is gone. come. temperatures all over start to warm up. we're going to see it cool quickly tonight. biting winds over the last few days, certainly die down in the charlotte area. and tarting to calm down across the high country as well. temperatures have cooled quite a bit.

41 statesville and hickory. we're still in the 20s up over the mountains. and here's why i'm saying you don't need a coat if you're heading uptown for a night on the town, you're going to enjoy ciaa action. temperatures cooling off. by 8:00, low 40s in town. upper 30s lincolnton salisbury and hickory. and below freezing in the mountains. by 10:00 or 11:00 tonight, we'll be in the 30s. it's going to be a winter like night. don't worry. this is the start of a warm up. tomorrow, we'll add a few degrees. we'll be in the mid 50s. but i'm forecasting 60s from sunday right through the middle of next week. well above the average high which is 58. with your week always in view. not only do we keep the warm up going. but the sunshine sticks around to mid 60s on sunday. talk about a gem of a day. woe talk about a lot of 5ks. what makes this one a little unique. you run two miles. you stop.

and then run another two miles. i can say a lot about that. have fun. temperatures rising from the 30s to the 40s. the mountains get in the sunshine tomorrow. a gorgeous day. let's keep the future cast going right through sunday. not a cloud to be found. as far as sunshine goes, you're set this weekend. tomorrow, the finals of the ciaa, lots of folks will be hanging around uptown. temperatures look to rise into the mid 50s and cool back in the 40s as the men's game gets under way. philtalk about that in a bit. baseball weather looks great tomorrow with temperatures around 50 as the game gets under way and rising in the mid 50s without a big wind. up in the high country, the wind finally dying down in the mountains. boone looking at lower 50s saturday mid 50s on sunday and i'll tell you what, you're going to have a lot of company if you're heading to the mountains to ski this weekend. the reason is conditions are as good as they've been all season. we've had natural snow. they're making snow to deepen

warm up. it looks like a great weekend on the slopes. my five-day forecast, sunshine as we head through the weekend. mid 50s tomorrow. mid 60s on sunday. and we'll gradually increase the clouds next week. the rain waits until wednesday. find a reason, get outside this weekend.

excuse do o panthers gm dave gettleman made it clear the team wasn't in the business of developing players for other teams. so they want to retain corner back josh norman. he's one of the most coveted free agents in the nfl. he'll hit the market tuesday unless the panthers apply the franchise tag which seems inevitable. that will buy a few months during which the panthers can negotiate a long-term contract. it's a one-year deal. shy of $14 million. the money is right. the security isn't.

gettleman was asked if he thought they'd take unbridge to a potential franchise tag. >> josh is a pro. he's a pro. and no. not at all. because i'm not. >> the eastern conference playoff race is as tight as they come. the hornets are 3.5 games back of third place boston. tonight's date with indiana is particularly important. the two teams met two weeks ago. the first of three regular season importance. a win >> we're going to have to bounce back tonight. >> imagine your marcus page returning from a broken hand to

two maryland in early december. he was primed for a new year. but recently his struggles have become more apparent. coming in the loss to duke when the offense moved away. and page couldn't hit a shot. but he's a senior and a leader and handling a disappointing season as well as you can expect and takes great pride in being a leader for what's been a spectacular season. >> it's opinion a fun ride. although it hasn't been exactly the way i thought it would be. but i have no issues with it and that's just life sometimes. >> big one for your heels tomorrow. they face uva on the road. go get em. >> good weather to do anything. including watch basketball. we're talking about mid 50s tomorrow. warmer on sunday. next shot of rain holds off until the middle of next week. time to clean up the yard. even that will bring nice in this weather. thanks for making us your

at 11:0 tonight, right here, the bombshell endorsement. the presidential race turning personal. the new attacks leveled tonight. rubio going after trump. and chris christie tonight, now saying it's time for president trump. breaking news, the motive in the deadly rampage. the video now discovered, and the notice the gunman got 90 minutes before the shootings. the new head line about the zika outbreak, and pregnant women in the u.s. the miscarriages as well. and the sudden explosion. the little girl grabbing her bag when a hoverboard ignites.