she told police he sexually assaulted her. grabbing her backside with both hands. >> i was very afraid she told me because i didn't know what he would do to me or my children. police believe it was at least the second incident in this park involving that same suspect described as a short latino man in his 20s or early 30s. in one other the victim told police he'd exposed himself to her. >> we, you know, of course take this all very, very seriously. >> lieutenant christian wagner told us the suspect was gone by the time officers got here that day but police have since set up cameras here hoping to spot the suspect. no luck so far. but they're still watching out here constantly. >> you officers in this area know what has happened and they're aware that's an area they need to be patrolling and staying in when they're not responding to calls. >> now police tell us so far

more than expose himself and grope the women. but they say it could lead to more than that. and they're hoping to find him before it gets that far. reporting live in east charlotte, mark becker, channel 9 eyewitness news. all right mark, thanks, we have new information on breaking news we're following out of east charlotte, minutes ago, channel 9 confirmed the search you see here happening in a pond is tied to an investigation into a murder that happened sunday in mount holly. chopper 9 over the scene where we are watching divers in the water with that boat there. we know that they're not looking for a weapon. but we're not exactly sure what evidence they are trying to find. we'll stay on the scene and we'll keep you updated right here on channel 9. hundreds gathered today in raleigh to remember a man authorities say was shot and killed by a police officer this week. akil's death sparked protests and vigils all across the city. the police chief has said that

officer dc twitty on monday and reached for a gun in his waistband before the officer fired the deadly shots. but witnesses are saying that dinkins was running away when he was shot. >> everybody should come together as a community, justice will be served. we don't have to have street justice. the system will hand it where god is the ultimate judge. >> the sbi continues to investigate. the ncaacp and dinkins family are conducting their own investigation. a campus police officer who shot and killed a man at spartanburg methodist college last year won't face charges. sled officially cleared officer andrew tomlinson. authorities say tomlinson caught delvin simons breaking into cars that night. and shot him after simons hit the officer with his car. we know tonight that more police departments around the country are adding body cameras to their uniforms.

agencies are using them before states pass laws instructing how to use them. the urban institute says that could present challenges if the public wants to access the video or they don't want to be recorded at all. the group says that takes away from the entire point of the cameras, to enhance accountability. >> that transparency is really important when you consider the relationship that law enforcement have with many communities, and particularly high crime communities that are marginalized. >> in north carolina, there are several body camera bills in the house, one would protect undercover officers. last september cmpd trained and equipped all its officers with body cameras. the program first started a year ago with the providence and metro divisions. this sink hole plagued the hickory community for more than a decade. >> today hickory's mayor said enough is enough and pleaded with north carolina's governor for help. eyewitness news reporter dave faherty has done several

the years. tonight he's breaking down the mayor's new request, dave? that old sink hole was causing flooding along u.s. 70. let me step out of the way real quick. you can see where the d.o.t. prepositioned these signs. the mayor told me earlier today that right now $25,000 is being spent each month to keep the flooding from happening. we could see water in the hole that sits deep from highway 70 nearby. pumps have been in to keep the hole from filling up and flooding the highway. >> our hands have always been sort of tied because we haven't had anybody who wanted to turn it over to us. and we didn't want to own it. because that means you own the liability. >> today mayor rudy wright and the governor met to discuss the sink hole that first opened in 2002. a storm drainage pipe big enough to walk through collapsed under the property.

but the pipe is clogged under seventh street southeast. the cost to fix it, $4 million. >> i don't think the state will. >> do you think the city will? >> i doubt it. >> it is a lot of money. i wouldn't want to spend more money on this hole. >> the mayor says without a permanent fix the hole will continue to cause problems and force the state and city to pumps. he believes the governor will step in to help. >> we will have the governor's support. exactly what form that support will take, remains to be seen. but we appreciate that he met with us, he listened to us, and he understands. >> that sink hole, that old sink hole is on private land the mayor told me earlier today that property owner has not paid his property taxes. i tried calling him earlier today. he's not returned my calls. reporting live from hickory, dave faherty, channel 9 eyewitness news. gastonia city workers are getting a pay raise this month.

approved a 3% hike. it'll take effect march 19th. and show up on the april 8th paychecks. the city says it will cost about $1.4 million a year. mostly from the taxpayer funded general fund. leaders told our partners at the gazette the raise makes up for the hikes they couldn't give out during the recession. north carolina's state board of education says raising teacher pay is its top priority this year. the board created six total priorities at once. governor pat mccrory to consider. they want north carolina to be number one in the south for teacher salaries. it currently ranks 11th of 12 states. the state superintendent believes teachers could get a hefty raise because it's an election year. a new report finds that corporal punishment is on the rise in north carolina schools. the report just released thursday says there were 147 uses of paddling statewide during the 2014-2015 school year.

60% of the punishment was in robison county schools. while another 32% of the cases came from graham county. 100 of the states 115 school districts forbid paddling. the chapel hill bar where police say a unc student was drinking before a deadly wrong- way crash on i-85 last summer has reopened. he's not here is the bar on franklin street. it lost its alcohol license for three weeks and had to pay $15,000 in fines. it's one of two bars where authorities say chandler drank under age before driving the wrong way on i-85 and killing three people from charlotte. his trial is set for october 3rd. the front door of this northwest charlotte store left in pieces after police say a thief used a car to breakthrough it. officers say all the damage was done for some packs of cigarettes. joe bruno was there as crews

while police searched for the thief. >> this north charlotte rite aid looks different today after police say someone drove through it to try to rob the place. but the suspects didn't get away with much. workers were busy all day trying to install new doors. customers went inside just hours after a massive police investigation before sunrise. >> channel 9 cameras were rolling as police investigated massive damage at rite aid after a driver drove through the doors. parts of the car were left the behind and there's good surveillance video of the crash. the suspect got away from the scene but didn't leave with much. the suspect took 20 packs of cigarettes but left behind $30,000 worth of damage. >> i think it's senseless that it comes to this.

>> craig scott moved here from texas and says despite the most recent crime, it's an over all quiet part of charlotte. but channel 9 discovered there have been 185 crimes within a mile of the rite aid in the past six months. that includes 36 thefts, 18 assaults, and 10 burglaries. those stats are concerning to scott. he also says it's sad to see someone cause so much damage for cigarettes. >> it's cemented. it surprises me a little bit that this has happened here. i haven't heard of crime or vandalism or burglaries in this area. the suspect will face charges for breaking and entering, larceny, and hit and run, reporting in north charlotte, joe bruno, channel 9 eyewitness news. we put more video of the damage at wsoctv.com. you can look for that inside joe's story on the home page. tonight the senate is close to passing new measures to prevent children from becoming

doctors are prescribing opioids for children at twice the rate they did 20 years ago. lawmakers are considering making the cdc issue new guidelines and making the fda prove the approval of oxycotton for children. the children in serious pain should still be able to get medication. >> the tendency to regulate sometimes means you over regulate. and by over regulating, while you're solving a problem in one area, you're creating another problem. >> the senate is likely to vote on the bill next week. tonight the u.s. government is investigating complaints about ford f 150 pickup trucks. dozen of drivers complained that the brakes can suddenly fail. it effects 420,000 trucks from 2013 and 2014. federal investigators are looking at how often the brakes fail and whether this warrants

ford says it's cooperating. tonight, a teenager injured in a michigan shooting rampage that police say involved an uber driver just took her first steps. abigail was one of eight people shot on february 20th. uber driver jason dalton was on the job when he shot eight people, killing six of them. he's charged with murder and attempted murder. a motive remains unclear. we first told you about a string of violence in one local city at 5:00. now we're pushing that story forward. tonight the investigation into four shootings and how close some bullets came to children. in more than a week, we'll set our clocks forwardings ahead, and we're talking about three weeks away from the start of spring. i'll show you if we get a taste any time soon. aned elderly woman hurt

how complete sti was walking home.

with one swipe, it devoured oneof the croissants. then jack showed up and took care of the beast, so icould escape. and that's what happened to yourbreakfast croissant. and yours? it survived. share it with yourself. freshlycracked egg with ham and bacon,or sausage, get two breakfast croissants forfour bucks. ssants for all new tonight, an elderly woman pushed to the ground when police say a teenager tried to rob her in a low's parking lot. bystanders tackled the young

eyewitness news anchor brittney johnson spoke to witnesses who saw the entire crime unfold and jumped into action. police say the 73-year-old woman was leaving the garden center when a teenager tried to rob her. a witness told channel 9 he was walking to his truck in the lowe's parking lot around 6:00 thursday night when he watched a crime unfold. >> i seen a guy tackle this woman and grab her pocketbook and was trying to yank it. she was holding on to it. >> that's when he and ten others jumped into action. >> i took off after him. and as i was chasing him. another guy in front of the store grabbed him and put him in a full nelson. >> the good samaritans held the 15-year-old suspect until police arrived. the 73-year-old was left with a knot on her head. shoppers like karen told us these crimes are why she only

big reminder to remain aware of your surroundings no matter what time of day it is. >> i've heard you shouldn't carry a shoulder bag. >> i'll be on the look out a little more knowing that happened. >> the crime was concerning but they're comforted knowing people stepped in to help a stranger in need. police told me the 15-year-old suspect will face charges in juvenile court. they took another teen into custody. but it's not sure what charges they'll face at this time. dozens of viewers have commented on this story on our wsoc-tv facebook page. there you can also share it. we are covering the carolinas county by county tonight in iredell county, police are looking for a woman who stole $500 worth of groceries. this surveillance picture is a little blurry but troutman police say it shows the woman who walked out of the food lion

full of unpaid groceries. our partners tell us clerks stopped her in the parking lot but she jumped into a car and took off. food lion, a company based in rowan county is changing its egg policy. the grocery chain will switch to 100% cage free eggs by 2025. food lion's parent company says the change will ensure humane treatment of animals and boost sustainability. there's a new project starting in rock hill that will build dozens of miniature houses for the poor and homeless. this is the first model of a 120 square foot home. it's being built by volunteers using donations. rock, or renew our community is building inexpensive homes to try to help those who have to make a choice between eating or paying the rent. these houses will be out fitted with a complete kitchen, a bathroom, and a lot a loft to sleep in.

that don't have much money. whether they're homeless or senior adults or whether they're anybody else. >> each home costs about $12,000. he's hoping to work with the city to find lots to put them on. outside right now, check out this gorgeous view from the speed way camera. our chief meteorologist steve udelson letting you know what to expect. >> we've seen this persistent patch of clouds through the mountains and the charlotte area. you can see there's no rain falling and there won't be this evening. you're good to go if you're outside. you will need a coat. we are in the low to mid 50s from charlotte to rock hill, out highway 9, lancaster to chesterfield, highway 74, wadesboro to rockingham, we'll cool down this evening, 47 lenoir. 48 morganton. and the high country, 35 boone, 26 right now in banner elk. heading up toward uptown. bojangles arena, the place to be for the charlotte checkers.

of course you'll have a coat with you. well. pretty chilly on the ice. temperatures in the mid 40s as game. we are heading toward over night lows dropping back in the low to mid 30s in most of the charlotte area. normal cooler spots north and east of town likely below freezing and in the 20s as we hit the high country. a check on the weekend. the warm up still in tact. close to 60 tomorrow. in the 60s on sunday. and we'll see plenty of sun. there will be some clouds tomorrow but not bad. lots of 5ks this weekend. we're getting into that season tomorrow. one of the biggest. get your rear in gear. that takes place in independence park. it brings awareness and raises money for colo rectal cancer. temperatures climb from the 30s to the 40s. we see sunshine early. as we head through the afternoon, we need to keep our eye to the skies across the high country. the next storm will throw in

flakes on the highest peeks. for the charlotte area tomorrow night, a few rain drops. hourly temperatures, the average high reaches 60 tomorrow. we'll be there and then some by lunch time on our way to temperatures well into the 60s. temperatures in shelby, readings in the 50s. we're talking about a mix of sun and clouds tomorrow. neighborhood forecast in page land, mid to upper 50s. and basically fair skies with afternoon clouds. same story in mint hill. temperatures in the 50s. that mix of sun and increasing clouds. push through. sunday, back to sunshine. and again the warm up gets going and it sticks around. not only do we stay mild. we stay rain-free after tomorrow night. a little if any chance of rain into the middle of next week. the warm up really gets cooking through the middle of next week back to 70 or better by tuesday. i think we stay there for a few days. i think people will break out

start changing out the closets. >> thank you steve. more mecklenburg county towns beginning to consider whether or not to pull out of cms. the clear message leaders in cornelius, davidson, and huntersville want to send the district. >> we confront the director days before he investigates toll road problems in texas. >> what i'm expecting you to do is have a chance to have a candid d.o.t.

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every day, for life. concerns over the zika virus and the birth defect that it's associated with has become an issue worldwide. >> it causes microcephaly which among other issues causes heads. in tonight's family focus i

here in charlotte that helps children and families deal with that health issue. five-year-old these five-year- olds are energetic twins but they were delivered early at 37 weeks. >> he was three pounds and she was seven pounds. something was wrong. the difference wasn't only in their weight. heidi says she noticed he wasn't developing as quickly as his sister. >> she was way ahead. and she was just crawling and grabbing things to climb up to walk and he was still on the floor. >> after several tests at one year old he was diagnosed with microcephaly. a birth defect. >> his head didn't grow as big as it should. and it's still small. it will delay him in a lot of stuff. >> it's obvious when your child's not holding their head

themselves up. with hand prints and footsteps pediatric therapy they're helping him catch up with physical, occupational and speech therapy. >> he's able to express himself verbally. he is coloring and he'll sit for short ... periods of time to do different activities. he looks like a different child today than four years ago. >> doctors can't tell him what challenges he'll face in the future. >> first grade is coming up. he's behind in school. is he going to make it to the first grade? is he going to make it to the second grade? she's determined to help him keep up with his sister.

microcephaly now, from the news team that's covering the carolinas, this is channel 9 eyewitness news at 6:00. does anything that happens in texas in your mind change your support for this project on 77? new tonight, channel 9 confronted the state's transportation secretary about the new twist to the controversial i-77 toll project. and his upcoming investigation in texas. he heads there to the loan star state soon to find out if a bankrupt toll project there could impact millions of taxpayer dollars wrapped up in the i-77 project here. i'm erica bryant. >> i'm allison latos. eyewitness news reporter jim bradley is live along i-77 tonight with more on what he learned from secretary nick tennison. >> reporter: it was just yesterday we were telling you that opponents of toll lanes

of that bankruptcy filing by centra down in a project in texas might force north carolina's governor to cancel the project. but today his transportation secretary gave little indication he expects that to happen. north carolina transportation secretary nick tennison spent half of his morning speaking at a transportation forum in ballantyne and the other half answering questions about his trip to texas on monday ordered by governor pat mccrory. >> what i'm expecting to do is have a candid d.o.t. to d.o.t. conversation about texas experience. >> the texas experience is the bankruptcy of a toll road project built by a subsidiary of centra. the same parent company that's clearing land for controversial toll lanes on i-77. tennison insists one has nothing to do with the other but admits the bankruptcy doesn't look good. >> that's a toxic word.