when we tried to ask him, he wouldn't answer our questions. all that as protesters came out here to make clear they're calling on the governor and the legislature to make a special session happen. there's over 12,000 -- >> protesters stood outside the government center. making it clear they want the city's decision to be struck down, and they want it done before the city policy takes effect april 1st. >> today i call on governor pat mccrory to make good on his promise to protect the safety, privacy, and common sense of the people of north carolina. >> republican legislators are all ready working on a bill to reverse the charlotte ordinance and today house speaker tim moore told us he's still pushing for lawmakers to take it up soon. >> we could absolutely do a special session. and my preference would be that we have special session this coming week. >> with senate leaders undecided on a special session, the quickest route one for the governor pat mccrory to use his authority to call legislators back to raleigh.

charlotte today relaxing at romare bearden park. >> can we ask you a question about the special session? you're not going to answer our question? >> his staff told us he didn't have time to comment. while tensions remain evident over the ordinance, state leaders remain under pressure from both sides. >> we hope the governor and the general assembly will do the right thing. >> we're going to fight to make sure we do what's right here. >> as we saw today, there are big differences of opinion still about what the right thing to do here is. senate leaders tell me they're trying to figure out what parts of the city ordinance they want to target within the legislation. but it's looking more and more clear we'll know one way or another about a special session very soon. the cost of a special

it would cost $42,000 a day to call back lawmakers to raleigh. governor pat mccrory said over and over again that while he's against the ordinance he doesn't believe it's worth taxpayer money to call the lawmakers back early. and if city officials challenge whatever the state does in court, there will also be legal fees. we father or mothered every new development on -- we followed every new development that impacts people in charlotte. find the past coverage on wsoctv.com. many of you have been getting used to the bright blue skies and the warm temperatures but prepare for a complete change for our weekend. meteorologist vicki graf tracking the cool down that is set to happen in just a matatr of hours. vicki? that cool down is headed this way this weekend. thanks to this storm system 400- miles west of the charlotte area. that's going to move in over night. throughout the night, clouds build in. waking up to showers early saturday. if you were planning a walk or a run, keep an eye to the skies. we'll track rain around 8:00.

possibly a break in the activity. can't rule out a stray shower here and there through the afternoon. and then another batch of rain will push through by saturday evening. it's not going to be a wash out. but at any point on saturday, there will be that threat for rain. and it's not just the rain, it's also the cooler temperatures. we're talking by sunday, almost 20 degrees cooler than where we were this week. thatst going to help with the pollen count. lowering that a bit. but the cold air will be cold enough that we could see some snow flurries in the mountains. i'll take you through future cast to show you when that arrives, coming up. thank you vicki. remember you can stay on top of the changing weather conditions this weekend. when we're not on the air, by downloading our wsoc-tv weather app for free in the app store and google play. to another major story we've followed for you all day. someone intentionally set a fire inside a bathroom at walter g buyers school in north charlotte. it forced the district to send more than 500 students home early.

suskin has spent the day asking about the students involved. greg? and we know that arson investigators with cmpd did interview students here today but so far they've said nothing about possible charges. this was called out around 9:00 this morning as a fire in a middle school bathroom here at walter g buyers, the smoke spread into the hallway there and all 525 students were first evacuated from the building and then sent home before noon. cms says they did that because of lingering concerns about smoke in the building this afternoon. charlotte fire investigators won't say specifically what burned or what ignited in the bathroom. except to see some kind of liquid that was thrown on the floor. but parents who got an automated phone call and an email saying come get your kids were really concerned when they learned this was a crime. >> why are they not monitoring the kids ? why are you not monitoring the halls ? why are

>> the fire did about 3,000 to $4,000 worth of damage to the bathroom. today during the drill they say it went off very well. they'll have maintenance crews over the weekend repairing the damage and hope things are back to normal by monday. still waiting on word about only charges. live in north charlotte, greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. now back to breaking news out of greenville south carolina, less than 20 minutes ago, police identified the officer killed in the line of duty. 28-year-old officer allen jacobs was shot and killed by a self proclaimed gang member. chief ken miller who is a former deputy chief for the charlotte mecklenburg police department constitute in front of jacob's picture during a news conference, the chief said jacobs was a 4.5 year member of the police department. a father of two, and had a third child on the way. jacobs played a vital role in reaching out to the community. >> and i can tell you that he meant a lot to this organization.

member of the community response team. he was working hand in hand with our neighborhood leaders. the gang member was only 17 years old. he ran off and shot and killed himself. there was another accident on a notorious section of i-77 where crews are working on the toll lanes project. authorities say a pickup truck rear ended a semi-truck in the northbound lanes just before the sam furr road exit in huntersville. thankfully no one was seriously injured. troopers sited the driver of the pickup truck though. channel 9 began investigating after noticing a trend this week where most mornings around the same time there are crashes in the same area on i-77. the accidents happening between sam furr and gilead roads where crews are working on the toll lanes project. troopers are saying it's a mess. so far this month, there have

they also say because of the construction barriers, there's nowhere to move the wrecks. and wherever there's a crash that impacts your morning commute, we send out push alerts. that can let you know before you head out the door about the back-ups. you can sign up to receive those alerts on our wsoc-tv mobile app. we'll find out on tuesday who won a local primary race after it was so close a candidate demanded a recount. only 28 votes separate incumbent state representative charles jeter and challenger tom davis. today mecklenburg county officials started recounting the votes. the race may have been close because of the i-77 toll lanes fight. davis ran his campaign on a no- tolls program while jeter first threw his support behind the project but has since changed his mind. a new trial date has been set for a man accused in a caldwell county double murder more than 25 years ago. his new trial will start august

the first trial ended with a 6- 6 jury split and caused the judge to rule it a mistrial. murphy is charged with the murders of mark randal and jeannie sea crest back in 1990. he wasn't arrested until 1990 when his siblings came forward with information. all new at 6:00, someone was robbed in a busy apartment complex in southeast charlotte. the victim told the police he was outside of his apartment in the strawberry hill complex off providence road just after 10:00 last night when he says the robber approached him. he says the suspect held him at gunpoint, took his wallet, and then ran off. the victim was not physically hurt. all new tonight, charlotte fire investigators are saying that this fire at a restaurant in east charlotte was intentionally set. a channel 9 director took video of flames shooting out of the restaurant along albemarle road yesterday morning. firefighters have not said exactly why they believe this was set on purpose.

it did cause about $120,000 worth of damage. for nearly two decades, residents have called for a public beach at lake norman in mecklenburg county. right now the only one is about 30 miles a i way in troutman. but that won't be the case for long. because eyewitness news reporter joe bruno found out when mecklenburg county's first public beach will open up. for years, if you wanted to have fun on lake norman and mecklenburg county, you needed to either own a boat or know somebody who has one. but now, that's all about to change. all is quiet on lake norman at ramsey creek park now. but it won't be that way in a couple months. lake norman leaders announced today mecklenburg county's first public beach is opening memorial day weekend. it's been a long time coming. leaders have trying to bring public swimming to lake norman since 97. >> everybody wanted it. it's something the county needs and so it's been a timing issue.

recession, the beach may have been if place by now. but despite the delay, leaders are expecting this to provide a big boost to the local economy. last year more than $21 million came into lake norman, this year, officials are hoping to top that. >> we need to be able to offer the opportunity for our greatest liquid asset to everybody. not only those living here but those in charlotte and our guests that stay in our hotels. >> they're putting the final touches on the beach now. even people who live nearby are excited for more people to enjoy lake norman. >> the people that live here in cornelius, hopefully people in the entire mecklenburg county will take an opportunity to come up here and have some fun. this beach won't be for free. park officials will be charging $3 per car to enter. reporting at lake norman, joe bruno, channel 9 eyewitness news. now, the parks and recreation director says that beach can hold about 500 swimmers and the parking lot

we put a pole on our facebook page. we're asking our viewers if they would like to go to this new public beach. like us and cast your vote. well this has been the warmest start to march and the second driest. but that's all about to change this weekend with rain and cooler air on the way. i'll show you how much of your weekend will be a wash out coming up next. and a local man accused of stealing $18,000 in gas with a government credit card. new tonight, how deputies say they managed to track him down. then a local woman says a truck father or followed her and a driver fired a bullet

tonight lincoln county deputies are searching for this man, calling him armed and dangerous. they say he followed a woman and fired a shot at her while she was driving. eyewitness news reporter ken lemon found out it all started with a strange look at a gas station. >> the woman stopped to pump gas wednesday night near vail. she said she saw bobby fisher, a stranger, a man now considered armed and dangerous looking at her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. she left and said he followed starting a frightening chain of events.

she got up to 90 miles per hour. that's when she told police he pulled alongside her and fired a shot into her car. >> it's disturbing to find that out. >> he lives on the stretch of road where the shot was fired. he says there are small children here. and he worries someone could have been shot. >> it could happen to my wife or me or one of my kids. >> no one was hurt. the woman pulled into the driveway of a family's home. >> some girl pulled in our driveway and said this guy is shooting a gun at her. my husband got his gun and just held it up to the door and told him to get out of our driveway. >> investigators found the suspect's truck but they didn't find him. there were two women not related to the crime in the truck at the time. >> we need to get him off the street. >> investigators have questions about the shooting but right now they're focused on finding bobby fisher. >> if he'll shoot here he'll shoot any where.

they're looking for more help. ken lemon, channel 9 eyewitness news. we put the suspect's picture on wsoctv.com so you can share it. you'll find the story on the home page. our county by county coverage starts in lincoln county tonight rather where investigators reveal how they caught a man accused of stealing nine thousand dollars worth of gas. deputies say video of joseph gibson taking gas on some security cameras helped to track him down. they say his job with the public works gave him access to a county gas card. investigators say in three months, he actually pumped $18,000 worth of gas, most of it into huge drums that had been loaded on to back of his personal truck. >> somebody started shooting. and they get by with it. more. >> another lincoln county worker alerted authorities to the fuel purchases. he's charged with fraud. in york county, crews will close a road in rock hill on

a new traffic circle. columbia avenue between constitution boulevard and forman's repair shop will shut down until the circle is complete. a date has not been set on when it will be done. the traffic circle will connect constitution boulevard and white street. in rowan county, the salisbury city manager will start holding an open office hour every month for community members. it's so residence can talk about any ideas or concerns they may have. it'll be held the first wednesday every month on the first floor conference room of city hall at south main street. the first one is april 6th from 10:30 to 11:30. south park's newest apartment building is open. the encore south park on morrison boulevard adds nearly 300 units to the area. there has been a building boom in the south park area despite neighbor's efforts to try to stop more apartments from being built. one family filed a lawsuit trying to stop another complex

that would operating nearly a thousand new apartments and condos. the city is holding its annual charlotte goes green festival tomorrow to celebrate st. patrick's day. it means that several streets will be closed all day tomorrow for the event which includes a parade, trion street, wilmington jr. and levine avenue of the arts will all be closed at 5:00 tomorrow morning and they won't open until 8:00 at night. here's video from last year's parade in uptown. this year marks the 20th year for the event. it's free for everyone. it includes irish step dancers, bagpipe players, and arts and craft vendor, but if you're headed out there, meteorologist vicki graf says you might want to pack the rain gear with you. you can see interest the tower cam shot that the clouds are all ready moving in. and we will be waking up to showers tomorrow morning. if you're heading to the parade, grab the rain gear. it's also going to be cooler. you'll need to bring out the winter layers again. you'll need a sweater tomorrow.

warning doppler 9. but here's the view. you see patches of grassy areas. we're expecting more rain to move in this weekend. cooler air and cold enough for some snow come sunday for some parts in the high country. not really that cold right now though. we're in the lower 70s across the carolinas. low 60s here in boone. and 59 in jefferson. and as we head through the over night hours as clouds move in, that's going to keep us fairly mild if you have plans this evening, looking good to go, tomorrow morning, a cool start. and we'll struggle to warm up throughout the day tomorrow afternoon. so your wake up weather tomorrow, by 7:00, cloudy skies, cooler, and tracking off and on showers by 9:00, possibly a better chance for rain, so if you are heading out for a morning walk or a run, make sure you enjoy running in the rain. because we will be tracking that throughout the afternoon tomorrow. if you're heading out to the weather fest at uncc, several of us will be there. we hope to see you there as well. and we will keep the threat for some spotty showers through the

going to be raining very heavy tomorrow .and the storm threat will stay low. but still exactly not the best timing with the weekend coming up. your neighborhood forecast for boone, tomorrow, we'll see highs in the mid to upper 40s. much cooler than it has been. and we'll keep that threat for rain throughout the day. to time it out for you on future cast, starting the morning off with passing showers, and then as we head towards lunch time, possibly getting a little bit of a break from the rain, can't rule out a few sprinkles but then another batch of showers will push through by tomorrow evening. and this will stick around through tomorrow night as we head toward sunday, again, still keeping the threat for rain and even some snow flurries possibly mixing in in the mountains. that's how cold it's going to get by sunday, waking up to freezing temperatures by sunday morning, and we'll even see that here closer to the charlotte area. so for sunday, a wet start to the day as we head through the afternoon struggling to warm up, highs in the mid 50s. 20 degrees cooler than where we were today. you'll notice that difference.

the mountains. it'll not add up to a whole lot. and then we could see another batch of rain moving through the charlotte area by sunday evening. if you have plans this weekend outdoors, don't worry about canceling the plans as of now, but download our wsoc-tv weather app so you can track the rain as it arrives with that interactive radar, that's available at the app store and google play. your five-day forecast shows it's going to be an unsettled weekend, turning much colder as well. spring officially starts on sunday. but we might have to wait until next tuesday and wednesday before it officially feels like spring. highs returning to 70s for wednesday. the dow finished up for the sixth straight day on wall street.

it may have taken them a half to wake up. but when they did, the florida gulf coast woke a sleeping giant.

16 points in route to an 83-67 win. bryce johnson was an animal scoring 18 points. grabbing seven rebounds and tallying eight blocks. johnson says last night he was disappointed in his play and the head coach says his team was fortunate to come out with a win. >> the first ten minutes of the second half we were really good. every time they drove it in there bryce blocked so many shots at the basket. for us, we feel very good to still be here. >> carolina plays providence tomorrow. the duke blue devils win over unc wilmington and will battle yale. former charlotte christians upset baylor in the opening round duke beat yale earlier in the season by 19 points. coach k says the win yesterday was thanks to marshal plumly's play. if he doesn't play well, they don't have a shot in advancing. >> a number of times in the second part of the season the most important player is

when he plays well, i have a chance. if he plays just okay, then we don't have a chance. and he was just okay in the first half. but he played great in the second half. >> unc asheville squaring off with two seed villanova was an uphill battle for the bulldogs today. will weeks with the lay-in. they were too strong in this one. under five seconds to play before the break. unc asheville, one and done, noble wins 86-56. it's playoff time in college basketball, the charlotte hornets are solidifying why they may make noise in this year's nba playoffs. kemba walker and al jefferson each had 21 points in a big win over miami last night. 109-106. charlotte a half game behind atlanta for first place in the southeast division. right now they're the sixth seat in the playoffs. how about that? sounds good. thanks. well winter returns for the start of spring this weekend. highs to the mid to upper 50s.

world news with david breaking news this friday night. captured alive. the most wanted man after the paris terror attacks, trapped during a dramatic shootout. how they got him. we take you inside the tense raid. also breaking -- a nor'easter set to hit. severe weather across the south at this hour. the system then moving right up the east coast. several major cities, up to eight inches or more. the two air scares -- the lightning strike. the flight from raleigh to new york. passengers describing the jolt. and breaking now -- the drone, the jet -- and the close call. donald trump hacked, the fbi investigating tonight. and the threat sent to his son. and diane sawyer with the famous actress. did she lure in one of the most hunted men in the world?