we talked to the chief, cathy lanier, about all of this. she says within 40 minutes of that call, she was in a command center with nci fbi officials. we haven't heard what the person that called that thought she heard something that sounded like gunshots. no one is upset with this person. she did exactly as expected. let's hear from chief lanier. >> we tell people over and over again, see something, say something. you don't know what's going on. don't take things for granted. make that call. regardless of what it is, an employee thought they heard something of concern. they made a call back. that's what we tell people to do. >> reporter: of course, they are calling this a clear and coordinated response to this incident. >> reporter: there will be a debriefing to see what they can improve on. a lot of protocols in place after that incident here a couple of years ago. they called this now what amounted to a good practice. that's what everybody wanted. we are live at the navy yard, derrick ward, news 4. >> this affected a lot of people in the

today police chief cathy lanier says that problem and others were gone. >> just as i'm coming out of here here come all my ncis friends just like last time. >> reporter: certainly there was a sick feeling of deja vu for the employees at the navy yard but this time things were different. employees here have trained for what people feared was happening this morning when someone thought they heard gunshots. >> did you go in to the snaufs snaufs -- to the office? >> yes. >> reporter: several employees said when they were sheltering in an office room and a guard came to clear the room, before opening the door he told everyone to put their hands up and walk out keeping their hands in the air. >> luckily it was a false alarm and everybody is safe. >> reporter: a police report found major problems in the emergency response. first they had trouble getting through locked gates. then police were unable to monitor aaron alexis' movements on surveillance videos because of a locked door. >> so officers were immediately able to access the gates and get in. >> reporter: metropolitan police chief cat

police chief cathy lanier tomorrow us by text today that she wants to put those tourniquet kits into the hands of every police officer out here on the streets. the woman suspected in those attacks, she's under arrest tonight. this is bruce johnson reporting from downtown washington for wusa9. >> bruce mentioned those tourniquets bought by the chief. police chief cathy lanier tells us those officers were given the kits and trained how to use them following the navy yard shootings in 2013. >>> also in the district tonight police arrested and charged 30 men with soliciting prostitutes in the northwest in the last week. according to our news partners at the washington post, it is part of a new push aimed at cracking down on crime. that started in january after residents, business owners and pastors all complained about still seeing prostitutes on 14th street near what was once d.c.'s red light district. >>> and a d.c. woman is facing charges in baltimore. police there say 29-year-old lisa finely threw gasoline on her boyfriend, then set his house on fire. finely is an educational aide at

and tonight chief cathy lanier tells our jackie bensen synthetic4odb-iÑi; city backvn;l decades.hief about this tonight.v her comments were powerful. and i have to tell you, i found >> and dangerous drug. >> reporter: on tuesday, a 10-month-old baby was found abandoned in a strolle¡%h in the broiling sun at judiciary square in downtown d.c.c based on a witness description of a woman in orange p1) n police found< the child's caregiver twotb(blocks away. in chargingh5n# documents, the officersxzx described her as quote,liú lethar3yh"ç and7iuconfused. based on] a$ ÷2wyjñ hollowed out cigar found on84 the woman police believe she left the baby:w>ç alone synthetic marijuana.ol:nbk. 24-year-old latanya kihooper was zc8q @r(t&háhp &hc% charged with child /6$ñcruelty.w = just three).1 daysv y earlier, july a-3 "!1ñ kevinpñ y,[suthy)l'd a v-ñbptñ former capitoamurder, 18-year-old jasper vn7 ut=frz w>:a attending colleges6v;ñ

police chief cathy lanier and more than 150 children of d.c. police officers. as brianne carter reports, that's one of those kids attest the chief can get down to the sick beat. >> it was exciting to be there. >> still trying to shake off the taylor shift excitement from tuesday night concert after the dad who is a d.c. homicide investigator told her she was going to the show thanks to the city's top cop. >> i thought it would be a good thing for mom or dad to come home with good news for the kids. >> cathy lanier says she knows it's not easy for those who serve d.c. she wanted to do something fan. the fearless group was the only man of the 22 chaperons and 168 teenagers. his daughter wanted to go. he stepped up to see taylor. >> spent time with my daughter. i was nervous to make sure i didn't lose any of them. >> back in the chief's office today the girls agreed on one highlight of the night. >> last song "shake it off." they say there was no bad blood but there was lots of fun and dancing. >> dancing a lot. >> she was shaking it off like the rest of you? >> y

. >> reporter: police chief cathy lanier says this is a nationwide problem. so if you any you've never known anyone who has done these drugs or nobody does them in your neighborhood, she says you're probably wrong. >> we don't want to go back to the crack cocaine days. >> reporter: it's pervasive enough police chief after mayor after doctor bring up the comparison to how crack consumed the district in the late '80s and early '90s. >> it was the dark ages for d.c. and i stood there maybe two or three hours in a daze. >> the most addict tiff thing i've ever dealt with in my -- addictive thing i've ever dealt with in my life. >> reporter: it's cheap, but here's how it affects everyone. d.c. police say the rise of synthetic drugs is linked to a spike in crime, most headline grabbing, the gruesome slaying of a man aboard a metro train july 4th by a suspect police say had a synthetic drug problem spiraling out of control. d.c. mayor muriel bowser signed a bill today that slams fines and closures on shop -- slaps fines and closures on shops that sell those innocent

metropolitan police chief cathy lanier says officers are always on heightened alert.ware of what he is a you know the -- the discussion and chatter is around the fourth of july events and all those threats, and take those into account. we change our tactics up for different events but never lower our profit. >> reporter: ask people planning on attending those events, they don't plan on changing their plans. >> celebrate the fourth of july like we do every year. >> all hearing about heightened alerts and decide it is not worth worrying about. >> reporter: after all, worrying doesn't change anything. police say what's most important is being aware of your surroundings. stop doing what they do every day they win. >> reporter: the national park police says them continue to work closely with federal, and state agencies no indication there will be a decrease in attendance at any of the events this weekend. doreen? >> meagan fitzgerald thank you. >>> some concern about the mental health for those who work at the navy yard, because many of those employees could be dealing wit

police chief cathy lanier says the new law is needed to stop a very disturbing trend in crime.they don't get a handle on it, things could be set back in terms of crime fighting by as much as 20 years. now, the new law would for the first offense make businesses subject to a $10,000 fine. they would also be closed down for 96 days. the penalties get worse from there and stores could lose their business license if they're repeat offenders. back to you in the studio. >> thank you. >>> we need to focus on the weather because it is looking good after a lot of heat and humidity, tom. >> it is friday and the weekend is about to move in. and a lot of people will be out and about this weekend. you can keep up with the weather where you are with the storm team 4 app and washington app. the rain and downpours they're long gone now and the temperatures are comfortable. we're in the low 70s to mid 70s in washington. nearby suburbs near 70s. we have so much rain, look at the size of this mushroom. this is about the size of a baseball. this is posted by tammy on my twitter page. you can post

. >> reporter: now by text message police chief cathy lanier told me today they're trying to get these tourniquet kits into the hands of all police and they already have saved other lives out there. we think there's a followup story and we'll try to have that for you tomorrow. we should point out the woman suspected in these assaults that was on pcp is under arrest tonight. back to you guys. >> sounds like some scary moments there, bruce. police chief cathy lanier says police were given those tourniquet kits and the training how to use them after the navy yard shooting in 2013. >>> tonight frederick residents will be weighing in on a law that requires all county businesses to be conducted in english. an all republican county board passed the english only law back in 2012. the public hearing is tonight at 7:00. our stephanie ramirez spoke with people in frederick. what they'll have to say about this is coming your way on wusa9 news at 6:00. >>> meantime montgomery county police investigating whether somebody may have been making drugs inside a federal government facility. all of in came

police chief cathy lanier addressed in yesterday's navy yard scare. >> we take every event seriously. posture will remain high and will continue for the 4th. >> reporter: extra law enforcement will be on hand. 18,000 feet of fencing is in place and extra security check points throughout. enjoy the 4th, the most patriotic place in america. i'm nikki burdine, wusa9. >>> crowds not your thing? you can avoid it all together by watching the broadcast of the capital 4th tomorrow on pbs from 8:00 until 9:30'. you can have more information about a capital 4th, another holiday event at your fingertips by downloading our free wusa9 app. check out our weekend guide. >>> it will be a long process to restore water for 30,000 people in laurel, maryland. crews with anne arundel county are on the scene of a 20-inch water main break. this is in a wooded area near lost creek and bayou bend boulevards. it could be later today till repairs are made because workers have to clear a path with heavy equipment. they have set up water fill stations nearby. >>> the d.c. mayor's office is offering counseling for

police chief cathy lanier is praising the coordinated response to what turned out to be a false alarm at the washington navy yard. an employee thought she heard gunshot there's this morning, and law enforcement didn't take any chances. we saw a huge show of force. the chief says the woman who called this in did the right thing. she spoke up after a gunman killed 12 people nearly two years ago at the navy yard, local and federal agencies have been practicing their active shooter response. but employees in building 197 never expected to go through this again. >> they say, you know, what is the chances of lightning striking twice. well, never thought it would happen again. heard someone yelling get out of the building stay away from the cafeteria, get out of here. and everyone started running towards the exits. >> authorities locked down the navy yard for about two hours today so they could search each building one by one. >> d.c. police say that heavy law enforcement presence we all saw today is good practice for the real thing. mayor muriel bowser also made it clear the district will r

metropolitan police chief cathy lanier: >> we take every event here in washington very serious and our posture remains extremely high for all special fortunates and it will continue for the fourth. >> reporter: last week's department of homeland security bulletin warned of an increased threat of isis-inspired violence over july four. one official said, "there is no specific credible intelligence for an attack" but isis has called for attacks against the military, law enforcement, the u.s. government, and the american public. that's led to beefed up security at airports and landmarks. new york will have an extra 7,000 police patrolling july 4 events and fusion centers very set up to help coordinate information in the event of an attack. in recent weeks, investigators have stepped up arrests taking more than a dozen alleged isis sympathizers into custody including several people in the new york area. in one case, prosecutors say a 20-year-old college student had researched pressure cooker bombs and had been stopped by police twice at the george washington bridge. john miller is deputy co

police chief cathy lanier says their drug task force is tracking these drugs because it's more popularn most of us realize. >> just an hour's time on the street last week i saw three of these overdoses. >> reporter: reminding some who used to work in horse. of the drug epidemic -- law enforcement of the drub epidemic from the '80s. -- drug epidemic from the '80s. >> bodies were dropping everybody. we were really under siege. >> reporter: the very reason police want to stop the drugs from spreading throughout the city. a new process to test these drugs will become available next week and police will work with local hospitals to track how many people are actually using these drugs. live from police headquarters i'm ileana diaz, wusa9. >>> in montgomery county police need your help to track down this man. they say he's been stealing items from cars in the parking lot of the burtonsville volunteer fire department on old columbia pike in the briggs chaney area of silver spring. those cars belong to volunteer firefighters and emts. the thefts occurred between april 18th and june 10th. >>> pr

. >> cathy lanier cracked down after a news4 i-team investigation showed some officers not enforcing the law and how these teens lost $500 after buying tickets for justin bieber. we wanted to talk about the scalping problem that hasn't gone away but a spokesperson said we are unable to accommodate your request. >> i mean, i see cop cars there. >> multiple scalpers told the i-team police normally will not do anything as long as they don't make the sale right in front of them. >> they know we're out here, the police. >> got to be the police. for what show? >> any of them. hockey or anything. >> they'll buy from you? >> yes. >> four different sources tell us there's been discussion with d.c. council about possibly changing the scalping law, including an idea of creating a zone where tickets could be legally bought and sold. tisha thompson, news4 i-team. >> fascinating. >> yes, it is. attitude is beautiful. the -- today is beautiful, the start of the workweek -- >> we don't care what happens on monday. it's all about what happens on the weekend. the skies yesterday cleared out around lun

. >> reporter: metropolitan police chief cathy lanier says extensive training paid off. employees we talked to agree. during the rampage two years ago local police had difficulty communicating with their counter parts inside the navy yard. well, since then they've developed new procedures that they've put into practice today. lesli, derek? >> peggy fox, thank you. after those 2013 shootings, of course, the police department conducted a review and its response and they made 77 recommendations which could have improved the response that day. as we've seen today, they put a lot of that stuff in practice. >> today was a very different day. >>> many people turned to social media as the incident at the navy yard developed. >> our web producer will show us how the navy used twitter and what people are saying right now. >> one of the best things about twitter is it's an easy way for officials to get information out very quickly to ltmuiple people. at 7:59 a.m. the navy tweeted navy yard on lockdown. then we started to see pictures like this 1 from sandra webster of the scene nea

police chief, cathy lanier. police want to hear from the public rather than wonder later why someone didn't call. tom sherwood, news4. >> cure raf on the lockdown at walter reed doesn't end here n our next half hour we will take a closer look at the police response. chris lawrence shows us exactly how it unfolded hour by hour. that's coming up at 6:30. >>> turning our attention to weather now. really sticky out there right now, but others dealing with some heavy rains, some downpours. doug, what's going on? >> area of low pressure off to the west allowing the showers to make their way up from the south. most on the dry side. if you are in some of these showers, coming down pretty heavily. show you the radar right now. see them making that i way up from charlottesville and fredericksburg, cries the area. only area of thunderstorms, now northwest of baltimore, strong storm in through carroll county there, but no worry in our area. light rain, heavy rain coming through western fairfax county through loudoun, montgo

. >>> police chief cathy lanier said her detectives are working hard to arrest suspects in all of the city's homicides. last night they announced an arrest in the murder of 46-year- old darlene marie bryant. late this afternoon chief lanier said the more the public comes forward to help, the more these cases will be solved. >> it takes us a little time to close a homicide case, but we're not going to stop working on them and eventually we'll get them closed. i want to thank the community members. >> police say the rising use of synthetic drugs which we reported on is partly to blame in the rise in crime. >>> tough word tonight from d.c. mayor muriel bowser blaming d.c. council members for failing to pass legislation for the police to begin using body cameras. >> a letter to washingtonians the mayor writes unfortunately for all 8(çhof us the d.c. council decided public safety isn't a top priority. first the safety committee slashed body funding cameras in half and sent savings to pet projects and they required my administration to identify even more money before the program can go forw

. >>> >>> i speak with washington's chief of police cathy lanier right after this. every single bite.at loud, live loud, super poligrip. super poligrip holds your dentures tightly in place so you never have to hold back. laugh loud, live loud, super poligrip. this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain. and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis from the inside out ...with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain stop further joint damage and clear skin in many adults. doctors have been prescribing humira for nearly 10 years. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis serious,sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and

watch the full news conference with mayor bowser and police chief cathy lanier. >>> following breaking news on a bad accident at the world police and fire games. three cyclists who were competing in a bike race got into an accident during that race and are seriously hurt. in fact police described them as having life-threatening injuries. this happened during a competition at the prince william forest park. chopper4 is over that park in triangle virginia. this happened this afternoon and prince william county police are the ones investigating. they tell us they are still piecing together what happened. we have got a news crew headed to try to get the latest. we will bring you any updates on who was hurt and how this happened just as soon as we get them. >>> the man charged with the d.c. mansion murders has just fired his attorney. darron wint was supposed to have a preliminary hearing today but just before it got started, he informed the judge he wanted to change his defense team. this is the second time wint is changing lawyers. now, he is going to be represented by the same public def

within 20 minutes chief cathy lanier says d.c. police were already in command and her officers were working with other local and federal law enforcement agencies as they got ready to go in. those teams of officers searched every building at the navy yard compound and ultimately, they didn't find any evidence of shots fired. the all-clear it was given right around 9:30 this morning with the chief saying today's lockout amounted to a well-coordinated response and a great exercise. >>> and when police97 this morning, they found a much different place that the one they entered in september of 2013. the navy has overhauled those headquarters of naval sea systems command to help the police and workers inside. the news4'sism-team's scott macfarlane was the only reporter who was given access to that building throughout this process. scott? >> reporter: yeah wendy d.c. police made it clear after the 2013 shootings, the old layout of navy building 197 was difficult to navigate energy their words a substantial challenge for tactical units to

now, police chief cathy lanier says the new law is needed to stop a very disturbing crime trend. >> i truly feel like if we don't get a handle on the synthetics now, we are in danger of you know going back 20 years. >> reporter: and under the bill which will be signed into law later on this afternoon for the first offense a business can be fined $10,000 for selling synthetic drugs. they can be closed for 96 hours. that's for the first offense. then the penalties go up from there. ultimately for multiple offenses a store could actually lose their business license if they are found to be a repeat offender. the mayor is going to sign this bill into law at noon today. back to you in the studio. >> megan thank you. >>> investigators are not ruling out criminal activity as they dig into how a virginia couple ended up in the potomac river. search teams found the bodies of charlie zintner and his girlfriend melissa smarr where the boat had been anchored. we told you about the search for the couple as it was breaking yesterday morning here on "news4 today." the concerns started when the couple

in the crowd, police chief cathy lanier and a whole bump of really luckyq0 girls, like tee annie shriverbly when the lights came on the stadium was going right wythe and red and everybody was just loud. >> people don't realize how div cut is to be the child of a police officer. >> reporter: for lanier it is two fold, opportunity to acknowledge her staff and families but chance to mentor these young women. >> so, for mom or dad to come home and say, i got you taylor swift tickets, oh my god how great is that? >> he said haveie you ever -- do you listen to taylor swift and all this stuff, i said, yes he is like, chief lanier got us tickets and i started doing cartwheels and stuff around the room and stuff. it was fun. >> reporter: 168 girls and more than 20 chaperons. it was a party. today, they relived the best aaiqmand, of course, said thank you to the chief. reporting in northwest d.c. zachary kiesch news4. >> what a night for those young ladies. hey, if you're wonder hog paid for all the ticket, it wasn't the taxpayers, they were donated. >>> still ahead at 6:00, new calls for change a

. >> reporter: more than two years ago, police chief cathy lanier cracked down on street scamming after a news4 i-team investigation showed some officers not enforcing the law and how these teens lost $500 when they bought tickets on the street for justin bieber. we wanted to talk to the chief again about the scalping problem that hasn't gone away but a spokeswoman told us we are unable to accommodate your request, only saying there had been 16 arrests since 2014. multiple scalpers told the i-team that they won't do anything, as long as they don't make the sell right in front of them. four different sources tell us there has been discussion with d.c. council about possibly changing the scalping law including one idea of creating a scalping zone where tickets could be legally bought and sold. tisha thompson, news4 i-team. >> in the next hour, tisha will tell you more about those changes and what the d.c. council thinks about them. to learn the best way to protect yourself and score the best seats go to our nbc washington app. click on vexes. >>> local children are among those honored for

police chief, cathy lanier told reporters that the response we saw in washington was kind of responsehey would have any kind of report of active shooter down at the navy yard. reality according to my contacts we're in one of the most severe threat environments leading up to the july 4th holiday we've seen in the better part of a decade. a lot of that chatter they're picking up is related to these isis homegrown terrorists and whether they're going to seek to try and launch something over that holiday weekend sandra. >> tough to hear, catherine. and are you in general seeing a shift in the way that the fbi is operating worldwide? >> reporter: that's a great question and that's kind of the big context picture here. what we've seen in the last, last month or so in at least the united states is this kind of per acceptable shift with the fbi -- per separatable. they are surveilling individuals that associated themselves. pledging allegiance to isis. now what we're seeing picking these people up very quickly and trying to build a case against them. a shift from surveillance to getting these

i think cathy lanier responded in the right way to say, listen a call came in, this person wasn't sure what they heard and we had to react to that especially when we know what has happened there in the past. so i don't see anyway that you can complain about the response that was put forth. >> doesn't it also show that people are paying close, very close attention to the constant instructions to be vigilant, to say something if you see something? >> you got it. say something if you see something. no ifs, and, buts about it. should be just like 911. and that's why you applaud whoever called in. whether it was a fireworks or a backfire of a car whatever. it was the right thing to do. >> but these are the repercussions of those incidents that have happened in the past. i do think what we have to watch for is we can say that now on this one response. but let's say this happens two or three times within a month and the police have to expend a lot of money and force to go out on these calls. will the response of the public and even the media be the same. will we be critiquing it the same way