reporting live from united medical center, megan mcgrath, news 4. >> we continue with news 4's derrick ward. >> live at union temple ban tift church where they plan to continue a thanksgiving tradition near to bury's heart. good morning, derrick. >> reporter: indee it was. barry was near and dear to the hearts of a lot of people here. people are coming by with their personal stories about marion barry. one man we just talked to said he had to come from maryland to this area where he remembers talking to barry and being with him, where he made one of his many political comebacks. take a look at the ceremony going on inside union temple. reverend willy wilson who was with barry and his family at the time of his death started out the early morning service this morning with libations, pouring of libations, an african tradition for the home going or the passage as it's often referred to. we started to talk to people as they were coming in and out of the church and the news was filtering, he was a public figure, but everyone had their personal remembrances. >> i just can remember back in pride i

right now a time of remembrance and grieving in ward 8. >> thanks, derrick. >> we have people telling us on twitter that they plan to be out there volunteering on tuesday, making sure his spirit lives on. >>> we have heard from a number of people this morning. speaking about the full life of marion barry and how he lived it. >> luckily we've been joined by news 4's tom sherwood to give us unique perspective. tom, you've known him for a long time. did you say 1978? >> 1979, '79 when he was running for mayor, i was a desk editor at "the washington post." >> but all through out that period where you knew him, he was this larger-than-life figure in so many ways. >> his son is a couple years younger than my son. we often talked about the difficulties of raising children. marion barry was fully, 100% into city politics. this year he was out supporting mayor gray for re-election in april when he lost to muriel bowser, mayor barry put on the bowser shirt and went out and worked hard for her. he was there on her election night. he's had decades of time in this city and the impact on the city h

and as news4's derrick ward reports, they think the content may be a little too mature. >> reporter:s maryland youth tobacco and risk behavior survey helps policymakers find out what risky behaviors young people may be engaged in, like smoking and drinking. and aids them in drafting policy to address those behaviors. as the parents of middle schoolers we spoke to, they don't object to the survey itself, but think some of the questions are not appropriate for middle school age children. these parents say they were quite taken aback by some of the specific questions in the survey. they want to remain anonymous. they don't want their kids singled out, but they have some problems with the questions on page 6. >> has your child had -- have you had multiple partners the last time you had sex. did you use a condom with your partner. these are to me struck me as questions you would not ask an 11-year-old. >> reporter: yes, the world has changed. yes, kids are exposed to these topics sooner than generations before them. but parents fear having them with this information may have them think it

in prince george's county, derrick ward, news 4 >> d.c. police trying to figure out what caused a deadly crash on alabama avenue. just before 8:00 last night, a man walked into the street and was hit by several cars. he died. police shut down the road for hours in the area around 18th street southeast >> and police are looking for a masked gunman who opened fire in an apartment building in column pia, maryland. the man inside was hit several times and had to be flown to the hospital. investigate issors say they don't think the shooting was random >> they caught the man who was targeting women in northern virginia. darion robinson was arrested wednesday night. he car jacked a woman at the vienna metro two weeks ago, forced her to withdraw cash from several atms before he let her go at the new carrollton. we looked into his criminal record and he has served time for a car jacking back in 1996. >>> today is your last chance to sign the condolenc ebook for marijuana yon barry. stop by and sign it between 9:00 and 5:30 tonight. he will lie in r

news 4's derrick ward joining us live now from district heights. derrick, i know we're already seeing some negative results from these gusts of wind, some damage, a lot of it? >> reporter: well indeed. quite significant damage. take a look at this tree behind me. we're at the lexingt courts apartment complex. good news is, the pepco crews are out here. what happened was the winds took down the top of that tree, brought it down on top of a car. look at this car. take a look at the video we of the vehicle. it was pretty well damaged by that. the good news is now that the lights are indeed back on. we're still under high wind alerts or high wind advisory until ab11:00. those winds could get to 40, 50 miles an hour. we're told it was about a 40-mile-an-hour gust that took the upper bow of that tree down. the good news for the folks who live here is that the lights and the heat are back on. bad news is some car owners have to deal with the insurance company because that tree came down on top of it. we are live in district heights. we are live in district

news 4's derrick ward is live in ft. washington with the latest. >> reporter: chris, despite the damage y debehind me, a ft. washington family is thankful that no one was hurt. this is the back of the house. it's believed the fire started on that side. the front is a lot worse. the roof is even gone. take a look. it was about 2:15 this afternoon when this fire broke out here in the 2800 block of janine drive in ft. washington. we're told it started in the garage. there's a vintage vehicle in there. one of the homeowners may have been working on the car at the time. neighbors say they heard what sounded like a backfire and saw lots of smoke and flames. i also spoke with another homeowner who said she was coming home when this fire was going, saw the smoke and had a sneaky feeling that it was indeed her home. when she got here, her worst fears were realized. even after that, she'll being circumt about the whole thing and talking about what's next. >> rebuild. go to church and thank god for our lives and we were able to get

derrick ward is live in northwest. what are you hearing from police out there? >> what we're hearing is they are putting the word out this is happening. this is kind of a residential neighborhood. a lot of people on food and especially late at night. people think that they want to get the word out because these two robbers are just getting a little too comfortable operating in this part of town. >> one of the latest victims that recently spent time in rio de janeiro, a great city with a reputation. >> nothing ever happened. i was also prepared and nothing happened. >> reporter: it wasn't until he came here to d.c. that he became a victim. it happened here in the 3100 block of p street. he and his housemate passed two men on the street and thought something just wasn't right. in a few seconds their fears were realized. >> at a certain point the one on the left turns around with a gun and puts it in my friend's face. >> reporter: the first here in the 3700 block of macomb street and the latest in the 3000 block of idaho street. those who live nearby are already ca

we sent derrick ward to find out. new at 11:00. >> reporter: the november 1st pub crawl in arlington. establishments that take part are helping defray some of the costs associated with the event. >> it helps the county as a whole. we have been taking resources from other parts of the county to staff this. now organizers are paying for police support, fire support. we can have dedicated resources here from the beginning. >> repor to keep things from getting to that point in the first place. the need for that became clear last summer when a naked man was arrested after he parked a charactr several parked cars. >> this is a very high-strung area. it's nice to see people enjoying themselves. >> it may not be the biggest pub crawl but it's gaining a reputation. >> i came all the ways from north carolina to do this. we had a big pub crawl in charlotte, where i am from. >> reporter: from the lines outside eateries, this is good for business. the costumes are scarier than the ride home. >>> another police officer has been tak

derrick ward reports. >> reporte d.c. neighborhood, few costume halloween revelers, real police officers were passing out descriptions of the man police say did this. >> i find it very pauling. >> reporter: a man attacked an officer on patrol with an ax about 3:00 in the morning when the officer noticed a man with an ax in the alley of quincy street. he swung the ax at the driver's side window of the cruiser. he wasn't hit by the ax but was hurt trying to arrest the man who got away. >> the officer in this case did sustain injury but it wasn't from the ax. so, i would rather see the ax embedded in the car than embedded in my officer. >> reporte there a bit of a buzz along the main drag. >> people get randomly attacked all the time. i've seen people get randomly attacked or robbed on the street and nothing is done about it zbrr derrick ward, news 4. >>> now charged in connection with a violent rape in fairfax. jesse matthew appeared via video link from jail in the charlottesville area, facing three charges in fairfax, atte

that's where we are live right off marlboro pike, derrick ward, news 4. back to you. >> just a few miles away from there a plan was killed overnight. right now we're working to find that man's name. it happened in landover on bright seed road less than a mile from fedex field. prince george's coun police say they don't know who shot the man but are working to find out. stay with news 4 as we learn more about what happened. >>> prince george's county po right now investigating the death of a community college student in college park. last night police responded to 911 calls of an unconscious man on berwyn house road. he was pronounced dead at the hospital. police say there is no sign of foul play, but alcohol was probably a factor in the man's death. > in decision 2014 president obama has a busy day ahead, campaigning for democrats ahead of tuesday's election. the president's fi will be in bridgeport, connecticut at a rally for dan malloy. after that he'll head to philadelphia to speak at temple university to campaign for gubernatorial candidate tom wolf.

news4's derrick ward is live in college park with more on that. derrick. >> reporter: you know, for years now, the pentagon has been selling off some of its surplus military gear at bargain basement prices at police departments all over the country, as well as some campus police departments have been scooping it up, as well as the campus police here at the university of maryland. and that's got some students upset. and today they had their voices heard. >> i'm here for a principle, and i hope that you'll come join me. >> reporter: a rallying call to students inside the student union building ahead of a planned campus protest in the university of maryland. >> there is no reason we have the second most amount of artillery out of all college campuses across the nation. we have 15 and 16. >> reporter: some of those rifles came out during a campus scare back in september. a hoax call to police about hostage-taking at the main administration building. >> we have 50 -- >> reporter: protesters marched on that same building. armed only with compassion for t

derrick ward has the story. >> reporter: seen here in a picture, taken on their mother'.d be the last time they were together. >> joe, tom, ben and pat. and tom and pat are the two that died in world war ii. >> reporter: there is a special connection between lieutenant tom and this tom. >> before i was born, he asked my mom to name me after him. >> reporter: he was a navigator in the army air corps, the predecessor to the modern air force, shot down over germany in july of 1944. he was a prisoner of war. this letter was from a brother stateside. he and his son had plenty of history but they were missing something and didn't know t. the medals he had earned, including the purple heart. somehow they ended up in a yard sale in south carolina. but a retired marine browsing with his wife bought them two weeks ago and tracked down the family here in northern virginia. he put them in the mail. >> i got the package, and when we opened it up, i was shocked to find out what they had sent. >> quite impressed with his career, because i didn't know about the purple hearts, the disting

he was most recently their city councilman and as derrick ward reports, barry's impact there won't be forgotten. >> reporter: at union temple baptist church in ward 8, barry's church in barry's ward, his friend and confidant, performed a ceremony and from the hills of anacostia, remembrances. >> he was a good person. he helped many a people. >> reporter: there was compassion for a man who remained politically active as his personal constitution faltered. >> i'm sad but i thank god that he doesn't have to suffer anymore. >> reporter: if there was suffering, it was inward. not even those closest to him saw it within hours of his passing. >> i said how are you feeling? he said i'm great. he talked about all of the work he had ahead of him this week. >> reporter: that includes the annual ward 8 turkey giveaway which will go on. >> we'll be right here. he's been doing it for many years. it's going to be a really special day. >> reporter: it's not just east of the river that folks are remembering and talking about the former mayor. from ward 8 to 8th street and capitol hill, the name invoke

news4's derrick ward has our report. >> reporter: it was november 1994.iolence that plagued the streets of d.c. came to a place everyone thought was safe. cathy lanier was a rookie officer. >> we got the news the shooting was at police headquarters. we thought surely that's a mistake. >> at the time, i did not fully understand the carnage that had occurred. >> reporter: mpd sergeant hank daly, martha dixon martinez and michael john miller died. agent john kuchara spent months recovering. the emotion he still carries was evident. speakers recounted the city's days as the murder capital. >> we had very, very young people killing very, very young people without -- with impugnity we're running year after year the highest murder rates in the city. >> reporter: later, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the national law enforcement memorial, the agent recalled those dark days for the district and how a gunman's effort to gain dubious attention failed. >> it happened in our house, you know. it showed people that, hey, nowhere is safe. and we're going to follow th

our derrick ward is in college park now with more on this. derrick?reporter: well, jim, you know, it is no secret the pentagon has been selling off some of its surplus, and municipal police forces all over the country have been scooping them up, as has the university of maryland police force. several police forces have been doing that. students are upset about 50 m-16s which the police chief says are for a specific purpose, and also says that the government says they have to have them. >> hands up! >> reporter: they're talking about guns at the university of maryland college park. >> no reason we have the second-most amount of artillery out of all college campuses across the nation. we have 50 m-16s. >> protesters marched on the central administration building to take that message to campus police chief, david mitchell. the 50 m-16s are enough for about half the campus police force. chief mitchell says the pentagon surplus weapons are needed. you see, there is a nuclear engineering program at the school. >> federal law as dick natured by the nuclear r

. >> news4's derrick ward has the story of one man who took it upon himself to be more than just a good neighbor. >> reporter: residents of this apartment building returned to pick up what they could after a three-alarm fire interrupted thanksgiving dinner. she returned home when she saw smoke and flames on the second floor. >> the apartment right next door to ours caught on fire. i was like, oh, my god. >> reporter: david gomez is here too to help move his father out. the fire started across the hall from his second floor apartment. his entrance today a lot different from his hasty exit yesterday. >> with we took all our family out and started knocking on all of the doors, telling people, let's go, let's go. >> reporter: people were dangling from balconies as firefighters started to arrive. gomez helped one neighbor escape and was trying to get back in to help another. >> it was difficult, because i couldn't breathe and i wanted to go in and get the guy. so i went to the apartment and grabbed some paper towels and put them in my nose and i tried to get in again and i couldn't. and then

news4's derrick ward has more from the memorial held today in northwest washington. ♪ >> reporter: itas a time of remembrance and a time for tears. emotions came to the foreat st. patrick's church. two decades can't erase of the emotion of that day 20 years ago when a gunman took a it tech-9 and opened fire in the squad room used by an fbi task force. lawson would later kill himself. police chief fred thomas, in the building at the time, remembers it as if it were yesterday. >> i was no stranger to death and dying. i've been on the scene of many robberieses and shootings. but nothing prepared me for that experience. >> we remember them most of all for how they lived. >> reporter: 35-year-old martha dixon-martin, the first woman ever assigned to an fbi s.w.a.t. team came to the task force with a sense of duty and devotion. >> she was there with her friends and she was going to stay there and fight for her friends and defend them. and that's what she did. >> reporter: agent michael john miller, born and raised in prince george's county, he quit the bureau, practiced law and came back to

as derrick ward reports they are making their voices heard by stopping people in their tracks. >> reporter: they spent most of saturday in the streets, penn city, chinatown, georgetown, the reaction of the activities in ferguson. it's no accident these protests were held where they were at the start of the holiday shopping season. >> we're going to raise awareness of people. >> reporter: they did that. they raised the ire of some motorists who found themselves and cars in the middle of a movement outside of pentagon city. motorists exchanged words with protesters and had to be escorted. once there were sit ins now die ins a reference to the reasons and events that got them here but protesters say go beyond reason events. >> it's a greater movement for racial justice and equality for everyone. >> coming up today on "meet the press" moderator chuck todd leads a discussion on race in americ following michael brown's death and protests in ferguson, missouri. he'll join us on the set. >>> december starts tomorrow which means we're only weeks away from the new i-95 express lanes in virginia. the

derrick ward, news 4. >> that fire has been ruled an accident. the exact cause is under investigation. although we're told that cooking was not involved. >>> the shopping madness is still going on at the newly renovated springfield town center. this is the first time in three years this you can do holiday shopping. what used to be desolate, known for crime, was filled with eager customers as early as 6:00 p.m. last night. and the crowds are going strong. springfield town center is open until 10:00 tonight. >>> and when you are out shopping, there's a really good chance you're going to be tempted to sign up for yet another credit card. major credit card companies offer rewards and zero percent interest. but before you add another card to your wallet, consider what it's really going to cost you. >> i'm looking forward to doing some holiday shopping. >> reporter: it's that time of year and it often amounts to heavy spending, unless you have a plan. >> usually i set like a per-person limit. >> reporter: but there is nothing easier than just reaching

news 4's derrick ward has more. >> reporter: police want to talk to this man. he's seen here in a surveillance photo in connection with an armed carjacking. police say it started about 12:40 in the morning thursday here at the north garage at the vienna station. they say the woman was in her car, someone knocked in the window. she saw a man with a gun. he got in the car with her. that's when her odyssey began. >> according to authorities, the gunman promised he wouldn't harm her as long as she did what he told her to development ordered her to drive to maryland and ord money. once in maryland the victim came up with $45. it wasn't enough t. suspect ordered her to drive along the route 450 corridor to stores, gas stations, places with atms so she could withdraw more money while he waited in the car. eventually he ordered her to drive him to the new carrollton metro station. he one dishing characteristic they say is the man's walk. he walks with a limp, a limp to his right side. derrick ward, news 4. >>> prince george's county police have the victim's car and are

derrick ward has more on this ideal. >> metro transit police, prince george's county police and fairfax county police want to talk to this man. he's seen here in a surveillance photo in connection with an armed carjacking. police say it started about 12:40 in the morning thursday here at the north garage vienna station. they say the woman was in a car, someone knocked on the window. she saw a man with a gun. he got in the car with her and that's when her odyssey began. according to authorities, the gunman promised he wouldn't harm her. he ordered her to drive to maryland and he demanded money. according to the official account of the incident, once in maryland, the victim came up with $45. it wasn't enough. the suspect directed her to drive her to stores, gas stations, places with atms so she could withdraw more money while he waited in the car. eventually he ordered her to drive to the new carrollton metro station where he left the victim unharmed. police say there's no warrant for this man, but he's someone they want to talk to in connection with thursday's carjacking. one distinguish

tonight johnson's family is holding a vigil in chill 'em where derrick ward is live tonight. are there any detectives there as well? >> reporter: they are indeed here. they've been keeping close contact with the family there. back here in the crowd of 2 dozen family members and friends of the victim who gathered, as you said, for this vigil. i want you to take a look at surveillance video. this is taken from the door. police believe that's the killer seen going into the building and running out a short time later. there's footage of a car driving away. police believe that's the get away vehicle. this all happened on monday, october 27th at 11:23 p.m. police say that this was probably the person who murdered 36-year-old hollis johnson. he died shortly after being shot in the hallway just outside his apartment door. police search for a motive and suspects and they say nothing could be more effective now than a mother's impassioned plea for justice. >> if anybody who saw this happen, whoever drove that car away, i'm pleading with you now, i know you've got a mother, i know you'v

news 4's derrick ward has more. >> reporter: it was about 6:45 in teaching.was dark even amid all the ambient light. the victim was crossing the pike at halpine road, was heading in the direction of the congressional village shopping center. >> what we determined was this 2014 nissan versa was traveling southbound on rockville pike when he struck this pedestrian. >> reporter: the force of the impact left the man's belong innings and articles of clothing strone on both sides of the street. the damage to the car was significant at well. the painstaking process of the science of accident reconstruction began and closed the pike to southbound traffic for hours after the accident. it's just part of the investigation. >> there were plenty of witnesses, so we should be able to find out what happened. >> the driveer of the nissan remained on the scene. the victim was rushed to the hospital in grave condition. with darkness falling earlier, many find themselves driving and walking at times when there used to be light, making prudence a best practice. all too easily, s

derrick ward reports from temple hills. >> resident cell phone video and firefighters video capturede first firefighters arrived at the lin hill conned min numz. just moments before other residents had taken their fates into their own hands. >> they observed occupants of the building hanging from the fifth floor balcony, swinging themselves down to the fourth floor and then down to the third floor. >> a good samaritan got some to the ground. others got out under less harrowing circumstances. cassandra and her nieces made a last-minute run to the store before dinner. >> we seen the smoke and then we came back and this is what we come back to. >> a fire, apparently, with plenty of fuel from the apartment where it's believed to have started. >> they got inside to the second floor unit and found collier's mansion conditions, excessively filled with stuff. >> firefighters would evacuate the entire building. thanksgiving dinner would be delayed. >> the dinner is actually on the stove. it's still on the stove. >> luckily the stove is out. >> all the residents are accounted for. miraculously

. >> derrick ward, news 4. >> earlier in the broadcast we put out the question what you thought abouthe survey. whether you thought it was a good idea or not. most of those who have responded say and that's 61% say it's a good idea. 39% feel that it goes too far. >> alexandria was named a top shop small city as part of a nonprofit campaign. banners along mt. vernon avenue announced this honor. alexandria was chosen because most of the retailers are independently or regionally owned. shoppers can take advantage of free gifts, activities on shop small saturday in three weeks. >> sharing untold stories of war heroes reporting details behind a local project that brings the experiences of veterans to life. >> the concert for valor is days away. what you need to know if you plan just like an interception, i bet you didn't see this one coming. up your game with a new fritos chili pizza. a large for $12 dollars. add a mega chocolate chip cookie for just $5 dollars more. better ingredients. better pizza. better football. papa john's. ♪ [ male announcer ] follow your joy to a celebration like n

news 4's derrick ward has more from temple hills >> video captured the early moments as the firefightersmple hills. just moments before, other residents had taken fate into their own hands. >> actually observed occupants of the building hanging from the fifth floor balcony. they were swinging down to the fourth floor. they watched them swing themselves down to the fourth floor. >> it would help get some of the residents to the ground. others got out under less harrowing circumstances. cassandra massey and nieces made a last minute run to the store before dinner. >> we seen the smoke. then we came back. and this is what we came back to. >>> a fire apparently with plenty of fuel in the apartment where it is believed to have started. >> they got inside to the second floor unit and found collier's mansion conditions, excessively filled with stuff. >> reporter: firefighters at one point evacuated the building. >> the dinner is on the stove. it is still on the stove. >> reporter: luckily the stove is out. >> all the residents are accounted for. miracle rousely none of those swinging from balco

news 4's derrick ward reports. >> reporter: d.c.borhood, revel rechlt s, real police officers were passion out leaflets of a description of the man who did this. >> i find it very appalling. >> reporte police are looking for a man who attacked an officer on patrol with an ax on quincy street. he swung the ax into the driver's side window of the cruiser. he was hurt trying to arrest the man who got away. >> he did sustain injury but it wasn't from the ax. so i would rather see the ax embed in the car than in my officer. >> people get randomly attacked all the time. i've seen someone get randomly attacked or robbed on the street and nothing is said or done about it, so -- >>> suspected cop killer in pennsylvania has been denied bill and will stay in jail until his trial. eric frein was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder yesterday. frein spent 48 days on the run in the woods. u.s. marshals caught him at an abandoned resort 23 miles from the barracks. >> identified myself, told him to put his hands up, told him to get

. >> news4's derrick ward was there today. he will show you the emotional remembrances.g up, new at 5:00. >>> notice any glitches lately with your smartphone or computer? >> if not, you could soon. and you might also notice problems with your lights, your gps, even your holiday flight. >> storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson joins us to explain this. vj. >> that's right, guys. my phone, it's acting okay today. but have you noticed anything peliar with your phone or gps? you might want to look to the sun. okay, guys, take a look at this. we posted this amazing picture on our facebook page of the sun. nasa researchers have their attention on the largest observed sun spot in 24 years, and how it could impact our daily lives. scientists around the world have their eyes turned to the sun this week. it's revealed a sun spot ten times larger than the earth. it's historical for its size and nasa is doing everything that it can to understand better the solar phenomenon. i asked how concerned we should be on a scale of 1 to 10. >> maybe 5. you know, we're not going to have

i'm derrick ward, and i'll have details coming >>> let's check out what stories are trending online todaycelebration in the city of brotherly love as officials confirm an upcoming visit from the holy father. >> the pope is coming. to philadelphia. >> philly's mayor, michael nutter, said pope francis' visit will be the biggest in modern history. the pope will travel to philly in september of next year for the world meeting of families celebration. it will be his first visit to the u.s. since elected to lead the catholic church in 2013. >>> a burst of sunshine might be all that's needed to wake up the spacecraft that landed on that speeding comet. new pictures today revealed that the lander bounced off the comet after it touched down, and it came to rest about a half mile away. the comet meanwhile 300 million miles away from earth. after wednesday's landing, the solapowered batteries died. scientists now hoping it will peek out of the shadows long enough to recharge those batteries. the sun, that is. >>> he was just taking the subway with his wife when police say a guy pushed the 61-year-ol