use my official pat collins snow stick. >> are you ready?. >> here we go. >> what do you got there? >> we got about 2.25 inches. >> and it's still coming down. >> if you live in virginia about 80 degrees, get out of the district. a beautiful sun tan. you need sun tan lotion over there. >> how do you like my sun stick sdwrvgts it's good. would you like to have one? >> love it. >> but you can't have one. >> 1922 biggest -- it's a big one. >> yeah. >> well to get one you've got to build a snowman. epter ernter our snow stick challenge. go home and work on it. >> back to the governor's mansion in richmond get the five kids out there, two dogs and do it's i want a stick. >> thank you, governor. >> thank you, pat. >> terry mcauliffe governor of virginia measuring snow here in d.c. >> pat collins, love it. >>> that's "news4 midday" but coverage continues at noon. >> stay with u >>> snow is blanketing the area now. road conditions quickly getting very bad as the snow picks up and the temperatures drop. welcome to our extended coverage of this winter

in fairfax, pat collins, news4. >>> coveted pat collins snow stick. >> we can all sleep better tonight knowing that this contest is over and hopefully this winter is as well. >> let's hope that's the last snow stick challenge we see in quite a while. another employee fired after a investigation into how one county manages its like kor. the other changes sparked after our report. >>> a new message spreading in local churches. how the pulpit is moving to the front lines of the fight against domestic violence in our area. as a small business owner you wouldn't deliver just half of what you have to offer to your customers. so why are you settling for half-fast internet? only verizon fios comes with speedmatch - uploads as fast as downloads so files go out in a snap. don't miss your last chance to get $200 back when you upgrade to fios internet and phone for just $99.99 a month with a 2-year agreement and get $200 back. hurry call now it's your last chance. this offer ends march twenty-first. >>> a board of liquor put the putts into effect change after our internal investigations into beer

at stake, the pat collins snow stick. let's get on with it. we asked to see you best snowman and you came through. an army of entries. best snowman maker gets an official pat collins snow stick. now, you just can't have a snowman unless you have some kids around to help you make it. look at these girls. look at their snowman. this took some time. good thing there was no school today. even the little ones. they got the job done. olaf, the snowman from the movie "frozen." factory made. olaf man-made out of real snow. not bad, huh? there's some art there. now, there was a group of news4 snowmen. a replica of our very own meteorologist and marathoner chuck bell. it even has a marine corps finish medal. but how did they get chuck's running outfit and his shoes? now, this wanted to channel his inner pat collins. he made his own snow stick. he made his own snow stick! can you say trademark? he made his own microphone! and look on the table! there's eve an little snowman there. i don't know what the judges will think, but i love this one. hey, you kno

let's go right to news4's pat collins live in laurel with the latest on that mess. pat? >> reporter: barbara, we're going to look down at the scene of that accident southbound 95 here in laurel. you can see two lanes are now open and moving freely but slowly here. the other lanes they're still cleaning up. it was quite an ordeal today. when you see pictures of this truck, when you see what happened to this truck, you'll see how lucky people were to walk away from this one. there it goes that tanker truck, the centerpiece of a massive interstate accident. towed down 95 the way it began its day, but it took some doing to get it moving. ever so carefully they righted this tanker truck. this 7,500-gallon tanker truck that flipped over and blocked the southbound lanes of 95 in laurel. the traffic backup went on for hours and for miles and for a time it went on in both . there was a spill and aha mat hazmat alert. they took no chances. >> in the side of the tank was a golf ball-sized hole. we estimate it was about 400 gallons that had leaked out of thd to pump the fuel out of

good ones too, and now one person will be able to measure the snow using an official and famous pat collins snow stick. >> we need a drum roll here. pat shows us some of the creative entries for this latest challenge. take a look. ♪ it's the final countdown ♪ >> reporter: we may be a southern city but when it comes to making snowmen, there's no shortage of talent around here. the snow stick challenge. best snowman gets an official pat collins snow stick. we got scores and scores of entries. look at this one. he had his very own snow stick. his very own microphone too. i don't know about you, but i sort of like the look. though it was freezing and windy outside, a lot of the snow sculptures had a warm-weather theme. just because it's cold doesn't mean you can't be cool. we're one month away from opening day, and you could tell a lot of people had baseball on their mind. snowmen, snowmen, snowmen of every shape and description. how do you pick a winner? well first you pick a blue ribbon panel of judges. nbc 4's general manager and noted talent scout jackie bradford. and two of our honored rep

we begin with pat collins. he's live in southeast d.c. with the latest. pat? >> reporter: imagine you're driving to work and you realize there's a guy in your trunk. that guy kicks out the back seat seat. he's wearing a hospital gown. he has a gun. he wants your car. here now the story of this incredible escape. the inova fairfax hospital. sealed off by police for hours. no one in no one out. a massive manhunt for this man, wossen assaye. a prisoner who escaped around 3:00 this morning after he stole a security guard's gun and then used her to make his getaway. >> he walked down the hallway with the -- from our understanding with the female contract guard sort of as a shield and at some point released her. >> reporter: assaye, a bank robbery suspect, was being watched by two private guards hired by the marshal service. a man and a woman. when the male guard went to the bathroom assaye made his move. in bare feet wearing only a hospital gown. at a residence near the hospital assaye breaks into the trunk of a woman's car. when she gets behind the car and starts

best snowman maker gets an official pat collins snow stick.n the wide wide world of sports alex snow-vechkin ice hockey snow, it's a natural. how about this cool number from the bowl america team in gaithersburg? nats hat, redskins scarf, a crossover snowman. the nationals might be down in spring training but here in the snow there's a lot of nats love. this will all melt by opening day. i promise. i think. how about this woman? if you can't make a snowman, be a snowman! talk about putting your all into a project. now, as you know, the last snow challenge was snow us your pets and our last winter was sunshine, the bird. here she was again today auto nout the snow doing a measurement with her very own stick. now we do have a couple of animal-related entries. look at this dog looking at the snowman. the snowman has no corn cob pipe or a button nose or eyes made of coal. it's 100% snow. and it looks pretty. look at this real dog nose to nose with the snow dog. it's like a snow mania sniffoff! now, it's not too late to enter. take a picture of you

it's great to have you with us. >> thank you very much. >>> let's go to pat collins on the t overturned tanker on i-95 leaking fuel out there. what can you now, pat? >> reporter: barbara, it's still a working scene here on 95 south of 198. an overturned tanker with biodiesel fuel. the fuel spilled on to 95. there's another tanker here. they are trying to off load the fuel. joining me now is paul gomez with the prince georges county fire department. what can you tell me? >> this morning we received a report of a tractor-trailer s side. it was a gasoline tanker. we dispatched hazmat units out to the scene. they located what you see here as a tanker on its side leaking a biodiesel fuel and a section of that truck was leaking. hazmat crews were able to patch the hole to slow the leak and are working to retain the runoff. >> reporter: was anyone injured? >> we evaluated two patients but both of those will not result in a transport. everything was mine injuries. >> reporter: the drivek is okay? is there any danger to the community as a result of this spill? >> not at this time. we h eva out.

the best snowman maker gets his or her very own pat collins snow stig. we'll announce the winner tonight on news 4. >> that's right, a lot of people tweeting me some sweet pictures as well. really creative. one person made a pat collins snowman. cute. >> some good stuff. 4:41 just about. here is a live look outside. nothing falling from the sky at this early hour. we're just in a deep freeze. >> tom kierein here now with your weather and traffic on the 1s. >> yeah, you can wear a hat like pat. keep your head warm as temperatures are down into the teens. a few spots single digits. gaithersburg 7 above frederick only 4 above. front royal, 7 above. look at luray, down to zero. windchills are subzero to near zero for the morning. by 8:00, still in the teens. bright sunshine. and by noontime mid-20s. maybe briefly near 30 mid afternoon, back down to upper 20s by 5:00. going forward over the next 24 hours into this evening another cold evening, but not as cold. we'll be in the low 20s by midnight and then theer teens starting off saturday morning. just a few c

i'm pat collins. the story coming up. sp . >>> now at 6:30 a bicycle bandit robbing banks in northern virginia. now behind bars because of something he had in his hand during the robberies. now investigators used it to track him down. >> reporter: the husband's violent rampage led one county to call for help in fighting domestic violence. >>> and a new strategy to chase the geese away from the reflecting pool on the national mall. >>> first new details about the takedown of a man wanted for robbing a dozen banks. >> they call him the bicycle bandit and we're learning how the fbi tracked him down. pat collins joins us live from arlington. hi, pat. >> reporter: how you doing? when the bicycle bandit struck in alexandraia they came here to arlington. how did they know who he was? here's how. the bicycle bandit. the fbi says he's responsible for 12 bank robberies in the last 15 months. he robs with a cell phone in one hand and a gun in the other. and when it comes time to escape he makes his getaway by bike. friday he hit the

stay with us for frequent >>> i'm pat collins in fairfax county. it appears that the end to this story is in d.c. a few minutes ago a high law enforcement source told me that the escapee has been apprehended many the district without incident. they say that arrest occurred on pennsylvania avenue southeast. now this came after hours and hours of a massive manhunt here in fairfax county. the object of the manhunt wossen assaye is an alleged bank robber. he's the alleged bicycle bandit. he escaped from fairfax hospital at gunpoint. he wrestled a gun away from a guard and then carjacked a car. he dumped that car and then he carjacked a second car. this has been a massive manhunt involving the fbi, u.s. marshals, virginia state police and fairfax county police. they have swormed to this annandale neighborhood looking for him, but then a few moments ago i was told by a high law enforcement source that this man wossen assaye has been arrested without incident in the district of columbia. we'll have more details as they become available, but it appears now

. >> let's go to news4's pat collins live at the wells fargo in falls church. pat? >> reporter: this is a crime scene like i've never seen before. all that ice and snow we've had worked to the advantage of investigators trying to track down the black hat bank robbers. take a look at this scene behind the wells fargo bank in falls church. you'll see footprints marked with fluorescent paint and inside the paint they have a chemical to take an impression of the footprints. it appears after the bank robbers committed the robbery, they ran across this area here and left footprints in the ice and in the snow. investigators went to a nearby restaurant took the boxes from the restaurant boxes used to ship frito-lay potato ships but used the boxes to preserve the footprints until csi techs could get here to work the scene. there are a number of foot prints here. it's unclear as to how many of the foot prints they're going to process here in the rear of the wells fargo bank. let's take another look at the surveillance video of the black hat bank robbers we got today. this is

i'm pat collins. i got your snow stick challenge final four. >>> plus, a schoolboy celebrates world boat day with bondage. >> one film talked about at school it's always "50 shades of grey." i know grandma's house isn't the most exciting, but it's only for a few hours. look what i've got. when you get verizon fios, you get beautiful hd picture quality, super fast internet, and america's most reliable network. so you won't miss a second of that movie, that game they love, or those moments with family. can we sleep over? please! come on! make your house the house when you get more from verizon fios the tv service rated #1 in hd picture quality and signal reliability based on customer satisfaction studies plus america's fastest, most reliable internet. and for peace of mind, get a price quote in writing and professional installation from a highly trained verizon technician. hurry now to get this deal that can't be beat. get a fios triple play online for just 79.99 a month - a price guaranteed for two ful

coming up on news 4 at 5:00 pat collins will be in that neighborhood getting reaction from people who live the. i'll see you in a few minutes. >>> a northern virginia family is at risk of losing their home but a team of supporters is stepping in to help. news4's kristin wright has the story. >> reporter: this community is rallying behind a special family in alexandria. they are in danger of losing their home of almost 20 years to foreclosure in a matter of hours. the family got significantly behind their mortgage after mounting medical expenses. the mother is blind. the father is a former nypd sergeant who got into a terrible accident. he is also blind and suffered a stroke last year. the dinas have four children. two of them have serious medical issues of their own. tonight on news 4 at 5:00 the race against the clock to help this family that has already been dealing with so much. kristin wright news4. >>> an entire neighborhood gone in an instant. one year after the devastation they that caught the world's attention, a community comes together. how they're remembering their neighbor

the best snowman maker gets his or her very own pat collins snow stick.lucky this is the last snow stick challenge of this year. we'll announce the winner tonight on news 4. be sure to tune in for 4:00 5:00 and 6:00. not sure which show they'll announce it on but amazing snowmen entries for this. did you make one? >> i do not make a snowman yesterday. went out, tried to pack the snow together. it wasn't easy for me to pack it together yet. >> we thought it would be wet snow. it was light and fluffy? >> dry outside the station. set up a pat collins snow tick. got about 6 1/2 inches. this afternoon, temperature, cold. upper 20s, low 30s. 30 the high in cog. wake up in the teens. near record cold tomorrow. after that a warm-up. high tomorrow 42. lots of melting, mostly sunny skies. melting continues sunday, but more clouds. monday low 50s. mid-50s tuesday. upper 50s on wednesday. that sounds so nice. spring is in about 14 days. next thursday cooler. still around 50. no snow in the forecast. >> that's good news. >> great news. >> thank you. >>> the matthew mc

we begin with pat collins. he's live in southeast d.c. with the latest. pat? >> reporter: imagine you're driving to work and you realize there's a guy in your trunk. that guy kicks out the back seat seat. he's wearing a hospital gown. he has a gun. he wants your car. here now the story of this incredible escape. the inova fairfax hospital. sealed off by police for hours. no one in no one out. a massive manhunt for this man, wossen assaye. a prisoner who escaped around 3:00 this morning after he stole a security guard's gun and then used her to make his getaway. >> he walked down the hallway with

i'm pat collins, news4. >> mom looks fantastic. 's adorable there. >> i don't think he'll be trouble. what do you think? >> no i don't think so either. thank you, pat. great story. >>> violent storms rip across the plains. >> it's the first major strike of tornado season. tonight, we'll go live to disaster zone in moore, oklahoma. >>> and new at 6:00 parents question a police raid at their house. why officers came in with guns drawn and what the department >>> this evening we're seeing more of the damage left behind in the first major strike of tornado season. >> twisters ripped across parts of arkansas and oklahoma where one person died. among the areas hit, moore, oklahoma which has seen its fair share over the past several years. that's where we find nbc's jay gray. jay? >> reporter: hey, there, pat, jim, you're absolutely right. in fact, this isn't the worst storm they've seen in the last couple years. look at all of the debris. it's scattered for miles. several communities not only here in the oklahoma city area but also in the

winner will get his or her own pat collins snow stick. >> hot commodity. we've seen some of your best snow hats and pets. today's contest could have something to do with spring, so be sure to check twitter to find out what it is. >>> our storm team 4 has been keeping an eye on the forecast and the changes that we've been seeing through the whole morning. take a look outside. we'll show you what city cam is picking up. looks like rain as you look here into -- respect. >> we know this will eventually turnover to snow. >> yeah, right now it is wet this washington. it is a weather alert day, so we'll have frequent storm team 4 updates all throughout the day as the snow gets closer. but look at all the snow. it stretches there boston all the way down into northern louisiana and arkansas. we are on the southern he saidend of that we are getting mostly rain in the metro area. west and north of us a little bit of sleet in the gray zone this montgomery county and then farther north and west, bright white zone that is some snow starting to reach the ground now. an b

news4's pat collins is live at the wells fargo in falls church tonight. pat, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well erica, i've been to scores and scores of bank robbery, but i can't remember one that ended up looking quite like this. a crime scene with frito-lay boxes, florescent paint, and footprints in the snow. the hunt continues on for the black hat bandits. they hit again around noon today. this time the wells fargo in falls church. this time they left behind some telltale footprints. this time people saw the getaway. people like tyler cons. julie carey talked to him. >> i looked over there and saw the people running out to the woods and hopping in a car and driving away fast wearing masks. carrying a bag too. >> reporter: what did you notice about the car? >> it was a silver looked like a charger, looked like a newer model. >> reporter: people in falls church are not used to seeing thing like this. >> we don't have many of these things that happen in this city of falls church but occasionally they do happen and they've been happening a little more frequently. >> reporter: a

news4's pat collins live in wrarl the arlington where the fbi nabbed him. >> reporter: the bicycle bandit. they say he did 11 bank jobs and got away with each one of them. 11 bank jobs. 12 was his unlucky number. the apple federal credit union, friday march 20th about 11:00 in the morning pap man goes inside. he's got a cell phone up to his here. he's got a gun in his hand. he comes up to a teller and demands money and makes off with $1,400 in cold cash. and then then he makes his getaway, his getaway on a bicycle. a blue bicycle. a signature move by the man known as the bicycle bandit. as he leanves, he passes the sign thank you for visiting apple federal credit union. maybe not so much. the bicycle bandit, the fbi believes he's responsible for 12 bank robberies in the last 15 months. they say he robs with a cell phone in one hand and a gun in another. and he doesn't run away or drive away. he pedals away. when the fbi got to the scene it's almost like they knew exactly where to go. fast forward now to the carlin. a senior citizens apartment house in arlington. just a few hours after tha

in arlington, pat collins, news foush. >>> winter wernt starting to have a big impact on school calendars. several school districts already overbudget on snow days. what they're doing now to keep from cutting into summer vacations. >>> i'm wendy rieger at the live desk. a u.s. ambassador has been attacked with a razor. ♪ ♪ know you can keep your financial big picture under control. know you can see how much you have to spend and whether you should transfer funds. know you can easily keep track of what you're putting away. and know you're budgeted for the great escape. thanks to virtual wallet by pnc. ♪ ♪ >>> i'm wendy rieger at the live desk. the u.s. ambassador to south korea was attacked on his way to give a lecture in seoul. he was cut with a razor knife on his face. south korean media showed a picture of him bleeding from the head. somebody was arrested for the attack. his injuries were nonlife threatening. >>> a busted water main that created a massive sinkhole in northeast d.c. yesterday has been fixed. the repairs shut down part of 13th place near parody place much of the day. all

best snowman gets an official pat collins snow stick. the entries keep pouring in. tall man.owman. yikes. how did he get that hat on that baby? the easter snow bunny with a basket of treats and grass at hi feet. so that's what grass looks like. a montgomery county police department entry complete with a police tape scarf and a look that you might say has some flare to it. can i take a minute to say not all the snowmen are men? there are some women out there as well. take a close look at this one. it takes a few second to figure it out. it's a high in the sky look at a snowman on steroids. and what about that gigantic carrot nose? now we come to a category we call wishful thinking. jamaica. take me to jamaica. somebody, please. and i know our time springs forward this weekend. can the real spring be far behind? now the deadline for entries 7:00 tonight. judging tomorrow tomorrow somebody's going to get an official pat collins snow stick. jim, doreen? >> got to love the snow women with the bikinis. >> i love that. you also have to love the one trying to hitchhike to. >>> jamaic

pat collins reports. >> reporter: since the first of the year, the washington field office of the fbias been investigating 16 bank robberies. eight of them committed by the three men known as the black hat bandits. >> each time they go into a bank ordering people to the floor, throwing people to the floor when they don't immediately comply with their commands. >> reporter: the black h bandits. they say they're disciplined. the average time they spend inside a bank one minute. one minute. they've used at least three different get-away cars but so far no positive sightings, no tags. not much luck there. yesterday, a cool of a different sort. yesterday the black hat bandits hit the wells fargo bank in falls church. as they ran to their get-away car, they left footprints in the snow. a crime scene tech marked the spots and then took impressions of the footprints. >> we're looking for any forensic evidence we can get. as you know these individuals are heavily disguised so identification through means other than a visual would be very important, whether that be a footprint, a blueprint, han

pat collins live there at the scene. pat, these robbers escaped through the snow today. >> reporter: indeed but they left a mark behind them jim. the black hat bandits wear masks on their faces, glovrps on their hands. could bit a telltale footprint that leads to their capture? bank job number eight for the black hat bandits. today's target this wells fargo bank in falls church. their faces covered. their guns drawn. they came in into the bank orlandoered everyone to the floor, then started collecting the loot. somebody ran to the jiffy lube next door and asked will to call the cops. he picks up the story from there. >> he said hey, anyone has a phone, they're being robbed. i ran in here called the cops. >> you saw the guys running. >> after two minutes later i was speaking to the operator they came out two minutes later and started running out. >> reporter: what did they look like? >> six-foot something, pretty tall kind of big. >> reporter: all dressed in black? >> all dressed in black like pea coats, yeah hoodies, dres

news4's pat collins is live downtown with details on all of this. pat? >> reporter: wendy, if the fbi gives you a nickname it doesn't mean that they like you. the fbi called this guy the beacon hill bandit. he hit the same beacon hill td branch five times. this guy they call forever loyal. the t-shirt speaks for itself now the black hat bandits. they've got the hats. they dress in black, and the fbi wants them real bad. you see, when the fbi gives you a nickname, watch out. >> we give them a nickname it also helps with imagine nax to help the public latch on to what we're looking for and look out for the robbers as well. >> when you get a name from the fbi if you're a bank robber -- >> he's going to get caught. >> the black hat bandits. they have guns. they come into a bank and they take charge and push people around. at one bank they held a gun up to a customer's head. >> it's a bad situation. >> are you fearful that somebody's going to get hurt? >> that's our primary fear at this point. we're very concerned at the level of violence and the fact it is d

i'm pat collins. the story coming up, news4.a small business owner you wouldn't deliver just half of what you have to offer to your customers. so why are you settling for half fast internet? only verizon fios comes with speedmatch - upload speeds as fast as your download speeds so large files go out in a snap and video conferences are seamless. it's verizon's 100% fiber-optic network that gives you 100% of the internet. don't miss your last chance to get a bonus of a $200 visa pre-paid card when you upgrade to fios internet and phone for your small business for just $99.99 a month with a 2-year agreement. hurry - call 1.888.410.4404 today, so your business doesn't have to settle for half-fast internet. get fios internet and phone for just $99.99 a month and your last chance for a $200 bonus. get a firm price quote of your total monthly charges upfront and in writing so there are no surprises. upgrade today and see why verizon is ranked highest in customer satisfaction by j.d. power. call now it's your last chance. this offer end

we have our pat collins snow stick ready to go. no accumulations just yet. but we have it ready to go just in case. melissa mollet how is traffic? >>> chuck and i just spoke, as well. he was telling me where he is west of here, of course's he's seeing the light sleet and snow. this is 70 right there at the 270 junction. so just seeing a little bit of moisture there falling from the sky right now in the way of rain. 270 the at middlebrook road, you can see the moisture on the leps.leps lens. we still have the closure 14th street at cedar street. 66 and 95 actually looking quite good. same thing when you take a look at prince george's county,off all no major problems there. i'm back at 5:11 with a live picture of 95 in maryland. >>> right now the federal government is closed. if you are an emergency employee opm says check with your agency to see if you have to come in today. right now d.c. fairfax montgomery, prince george's county and prince william coun are all closed. >> frederick county, howard anne arundel schools closed, as well. along with charles, st.

back to you, jim. >> pat collins thank you. >>> d.c. mayor mare yul ror muriel buzer is making her first trip to wall street. she's meeting with the bond agencies over the district's rating. right now it's a aa, the highest raitding is a aaa. the district's bond rating has improved over the last eight years. the better the rating of course the more money the city can borrow to spend or services and programs they can provide for residents. >>> a new addition to d.c.'s 40-year-old jail. news4 gets an exclusive look at the new library and what kind of books will be inside. >> reporter: virginia state police renewing their effort to get you to move over on the roadway. i'm david culver in prince william county. we'll introduce you to two of the troopers involved in near deadly crashes. >>> a new presidential candidate drumming up quite a controversy tonight. why he says prison is proof that being gay is a choice. >>> and storm team 4 hard at work mapping out the totals and the time line of this snowstorm set to strike the dmv. >>> i'm pat l

the winner gets his or her very own pat collins snow stick. so far this winter we've seen some of your best snow pet pictures and hats. today's contest could have something to do with spring. it's alledgedly not too far away. >> allegedly. i'm going to have to see to believe it at this rate. let's check in with amelia segal now to find out what kind of day we'll have. so snow is coming for sure. >> absolutely. and in fact on storm team 4 radar, just starting to see indications of sleet sinking into parts of washington. as we work our way into the mid and late morning hours, mainly around 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. this is when we'll really start to see sleet and snow begin to mix in and then after that roads will go downhill. you might be wondering why schools have called off. you will see later today. and it's all about the temperature. as we work our way throughout the morning hours, we'll continue to track falling temperatures. by 7 ouk a.m. here is the temperature forecast in your neighborhood. washington at 36 degrees. so still above freezing at

pat collins joins us live in thomas circle. pat, what have you learned about this case today? >> reporter: well, one night he goes missing. the next morning he's found stabbed to death at the donovan hotel. and for his wife, this has been a time of great sorrow. >> the world has lost a good person person. david's family a son and brother, and i have lost everything. >> reporter: surrounded by family members, kim vuong the wife of david messerschmitt talked publicly for the first time about the pain and the loss. her husband, david messerschmitt found murdered at the donovan hotel 43 days ago. >> my husband was the gentlist and kindest hearted person i knew. >> reporter: david messerschmitt was a 30-year-old lawyer with a powerhouse firm downtown. he lived with his wife in a stylish condo on capitol hill. it's unclear as to why he was staying at this thomas circle hotel back on february the 10th. shortly after the murder police released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case. today police say that person of interest is a female. >> all information that we've obt

pat collins is outside the donovan hotel tonight with more. pat? >> reporter: doreen, it's been 43 days since this happened but so far no suspect no arrest. today some moves to get some action in this case. the person of interest in the donovan hotel murder case pictured on large placards outside police headquarters. the victim's wife making an impassioned plea to solve this troubling case of murder. >> in one day i lost the most important person in my life and the man i loved so much. >> reporter: kim vuong the wife of david messerschmitt, talking publicly for the first time since her husband was stabbed to death at the donovan hotel. >> i'm here to urge anyone who may have any information about the murder of my husband to please come forward. >> reporter: david messerschmitt was a 30-year-old lawyer with a powerhouse firm downtown. he lived with his wife in a stylish condo on capitol hill. it's unclear why he was staying at this thomas circle hotel back on february the 10th. shortly after the murder, police released surveillance video of a person

and then oh my goodness you see pat collins. my gracious. pat, i'm getting you did not find too many people too happy to see you today. >> reporter: vance, they greeted me with open arms you can imagine. one guy missed three meetings today. another guy almost ran out of gas down there. a third guy was so late for work he just turned around and bailed. i asked all these drivers to describe their commute in one word. i put all those words together and you're going to hear them in a minute. but first i got to tell you, it was an incredible accident. the emergency response was fast and efficient. but even with all of that it took hours to get things rolling here again. it was a massive accident scene. a tanker truck sprawled over three lanes of highway. dams built to contain a biodiesel fuel spill and traffic. traffic. traffic. backed up for miles and miles and mimes. this was one of those all hands on deck situations. crews from forest heights, college park berwyn heights, montgomery county prince george's county scores and scores of firefighter

news4's pat collins is in dumfries virginia weather reaction from people who live the. pat? >> reporter: doreen it was like a scene out of a gangster movie. a rolling gunfight that had people here dicking ingducking for cover. this window. that window. these two tires. all victims of a bizarre car-to-car gunfight here. swan creek lane saturday afternoon, a beautiful spring day when out of nowhere two cars come barreling down the street side by side a gold saab a red kia. guys are hanging out the window. they have guns in their hand.h, shot after shot after shot. no one was hurt but there were a lot of close calls. >> many of us have a lot to be thankful for because we didn't get injured or none of our loved ones got hurt. >> reporter: i talked to a man who was here when it happened. he said it was loud and it was close. he said one of the bullets went right over his head through the window of his garage. out the garage door here. ricocheting off his car, off the framework here and then the bullet fell beneath his car. >> because of the shooting and everything five houses wer

. >>> right now news 4 pat collins is headed to d.c.'lice headquarters to learn more about the mysterious death at a hotel. found david messerschmitt stab dod death and want to talk to the person you see in his video about what happened. in about an hour his wife will make a statement about her husband's death. follow twitter for updates on the story throughout the day today. >>> a new inspector general's report is out now saying a department of homeland security employee may have granted special favors to virginia governor terry mcauliffe just before he took office. the report says the employee "exerted improper influence to help with visas for foreign investors in mcauliffe's electric car company." the report says it was unprecedented created an appearance of fave riftism. mcauliffe's office says he asked them to process them in a timely fashion. >>> right now afghanistan's president ghani is speaking on capitol hill from front of a joint session of congress. live pictures where the address is happening now. it's expected to last anoth

i'm pat collins, the story [ female announcer ] business travel isn't just about the going. about the going home. and being connected all along the way. whether you're working or recharging do business travel on your terms. acela. take off. >>> troubling numbers out today about teenage drivers distracted behind the wheel. and cell phones aren't the only reasons they're taking their eyes off the road. >> nbc's tom costello has the video of just how dangerous this is for everyone out there. >> reporter: teens today have so much in their hands their music makeup, cell phones, taiging their hands off the wheel and eyes off the roads, spinning on to train tracks, rear-ending a truck. lexie is one of thousands who had two cameras mounted on her car in exchange for discount on auto insurance. every time she braked hard, a video was e-mailed to her mom. >> she was constantly messing with the radio. so we had disabled the radio. >> reporter: then this happened. >> i was looking at my ipod so when i looked up i was on the other side of the road. >> reporter: the wisconsin teen wasn't

news4's pat collins talked with some of those who were stuck there. pat? >>. >> reporter: wendy, we have half of the lanes open now. let's take a look down at that accident scene. southbound 95 here. two of the lanes are open but they're working on the others to clean it up. what an ordeal here today. imagine you're on your way to work you pull onto the highway. you come to an abrupt stop and all you can see is a sea of brake lights. so you sit there. and you sit there. and you sit there. that's what it was like for drivers here on southbound 95. this man said he missed three meetings. what was it like down here? >> it was brutal. brutal. about two hours and i finally got off and i don't know where the heck i'm going right now. that's why i got my gps. >> reporter: this man was running on empty. what did you do? >> i had to make a u-turn to, you know take another road and i'm running out of gas. without gas i can't do anything. >> reporter: and this man had a two-hour bonding experience with his car. >> it was unbearable sitting in traffic for a couple hou

so tomorrow small ruler not the big pat collins snow stick that we've been using so much this winter. there are winter weather advisories posted for northern maryland, northern montgomery county high spots of loudoun countys out towards frederick county, virginia, panhandle of west virginia, that's a winter weather advisory that go this is to effect at 2:00 a.m. tomorrow. tomorrow is the day we're worried about, not today. snow begins 2:00 to 5:00 a.m. friday morning. it will be a wet snow where it does come down, it will also be rain in southern maryland and a mix through much of the metro area. primarily in the morning hours. but slushy roads will be possible in washington metro authority ward into the northward. you can see the advisories posted. no advisories for the immediate d.c. metro area just yet. that could be changing later on today. right now 28 in frederick, 36 in fredericksburg. by later on today, increasing clouds, it will be on the cool to chilly side for much of the day. but temperatures should make it up into the low 50s for a brief time. still 5 to 7 degrees cooler

the best gets his or her very own the pat collins stick. announce the winner tonight on news 4. great pictures. >>> well, we are working through your neighborhoods to show you the complains you'll find whenever you decide to leave the house. >> amelia segal joins us live in fairfax county. that's a lot of snow mounldded up next to you. >> reporter: there is so much snow. we've had anywhere from about 5 to 10 inches fall yesterday, some areas saw close to a foot. we've changed locations, we're still in reston but here along old dominion parkway. i have my ir thermometer, so i'll take a new reading. a little bit better this time. sidewalk temperature here is now at minus 6 degrees fahrenheit. and you can see the sidewalk conditions aren't great, there a little bit of snow and ice. winds are blowing at about 5 miles per hour so that is adding to the bitter windchill this morning. and as we take a look at the road condition here it's like night and day when you compare it to the reston parkway this morning. reston parkway not in great shach. wh

. >> i've got this big wooden stake, the pat collins snow stick here.re going to drive it right through the heart of winter. that's it. i don't think we have much of a chance for accumulating snow. might be done with snow chances for the winter. a big m on the word might though. temperatures outside this morning, over on max 2, we have plenty of sunshine across the area this morning, from our tower camera view. there's the national shrine of the emaculate conception in northeast washington. rockville, maryland up rockville pike plenty of sunshine this morning. 40 in rockville, 42 at joint base andrews, 36 in leesburg. 38 in washington. hourly temperatures here climbing climbing climbing up into the 50s most of us will go by later this afternoon. almost all the snow behind me should be gone by about wednesday at the latest. >> chuck, thanks so much. >>> two families in virginia are now preparing funerals for three children who died in a fire. this happened in portsmouth virginia. one child was three, the other two were twins, just 9 months old. their mot

we start with pat collins in southeast d.c. >> reporter: he overpowered a security guard, took her gun, then stole two cars to make his getaway. they spent hours and hours looking for him in fairfax county but he ended up right here in d.c. it was one of the biggest manhunts in recent memory, hundreds of law enforcement officers -- feds state, local -- heavily armed, on foot in trucks, in the air. in fairfax county for hours searching for wossen assaye only to find him miles away in d.c., picked up by police there after he got off a bus at 25th and pennsylvania avenue southeast. >> an alert community member identified mr. assaye through all the social media outlets where we put our message out. >> reporter: it began around 3:00 this morning at the inova fairfax hospital. assaye, a bank robbery suspect, was there on suicide watch. he had tried to take his life last week in jail. he was guarded by the u.s. marshal service, a man and a woman. when the man went to the bathroom, assaye jumped the woman, took her gun, and made his escape in bare feet wearing only a hospital gown. now, hospit

news4's pat collins live in wrarl the arlington where the fbi nabbed him. >> reporter: the bicycle bandite did 11 bank jobs and got away with each one of them. 11 bank jobs. 12 was his unlucky number. the apple federal credit union, friday march 20th about 11:00 in the morning pap man goes inside. he's got a cell phone up to his here. he's got a gun in his hand. he comes up to a teller and demands money and makes off with $1,400 in cold

best snowman maker gets his or her own pat collins stick.cky, there is the last snow stick challenge of the year. we'll announce the winner tonight. >> we had enough snow to build a lot of snow men yesterday. >> and seeing adam tuss on that mountain of snow is amazing. we had about 5 6 inches in the metro area. these are the final tallies of the snow totals that we had from yesterday's storm. we had about 7, 8, 9 inches north and west. there were a few spots as we look at the snow totals off to our north and west where up to a foot of snow fell in the northern shenandoah valley. parts of the panhandle of west virginia hagers p town had about 10 inches before and then farther to the south and the east it came in later in the day. southern maryland many locations there at 6 inches of snow. eastern shore did, too. and west of there from frederickburg up toward warrington and culpeper, 6 to 7 inches of snow, as well p. i took this picture this morning around 2:00 of wisconsin avenue pretty much tee certificated. but you can still see there is a

we will not need the huge pat collins snow stick. temperatures will be very marginal. we could very well get some accumulating snow, but primarily on grassy areas because air temperatures may never actually drop all the way below freezing as long as the air temperature stays above freezing, the roads will be slushy, but not frozen up into blocks of ice. nonetheless, plan on an impact full day. advisories posted for northern maryland, panhandle of west virginia already. that includes western loudoun clarke county frederick county. winter storm warnings for washington county, maryland. morgan county, and also out towards alleghany county maryland. basically areas above 1500 feet have a much better chance of some accumulating snow coming our way tomorrow. timing begins between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m.. mostly just a wet snow around the metro area. rain down to the south towards southern maryland and northern neck and slushy roads will be a possibility. storm team 4 radar is all clear this morning. so you are right, nothing to worry about for today. there is the moisture down to

ahead, pat collins will talk with the father and one of the paramedics who took mom and baby to the hospital. >>> a big day at the national zoo after weeks of public voting the zoo released the names of two bear cubs and showed them off for the first time. news4's zachary kiesch was there with a first look at the cubs and all the excitement. >> reporter: we know their names now. more than 8,600 people went online to vote for these bears and more than a handful came out today to the national zoo to see their debut. >> absolutely adorable. just want to pick it up and cuddle it. >> reporter: they pointed, they clicked. dodging rain drops they gasped at every move. oh to be a kid again. >> well just because they're little people. >> reporter: just 4 months old they've become hits even before their public adieu. >> i think they're fabulous names and i think if we can get our friends of the national zoo members and the public really energized and excited with the naming contest, it really gets them involved nap's what we want to do. >> reporter: to know the bear is to know pabt r part ofv part of

that's where we find news4's pat collins with details. >> reporter: the scope of this case seems to grownd grow and grow. there are three jurisdictions involved, anne arundel county, prince george's county and howard county. at first, we learned of five incidents, then seven, and now the number is nine. police now say they belong the alleged serial shooter hong young fired off shots into the maryland live casino building at arundell mills mile. they say it was outside and that no one was hurt. >> the management at maryland live found what they thought were bullet holes on the side of the casino. we investigated found out it was in fact bullet holes. the ballistics are out based on the method of operation, we believe that is linked to the rest of the shootings. >> reporter: traveling about in his lincoln town car, police say young shot and at a truck on the icc at a building in the nsa, at a man getting gas at arundel mills. when they raided young's home they found an arsenal of weapons. he shot at a library, a walmart, movie theater. he targeted mostly billion buildings, not people and t