dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> really interesting insight. thank you. >> back to the alert center where our alex giles is live with some surveillance video. >> yes, we got images from police they posted on facebook. this is from gastonia. they are looking for the two suspects wanted for stealing $200 worth of items from a wal-mart this past weekend. they left in a white bmw. if you recognize these people alert the gastonia police. back to you. >> thank you. >> first at 4:00 an 18-year-old driver has been indicted in a car crash that killed a 13-year-old boy. was going 61 in a 3 too 5-miles-per-hour zone when he wrecked in brunswick county. kaleb smith was killed. harris is charged with involuntary manslaughter. >>> the heart of a teenage shooting victim in durham has been donated. 15-year-old david pounce was killed last week it was a drive-by shooting his family says despite the horrible circumstances he is able to give someone a second chance at life. the shooting is under investigation. no arrests have been made. >> turning now to the weat

live in west charlotte, dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> thank you. cms responding to this robbery. the school district encouraging parents to have conversations with their children about unacceptable behavior and consequences. >> right now, sunshine, blue skies. but we have cool winds. >> we do but we are getting a little bit warmer as the days progress through the week but the warmer temperatures could mean rain. >> over to chief meterologist, eric thomas in the first alert weather center with the latest. >> all right. right now has built over the southern eastern u.s. and pushing the flow of cold air away to the northeast and that will kick the door open for the sunshine. not a cloud anywhere. 66 and we continue to get milder here. it's been breezy. winds out of the southwest at 15 gusting over 20 in the last two hours. here it is. 56 at 9:00 p.m. and mild. 54 through the 11:00 p.m. hour. outside of that we will be talking about what you can expect going into the easter holiday weekend. we have two systems heading our way. and the rain is part of t

dedrick russell was there with the challenges the mayor faces in keeping the promises. time summit. 350 people assembled here to try to help young people stay out of trouble when classes dismissed. >> you can call it the meeting of the minds that people are on a special assignment. here is the problem... police say between the hours of 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. if students have nothing positive to do after school they can get into trouble that is why police, educators, community and organizations were present to put their resources together to help. mayor roberts says there are plenty of after school programs that have a waiting list. she is concerned about those students on those waiting lists. the mayor says there are challenges getting after school opportunities for all. they range from there is no central place for parents to get information about after school programs and... >> they do not have a good way to evaluate what is i there's no training right now for people who want to start a program. >> the next step is all the information and recommendations collected here t

dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> all right thank you. tonya rivens is keeping an eye on the commute. how do things look? >> congested. your first alert traffic is sponsored by people's bank. lowell mcadenville an accident. wilkinson boulevard is a great alternate route. but notice the backup towards 485 in mecklenberg county. a lot of stop-and-go traffic. and also i-77 north and southbound congested an accident at i-77 and a medical emergency and an accident at tyvola and south tryon. notice the stop-and-go traffic at i-77 and tyvola road on the dot camera. safe travels back to you. >> right now to alex giles with an update on a bad accident in union county. what can you tell us. >> we knew that this was bad and somebody passed way and a 10-year-old child passed away in this accident. again this is union county old make land and monroe road near east village drive it happened this morning and we have gotten confirmation that a 10-year-old has died in this accident. we wanted to pass that along. not good news. back to you. >> all right ce

our education reporter dedrick russell joining us live now from huntersville's town hall. dedrick, what other town is passing this resolution tonight? >> well, brigida, besides huntersville tonight, the town of cornelius will pass a resolution. and we are told that the town of davidson will discuss passing one tomorrow night. parents and politicians in those towns are concerned. they argue since cms did not address the importance of neighborhood schools when it passed goals for student assignment a few weeks ago, anything can happen. carry weight and the school district will listen to them. cms is trying right now to come up with a new student assignment plan that will create more diverse schools and give students a greater opportunity to schedule succeed and many think that will equate to busing. while huntersville, cornelius and davidson want cms to know the importance and the priority of neighborhood schools the towns of matthews and mint hill, well they are ready to take it a step further and they are ready to pass resolutions next week to totally break away from cms.

dedrick russell spoke with concerned parents and students and joins us live with more. have police said what was used >> right now, jamie, still not sure. but what we do know, two bathrooms are now in question. one bathroom damaged by fire and another bathroom just damaged. the fire department did take samples from both to determine what substance was used. the fire started at 9:00 a.m., causing fear and concern. >> i saw all the kids running down the ham. >> that is fifth grader describing the moments when part of her school caught fire. >> my whole class smelled like smoke. >> alarms went off and staff put out the fire and firefighters cleaned up the mess. >> am i going to get hurt? >> no one was injured. parents rushed to the school to pick up their kids. >> at first i was upset and scared because a fire. anything can happen. i was worried trying to figure out what was going on. >> the parents were forced to make immediate adjustmentsism i will have to be off for the rest losing a little money but as long as my baby is ok i am all right. >> the damage happened inside

dedrick russell is live where that meeting will take place. is cms responding to the concerns? >> well, maureen, all the looks forward to share with the concerned neighbors some of the programs that west mecklenburg high offers. and neighbors tell me that is not a good enough answer. they want to know what the school district will do to keep the students off their streets. >> we want you to come to the meeting tonight. >> anne miller is on assignment. she has lived in the community near west mecklenburg high school for 50 years. her son graduated from the school. miller is involved. no longer a parent, now a messenger. she is handing out the flyer about tonight's emergency neighborhood watch meeting. >> always been a good neighborhood. and we just want to keep it that way. >> miller is fed up with what she sees often outside her door. >> the children roaming the streets, cutting through our yards, jumping our fence, and we have to call 9-1-1. >> she dialed 9-1-1 a few days ago. students were cutting through her yard and she had a this is what the students said to her... >> you

dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> thank you. right now an incredible floodwater rescue caught on camera. right over to alex giles live in the alert center with the video and details. >> we've seen wild images coming out of the south. this is in mississippi highway 61. this woman drove into a flooded area of the road. and she tries to get out and oops goes deeper into the water. her car submerged up to the windshield. luckily a driver saw this happen. and stopped to help her out. you will see in the video somebody pulls her out of the car. and walks her to safety. looks like he was waist-deep in the water, too. startling images but good to there, right? >> it looks like she may have lost control because it swerved back into the water. >> floating and she has no traction and off the road. >> exactly what we talk about all the time. get away from that stuff and that storm system that brought heavy flooding to mississippi is moving this way. >> and blamed for three deaths in louisiana including that of a six-year-old girl. >> eric t

results of the surveys will be revealed tonight and dedrick russell got a peek of the results. anything that stands out? >> well, jamie, i can tell you the interesting thing is some parents are willing to put their kids on a bus for more than an hour if it means their children will get to attend a diverse school. that is not the story for every parent. district to take those results and come up with a homs comprehensive student assignment plan. it aer pianos depending where you live determines how you value diversity and the location of schools. 34% of parents in district 2 say diversity is important. it's where many high poverty schools are located. 6 where the well to do schools are only 10% of parents deemed diversity as extremely important and when it comes to kids going to neighborhood schools and not taking long rides, 47% of district 2 parents say it's important. and 78% of parents in district 6 say it's extremely important. cms will use the mixed results to create a new student assignment plan. >> no one is saying it will be easy we acknowledge that. but what we are loo

live in south charlotte, dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> all right thank you. next here at 5:00 another troubling animal story. and now a community is doing all it can to find who hurt her. >> and the severe weather hits the south and the there are those who say we cannot defeat a corrupt political system and fix a rigged economy. but i believe we need to lift our vision above the obstacles in place and look to the american horizon. to a nation where every child can not only dream of going to college, but attend one. where quality healthcare will be a birthright of every citizen. where a good job is not a wish, but a reality. where women receive equal pay and a living wage is paid to all. there is time for rest and grandchildren. a nation that defends our people and our values, but no longer carries so much of that burden alone. i know we can create that america if we listen to our conscience and our hearts and not to the pundits and the naysayers. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message, >> an effort to find the person who dragged this dog several feet. the

and wbtv's education reporter dedrick russell was there and joins us live. are we closer to starting the hiring process? >> yes, we are, jamie. you know the board today decided to start the process to look for a search firm who will be responsible for your child's education. the board voted 8-0 to begin this process. eric davis was not present at today's meeting. starting tomorrow, search firms who want to participate in finding the next superintendent will have two weeks to answer questions. the board came up with today. those answers to those questions will determine which search firm will make the cut. to get this far was an accomplishment. the school board were divided and did not see eye to eye on the process and many thought by close to naming a new top educator but the board ran out of time. that is why the board had to extend current superintendent ann clark's contract. the board leans on the expertise of former school board member to get ideas how to proceed. much more to the story including how much will the community play in the process? and tryin

dedrick russell was at the meeting today and is live at the government center. what was decided today? >> well, maureen, the board does not want history to repeat itself so it decided today to investigate and grill a little bit more the search firms top educator and there also will be a twist how the community gets engaged in deciding charlotte's next top educator. former member made an appearance today his background is in recruitment. he was asked to come and give advice to the board about the superintendent search. >> and that is on you obviously to decide if this makes sense is this the direction. >> and in the end the board is listening to merchant. when it comes to community engagement there needs to be a change he fears large community forums could become distracting and not useful. board members say the community knows how to get their voice heard. >> we are more than happy to hear from anybody. but i do not think we need to spend the taxpayer dollars or time to reengage and ask the same questions we have asked for 10 years. >> the board was told time ha

live in west charlotte, dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> all right thank you. the district's dropout rate increased a little bit last year 996 students dropped out of school. the year before 947 dropped out. >> and we learned that a shooting victim at a mcdonald's in hickory has died. alert center. >> paul we knew about that shooting that happened this week. 22-year-old rachelle lyle was the first victim that passed away and we know that 28-year-old cody watts died. and steve ohnesorge has confirmed that and we learned it 10 minutes ago. 22-year-old eric yount from granite falls is charged for the crimes. i imagine that the charges will change for him now that the second victim in the shooting has died. investigators say they thought it was a domestic dispute that spurred that shooting in hickory. back to you. >> thank you. protestors gathering right now in uptown to demand answers about how police use fore: the rally is partly in response to the arrest of a man in east charlotte. a neighbor recorded video of 'officer appearing to strike glen while he was on th

dedrick russell takes us to tuckaseegee elementary school and talk about the struggle to achieve diversity new at 5:00. >> welcome to you can tuck elementary -- tuckaseegee elementary on the west side of town. it is a partial magnet school that won a national award of distinction for its learning talent development program known >> we develop critical thinking, problem solving using real world application. >> even though it is a partial magnet other students benefit. >> we are trying to get that feel across the building in all classrooms so everyone feels a part of what we are doing. >> staff wants more diversity. 60% of the students are black. 7% white and 18% hispanic. only 170 students are in the magnet program. there's room to grow. >> we still have a number of openings in our program and our goal and dream is to get the word out about tuckaseegee's litd program so we have so much interest that we have a waiting list. >> listen to this... the next closest magnet school that offers the exact program as tuckaseegee elementary is about eight miles away at irwin academic center and that sc

dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> thank you. now we reached out to management at millenium one to find out the safety plans and if the gates will close and we are still waiting for a call back. >> and gaston county over to alex giles live in the alert center with more. >> we told you about this. police were looking for a suspect wanted for trying to lure children into his vehicle. they have now made an arrest. i have this pull it up. this is the suspect. gaston county police say this is ricky adam townsend charged with attempted second degree kidnapping, two counts of contributing to the delinquency he was wanted for trying to lure children into his vehicle in gaston county. and officers were searching for that suspect and now they have him behind bars. this suspect right there. >> ok. thank you. lawmakers are promising changes to help veterans seeking healthcare. today they discussed proposed changes to the veterans choice program an investigation found problems with this program causing delays for veterans who need medical hel

wbtv's dedrick russell is live in huntersville where the vote will happen. and will this pass? and are leaders feeling the pressure to do something? resolution will pass with unanimous vote and politicians tell me that voters have been crying to them over the uncertainty where their children will attend school. they fear forced busing. and the school district says that will not happen. and tells people no need to cry. because student assignment is still incomplete. tim peter is son moved to this area so this son could attend huntersville elementary. >> our son is autistic so it was important that we got him with a school with excellent reputation. >> the dad believes neighborhood schools are best. >> and it makes a world of difference as far as building the community and friendships. >> others agree. kourtney's son starts middle school next year. >> he is slated for i do not want uncertainty. >> that is why town council will pass this resolution tonight. it states students should be guaranteed to attend a home red flags went up when the school board did not include neighborhood

dedrick russell was at the meeting and has the story first at 4:00. union county superintendent dr. mary ellis leaving. >> they should get out at the right time. with the good standing. so it's not too much mud on her feet. >> ellis' announcement came days after the sbi cleared her from wrongdoing involving a business she formed while superintendent. >> she was cleared what went down. she was not guilty. let her have her time. >> while the debate over why ellis is leaving continues, the school board is moving forward to find a replace many. >> to make parents comfortable and our teachers and principals comfortable. >> some members wanted to have a new leader in place by the next school year. >> frankly with time for them to get their feet wet. >> and the board voted for no time line. >> we need to do this right and take our time. >> this is the first time this school board has conducted a superintendent search. members are now looking at other boards especially the charlotte-mecklenburg school more than a year before starting a search. >> one of the lessons is get the process starte

dedrick russell caught up with spellings and she took the job on march 1. what is her first priority? >> well, paul, her first priority is to get a $2 billion bond passed and the sighence building would -- science building would get replaced and try to convince students she is not who they claim she is. >> you know give me a chance. >> those are the words president margaret spellings uses when talking about students who argue she is not the right fit for the unc system. protestors fear her past work at a for-profit college shows she is all for raising tuition but keep tuition affordable. >> i think once people get to know me and understand my long time commitment and passion for public education in our country and at the state level they will see that i've put my money where my mouth is. >> while the president gets to know students she wants them to vote for the $2 billion connect north carolina bond referendum. if approved, unc charlotte's science building would get replaced. students say the building is old and needs to go. >> the first day of class, a st

dedrick russell talked to a mother of one of the captured students. what is she fearing here? >> wul, paul, the mother fears the son can be deported in two weeks. the teenager was picked up on this block here in front of his home. officials tell me it was justified while the mother believes that if her son goes never see him alive again. >> le si always gets a text from her son to make sure he gets on the bus. one day in january she did not get a text. immigration officials picked up the 18-year-old while walking to the bus stop. the mother saw it happen. >> interpreter: the woman i feel my life go away because she understands they took jeffrey. >> the mother gets emotional thinking about it and does not want her son to go back to el salvador and fears for his safety. >> intimidation for join a bad gang. bad gangs kill the boys. >> the 18-year-old is behind bars in georgia. the appeal goes through the courts. the mother spoke to him this morning. depressed he say moment mom i do not want to stay here it's terrible. >> i'm concernrn about the fact that we are targeting these ty

wbtv's dedrick russell joins us live from where cooper is getting treated. how is cooper doing right now? >> well, the doctors here at the carolinas 'mall hospital tell me cooper is hanging in there. he arrived at the hospital around 7:00 a.m. for treatment. now, look at the pictures again. tough to watch. the personalledly responsible for this has boston police placed on administrative leave with pay. despite the fact that the surgery is going well we are told his recovery will be long. the injuries happened at the rowan county animal shelter. told us that he was fine before the procedure was done to get a microchip and this happened tuesday. we went by the shelter today to get answers but the director was not there. we then headed over to talk to the county manager looking for statements. he was in a meeting but we were given a letter stating the county was saddened that the injury happened on their watch. people are using facebook to respond to cooper's injuries. there is a facebook page entitled saving cooper. we are digging more into the story and looki

dedrick russell was that the protest and jumps on the telephone with us now. president? >> well, jamie, they tell me her 3w-7bd is questionable -- boston police department is questionable and background is questionable and it was a party like atmosphere at this protest with cake and all. the cake reads go home, margaret. students stood outside the union for more than an hour telling others why they think the new president is wrong for the university. they wrote messages why they feel that way. the protestors claim spelling's background says a lot about her. it includes being a major act protect of the -- architect of the no child left behind law and has had relationships with a for protest university and -- for-profit university and students fear she will allow the university to make a profit off of students by raising tuition.

dedrick russell went to the are coping with the loss. dedrick jumps on the telephone with us. dedrick, certainly a tough day there? >> certainly jamie, a cuff day for students and staff here at west meck high. six counselors were at the school to help with the loss. students are expressing their grief outside the school. there is a rock decorated in memory of heaven. one wrote you are an angel. and police said heaven was in speed with three students and we went by the crash scene and a makeshift memorial is there and we spotted friends there. and heaven was fun to be around and they are shock he had she is -- shocked she is gone. the counselors started with hef vep's class to talk to dlas mates and teachers about dealing we are told that the counselors say one way people can help and cope with them is to talk to their parents and family and friends that support them and talk to people that can help them walk through this. counselors will be back at the school tomorrow morning. we will have much more on the story coming up on wbtv news at 6:00. >> one of those stories anybody t

>> yes, dedrick russell was at the press conference. and police were talking about an armed robbery involving a juvenile suspect that and had today. and it involved students from west meck high school and a scuffle happened off of tuckaseegee road. and they will be pressing charges against one of the juveniles. they are trying to work with cms and the neighborhood to prevent things like this from happening. much more at 5:00 with dedrick. >> thank you. >> first at 4:00 a day in court for the woman charged in a triple homicide in gaston county. crystal gambino's case will go to a grand jury hearing. she is charged with killing her all three victims were found naked and shot to death at the gambino's home. it appears the victims met on-line. >> former toronto mayor rob ford has died after 18 months of treatment for aggressive cancer. his tenure of canada's largest city marred by drug use. he was repeatedly videotaped and photographed while intoxicated in public and statements and actions became fodder for comedians he was 46. >> councilme

but for now we are live in huntersville, dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> all right thank you. >> we are getting new information in just to the alert center. alex giles has that for us. >> we got information about two suspects arrested for robberies in charlotte. and i can show you the men. the cmpd announced they were arrested for robberies that happened last month in february. this was in southwest charlotte. police say the men were trying to rob people at gun point and they are behind bars charged for the crimes. both facing two counts of robbery and two counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. >> thank you. strange story... bond denied for a south carolina charged with murder after two bodies were found at his home. officers were called to the home of james lofton saturday night. he claimed to have killed two people and buried them in the backyard. affidavit, lofton told police he took a cab home from a nightclub and driver and another person came to the door of his home demanding money. lofton says he got his gun and fired eight shots killing both. cabarrus county deput

community needs more. >> that is dedrick russell reporting. cms needs more social workers in the schools to support students. the district tells us resources are distributed based on the needs of each school. parents hope things change so call kids succeed. >>> cmpd animal care and control is hoping to find homes for hundreds of animals this weekend. a special pet adoption, look at that little face, will tall place from 10:00 until 4:00 at southpark mall on sharon road. >>> check this out, several food truck events kicked off. this one we stopped by the friday night festival at unknown brewing, seven food trucks, live music as well. official food truck friday that has been wildly popular will start back in april in plaza midwood, also in south end at sycamore brewing. good time of year. i love food trucks. >> lyndsay: the food is always so good, too. i think that is why people love >> kristen: i'm getting hungry,. >> lyndsay: you have food guests coming up. >> kristen: gypsy soup. we have great guests, we'll talk about them in a few minutes. >

. >> dedrick russell reporting live on the story. thank you. >> first at 4:00, south carolina prosecutors have one extra tool to combat domestic violence. into law creating domestic violence fatality review teams. this law gives law enforcement better resources to track domestic violence patterns and prevent deaths from dv before they happen. >> in campaign 2016 many of you headed to the polls to cast your vote in north carolina's primary. there are five states holding elections and two g.o.p. presidential candidates are battling for survival. wbtv anchor paul cameron is on your side with which states could make a difference. >> the face of the republican presidential race could change today. as voters cast ballots on primary day in florida, ohio, illinois, missouri and north carolina. >> your governor is totally overrated. >> g.o.p. frontrunner donald trump leads the polls in every state except ohio where he is in a tie with the governor kasich. he voted this morning and says he feels proud of his campaign. >> by continuing to run t

and dedrick russell talked to mayor taylor and joins us live >> well, paul, i can tell you the mayor tells me in 10 days, cms town council will vote on a resolution that will declare split up from cms is the right thing to do and he believes other towns will begin to pass similar resolutions. the matthews mayor tells me in addition to a resolution he will create a task force that will consist of citizens to investigate what needs to be done to form their own school district. the mayor and parents just believe cms is just too big and just cannot cater to matthews needs. this split was brought up again because the mayor is uneasy with discussions concerning cms' new student assignment plan he thinks the district will transport students to other schools throughout the county. cms school board members tell me that will not happen but that is not good enough for the mayor.

dedrick russell was at the meeting and has the story first at 4:00.