ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - April 13, 2026

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Eyewitness News at 11pm - April 13, 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Right now, live coverage from your local news leader, preparing you for tomorrow starting tonight and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11 eyewitness news. Right now at 11 a shooting investigation underway in East Raleigh, a man fighting for his life as the search for the shooter enters its sixth hour. What neighbors say led up to shots being fired. Also new tonight, a massive fire leaves a family without a home in Durham. The new details just in is the search for a cop. is ongoing. But we begin with the weather. Today was the coolest day of the week and now we are bracing for what could be consecutive rounds of record breaking heat. The 90s are on the way

and they will stay. Thanks so much for joining us here for the news at 11. I'm Lauren Johnson. Hi everyone. I'm Steve Daniels. Yeah. And as the temperatures climb, the lack of rain continues to be a major problem statewide. Let's get right over to meteorologist Cruz Medina Cruz. We're about to get an early taste of summer around here. That is a very accurate description as we soar into the 90s over the next few days. So tomorrow's still in the 80s, but every other day, Wednesday all the way through Saturday

will feature highs in the 90s. Look at Saturday, 94 degrees. That's something you'd see toward the end of June. And that could actually fall a degree short of the record, but it looks like at least Wednesday and Thursday, we should be tying that record of 92 degrees set back in 1941. So saddle up. You got to get ready for it.

It's coming whether we like it or not. All right, live look at North Hills tonight. Still 70 degrees there. And then as we go throughout the course, the night, the clouds clear, and so tipters are only going to go down into the low 60s. So a very mild start to your Tuesday and your morning commute, good to go, free of any weather-related problems. By the time we get to noon, already pushing into the low 80s and statewide, we will see those middle to upper 90s. 89 in Raleigh, that's likely the warmest spot in the state,

back toward Greensboro and Winston, 87, Fittville 88, and 87 over in Greenville as well. We'll talk about the little relief that we have coming from these temperatures coming up in your seven-day forecast. Back to you. All right, we hear you loud and clear. Saddle up. The heat is on the way. Cruise, thanks. And as the temperatures go up, it's important to do what it takes to stay safe out there in the heat. Remember to drink plenty of fluids while avoiding excessive alcohol and caffeine. It's important to use air conditioning when possible and limit outdoor activity. And if you do need to be outside, stay in the shade and always remember to wear some sunscreen.

New at 11, the search is on for the person who shot a man in broad daylight. The shooting happened just after 5.30 this evening on Thelma Street. That's in East Raleigh, not far from the Wake Med campus on Newburn Avenue. Jemise Price has been on scene for several hours now. And Jemise, you talk to neighbors who say this all happened after some type of argument that was heard outside. Lauren, those neighbors tell me this shooting is the final straw for them. And you may understand why when you see this investigation unfolding just behind me. I want to bring you guys in just a little bit closer so you can see this investigation as it takes place here.

You can see this road is blocked. Police cruisers are out and investigators working to put all of this together to determine why a man was shot and who is responsible. Take a look when we first arrived to the shooting scene on Thelma Street. We got here not too long after the call from police around 540. According to Raleigh Police, when they arrived, officers found a man in the street with life-threatening injuries. Now, I spoke with three neighbors, each one frustrated and fed up with the violence. Some describe hearing the shooting and seeing the victim stretched out across the street. One of those neighbors who has lived in this neighborhood for 40 years shared his concerns. Take a listen.

When I was in the house, next thing you know, my wife tells me you need to go outside. Guy laying in the street, been shot. This is not the first shooting. This is not the second shooting. This is the third or fourth shooting. I asked the city to shut this down. We got to shut it down. If you don't shut it down, more people are going to get killed. Now, RPD has not provided a motive in this shooting, but neighbors did describe hearing that argument moments before the shooting, but the exact circumstances are not clear at this hour. Of course, if you have any information that could help Raleigh police give them a call. For now, we're live in Raleigh.

James Price, ABC 11, eyewitnesses. Yeah, long, intense investigation at this point. Jamis, thank you. And a former Vance County jail supervisors facing some pretty serious charges tonight. Yeah, today, Captain Shannon Hawley was indicted by a grand jury. He's accused of raping a female inmate at the Vance County Jail on several occasions. Jimmy Price doing double duty for us tonight. She spoke with the Vance County District Attorney who calls these charges disturbing.

A former Vance County detention officer is facing nine charges accused of sexually assaulting a woman while she was in jail. According to the indictment, Captain Shannon Hawley is accused of forcible rape. Court documents allege multiple assault happened from February 27th through March 6th of this year. This is obviously very disturbing. Tonight we spoke with the Vance County District Attorney by phone. Mike Waters tells me the victim reported the alleged assault. The fact that someone is in custody is not something that necessarily is going to impact their credibility or truthfulness. The FBI initiated its investigation on March 9th at the request of the Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame and D.A. Waters.

The charges are delicate in nature, but the investigation yield eight warrants for Holly. The same types of steps that are taken in every case. We're taken by the FBI to evaluate the credibility of statements, to corroborate facts and that kind of thing in conduct a thorough investigation. According to our news gathering partners at the News and Observer, Captain Holly started working for the Vance County Sheriff's Office back in August of 2025. We learned he resigned from the position on March 21st of this year. After only five months on the job, Sheriff Brame stood before Vance County Commissioners in January, telling the group Captain Holly was a great help to him. Captain Holly who's sitting here behind me, he's my specialist at the jail. I was glad he came aboard to assist me in time of need. I think he's doing a great job.

In that same meeting, Holly described his job caring for, the inmates. I simply run operations in the jail, right? And I make sure the inmates are safe. The Vance County Jail has a long history of problems outlined in this letter from the Department of Health and Human Services dated last year. This latest investigation into an insider has left some questioning the safety of people in custody. Jimmy's Price, ABC 11, eyewitness news. And Holly was issued a $750,000 secured bond. He is expected to appear before a judge in County tomorrow. In Orange County, three men are in custody after separate child exploitation investigations in Hillsborough. Police say a private group that identifies suspected child predators

helped track down the suspects. Timothy Armstrong, Tyrone Smith and Howard Cox. They're all charged with felony solicitation of a minor by computer. Two of the men remain in custody held without bond. New at 11. We're following new details into a massive fire in Durham. We've learned two people and their dog are now displaced. Durham fire says Cruz recalled to that home on Hillendale Road. It took about an hour to get that fire under control. One person was home at the time and evacuated safely. Red Cross is assisting the two people who were displaced. Three firefighters were treated on scene for minor injuries.

It's not clear what caused that fire. New at 11, Athens Drive High School in Raleigh is promising some consequences tonight. After a now deleted social media post, link the boys lacrosse team sparked some outrage online. According to our news gathering partners at the news and observer, school leaders are investigating a digitally altered image posted on Instagram. It showed lacrosse players in uniform with photos of female students from Broughton High School edited into the post. Many parents claim the photo was inappropriate. The Athens Drive athletic director told parents the school was made aware of that post on Friday after school

and that appropriate consequences will be assigned to the students involved in line with school board policy. In Samson County, a Roseboro man is facing several charges after deputies say he set his girlfriend on fire over the weekend. 29-year-old Franklin Faircloth was arrested this morning about four miles from the scene after a two-day-state. search. Deputies say he broke in to his girlfriend's home, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. The victim has burns on her arms, legs, chest and back, and she's recovering in a trauma center. Her family calls it a traumatic event saying we need time to heal and nurture our family. Please continue to pray for the victim in our family. Faircloth is being held without bond and he's expected in court on Thursday. A former Fort Bragg employee made a first appearance in federal

court for allegedly leaking classified government information to a reporter. 40-year-old Courtney Williams was arrested last week on allegations. She shared classified information to a political reporter who later wrote a book containing the highly sensitive information. In Seth Harp's book, The Fort Brad Cartel, Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, the journalist wrote about Williams' alleged comments on sexual harassment and discrimination in the workforce. He also published classified information Williams thought she was only sharing on background. If convicted, Williams' faces up to 40 years in prison. And we got some perspective on this from a Campbell University law professor named Greg Wallace. He says, although it initially would seem that the case raises First Amendment, free speech, or free press issues,

courts generally have held that laws prohibiting the disclosure of classified national security information do not pose any free speech problems, as the government's national security interest is compelling. So to come here on eyewitnesses, a shocking fall from power on Capitol Hill. Next, new details into the California congressman who suspended his campaign and has now resigned. amid serious sexual misconduct allegations. Also coming up a rare public clash between the White House and the Vatican with the Pope is saying and how President Trump is now firing back.

And Cruz checking those temperatures outside. All right, well, it's still mild at this time, but as we look back at the past seven days, what a roller coaster it's been. We've had below average temperatures and above average temperatures, but now we go much above average. You'll see that coming up in your seven day forecast.

All right, Cruz, we'll see you soon. And as we go to break, a reminder, we are getting ready for the annual ALS walk in Raleley. Registration is now open for anyone who wants to join our ABC 11 Stogner Strong team. The ALS WOC is on Saturday, April 25th at Halifax Mall. Great news. The federal EV rebate is back. Eligible customers get up to $5,000 with the federal EVAP rebate on select 2027 Volt and 26 Equinox EV models.

Visit your local Chevrolet dealer today for more details. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. New here at 11, Congressman Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, is resigning from Congress amid growing allegations of misconduct by several different women. His announcement comes a day after he suspended his campaign for California governor earlier today. The House Ethics Committee said it started an investigation into these allegations. ABC's Alex Stone has the story. A week ago, Representative Eric Swalwell was one of the most prominent Democrats in Congress and a frontrunner among Democrats running for California governor.

Now one day after suspending his gubernatorial campaign and with allegations of sexual misconduct against him growing, including an allegation of sexual assault, Swalwell announcing he's resigning from Congress. Over the past week, he has denied the allegations against him. These allegations of sexual assault are flat, false. They're absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have. In announcing his resignation from Congress on Monday evening, Swalwell continues. to deny the allegations, but writing, quote, I will fight the serious false allegations made against me. He said, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.

It's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Swalwell goes on to say he is aware that members of Congress were preparing to vote to expel him without due process, which he says is wrong, quote, within days of an allegation being made. Four women have now made claims against them of inappropriate behavior. One former staffer telling CNN he sexually assaulted her twice, once in 2019 and again in 2024. I can recall I was pushing him off of me saying no. ABC News has not been able to independently verify any of the claims, including claims of sexual assault. His withdrawal from Congress comes amid bipartisan calls for him to step down.

It will be up to California Governor Gavin Newsom. If or when Swalwell's seat will be filled in the House of Representatives, before the end of his term in Congress. Alex Stone, ABC News, Los Angeles. Alex, thanks. And Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez also announced he'll retire from Congress tomorrow amid threats to expel him over an affair he admitted to with a staff member who later died by suicide.

Gonzalez distanced himself from her death, claiming he had not spoken with her since June of 2024. She died the following year. New at 11, Pope Leo, the 14th is responding tonight after sharp criticism from President Donald Trump over the war with Iraq. According to ABC News, the pontiff told reporters while traveling to Algeria, he has no fear of the Trump administration and will continue to speak out against war as part of his religious mission. President Trump responded on social media, calling the Pope weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy, saying he does not want a pope who believes Iran should have a nuclear weapon. The feud comes as President Trump ordered a blockade of all Iranian ports around the Persian Gulf. Right now, 16 U.S. Navy ships are in the Middle East. Trump says this new blockade is an effort to force Tehran. to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a peace deal. Right now, the inaugural flight on Irish airline, Aer Lingus, is making its way from RDU to Dublin.

It's the fifth non-stop flight to Europe from the RDU airport. And the RDU Airport gave the flight a water cannon salute when it arrived from Dublin this evening. Erlingus is using an Airbus A321 for the flights, and the airline has connections to cities all across Europe. Local business leaders here in the Triangle say these flights make a real difference in lowering international investment to our area and creating new partnerships. in Europe. If you drive through the 27703 zip code in the eastern part of Durham near the Wake

County line, chances are you'll notice a lot of new homes and new neighborhoods. They are popping up quickly. Yeah, this area of Durham seeing rapid growth in realtors say affordability and location are key, making it an attractive option for families and young buyers. My family lives here in Durham and a little bit far away. They're about 15 minutes, but that was something pretty appealing for us. We wanted to be close to family. Local realtor Donna Bass says the 27703 zip coat has long been underdeveloped and at central location near major universities, Research Triangle Park and R.D.U. is fueling demand. I think we heard earlier it's 10 or 15 minutes away from so many different things. Yeah, right. No, it's it's really convenient

whether you're heading to Durham County or Wake County for work. Yeah, it is a booming spot here in the triangle. All right. Let's talk more about the weather right now because the drought is a big part of this. We really need some rain, but you're just not seeing any in the forecast. Yeah, it's looking very, very dry, bone dry, some might say. So temperature's, you know, being as hot as they will, that's kind of going to exacerbate what we already have in place. So these 90s, they're not really helping us as far as the drought goes, but if you've been looking for a little glimpse of summer, I guess this week is your opportunity. So a hot week ahead, but it's not just hot.

This could be record-breaking heat for several days. And then, of course, the drought, that's going to be a concern all throughout this week. Also, without any rain chances, the pollen count will stay very high as well. Back to what we saw today, today it was very warm, 86 in Raleigh. That's about 14 degrees above our average temperature for this time of the month, which is 72 degrees. Not necessarily a record, though. Our record was 89 for today, so we fell just a few degrees short. First alert predictor will show us that through tonight, the clouds will eventually clear.

And even with clouds clearing for a good portion of the night, temperatures are still going to be around 60 degrees when you start your day tomorrow. And then through the afternoon, we'll see a mix of sun and clouds. and tipterers should range from the middle to upper 80s. So tomorrow will be even warmer than what we saw today. So stepping out the door, if you opt for a light jacket, you will really only need it for a few hours in the morning. Outside of that, the afternoon, you definitely won't want a jacket with tipters

in those middle to upper 80s. It'll be a dry day, so if you want to get outside tomorrow, you have plenty of opportunity to do so. And it's going to stay dry for the foreseeable future. End of Wednesday, you can see this area of high pressure off of our coast. That's going to keep our winds out of the southwest. That'll push our highs into the low 90s. So that 92 there, that would tie the old record setback in 1941.

And we have a very similar setup on Thursday as well. So that's also forecast to be 92, and the standing record is also 92 set back in 1941. This front here, that's what's going to move in this weekend. That's the only possible chance that we have of rain. And once again, those odds are not looking good at this time. But let's get back to these tipters because I want to show you just how much above average it's going to be on Tuesday we're only 15 degrees above average by the time we get into Wednesday we're closer to 20 degrees above average and that's going to be the

case as we end the week as well now we were just talking about this but this is not good when it comes to the drought condition so we already desperately need rain we're dealing with a deficit of over 10 inches of rain and that dates all the way back to the fall and so we're under severe drought right now and in 78 years of data this is the third driest stretch on record at RDU so we We really, really need some rain and it looks like we're just not going to get it throughout this week. Live look into Durham right now. It's 70 degrees.

Again, temperatures tonight are only cooling down to about 60 degrees in an area like the triangle. Some other outlying areas could be in the upper 50s starting the day, but it'll certainly be mild all across the region. And then afternoon highs, warmest in Raleigh, middle to upper 80s elsewhere in Central North Carolina. Your first alert seven-day forecast shows those 90s that we were talking about. So it's four days in a row of possible records that we could see here. As we go into Sunday, that front comes in. Maybe there's a spotty shower late in the day, 80s then, and then 70s as we go into the start of next week. Back to you.

A little bit of cooled out at the end of the 90s. Just a little. It's a payoff. Cruz, thank you. Still ahead. Talk about a big catch and a big fight. How a North Carolina man reeled in a massive bluefin tuna. That story's next.

In communities across Canada, hourly Amazon employees. earn an average of over $24.50 an hour. Employees also have the opportunity to grow their skills and their paycheck by enrolling in free skills training programs for in-demand fields, like software development and information technology. Learn more at aboutamazon.ca. Okay, we're back now with Real News and check this out. This guy here in North Carolina reeling in the catch of a lifetime.

I mean, look how big that fish is. On Easter Sunday, Hunter Hicks was out on the Outer Bay. Fishing for bluefin tuna when he hooked a beast, a 212-pound 70-inch bluefin. But the bluefin didn't give up without a fight. Hicks says it was the hardest fish he's ever caught, and he has the battle scars to prove it. For two days straight, my arm was stuck like this. It was like I had locked jaw or something. I could not open it.

My back and neck hurt. I have bruises all up and down my body. Scars tell a story. Don't you worry. Get this. Hicks initially hooked a 500-pound bluefin before the 212-pounder. but it was able to spit the hook off and swim away. It was a battle, but but look, that's some good eating, right? I know.

12 pounds of tuna. And some good bragging rights. Yeah. Big one. All right, now to a mama bear in western North Carolina. Check her out. Struggling to really keep up with all these little baby busy cubs. Yeah, take a look at this patient mama bear lumbers down a hill and crawls under a fence to retrieve one of her cubs.

But as soon as she grabs that one, she has to turn around and grab her second wayward cub. And while doing that, the first cub gets away again. Eventually, she's had enough. She carries the cub off in her mouth with the second one, trailing close behind. I think she's saying, time out, guys. Listen, Mama's tired. Yeah, that's a lot for Mama to deal. Because all these players still got drafted, they got to make the roster, they got to work hard,

but super cool to see their dreams come true tonight. Yeah, WNBA dreams coming true tonight. Atlanta bound. Yeah. That'll be fun. Kate, thank you. And thank you at home for watching. That's going to do it for us here tonight.

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