ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - January 6, 2026

Episode Date: January 7, 2026

Eyewitness News at 11pm - January 6, 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. Tonight, the Ravenscroft school community in Raleigh is mourning the loss of beloved teacher Zoe Wells. As the man charged with murdering her inside her home, Ryan Camacho, is being held without bond. Thanks for joining us here for eyewitness news tonight. I'm Steve Daniels. And I'm Lauren Johnson. A lot of raw emotions still very fresh for those who knew and loved Zoe, a dedicated educator in Wake County. Tom George joins us live outside her home near Wade Avenue in St. Mary's and Raleigh with how students are trying to honor their teacher. Hi, Tom. Hey, good evening. We've seen many people leaving flowers behind over the past couple of days, but this has really hit the Ravenscroft community hard as they remember their beloved teacher. Now they want to see justice for her. Michael Nicholson says he can't fathom what happened to his teacher, Ms. Welsh.

It's tough to see something like that in a situation that, you know, couldn't transpire. You obviously see these things in the news and you see these things happen, you know, overall just to our communities, but you never think it's you. You never think it's going to be you until, you know, it happens. Nicholson graduated from Ravenscroft in 2023 and now goes to App State. He says when he first went to Ravenscroft, Zoe Welsh was the first teacher to welcome him in the hallways, inspiring many, teaching biology and science. She was just really kind, a really sweet soul.

And she always had a smile on her face. She was always happy about just coming to work, happy, and sharing. And she really loved her craft and just loved what she taught. And I mean, all the people that had her always said she was a lovely teacher. I never heard one bad thing about her. The loss made tougher by questions over the suspect, Ryan Camacho's lengthy criminal history, 24 arrests, and a recent breaking and entering case where Camacho was deemed unable to proceed,

and a judge denied prosecutors' requests to have him involuntary. voluntarily committed, students wondering whether the loss of their teacher could have been prevented. How did it happen? How do we let this kind of thing happen continuously? How do we let, you know, people that need the mental health counseling or need to be rehabilitated out? And just how do we let people on our streets that have that happen? In the meantime, Ravenscroft coming together to remember one of their own. She was just a part of that community and she represented them really well. She represented, you know, the Ravenscoft culture of love and caring compassion. And I can't ever think enough for that school, but also thank enough for her for bringing that every day to, you know, us as students

and empowering us and loving us and bringing a smart or face that sometimes you just always need it. Yeah, so much love there for Zoe Welsh, but also really tough, heading back to the classroom as they did on Monday without her there. We do know that Ravenscroft has grief counselors available to support those students through this difficult time. Some also say when the time does come, They also plan on standing up for her as this case moves forward to court. We do know that Ryan Camacho is due back in court again on January 26, reporting live. Tom, George, ABC 11, Iwoodness News. Yeah, we'll continue to follow the case as well here at ABC 11.

Tom, thank you. Happening tomorrow, teachers at 52 schools across the state, including in Wake County, are planning to walk out of the classroom protesting for better working conditions. According to the group behind the movement and see teachers in action, 30 schools in Wake County, 15 in New Hanover County, five in Charlotte Mecklenburg and two in Gaston County plan to be involved in the protest. The organizers say the protests in some of North Carolina's largest counties will highlight the need for more support from state leaders for public education. We reached out to Wake County tonight to find out how they're preparing and what parents need to know, but we have not heard back. Police have identified two young men tonight as a manhunt continues after a driver fled and attempted traffic stop in Raleigh.

Police identifying the suspects as 21-year-old Jose Coyato and 19-year-old Norvel Young. them from previous arrest. The incident started when officers were attempting to stop a white Honda driven by Young as it was driving recklessly near Newburn Avenue. As they approached the vehicle, the passenger now identified as Colliado, jumped out, started running and in the process dropped a gun, causing it to discharge. He then ran off into the woods. During that search, Young backed up the car and sped away. Young faces a charge of felony fleeing to elude arrest. Coillado faces several charges, including possession of a weapon of mass destruction, possession of a firearm by a felon and resisting, delaying, or obstructing an officer.

One person is in the hospital tonight after a serious rear-in crash on I-95 and done. First responders on the scene telling our breaking news crew, traffic was stopped because of another crash about a mile up the road, and the driver of a Kia Optimo was not able to stop in time, causing them to swerve and crash into the back of a big rig. The driver of the Kia was taken to Betsy Johnson Hospital in critical condition. Tonight, Apex Police are reminding neighbors to lock their car doors after an Apex woman says her car was, was stolen out of her locked garage. It happened in the Smith Farms community. Jemise Price spoke with the woman

and joins us live now with the message she's sharing tonight. Jemise, you can't ever be too careful. Hi, Lauren, all of this happened just in this neighborhood behind me. Ashley Dreyer says that she took those safety precautions for her family, but a costly mistake made her an easy target for thieves. And all of that took what?

Three minutes. That's how long Ashley Dreyer says it took thieves to break into her locked garage and drive off in her 2020 Honda pilot early Monday morning. It happened in the Smith Farm community of Apex and her security cameras caught them in the act. That's obvious by the damage on the door. They had a knife or a screwdriver or something. In the video, you see them stumble with the door for a little over a minute before they get in and then take the car. Every move caught on camera from the mass person breaking the lock on the garage door to getting inside the garage and her car rolling out.

He's here right where we're standing, walks around. He takes nothing out of our garage, no tools, no bikes, nothing. There's the friend, looks right at the camera. He gets out of the driver's side door to unlock the garage, to roll the big door up. Ashley said after getting her car service not too long ago, she left her spare key in her car, a move that made it easier for the thieves to get away so fast. I forgot to take it out. But again, we're in a locked garage in a neighborhood that I felt was safe.

Now Ashley is reminding everyone that you can never be too safe and no one is exit from crime. I want my car back. I want them caught. And I just want to remind people you are never safe. Lock the deadbolt, hide the spare key, look out for your neighbors and just be very, very, very. mindful of of what's going on how Ashley shared her neighbor's cars were also broken into but her car was the only one stolen since then she's upgraded her security measures again paying hundreds of dollars in an effort to make sure her family is safe we're live in

apex Jimmy's Price ABC 11 eyewitness news what a frightening ordeal for Ashley and her family and a violation of her privacy jemise thank you now at 11 the Raleigh City Council held a public hearing tonight focused on a rezoning request from Cain Realty that would allow for taller buildings to go up near North Hills. Several people shared their thoughts about the proposal during that hearing, including people who support the idea and some who are strongly against it. I have sympathy for folks who live like right on the front line of that growth. I live really close to downtown south.

I am experiencing that as well. I think that if you are worried about traffic, then you should be pro-density. If you're worried about traffic, you should be pro-transit. The reality is Six Forks Road has not been addressed. The traffic is already projected to be way overloaded and adding 3,000, 3 million square feet of additional mixed-use space, which would be a combination of businesses, people going in and out, and plus residents, there is no way that the area is going to be able to absorb it. The city council voted to continue the North Hills rezoning conversation at their

January 20th meeting. Meantime, the director of development at Kane Realty says in a statement to eyewitness news, this rezoning request isn't about building more, it's about building better. The request does not propose any increase in density or traffic beyond what is already allowed today. Now to an update on the work underway at the Raleigh Convention Center following last month's to alarm fire there. Today we learn the convention center should get its occupancy permit by tomorrow or the next day. Repairs to the admin office will start tomorrow next Friday, January 16th. A crane will arrive on McDowell Street, enabling crews to remove damaged equipment from the roof. Convention Center leaders have also been working with their insurance company

to build a mobile kitchen nearby at Red Hat Amphitheater. The city of Raleigh is getting new funding to help address storm flooding behind Crabtree Valley Mall. It will also help streets and neighborhoods near Crabtree Creek. That project is part of a $220 million approved bond by the local Government Commission that happened today. Construction on the Crabtree Valley sewer improvement project is expected to start this summer. The upgrades will address flooding during heavy rainfall, creating impassable roads, as well as causing raw sewage to get into the creek. So to come here on eyewitness News, President Trump says Venezuela will be handing over millions

of barrels of oil to the U.S. After the White House gave the country's new interim leader a set of demands before it can sell oil anywhere again. Plus, the new push from Senator Tom Tillis to honor the law enforcement officers who responded during the January 6th Capitol riots exactly five years ago today. Okay, Don, the temp's outside right now or more like January daytime highs. Absolutely. Our normal high this time of year is 52. We're above that right now, and we're dry across the region.

We're going to stay dry and we're going to get even warmer tomorrow. We'll talk about that and your next chance for rain coming up. Tonight, President Donald Trump posting on his truth social platform, Venezuela will turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. to the U.S. The president posting on social media saying his energy secretary will execute the plan to take the oil on storage ships to unloading docks here in the U.S. It follows a list of demands. The Trump administration gave to Venezuela's interim leader Delci Rodriguez in order to allow Venezuela to sell more oil, according to ABC news sources. The regime was told Venezuela

must kick out China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba, and sever economic ties with those countries. And Venezuela must agree to partner exclusively with the U.S. on oil production and favor the U.S. crude oil. President Trump is threatening more military attacks on Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves anywhere in the world. If Rodriguez did not cooperate with the United States, he's threatening a military blockade, in fact. Venezuela's ousted authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured over the weekend during that raid in Caracas. They're being held on federal charges in New York City now. Questions remain about how the U.S. plans to, quote, run Venezuela going forward.

The administration has a one-day plan on how to get rid of Maduro, but no idea of what happens after. The U.S. also facing backlash over President Trump's threats that took over Greenland. The White House has not ruled out using the military to do that. Trump says that controlling Greenland is a matter of our national security. New tonight, ABC News, obtaining a copy of an internal memo from the Pentagon and its Secretary of Defense, Pete Heggseth, directs the review of the effectiveness of women in ground combat units. That review is directed to be complete within six months. The memo was

written by Tony Tata, the Pentagon's top personnel policy official, and the former Wake County Superintendent and NCDOT Secretary. As we mark five years since the January 6th insurrection. Today, North Carolina Republican Senator Tom Tillis announced a plan to ensure that a plaque honoring the law enforcement who responded to the attack is actually hung in the U.S. Capitol. So that plaque has already been created. It was commissioned by Congress in March 22 in an appropriations bill and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The bill required that plaque to be hung at the Capitol. Republican House speakers, Kevin McCarthy and Mike Johnson, have refused to hang it. It wasn't until this week that Johnson finally gave his reason. The law requires the name of every responding officer to be included. Instead, the plaque list only agencies. TILA said to be compliant with the law, a new plaque would have hundreds of names on it. New at 11, federal investigators say Claudio Valenti, the shooter who opened fire at Brown University and then traveled to the Boston area to kill an MIT professor, recorded a final video confession just before he killed himself.

Valenti recorded several videos in his native language of Portuguese, explaining how he planned his attack on a study group, killing two students and injuring nine others. He also said he did not regret what he did and would not apologize. And while federal investigators say they still lack a specific motive, law enforcement sources tell ABC News. Valenti revealed he went to Brown because of a 20-year-long grudge against a university staff member. Valenti's body was found after a six-day search inside a storage unit in New Hampshire, where investigators say he died by suicide after recording that testimony. Now to a health alert, the state health department is reporting additional cases of measles in North Carolina. Three siblings in Buncom County have been diagnosed with the highly contagious virus. The family had recently visited Spartanburg County, South Carolina, where there is a massive and ongoing measles outbreak.

Health officials are urging all unvaccinated people over the age of one to get their measles vaccination to protect themselves and others. All right, the weather around here is big news because it's January and we've got 70s in the forecast. No coats when we leave work and go outside tonight. That's right. And the next couple of days, you won't need them, especially in the afternoons as well. We've got 70s in out of three out of the next four days, and we're awfully close to it on that fourth one. Tomorrow's 70, 67 on Thursday, Friday 71, Saturday, 72, and then it gets back to more average normal temperatures as we drop into the 50s. Let's talk about tomorrow. As you head out in the morning, there may be some patchy fog again. This morning we had a dense fog advisory at spots. Again, that possibility tomorrow morning.

By lunchtime, the sun is winning out and the temperatures are climbing. We'll see 63 degrees. Then as we head toward 3 o'clock, we'll see those temperatures climbing to 70 degrees. That's one we'll hit our high. And as you head home from work tomorrow night, we'll see those numbers falling into the mid-60s. Live look on our first alert Doppler net tonight, scanning the skies were dry across our part of the Carolinas. Look at live into downtown Durham. Mutual Tower sky cam shown 53 degrees on a southwest wind at 7 miles.

per hour. Maniota Murphy tonight to 50s pretty much across the state a little cooler in the mountains Asheville checking in tonight at 43 degrees 59 almost 60 in Charlotte still this hour. Chase City's a little cooler for you up there at 44 13 degrees warmer down in Lumberton and ECU checks in tonight was 55 degrees. As we go through the overnight we'll see those numbers dropping into the upper 40s for lows and that chance of some patchy fog again clouds increasing as we head through the overnight hours. 46 in Henderson, 52 in Fayetteville. Now, looking at our visibility at the moment, everybody's at 10 miles. That's typical. That's where we should be. But by tomorrow, 5, 6, 7 o'clock, our fog predictor is showing a chance at some patchy thick fog,

especially right through the heart of our viewing area. So just know that may impact your commute as you head in. We've got relatively clear skies up above right now. Clouds out west of us. Big system pulling through New England tonight, but that will stay up there. Your first alert predictor forecast model. This is the fog possibility right here at 7 o'clock. It quickly burns off and we see that lunchtime temperature in the 60s up near 70 by tomorrow afternoon. Then as we go into Thursday morning, a little cooler. We'll start today in the upper 30s, but we recover nicely back into the mid 60s. Forecast looks like this for tomorrow, 70 degrees in Raleigh, 72 in Durham, 74 in Fayetteville. Slight chance of a sprinkle, really.

just the model trying to deal with some of the humidity. We won't see any rain tomorrow. A look at the afternoon temperatures across the region. 72 in Garner, 71 in Wendell, 71 in Holly Springs, Bahama. You'll top out at 69. We slide south 72 in Fort Bragg, Clinton, Goldsboro, 73 in Lillington tomorrow. Up north, you'll stay in the 60s in Henderson and Roxburgh, 70 Roneograpids, and 72 in Rocky Mount.

That's seven-day forecast, showing temperatures in the 60s Thursday, 70s on Friday, Saturday, may have a rumble of thunder. We'll have to wait and see nothing severe at this point. 56 Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, we stay in the 50s and you know the old saying around here, you get a rumble of thunder 10 days later, you get some of that other stuff. The models aren't hinting that at least at this time. Well, we may have to pay the price for the 70s at some point. All right, Don, way to go. All right, it might not feel like winter, as John just said, but we do know that we're not done with the cold just yet. So we're asking you to join our. this weekend for an eyewitness news special, your first alert to winter weather.

Yeah, so Don and the entire first year old team breaking down what to expect for the rest of the winter, plus how the changing temperatures can take a toll on your body and how the state's largest school district, Waite County, decides on a snow day or a school day. We hope you'll join us for the first alert weather team special Saturday 7 p.m. Right here on ABC 11. So ahead, a Fayetteville nonprofit working to address some of the biggest challenges facing homeless veterans. And we'll have more on the founder's mission to help veterans rebuild their lives one home at a time. Watch Joel Brown.

Weekday mornings on ABC 11, I Witness News. A local restaurant chain with three locations in Wake County is doing something for customers right now. You don't see very often. Very true. Corbett's Burgers and Soda Bar posted the news on social media. They're lowering prices for customers. This move comes as the chain says they negotiated with suppliers, secured better food contracts, and then lowered prices. The restaurant says you can save anywhere from $2 to $4 per order. The restaurant telling eyewitness news,

they have been looking for ways to cut costs for years and wish they could have done it sooner. Cost-wise is just that it's really expensive to run a restaurant and own a restaurant. Like everything is so high for us to pay right now. It's like people come in and they look at the prices and like it's high for them and they're upset. But at the same time, it's like it's hard for restaurants

and businesses to make money in general right now. Okay, so you may be asking why now. says the new contracts took effect in the new year and they're hopeful they can keep those prices down as long as possible but they admit it will be challenging okay a first of its con project in the city of Fayetteville the concept aims to provide homeless veterans with a safe and stable place to live jimmy plater knows firsthand the sacrifice of wearing a uniform and that sense of duty inspired him to launch redeploying american veterans it's a Fayetteville nonprofit he started that 18 months ago and his mission is pretty simple and veteran homelessness and help them

rebuild their lives. The purpose of RAV is to provide tiny homes for homeless veterans, primarily the ones that are hidden homeless that's unidentifiable and to reach out and to bring them back into our population and to give them the proper training, certification and skills, something that the military probably didn't give them. The organization has the green light from Fayetteville City leaders, and it's moving forward to create six tiny homes now. The project is focused on saving lives by reducing suicide and easing the burden on local shelters, too. The nonprofit plans to break ground within six months, building 400 square foot homes and most importantly fostering a true sense of community for those military.

We're going to be. We're going to be. We're going to be. I'm going to be. I don't know I'm going to I'm going to I don't know.

We're going to be able to be. We're going to be able to be. POMPEO. TRIGHT. TRIGHT. TRIGHT. TRIGHT. TRIGHT.

We're going to be. We're going to be. 71 over Boston College. At that time of year, the madness continues. All right, Kate, thank you. And thank you at home for watching. That's going to do it for us tonight. We'll see you back here tomorrow night at 11. Good night. ABC 11 eyewitness news is sponsored by Capitol Chevrolet. Together, let's drive. Shop Capitol Chevrolet.com.