ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - March 23, 2026

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

Eyewitness News at 11pm - March 23, 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, we are following several breaking stories here at home in American Airlines flight leaving RDU for Philadelphia, had to make an emergency landing back at RDU after the pilot reported an odor. We'll have more on what we're seeing at the RDU airport in a minute. But first we begin in North Raleigh where several people are without a home tonight after a massive fire destroyed everything in its path. This is video from an eyewitness. You can see those flames engulf pretty much the entire building.

It's a fire the city says spread incredibly fast. So when the units arrived on scene, fire was already had vented through the roof. Wind caused a little bit of complications early on. They set aerial trucks up, went defensive, and got it knocked down to where we could go back inside. Tonight, eyewitness news is talking to neighbors who saw the whole thing happen right there in real time. Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining us here for the news at 11. I'm Steve Daniels. And I'm Lauren Johnson. Eyewitness News was there. Several residents watched fire crews battle to get that fire under control. Take a look at the video there on your screen. You can see just how much damage was left behind.

So here's what we know at this hour. The fire happened at a building inside the lives Six Forks apartment community on Shonda Drive in North Raleigh. Our breaking news crew was there as first responders arrived on scene. According to the Raleigh Fire Department, six apartments suffered significant damage. We also know at least 60 firefighters were on scene, and high winds impacted the firefighting efforts. Eyewitness news talked to a woman who says she was on a walk, but when she saw those flames, she quickly jumped into action. So I ran further up the hill, and the flames that I saw were raging. They were taller than the building coming out of the top floor. The trees were on fire, and I saw people coming into the building, running into the building,

running out. So I was assuming that they were people who lived in the building. So I caught up with one of them. It was a lady and she said I just got finished knocking on all of the doors. No one is in the building that we can tell. According to the fire department, all residents have been located and no one was hurt and investigation into what caused that fire is now underway. And we're also following that breaking news at the RDU airport. An American Airlines plane had to make an emergency landing after diverting back to RDU on a flight to Philadelphia tonight. So let's show you what happened to American Airlines Flight 5201. The flight check right here on Flight Aware.

It took off at 8.13 p.m. You can see here it flew up to the northern part of Wake County, did this left turn over Falls Lake, and then did this loop down to the south over Jordan Lake to line up for that emergency landing just 23 minutes after taking off. The pilots reported smoke and a burning smell in the cabin of that CRJ 900. Our breaking news crew at RDU saw the plane surrounded by fire, trucks and wake EMS ambulances after the passengers were evacuated walking on the tarmac to those buses. A passenger told us after they left the gate initially there was a problem with the plane and then

they sat on the tarmac for three hours tonight. The pilots then said the problem was fixed and they took off. We left again. They said you can get off the plane but you can't get your you can't get your luggage. So I mean I couldn't get off the plane because I'm not going to leave my luggage. And then we got up to back on the runway. We took off in about five minutes or so into the flight. They said that they smelled smoke. And so for all, you know, precautionary points, they were going to return. And that was, I don't know, an hour ago.

And you said you did smell the smoke, but you didn't see anything. It's like, you know, not smoke. It smelled like gasoline kind of like, you know, fuel. It didn't smell like smoke. I didn't smell anything like smell. American Airlines is describing the problem as an odor on board, and they say the plane has been taken out of service to be inspected, and they say no one was injured on that emergency landing back at RDU tonight.

Tonight's emergency landing here in the triangle comes just one day after an Air Canada flight from Montreal to New York City crash into a firefighting truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport. The two pilots killed in that crash. It's a crash that has the entire airline community on edge. And we'll have more on the investigation coming up here on eyewitness News in about 10 minutes. incidents in the air come as fallout continues inside airports nationwide on the ground. A partial government shutdown is causing TSA workers to call out sick, which has led to those long screening lines.

But the workers are telling eyewitness news they're having to make some really hard decisions, go to work for no money or stay home and pay the bills. Jemise Price spoke with one of those TSA officers at RDU who's struggling to make ends meet. She's live at the airport where things are really getting worse since you covered this story last week, Jemise. Lauren, we are seeing more callouts and we're seeing more people. resign from their post as TSA officers. You see these security checkpoints behind me. The folks who worked those lines, they have not been paid since February 15th, and today is March 23rd. And so they're now forced to make some really tough decisions, whether to get gas for their car, to get to

work, or to feed their families. That's a choice that Brittany Dunstan is forced to make right now. And her message is simple tonight. Just fund TSA. It's been extremely. hard. Brittany Dunson has missed two paychecks as a TSA officer at RDU. On Friday, that's three, money not making it into her account. Do I keep spending money on gas just to get to work? Or do I save the gas and the money and stay here to make sure my child can get some food? Brittany has been with TSA for 11 years, so she's familiar with working through a government shutdown. The last one in October wiped out her savings. She can't do that again this time around.

Last week, I only went two days because I just don't have the money for gas. Gas is $4 and some change now. So I have to get my daughter to and from school. Brittany isn't alone. There were record number callouts this weekend, and more than 400 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown started. These are workers on the front lines who are suffering the most. No one's calling in sick unless they are sick. most other people are calling in because they just can't make it.

Passengers waiting in long lines at airports like Houston's hobby in New Orleans feel the pain of workers. I might well stay at the house too until I can get paid. We learn from our sources six people have resigned from their position as a TSA officer at RDU since last week, including one person who put in their notice today. It feels really bad for the airport staff. Relief is coming in the form of a food drive tomorrow. Union President Matt Johnson represents every TSA officer in North Carolina. And he says members are grateful for the outpouring of love sharing parts of his conversation with his members.

Mack, I can only afford to come to work two, maybe three days a week. I received two more notifications of employees leaving, and one of them I actually spoke with and asked, why are you leaving the agency, and just sick and tired of coming to work every day and not getting paid. A reality, Brittany can't afford for much longer. I'm trying. I'm absolutely trying, but it's hard. Today was also the first day of orientation for 11 new TSA officers here at RDU. Those officers are not being paid either.

That is some relief for the officers who have been working here without pay since that shutdown started. But it's not enough. Now, if you want to help, you can donate a gas card or a grocery store card. You can drop it off right here at Terminal 2 or Terminal 1 at the supervisor podium or acts for a supervisor. There's also that a food drive that's happening here at the airport tomorrow from 11 to 2. We're live at RDU. Jimmy's Price, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Small ways for us to help in a really big way for these families who are suffering.

Jimis, thank you. And to help at the airports, ICE agents are now on duty at several airports nationwide, mainly the larger airports, about a dozen or so around the country. So far none were deployed here at RDU. All right, let's turn out of your first alert weather. And yeah, it's a roller coaster ride. Let's hop on. That's what it's looking like over the next 24 hours.

Today, temperatures hit 80 degrees, but tomorrow morning, they'll dip down to the 30s by tomorrow afternoon. They'll climb a little bit to the 50s. All right, who pushed pause on that animation? You are crews. We're stuck there on the hump crew. Yeah, I think we're ready to get off the roller coaster ride, right? Yeah, we are.

That's what we've been on the past few weeks. So going forward, it's going forward, It continues. Let's check out the next three days. And so we're going to see Tipters obviously do a little dance. So we go into the 50s for highs tomorrow. 60s by Wednesday, which is seasonable. And then we're near 80 again as we go into Thursday. Friday will actually feature Tipters well into the 80s. So we might challenge some records then. I'll take you out to RDU. It's obviously been very gusty today. 55 degrees right now. So that north wind is actually going to cool us down into the 30s tonight. 39 is the low at RDU. Stepping out the door tomorrow morning. The kiddos will. probably want a light jacket heading to the bus stop and then coming home, tipters are only going to be in the low 50s. So tomorrow is definitely a below average day, but obviously we're going to see above average tipters toward the end of the week. We'll talk about an additional cooldown on the way coming up in your seven-day forecast. Steve. Okay, crews, we'll see you soon. Thanks.

New here at 11, the Durham County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting. We had a breaking news crew there on the scene where deputies say someone who was shot at an unknown location was then found outside the Carly C's on Highway 98 in the eastern part of Durham County. The victim was taken to the hospital where they are expected to be okay. So far, no one has been arrested. Tonight at 11 a Raleigh father speaking out after his 15-year-old son was shot and killed inside their home. It's a development eyewitness news first reported here at 11 o'clock on Friday night. And now police say a juvenile has been charged. And the victim's father says this all happened over a pair of jeans.

Caden Alston was a student at Southeast Raleigh High School in just 15 years old. His father says his son was shot on Friday by a boy he believed was a friend. The dad told Caden, no one was allowed to come over to the house. Alson says the shooting stem from a dispute over this pair of jeans. His son was trying to sell, and within minutes, Raleigh, police were worth a home, but Caden did not survive. Katie was in here running around, like trying to clean up his own blood from the bathroom, the closet door, the kitchen. It's just like it was blood drops everywhere. He even had a rolling tissue that's got his, like, handprint, his bloody imprint in it.

Police say a juvenile petition has been filed against the teen who is now charged in connection with that shooting. We now know the name of a man shot and killed by a deputy late on Saturday night in Moore County. That deputy was responding to reports of a man firing a gun at cars driving on Carthage Street in the town of Cameron. One vehicle was hit by gunfire from that gunman, but the driver was not hit or injured, thankfully. When the deputy arrived on the scene, they say 52-year-old Harvey Hardy began shooting and the deputy returned fire, killing Hardy. The deputy was not hurt. The FBI is investigating, which is standard protocol. Still to come here on IWeed News tonight, we have a warning for online shoppers tonight. How a Facebook marketplace deal turned into an armed robbery and thousands of dollars in lost cash, what you need to know.

And the latest on that deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York. We have the air traffic control audio and video. It's what investigators are using to try to piece this all together and figure out what went wrong. And crews checking those temperatures outside. All right, well, we've cooled down into the 50s. It'll be in the 30s by tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon, below average, we will see Tipgers level out into Wednesday and then we're going above average again just to come back down next weekend. Your seven-day forecast is coming up after the break. 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. We are back now with some new details now about that tragic plane crash in New York's LaGuardia airport that happened late last night. Yeah, a pilot and co-pilot are dead after an Air Canada flight from Montreal crashed into a Port Authority fire truck responding to another plane that was after it landed. Now an investigation is underway. ABC's Alex Stone has more. This is the moment caught on video when the Air Canada, regional jet was speeding down the runway at LaGuardia Airport,

traveling at up to 105 miles an hour when it slammed into a Port Authority firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident. I want to extend my sympathies to the families of the two pilots. These were two young men at the start of their careers. The captain and first officer both killed. The front of the plane demolished, four crew members and 72 passengers were on board. At least 41 people were taken to hospitals after the crash at around 1145 Sunday night.

We were honestly sleeping and then landing and all of a sudden, boom, woke up in shock. Audio recordings indicate the fire truck had requested permission and had been cleared by air traffic control to cross runway 4. Listen to truck 1 talking with the tower. Truck 1 and company with already tower requesting across 4 at Delta. for a Delta. Truck one and company crossing for a Delta. But at that very moment, Air Canada Express Flight 8646 from Montreal coming in for a landing on that very same runway. Listen to the controller trying to tell the truck to stop.

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, truck one, stop. The airport immediately closed and hundreds of flights were canceled. The NTSB is now on scene investigating and the black boxes have been recovered. The emergency responders cut a hole on. the roof of the aircraft dropped down and was able to get the CVR and FDR for us. At the time of the crash, there was mist and fog at LaGuardia. Air Canada says the airline is focused on caring for those affected. When LaGuardia was shut down, it impacted flights far outside of New York.

Airlines are now waiving rebooking fees and issuing travel alerts for LaGuardia flights. Alex Stone, ABC News, Los Angeles. New here at 11 the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office is alerting the public to a dangerous scam targeting Facebook marketplace users. So deputies say several people have been robbed after arranging to buy air conditioning units advertised at discounted prices in the Parkton area. Investigators say victims were directed to a private home, then led to the back of the property where a suspect allegedly confronted them with a gun and demanded cash or money transfers through cash app. Reported losses range from about $900 to more than $6,600. So far there have been no arrest. Happening now, Go Raleigh is expanding its service.

The public transit system added Route 14 yesterday. Along Atlantic Avenue, buses are running every 30 minutes. Go Raleigh also increased the frequency of Route 2 buses to every 15 minutes and Route 17 buses to every 30 minutes. Routes 1 and 2 were also re-aligned for better service. The city of Raleigh is putting the Pullen Park train up for auction, but don't worry, that popular attraction is not closing. The City Council approved the 20,

15 propane locomotive to be sold, not the entire train. Here's the deal. The locomotive is getting replaced with a new electric train. The online auction is one week from today. If you want to buy the propane train, it's coming up on March 30th on the govdeals.com website beginning at 8 a.m. All right, let's go to the town of Kerry. They are now expanding the downtown parking options with a brand new Cedar Street parking garage. It's adding nearly 300 free parking spots for visitors, residents and nearby businesses.

It also has 22 EV charging stations. Town leaders say the parking garage comes just in time for warmer weather and festival season, making it easier for people to explore. Downtown Kerry without having to worry about parking. Yeah, that shouldn't be a concern, right? That should not. Go enjoy yourself outside. That's right. Enjoying ourselves outside right now, it's tough.

There's pollen, lots of sneezes and sniffles. Yeah. Allergy season is here, right? You're telling people, take your pills, take your spray, do whatever it takes right now. I'll take all the precautions, but I'll say today it was one of those days that we have ever spread. right, and you just notice everything is yellow. That's right. Like there's always that one day and then you just know it gets worse.

Right. So that today was that day and going forward we're going to see those pollen counts stay very high. And in case you're wondering, it truly is just the tree pollen right now. So the grass pollen is low, the weed pollen is low. But for trees, especially hardwood trees, oak, walnut and maple, that's really where we're saying the most problems as far as things you could be allergic to. But pine pollen is obviously coating everything. And those particles are actually larger. So that's not causing you as much problems as you think,

but it's definitely not fun to be around. It's coating everything and it's honestly quite a mess and it's gonna be that way for several more weeks. But we need some rain around here to kind of flush that away, at least for a little while. It'll obviously come back with these warm temperatures and the growing season well underway.

But Friday is our next rain chance. That'll be late in the day as another cold front comes in. Some of those showers linger into the overnight too, but that should be clearing out into this weekend. And then once the rain clears, obviously you get a day of lower pollen counts and then they'll start rising again into next week. Let's walk through first alert predictor through tonight. So a north wind and a mainly clear sky that's going to drive our tipters all the way down into the 30s. So what that means for you is as you plan your day ahead tomorrow, go ahead and plan to have at least a light jacket with you.

Parents keep that in mind as you send your kids to the bus stop for tomorrow morning as well. It's going to be a bit chilly in the morning. By the afternoon, tipters are still chilly. So you might still want the jacket. Winds out of the northeast tomorrow are going to keep our highs in the mid-50s. At times during the afternoon, it might turn mostly cloudy just briefly, but late in the day we'll see the sunshine return as those clouds depart our region. Now, some of the cooler spots tomorrow are going to be our northern counties.

Highs there will be in the lower half of the 50s, so only 52 for an area like Roxborough. You're watching from the triangle, you'll be closer to 55 and then end the sand hills right around that 55 mark as well. So after we get past tomorrow, we'll see seasonable. temperature's return as our winds turn back out of the south. High pressure slides offshore. That's going to be in charge of those south winds. As we go into the end of the week, we actually jump much above average. So 15 degrees above average for Thursday as high is pushed near 80 degrees. And a heat dome building back to our west. This is really going to bring the warmest day of the week on Friday. So you see those 90s back there. That's heading in our direction, but it will be modified

by the time it gets here. So maybe not 90s, but mid 80s are certainly doable. as we go into Friday. Let's take a live look outside. This is downtown Raleigh. Temperatures right now at 55, 59 still in Fayetteville. Your first alert seven-day forecast shows that warming trend that I was talking about. So Friday late in the day, we have a storm risk. Some showers expected to linger into the overnight as well. By the time we get into this weekend, it's going to be cooler. So 50s again on Saturday. 60s for Sunday. At least it's dry, but not necessarily super warm. And then as we go into early next week, we'll see those temperatures returning back into the 70s.

Lauren. All right, Cruz, thank you. Still ahead. Draft Dreams in March. We are with the Tar Heels for the annual Pro Day as spring practice gets underway. Dreams are on the verge of coming true for college football players right here in the triangle. Yeah, for Tar Heel players like Kobe Pacer, it's a moment years in the making.

He's on the draft bubble and he knows this is his chance to show those NFL scouts what he can do to keep his NFL dream alive. For family members watching there on the sidelines, the pressure is real. So is all the pride. Just continue to prepare, you know, until April comes, you know, getting the best shape that I can and just, you know, keep my faith in God. That's all I can really do. For others like Tar Heel stand out, Marcus Allen. The question isn't if his name is called, but how high in the draft.

That's really the key because every round could mean millions of dollars in a lifelong dream realized. Is that a good omen, you guys? I'm not really too sure. But if Cam Boozer learned anything last week in Greenville, it's to take every game one step at a time. And no, there's some bumps along the way. That's true. Kate, thank you and thank you at home for watching.

We'll see you back here tomorrow night at 11. Good night. ABC 11th, I Witness News is sponsored by Capital Chevrolet. Together, let's drive. Shop capitalshelvrolet.com.