ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - October 15, 2026

Episode Date: October 16, 2026

Eyewitness News at 11pm - October 15, 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. Thanks for joining us here for the news at 11. I'm Lauren Johnson. Steve Daniels has the night off. The calendar says it's October 15th, halfway through the month, and we're still breaking records for how high temperatures are climbing today. We hit 89 degrees. The record breaking heat, not over just. yet chief funeralist Don Schwinaker and the first alert weather forecast entered Don. One more day of this, we hope, right? Fingers crossed. Yes, one more day and it could be record breaking heat again tomorrow.

First we'll talk about that record for today. Went to 89 so we didn't touch 90 for the first time. But we did get to 89 breaking the record from 1985. Now, if we look at today 89 with lots of sunshine and we fast forward into tomorrow, it's going to be very similar. Some more high clouds working through. more sun, more heat and temperatures in the upper 80s. And that means we will set a new record again tomorrow.

Third day in a row. Record possible. The forecast is 88. The record was 86 and that thing is over a century old. So we will reset that in Raleigh. Fayetteville, yours is also from 1925, but I don't think you'll beat it as you head through the day tomorrow. Let's talk about what we're seeing over the next three days because after that heat tomorrow, look at the drop in temperatures. These are our high temperatures.

This is normally getting down toward where we are at nighttime, but no. Saturday, rain works in. Sunday at chilly start in the 40s. We'll top out in the 60s. We do see a nice warm up next week, though, just in time for the North Carolina State Fair's main week. We'll talk more about that in your seven-day forecast coming up in just a bit. Lauren. All right, Don, thank you.

We'll see you then. Take a moment. Download that free eyewitness news app. It'll help you track those changing weather conditions on the go to get started. Search for ABC 11 in your app store. Breaking tonight. at 11. A community in Ben, Oregon, grieving tonight after three children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at an elementary school. There hundreds gathered tonight to remember

the lives lost and to stand with the families now facing an unimaginable loss. These are the images from that vigil tonight. The children killed just five, eight, and 11 years old. Authorities say a 16-year-old shooter forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary School this afternoon and started shooting. A seven-year-old and a 54-year-old teacher were also critically injured. The shooter was killed by a community member who authorities say saw that team going into the school. Investigators are still working to determine the shooter's connection, if any, to that school. Authorities say he was a bin resident. And tonight, school safety is also front and center here at home in Durham.

Concerned parents and students at Riverside High School came face to face with district leaders tonight after repeated threats and lockdowns have disrupted learning and left families looking for answers. District officials acknowledge Riverside has been dealing with more threats than any anywhere else in the district. Tom George was at tonight's meeting where families wanted to know what's being done to keep students safe. Well, students and staff here at Riverside High School are frustrated. 14 times they've now been put on lockdown. And now district officials confirming it's likely all caused by the same person abusing the anonymous tip line. At Riverside,

everyday students wonder if it'll happen again. It's kind of scary, honestly, because you never know when it's a real one, when it's a fake one. They say the trauma is getting in the way of learning. Tonight, the school district confirming in the last two weeks there's been four disruptions to the school day and 10 total lockdowns last school year. Now you're imagining a scared kid in a classroom, not knowing anything that's going on. Is there a true to outside? And then the police people are coming into our classrooms. And it's like, this is really stressful. It's like here we go again.

And I also like, since we don't really know what's going on during the lockdown, we wait for the news report or maybe our parents sent us a screenshot of what's going on. Parents stuck at work worried about whether their kids are safe. you're not there to protect them. What do you can do? But just to hold on and make sure that they do the right thing. Tonight, packing this meeting looking for answers and sharing their frustrations with the superintendent. It's taken an emotional toll on our students and staff in this building. And it's preventing us from providing a world-class education to our scholars.

So absolutely we want this to stop. The district says they believe the lockdowns have all stemmed from one person, calling in similar threats each time. They pretty much describe what the individual has on, the ethnicity of the individual. and they normally just state this individual was seen, for example, going in a restroom or leaving a restroom with a gun. They say they're working with federal investigators to track IP addresses and potential VPNs they might be using to mask their identity. But in the meantime, they also say they'll still have to take each threat seriously, but also balance that with not disrupting the classroom. Anytime a tip comes in and our law enforcement partners suggest to be going to lockdown, we will continue to do that to keep our students and staff safe. In the meantime, students just wanting to learn in peace.

Really figuring out what's going on and finishing it so that every other student can go on with school like it should be. Now in the meantime, the district vowing to continue to stay on top of that investigation that right now is being led by the Durham County Sheriff's Office. And this is very serious. Whoever is caught could face at least 20 felony charges in Durham. Tom George, ABC 11, I Witness News. Tom, thank you. And tonight's your voice, your vote on the first day of early voting in North Carolina. the fight for your vote is already kicking into high gear. Voters lined up across the triangle today to cast their ballots.

And the candidates in the high stakes U.S. Senate race are bringing in some big name backup. Georgia Senator Rafael Warnock was in the triangle today campaigning for Democratic candidate, Roy Cooper. Warnock argued North Carolina could help determine which party controls the Senate. The path to a Senate majority runs right through the south. I'm the embodiment of that. I don't think people saw Georgia coming. a few years ago. And we know the rest of that story. North Carolina is positioned well to help us get this majority. On the other side, Republicans bringing in their own high profile support. The

president scheduled to return to the state next week to campaign in Greenville for Republican Michael Watley. And Wally welcomed the president's support saying, quote, we all know President Trump drives NCGOP turnout better than anyone else. We welcome President Trump and Vice President Vance back to North Carolina to campaign any time. Happening tomorrow, hundreds will gather to begin paying their respects to the Derm firefighter killed in the line of duty last week. Andrew Brokes died last Thursday after part of the burning building where he was fighting a fire and trying to help others collapsed on him.

A visitation for Brooks will be held on Friday from 4 until 7 p.m. at Lamb's Chapel in Burlington. The funeral service will be held the following day at 4 p.m. The public is invited to attend. New at 11, a group that supports mother. going through grief, hosted joy, grief, and motherhood, an evening that's honoring stories that are not often told. The conversation focused on pregnancy and loss. It comes as international pregnancy and infant lost remembrance day. A lot of times it's not even the person who's not

comfortable. We may feel like they don't want us to talk about their child that they may have miscarried. But the truth is, is they may want you to say their name. They want to remember them because they were here and they existed. And so we want to make sure that we're making space for all of that. I want people to leave with a sense of community to know that they are not alone, feeling grief about anything related to motherhood. I want people to also leave really knowing more about equity before birth's mission

and their work because while so much grief is not preventable, we know that equity before birth's mission is really targeting black maternal health outcomes. That is grief that we can prevent. Tonight's event was also a fundraiser for equity before birth. It's a Durham nonprofit that helps black and brown mothers improve birth outcomes. From January through September, 50 people have been killed in domestic violence homicides all across North Carolina. Those numbers do not include Rashika Crutup. The Franklin County mother killed just this week.

Tonight, she and other victims of domestic violence were remembered at the annual stand-up and speak-out candlelight vigil in Durham. James Price spoke with advocates and survivors who are urging lawmakers to toughen those penalties for domestic violence crimes. Jemise, what else are they saying? Lauren, they're pushing for those tougher penalties because they say we are seeing repeat offenders. And in some cases, the violence only escalates. Sinaya, Brianna, Sharif, Latimore, 23. With every name called is a reminder of a life cut short and a family left to grieve. I've lost six people because of domestic violence, homicides.

For Monica Kearney, October is always tough. This month is always bittersweet and that the bitter part is that we have to do this every year. Surrounded by advocates, survivors, and families, Monica joined others in remembering those who can no longer tell their story, including Franklin County mom, Rashika Kruytup. Rashika Kruita, age unknown. Children who are crying right now in Franklin County who lost their mother on Monday. The outrage of the community in Franklin County right now who see a long-term violent perpetrator being let out on the street. According to court documents, the man accused of killing Roshika previously served time in prison for shooting another woman. He also faces pending domestic violence and assault charges from a case.

this year. His record of violence is extensive and it is time for us to stop lighting candles and stop calling names and start going down to our state legislations. Monica became so overwhelmed with sadness and anger wanting to see change. But to Haramore, a domestic violence survivor was there to lift her up, sharing her own story. We have got to get them to make changes that need to be made so these numbers will decrease instead of increase. Tahrara said it took her three times to leave an abusive relationship. Now on the other side of pain and tears, she's helping others find their way forward. I say to every man, every woman out there, don't give up, don't give it.

There is like at the end of that tone. And a reminder that help is always available. You can always reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. It is free. It is confidential and available 24-7. Lauren. All right, Jemise, thank you. Still to come here at 11.

We're continuing to follow the ongoing Faith Hedgepeth murder trial. We've got the latest on today's testimony from a forensic scientist and the latest on the jury's growing restlessness. Plus, eyewitness news was there to celebrate one local woman's 1002nd birthday. We're taking you. inside that special celebration for a woman who was recognized today, also by the mayor of Holly Springs. And Don, checking the temperatures outside.

Yeah, we see those numbers running in the 60s tonight. Coming up, we've got to dry and warm Friday tomorrow. Be ready for some rain on Saturday. We'll break that down for you in the complete forecast. Next. Unlock unlimited free grocery delivery with PC Express Pass. Shop online and get the same low, no frills prices delivered. Get your first year of PC Express Pass for just $2.50 a month.

Learn more at no-frills.ca. Hold music. Not exactly what you want to hear when a pipe just burst in your basement is flooding. And your vinyl collection is getting soaked. And your cat just floated by on a sofa cushion? That's why intact insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. It's their way of going the extra mile to help. So instead of hearing this lovely track,

over and over and over. You'll hear this in seconds. Hello, intact insurance. Now that's music to your ears. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. Nearly two weeks into the faith hedge path murder trial, there are signs tonight. The jury may be growing weary. Eyewitness news was in the courtroom today, as jurors sat through hours of technical DNA testimony. And at one point, a jurors sent a note to the judge asking how much longer the trial would last The judge reminded the jury. It could take five to six weeks. Aaron Ermish with the North Carolina State Crime Lab was the only witness to take the stand today. She testified she first examined evidence in the case in 2012, but in 2021, she re-examined swabs from items collected at the crime scene using updated DNA testing.

Ermish testified the DNA profiles from the Bacardi rum bottle, the blue Riesling wine bottle, the white bag, Fates boxer shorts and her body matched Miguel Solaro Olivares. during cross-examination. The defense questioned which items were tested and how the evidence was handled. The defense raising questions about testing on face cell phone and how many times her boxer shorts were handled before they reached the crime lab. Ermish returns to the stand tomorrow. We turn now to a major road project coming to one of the busiest commuter routes in the triangle, NCDOT, spending $21 million to rehabilitate nearly 10 miles of I-40 through Durham and Wake counties. The work will stretch from just east of I-885 to Wade Avenue, and this is more than your typical resurfacing job. Cruise will use a more extensive treatment designed to strengthen the

road and help it last longer. Construction is expected to begin later this fall with the project substantially complete by late 2028. Major news for the S-Line Passenger Project in Raleigh, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration announcing today it's giving the NCDOT in federal funding. The S-line will use an existing freight rail line to grow passenger rail services between Raleigh and Richmond. It's expected to save travelers more than an hour of commute time. Officials say the work will take about three years to complete. Tonight, a very wise woman is celebrating another year of life, and she invited someone we all know well here at ABC 11 to celebrate with her. Meteorologist Quailan Murphy showed up at the woods at Avent,

senior apartment community in Holly Springs to celebrate Mrs. Boyce Johnson's 100 second birthday. Ms. Johnson is a loyal ABC 11 viewer. The Holly Springs mayor was also at the party. Ms. Johnson received a commemorative plaque to recognize her lifetime of accomplishments. And it's so sweet because when asked about, you know, how she lives so long, she says, it's because I know the Lord, have a good relationship with God. That's a good thing to know. It is. It is. She's wise and good. I know. All right. Around you, we get a pretty good story. story in the weather department if you like fall.

Okay. It's just going to take another day or two for it to get here. All right. But first tomorrow, if you're headed out to the North Carolina State Fair, those temperatures will be in the 70s to start, but quickly into the 80s in the afternoon. And then by 9 o'clock falling back into the 70s, but a warm day on the midway. All right. If we check on your what's next, the one big thing to take away from the forecast tonight, one more heat record will follow us over a century old tomorrow.

1925 and we will beat that record for a high temperature. We're dry out there tonight on the first alert Doppler net. Oh, man, they just shut it up. It's hard to see. This is the giant Ferris wheel out at the fairgrounds, and it was lit until about 30 seconds ago. No, well, but, and we could see the fireworks, too, earlier was great. 71 on the Sheraton Sky Cam,

Windsor out of the east-northeast at five miles per hour. Mannyota Murphy tonight, almost 70 down to the coast, 70 at ECU, 72 here, 73. down at Charlotte. Boone is actually in the 60s tonight. We'll drop into the 60s for lows. Normal for this time of year is 51. We're not even be close. All right. Tomorrow morning, you're waking up for your fitness forecast. Get it done early if you like it cooler by 11 o'clock. We're in the 70s by lunchtime almost 80 degrees. We did see a few showers try to sprinkle up through Mecklenburg County tonight. This is the main boundary out west that works through

as it advances. E.C. all this cool air out here, 49 Minneapolis, 56 Kansas City. This is going to push south and we will be cooler as we head through the weekend tomorrow the one more warm day 88 raleigh 89 Durham 88 in Fayetteville your first alert seven day forecast powered by acuether rain moving in on saturday 62 will be the morning high and temperatures will fall throughout today then on your sunday 63 degrees Monday 68 Tuesday 71 will be in the 70s with some of those fall like temperatures on into next week. But one more really hot day tomorrow. So be ready for it. All right, Don. Thank you. We have an update tonight about a popular holiday event. Tickets went on sale this morning and more than 40,000 tickets were sold with the final tickets being snatched this afternoon.

The city of Raleigh telling us there was a glitch with the ticket sales for the December 17th day for Holiday Express. So that caused the event to be overbooked. People who bought tickets for those days are being contacted. Their tickets will be honored for another night of their choice. sold out already. All right, still ahead. They came from Puerto Rico to help build what would become Fort Bragg. More than a century later, their legacy is still there, including the graves of the men who never made it back home. As part of our Hispanic Heritage Month coverage, we walk you back through the history pages to tell stories you may have never heard. And a reminder, you can find eyewitness news live on ABC 11, Disney Plus, and everywhere. You stream.

Lock unlimited free grocery delivery with PC Express Pass. Shop online and get the same low, No Frills price is delivered. Get your first year of PC Express Pass for just $2.50 a month. Learn more at no frills.ca. Hold music. Not exactly what you want to hear when a pipe just burst

in your basement is flooding. And your vinyl collection is getting soaked. And your cat just floated by on a sofa cushion? That's why intact insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. It's their way of going the extra mile to help. So instead of hearing this, lovely track over and over and over. You'll hear this in seconds. Hello, intact insurance.

Now that's music to your ears. I witness news. We are local news weeknights four to six 30 and 11. As we wrap up our Hispanic heritage coverage, we're looking back at a rarely told chapter in Fort Brax history. Over a century ago, the labor of Puerto Rican migrant workers laid the groundwork for what would become one of the military's largest installations in the entire world. New here at 11, our penelopee Lopez has more on this hidden history. Their names may not be part of the stories we most often hear about Fort Bragg, but their work, their legacy is still an important part of its history. There's a lot that Can't Bragg, which becomes Fort Bragg, is not really going to be available immediately to the U.S. Army without these men from Puerto Rico. Much of what we know about Fort Bragg is tied to its strategic military strength, airborne operations, combat readiness,

and special forces. But before the missions, there was the building. In 1918, the U.S. government requested for about 75,000 Puerto Ricans to come to America for various labor-based projects. By then, the Joe Chaffront Act had pointed U.S. citizenship to people in Puerto Rico. And in 1918, about 1,700 skilled Puerto Rican laborers, many from Ponce and Maiauege were recruited to come to North Carolina. Unfortunately, there was an issue of racism that was occurring. A lot of them had supervisors who were very much anti-Portarican. Back in Puerto Rico, people faced food shortages as corporate sugar plantations took over much of the land, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty. Fayetteville State University Archives technician Nicole St. Leon says laborers helped clear forest

and build the early barracks. Puerto Rican laborers were told that, oh, yes, you'll receive housing you'll receive you know clothing supplies etc but what was not acknowledged was that the housing that they were given would not be winterized that history leads us here to main post cemetery where at least 28 Puerto rican laborers are buried after dying during the influenza pandemic the fort brag Puerto rican connection lives on through veterans like patrick vaskes who served over 30 years learning about it just making me more proud of what i do for the reason that I do. He now trains the next generation of junior cadets at UNC.

Pimbroke. So you have Puerto Ricans that have participated in every conflict defending the same constitution that everybody else wearing the same uniform does. St. Leon says these workers left more than buildings behind. They left a record of people who spoke up, even when speaking up came at a cost. The laborers at Fort Bragg who were essentially these Puerto Ricans, they were actually fighting for labor rights. And that's a very powerful thing to see.

Reporting in Fayetteville, I'm Penalpia Lopez, ABC11. I witness news. Unlock unlimited free grocery delivery with PC Express Pass. Shop online and get the same low, No Frills prices delivered. Get your first year of PC Express Pass for just $2.50 a month. Learn more at nofrills.ca. Hold music. Not exactly what you want to hear when a pipe just burst in your basement is flooding.

and your vinyl collection is getting soaked, and your cat just floated by on a sofa cushion? That's why intact insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. It's their way of going the extra mile to help. So instead of hearing this lovely track, over and over and over, you'll hear this in seconds. Hello, intact insurance. Now that's music to your ears.

Trey, thank you and thank you at home for watching. That's going to do it for us here tonight. Jimmy Kimmel Live is next, and remember ABC, 11 eyewitness news always on ABC11.com. Disney Plus and everywhere. Unlock unlimited free grocery delivery with PC Express Pass. Shop online and get the same low No Frills prices delivered. Get your first year of PC Express Pass for just $2.50 a month.

Learn more at no frills.ca.