ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at Noon - March 12, 2026

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

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Ahead here at noon, dramatic weather changes on this first alert day. A cold front barreling into Central Carolina causing temperatures to nosedive and bringing whipping rain. Tamara Scott is live on the roadways. I'm out in Storm Chaser this afternoon. You can see the rain is coming down pretty heavily. Stay with us. I'll bring you all the latest updates from the roads. That's ahead.

We're also live in Fayetteville this noon, a social media threat putting E.E. Smith High School on high alert. talking to the police chief about that threat. Penelope Lopez is live with the warning. Eyewitness News at noon is now. Right now, live coverage from your local news leader. Today's top stories you need to know and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11. I Witness News. Right now at noon tracking heavy rainfall moving in on this first alert day, Central Carolina under a level one. risk for severe weather. Thanks for joining us. I'm Ambera Penta Barbara Gives is on assignment. The biggest weather threats today are damaging winds and the potential of isolated tornadoes in the

sand hills. Here is a look at the conditions we're seeing right now from our live skycams in Raleigh, Durham and Fayetteville. That soaking rain is coming down. We have our live drive vehicles out on the roads as well. Here's what we're seeing in Wake County and Durham County. The roads are very wet. The drive home this evening could be very slow. Let's go to meteorologist Steve Stewart, the first alert forecast center Steve on the heels of the rain is a cold front bringing down temps more than 25 degrees since this morning so far yeah it's it's in real impressive and all my 22 years here I don't think I can remember a time we've gone down 25 degrees and it's just noon and it's still gonna keep going down we

could actually fall to the 30s this afternoon folks severe thunderstorm watches in the sand hills and this is until 5 o'clock it'll probably be whittled away a little bit sooner it could get a brief spin up and this is a low level risk of an of an isolated tornado, but it's mainly again down to the south and east as that line continues to push away from us. But right now you can almost disregard the temperatures. You know, we started in the 70s. We're already down into the 50s and that is snow on the backside. We could actually see a few snowflakes as well. A novelty, not an issue. But for now, the issue is that line of showers and thunderstorms. The warning is now shifted into parts of Wake County and Harnett and Johnson, Clayton, Fouke, Verena, Gardner, and Raleigh, all in that warning. And that. That's the line right there that we're seeing moving on through. Meanwhile, just rain to the north, heavy rain. We got some gusty winds as well, and that's where the warning is now. We're not seeing hail here, but some impressive winds,

already getting some outside of any thunderstorm winds in the 30 to 40 mile an hour range, by the way. Look at the temperatures. These are fields like temperatures we expect to be around freezing at 4 o'clock this afternoon. What an incredible swing. Right now, we're at 49 degrees with a northwest wind at 16, gusting to 32. That's 31 degrees colder than this time yesterday, Amber, and it only gets colder. More details than the 70 forecast. Weather whiplash for sure over just the last few hours.

All right, Steve, tracking it closely. Thank you. And right now here at New, we are watching the rain from our network of DOT cameras. This is what conditions are looking like right now on 540 at US 1. This is in Southern Wake County. Let's go to Tamara Scott. She's live on the roadways in the first alert storm chaser tracking conditions live. So Tamara, tell us where you are and what you're seeing.

Hey, good afternoon, Amber here. We are on 440 Eastbound. Take a look where we're seeing. The roads are certainly wet. The rain is coming down too. Heavier in some parts than others. What we're driving right now, it seems to be picking up just a tad bit here. But there were moments just even a half hour ago where it was really coming down. So that's why you're seeing these roads really wet in this area. But we have actually been tracking this since the 10 o'clock hour out in the more western part of our viewing area. So if you're more in Orange County or Durham County there, you might have already seen a lot of that rain come through. So keep that in mind if you're heading out for lunch today or maybe you're going into the office a little bit late. Take it slow here on the roads. There are still a good amount of folks who are out here.

So take it easy, take it slow. We know that it is also kind of chilly outside too now. So definitely bring your jacket along with your umbrella with you. Tamara's got some good tips there. Tamara, thank you. And you can stay weather aware by downloading the free ABC 11 mobile app. will send any watches or warning straight to your device. You can also check DopplerNet and the seven day forecast there at any time.

We turn now to the social media threat that has E.E. Smith High School in Fayetteville on high alert this noon. Extra police at the school today. Penelope Lopez is live at the Fayetteville police headquarters. So Penelope, this is all out of precaution due to a video posted on social media. That's right, Amber. We are learning that this teenager, he's 19, years old. He posted a video yesterday. He was visibly upset doing saying remarks specifically directed towards one unidentified person. He was also waving a gun. As you can imagine, parents and students were very concerned about this. We're learning now from officials that he was charged today with misdemeanor communication threats. He was also brought into custody at around 7, 8 in the morning

today. We asked the Fayetteville police chief, Robert O'Brien, Jr., the motive and who he was identifying those threats to. The chief telling me that he was directing that threat to a minor at E. E. Smith and that he thinks the community, not only the agencies that work together to mitigate this situation, but the public for bringing this to their attention. Take a listen. First, I'd like to let the public know thank you for seeing something and saying something. That's what we need. The other thing that I want to make sure everyone is clear, it is safe. We have mitigated the threat.

In cooperation with the Cumberland County Schools, we have our additional SROs at the schools as well. And so we have enough resources to make sure that there was no mitigating threat. But the subject is in custody. and there is no threat at this time. That's right. There's currently no threat. And as he mentioned, they have multiple SROs there.

There's 18 in Fayetteville. And they also have other patrol officers just making sure that they can contain any threat. But they say right now there is no threat. We'll have more coming up in the 4 p.m. Our hearing reaction from parents. Live in Fayetteville, Penelope Lopez, ABC 11. Eyewitness News.

Certainly puts parents, you know, on edge. Penelope, we will see you soon with more. Thank you. And new here at noon, the Fayetteville Police Department just releasing new details about that fatal crash that happened last night on King Road at Windfall Lane right near I-295. Police say 38-year-old Daniel Van Herpen was operating his motorcycle when the driver of a Silverado pickup truck made a left turn right in Van Herpen's path. Van Herpen was rushed to the hospital but died from his injuries. The driver of the truck, 62-year-old Dale White is now charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. He's been held at the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $275,000 bond. And now at noon, the Durham man charged with killing

a Garner father of five and a suspected road rage shooting incident and firing at Raleigh Police officers has been indicted. A Wake County grand jury handed up the indictment related to Solomon Owen's shootout with the Raleigh SWAT team as the officers attempted to arrest him for Joey Adams murder. He is now charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm. And we're following breaking news right now here at noon. Police are on the scene of a shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia. This is a live feed here of the scene. Authorities say two people were hurt when a gunman started shooting at the university in Constant Hall. We are told that the gunman is now dead and the injured have been rushed to the

hospital. Of course, this is a breaking situation there in Virginia, and we are going to stay close to this scene. Stay with Iowa News for the latest on this breaking story, a shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia. Now to the war with Iran and this new video here showing the moment an oil tanker erupted in flames in the Persian Gulf late last night. The footage captured a bright explosion that you'll see there lighting up the water, followed by intense orange flames rising from the vessel in the distance. The ship is believed to be one of two foreign oil tankers, Iraqi officials say were attacked in Iraqi waters. Iran is now claiming responsibility for the attack, saying an underwater drone blew up the vessels. And the incident comes as several oil tankers

have been targeted in the Persian Gulf, raising fears about disruptions to global oil supplies. ABC's Olivia Rubin has the latest now from Washington. This morning for the first time since the war began, Iranian state media, reporting there is a public statement from Iran's new supreme leader Moshtaba Kamenei. The statement read on Iranian state TV. There, Kamenei vowing to avenge the deaths of Iranians killed and pledging to keep up attacks on U.S. military bases and oil facilities in the Gulf region. And this morning, Iran making good on that threat. This dramatic new video shows two oil takers on fire.

Local officials blaming Iran. Flames engulfing one of the tankers, a rescue crew trying to reach it. Come, go, come, come, come, come. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard claiming to have struck the Safesia Vishnu, seen here in video circulating online. And Iran escalating attacks on oil infrastructure on land as well. Videos show multiple oil silos on fire around the Persian Gulf. And Reuters reporting Iran has deployed roughly. a dozen mines in the Strait of Hormuz, choking off the critical waterway and with it,

20% of the world's oil supply, warning oil could reach a stunning $200 per barrel. Price is rising overnight, oil hovering around $100 per barrel. At the gas pump, the national average this morning, $3.61 a gallon, up 66 cents since the war began. President Trump, in conflicting messages, telling the American, people, the war is won, but that also, it's not over. And we've won, let me say we've won. As we end this threat to America and this threat to the world, we don't want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job, right?

But remember, this new Ayatollah has not been seen or heard from directly. An Israeli assessment indicates he was wounded in the beginning of the war. His father, of course, was killed. Olivia Rubin, ABC News, Washington. Olivia, thank you. As the Iran conflict in the Middle East continues, the FBI has raised the possibility of a seaborne surprise attack on the West Coast. Wednesday, the FBI issued a memo saying that Iran could attempt to launch military drones over California.

The memo was issued a week ago and distributed to local law enforcement out of an abundance of caution. And, of course, the warning coming just days ahead of the Oscars. Here's a live look outside the Dolby Theater where thousands will gather on Sunday. The LAPD incident commander in charge of the Oscars says there is no specific or credible threat to the city or the big show. He said they will, though, be prepared for anything. Whether we're planning for a single individual to, we're going to have some bad actors that are commit terrorism. We have to account for all of those scenarios. It talks about Iran aspiring to do things.

Well, we can all aspire to do things. they capable? Do they have the means or the system set up in order to do that? Through all of these systems and controls to make sure that the only people are getting around the Oscars are people that are supposed to be there. The incident commander says the Academy Awards will probably be one of the safest places to be in the world. A Raleigh Sports Bar is set to lose its license to serve alcohol. State officials making that move following several shootings at touchdown sports bar. We have the details ahead here at noon. And what we're learning about Vice President J.D. Vance's planned visit to North Carolina tomorrow.

Developing now the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission pulling permits for a Raleigh Sports Bar. Touchdown Sports Bar on New Bern Avenue cannot serve alcohol while the permits are suspended. The decision comes after multiple shootings at the bar recently, including last month when two men were shot there. We have reached out to the commission for more on their decision, but have not yet heard back. And new at noon, the Governor's Crime Commission meeting today to talk about rising crime in rural parts of the state. This comes as the Criminal Justice Analysis Center releases a new report indicating that rural counties are seeing higher rates of gun violence than urban or suburban counties. Crime Commission presented ideas to improve rural health, education, and workforce development. An alleged ISIS-inspired terror attack is foiled in New York.

Two men now facing charges and authorities now say New York was not their own. only alleged target. The unfolding story is coming up here at noon. And Noah warning that the El Niño may return later this year, what that could mean for the upcoming hurricane season. And as we go to break, a live look at very quickly changing conditions. This is US 64 in eastern Wake County. Temperatures drop, rain moving in. Steve Stewart has more. Right now at noon, it's the first alert day. Our live drive vehicles are monitoring conditions on the Durham Freeway. You can see the rain is coming down there. Steve Stewart will have more in just a moment. And IWitness News is learning more about tomorrow's vice presidential visit to Rocky Mount. The White House confirming that

Vice President J.D. Vance will be making a stop in the city Friday. The VP set to deliver remarks tomorrow at the powerhouse. That's an event space on Falls Road. Doors open at 11 o'clock. Registration is required. The vice president's visit to Rocky Mount comes just three months after he and President Trump's campaign swing at the Rocky Mount Convention Center in December. And now at noon, there are new details about two men accused of plotting a terrorist attack in New York. It turns out they may have considered other targets. Here's ABC's Sophie Flee. Sources say the two Pennsylvania teens charged with trying to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack in New York last weekend

had considered other targets. A lot in Kiyumi sought to incite fear and mass. suffering through this alleged attempted terror attack in the backyard of an elected city official. The teens are accused of bringing a homemade bomb to an anti-Muslim protest outside the New York mayor's residence. These were improvised explosive devices made to injure, maim, or worse. One teen throwing a device at protesters, but it fizzled out. Authorities believe the 18 and 19-year-olds had watched ISIS videos at home. Sources say investigators who searched this storage. unit in the teens' hometown found a notebook describing soft targets like shopping centers.

They say the teens were planning an attack for at least a week. Video shows one suspect at this firework store in Pennsylvania. The owner saying the teen bought a fuse. There was a real threat. There was a real danger there. Two members of the NYPD who chased down the suspects during the attack Saturday spoke to our New York station. I saw the device hit the floor and I just ran.

I knew that I needed to save lives. So I ran towards the people to make sure that nobody got hurt. This image of Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards going viral after he jumped a fence to help capture the suspects. The NYPD posting, some heroes wear capes. Chief Aaron Edwards wears blue. Sophie Flee, ABC News, New York. New here at noon, there could be fewer hurricanes this summer. That's because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA,

reporting a potentially strong El Nino weather pattern will likely emerge. this summer and persist through the rest of the year. El Niño occurs when trade winds weekend allowing vast volumes of warm ocean water to move from the eastern Pacific towards the Americas and it could have a significant impact on winter weather in addition to reducing that expected number of Atlantic hurricanes. All right we want to get right to weather because there's so much happening Steve. So much to talk about what a crazy day we've had so far and it's not going to end anytime soon. It downpours going on right now we've got severe weather as well a level two risk south of the

triangle all the way down to the coast. And we also have a severe thunderstorm watching effect in that same area until five. But it's going to be allowed to expire much sooner than that. This is moving at a pretty good clip outside of any thunderstorms. We've already had winds at 30 to nearly 40 miles an hour. Already you had a 41 mile an hour gus there. So the level two risk today for at least the next few hours or so. Decent weekend though. Make some plan. Saturday looks fantastic. Sunday could have some showers late in the day. We'll show you that. And a strong front. on Monday. Behind it, it is going to be a significant drop off. We go from the 70s and fall off a cliff. We'll be down to the 40s on Tuesday. That's like a chilly January day. So here's the line of showers and thunderstorms rolling in. That's snow, by the way, on the back side. And we could have some snow up in our northern counties. Again, a novelty, ground temperatures way too warm. Don't worry about it being an issue. Severe thunderstorm morning continues in Johnson, Wake and Harnock counties until 1245 for the areas here. Looks like it's getting a little bit weaker. We'd like to see it that but widespread rain right now up in our northern counties and wind as well.

And there is that severe thunderstorm and parts of Wake County far into the north. Severe weather is going to be really hard because the temperatures are just getting too chilly. But we'll watch and see if we get any stronger cells coming into Cumberland County a little bit later on for this afternoon. There's the line by 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock it's racing to the east and the cold air on the back side could have some snow there. We could fall into the 30s. It will not stick. If anything, it'll just be a novelty to see it in the sky. And then by three, four o'clock, the severe weather is east of our viewing area.

Pretty much done with that threat. We could be in the 30s at 4 o'clock and the wind can make it feel like the upper 20s and low 30s at that time. Incredible since we started out in the 70s. We're 48 with rain right now, a north breeze at 14, gusting to near 30 miles an hour, significantly cold. And look at that cold air that's spilled in. Pretty easy to see where the front is. That'll continue pushing to the south, but nearly 40 degrees colder than this time yesterday in Roxburgh, nearly 30 degrees colder in Raleigh.

And again, these numbers keep going down as we'll go through the next few hours. So by the time this evening rolls around if we're going to the Keynes game, it'll feel like the lower to middle 30s with a breeze bundle up. It's going to be like a winter day for sure later today. Now the first half of the weekend, fantastic. We'll get a few clouds later in the day. Sunday the clouds increase, maybe a spotty shower. there's the strong front that comes in on Monday.

Could have severe weather on that day and then the cold air blasts in behind it in a big way as we go into Tuesday. So 50, well, don't even worry about these numbers. Just know it's getting colder as the day wears on. Clear and cold tonight. We're in the upper 20s and low 30s. First alert, seven days, 61 tomorrow. It'll be a bright, breezy day as we head into the weekend, back to the 70s, Oscar Sunday, maybe a late day shower, potential for some severe weather on Monday.

Amber, look at that, all the way down to 48 on our Tuesday for a high temperature. Make sure your green is a sweater on Tuesday for your safe passion. The parade is Saturday, though, so that's good news for the parade. Yeah. All right. Up and down, Steve, thank you. New here at noon, providing food for those in need. We have details on how your donations today could have a triple impact for families.

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Business. We are back with this new here at noon, ABC 11, highlighting a good deed happening now, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. honoring international women's month through triple match donations. I witness news stopping by the Food Bank in Raleigh today as volunteers packed up donations. Food bank officials say that those donations will have three times the impact for families facing hunger in our communities. And data shows women and especially single mothers are at a greater risk for hunger due to the ever-present wage gap and also the rising cost of health care, housing and child care.

Two teenage girls are accused of plotting to kill a classmate. We have the details coming up. Details of what they allegedly said while laughing on the ride to the police department. Also new. An early morning fire under investigation in the Sand Hills. What we're learning about injuries. Plus the new push to end the partial government shutdown as travel impacts grow.