The Maryland-National Capital Park Police have released body camera footage from officers killing a rabid coyote that they said attacked people who were out walking last Thursday.
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Police kill rabid coyote after two attacks in Montgomery County, Maryland
The video shows several officers with handguns and rifles drawn looking for the animal on a trail near Dustin Road in Burtonsville, Maryland.
As officers are looking over the Patuxent River, they heard the screeching of the coyote.
“Is that it?” one officer was heard saying.
Another said, “It’s right there.”
The officers scrambled to get a clear shot of the animal and then one shot can be heard ringing out.
The officers ended up firing two shots to kill the coyote. The coyote’s body was taken in for testing and it was found that it had been infected with rabies, which makes the animals much more aggressive.
Authorities said they were searching for the coyote following two separate attacks, which took place hours apart near the Patuxent River.
The first attack happened just before 10 a.m. Thursday, while a woman was walking her dog on Patuxent Drive.
Later that day at 4:45 p.m., a woman fought off the coyote and stabbed it with a knife on Bell Road in Burtonsville.
They found and killed the animal just over 3 hours later.
Police are reminding residents to stay away from any coyotes they might spot and to instead call 911 or animal services at 240-773-5925.
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Livestreaming cameras at Loudoun County School Board meetings will no longer show parents, students or anyone else during the public comment period, after the board voted to remove them from meetings starting next month.
Livestreaming cameras at Loudoun County School Board meetings will no longer show parents, students or anyone else during the public comment period, after the board voted to remove them from meetings starting next month. The move is sparking outrage from some parents already.
The board voted 6-3 in a March 12 meeting with all Republican and independent-backed members voting against the measure.
Public comments viewed online will now feature a slide showing the school district’s logo, but will still broadcast audio and closed captioning.
“I’m not interested in this being a political grandstanding, which has been happening a lot lately,” said chair Melinda Mansfield during discussion. “I think that takes away from the work of the board.”
Others expressed concern for safety, especially for people who speak at meetings and potentially face backlash for their comments in their private life.
“The main concern is safety for the people that speak,” said board member Sumera Rashid. “I’m trying to avoid a Jerry Springer show.”
‘Absolutely the opposite’ of transparency
Other members were not keen on the measure, like board member Lauren Shernoff.
“Over the past four years, I think decisions were made in general to make the public feel less than,” Shernoff said at the March board meeting. “I feel by turning them back on, we can start to restore some of that trust and build back transparency.”
One parent who was seen on that camera in June 2021 is not happy with the decision.
“They cannot allow another viral moment like mine to go across the land,” the father, whom WTOP is not naming to avoid indirectly identifying the teenager who was sexually assaulted, told Fox News.
During the interview, he said the members broke campaign promises made just months ago.
“Everyone of them campaigned on transparency and less division and this is absolutely the opposite of what they all campaigned on,” he told Fox News.
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If you head down to the National Mall in D.C. over the next two weeks you’ll see 27,400 blue flags placed in front of the U.S. Capitol. Here’s why.
If you head down to the National Mall in D.C. over the next two weeks you’ll see 27,400 blue flags placed in front of the U.S. Capitol.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
The blue flags represent the number of Americans under 50 who will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
The United in Blue rally joined dozens of nonprofits together with Fight Colorectal Cancer to demand more federal funding for research on the disease, specifically establishing a $20 million research program within the Defense Department.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
If you head down to the National Mall in D.C. over the next two weeks you’ll see 27,400 blue flags placed in front of the U.S. Capitol.
They represent the number of Americans under 50 who will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year.
“I should be at home with a husband that should still be on this earth,” Simone Ledward Boseman told the crowd Tuesday morning at the United in Blue rally.
Her husband, “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman, died from colorectal cancer at the age of 43.
“It makes me angry that a disease so treatable took him from me, when all we needed to start out with was knowledge,” she said.
The United in Blue rally joined dozens of nonprofits together with Fight Colorectal Cancer to demand more federal funding for research on the disease, specifically establishing a $20 million research program within the Defense Department.
“I served in the Middle East multiple tours. I got exposed to the burn pits, and I got diagnosed with two primary cancers simultaneously,” said Republican Rep. Mark Green, of Tennessee.
“I ignored the symptoms. And nine years ago, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I did the radiation and lost a foot and a half of my colon,” Green said.
He and others advocated for early detection and legislation that would make it easier for patients to obtain screenings through their health insurance.
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr. lost his father to the disease.
“After my father’s death, I went for my first colonoscopy,” Payne said. “I probably wouldn’t have gone had he not succumb to the disease. But when I had my first colonoscopy, they found 13 polyps. So I was on my way.”
The blue flags on the National Mall will be in place until March 23.
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A bill in Maryland aims to stop ticket scalpers from jacking-up prices. But the legislation is being met with some skepticism.
Have you wanted to go to a concert for your favorite artist only to find lawn seats cost thousands of dollars? A bill before Maryland legislators aims to stop ticket scalpers from jacking-up prices.
But it’s being met with some skepticism, especially by sports team season ticket holders.
“Ticket network posted $150 tickets for Alanis Morissette at $7,000. SeatGeek lists Hozier tickets, which we sold for $99, at $5,000,” Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications director for I.M.P. Concerts — which operates Merriweather Post Pavilion, among other D.C.-area concert venues, testified before the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee in Annapolis last month.
She was one of several event venue representatives that urged lawmakers to pass HB 701, which would prohibit selling tickets for more than their initial offering prices by secondary-ticket sellers or by scalping them.
“Hearing time and time again how individuals are trying to buy tickets, and they’re immediately bought up by bots,” said Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles County) who sponsors the bill.
Wilson said while lawmakers can’t stop the technology, “we can stop rewarding that technology.”
“We have a problem with people extracting value from the communities that have nothing to do with putting on a successful event,” said Kevin Erickson, director of the music advocacy nonprofit Future of Music Coalition, in support of the bill.
The legislation however did face pushback, especially when it came to season-ticket holders for sports teams.
Del. Pam Queen (D-Montgomery County) questioned if she would be able to sell her basketball season tickets for a higher price for more popular games.
Wilson answered, “If you’re trying to make a profit — either doubling and tripling — just so you can make a profit, then you’re definitely part of the problem, not part of the solution. Because we want individuals to be able to access it.”
“Our perspective, on behalf of the sports fan, is that the price cap is problematic for the average sports fan that wants to sell their ticket — especially in the season ticket context,” said Drew Vetter, a lobbyist for the nonprofit Sports Fan Coalition.
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Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, are warning residents to avoid callers that ask for money and immediately report any scams they come across.
Fraudsters continue to rip people off using scam calls, gift cards and bitcoin ATMs. Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, are warning residents to avoid callers that ask for money and immediately report any scams they come across.
“They’re taking advantage of people’s fear,” said Sgt. Jacob Pearce.
Unsuspecting victims will receive a call from an unknown number, posing as the fraud department from a bank or other business.
“They convey a sense of urgency that you need to act right now to avoid arrest or to avoid more fraud from occurring,” Pearce said.
The caller will then direct people to purchase gift cards and make deposits into ATMs, both means of payment that become very hard to trace.
Scammers have also posed as police officers in order to swindle money.
Police alerted the community back in December of these schemes but since then, the department has seen more than a dozen additional cases.
Most of the cases involve transactions of around $10,000 but one victim in January was defrauded of $31,100, according to Fairfax County police.
Pearce said if you receive a call claiming to be a fraud department from Amazon or your bank, “Hang up, find the legitimate number for that institution, or go through your banking app or the legitimate website and then contact their fraud department that way.”
That will usually clear up any confusion.
“Legitimate companies may leave a voicemail or follow up with a text message or an email if there is fraudulent activity going on in one of your financial institutions,” Pearce said. “You should never feel pressured to share personal information or banking information with somebody that’s on the phone.”
The police also encourage you to consult with family or friends before making any sort of similar financial decisions.
If you find yourself caught up in the middle of a scam, even if you’ve gone all the way through to depositing money or sending prepaid gift card information, you can contact Fairfax County’s Financial Crimes Unit to file an online report.
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A Fairfax County, Virginia, man who pleaded guilty in the 2021 murder of his landlord was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday.
Emily Lu, 72, of Lorton, is missing. (Courtesy Fairfax County Police Department)
Emily Lu, 72, of Lorton, is missing. (Courtesy Fairfax County Police Department)
A Fairfax County, Virginia, man who pleaded guilty in the 2021 murder of his landlord was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday.
Brian Sayrs, 28, received a total sentence of 40 years, with 17 years suspended for second degree murder and two years for concealing a dead body for the murder of 72-year-old Emily Lu.
Lu was last seen on Jun. 3, 2021. She was reported missing after she didn’t show up for work.
Detectives determined Sayrs lied to them about his where he was in the days after Lu’s disappearance and became the prime suspect.
Sayrs took police to her body 51 days after she went missing and confessed to her murder. Lu’s body was located in a wooded area near Dudley Drive and Laurel Crest Drive in Lorton, about two miles from her home, where Sayrs lived.
“We may never know all the details of this tragic incident,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement, following sentencing. But “we do know that today, the person responsible for Ms. Lu’s murder will finally be held accountable.”
“My heart breaks for Ms. Lu’s family, and for the members of our community who tirelessly searched for Ms. Lu for nearly two months,” said Descano.
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Voters are streaming to the polls in Virginia for Super Tuesday, as are voters in 15 other states and one territory, to pick their party’s nominee for president.
Election workers and observers for Virginia’s Democratic and Republican primaries at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax, Va. on March 5, 2024.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Fairfax County residents participating in Virginia’s Democratic and Republican primaries at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax, Va. on March 5, 2024.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Campaign signs outside the Fairfax County Government Center greet residents participating in Virginia’s Democratic and Republican primaries in Fairfax, Va. on March 5, 2024.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
This drop box stands outside the Fairfax County Government Center for residents to deposit absentee ballots in Virginia’s Democratic and Republican primaries in Fairfax, Va. on March 5, 2024.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
Voters streamed to the polls in Virginia for Super Tuesday, along with voters in 15 other states and one U.S. territory, to pick their party’s nominee for president.
Polls opened in Virginia at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. If you’re in line by then, you’ll be allowed to cast a ballot. Information on same-day registration and how to find your polling place is available in WTOP’s Virginia voter guide.
There are two elections in Virginia on Tuesday, the Democratic primary and the Republican primary — but voters can only participate in one of them. Eric Spicer, Fairfax County’s director of elections and general registrar, told WTOP Virginia doesn’t register voters by party affiliation.
“So far, it looks like a slow morning, but of course, it’s raining. So we’re hoping it’s going to pick up later in the day,” Spicer said. “We’re prepared for however many voters show up. So we hope everybody wants to participate in Super Tuesday.”
As of 3:40 p.m., Fairfax County’s Office of Elections said turnout in the Republican contest was about 5.7%, compared to 2.69% for the Democratic primary. Combined with early votes counted before Tuesday, total turnout was 7.31% for the GOP primary and 6.08% for the Democratic contest.
Turnout was slightly lower in Loudoun County. As of 4:30 p.m., the Office of Elections said Tuesday’s turnout was 7.53%. Total turnout jumped to 11.29% when factoring in early and mail ballots.
In Arlington County, as of 5 p.m., the county Office of Elections said turnout was about 5% in the Democratic primary and close to 6% in the Republican primary. Those figures don’t include early or mail voting.
Fairfax County had 2,100 election officers representing both political parties across 265 polling locations, according to Spicer, who said “that’s our best security.” He told WTOP the county had seals on voting machines and ballots “locked up” beforehand.
Spicer said absentee voters could place ballots in drop boxes outside all voting locations across the county, including in front of the Fairfax County Government Center. He said the county has had about 23,000 absentee voters in the Democratic primary and about 11,000 absentee voters in the Republican primary, as of 6:45 a.m.
“I wish we had other options. I know there’s other people on the ballot, but I think we know who’s going to be the two leaders,” teacher Samantha Schrickel told WTOP, suggesting she was frustrated it may be President Joe Biden facing former President Donald Trump in a rematch this November.
Virginia’s contest comes on the heels of Nikki Haley’s victory in D.C. — her first win in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump, the front-runner and delegate leader on the GOP side, held a rally in Richmond on Saturday, where he seemed to assert that Virginian votes wouldn’t matter this primary season.
“We want to send a big signal, so it’s important. I mean, we don’t need your vote. We want you to get out there and vote in big margins, and we want to send that little freight train going along,” Trump told rallygoers.
“I voted for Nikki Haley. I just think we need a new direction,” nurse Susan Bashore told WTOP, adding the Israel-Hamas war was her top issue.
President Joe Biden is the only major candidate on the Democratic side and he is far and away leading over Democratic challengers Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson.
“I want someone who is a different choice … than we had in the last round,” said Dominic Falls, who told WTOP he didn’t participate in the last presidential election.
Virginia is one of 16 states holding Super Tuesday contests. To pick up their party’s nomination, candidates need to win a majority of delegates. And no other date has more of those delegates at stake than Super Tuesday.
On the Republican side, 854 of 2,429 delegates — more than 35% — are up for grabs. About 36%, or 1,420 delegates, are in play for Democrats.
“If we’re gonna complain about the way things are, we have to get out and make our voice heard,” said Schrickel.
WTOP’s Luke Lukert and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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It’s day 12 of the Fairfax Connector strike. Drivers and mechanics continue to picket while commuters are searching for alternate routes within the county.
Drivers and mechanics picket, as Fairfax Connector commuters search for alternate routes within the county.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Drivers and mechanics picket, as Fairfax Connector commuters search for alternate routes within the county.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
It’s day 12 of the Fairfax Connector strike. Drivers and mechanics continue to picket and commuters are searching for alternate ways to get around.
Across 93 routes, the Fairfax Connector typically carried about 26,000 passengers each day.
“I know they’re probably having some problems,” one commuter at the Vienna Metro Station told WTOP Monday.
After more than a week on the picket line, most regular riders of the Connector are aware that the bus won’t come to your stop — but some are still caught off guard.
WTOP told one woman who was waiting at the stop near the Vienna station that the bus would not come because of the strike. She then left scrambling trying to find a new bus line on Metro.
“I hope that both parties can come to a resolution so we can get the Connector bus running again,” Bruce Brown, another frequent rider, said.
Meanwhile at the West Ox Road Bus facility, dozens of Fairfax Connector bus operators and mechanics picketed, hoping to get increased pay, better benefits and sick leave.
“We just want something that is fair. We’re not being outrageous, just a fair compensation,” Lennox Smith, a senior driver, said. “The company likes to keep everything for themselves. They like to eat the meat and give us the bones.”
“It doesn’t put a good taste in your mouth when there’s a company out there is willing to do that to people and all we’re trying to do is get a fair deal with them. And then they turn around and do something like that,” one striking mechanic told WTOP.
Contract negotiations are expected to continue on Tuesday.
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A chimney is the only part left standing of a house on Silver Ridge Drive in Sterling, Virginia, where a home explosion killed a volunteer firefighter.
Debris is scattered across Silver Ridge Drive neighborhood after a house exploded Friday night, killing a firefighter and injuring 10 others.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Much like the debris, the impact of the blast itself reached neighbors.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Insulation from the house that exploded made its way to other neighbors’ yards.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
The two occupants of the house were treated for minor injuries and have been released.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
On Saturday morning, scraps of insulation and wood framing were still strewn about the block.
Much like the debris, the impact of the blast itself reached neighbors. Chris Voloshin, who lives six houses down the street from the home that exploded, said “it felt like the house was falling down on” him and his family.
“We walked around the corner and we saw the house all in flames,” he told WTOP, adding that the insulation made its way to his yard. “Couldn’t believe that that’s what we heard and that’s what we felt.”
Ron Milligan lives about three-quarters of a mile from the house that exploded, but said the blast woke him up.
“I bolted upright, not sure what to do,” he said.
Another neighbor, Susan Sheridan, was in the kitchen when the blast happened. She said the ground shook like there was an earthquake, but “the noise was what was really astonishing.”
“I’ve never heard a bomb, but I imagine that’s what they sound like,” she said.
A leaking propane tank
Firefighters first got to the scene around 7:40 p.m. Friday, after receiving calls about a gas leak that could be smelled across the neighborhood, Fire Systems Chief Keith Johnson said at a news conference Saturday morning.
Sheridan said she never smelled the gas leak. However, she said she knew the community member who called the fire department about the gas odor, and noted that crews were checking the neighborhood for “an hour or more” before isolating the origin.
The fire department’s investigation is ongoing, but Johnson said he believes the explosion was related to a 500-gallon underground propane tank that crews found leaking into the home.
The explosion happened around 8:25 p.m., Johnson said.
“Luckily, the two occupants of the home were removed by firefighters upon our arrival, as well as some of the pets,” Johnson said. “We can credit our firefighters for the removal of those citizens.”
Johnson said it was “somewhat chaotic” as the department tried to track down all the injured firefighters, figuring out how many were trapped under debris. All units were accounted for and receiving medical care by around 9:15 p.m.
‘The devastation is not just the house’
(Courtesy, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue)
The explosion claimed the life of 45-year-old Trevor Brown, who had been with the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company since 2016. He leaves behind a wife and three children, Johnson said.
A total of 10 other first responders were taken to local hospitals, including two Loudoun County career firefighters, seven Sterling volunteer firefighters and one Fairfax County firefighter. The two occupants of the house were treated for minor injuries and have been released.
“I just feel horrible for the people that own this and I feel horrible for the fireman that lost his life trying to find out what the problem was,” Milligan said. “I mean, the devastation is not just the house.”
Brown’s death is a heartbreaking loss, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall told WTOP.
“It’s devastating to the (volunteer fire) company, to the entire system and quite frankly to the entire county, but most importantly to his family, his wife and his children,” Randall said.
Funeral arrangements are in the hands of the Brown family.
Randall said the community has come together to offer support to the four firefighters who remain hospitalized.
“Right now we are told that they have a long road back and it will be very hard, so they need a lot of support from everyone in the county,” Randall said.
“The homeowner is also a victim. This happened not because of her, but to her, and she has completely lost her home, pets and all of her worldly possessions,” Randall added.
People in Alexandria, Virginia, who call in hoax active shooters and fake bomb threats will now be footed with the bill for the police response.
People in Alexandria, Virginia, who call in hoax active shooters and fake bomb threats will now be footed with the bill for the police response.
The Alexandria City Council passed an ordinance on Tuesday that would seek reimbursement for the cost of responding to “swatting” incidents.
“The City has had 25 such incidents in the past 4 years,” the city council wrote on X when posting about the ordinance.
Swatting is dangerous and has victims.
Tomorrow night, Council will be considering a new ordinance (taking advantage of new state authority) that will allow us to seek reimbursement for the costs of “swatting” incidents.
Just last month, two schools in the city, Charles Barrett Elementary School and Cora Kelly School, with targeted by fake threats on the same day.
Around noon on Jan. 24, fake calls about someone going to Charles Barrett with guns came in. While SWAT teams and other first responders gathered around the school and searched, another threat came for Cora Kelley about a mile away.
The council passed the new ordinance during its Tuesday night meeting. The city will now be able to bill the person who is found guilty of those swatting calls.
City officials will determine a flat fee for the police, fire and EMS response to anyone guilty of calling in a hoax bomb threat or terror threat and those who purposefully pull a fire alarm.
The ordinance does not allow that fee to be above $2,500.
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Skyrocketing prescription drug prices are forcing Maryland legislators to look at several solutions to try to bring those costs down for citizens.
Skyrocketing prescription drug prices are forcing Maryland legislators to look at several solutions to try to bring those costs down for citizens.
One man who testified before Maryland’s Senate Finance Committee last week said he has to pay around $800 for just an ounce of medication.
“How many of us, like me, are making decisions whether to eat, heat or treat a condition like I have?” he told the committee. “It’s neurodegenerative and there’s no cure.”
Patients like him voiced their support for a bill that may one day limit the pricing on specific medications.
“A staggering one in three Marylanders reporting that they have skipped a dose to ration medication, or left a prescription at the pharmacy counter due to cost,” said Sen. Dawn Gile of Anne Arundel County who introduced the bill.
The Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which was created five years ago, can already set upper payment limits or “UPL” for state and local government healthcare plans. The new bill would expand their authority to impose a UPL for all Marylanders.
“People who have insurance who have high copays … your copay will go down. If the amount that the insurance company pays for the drug is significantly lower, your percentage goes down of your coinsurance and your copay,” said Vinny DeMarco with the Mental Health Care for All Coalition, who argued in support of the bill.
But Brad Stewart with the Maryland Tech Council who also testified at the senate finance hearing is unconvinced this will save patients any money.
“This PDAB does not accomplish that,” he said. “Its goal is to reduce the price that the state and local governments pay for the drugs, not one person has yet testified or agree that $1 of those savings will go to a consumer.”
“It five years ago, this body had said we’re going to contract with GoodRx and make sure that every person who walks into a pharmacy in the state of Maryland just has a paper card and says, don’t charge me more than this rate, tens of millions of dollars a year would have been saved by now,” he argued.
Opponents also argued the bill could keep rare and expensive medicines out of the state, forcing people to leave Maryland to seek the drugs.
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