4 detained after gunshots reported near Bethesda-area high school | FOX 5 AT 4AM

Good morning, I'm Jacqueline Matter. It is 4 a.m. on this October 22nd. Thanks for starting your morning with us right here on Fox 5 and streaming on Fox Local. Here's what's happening today. Early voting starts in just a few hours in Maryland. It is also expanding in Virginia. We'll take a look at the latest ballot information less than two weeks from the midterm election. Plus, a massive sinkhole opens up right in front of a Maryland middle school. The major traffic changes that could impact that area for quite some time. And new surveillance cameras coming to D.C. to monitor President Trump's construction projects. Just how much money that administration is spending on security. Good morning. Thanks for joining us. Good morning. Thanks for joining us here on this. I've already forgot what day it is. Thursday. It's Thursday, the 22nd. Glad to have you here with us. Glad to be back after a few days off and some beautiful fall-like weather out there. Yeah, welcome back. happy to have you back and yes you have been missing out on some beautiful weather this week it's it's going to continue so if you missed it no worries you're going to be able to enjoy some of that today another nice day on tap we have the the high pressure overhead will keep things dry seasonal conditions as temperatures get back into the upper 60s thank you let's get to our top story here at 4 a.m early voting starts today in maryland and election offices expecting a strong turnout. Meantime, Virginia's early voting also expanding today to more locations. Our Melanie Olnwick live in Fairfax this morning with more on what you need to know, Mel. That's right. So here in Virginia, early voting began on September 13th, one of the first in the nation. And today it's going to expand from just those little central locations in each county to more neighborhood locations like the community center here in Fairfax. An additional 13 locations opening here in Fairfax County alone today. Already, election officials in Virginia report that more than 822,000 ballots have been cast for this midterm election. That's nearly double the pace of the 2022 midterms. Voters are casting ballots for the House, the Senate, and three ballot questions. So here's what you need to know if you are a Virginia voter. You want to check your registration status. You must vote in the locality that you're registered in, and you need to bring in Virginia an acceptable form of ID. Early voting in Virginia wraps up on Saturday, October 31st. Now, Maryland is opening up its early voting locations today. All eight Maryland representatives in Congress are up for reelection. Voters will also be casting ballots for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller and all of their state legislators. One thing that everyone's going to be watching across the country is whether Maryland voters will approve ballot question three which would open the door to partisan redistricting for congressional seats if you're a maryland voter you want to check your registration and your voting site you want to review your ballot in advance there's a lot of things on it and that will save you time in the voting booth and we're told in maryland that some first-time voters may be asked to show ID so it's always a good idea to bring one just in case now early voting in Maryland ends on October 29th Now, both in Maryland and Virginia, we know that those ballot drop boxes and voting by mail, very popular. But you do need to request your ballot ahead of time if that is the option that you want to choose. So you want to go to our website or our Fox Local app and it'll tell you everything you need to know about early voting in Maryland and Virginia. D.C.'s early voting starts next week. All right. Good to know, Mel. Thank you. And Fox 5, your home for all election coverage across the DMV. This morning, we'll have Republican candidate for governor, Dan Cox, joining us for a live interview. That is at 7:30 this morning. We also sat down for a one-on-one interview with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who is seeking his second term in office. You can find that full interview on our website, fox5dc.com. Meantime, the Arlington County Board is suing the Trump administration to prevent armed federal agents from being present at polling places during the midterm elections. A complaint filed yesterday accuses the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice of creating policies that would arm FBI and ICE agents to carry out civil and immigration law at those sites. The lawsuit bases its claims on DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen and FBI Director Kash Patel's statements during a news conference last month allowing enforcement operations at election sites. Well, this morning, repair crews are working to fix a sinkhole near a Montgomery County middle school. This happening along Perrywood Drive, right in front of Benjamin Banneker Middle School in Burtonsville. WUSA9 says the school does not have any running water at the time because of a water main break that led to that sinkhole. Police say this will likely be a long-term road closure as crews do work on repairs. MCPS has not yet said if that middle school will be closed today. Of course we'll bring you updates as they come into our newsroom all right 4:05 now this morning let's get you outside live look across the DMV and uh cool start to our day here Taylor with uh gonna warm up nicely definitely those beautiful fall temperatures out there yeah exactly gonna be such a nice day again uh you know repeat the rest of the week because it's going to extend maybe even possibly through the end of of the month of October too it is chilly to start out though we're in the upper 30s at Dulles Airport mid 40s at Reagan BWI so bundle up this morning you'll probably need that extra layer, if not, you know, a heavier coat for sure. We're at 34 degrees right now in Frederick, 42 in Gaithersburg, 35 in Manassas, and again, 46 in D.C. Once again, another day to not have a whole lot to talk about on radar there. We still have that subtropical system off the northeast coast. It's lifting northward as it gradually lifts further away from us throughout the next 24 hours. We'll see things at the beach get a little bit better. Sunshine continues throughout the day, 61 around noon, upper 60s by 5 p.m. Jacqueline? All right, Taylor, thank you. Let's take a look at traffic here now this morning. Just your average drive times for your Thursday morning commute for your D.C. majors, everything less than 10 across the board, nine minutes between Kenilworth Avenue and the 3rd Street Tunnel, six minutes if you're headed between the Beltway and the 11th Street Bridge, and just five minutes if you're headed southbound between Kenilworth Ave and the 11th Street Bridge as well. Well, students at seven in Montgomery County schools are headed back to class this morning after going into lockdowns yesterday following reports of shots fired near Walter Johnson High School in North Bethesda. Police investigating a long rock ledge of drive recovered shell casings just off of campus. Four people were detained. Students at Walter Johnson say the situation was tense as officers swarmed that area with shields and long guns. It's definitely scary especially like like when it happens to you so because it's not like something you see every day and for it to be like super close is definitely scary. I think it definitely makes me more nervous especially like the way that the teachers were reacting because we're not necessarily in a panic but we're walking by the school we're like okay you know the cops said we should be fine to go back and we're walking past the school and teachers are pulling us in and they're kind of like screaming and it's definitely very scary. Now there were no injuries As a result of the shots fired there, we are still waiting to hear from police about whether any charges will be filed. New details this morning on hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars expected to be spent to monitor President Trump's construction projects across D.C. The Trump administration continuing to maintain that vandalism caused damage to the reflecting pool. Federal records, the Washington Post reporting there that the Trump administration is spending at least $343,000 on surveillance cameras to monitor several of the president's projects. That includes the Reflecting Pool and at Memorial Circle. I think it's a real waste of money. We have a lot bigger problems in this country right now. We have people without health care. We have people who can't afford food. On Truth Social this week, President Trump continued to claim without evidence that vandals damaged the pool. He wrote, quote, we are watching very closely and security cameras have been installed. Meantime, the Justice Department's watchdog will not investigate the prosecution against a former Olympian accused of damaging the reflecting pool. President Trump blamed vandalism, but prosecutors dropped the case after evidence showed faulty renovations. Former Olympian David Hearn's lawyers claim misconduct in the case and want an independent probe. However, the watchdog says the complaint belongs with another DOJ office. A D.C. man now facing federal charges after a shootout that injured a Georgia National Guardsman in Southeast. Jarrell Lamont Jackson allegedly opened fire after guardsmen tried to break up a fight near Barracks Row on October 18th. Investigators say these new photos show Jackson exchanged gunfire with guard members, but he and a guardsman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Happening today at 1 p.m., U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, D.C. officials and D.C. police will hold a joint press conference announcing federal charges against a D.C. drug dealer linked to the fatal fentanyl overdose of a 20-year-old. We'll, of course, keep you updated on that press conference. Now to the latest in the Neeraj Bat murder case. There is no court happening today. The trial will resume on Monday, but we do want to keep you updated on the latest developments in this very complex case. On Wednesday, prosecutors shared surveillance video showing the alleged moment that Bat pulled part of his wife Mamta's dismembered body from a car and threw it into a dumpster. The jury also heard from a contractor who says that Bhatt paid him for a job by giving him a saw. Investigators believe that Neeraj Bat used that saw to dismember his wife's body. Well, Virginia Task Force 1 has returned to Fairfax County after a nearly two-week deployment to Panama. The elite search and rescue team mobilized after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Panama on October 9th. The mission was focused on helping to restore access to damaged infrastructure in the area. Our Jennifer Delgado is out there to speak to some of those returning members. We just supported the country doing some assessments and structures to make sure that everything, including schools, hospitals, and all other structures that they wanted us to check, make sure that we're safe for the people to occupy the buildings. Virginia Task Force 1 was established in 1986 to help respond to disasters both at home and abroad. Montgomery County leaders working to make sidewalks safer amid a spike in pedestrian-involved crashes. Plus, lock those cars, close up those trash cans, and protect those picnic baskets. A black bear on the loose in Fairfax County. The video and reaction from neighbors just ahead. Plus, get ready for a spooky night with Fox 5. Join us for a special edition of Like It or Not tonight, live from Markoff's haunted forest in Dickerson, Maryland. Jim, Marina, Angie, and Chad will all be out there to help celebrate spooky season all set for seven o'clock. We're here on Fox 5 and Fox Local, Washington, D.C. Taylor? All right, going to be a nice stretch of weather that continues. Will it last through the weekend, though? So much more on that seven-day forecast coming up after the break.