Wrong. He was the victim of a hoax, something that we know now called swatting. News 4s Meagan Fitzgerald spok to the columnist about his terrifying incident. Te repor Leonard Spitz an awardwinning journalist for the miami herald based in prince georges county. Pulitzer prize, commentary 2004. This is the citation. Reporter b hes also a fulltime grandpa. You know i know how to put my seat up. Porter on sunday morning just before 5 00, he temporarily became a murder suspect. Never beenst arred, and technically wasnt arrested then and never had handcuffs on before. Reporter pitts was sleeping wh his phone rang. Was bowie police calling after a 911 callerhe contacted about a crime happening inside pitts home. The caller on the line stated that he had murdered his wife and that he was going toho the police when they arrived on the scene. The caller gave the address in the 500 block of nebraska lane. The caller gave pitts address so poli called asking him to com they brought me out to right about here. Put my cell phone down right about here. Putting him in handcuffs before getting his granddaughter, daughter and wife marilyn out of the house. And then i saw leonard re standing thein handcuffs, and i said who else is in the house . Who else is in the house and im like whats going on . Whats going on . The police chief john neske says it took less than 30 minutes for police to realize it was a prank from a random caller. I apologized for theru dision and now were in the investigative mode where were trying to find out where the call came from and track the source. The chief says he personally tmadehat apology, and while the pitts are still shaken up, they are al grateful for the way police handledld what cou have been a dangerous situation. Meagan fitzgeral news were going to have more on the swatting hoax and what police are saying about Police Department hours after the scary encounter. Thats coming up at 6 00 this afternoon. Were also learning more about a double shooting in the district. A man who was thought to be at vicim has now been charged with meder. Policay 21yearolduane garmeny killed Christopher Payne in an alley on w street northwest. When Police Arrived both men were shot. Garmany was not serisly hurt but payne died at the scene. A man pled guilty in a dui crash that killed three little siblings. We first told you about this tragedy in december. The driverammed into the familys vehicle on indian head highway. Thomas hawks is facing 36 years in prison now. New 4s Tracey Wilkins is live up inner marlboro with the emotional reaction from their parents. Try . Reporter well, we learned today in court that his bloodalcohol level was twice the legal limit and what that ik looked l he was incapable of standing. He couldnt walk anywhere without assistance. Aton point police set him on the guardrail and he fell over and when they put him in the patrol car he fell asleep and today in court he took responsibility for the dui crash that claimed three young lives. Its bittersweet moment. Were sotappy tha this is almost over. Reporter ile mejia famy has been saved from a lengthy nd trial aaving to relive the unspeakable details of the crash that killed all of their children. You just everything replaying inha your head in whatever you remember that day, and and that and Everything Else is why we just want this o all tend. Reporter today 27yearold thomas hawks pleaded guilty accepting responsibility for the dui crash that killed 5 years twins alexander and rasalie and 1yearold isaacejia. Hawks vehicle slammed into the back of the family vehicle when they were stopped at a red light on indian head highway last december. We were coming from church. They didnt deserve to leave. We had so many ambulance them. Reporter the parents were both injured in the crash and are expected to live wif the pain o those injuries for the rest of their lives. They are also living with the pain of no longer having their eyildren. Last monday th experienced the twins first birthday since their death. And we had to sit at their grave site missing out on the plans that we had for them graduating kindergarten. Hawks is out on bond. Hes expected to return to court in september for his sen tension, and the judge will be the one to hand down that sentence. Hes looking at up to 36 years in prison and a 45,000 fine. Reporting live in upper marlboro, im trace wilkins. Back to you in the studio. Such a tragic story. Tracey, the outbreak of violence continues to plague the district. There was a triple shooting over the weekend and one was a driveby shooting that left two Young Children inj ed at a bus stop in southern avenue and southeast. Wamayor Muriel Bowser ts people to speakp about the violence. The whole Community Needs to be outraged at what transpired, and everyone who knows something about the ca needs to come forward. A 20yearold man was also hurt. All three victims are expected to recover. Police are looking for the driver of a darkcolored sedan who is said to be behind this violence. Got a warning tonight from the d. C. Fire marsh after a child loses several fingers to fireworks. News 4s aimee cho is live forn us i tenleytown. Its a familiar story, aimee. Reporter hi, jim. Absolutely, and its an important reminder that these fireworks stands are the only places you should be buying from, ones that are licensed. Summer has just about, but already weve seen two young boys badly injure their hands because of illegal fireworks. I want to show what yo were talking about here. These arem s archery bomb fireworks, and d. C. Fire says tho they thought they could throw them on the ground qseuick tly instead the fireworks explodedi side their hand. Those boys are expected to be okay, but this is an important safety reminder thaty most ts of fireworks are banned in d. C. One of the only types you can use is sparklers, but d. C. Fire says every year they get reports of people selling homemade foyer, out ofbackpacks or the unks of their car. Those are incredibly dan rous because you dont know what materials are in them. None of these fireworks are supposed to be on our streets, rt we know that they are out here, and we going to do everything in our power working together as a city to get rid of them, to prevent any more injuries from ourring. Eporter and the punishment for illegal fireworks in d. C. Is possibly jail time and or a fine of up to 2,000, and in montgomery and prince georges county, they want you to know that all fireworks are illegal. So, if you had planned on setting some off, youll probably want to think of a plan b. Jim . So unfortunate that some people dont learn theirunlessos l its too late. Aimee, thanks a lot. A good a look at the forecast. The end of our first heat wave this summer. But dont despair, if you love the heat whi wendy and i do, doug carpaler is in the storm center for a look at the rest of the week. Right back into the 90s. Today a nice little reprieve for the six days in a rove 90 degrees or more. Saturday, by the way, 96 degrees and heat dex over 100. Take a look at this. A nice shot across our area. Notice a little haze in the atmosphere. Current temperatures sitting at 87 degrees. Ocean city at 78. Beautiful there. Hagerstown 85 and 88 in richmond and not a single 90 right now on the map, but that is going to change tomorrow, and its going to change in a big way. The heat returns tomorrow tracking more storms this week, and, of course, that means were watching out for the fourth of hjuly. Heat, idity, storms, all in the forecast for the fourth. Ill time it out for you and break it down. Ill have the latest on that anb see yk here in about 15 minutes. And we have a new warning from the phone as weet ready for the fourth. Just ah d howe mall and surrounding area are being prepared for the president s Independence Day speech. Plus, a frontrunner slipping while another candidate rises. The latest from the campingn trail he wake of last weeks democratic debates. Im Scott Macfarlane in blacksburg, virginia on a closed street. This is whereiv the sity of testing new systems and at havertys, we know a mattress is more than something you sleep on. Its something you live on. giggling and we want it to be perfect. Get the most out of your mattress withtr havertys matess sale our experts will help you choose from a wide selection of top brands and well match any price. Get a free box spring when you purchase a beautyrest blaat or Serta Icomfort mtress. And get free financing on mattress and foundationurchases over 1,99 havertys life looks gd tonight the news 4 iteam investigates b blind sports. More people are walking on our streets this time of year and residents and tourists are crowding that crosswalk. Ic government offls and transportation researchers are trying to make the crosswalks safer starting with the biggest vehicles on the road. Ourysctoo tt better rotect you, and a warning thats report disturbing. Few work harder. Nice and tight. To move fast. Clasp it. Than tina nigl a personal trainer who used to beat the traffic on foot in aunington l one night in march 2016. I didnt usually go that way home. She crossed 16th street in the right of way in crystal city. I was 15 feetnto the crosswalk and trapped underneath. I didnt have time to scream. A pedestrianaved me and stopped the bus. Another pedestrian intervened to stop the bus. He banged on the bus a told him to stop. Reporter she was rescued by firefighters and traumatic injuries to her legs that required eight surgeries and years of rehabilitation. She sued the transit ancy and settled for a confidential amount. The bus didnt even see you . I dont think he did. Reisrter some collns are deadly. Just last december a tour bus struck and killed a woman in a crosswalk in downtown d. C. The Nations Capital is saturated with tour bus and theres 1,000 local aa transit buses so the iteamviedreew nd 20 people gethit its a problem here in the d. C. Y eryear. Egonir. Coun member evan glass worries that the accenidicnd heavier reliance on public transportation. People areinos cg to wa lk b forms of transportation, and so we need to modernize and update our rules a regulations. Reporter makingad the safer is just part of the solution. Transpwtation researcher and croom is, working on technologies to help alert the drivers. Allay be looking left when of a sudden somebody jumps out tthe right. And the pedestrian on the street. Up to 20 pedestrians dont look up before they cross traffic. The problem is so significant they are Testing Possible Solutions here in blacksburg at Virginia Tech trying it find a way to make the streets safer he drivers ians and and passengers of the buses and cars. Use a dummy,e crooms tam shows us why so many people on foot are at risk. The mannequin is ready. Repoer the bus takes turns at five miles per hour, the same speed fast walkers or joggers move creating a movd g blin spot. At some point the bus may be matching the speed of the technology. They are attracting new technology. The system automatically triggers the brain whkes when ts gets too close. It would give an audible tone and the red lht goes off. Reporter the technology is still under development but local transit accidents are rying to eliminate these typ of accidents through training and they are trying to catch the eye of pedestrians. N ni riders use Video Technology and loudouounty has added an internal and external camera so Bus Operators can better see their surroundings and ontgomery county says warning devices are being installed on all besses. An announcement wi come out saying caution, this bus is turning. Reporter r fo d wnoisth trauma behind her. Its made me focus on thingsd i sho have cused on before. Reporter a goal shes willing to achieve one step at a time. So much more on this story. See it onou nbc washington app and see how the local transit agencies are training the bus drivers tohe better position bodies so they have a better sight view so they can avoid hitting pedestrians. You can also send the iteam any king that they should be l int well, lets turn into fatigue behind the wheel. The u. S. Transportation department is moving to relax drive time rules for truckers. Right now Truck Drivers ar only allowed to be on the road for a maximum number of hours in a day. Now, that means sometimes they cant complete their journey, few if they are just a minutes from their destinations the Trucking Industry has pushed to change some of the rules to make the hour limits more flexible but Highway Safety advocates warn changes could make the roads less safe at a time when driver fatigue is a growing problem. The governments own internal watchdog warned dire conditions at a texas border station. This happened as far back as may. Nbc news has obtained the report prepared by dhs inspector general. That report said agentsere paso station because th feared riots could break out. It also says there were only four showers for nearly 800 migrants being held there. More than half the migrants were being held outside. Others kept in overcrowded cells. As late as last week the trumpn admiration refuted reports about the poor conditions at the border stations calling them unsubstantiated. Been a shakeup for the 2020 cratic president ial candidates after last weeks debates. Theres a new poll out tonight that shows movement after that Pivotal Moment between joe biden and Kamala Harris. As nbcs Chris Pollone ports, the moment has also turned harris into a target. Reporter for democrats out p on the camgn trail, a new week and a new reality, movement after the first primary debates. A just released poll from c morningnsult shows the frontrunner Vice President joe biden slipping down five points and still in front at 33 while senator Kamala Harris is up six. Its a long primary season, and and its very tough to start at 40 and hold on to that. Reporter harris hit biden itursday on his past oppn to courtordered busing to desegregate schools. I do not believe youre a racist. Reporter while harris confrontation demonstrated beughness there, could consequences later. Theres a conversation going on about whether or not she is going to face a backlash. Black voters and members of the Congressional Black Caucus are wondering if thats the kind of hing that down the road will be looked upon as a mistake. Reporter harris brought in ursmillion in the first 24 after the debate. I do think that joe biden has to do a eset on his campaign when it comes to having a conversation about race. Reporter the california senators rise meanshes now a big target. On twitter dwump jr. Uestioned harris race and several democratic rivals rushed to condemn the attack and biden called it dsgusting saying racism has no place in america and he asked about her ethnicity and deleted the tweet because he believes people misconstrued his attempt. A new effort tosancrease ety on the road, but its not making sense to every driver out there. Just ahead, adam tuss explains the markers that are now popping up on roads in the district. And a return of hotter temperatures and, yeah, that midity is coming back, too, folks. Doug is next with your forecast as we go out withorhat gous shot from National Harbo it did not feel like the swamp today, did it . Nomidity today, clear blue ats what you get after a thskies. Nice little storm comes through. We saw that over the weekend. Very hot and humid and today a little reprieve. We need that before the heat and humidity comes right back tomorrow, and it b will comek tomorrow or pretty quickly out there. First of all, i want to show you the things a. Und town today how about this. Chopper 4. Can we find out where this was . No, we didnt, but its somewhere where they have boats. Yes, they have boats. Theres boats out there, and theres some water. A pper 4 is over the area little bit earlier and take a look at even some sailing going on out there a little bit earlier. Very nice, ill tell you. Wouldnt it be nice to be on a boat right there. Out there, the temperatures sitting at the 87degree mark inside the city and thats where we werendast hour. Wiout of the north at 6 miles per hour. As we look towards the rest of the afternoon, everybody in the mid80s. Theres no 90 anywhere on this board. Today was the one day that we see temperatures fall below the ngdegree range. Were not goi to see anything until tomorrow afternoon, and by tomorrow afternoon, few and far between. 8 00 a. M. , no worries. Stepping out front door, youre aokay. Noon, 1 00, stillon the drier side, and the good news sweel get on the hot side and the humidity not too b of a factor just yet. It starts to increase and heres a chance of storms around 4 00. Watching a boundary making itso way hrough and could see a couple of showers. Now, notice, again, most of us on the dry side on your tuesday. I really think today and tomorrow the driest of the next seven days or w so becausere going to get intoat th continued trend of hot, humid thunderstorm activity and just like we saw last week, and you can see weve got some storms in the middle part of the country developing. Some of the heat coming o way, too. Look at the heat in the middle part of the country. A lot of people into the 90s, and those 90s willck move into the area tomorrow. Take a look at the forecast. High temperature tomorrow at 94 degrees. The heat returns in a big way, but not too humid tomorrow. Im not going to say 94 is going to be comfortable, but it will feel a little bit like last week. Isolated afternoon thunderstorms. Yeah, itssolated, but, again, juskeep a watchful eye on the sky. Much better chance on wednesday. About a 40 chance. A on thursday 60 chance of storms and 92 degrees there and a pair of94 s. Lets take you hour byan hour if youre heading towards the mall, big festivities going on all across the region, butis th he concern here. Could be a chance for some storms. 87 degrees. Rather stormy around 6 00, 00. Im hoping that they come to an end by 9 00 but some of the latest data has some of the showers and storms going all the ay through thursday nignd right on into the day on friday, so friday rather stormy, too. We may not hit 90 on friday if we havough clouds and shower activities around and back into the 90s as we head in towards the wee