Officials shut down traffic in the slow lane of southbound State Route 163 in Kearny Mesa Thursday morning after a big rig crashed into the bottom of a bridge overpass.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) said the accident happened around 7:15 a.m. on SR-163 near the Clairemont Mesa Boulevard exit.

After the semi-truck hit the overpass, drivers reported concrete debris scattered in at least one lane on the freeway.

CHP issued a SigAlert for the area, shutting down traffic in the impacted slow lane until further notice. Officials requested a bridge inspection to check the condition of the overpass.

No injuries were reported. Traffic was slow from the I-15 to the site of the crash.

As of 9 a.m., Caltrans bridge inspectors were on site. Traffic was being allowed on both the bridge and the other lanes of the freeway, with some slowing still affecting the fourth lane on southbound SR-163.

Caltrans said the truck that struck the overpass was a flatbed carrying construction equipment.

Get traffic updates here.

The mother of one of the passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 wants answers but at the same time doesn't want to believe the debris found Wednesday belongs to her son's plane.

Niloufar Vaezi, of Germany wants to know what happened to her son, Pouria Nourmohammadi. She wept while speaking with NBC 7 by phone Thursday morning.

“It’s been 16 months,” she said. “I was so patient. I was so hopeful.”

Flight 370 had been traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 when it disappeared.

For weeks, an international search team scoured the southern Indian Ocean off Australia for any sign of debris.

Now, an airplane component found on the French island of Reunion off the coast of Madagascar has been identified by air safety investigators as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said.

Vaezi is concerned her worst fear will soon be realized as investigators try and identify the source of the debris found 2,300 miles from the search area.

She's hired San Diego attorney Dan Gilleon who has filed a complaint on her behalf.

He said his client wants an authoritative figure to come in and say “’This is the black box…this is what happened.’”

If the part belongs to Flight 370, it could provide valuable clues to investigators trying to figure out what caused the aircraft to vanish in the first place, Jason Middleton, an aviation professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, told the Associated Press.

The nature of the damage to the debris could help indicate whether the plane broke up in the air or when it hit the water, and how violently it did so, he said.

The barnacles attached to the part could also help marine biologists determine roughly how long it has been in the water, he said.

The part was expected to be flown over the weekend to France for investigation, officials told the Associated Press.

Three days after the flight disappeared, officials identified Nourmohammadi as one of two Iranian-born passengers who used stolen passports to board the airline.

Nourmohammadi is believed to have been traveling to Europe as an asylum seeker, Malaysian police said.

When it comes to saving water, some of the county's most conservation-minded residents may wind up being electronically monitored.

That approach is just in the planning stages in the city of Poway and eventually may not need to be rolled out.

But the city council wants a way to guard against residents back-sliding from water-use reductions -- which reached an amazing 45 percent in May, compared to the same month in 2013.

"We wouldn't want to put any sort of things that are negative on folks that are stepping up and dealing with this drought, conserving water and doing what we all need to be doing throughout the city of Poway,” said Poway Public Works Director Troy Bankston. “So we're really confident that we can keep moving in that direction."

Poway's taking a page out of the pioneering playbook in Santa Monica, where computer software is now digitally tracking the water accounts of residents there.

"So what this is,” explained city management analyst Alex Heide in an interview Thursday, “ is a 'fail-safe' in case the numbers start to trend in the wrong direction, and ultimately we're not meeting that allocation mandated by the state."

Cities that fail to meet conservation mandates face $10,000-a-day state fines -- which would be passed on and parceled out to non-compliant customers.

Poway residents who spoke with NBC 7 seemed to be on-board with the monitoring approach.

"I think people need to be held accountable for the water that they're using,” said Yesenia Diaz. “Sometimes when they don't think anybody's paying attention, they tend to use more. And I think all of us need to be aware of what we're using and what the effect on the environment is."

Added Jerry Mattio: "I do agree with it -- as long as the consequences at first are mild and reasonable.”

Officials emphasize that it’s ultimately up to the city council to green-light the digital tracking.

They’re framing it as "a teaching opportunity" for residents to go online and do their own account monitoring -- before gentle reminders in water bills prod those who fall short of savings marks.

If bad reading persists, fines to be determined by the council could follow for non-compliant customers.

The cost of the computer software is expected to run the low five figures.

A lifeguard was attacked by several people on the Venice Pier Thursday afternoon in a violent altercation caught on camera.

Video of the assault shows the lifeguard jump down from his tower before he was repeatedly hit and knocked to the ground as several passers-by crowded around. The altercation began after someone flicked a lit cigarette into the lifeguard tower, witnesses told police.

At least one man tried to to break up the fight as another was heard shouting "police." Another lifeguard arrived at the scene as the scuffle ended.

Two men and a woman were arrested in connection to the beating, according to Lt. Daniel Gonzalez of LAPD's Pacific Division.

Officials said they believe the lifeguard was defending himself. The three suspects arrested on suspicion of assault were believed to be intoxicated, Gonzalez said. One of the suspects was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

"There was a woman, who was struggling with the lifeguard, who was screaming," said witness Chase Gilliland. "She appeared to be assaulting the lifeguard, he was trying to fend her off.

"I've seen a lot of things, but this is a different one. Usually, lifeguards are just chill and try to keep the peace. But sometimes the tourists get a little rowdy in the summertime."

Family members who spoke to NBC4 off camera dispute claims that the lifeguard was attempting to defend himself.

Two of the three suspects posted bond Friday.

The lifeguard was also taken to a hospital where he was treated for head trauma and released.

The American dentist who admitted to killing Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe paid for an illegal hunt and should be extradited to face justice, Zimbabwe's environment minister said Friday, Reuters reported. 

"Unfortunately it was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher as he had already absconded to his country of origin," Oppah Muchinguri, Zimbabwe's environment, water and climate minister, told a news conference of 55-year-old Walter James Palmer. "We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he be made accountable."

Muchinguri said the prosecutor general had started the process to have him extradited from the United States.

Palmer said he had hired professional guides and believed all the necessary hunting permits were in order for the hunt. The 13-year-old lion was a favorite with foreign tourists and the subject of an Oxford University study.

Beach cleaners scouring the sands of Reunion island in the Indian Ocean for trash have been handing their finds over to local police, hoping that the refuse will provide clues on the fate of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, NBC News reported.

Johnny Begue was among the dozens scouring the shoreline and sifting through scraps of machinery, rubber and more.

He and his colleagues made the initial discovery of a barnacle-covered piece of debris that came ashore was from the missing jetliner. A number on the debris confirms it came from a Boeing 777 — and MH370 is the only missing such model in the world.

Begue later found a suitcase — origins unclear — and on Thursday he found an empty bottle of Chinese mineral water and turned it over to police. The majority of MH370's passengers were Chinese.

The discovery of the debris has also rekindled efforts by family members of passengers on board a missing Malaysia Airlines flight to seek greater compensation, aviation lawyers told Reuters.

"If there is evidence that the aircraft has failed, that very well may trigger a wave of lawsuits,” with families suing the aircraft’s manufacturer, a lawyer at firm Maurice Blackburn in Melbourne said.

More than 100 headstones were toppled at a historic Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia.

The groundskeeper of Adath Jeshurun Cemetery arrived around 6 a.m. Thursday to the burial ground along Bridge Street in the city’s Frankford section to find dozens of grave markers knocked down.

"The thought went through my mind, 'this is a disgrace for somebody to do something like this,'" said groundskeeper Johnny Gibson, who has worked at the cemetery for 44 years.

The vandals knocked down 124 headstones, but didn't leave any marking or graffiti, said Gibson.

Some graves on the 12-acre property date back 160 years and there are only a few new burials each year now, said Gibson. On many days, neighbors use the cemetery as a shortcut.

Gibson said that he can’t recall anyone ever desecrating grave sites over the past decades.

“I don't know who would do it,” said Gibson. “Were the people on drugs? Were they drunk? I don't know. But you wouldn't be in your right mind, I don't think, to do something like this.”

Anyone with information on the vandalism is asked to contact Philadelphia Police.

The Santa Cruz 15-year-old charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting and raping an 8-year-old girl made his first court appearance on Thursday in a brief hearing.

Adrian Jerry "AJ" Gonzalez was led into the courthouse by an attorney, looking down, and mostly sullen. He did not enter a plea and spoke only to answer questions from a judge, saying a simple "yes" when asked if he would waive his right to a speedy trial. He wore a green T-shirt and khaki pants issued to minors and his hands were bound in front of him in silver metal cuffs. A woman who appeared to be his mother was in the courtroom, too upset to speak. It did not appear as though the mother of Maddy Middleton - the girl who was killed on Sunday after she was riding around on her Razor scooter - or any other immediate family member of the little girl came to court.

The teen's public defender, Larry Biggam, spoke briefly to reporters, but didn't offer any insight into the case.

"I think you in the media know more about this case than we do in the public defender's office," he said. "Our job is to review the evidence, conduct our own investigation and make sure that the minor, like every citizen accused, receives a fair trial.  At the end of the day, I'm confident this case will be handled professionally and thoroughly and fairly."

Gonzalez is also being represented by Leila Sayer of Biggam, Christensen and Minsloff.

Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Timony Volkmann ordered Gonzalez to re-appear in court on Sept. 21.

Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell on Wednesday formally charged the teen as an adult with murder, rape, and other sexual assault-related offenses. If found guilty of all counts, he faces a maximum of life in prison. Outside court, Rosell told reporters: "We filed charges that we feel are appropriate and are confident in our case."

Police said that Gonzalez lured Maddy into his apartment on Sunday afternoon, sexually assaulted her, killed her, and dumped her body in a recycling bin on the apartment complex property. The two knew each other from living at the same apartment complex, Tannery Arts Center, an artist's haven.

A motive in the case has never been offered.

"People do things things for all sorts of reasons," Rosell said. "Sometimes we understand them and sometimes we don't."

Some neighbors who know the boy, however, said that he is a good person who comes from a loving family. Even the boyfriend of Maddy's mother, Kirby Scudder, told NBC Bay Area that Gonzalez is a "great kid." Others noted he was just the teen who always threw a yo-yo around.

But since the arrest, a darker side of Gonzalez has been portrayed. An Instagram feed of his that was taken down shortly after he was charged with murder, showed his last post on the day Maddy died of a black-and-white video showing a piano playing the 1982 "Mad World" Tears for Fears song, "The Dreams in which I'm Dying are the Best I've ever had." The song was also part of the soundtrack of "Donnie Darko," a film about a troubled teenager plagued by visions of a large rabbit that convinces him to create a series of crimes.

Katie Carole, a student at Santa Cruz High, came to court on Thursday because she said she was pretty close with the teen when they were in middle school together. And she noted that Gonzalez wasn't happy-go-lucky, even back then.

"He was definitely depressed," she said.

Still, the allegations against him are still quite surprising, she said.

"I would never think he would do something like this," she said. "He never seemed like the type of person who would hurt anyone else.  You wouldn’t ever expect him to go after someone else, even if he had self hatred."

Still, she said, she doesn't know what to make of the charges against her former friend.

"There’s not much empathy you can have for him," she said. "But I can feel empathy for the person I knew."

KSBW's Phil Gomez contributed to this report.

An attorney hired by San Diego County says the claims made by a current employee of Supervisor Dave Roberts have zero validity.

Joseph Kutyla is the outside counsel hired by the county to defend Roberts' former Chief of Staff Glynnis Vaughan in a lawsuit brought against her by current Roberts’ employee Harold Meza.

Meza, a community representative in Roberts' office, filed a lawsuit against Vaughan and Roberts’ former scheduler Diane Porter for allegedly creating a hostile work environment for him. The women have filed claims against the county, identifying Meza in one suit as a “great source of consternation and turmoil amongst the staff.”

Click here to read the response from Kutyla.

One attorney familiar with the case told NBC 7 Kutyla’s filing is part of the legal battle lines being finalized over the office intrigues and controversies surrounding Roberts and his battling current and former staff members.

To date, three claims have been filed with the county by former employees of the Supervisor. The complaints allege Roberts did a poor job of managing his staff and misused his public office for political purposes. Roberts has denied these accusations.

Click here to see more on the allegations against Roberts.

The 45-day deadline for the county to respond to these claims has wound down. County counsel has taken a public stance to fight any use of taxpayer money for a settlement.

A racially charged confrontation caught on camera at a busy Chicago beach has generated outrage on social media.

The now-viral altercation arose at Oak Street beach Monday when a woman started shouting racial slurs at a black Plainfield mom and her children, ages 8 and 4, after she was accidentally splashed with water.

“I told her, ‘These are children, they are sorry,’” Raquel Bolten told NBC Chicago. “She got in my face and dropped the n-word a few times.”

That is when the mother says she pulled out her cellphone to capture the exchange on video. According to the video, a woman is seen allegedly shouting the N-word before berating the mother about the U.S. Constitution.

“Oh, of course you haven’t graduated and you don’t know the Constitution of the United States and what it says,” the woman said.

Bolton’s sister-in-law, Melissa Marshall, says when the woman launched into the unexpected lash-out, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“I was in shock,” Marshall said. “People argue all the time, but how is that the first thing that comes to your mind?”

Marshall says she witnessed a similar confrontation in the restroom involving the same woman about 20 minutes later.

Bolton posted the video on Facebook in hopes of sending a message, and was overwhelmed with the response.

“Prejudice and racism is still alive in 2015,” Bolton said, adding she had to comfort her two young children after they heard the woman’s racial slurs. “All white people don’t hate them, so I didn’t want them to think that. They shouldn’t have to experience that at all. I don’t want them to feel less or any different than the next child.”

The family says the experience will not stop them from going back and enjoying a day at the beach.

There has been 35 percent jump in the number of pedestrian deaths in San Diego over the past year, according to an annual report released Thursday by the San Diego County Medical Examiner.

The Medical Examiner’s “2014 Annual Report” breaks down deaths in San Diego County, particularly death cases investigated by the office. In 2014, a total of 2,972 cases were fully investigated by the ME, the report says.

The report states that motor vehicle-related deaths made up 291 cases in 2014, up 18 percent from the previous year. Of those cases, the ME report says 88 were accidental pedestrian deaths – up from 64 pedestrian deaths the previous year, or a 35 percent increase.

That total, according to the document, doesn’t include two pedestrian deaths considered homicides and three pedestrian suicides.

Chief Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas said nearly half of the pedestrian deaths in 2014 who were tested were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Many were killed running across freeways in the dark.

Other vehicle-related deaths in the report included 70 drivers, 57 motorcyclists, 34 vehicle passengers, 10 bicyclists and eight vehicle occupants.

The report says 1,390 cases out of the 2,972 investigated by the ME were determined to be accidental deaths, while natural deaths were declared in 1,022 of the cases.

A total of 420 cases were suicides – down slightly from 441 suicide deaths in 2013.

The report also says 99 cases were homicides, with 42 of those involving a firearm as the method of homicide. The report says 13 homicides were by stabbing and 24 were by blunt force trauma.

Meanwhile, illicit drugs, medications and alcohol were involved in 481 accidental death cases, the report states. Methamphetamine was the number one cause of drug-related deaths, with 169 cases. Alcohol resulted in 133 deaths, while heroin was the cause in 105 local cases.

To read the full report, click here.

A lightning strike sparked a brush fire in a creek bed in Pine Valley Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Forest Service confirmed.

The blaze began just after 2 p.m. at Kitchen Creek Road and Mile Marker 2, about two miles north of Interstate 8, after lightning struck a tree. Officials said the small fire, which scorched about a half-acre of land, was difficult to access due to the terrain and its remote location.

Just before 3 p.m., U.S. Forest Service officials said the fire was burning at a slow rate of spread. Firefighters hiked into the area on foot to knock out the blaze, which was contained at 5:25 p.m. Aircraft assistance was canceled, officials said.

No injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered.

Pine Valley was experiencing heavy rain, thunder and lightning at the time of the brush fire.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning through 6:30 p.m. in parts of San Diego County mountains and deserts where rain was expected Thursday.

The NWS said radar estimated rainfall in excess of one inch west of Pine Valley near Interstate 8 as of 2:30 p.m., with additional heavy rainfall expected.

Areas that could experience flooding include Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and I-8 between Pine Valley and Boulevard.

NBC 7 meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said monsoon moisture would bring a chance for strong thunderstorms that could produce heavy rain, lightning, small hair and strong winds locally. She said there was a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms in the mountains, a 40 percent chance at the desert and a 20 percent chance at the coast and inland.
 

A flash flood warning has been issued for southeastern San Diego County until 6:30 p.m.

Radar estimated rainfall in excess of one inch in the last hour west of Pine Valley near Interstate 8.

Areas that may experience flooding include Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, I-8 between Pine Valley and Boulevard, southern Mount Laguna, Lake Morena, Highway S1 between Lake Cuyamaca and Mount Laguna, Pine Valley, Descanso, Campo and Lake Cuyamaca.

Residents in the East County were rattled by thunder and lightning as monsoon moisture moved across the region Thursday.

Dark clouds filled the skies over Pine Valley just before 2 p.m. and an NBC 7 news crew captured a strong thunder clap and lightning strike. 

Coastal zones have a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms and so the National Weather Service has extended a beach hazard statement through 8 p.m. Lightning is also possible.

Higher than average waves of 5 feet, and powerful rip currents are also of concern. Beachgoers are encouraged to swim near a lifeguard.

While our coast and inland areas will begin to feel less humid starting Friday, our mountain and desert areas retain a chance of a thunderstorm through Monday of next week.

Check interactive radar here

Police are investigating after a vehicle ‎struck the south barricade of the U.S. Capitol building Friday morning.

The driver is in custody and being processed at Capitol Police headquarters. That driver was the only person in the vehicle, police said.

The vehicle did not enter the secure perimeter and has been cleared of hazards.

Streets have been closed around New Jersey and Independence avenues.

D.C. Fire & EMS are also on the scene.

Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com for more.

A Bergen County Sheriff's officer rescued a wailing, sweat-soaked toddler from inside a locked minivan parked at a Costco in New Jersey on a sweltering afternoon Thursday.

Concerned passersby in the parking lot at the Hackensack Costco began gathering around the minivan, and at least two tried to push down a window, which was already cracked a few inches, cellphone video shows. The child's cries can be heard from inside the car.

One of the men seen trying to get in through the window, Rafael Rodriguez, recounted to NBC 4 New York, "I'm telling the girl, 'Don't cry, we're gonna get you out.' She was drenched in sweat and crying constantly." 

Police officers begin to arrive and one smashes the window on the rear right side, pulls open the sliding door, and another goes into the car to retrieve the child.

"Where are the parents?" asked one bystander.

"I think shopping," another says.

"Are you...kidding me?" he responds.

As the officer emerges from the minivan with a small, crying girl in her arms, the bystanders are stunned.

"Oh, my God," says the woman taping the scene.

The distressed girl cries in the arms of the officer, who rubs her back and says, "She's soaking wet." The girl's hair appears to be matted to her forehead with sweat.

"Sweat was just coming down, almost as if someone threw a bucket of water on her, that's how bad it was," said Rodriguez.

Seconds later, the girl's mother arrives at the vehicle with a loaded shopping cart and another child. The officer holding the girl scolds the mother: "You left her in the car!"

The mother says "sorry, sorry," and the officer responds, "No 'Sorry!' She could have died!" 

It's unclear how long the 2-year-old girl was inside the locked car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the temperature inside a car, even with the windows open, can jump about 20 degrees in 10 minutes.

An officer estimated it was at least 80 degrees inside the van, according to Bergen County Sheriff's Office.

Rodriguez said it was clear the mother was gone for awhile.

"I thought maybe she forgot something that she was gonna grab. I was surprised to see the shopping cart was full," he said.

The girl was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center and turned over to her father, the sheriff's office said.

Police arrested the mother for child endangerment and released her with a desk ticket.

Alicia Sacks walks through the natural and organic section at the Grocery Outlet store in downtown San Diego. She has been watching what she eats for more than 40 years, and the 69-year-old can't believe how many more options there are today for organic foods.

"This is a dream that didn't think would happen in my lifetime," said Sacks.  

Sacks remembers working at a small natural foods store in Hillcrest. In that day, you were limited on where you could shop. But today traditional grocery stores like Vons and Ralphs, big box stores like Wal-Mart and Costco and even discount stores like 99¢ Only Store and Grocery Outlet are selling organic products.

"I think it is fantastic," said Sacks.

The competition is also leading to lower prices. In fact traditional health food market Whole Foods took a tumble in the stock market recently. One reason given for the disappointing results was the wide range of organic and natural goods sold at competing grocery stores.

"It is so much better in the stores," said shopper Lynne Rine. "I don't have to go to a specialty store like Whole Foods. I can go to a regular store and go organic."

Kim Smith and her husband run the Grocery Outlet on Market Street. Two months ago they expanded their natural and organic food section from a corner of the store to an entire aisle. Smith said since then, their sales have risen 40 percent on natural and healthy food products.

"It is becoming such a big thing right now," said Smith. "Everyone wants organic products."  

Dawn Capitan works in the produce department and said they sell organic avocados, broccoli, cauliflower and bananas along with lettuce and mixed salad. She said it's hard to characterize organic shoppers. They are all ages, shapes and sizes.

"Because everybody is so much into being healthy," said Capitan.

As more stores open up their organic sections, many feel it will continue to bring down prices and increase variety.

Whole Foods is said to be countering their current slide by expanding into smaller stores, similar perhaps to a Trader Joe's. That is expected to start some time next year.

A driver accused of DUI visited a San Diego Padres game and two bars before causing a deadly crash in Torrey Highlands last week, prosecutors said.

Friends, family and co-workers of Anthony Rodriguez, 30, packed the courtroom Thursday as he pleaded not guilty to DUI causing death, gross vehicular manslaughter and having a blood alcohol level in excess of 0.08 causing injury — charges he faces in the July 22 collision.

That day, Rodriguez had been to the Padres game, a downtown bar and a bar in Pacific Beach before driving up to North County, according to Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright.

She said Rodriguez had a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal driving limit when he drove his Fiat 500 into a Chevrolet Nova heading the opposite direction on Carmel Valley Road near Camino del Sur. Enid Diane Mayer-Sheaf, the Nova’s 61-year-old driver, died at the scene.

“The statement [Rodriguez] provided to the officers was that he had one beer, one shot and one margarita several hours earlier,” said Bright, “and then he also placed blame over the crash on the victim, saying she had traveled in to his lanes of the roadway.”

Based on his weight and height, the prosecution believes Rodriguez had close to ten drinks in his system when he got behind the wheel.

Mayer-Sheaf was driving from the hospital where her mother-in-law had just died when she too was killed. According to Bright, her family was not in court because they were at her viewing.

Bright asked that Rodriguez be held on $600,000 bail. Defense attorney Jan Ronis argued for a considerably lower sum.

“I would submit to the court that $100,000 is certainly sufficient to ensure his return to this court based upon his long term ties to the community, his family support, his employment situation in San Diego, his absence of any prior criminal history and the fact that he has retained counsel and come to court today,” said Ronis.

Judge David Szumowski declined to raise Rodriguez’s bail, keeping it at the $100,000 he had already paid to go free.

But he left the defendant with a warning.

“Obviously the circumstances here are very tragic,” said Szumowski in court. “And there will come a day when you will not be standing free like you are today, Mr. Rodriguez, on the assumption you are guilty.”

Rodriquez was ordered to wear a bracelet that alerts authorities if he drinks. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison.
 

The sister of James DiMaggio, the man who kidnapped San Diego teen Hannah Anderson and killed her family, claims FBI agents used excessive and unjustified forcing in killing her brother after his actions spurred a large manhunt across six states.

Attorney C. Keith Greer filed an over $20 million wrongful death claim against the FBI Thursday on behalf of Lora DiMaggio Robinson, alleging that there was no “viable justification” for DiMaggio’s shooting death.

In the document, Greer said deadly force was not warranted given DiMaggio’s “history of nonviolence” and the number of agents there could have restrained him. According to the claim, DiMaggio had fired his gun in the air as a call for help, but he had not threatened Anderson with deadly force or “imminent harm.”

"There were just too many questions out there," Greer told NBC 7 Thursday. "Robinson knows that her brother was a very kind man, certainly not one to shoot at an FBI agent. So from the beginning she just felt like there was something that was being misportrayed about her brother."

As they investigated the case for a year, Greer said the evidence produced more questions than answers. According to the claim, FBI agent's deadly force was "unduly, excessive, prejudicial and unjustified." Read the full claim below. 

The court document also alleges that FBI and Department of Justice employees conspired to keep secret information and evidence that could prove agents were responsible for DiMaggio’s death.

However, in May 2014, federal and state prosecutors said FBI agents acted reasonably when they shot and killed DiMaggio in the Idaho wilderness and the agents who killed him would not face charges.

NBC 7 has reached out to the FBI for comment, but we have not heard back. The Anderson family said they have no comment at this time.

Greer said the first person they want to testify is Anderson to give her account of the harrowing events that began on Aug. 4, 2013.

That day, DiMaggio, a family friend, killed Anderson's mother and younger brother, Christina and Ethan Anderson, and set fire to his own home in Boulevard, Calif., before fleeing to Idaho with Anderson, prosecutors say.

The charred bodies of Christina and Ethan were discovered by sheriff’s deputies and fire officials at DiMaggio’s burned-out property.

According to search warrants, investigators believe DiMaggio “tortured and killed” Christina and Ethan on Aug. 4 before kidnapping her 16-year-old daughter. San Diego County Medical Examiner’s reports say Christina was bludgeoned to death, bound and gagged, while Ethan's remains were so badly charred they were practically beyond recognition.

Once Anderson’s disappearance was discovered, officials issued an Amber Alert that covered six states. The pair ended up in the rugged Idaho backcountry near Cascade and Morehead Lake, where they were spotted by a group of horseback riders on Aug. 7.

The group wasn’t aware of the Amber Alert when they crossed paths with the pair, but they learned about it immediately after their trip. The riders reported their sighting to authorities, leading more than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officials to the rural community in Idaho in search of Anderson and DiMaggio.

According to Robinson's claim, the pair was ultimately spotted by a U.S. Marshalls plane, and an FBI hostage rescue team was dropped in close to their location on Aug. 10. At that point, Anderson and DiMaggio were trying to find rescue by building a fire for smoke signals, according to her interview on NBC's "Today" show.

When it proved unsuccessful, Anderson suggested DiMaggio fire a round from his gun, which was about 20 feet away, to draw attention, Greer said. As soon as the gun went off, DiMaggio was shot six times by FBI agents.

"Why don't they say, 'Stop, freeze, put your hands in the air, you're under arrest' at that point in time?" Greer said. "Why do they let him wait to go to... till he picks up the gun and, once he has the gun in his hands, shoot him? It didn't seem like he was treated fairly, regardless of what the allegations are." 

Greer said Anderson holds the key to proving or disproving their claim, since she has a firsthand account. The attorney also hopes the FBI team was wearing body cameras so they could obtain recorded footage of the incident.

"What is definitely wrong is that he didn't have the opportunity to have his day in court," said Greer of DiMaggio.

If Anderson gives her deposition, it would not be the first time she has shared her story.

Days after her rescue, Anderson fielded questions about her kidnapping on social media and made brief appearances at local fundraisers in Lakeside.

In late August, Hannah spoke out about her ordeal in the media for the first time in a tearful interview on NBC's "Today" show. Later that month, Hannah and her family held an emotional memorial service for Christina and Ethan in San Diego's Santee community.

A short time after the service, the teen was reportedly back on social media, answering questions online about her life and the kidnapping.

In October 2013, Hannah appeared on “Today” once more to discuss her harrowing ordeal at the hands of DiMaggio. The teen said DiMaggio “drugged” her and said she passed out in his car during the road trip from San Diego to Idaho.

In March, Hannah’s grandmother told the media that her granddaughter continues to undergo therapy and will likely do so for “quite some time.”

A house fire in the occupied West Bank suspected to have been set by Jewish extremists killed an 18-month-old Palestinian boy, injured his brother and both of their parents on Friday, Israeli security officials said, NBC News reported. 

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the "Price Tag" slogan used in the past by extremist Israelis was daubed on the walls of the family home that had been torched in the village of Duma, which is located near the West Bank city of Nablus.

The mother of the slain child was being treated for burns on 90 percent of her body and his four-year-old brother was in intensive care, hospital officials told NBC News.  

A man was stabbed Friday in a fight outside a bar in the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, police said.

San Diego Police are investigating the incident that ended with one man stabbed in the stomach and sent to a nearby hospital.

The fight broke out as Maloney’s Tavern was closing. Police were called to F Street between 6th and 7th avenues just before 2 a.m.

Officers say a 24-year old man was leaving the bar at the same time as two other men when they got into a fight for unknown reasons.

Emergency personnel took the victim to the hospital.

Officers say one suspect was taken into custody but another fled the scene. Police have not yet released a description of that suspect.

San Diego Police Central Division Detectives are investigating this case.