News

Man Arrested for Allegedly Violent Freakout at Southern Towers

A 36-year-old man is in jail on multiple charges after allegedly abducting and attacking another man with a knife and hatchet and threatening to jump out an 11-story window.

Tysheem Robinson, of Washington, D.C., was arrested on July 31 and charged with abduction by force/intimidation, probation violation, threatening to bomb and burn, destruction of more than $1,000 in property, obstruction of justice/resisting arrest, and assault and battery. He is being held without bond.

Police were called at around 8 p.m. the previous night to The Ashlawn apartment building in the Southern Tower complex in the West End after a woman reported that two men were fighting and that one of them was going to kill the other, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Officers tried speaking with Robinson through the door, and he allegedly told them, “I killed him, he’s dead,” and then, “I’m going to smoke this blunt then go out the window.”

The victim, who police described as a known PCP user, was not dead, and suffered cuts to his ear and hands. He told police that Robinson attacked him with a knife and a hatchet.

Police then broke into the apartment and found broken furniture and glass, and reported hearing glass breaking and then witnessed Robinson throwing objects from the window. An officer on the ground reported that he threw out a broom, an alarm clock and pieces of PVC pipe.

“There were multiple people both in the parking lot and approaching the front of the building who would have been injured if struck by these objects,” notes the affidavit.

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.