🌦️ Today’s weather: Rainy conditions will last all morning with the possibility of a thunderstorm after 9 a.m., with a predicted quarter to half-inch of rainfall. The sun will eventually break through patchy, mid-morning fog with temperatures reaching a high near 85. Rainy weather could start up again this evening with fog setting in around 5 a.m. tomorrow. After another rainy day Tuesday, prepare for sunny and hot temperatures reaching up to 99 degrees later this week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has these tips for beating heat exhaustion.
🚨 You need to know
(Updated at 9:10 a.m.) In case you missed it, on Saturday, someone was shot multiple times in an alley several blocks east of the Braddock Metro station, ALXnow and other outlets reported.
According to scanner traffic, multiple people witnessed the shooting, which involved a victim and two suspects wearing hoodies and ski masks. A large police response shut down several nearby roads and the victim was taken to a local trauma center in critical condition. Anyone with tips is asked to call 703-746-6225.
Crime data that the city publishes does not separate shootings from other types of homicides and “aggravated assaults” — assaults involving a deadly weapon. That said, the number of reported aggravated assault incidents during the first seven months has been increasing since 2019 while the percentage of incidents resulting in arrest has not followed suit.
This could be due to a number of factors, including that more recent incidents could still be under investigation or because the department is facing a staffing crunch. The number of aggravated assaults for the same time period, Jan. 1 through July 22, since 2019, are below:
There were also six homicides last year, up from two in 2021, three in 2020 and one in 2019, the data show.
Police have reported an uptick in gun-related crimes, despite a 12% decrease in overall violent crime, over the last year. There were 152 gun-related incidents in 2022, up from 76 incidents two years ago. To tackle gun violence, the police department said it would be piloting a “gunshot detection system,” while Mayor Justin Wilson emphasized investments in training new officers and “upstream” programs to curb crime.
📈 This weekend’s most read
Given the breaking news on Saturday, the following are the most-read ALXnow articles from Friday to Sunday, Jul 21-23, 2023.
- NEW: One fighting for life after daytime shooting in Braddock alley (3,727 views)
- New principals chosen for Alexandria elementary schools (1,507 views)
- Most and least expensive condos sold in Alexandria (June 2023) (704 views)
- Dominion Energy puts up giant posters to beautify Glebe Electric Transmission Project in Potomac Yard (680 views)
📅 Upcoming events
No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar, which shows music lovers will have two options to hear live music later this week: Thursday evening and all day Saturday.
