A 39-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond and goes to court this month after allegedly firing a handgun at three people in a fleeing vehicle in the West End.
The chilling incident occurred on Jan. 6 – the same day as a snowstorm that shut down the city and closed the school system.
There are three victims- the first victim who discovered a grisly scene and was allegedly fired upon by the suspect, their relative who was a passenger in the vehicle, and a third victim they were picking up outside an apartment building in the 300 block of S. Whiting Street.
The third victim was allegedly found being led to a car with tied hands and wearing a blindfold.
“Upon arriving at the location, (the victim) observed (their relative) standing outside of the address surrounded by several people,” an Alexandria Police Department officer wrote in the search warrant affidavit.
The relative was blindfolded and had their hands tied. Police said the first victim managed to take control of the situation and take the third victim into the back of their vehicle to escape.
The driver told police that the suspect, Antonio Harris, then pulled out a handgun and fired it at the vehicle, a gray Jaguar sedan.
“The caller fled the immediate area and went to a nearby gas station,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.
Police confirmed that a bullet hit the driver’s side door and later found a spent .380 caliber shell casing on the ground where the alleged incident occurred, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The third victim told police that they went to get personal items at an apartment in the 300 block of S. Whiting Street but got into an argument with Harris inside the apartment.
According to the search warrant affidavit:
During that time, (the third victim) stated they were blindfolded and their hands were tied by Harris or others who were present in the apartment. A short time later, (the third victim) was led outside to a vehicle and that was when (the first and second victims) arrived in their own vehicle to pick up (the third victim).
Police found a blindfold and a shoelace in the vehicle, backing up the third victim’s story.
Responding officers then set a perimeter around the apartment building.
After knocking and announcing their presence at the door, APD “observed a subject throw an object out of the rear window of the apartment and heard a metallic clang as something hit the ground.”
An investigating officer then found a black Hi-Point .380 caliber handgun on the ground.
Harris was positively identified in a lineup by the three victims. He was charged with malicious shooting/throwing missiles at a train/car and possession of a firearm by a violent felon. The malicious shooting charge is a Class 4 felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000. The possession charge is a Class 6 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.
