Alexandria’s uptick in violent crimes this summer has caught the attention of the police chief.
Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire said the city has seen a significant spike in felonious assaults, including a stabbing on July 22 in the city’s West End and an unrelated stabbing near the Braddock Road Metro Station on July 21. A man was also arrested after allegedly brandishing a knife and assaulting a man in Old Town on July 20.
“Over the last couple weeks, we have seen a significant spike in crime in several areas, that is felonious assaults, where we have had persons with knives, and none of them have been connected,” McGuire told ALXnow. “One is [two] persons sitting outside the Braddock Metro that got into an argument, and [one of the men] stabbed an individual and an arrest was made. Another one was a domestic-related stabbing between two partners, and an arrest was made.”
There have been two homicides this year. A 36-year-old man, Charles Talley, was shot to death in a parking lot in the city’s West End earlier this month. No arrests have been made, and McGuire said the death “had a drug nexus associated with it.”
A man was also shot and killed by Alexandria Police Department officers inside an apartment on May 18, after police said he killed his girlfriend.
“When we see the period over the summer, when children get out of school until the early fall, we normally see an influx in crime,” McGuire said.
Last month, he unveiled his plan to reduce crime by focusing on hotspots, using technology like license plate readers and increasing community engagement.
“We’re going to be working on staying proactive, but we’re also going to be working on focused community engagement to engage citizens and ensure that they’re informed,” McGuire said.
Despite the uptick, McGuire said that crime is down 13% year-to-date in Alexandria, although the city’s crime database was last updated on May 31 and shows a 12% decrease.
“Since Jan. 1, in these historical hotspots, we made 20 arrests, we’ve conducted 98 traffic stops, we recovered three firearms that were stolen off the street,” McGuire said. “We’ve also recovered multiple narcotics that involve illegal possession of cocaine, marijuana, Oxycodone. As it relates to community engagement and foot patrols, talking to people one on one, talking to businesses, we made over 280 community contacts.”
