Yesterday afternoon, Alexandria Police Chief Don Hayes and his staff walked through an Old Town neighborhood that was a crime scene on Monday.
“I’m here to reassure people that this will happen, but that this is still a safe neighborhood,” Hayes told ALXnow. “I just walk around in the neighborhoods knock on doors, talk to people. Sometimes it can last three or four hours.”
Alexandria’s gun-related crime surged 100% in 2022. Police recently unveiled a plan to install gunshot detection systems throughout the city, although the action needs City Council approval and is planned for next year’s budget. For now, the Alexandria Police Department’s short-term answer to rising crime is to increase police patrols and getting officers in neighborhoods with community cookouts.
There were multiple incidents of gunfire over the weekend, with three incidents on Monday alone. In the area Hayes visited on Monday, three juveniles were arrested after an estimated 40 shots were fired. The shots were fired in an alleyway in the 1200 block of Madison Street, a block away from the Braddock Road Metro station, and no one was injured. Earlier Monday, at 2 a.m., a 7-Eleven clerk was shot in the leg in a robbery. Later in the day, shots were fired at the Bradlee Shopping Center.
“I don’t walk around here at night anymore,” said a resident who lives near to where the shots were fired Monday. “I find myself on my guard all the time, and I’m on high-alert all the time. I read the news and I keep aware of my surroundings.”
City Manager Jim Parajon stopped by to hear what Hayes had to say.
“It’s tough,” Parajon said. “I mean, we’re seeing a rise in gun violence across the country.”
Hayes also plans to keep walking through communities affected by crime every week to talk with residents.
APD will also host 10 upcoming community cookouts, which are sponsored by a number of nonprofits and city agencies. The following cookouts will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m:
- Tuesday, April 25, at Ruby Tucker Family Center
- Thursday, April 27, at Princess Square in Old Town
- Tuesday, May 2, at the Shoppes at Foxchase
- Friday May 5, at Casa Chirilagua
- Tuesday, May 9, at Brent Place Apartments
- Thursday, May 11, at Southern Towers apartments
- Tuesday, May 16, at Hillwood Condominiums
- Thursday, May 18, at the South Port Apartments
- Tuesday May 23, at Andrew Adkins Housing
- Thursday, May 25, at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center field
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