BREAKING: Barricade Situation, Suspect Firing on Police on Main Line Boulevard

Update at 11 a.m. — Police arrested a 32-year-old suspect who barricaded herself into her one-bedroom apartment in the Notch 8 apartments in Potomac Yard, at around 3 a.m. after she fell asleep, according to Alexandria Police spokesman Lt. Courtney Ballantine.

“During the overnight hours the suspect was taken into custody after she appeared to fall asleep,” Ballantine told ALXnow.

The Fairfax County Police special operations unit took over for the night shift and made the arrest, Ballantine said. He added that the suspect was not physically injured, has not been charged with a crime and was transported to a local hospital to be evaluated.

The suspect, who allegedly fired shots at police twice, was confirmed as a resident of the apartment and was found to be alone when she was arrested, Ballantine said. Her identity has not yet been released.

Final Barricade Update (6:00AM) :: The incident has been resolved. The subject was into custody without further incident. All road closures have been reopened to include the Giant Food Store. Residents will receive communication from leasing office for reentry instructions.

— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) June 6, 2020

Update at 12:00 a.m. — Alexandria police have breached the door of an apartment where a woman has barricaded herself in, although no contact with the woman has been initiated, according to police spokesman Lt. Courtney Ballantine.

The woman, who has allegedly fired a weapon three times since police responded to a domestic violence call for service in the area, is apparently alone, Ballantine said, and is not responding to police.

“We have not been in the apartment,” Ballantine told residents at a nearby apartment building who were sheltering in place. ” If we did it was only to unlock it and then that’s as far as we got. It’s a very fluid situation and very dangerous. And we’re trying to get as many people not in there as possible.”

Barricade Update (7:39PM) :: Residents may have heard a loud bang. This was when the subjects door was breached. This is still an ongoing scene. Residents aren’t allowed back in the building at this time. Updates to follow.

— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) June 5, 2020

Ballantine added that an explosion outside of the apartment building earlier today was a controlled detonation of a police flash grenade. An officer pulled the pin on one while inside the apartment building, and it was later detonated outside.

“They didn’t use it so they had to come out and dispose of it,” Ballantine told ALXnow. “They did it outside and it was a controlled disposal of it.”

The woman also allegedly fired a single shot on Friday afternoon — but not at police, Ballantine said. This morning, Alexandria police were fired upon this morning after knocking on her door, and then again at the special operations team. The identity of the woman has not yet been released, and the city’s hostage negotiation team has been trying to reach out to her all day, Ballantine said.

Ballantine said that the department will continue updating the public on its Twitter page.

Update at 2:35 p.m. — A hostage negotiation team is trying to communicate with an armed woman who allegedly fired several shots at police and is in her fourth-floor apartment in the 2900 block of Main Line Boulevard in the Potomac Yard area, according to police.

Police responded to a domestic violence service call at 9:23 a.m. after a neighbor reported a man and a woman arguing, according to Alexandria Police spokesman Lt. Courtney Ballantine. When two police officers knocked on the door of the apartment, they were fired on and retreated, then called for backup.

Ballantine said that the Special Operations Team then knocked on the door and more shots were fired “in all directions.”

Earlier: A woman has barricaded herself in an apartment in the 2900 block of Main Line Boulevard and fired gunshots at police

The barricade situation is at the Notch 8 apartments, and residents have been evacuated. Residents told ALXnow that they heard “an explosion” and multiple shots fired on the fourth floor of the apartment building.

A video sent anonymously to ALXnow showed police outside the building setting off a device that could have been responsible for the explosion residents heard.

The Target at Potomac Yard (3101 Richmond Highway) near the building is closed

The situation is currently stable, as police are attempting to contact the woman.

“At this point, an unknown person has barricaded themselves in and they are shooting at police,” Alexandria Police spokesman Lt. Courtney Ballantine told ALXnow. “This is an active incident.”

Police have warned residents to avoid the area. Firefighters and paramedics are staging in the area as a precaution.

The apartment is above the Giant grocery store, near Route 1.

Road closure update: the 2600-3000 block of Main Line Blvd closed. Seaton Avenue and E. Glebe Road from Richmond Hwy to Potomac Yard closed.

— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) June 5, 2020

Cops came to escort @mydisposition and I out of our unit. Confirmed active shooter situation in the apartment above us. They asked if we had bullet holes in our ceiling or walls. @AlexandriaNow

— Garrison Hayes (@garrison_hayes) June 5, 2020

Jay Westcott contributed to this story

Map via Google Maps / Staff photo by Jay Westcott