The three masked individuals who terrorized an Alexandria woman this month were teenage members of her family involved in a prank, the Alexandria Police Department announced today (Monday).
The victim from the Oct. 14 incident will not press charges against the four teens and three adult family members who participated in the prank, APD Chief Tarrick McGuire said during a press conference.
The teens are between the ages of 14 and 16 years old, and the involved adults traveled from Fairfax County during the incident, McGuire said.
“Because the family has chosen not to press charges, the suspects will not be publicly identified,” McGuire said. “While this incident may not result in a criminal prosecution, for me, my team, and for this community, it represents a moral failure, a moral failure where the consequences could have been deadly.”
During the incident that went on to capture national attention, three masked teenagers knocked repeatedly at a door in the area of Duke and South Jordan Streets after 9 p.m., telling the victim behind the door to open up or they were going to kill her.
The victim called her brother, who later arrived with a gun at the scene, before calling 911 for help.
The incident took police more than 100 hours to investigate. After an initial press conference, an adult female suspect confessed that she and her two sons and nephew were responsible for the incident, McGuire said.
Police investigated the incident as a burglary, canvassed the area and found footage of a group of individuals appearing to come from behind the residence, remove their Halloween masks and get into a vehicle, McGuire said earlier this month.
The victim, who identified by her first name, Shayla, told WUSA9 that she initially thought the masked teens were playing a prank, but that the suspects didn’t leave after she told them to get off her property.
“They kept like knocking on the door,” Shayla told WUSA9. “The knocks would get harder and harder.”
McGuire said he hopes this incident will serve as a lesson for everyone involved.
“I am relieved it was a prank,” McGuire said. “I want everyone to be safe in the city. Our men and women at this department work tirelessly every day to try to make this one of the safest cities in America.”
