There were no injuries or arrests after a man allegedly displayed a handgun during an argument in the parking lot of the Potomac Yard Shopping Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Police were dispatched for an assault in the 3400 block of Richmond Highway at around 4:15 p.m. The victim told police that he got into another argument with a man just outside the Best Buy (3401 Richmond Highway) and that the suspect allegedly revealed a handgun in his waistband.
Nothing was stolen and there were no injuries reported, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The suspect drove away in a white Jeep, and APD said it will continue to follow up on the incident.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Image via Google Maps
An 18-year-old Alexandria man suspected of robbing a juvenile of his Nike Air Jordan sneakers and bicycle at gunpoint was tracked down by the victim on social media, according to police.
The victim was robbed on April 10, in the 4500 block of 31st Street South, per a recently released search warrant affidavit. He told police that he was walking his Mongoose BMX bike up a hill when two suspects approached him.
One suspect asked the victim “why he was looking at him so seriously,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “The same male got closer to the victim, opened his jacket and showed him the handle of a handgun that was concealed in an interior jacket pocket.”
The suspect then allegedly asked the victim his shoe size, to which the juvenile replied he is a size 9.
“This suspect then demanded the victim’s tennis shoes while threatening to physically assault him,” the affidavit says. “The victim complied. The suspects then took the victim’s bicycle and fled down the hill out of the area.”
A week and a half later, on April 21, the victim texted police that he identified the man who allegedly took his shoes and bike on Instagram.
Police found that the robbery suspect bore a close resemblance to Jose Santos Giron-Munoz, who was already in jail for a separate crime committed around the same time. He was arrested on April 17 for carrying a concealed handgun and possession with intent to distribute narcotics. He is being held without bond.
A booking deputy at the Alexandria jail told police that Giron-Munoz wore black and blue Nike Air Jordan 5s on the day of his arrest. Police said that the shoes were “identical to the shoes stolen from the victim,” according to the affidavit.
Giron-Munoz is being held without bond and goes to court on May 31 for a hearing on drugs and weapon charges.
An Alexandria man was robbed at gunpoint after hanging out with a woman he met on Instagram, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The incident occurred after 11 p.m. on April 11 (Tuesday) in an apartment complex in the 3800 block of Russell Road. The victim told police that he was robbed after meeting up with a woman that evening at St. Rita’s Catholic Church (3815 Russell Road).
The victim agreed to meet the woman at St. Rita’s at 9:30 p.m. and that she arrived at 10:20 p.m. — nearly an hour late. The victim told police that they decided to hang out in the hallway of an apartment building in the 3800 block of Russell Road, but were asked to leave by residents and that they then walked to a neighboring apartment building, according to the search warrant affidavit.
While walking to that second building, an unknown man walked up to the group and began talking with the woman, and then took out a gun, loaded it and allegedly pointed it at the victim, according to the search warrant affidavit.
“The female then demanded him to give her his money, so he removed $320 U.S. currency from his front jeans pocket and handed it to the unknown (male suspect),” according to the search warrant affidavit. “
The victim told police that he met the woman on Instagram two months ago and did not know her real name. The victim provided police with an Instagram account and verified that the woman in the profile picture was the female suspect, according to the search warrant affidavit.
No arrests have been made. Anyone with information on this incident can call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency line at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Image via Google Maps
After years in development, a new agreement was released between Alexandria City Public Schools and the Alexandria Police Department to provide school resource officers (SROs) at the city’s high school and middle schools.
The new memorandum of understanding between ACPS and APD has been a long time coming. SROs were defunded by the City Council in last year’s budget, and Alexandria City Public Schools spent the first few months of the 2021-2022 school year without the officers in its high school and middle schools. The officers were returned after ACPS pleaded with Council for their return in the wake of multiple incidents with weapons in schools.
“You will see that a lot of the MOU remains unchanged,” Alicia Hart, the ACPS chief of facilities and operations, told the School Board last Thursday night. “The areas where substantial updates and additions were added include the addition of the use of shared technology resources section, which speaks to the ways in which this partnership may transcend into the joint use of technology resources to support safety.”
Many updated are based on recommendations by the School Law Enforcement Partnership (SLEP) Advisory Group, which formed last fall.
Those changes include police providing quarterly statistical reports with metrics to measure the effectiveness of their work, that school administrators complete ACPS Law Enforcement Occurrence Report forms, and that the school system meet with police quarterly to review SRO performance and data.
With juvenile crime is on the rise, the school system also plans to roll out a metal detector program this month.
There were 188 incidents requiring a police response within Alexandria City Public Schools in the first two quarters of the current school year, according to a school safety report. Seventeen Alexandria City Public School students were arrested. There were also 15 weapons-related incidents, 41 students injured, 44 fights/assaults and a report of sexual misconduct.
In March, an Alexandria City High School teacher confiscated handgun from a student and in April a suspended student was arrested for allegedly firing a gun near a bus stop at the Bradlee Shopping Center.
The current MOU expires on June 30.
City Council will discuss the matter with the School Board on May 15 (Monday), and the School Board will hold a public hearing and vote on it on May 18 (Thursday). If approved, the MOU will go into effect on July 1 and be renewed in 2025.
According to the proposed MOU:
- Police will provide quarterly statistical reports with metrics to measure the effectiveness of the ACPS/APD partnership
- School administrators must fill out an ACPS Law Enforcement Occurrence Report form within 24 hours of a law enforcement action at a school. Those actions may include assisting administrators as requested, investigations, referrals, and arrests
- ACPS will participate in law enforcement sponsored/related educational activities and seminars
- ACPS will handle discipline within schools and SROs should not be involved with enforcement of school rules or disciplinary infractions that are not violations of the law
- APD must meet with APD in August, November, February and May of each school year to review SRO performance and discuss reporting data. The meetings will include daily SRO attendance, calls for assistance, incident reporting and educational activities with students
- Each principal with an SRO must complete quarterly assessment forms
- Principals will permit the SROs to complete an educational activity at their assigned school with a goal of one activity per quarter. Such an activity could include classroom briefings, student council briefings and other presentations
- SROs may intervene to de-escalate situations. However, an SRO should not be involved in the physical restraint of a stuent unless there is imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others
No one was injured and no arrests have been made after shots were fired in the 6200 block of Duke Street on Sunday morning.
Alexandria Police were dispatched at around 10:30 a.m. to the area near the Landmark Mall site after a driver called in the incident. The caller reportedly told police that the suspect was a male wearing all-black clothing and black sneakers with white soles.
Police brought a K-9 unit to the scene, but no arrest was made.
The incident occurred less than a mile from where a man was shot on April 15, and near to where a man was murdered in March.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a shots fired call for service, there is a moderate police presence in the 6200 block of Duke Street. No injuries were reported. APD is on scene and will continue to investigate this incident. pic.twitter.com/b0BRLFIWW5
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 30, 2023
Image via Google Maps
Adding police presence to high-crime areas, putting more cops in communities and strategically placing mobile camera units are just a few of the initial strategies that the Alexandria Police Department is employing to confront a crime surge.
APD Assistant Chief Easton McDonald briefed City Council on the uptick on Tuesday night, and also said that there is an increase in juvenile crime and crimes being committed by young people.
“There is an uptick with juveniles,” McDonald told Council. “From April 1 to April 23, there have been approximately 27 encounters with juveniles that have either been charged with illegal weapons possession, drugs with the intent to sell, grand larceny of a vehicle where we had four juveniles that (allegedly) stole a vehicle, fled from the vehicle, and there was a weapon inside the vehicle.”
APD reported 11 shooting incidents this month, including three incidents on Monday, April 17. On that day, a clerk at a 7-Eleven was shot in a robbery in the early morning, followed by a shooting in the 1200 block of Madison Street near the Braddock Road Metro station, and then a shooting near a bus stop at the Bradlee Shopping Center. Three males, ages 17, 18, and 19, were arrested in connection to the Old Town incident and an 18-year-old male suspended from Alexandria City High School was arrested for the shooting at Bradlee, McDonald told Council.
McDonald said APD is forming a new community safety stakeholder group made up of local residents and officials to develop solutions, including outreach regarding available youth programs. The stakeholder group is yet to be named and will meet next month at APD headquarters, McDonald said.
“A weapon should not be in the hands of a teenager,” he said. “They should not be held in bookbags, so the stakeholder group is to get back into the communities to let these individuals know that this is not going to be tolerated. This is not something that can continue, and the (city’s) federal partners are going to deal with those individuals who are felons with guns. And we are arresting felons with guns.”
APD is increasing its presence in high-crime areas, such as the West End and Braddock areas, and plans on returning officers to specific beats, McDonald said. The department will also participate in numerous community cookouts and weekly walks through neighborhoods experiencing crime.
“We plan on working with the community to stop this,” McDonald said. “The goal is to reduce this gun violence.”
Mayor Justin Wilson said that APD can be more aggressive around serving warrants.
“We can be more aggressive around warrant service and things like that, where we’re getting out there and going to find people who we know are in the community that we’re looking for and devoting resources to try and to address some of those things,” he said. “If we can get people off the streets that shouldn’t be on the streets who are at risk of committing crimes, I think that’s always going to be a positive.”
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said that a recent shooting outside a bus stop in the Bradlee Shopping Center brought back bad memories of last year’s murder of 18-year-old Luis Mejia Hernandez in that same shopping center. Jackson said she’s concerned that Alexandria City High School kids will be congregating at the shopping center in greater numbers in the next couple of weeks as they take their Standards Of Learning (SOL) tests.
“The uptick in crime is a major thing,” Jackson said. “We’re coming up on SOL (Standards Of Learning tests) season. SOL means, if the community is not aware, some kids are in school for a couple hours during the day and then they’re in their classrooms and watching movies and studying for other SOL tests. But most of them will be released and they will not get on yellow buses to go home from the schools. They will get on DASH buses that are free fare. What is the plan for Bradlee, because that is happening in the next two weeks?”
McDonald tried to put the three shooting incidents on April 17 into context by saying that APD responds to 400-to-600 calls for service daily.
“The children have an absolute right to walk into those stores and be in those particular areas,” McDonald said. “We are there. Our presence does prevent crime. There’s always going to be a case where that doesn’t work, but we will be there as fast as we can to mitigate what happens.”
A number of shooting incidents occur in the 1200 block of Madison Street in the Braddock neighborhood, in a property managed by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority. On April 21, there was another shooting on that same block, prompting Wilson to announce the addition of cameras and police foot patrols to the area.
As previously reported, an ARHA resident told ALXnow that he fears for his son’s life.
“I been here three years next month, and counting today I’ve heard at least 160 gunshots,” the man said. “It’s a lot, man. Right outside my back door. I have a four year old son and I had to train him to run upstairs and duck. I’m glad he’s in school right now. I feel like we’re sitting ducks. Something’s got to be done. I’m trying to get out of here. Nobody should have to live like this.”
Kevin Harris is an ARHA board member, and said he’s happy about the plan by APD.
“I’m happy about the measures the city is taking to mitigate violence and crime throughout the city,” Harris said. “Also, I’m pleased with the measures that the residents of the ARHA in partnership with the organization as a whole have been taking for years to keep our kids and families safe. It’s a grave miscalculation and misunderstanding to think that the families of ARHA’s communities are unconcerned or participants in these acts of violence in their communities. These families are just as concerned as their neighbors.”
After a crime wave in 2020, that fall ARHA’s safety committee made the following recommendations to the police department to reduce crime incidents. Many of the recommendations are in line with APDs current strategy to reduce crime.
- Increase police presence in high crime areas by stationing officers in cars in areas that are known for a high volume of loitering to deter criminal activity (specifically for its Samuel Madden, Cameron Valley, and Andrew Adkins properties)
- Increase presence by random community walks multiple times per week (specifically Samuel Madden, Cameron Valley, and Andrew Adkins)
- Increase positive community engagement such as events for the youth, neighborhood educational workshops (knowing your rights, tips on police engagement, how broken laws affect the community), etc. to build a positive rapport with the community
- Improve community relations by door knocking and having informal “meet and greets” with people in the community
- Meet with the Safety Committee and provide training and insight on how to report a crime (develop a special way for safety committee members to contact law enforcement)
- Create a standing monthly meeting between the Chief of Police and the Chairman of the Safety Committee and/or the leaders of the Safety Committee
- Create a police liaison who will act as a bridge between the Safety Committee and APD
- Enforce disturbing of the peace after certain hours to limit the late-night partying and drinking that could lead to violence and crime
- Provide diversity training for officers with the intent and purpose for them to learn how to police different demographics
- Reevaluate tactics for obtaining crime tips (never approach people at home, meet privately away from the community, and create and/or educate people on a discreet way for people to report crimes)
- Be more responsive to calls directly from ARHA communities
- Create a means to hold Resident Police Officers accountable for properly policing their assigned communities
- Create a Citizen’s Police Review Board with representation from various communities throughout the City of Alexandria with at least one representative from the Safety Committee appointed on the board. Sincerely, Loren Depina, Chairperson of the ARHA Resident Association Safety Committee
(Updated 1:30 p.m.) No suspects were arrested after two related incidents of gunfire from a chase between two vehicles in the West End last Saturday night (April 15).
The first incident occurred at 7:58 p.m. at Braddock Road and North Van Dorn Street, in the underpass below Interstate 395. Police said on the scanner that a black SUV was involved in a gunfight with another vehicle.
Nine minutes later, at 8:07 p.m., the same vehicles were observed firing at each other again — this time three miles away and in front of the U.S. Post Office at 2226 Duke Street.
Alexandria Police said that it’s likely that the incidents are related, and that no injuries were reported.
“Currently this incident is an active investigation, so there is limited information available however there were two different locations with weapon violations, and no injuries were reported in connection with this incident and no vehicles to recover,” APD spokesman Marcel Bassett told ALXnow. “There is reason to believe that both shots fired incidents are related.”
There were a number of gunfire-related incidents this week in Alexandria, with three incidents reported on Monday, April 19. On Tuesday, Police Chief Don Hayes that patrols through violent areas will increase and that the department will work to reduce crime with community events.
Anyone with information on Saturday’s incidents can contact the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to two shots fired incidents there are temporary road closures near and around Duke and Dove Street, as well as North Van Dorn Street and Braddock Road. No injuries were reported in connection with these incidents. APD is investigating. pic.twitter.com/5CE6tdI1BI
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 16, 2023
Image via Google Maps
Four male juveniles were arrested after a brief chase from a stolen car in the West End on Tuesday afternoon, prompting four schools to go on lockdown, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The incident occurred at around noon near the 1400 block of N. Beauregard Street. Police recovered a handgun from one of the suspects, according to dispatch reports.
“While conducting the traffic stop, all individuals from the vehicle fled,” APD said in a release. “Additional Officers were dispatched to the area to locate the suspects. During the search, APD Officers found four juvenile male suspects and took them into custody. APD recovered one weapon.”
The charges against the minors include drug possession with intent to sale, a concealed weapons charge, illegal weapons possession, and other weapon offenses, according to APD.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
The incident prompted four nearby schools to go into “secure the building” mode. Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School (1701 N. Beauregard Street), William Ramsay Elementary School (5700 Sanger Avenue), John Adams Elementary School (5651 Rayburn Avenue) and the Early Childhood Center (5651 Rayburn Avenue) went into “secure the building” from 12:15 to 12:35 p.m.
On Monday afternoon, 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. Also that day, shots were fired at a Bradlee Shopping Center bus stop, which is near Alexandria City High School.
News Release:: The Alexandria Police Department Makes Arrest in Stolen Auto Case
On Tuesday, April 18, APD Officers attempted to make a traffic stop on a stolen vehicle from Fairfax County near the 1400 block of N. Beauregard Street.
Read more : https://t.co/OjySFEPAsi
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 20, 2023
Image via Google Maps
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
A 58-year-old Alexandria man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in the hallway of a Landmark area apartment building early Thursday night, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
Police said the incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. on the ninth floor of an apartment building in the 300 block of S. Reynolds Street.
Dispatchers responded to a man shot in the arm who suffered “serious but non-life threatening injuries,” APD tweeted.
No suspects have been arrested in connection to the shooting, and the investigation remains active, APD told ALXnow.
The incident occurred near to where a man was murdered last month.
Anyone with information on the incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a shooting, there is a heavy police presence in the 300 block of South Reynolds Street. One person suffered a serious but non-life-threatening injury and was transported to the hospital. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/DFfPitccx5
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 13, 2023
Map via Google Maps
