No one was injured after robbers fired a gun and stole a cash register inside the 7-Eleven at 800 Franklin Street in Old Town, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The incident occurred just after midnight today (April 12). Police were dispatched to the store for a report of the theft and a single gunshot inside the store. The suspects reportedly fled the area in a black SUV.
Anyone with information on the robbery can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a shots fired incident/commercial robbery, there is a heavy police presence in and around the 800 block of Franklin Street. No injuries were reported in connection with this incident. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/y4QQchu0EO
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 12, 2023
via Google Maps
No injuries were reported after shots were fired in the West End on Monday night.
The incident occurred at around 9:45 p.m. in a residential area near the intersection of Ascot Court and Sanger Avenue, which is a block away from N. Beauregard Street. No arrest was made.
There were two unrelated gunfire incidents near to where this incident occurred within the last two weeks.
- Gunfire outside the 7-Eleven convenience store at 6464 Lincolnia Road on Thursday, March 30
- A man was seriously injured by gunfire in the 400 block of N. Armistead Street on Saturday, March 18
Anyone with information on these incidents 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 and near the intersections of Ascot Court and Sanger Avenue. No injuries or property damage were reported in connection with this incident. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/QRK4Y4467B
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 4, 2023
Map via Google Maps
No arrests were made after gunshots were reported in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven convenience store at 6464 Lincolnia Road on Thursday afternoon.
No one was injured after the incident, which occurred at around 4:45 p.m. The building was not struck and no one was injured, store staff confirmed to ALXnow.
Alexandria Police were dispatched to the area to search for a silver Honda, which fled the area at high speed.
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 incident, there is a moderate police presence in and near the 6100 block of Lincolnia Road. No injuries or property damage reported in connection to this incident. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/rGJYt6biKh
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) March 30, 2023
Map via Google Maps
A delivery driver was robbed at gunpoint in Alexandria’s West End on Friday night.
The incident occurred in a residential area at around 10:50 p.m., and the male driver was not injured, according to police.
APD was dispatched to the scene after the victim reported that two male suspects wearing dark clothing and face masks robbed him of food and cash. The driver was not injured in the incident, and no arrests have been made.
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 robbery from a person there is a moderate police presence in and around the 4200 block of Duke Street. No injuries were reported in connection with this incident. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/EBEfiYhCba
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 1, 2023
Map via Google Maps
No one was injured or arrested after a report of gunfire in Old Town on Tuesday.
The incident occurred at around 5:25 p.m. in the 600 block of S. Fayette Street, which is near Alexandria National Cemetery.
Police received multiple emergency calls of one shot fired, and two suspects allegedly fleeing the scene. APD reportedly recovered a discarded rifle and live rounds, although would not comment on the recovery.
The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a shots fired incident, there is a heavy police presence in and around the 600 block of South Fayette Street. APD is on scene and investigating. No injuries have been reported in connection to this incident. pic.twitter.com/N4J7uaRnlE
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) March 28, 2023
Alexandria’s gun-related crimes increased 100% from 2022 over 2021, according to a police report that will be presented to City Council next Tuesday.
The Alexandria Police Department released the city’s Part I (crimes against people) and Part II (nuisance crimes) statistics for 2022 this week, and included are the reported numbers of homicides, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and more.
“Violent crimes have decreased 12.2% in 2022 compared to 2021,” APD reported. “Despite this, gun crimes (all incident types) have increased 100% compared to 2021 (152 from 76 incidents).”
APD reported that it is operating under “minimal staffing levels” and that the department is working “to address gun violence with direct personnel response and technology developments.”
Among those developments is a “gunshot detection system pilot” for the department. Additionally, starting next month, police will roll out their body worn camera program.
Mayor Justin Wilson said that the city is not immune to rising violence.
“Alexandria is not immune to the rising violence facing our region and nation,” Wilson told ALXnow. “During last year’s budget we made new investments in police resources devoted to investigating gun crimes. We recently admitted our largest-ever class at the Police Academy and this year’s proposed budget has large investments to further address staffing challenges.”
“But police are not the only solution for these challenges,” he continued. “We are expanding investments in the upstream programs that reduce the incidences of crime in our community.”
There were six homicides last year, up from two in 2021. Robberies also rose 30% (108 incidents in 2022), larcenies increased 7% (2,593 incidents) and Auto thefts jumped 18% ( 315 incidents). Aggravated assaults are the only Part I crime statistic that fell, going down 29% (172 incidents).
There is a total increase of 5% in Part I incidents, with 3,361 incidents reported in 2022. The city’s Part I crime stats are below.
Additionally, destruction of property/vandalism incidents climbed 13% in 2022, with 1,320 incidents reported. Drugs and narcotics offenses also climbed 53% (295 incidents), drunkenness increased 17% (344 incidents) and driving under the influence incidents rose 10% (344 incidents).
There is a total increase of 17% in Part II incidents, with 2,330 incidents reported in 2022. Alexandria’s Part II crime stats are below.
A 32-year-old man was shot and seriously injured at a West End apartment complex on Saturday morning, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The man was shot in the upper body at around 10:30 a.m. in the 400 block of N. Armistead Street.
Police were dispatched to the area in response to a man who was reportedly shot in the neck.
No arrests have been made, and the incident remains under investigation, according to police.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Detective Edmund Dougherty at 703-746-6679 or Edmund.Doughertyaalexandriava.gov. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence in the 400 block of North Armistead Street, this is in response to a shots fired incident. One person was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. APD is on scene and investigating the incident.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) March 18, 2023
News Release:: At approximately 10:26 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, 2023, the Alexandria Police Department responded to a call for shots fired in the 400 block of North Armistead Street.
Read more: https://t.co/LUNbbwGJTK pic.twitter.com/cl6N1NM78c
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) March 19, 2023
Alexandria Police have connected two suspects in a West End armed robbery with multiple incidents where victims were robbed after arranging meetups on Facebook Marketplace.
One of the incidents occurred in Alexandria on Dec. 20, 2022, inside the McDonald’s at 3510 Duke Street — just a block away from the Alexandria Police Department headquarters — according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
A juvenile suspect allegedly met with the victim to buy a laptop computer inside the restaurant, and then “(d)uring the transaction, the suspect removed a firearm from his waistband and struck (the victim) in the head,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “(The victim) turned over his wallet. The suspect picked it up and took off running towards the back of the McDonald’s out of view.”
The incident was recorded on a security camera. Police believe the suspects allegedly fled the area in a gray Kia Optima.
The suspects allegedly used the false names Oliver Crown and Steven Walston on Facebook Messenger to “lure victims to a meeting location to rob them,” police said in a search warrant affidavit.
Following the incident, APD was contacted by a detective with the Anne Arundel County Police Department. APD was told that the incident could be connected with multiple incidents dating back to November in Anne Arundel County and Montgomery County. In each instance, the suspect allegedly arranged to buy an item on Facebook Messenger by using a false name.
On Dec. 21, at around 6:30 p.m., the owner of an iPad arranged its sale on Facebook Messenger and was allegedly robbed in their home by one of the suspects. The incident occurred in the 2300 block of Terrapin Road in Jessup, Maryland. The victim was allegedly pistol-whipped and the suspects fled with a getaway driver in a gray Kia Optima, according to AACPD. Prior to the incident that same day, the juvenile suspect allegedly went to the wrong home and his face was captured on a front door Ring camera. He was also allegedly wearing similar clothing as in the incident that occurred the day before in Alexandria.
On Dec. 30, at around 7:30 p.m., two suspects in a gray car met with a victim in Anne Arundel County regarding the sale of an item on Facebook Messenger, according to the search warrant affidavit.
“During this robbery, the victim reported a second suspect… exited the gray car and produced a black handgun and put it to the victim’s head,” according to the police search warrant affidavit.
On Jan. 5, two suspects, one of them a juvenile, were arrested in relation to an armed carjacking by the Montgomery County Police Department. No information was available on the juvenile suspect.
A 20-year-old suspect, Martir Mejia, of Washington, D.C., was charged with carjacking, armed carjacking, armed robbery, assault in the first and second degree, firearm use in commission of a felony, handgun in vehicle, handgun on person, con-armed carjacking (a carjacking without a weapon) and con-armed robbery (a robbery without a weapon).
Mejia’s phone allegedly “revealed a Facebook account that was linked to other Facebook Marketplace inquiries through Facebook Messenger,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.
Mejia goes to court on April 12.
There were no injuries or arrests after gunfire was reported near the intersection of Quaker Lane, King Street and Braddock Road on Sunday.
The Alexandria Police Department received multiple calls for service at around 2:45 p.m. to the 1700 block of W. Braddock Road — about two blocks away from Alexandria City High School’s King Street campus.
Police were dispatched to the area after an argument erupted between two men outside of an apartment building. One of the men, the suspect, allegedly pulled out a handgun, pointed it to the ground and pulled the trigger once.
No one was injured and the suspect fled the area in a black SUV, according to police.
Anyone with information on these incidents can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Map via Google Maps
Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus has been taken off of “secure the building” mode after a handgun was confiscated from a student.
ACHS Executive Principal Peter Balas notified parents of the incident in an email. A teacher reported the weapon to school administrators at around 9 a.m., and the building was placed in “secure the building” mode at 9:15 a.m.
The full message is below.
Dear Minnie Howard Families,
At about 9:00 a.m. today, Alexandria City High School-Minnie Howard Campus administrators received a report from a teacher that a student was in possession of a weapon, and they quickly responded to this report. The school was placed in “secure the building” mode at 9:15 a.m. when, upon investigation, the presence of an unloaded handgun was confirmed, and the weapon was immediately secured. The Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) safety and security team worked with the Alexandria Police Department (APD) on site to conduct an investigation with the student involved. The “secure the building” status was lifted at 10:29 a.m. once the on-site investigation was completed, and normal operations resumed.
“Secure the building” means that the school day continues on a normal schedule inside the school but no one is allowed to enter or leave the school while the building remains secured. An Alexandria City Public Schools video provides more information on what happens when a school is placed in “secure the building” mode. The class schedule and transitions may be adjusted as needed.
The safety and security of our students and staff are of utmost priority. We will continue to provide updates to families via our website and ParentSquare as more information becomes available.
Sincerely,
Peter Balas
Executive Principal
Alexandria City High School
King Street Campus
Minnie Howard Campus
Weapons in ACPS have been a serious issue, and the school system plans to roll out a metal detector program in May.
