A man was shot in the leg in the bathroom of a McDonald’s in the Landmark area of Alexandria, and the Alexandria Police Department (APD) is on a manhunt for the suspect.
APD was notified of a fight in the restaurant when two holdup alarms were activated at around 6:15 p.m., according to the police scanner. Police say that the suspect and the victim know each other.
“Two adult males who knew each other were engaged in a fight that escalated when the shooting occurred,” APD Communications Manager Tracy Walker told ALXnow. “The victim sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was transported for medical treatment.”
No other suspect information was released.
The restaurant closed for the rest of the day after the incident.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the APD non-emergency line at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
(Updated 11:10 a.m.) Police arrested the driver of a stolen vehicle after the suspect ditched the car, ran from police, and ultimately turned to public transit.
Scanner traffic showed that, around 8:30 a.m., police followed the driver into a parking lot when the driver bailed out of the car and ran. Police searched along N. Ripley and Duke Streets, but Alexandria Police Department Communications Manager Tracy Walker told ALXnow that the suspect was able to get on a DASH bus and flee the scene.
The suspect changed buses and got as far as the intersection of Seminary Road and I-395 at 9:30 a.m. before police caught up and arrested him.
Seminary Road at the intersection with I-395 was temporarily closed due to the apprehension, but police said the site should be cleared shortly.
Notification: Heavy police presence near Century Place at N. Ripley & Duke Streets as officers search for a suspect involved with a stolen vehicle. APD is investigating. pic.twitter.com/lWKXWsYVcY
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) December 7, 2023
Image via Google Maps
(Updated at 2:21 p.m. on Dec. 6) The Alexandria Police Department says that an arrest was made after a man was injured in an attempted robbery in the Landmark area of Alexandria’s West End last week.
APD responded to an apartment building at 375 S. Reynolds Street at around 2 p.m. on Nov. 29 in response to a report that a man was shot, according to a department release. Police later determined that no weapon was used, and that the victim was assaulted and suffered non-life threatening injuries.
APD said that a man was arrested, but did not release the suspect’s name or charges against him.
According to APD:
While on scene, officers determined the victim was not shot. The man was assaulted and possibly robbed of property. The victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries for medical care. As officers were circulating for the suspect, they located a male matching the suspect description at South Van Dorn Street at Courtney Avenue. After further investigation, it was determined that this man was the suspect in the assault and attempted robbery, he was charged and transported to the Detention Center. The suspect also had a misdemeanor warrant from another jurisdiction.
ALXnow has reached out to the police for suspect information.
The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Raymond Braxton of Fairfax. He is currently being held without bond and was charged with attempted robbery and malicious wounding. Braxton also had a misdemeanor warrant from another jurisdiction, according to APD. His preliminary hearing is on Jan. 17.
Anyone with information on this incident can reach out to the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Updated information: See attached news release regarding the apprehension of a suspect for the assault and attempted robbery that occurred this afternoon on S. Reynolds Street https://t.co/swabTjS5T3 pic.twitter.com/8YocmkIlTS
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 30, 2023
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is investigating a felonious assault in a S. Van Dorn Street parking lot.
A 27-year-old man sustained life-threatening injuries during a fistfight in Alexandria’s West End on Saturday night, according to APD. APD said today (Wednesday) that the incident is being investigated as a felonious assault.
Police were called at around 9:15 p.m. for a fistfight between an “unknown number of subjects physically fighting” in the parking lot of the Van Dorn Station Shopping Center in the 500 block of S. Van Dorn Street, according to the police scanner.
APD found the victim on the ground at the scene, and reported via dispatch that he was hit in the face and had a head injury. The department later said via Twitter that the victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
ALXnow has reached out to APD for comment on the incident.
Anyone with information can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification: In response to a felonious assault, there is a moderate police presence in the vicinity of the 500 block of South Van Dorn Street. The victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/MTHaoxCzkO
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 12, 2023
With the reopening of the Dash Transit Center at the future WestEnd development years away, Alexandria is looking to ask Richmond to help pay for $800,000 in temporary bus bays, benches and real-time signage.
On Tuesday, City Council will consider authorizing a $544,000 grant application for a new project through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP). If approved, the city would have to foot the remaining $256,000 to pay for 12 shelters at six bus bays, benches and six electronic real-time signs until construction of the permanent transit center is finished. City staff said Council could also tap into the GoAlex Fund, which is funded by developers.
Alexandria was awarded $13 million in SMART SCALE funding for the transit hub, but the money isn’t available until 2026 and construction is estimated to wrap in 2028.
“Currently, this is a high ridership location and key transfer point with more than 500 boardings per day,” City staff said in a memo. “This funding would allow for proper amenities at a major transfer facility serving multiple local bus routes and two future bus rapid transit corridors until a permanent structure is constructed.”
Melissa McMahon, chair of the city’s Transportation Commission, wrote a letter stating that the commission endorsed the application.
“At its October 18 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted to endorse a grant application for funding of up $800,000 through the DRPT FY 2024 Mid-Cycle TRIP New Passenger Amenities category,” McMahon wrote. “The Transportation Commission supports staff’s proposal to request funding to provide passenger amenities at Landmark until the facility funded through SMART SCALE can be constructed, at which point the amenities can be relocated to other high need areas in the City.”
McMahon continued, “This project supports the Alexandria Mobility Plan strategy to improve the rider experience and will ensure that appropriate amenities are available for this major transfer facility at the opening of Duke Street and West End Transitways. It also provides the opportunity to potentially leverage the new developer funded Transportation Management Plan GoAlex Fund for these amenities.”
Alexandria was previously awarded a TRIP grant from its Zero and Reduced Fare category. The TRIP program launched in 2021 to improve “regional connectivity in urban areas with a population above 100,000 and reducing barriers to transit use by supporting low-income and zero-fare programming.”
While the plan is to eventually create a new transit hub in the Landmark Mall redevelopment, the city is looking for grant funding to make the key transfer point more bearable in the near term.
The Transportation Commission is scheduled to vote on Wednesday, Oct. 18, to endorse a grant application to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation for up to $544,000.
A memo from Transportation and Environmental Service Deputy Director Hillary Orr said the hope is for funding to make improvements ahead of the new transit center, which isn’t scheduled to open until 2028.
“The City requests authority to apply for the new category of Passenger Amenities to provide shelters, benches, and real-time signage at the planned transit center in the West End development until a permanent structure is built,” Orr wrote. “Currently, this is a high ridership location and key transfer point with more than 500 boardings per day.”
Orr said the city was awarded $13 million in funding for the new transit center, but that construction funding won’t be available until FY26. While the full transit center won’t open until at least 2028, Orr noted that bus operations could begin using the area as a transfer point sometime in 2024.
“This funding would allow for proper amenities at a major transfer facility serving multiple local bus routes and two future bus rapid transit corridors until a permanent structure is constructed,” Orr wrote.
The temporary improvements would include 12 bus shelters and real-time signage. Once the transit hub is completed, the city said the temporary bus shelters can be relocated.
The total project cost is estimated at $800,000, with the City matching funding up to $256,000 if the grant is approved.
Alexandria Police are investigating a robbery outside a Bank of America ATMÂ in the West End.
The incident occurred at around 7 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 30) in the 500 block of S. Van Dorn Street. The male victim reported that two suspects, a white male and a Black male, stole his wallet and phone and fled on foot, according to the police scanner.
The victim received minor injuries, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
No arrests have been made and the incident is under investigation, according to APD. Anyone with information on the incident can call the APD non-emergency line at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a robbery from person, there is a moderate police presence in the 500 block of South Van Dorn Street. Minor injuries reported. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/2Jehywq5wS
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) October 1, 2023
(Updated 9/27/23) Before unanimously voting on financing the massive WestEnd Alexandria project at the former Landmark Mall site, a majority of Alexandria City Council members said that they still dislike the name.
Council unanimously approved a number of proposals on the 52-acre development, which will be devoted to the new Alexandria Hospital, and a multi-block town center with apartment buildings, pavilions, restaurants, and rooftop open space.
But Foulger-Pratt’s WestEnd project is located within the larger West End neighborhood; akin to naming a development DelRay or OldTown.
Foulger-Pratt has already branded the development and has no plans on changing the name.
“No, a name change is not being considered at this time,” Courtney Williams, Foulger-Pratt’s marketing director, told ALXnow.
One of those approved measures is a wayfinding sign program throughout the development, which Council members said will only confuse residents.
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said that the wayfinding signs will be confusing.
“When you are putting in wayfinding signs saying ‘2.5 miles to the West End,’ and people saying, ‘Hey, aren’t we in the West End?’ What West End is that?” Jackson said. “That’s what’s going to start happening.”
City Councilman Canek Aguirre said that he feels dismayed by the name.
“I wasn’t happy with the name, but we can’t tell people what to name things,” Aguirre said. “They’re going to name it what they want. But what this body can do is signal some of our displeasure behind what the name is. We are still fully behind the project, we still want to see everything happen… but the name is problematic.”
Council Member Alyia Gaskins said that WestEnd signage will be confusing, since the neighborhood nickname is tied to a geographic area.
“The West End for so long in this city has meant a geographic area, not a specific development,” Gaskins said. “That is something that we need to be thinking about.”
Council Member Kirk McPike said that the name hurts other organizations with “West End” in their name, such as the West End Business Association.
“All of that gets destroyed for them by this development, which is going to take the name of half our city and apply it to one piece of land,” McPike said. “We would never allow a development on the east side of the city call itself Old Town. We would never allow a development in the middle of the city to call itself Del Ray, but we’re allowing this development to take the name of half the city and apply it to themselves. I know the horse left the barn, the ship has sailed, but it was wrong and I’m really disappointed that we allowed that to happen.”
Councilman John Taylor Chapman said that the issue will be problematic for the city.
“We are now going to have to focus on this,” Chapman said. “We are going to have community members and folks who have grown up in the region and have gotten to know what the West End does, and signage is going to be an issue for us. We need to be very clear with them about the problems that creates for staff and the city.”
Council also approved the creation of the Landmark Community Development Authority, which will set a special tax rate for the development in order to pay the city back for $141 million in financing.
Council approved the following:
- A development special use permit to build a central plaza (on blocks F and N), a paseo (on block R) and a terrace park (on block P)
- Plans to build two retail/restaurant pavilions with outdoor dining, a playground, seasonal ice-skating rink, and areas for passive recreation
- Plans to extend commercial space and add new rooftop open space to block E
- Plans to modify the layout of the block E residential building by infilling the ground floor courtyard with a one-story commercial space
- Development of 4.4 acres of open space on four blocks, including a tennis/pickleball court, basketball court
The first pavilion, a two-story 4,610-square-foot structure, will be located in a central plaza on block F. The second pavilion, a two-story 978-square-foot building on block N, would include a 270-square-foot seasonal ice-skating shop and a public restroom.
Alexandria police are investigating the shooting of a man in a suspected carjacking in the parking lot of a Landmark-area apartment complex.
Multiple callers reported hearing two-to-three shots at around 10:15 p.m. in the 300 block of S. Reynolds Street, according to the police scanner.
Police found the victim in his car in a parking lot outside an apartment building, and he told them he’d been shot in the shoulder in an attempted carjacking, according to the police scanner.
APD tweeted that the man suffered non-life threatening injuries and to expect a heavy police presence in the area.
Police reported to dispatch that the victim said he was approached by four individuals with ski masks and that one the suspects shot him in the shoulder. The suspects then reportedly fled on foot.
One of the suspects wore a reflective green vest, according to the police scanner.
The block around the 300 block of S. Reynolds Street has been blocked off by police, and K-9 officers have been deployed, as well as a Fairfax County Police helicopter, according to the scanner.
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 shooting, there is a heavy police presence in the 300 block of South Reynolds Street. One person suffered non-life-threatening injuries. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/S4RZDet8EV
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) September 17, 2023
(Updated 12:30 p.m.) The massive WestEnd Alexandria project is taking shape, as the Planning Commission tonight will weigh in on a number of proposals by site development partner Foulger-Pratt.
Nearly half the 52-acre West End Alexandria development is devoted to the Inova at Landmark (the eventual home of Alexandria Hospital), and the rest of the property has been divvied into a multi-block town center. The redevelopment will include new apartment buildings, pavilions, restaurants, rooftop open space and more.
In December, City Council approved Foulger-Pratt’s plan to build three new apartment buildings with 1,117 total units, and tonight’s meeting will focus on the following proposals:
- A development special use permit to build a central plaza (on blocks F and N), a paseo (on block R) and a terrace park (on block P)
- Plans to build two retail/restaurant pavilions with outdoor dining, a playground, seasonal ice-skating rink, and areas for passive recreation
- Plans to extend commercial space and add new rooftop open space to block E
- Plans to modify the layout of the block E residential building by infilling the ground floor courtyard with a one-story commercial space
- Development of 4.4 acres of open space on four blocks, including a tennis/pickleball court, basketball court
The first pavilion, a two-story 4,610-square-foot structure, would be located in a central plaza on block F. The second pavilion, a two-story 978-square-foot building on block N, would include a 270-square-foot seasonal ice-skating shop and a public restroom.
The Planning Commission meeting starts at 7 p.m.
