Updated at 8:45 a.m. — Brynn Orrin-Brown was found safe on Friday morning, according to Alexandria Police.
The Alexandria Police Department issued a Critical Missing Person Alert for a verbal 13-year-old autistic boy who was last seen on North Pegram Street in the West End.
Alexandria Police are investigating a hit and run involving an AVIS rental car at the intersection of S. Henry and Franklin Streets in Old Town.
The May 4 incident occurred at around 6:20 a.m., and left two motorists injured. The rental car, a Toyota Camry, was recorded running through a red, and then hit a 1999 Honda Civic traveling east on Franklin. The Civic was consequently then pushed into the path of another car.
Demolition complete at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School — “It’s official, the Douglas MacArthur Elementary School of old is now fully demolished, and we are on our way to a new building, opening January 2023! Watch the construction on the project website from Skanska: https://bit.ly/3bXgncs” [Facebook]
ACPS in early stages of developing safety plan without school resource officers — “Alexandria is not alone in re-evaluating its relationship between police and schools, but it is the only Northern Virginia jurisdiction to remove SROs from schools so far.” [Alexandria Living]
Virginia State Police briefly chased a suspect driving a white U-Haul pickup along Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria. The suspect was chased from Arlington and into Alexandria before turning onto West Glebe Road and taking out a road sign at around 4:15 p.m.
The U-Haul truck drove on the wrong way of the street on West Glebe Road, and nearly struck a VSP cruiser. The suspect veered out of the way and struck a road sign, which was knocked into the middle of the street, and has since been cleared away.
Two Alexandria teenagers were arrested earlier this month for a number of serious firearm-related crimes.
The 17-year-olds were pulled over on Route 1 by Virginia State Police at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4, after allegedly assaulting a man and stealing his wallet.
Washington Post brings in reporter to cover Arlington and Alexandria — “We are thrilled to announce that Teo Armus is joining the local government and politics team to cover Arlington and Alexandria. Teo has been a reporter on the Morning Mix team for nearly two years, during which time he has shown incredible range, delivering compelling reads about murder hornets in Washington state and a ‘Stop the Steal’ organizer’s claims that three Republican lawmakers helped him with plans for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.” [Washington Post]
Alexandria Symphony playing at City’s birthday celebration on July 10 — “The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) announced recently that it will perform at the annual Alexandria Birthday Celebration on July 10. Two companies owned by residents are making the performance possible through their support: Networking and Engineering Technologies, and KSA Integration.” [Zebra]
It was another busy week in Alexandria.
For the second week in a row, our top story was on T.C. Williams High School teacher Gregory Elliott, whose D.C.-based go-go band Experience Unlimited was featured at the Oscars.
Alexandria Police are actively investigating a harrowing incident that occurred earlier this month in a room at the Days Inn/Super 8 hotel at 110 S. Bragg Street in the West End.
On May 8, police responded to a report of a sexual offense against a woman in room 381. Once at the scene, police found a large blood trail outside the hotel room that continued along the third floor.
A 62-year old suspected bank robber at the Alexandria Jail died at Inova Alexandria Hospital after a suicide attempt on May 18, the Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
Christopher Lapp was found unresponsive in his cell at 1:37 a.m., and he later died at 6:32 p.m. that same day. The manner of his death was not released.
School Board vice chair condemns City Council elimination of School Resource Office program — “Without surveying the larger community, they made a decision that frankly their backgrounds don’t qualify them to understand the ramifications of their actions. It’s still puzzling, even after a 2.5-hour exchange by council, what problem council was trying to solve, as the SRO program has not only been highlighted to be a successful partnership, but also there was no evidence to suggest otherwise.” [Alex Times]
Investigative journalist Nick Horrock dies — “Perhaps the best example of his courage came in 1968 when he was trying to expose problems in the prison system. His head shaved, he went undercover as an inmate at the Maryland State Penitentiary. With only the warden and the governor aware of why he was truly there, there was no special protection from either the inmates or the guards. He survived unscathed, he wrote, he won accolades and prizes but he was awash in fear when he was doing it.” [Gazette]
The Alexandria Black History Museum has spent the last year gathering documentation from the unrest throughout the city following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
The virtual exhibition “Preserving Their Names” opens May 25 and includes pictures and objects from the demonstrations, including banners, face masks and poems.
