threat | ALXnow

Police: Man who threatened Alexandria judges compared himself to Luigi Mangione

Published March 19, 2026 at 11:45AM

The Franklin P. Backus Courthouse at 520 King Street in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

A Maryland man charged with threatening Alexandria judges and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office staffers allegedly compared himself to Luigi Mangione — the man charged with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — according to an Alexandria Police Department search warrant affidavit.

Lindolfo Pedraza has been held without bond since his Jan. 28 arrest at home in Allegany County, Md., and his case will head to a jury trial on Monday, April 13. The 53-year-old is accused of going to a judge’s home and sending threatening emails to two judges and deputy commonwealth’s attorneys involved in a 2021 case in which he lost custody of his son, according to the recently released search warrant affidavit.

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No bond for Maryland man charged with sending threatening messages to Alexandria judges

By James Cullum

Published January 23, 2026 at 9:15AM

The Franklin P. Backus Courthouse at 520 King Street in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

A Maryland man is being held without bond after allegedly making violent threats against two Alexandria judges, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday (Thursday).

The suspect, 53-year-old Lindolfo Pedraza, of Cumberland, was arrested by Cumberland police at his home on Wednesday afternoon, after the judges showed ASO several threatening electronic communications. He was charged with two counts of threats of death or bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of harassment by computer, and one count of stalking.

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Anonymous call put Alexandria City High School on ‘secure the building’ status earlier today; police investigating

By James Cullum

Published March 20, 2025 at 4:16PM

Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Alexandria City High School was placed on “secure the building” status earlier today when police received an anonymous phone call of a person with a firearm in the parking lot of the King Street campus (3330 King Street).

Executive Principal Alexander Duncan III sent the following note to parents:

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Police: Recent threats made against Alexandria schools on social media are hoaxes

By Vernon Miles

Published September 24, 2024 at 3:20PM

Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Police Department (APD) said threats making the rounds on social media this week against Alexandria City Public Schools have been investigated and found to be not credible.

A release from APD said there would be a shooting at a school, though no specific school was mentioned. APD said the threats were assessed in collaboration with the Northern Virginia Regional Intelligence Center (NVRIC), a Fusion Center of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and found to be not credible. Similar threats have been circulating around the state and the country.

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Lockdown lifted at Alexandria City High School after threats ruled ‘unfounded’

By Vernon Miles

Published September 23, 2024 at 11:15AM | Updated September 23, 2024 at 11:42AM

The Alexandria City High School marquee (staff photo by James Cullum)

Movement was restricted inside Alexandria City High School (ACHS) earlier this morning as police investigated an alleged threat related to the school building.

Around 11:30 a.m., Principal Alexander Duncan said ACHS administration and the Alexandria Police Department (APD) completed a threat assessment and determined the building is safe and the threats were unfounded.

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Superintendent says threats reportedly issued on social media against Alexandria schools

By Vernon Miles

Published September 23, 2024 at 9:10AM | Updated September 23, 2024 at 12:28PM

School buses on W. Braddock Road on Dec. 10, 2021 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said the school division is investigating threats reported against the local school division on social media.

No schools are currently closed as a result of the threats. Kay-Wyatt said in a message to the ACPS on Monday that the threats were not school-specific and are all being reported second-hand.

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JUST IN: Alexandria City Hall investigated after bomb threat

By James Cullum

Published April 12, 2024 at 12:38PM

A K9 unit investigating a bomb threat at Alexandria City Hall, 301 King Street, on April 12, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Hall at 301 King Street was investigated this afternoon after a bomb threat was sent, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

The Arlington Police Department sent a K9 unit to investigate just before 12 p.m., and a sweep was conducted of the building, but it was not evacuated.

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Alexandria’s Planet Fitness evacuated after emailed bomb threat

By James Cullum

Published April 8, 2024 at 9:30AM | Updated April 8, 2024 at 10:45AM

Planet Fitness at 4620 Kenmore Avenue experienced a bomb threat on Saturday, April 6, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Planet Fitness in Alexandria’s West End was evacuated early Saturday evening (April 6), adding to a growing number of similar threats made at locations around the country.

The Alexandria Police Department was alerted at around 6 p.m. of a bomb threat made via email, according to the APD scanner. Police said in one dispatch that an employee reported that the alleged threat was sent in an email at 4:06 p.m.

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BREAKING: Charles Barrett Elementary evacuated and Cora Kelly on lockdown due to threats

By Vernon Miles

Published January 24, 2024 at 1:15PM | Updated January 24, 2024 at 3:01PM

Charles Barrett Elementary School (image via Alexandria Police Department/Twitter)

(Updated 3 p.m.) The Alexandria Police Department evacuated students and staff from Charles Barrett Elementary School (1115 Martha Custis Drive) earlier today and Cora Kelly has gone into lockdown after threats to the schools.

Police said a report came in of a weapons violation at Charles Barrett around 12:05 p.m., according to the scanner. The scanner indicated that a man was making threats to shoot at the school, targeting a teacher, and that a ‘device’ was placed in the school. At 3 p.m., APD said no threat was found at Charles Barrett Elementary School.

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West End man charged and released after allegedly brandishing air pistol

By James Cullum

Published September 28, 2023 at 9:30AM

An Alexandria man was charged with brandishing a firearm in the 100 block of N. Grayson Street on Sept. 5, 2023 (via Google Maps)

A 46-year-old Alexandria man was charged with two counts of brandishing a firearm earlier this month after allegedly pointing a CO2-powered handheld pistol at a contractor working in his West End home.

On Sept. 5 (Tuesday), the contractor called police after the resident, Greco Gomez, allegedly brandished a firearm against him. The victim told police that he was working in the basement and took the trash outside and was “shocked” when Gomez allegedly threatened to shoot him, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Alexandria bomb threat suspect was found guilty for similar offense in 2016

By James Cullum

Published March 28, 2023 at 3:30PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 33-year-old man with a history of making bomb threats in Alexandria faces three more counts of making bomb threats to the city’s 911 call center.

Mikhail Stefon Douglas, of Severn, Maryland, faces three counts of making bomb threats to the city’s Department of Emergency and Customer Communications call-takers on Nov. 8, 2022. No explosives were found during a police search of the DECC facility at 2525 Mount Vernon Avenue and no one was injured, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.