Teen turns gun sale at Vienna Arsenal into attempted robbery, police say

Vienna police arrested a teenager from Maryland earlier this week when he reportedly attempted to steal a gun that he had agreed to purchase, only to be stopped when the seller drew another firearm.

According to the Town of Vienna Police Department, officers were dispatched to Vienna Arsenal (386 Maple Ave. E) at 4:08 p.m. on Wednesday (March 10) when they received a call about a robbery in progress.

The incident involved a citizen who had posted an online advertisement about a gun for sale and agreed to meet the responding buyer at the Maple Avenue gun shop in order to finish the transaction.

The exchange did not go as the seller planned, as detailed in the VPD’s weekly summary:

The citizen stated that the suspect picked up the gun, said he needed to get the money from his car and began to run away with the weapon. The citizen chased the man into the bank’s parking lot next door, drew his firearm, ordering the man to stop, and walked him back to where the incident occurred. The citizen held him until police arrived.

The VPD says that the suspect initially gave officers false information about his identity, but they later identified him as a 16-year-old juvenile from Maryland.

The suspect was transported to the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center, where he was charged with grand larceny and false identification.

“He was remanded to the custody of the staff, and the juvenile’s parents were notified,” Vienna police say.

Photo via Vienna Police Department/Facebook