Vienna police were called last week for a report of a drive-by paintballing.
The incident happened last Monday, around 4:45 p.m., at the intersection of Marshall Road and Ware Street, SW.
“A resident reported that her vehicle was struck with a paintball on the driver side door while she was driving from Ware Street turning onto Marshall Road,” Vienna PD said in a crime report. “She did not observe anyone in the area.”
Photo via Google Maps
Vienna police were called to a home on Carole Court SE last Friday after a resident found a dollar bill and then started feeling dizzy.
The incident happened shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 22.
“A resident advised that she heard a knock at her door,” Vienna PD said in a weekly crime report. “When she answered the door, no one was there, but she found a dollar bill on her driveway. After picking up the dollar bill, the resident felt dizzy. The resident refused medical treatment.”
“The dollar bill was turned over to the property section,” police added.
Photo via Facebook
If you’re a member of Vienna’s Nextdoor neighborhood network, you might start to see an increased number of updates on crime and issues in your local community.
Nextdoor is a social networking service focused on neighborhoods, requiring users to submit their real names and addresses to keep the information local. The website often includes reports on crime in the area and has taken some flack as a potential tool for racial profiling.
The Vienna Police Department announced yesterday it’s partnering with the website’s government interface to send updates.
“I am pleased to let you know that starting today; we’ll start using Nextdoor’s free government interface to partner with you and your neighbors to build community, improve quality of life, and work together to make your neighborhood safer and stronger,” Juan Vazquez, public information officer for the Vienna Police Department, said in the post. “As a member of Nextdoor that lives in Town of Vienna, you’ll automatically get our messages.”
The messages can be opted out of at Nextdoor’s management system.
Vazquez also noted in the post that police cannot read what users of Nextdoor are discussing, but can see replies to posts when discussions are enabled.
Photo via Facebook
Some attempted shoplifting at the Tysons Corner Center mall’s Apple Store escalated into a foot chase as one of the suspects attempted to flee, according to county police.
The incident occurred yesterday (Tuesday) at 1 p.m.
According to Fairfax County Police, officers responded to the Apple Store for a report of two individuals taking store property. One of the men was stopped by store employees, but a juvenile led officers on a short foot pursuit through the mall before being arrested.
“Aideen Bryar, 18, of Chevy Chase, Md., was charged with petit larceny and released on a summons,” police said in a crime roundup. “The juvenile was released to their parents and charges for petit larceny are forthcoming.”
File photo
Updated at 4:45 p.m. — Police identified the pedestrian at 72-year-old Chandra Bhandari, of Falls Church. According to police, Bhandari was found dead at the scene.
“Preliminarily, detectives believe Bhandari was crossing the on-ramp from eastbound Leesburg Pike to southbound I-495 between 6 and 6:30 a.m. and was hit by a vehicle,” police said in a press release. “The motorist did not stop and drove away from the scene. Speed appears to be a factor for the driver. Neither alcohol nor drugs appear to be factors for Bhandari.”
Earlier: Police are investigating after a driver struck and killed a pedestrian at the ramp from eastbound Leesburg Pike onto southbound I-495.
Fairfax County Police believe the crash happened around 7 a.m. this morning (Tuesday).
The vehicle involved fled the scene shortly after the incident, they say.
Police briefly closed a section of the highway to account for the investigation, but most of Leesburg Pike has since reopened to traffic. The eastbound ramp to southbound I-495 remains closed.
Our Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating after a pedestrian was hit and killed at the ramp from eastbound Leesburg Pike to southbound I495. The vehicle involved left the scene. Eastbound Leesburg Pike remains closed for the investigation. Please avoid the area. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/xvfCAPKdPM
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) February 26, 2019
Photo via VDOT
Falls Church Police are investigating after a teacher at a city elementary school discovered vandalism involving a swastika.
Police say the vandalism took place at Mt. Daniel Elementary School (2328 N. Oak Street). A teacher found a bit of fabric at the school’s playground canopy cut in several places, including one set of cuts in the shape of a swastika.
Investigators believe the playground was defaced sometime between 1:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 22) and 12:30 p.m. yesterday (Monday). The canopy was removed immediately and the city’s school superintendent notified parents, they added.
“The City of Falls Church takes acts of anti-Semitic vandalism very seriously,” Police Chief Mary Gavin said in a statement. “Our community will not stand for this unacceptable crime of hatred. We urge anyone with information to reach out to us immediately.”
Falls Church Police are asking anyone with information on the incident to contact the department at 703-248-5053.
There have also been other reports of a swastika spray-painted on a drainage tunnel near the intersection of McLearen Road and West Ox Road in Fairfax County, but it’s unclear if the incidents are related in any way.
Photo via Google Maps
Downed Trees Block Roads — A High Wind Warning is in effect for Fairfax County for most of the day. A number of trees are reported to have fallen in parts of the area, blocking roads, including in McLean on Old Dominion Drive at Franklin Park Road and on Georgetown Pike near the Beltway. [Twitter, Twitter]
Police Department Mourns Fallen K-9 — “Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler, Jr. announced the unexpected death today, Feb. 22, of K-9 Doby, one of our K-9 officers.” [FCPD]
FCPS Gets More Than Half of Budget — “For the second year in a row, Fairfax County plans to grant all of the transfer funds requested by the county school board… FCPS accounts for 52.9 percent of the county’s general fund budget. Hill’s proposed county transfer to the public school system exceeds the $2.1 billion requested by the school board.” [Fairfax Times]
The Case for Suburb-to-Suburb Transit — “The Purple Line, which is expected to begin service in late 2022, will provide an important suburb-to-suburb link, and local officials should seriously consider constructing extensions to Tysons Corner and Largo.” [Greater Greater Washington]
More Childless Households in Falls Church — “While the 2.4 million population in the Northern Virginia region, overall, is characterized by a continuing growth in numbers of children, and households with children, this is not true for Falls Church… the number of households with children in the City has actually decreased by 5.3 percent in that same period.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Local Doc Goes on Medical Mission Trip — “On Jan. 26, 2019, a team from… Virginia Oral, Facial & Implant Surgery of McLean flew from Dulles Airport to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic” on a medical mission trip to treat “both children and adults of Dominican and Haitian background.” [McLean Connection]
New Look for Tysons Reporter — Tysons Reporter is debuting a new, cleaner look for our site today. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
A reporter with local CBS affiliate WUSA 9 was on assignment during yesterday’s snowfall when she came upon a single-vehicle crash on Great Falls Street in McLean.
A y0ung woman had lost control of her Jeep Patriot on the snow-covered road, spun, hit the curb and damaged a front wheel, disabling the vehicle. The reporter, Peggy Fox, helped the driver get help and also helped to direct traffic before police arrived.
The responding officer offered some advice to others driving in the snow: slow down.
That wasn’t the only story Fox filed yesterday. She also caught up with sledders at the popular sledding hill behind nearby Lemon Road Elementary School.
A wallet was stolen in Reston — and several of the cards inside wound up in Vienna the next day.
The discovery was made Saturday morning at the intersection of Lawyers Road and Windover Avenue NW.
“A citizen was walking their dog when they found a driver’s license and a store card on the road and brought them to the police station,” said this week’s Vienna Police Department crime report. “When an officer notified the owner, they were advised the cards were in their wallet which had been reported as stolen in Reston, Virginia the previous day.”
The wallet, its other contents and the person who took it remain at large.
Map via Google Maps
Women’s and safety organizations around McLean are coming together for a panel discussion on combatting local teen trafficking.
In 2017, Virginia ranked sixth in the number of human trafficking cases on federal court dockets. There were 33 active human trafficking cases, most of them in the Eastern District of Virginia, which includes Northern Virginia.
The panel presentation will be led by the Just Ask Prevention Project, a nonprofit based out of Tysons dedicated to combatting sex trafficking helmed by former Detective Bill Woolf. Woolf first became involved with the fight against sex trafficking after he discovered a young victim who was being trafficked by a gang.
The event is scheduled for next Tuesday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m. at the McLean Presbyterian Church (1020 Balls Hill Road). The discussion is free and open to the public, though the website includes an option to donate to Just Ask Prevention.
The event is being co-hosted by the Women’s Club of McLean, the Safe Community Coalition and the New Dominion Women’s Club.
According to the event description:
“Trafficking and exploitation of teens is appallingly prevalent and underreported in Fairfax County. Help us eradicate this horrendous scourge by learning what makes children vulnerable, how to identify the signs of a possible victim, and what to do if you suspect a teen is being exploited.”
Photo via Facebook
