(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) A wild scene played out Friday night along a quiet, dead end street in North Arlington.
Police say it started when a female resident brandished a gun at a person she knew, then “fired several shots into the front door of the home.” After police surrounded the home, the woman stepped outside and approached officers while still armed and ignoring verbal commands, according to ACPD.
She was reportedly tased and taken into custody without additional shots being fired.
The incident happened around 9 p.m. along the 3900 block of 26th Street N., near Potomac Overlook Regional Park.
More from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:
At approximately 8:59 p.m. on May 13, police were dispatched to the report of a female subject who had brandished a firearm at a known individual inside a residence and subsequently fired several shots into the front door of the home. As arriving officers were establishing a perimeter, the female subject exited the home while brandishing the firearm. Officers gave the subject verbal commands to drop the weapon, however, the subject disregarded the officers’ commands and continued to approach them while holding the firearm. Officers continued to provide verbal commands to drop the weapon before deploying a taser and taking her into custody and recovering the firearm. She was transported to an area hospital for medical evaluation. No injuries were reported related to the shots fired inside the residence. The investigation is ongoing.
While the crime report is vague on the exact circumstances, a tipster tells ARLnow that this was likely a case of mistaken identity.
“An elderly woman (over 80) on 26th Street N. thought her new caregiver was an intruder and chased him with a gun,” the tipster wrote. “Arlington police were called to the scene and had to [tase] her (she is now in the hospital).”
Arlington police spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed that the person with the gun was an “older adult” but declined to say whether the person who was fired upon was a caregiver.
“ACPD does not provide personal identifying information, such as occupation, of victims,” she told ARLnow.
Asked about whether the woman is likely to be charged, Savage said that “no charges have been sought at this time.”
“The investigation is ongoing,” she said.