Arlington County police are investigating a death in the Penrose neighborhood.
The incident was first dispatched as a fire department call for a dumpster on fire near the intersection of 2nd Street S. and S. Veitch Street. Arriving firefighters then requested police after finding a person dead on scene.
The person is preliminarily believed to have set the dumpster on fire and then jumped in, according to scanner traffic.
“At approximately 11:42 a.m. on September 1, the Arlington County Fire Department responded to the report of a dumpster fire in the 200 block of S. Veitch Street,” Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon extinguishing the fire, an adult female was located deceased.”
“The Arlington County Police Department is conducting a death investigation and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine cause and manner of death,” Savage continued. “The preliminary investigation has not revealed an ongoing threat to the community. Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected] or anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS(8477).”
Hat tip to Alan Henney. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of self-harm, call 911. You can also call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, Arlington Dept. of Human Services’ emergency services line at 703-228-5160, or CrisisLink at 703-527-4077.