A suspect is in custody after a gun was stolen from a Clarendon firearm store, prompting a manhunt.
Police were dispatched to Nova Armory at 2607 Wilson Blvd around 12:20 p.m. for a report of a man who ran off with an unloaded Glock handgun.
An officer soon spotted the ski-mask-wearing suspect along Wilson Blvd in Courthouse, but then lost sight of him as he fled into the Colonial Village garden apartment community, according to scanner traffic.
Police set up a perimeter and two nearby schools — Innovation Elementary and H-B Woodlawn — were secured during the suspect search, Arlington police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. After nearly an hour of searching, the suspect was found at a vacant house two blocks away from the gun store.
“A police K-9 was used to search an abandoned property in the 2700 block of Franklin Road during which the suspect was located and taken into custody,” Savage said. “A firearm was recovered. Officers remain on scene investigating and charges are pending.”
A tipster described “a dozen Arlington police officers” surrounding the home with guns drawn prior to the arrest.
Medics were dispatched to the scene after the suspect was reportedly bit in the hand by the police dog.
Nova Armory has seen several thefts in recent years, including one 2022 incident in which an employee successfully got a gun back from a suspect who tried to walk off with it.
