Two police officers were hurt after a group of “disorderly” teens led them on a series of foot chases in Ballston.
The incident happened shortly before 11 a.m., drawing a large police response to the 900 block of N. Stuart Street.
It started with a dispatch to the Meridian apartment complex for a group of teens reportedly assaulting someone in the leasing office. Arriving officers told dispatchers that they detained one of the teens but asked for backup because others were running off.
That’s when the situation started escalating.
“We need more units, we’ve got one running and another one videotaping,” said an officer.
“We’ve got an officer down and he’s hurt, please start medics to 9th and Stuart,” radioed another officer, urgently.
“I need one to the front of the building, I’ve got one circling me,” said another.
“We’ll take more units for crowd control,” one of the officers said. “I need at least two in front of We The Pizza for an unruly crowd.”
In the end, four teens were detained but only one was charged. One officer was treated on scene and another was taken to a local hospital, according to an Arlington County police spokesperson.
The spokesperson did not answer questions about why a group of teens was gathered in Ballston during school hours. ACPD provided a preliminary incident summary, below, to ARLnow.
ASSAULT & BATTERY, 2026-03040089, 900 block of N. Stuart Street. At approximately 10:53 a.m. on March 4, police were dispatched to the report of an assault. The preliminary investigation indicates a group of juveniles were being disorderly inside the common area of a residential building when an employee asked them to leave. A verbal dispute ensued during which the suspect allegedly threw a plastic bottle and struck the employee. As officers arrived on scene, the group of juveniles fled the scene on foot. Following foot pursuits and the on-scene investigation, four juveniles were detained with the suspect who assaulted the employee actively resisting arrest. As a result of the investigation, three of the detained juveniles were subsequently released. Petitions were obtained for the juvenile suspect who assaulted the employee, a male in his teens of Arlington, for Assault & Battery and Obstruction of Justice. Two officers sustained minor injuries while attempting to apprehend the juveniles with one officer being treated on scene and the other being transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Screenshots via traffic cam/SafetyVid
