An Arlington man is facing a charge after police say he accidentally fired a gun through the windshield of a car he was riding in on Columbia Pike.
It happened between 8:45 and 9 p.m. Monday. The 33-year-old was in the front passenger seat, with two other people in the vehicle, when he allegedly fired the gun, near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Dinwiddie Street.
All three occupants went to Inova Alexandria Hospital afterward as a precaution, according to the Arlington County Police Department. Police were called to the hospital around 9:45 p.m. and took the report there.
No injuries or property damage were reported, ACPD said. The man was charged with reckless handling of a firearm and released on a summons.
Police filed the same charge in June, when a man cleaning his gun fired a bullet into a neighboring apartment on S. Highland Street, just south of the Pike.
From Tuesday’s ACPD crime report:
RECKLESS HANDLING OF A FIREARM (late), 2026-08240220, Columbia Pike at S. Dinwiddie Street. At approximately 9:45 p.m. on August 24, police responded to Inova Alexandria Hospital for the late report of reckless handling of a firearm. It was determined between approximately 8:45 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., the male suspect was the front passenger of a vehicle traveling in the area of Columbia Pike and S. Dinwiddie Street with two other occupants when he allegedly discharged a firearm through the windshield of the vehicle. No injuries or property damage were reported and all three of the occupants self-reported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. [The suspect], 33, of Arlington, Va. was charged with Reckless Handling of a Firearm and was released on a summons.
