D.C. resident Peter Cifala, 57, was arrested on Friday and charged with one count of bank robbery.
“Though the suspect is charged with one robbery at this time, the robbery is believed to be related to a series of five other bank robberies that occurred over the past three months in Arlington County,” police said in a statement.
A bicyclist struck an Arlington County police cruiser on Lee Highway this afternoon as the cruiser was responding to a bicyclist struck by a car a couple of blocks away.
The cyclist was heading downhill on the Custis Trail, toward Rosslyn, at the time of the accident. He struck the front bumper of the police cruiser as it was entering westbound Lee Highway from N. Oak Street, tumbled to the ground and suffered a bloody head wound. The wound was said to be superficial and the cyclist was conscious when medics arrived to treat him.
(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Police are investigating yet another bank robbery in Arlington.
The BB&T Bank branch at 3001 N. Washington Blvd in Clarendon was robbed this afternoon by a man described as an older white male. The suspect fled on foot after the robbery.
The crime was called into police around 1:10 p.m. Initial reports suggest the man put a female victim in a choke hold after she entered her PIN number into the Arlington County Federal Credit Union ATM in Courthouse Plaza, just steps from the main entrance of the county government building and across the street from the Arlington County Police headquarters.
The woman reportedly ran away while the man attempted to use her ATM account. It’s unclear whether he withdrew money from the machine.
The bank was robbed just before 2:15 this afternoon. The suspect is being described as a 5’9″ white male, possibly of “Hispanic or Middle Eastern background,” about 50 years of age. The suspect implied, but did not display a weapon.
Armed police officers surrounded the bank for a few tense minutes while they awaited word on whether the suspect was still inside the bank. As it turns out, the suspect fled on foot before police arrived on scene.
Update at 1:35 p.m. — See this post for the latest on the road closures surrounding the site.
Roads are closed in Rosslyn after a retaining wall partially collapsed at a construction site on the 1500 block of Clarendon
The suspect (seen, left, in a surveillance image from today) is described as a 6-foot-tall white male in his late 50’s. The man, who has graying hair under his baseball cap, walked into the bank and demanded money, according to Arlington Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. No weapon was shown or implied.
Police believe he’s the the man who’s suspected of three other bank robberies in Arlington this summer, including a robbery in June at the very same bank and a robbery yesterday in Clarendon.
A robbery has been reported at the Wachovia Bank at 3140 Washington Boulevard in Clarendon.
Initial reports suggest a suspect implied he had a weapon, then made off with cash. Police are looking for the suspect, who fled on foot. He’s described as an older white male with scruffy facial hair.
Updated at 12:18pm Police are are looking for a man who robbed the BB&T bank at 6120A Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church. The suspect was reportedly seen fleeing the scene on foot wearing a surgical mask. There was a report that he was seen in the area of Upton Hill Regional Park.
This bank was hit earlier this month, also by a man wearing a surgical mask.
Traffic had been backed up to the Pentagon, but delays are starting to dissipate.
Update at 5:00 p.m. — “This occurred outside the bank near the ATM in the mall,” Arlington Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal tells ARLnow.com. “It does not appear to be hazardous at this time and was not a robbery or attempted bank robbery.”
Update at 4:20 p.m. — We’re told that tests have revealed the substance to be “non-hazardous.” At least one patient was transported to the hospital, however.
(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) Firefighters battled an apartment fire on the 1600 block of N. Queen Street in Ft. Myer Heights this afternoon.
A resident reported fire on the second floor of a garden-style apartment building just after 1:15 p.m. Firefighters arrived and found flames and smoke. A second alarm was called as a precaution, due to the hot weather. Firefighters on the scene were given plenty water; some had their blood pressure checked.
