(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A white BMW exploded around 8:15 a.m. this morning in the Penrose neighborhood. Police say they believe the blast was accidental.
The explosion happened on 9th Street South between Veitch Street and Courthouse Road. No one was hurt, according to fire department spokesperson Lt. Ed Hughes.
(Originally published at 7:56 a.m. Updated at 11:05 a.m.) The Arlington Fire Marshal’s office is investigating a blaze at a home on 22nd Street near North Edison Street and Lee Highway.
Authorities say they received the first call about the fire at 6:02 a.m. The flames was extinguished by 6:31 a.m.
The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. The driver of the striking vehicle stayed on the scene, according to police spokesperson Det. Crystal Nosal.
Nosal said police are continuing to investigate the accident. As of 5:30 p.m., the westbound lanes of Four Mile Run Drive had reopened, but the eastbound lanes were still closed.
Zimmerman has represented Arlington on the Metro board since January 1998. He also serves on several other regional transportation boards.
Gordon Linton, a Metro board member representing Montgomery County, also resigned at a board meeting today.
The FBI’s terrorism task force has arrested a 25-year-old Arlington man on suspicion of making bomb threats via Facebook.
Awais Younis was taken into custody on Dec. 7. In court documents, he’s accused of threatening to use pipe bombs to blow up a busy section of Georgetown. He’s also accused of threatening to place bombs on Metro trains.
(Update at 2:40 p.m.) The BB&T Bank at 2947 South Glebe Road was just robbed. According to scanner traffic, a suspect passed a note implying he had a gun, but no weapon was seen.
The suspect is described as a six-foot tall black male in his 30s or 40s with scruffy facial hair. He was wearing a blue jacket, a black backpack and a beanie hat.
(Updated at 12:10 p.m.) A large tree fell and brought down power lines on Walter Reed Drive between South Dinwiddie Street and South Wakefield Street.
The falling lines caused power to briefly go out over a wide swath of the county. Power in much of south Arlington and parts of north Arlington flickered on and off for a minute before, in most areas, eventually coming back on.
Update at 12:30 p.m. — The suitcase has been determined to be safe. The scene is now clear.
Police and firefighters are on the scene of a suspicious piece of luggage, located behind the county government building (2100 Clarendon Blvd) in Courthouse Plaza.
A 54 mile per hour wind gust was recorded at Reagan National Airport during the storm, which covered area roadways with wet leaves and, in some cases, trees and utility lines. As of 3:10 a.m., 2,400 Dominion customers were without power in Arlington.
The most significant damage was reported in Arlington’s Tara-Leeway Heights neighborhood, near Virginia Hospital Center. Downed trees and utility lines blocked numerous side streets, which were darkened by the power outage. County tree crews were out in the neighborhood with chainsaws and wood chippers at 2:30 this morning.
Heavy smoke can be seen on traffic cameras.
Only one lane of traffic is getting by the scene. Firefighters report that everybody that was on the bus made it out safely.
(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) Bomb disposal crews used a remote-controlled robot to neutralize a suspicious device on 17th Street in Nauck, a block away from the busy intersection of South Glebe Road and Walter Reed Drive.
Explosive specialists determined that the device, which was white, cylindrical and had wires coming out of it, was a hoax, but only after they used an explosive charge to “interrupt” it.
Arlington firefighters are responding to the Pentagon Metro station for smoke in the station.
Initial reports from the scene suggest that leaves and debris on the track caught on fire, causing light smoke to fill the station.
