Hoax social media posts, often featuring images of sinister-looking clowns, have threatened schools across the country. Thus far the posts have led to numerous arrests of teens suspected of making the threats, but no reported violence.
Last night, two Instagram accounts — @virginiaclowns and @dmv_clowns — posted similar threats, warning of shootings at a number of area schools, including Kenmore, Gunston and Thomas Jefferson middle schools in Arlington.
School administrators say they are “currently without air conditioning in the majority of our building.” The A/C troubles come as temperatures are expected to reach into the upper 90s today.
Separately, Taylor Elementary School is also reported to be experiencing air conditioning problems.
Police say Zachary Van Dyke, 32, smoked pot with a 13-year-old student at his home. He also allegedly sold some pot to the teen.
Van Dyke was a teaching assistant at Gunston Middle School and a freshman basketball coach at Washington-Lee High School. He has been suspended by Arlington Public Schools and charged by police with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and distribution of marijuana.
On Wednesday we reported that a cat and her kittens were living on top of Gunston Middle School. Today we’re happy to report that the kittens have been successfully removed from the roof.
After a bit of an impasse with Arlington Public Schools officials, yesterday animal control officers from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington were able to find a way to safely get to the roof, capture the kittens and get them back down from the roof.
The feline family recently took up residence on the school’s roof, apparently after the cat climbed a tree to get there.
Both APS and AWLA want to get the cat and kittens down from the roof, but are still formulating a plan for how to do it.
According to the authorities, a tip received through Arlington County Crime Solvers led to the arrest of 24-year-old Ramon Calderon on April 14.
Calderon is suspected of brandishing a pocket knife, then cutting another man across the face at the Gunston Middle School soccer fields in June. The attack caused “a fairly large laceration,” on the victim’s face according to police, and resulted in significant bleeding due to a cut minor artery. The man was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where he received 60 stitches.
The malicious wounding incident happened Friday night around 8:30 at the Gunston Middle School soccer fields. Police say two men were having a verbal argument when one of them brandished a pocket knife and cut the victim across the face, from the corner of the mouth to the ear.
The slash caused “a fairly large laceration,” according to police, and resulted in significant bleeding due to a cut minor artery. The victim was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where he received 60 stitches.
On Saturday, The Arlington County Board unanimously approved $7.3 million worth of contracts to construct sidewalks on both sides of the arterial road from 38th Street N. to west of N. Glebe Road. The improvements will also install as well as curbs and gutters, traffic and pedestrian signals and stormwater upgrades.
Of the contract, $2.34 million will be coming from the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the rest will be coming from local bond funding and money from the HB 2313 transportation funding law.
A sixth-grader was attacked by two seventh-graders outside Kenmore Middle School last Thursday after school hours, and the incident has raised concerns among parents about how the school handles cases of bullying and violence.
According to Kenmore Principal John Word, a seventh-grader said the sixth-grade victim had called him “a racial slur” over the summer, and the seventh-grader and his friend waited until about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday to retaliate.
The incident happened just before 7:00 p.m. Police say an unknown suspect exposed himself at the water fountain outside the school, near the athletic fields.
“The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his thirties, approximately 5’3″ tall and 140 lbs,” according to an Arlington County police crime report. “He was wearing a bright red shirt and blue jeans at the time of the incident.”
The ASA sent an email to soccer parents Sunday night alerting them that thieves had stolen items, including smartphones, from the fields while the teams were practicing. The first incidents of theft happened on Tuesday, according to the email, with soccer balls, phones and several travel bags taken.
“In response to the first incidents on Tuesday, ASA issued guidelines for personal property management to our travel team coaches and team managers that included specific suggestions to mitigate potential issues at Gunston and Virginia Highlands [Park],” the email states. “Despite this, issues continued several times during the week.”
