A man was carjacked by gun-wielding suspects early this morning at the Lyon Village Shopping Center.

It happened shortly before 12:30 a.m. near the 24-hour CVS store, according to scanner traffic. The suspects could be seen fleeing down the Spout Run Parkway in a traffic camera video posted by local public safety watcher Dave Statter.

A safety tip: If you have a vehicle carjackers desire, you might want to avoid driving it to 24-hour businesses during the overnight hours. They seem to be popular nighttime fishing holes in Arlington. I imagine it's the same elsewhere. 🔽🔽 @ARLnowDOTcom https://t.co/gwVD6kTZzN

— Dave Statter (@STATter911) September 21, 2023

The man also reportedly had his phone and wallet taken.

More, below, from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report.

CARJACKING, 2023-09210006, 3100 block of Langston Boulevard. At approximately 12:26 a.m. on September 21, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined the male victim was walking to his parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle approached and the male suspect exited. The suspect approached the victim while brandishing a firearm and demanded his vehicle. The suspect then pushed the victim to the ground and stole his keys, wallet and personal items. The suspect then fled the scene in the victim’s stolen vehicle, a blue 2023 Chevrolet Corvette bearing Virginia tags TYG4480, followed by the suspect vehicle, a gray sedan, which had approximately three occupants. The victim sustained minor injuries and declined medical attention.

This is at least the 14th carjacking reported in Arlington so far this year. That would equal the total number of carjackings reported in 2022.

An arrest has been made following a July crash in Lyon Village in which the driver allegedly fled the scene with two small children.

The crash happened around 10 p.m. on N. Bryan Street, in the aftermath of severe storms.

“Around 10:05 pm, a black Porsche SUV went screeching down N. Bryan St. in Lyon Village at a high speed,” a resident told ARLnow at the time. “[It] crashed into a light pole and took the entire pole down across N. Bryan, hit a stop sign which got attached to the undercarriage of the Porsche, then did a sharp left turn into 16th Street where the car came to a stop.”

“Then I heard a little girl screaming ‘Daddy, Daddy!’ It was heartstopping,” she continued. “I ran outside at the sound of the collision and heard the girl screaming. When I got there, the car was still running, all the doors were open, but no one was in it. Neighbors were pouring out of their houses to see what had happened.”

“At least three witnesses reported that the man got out of the Porsche and told his children (apparently 2 young children) ‘Run with me,’ she said. “Then they took off running down 16th Street towards Courthouse.”

Among the destinations that could be seen on the wrecked Porsche’s navigation system were Le Diplomate restaurant in D.C. and a home in Vienna, Virginia. Yesterday, ARLnow’s sister site FFXnow reported that a 42-year-old Arlington man is facing charges here and in Vienna for the crash and for allegedly making false statements to police.

From FFXnow:

The Vienna Police Department got a report on July 30 from a supposed resident who said his vehicle had been stolen out of his garage on Battle Street SE sometime between midnight on July 29 and 9 a.m. on July 30.

“A resident left his vehicle unsecured in the garage with the keys inside overnight,” police said in a summary from its recap of the week of Aug. 4. “Due to a storm and power outage, the garage door was unable to close. The following day, the resident discovered the vehicle was stolen.”

The VPD noted at the time that the vehicle was later located in another jurisdiction.

A subsequent investigation, however, linked the vehicle to a crash in Arlington County where the driver fled the scene with two children, according to an update in the VPD’s latest recap, which covers the week of Sept. 8-14.

“Investigation revealed the driver was the owner of the vehicle who made the stolen vehicle report the following morning,” Vienna police said.

Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed to FFXnow that the suspect is also facing charges here.

“As a result of the investigation into the circumstances of the crash, warrants were obtained on September 7 for [the suspect], 42, of Arlington, VA for Child Neglect (x2) and Hit and Run of Unattended Property (x2). He was taken into custody by the Town of Vienna Police Department.”

On Saturday night, as much of Arlington was cleaning up from the earlier severe storms, a driver slammed into a light pole and a stop sign in the Lyon Village neighborhood.

The driver of the Porsche SUV then got out and ran off with two small children who had been passengers in the vehicle, police and witnesses tell ARLnow. It is unclear whether any of them were injured.

It’s an incident that drew many neighbors out of their homes amid a power outage. The crash still has the affluent neighborhood near Clarendon and Courthouse talking — and concerned about the welfare of the children.

A local resident recounted what happened.

“Around 10:05 pm, a black Porsche SUV went screeching down N. Bryan St. in Lyon Village at a high speed, crashed into a light pole and took the entire pole down across N. Bryan, hit a stop sign which got attached to the undercarriage of the Porsche, then did a sharp left turn into 16th Street where the car came to a stop,” a tipster told us.

“Then I heard a little girl screaming ‘Daddy, Daddy!’ It was heartstopping,” she continued. “I ran outside at the sound of the collision and heard the girl screaming. When I got there, the car was still running, all the doors were open, but no one was in it. Neighbors were pouring out of their houses to see what had happened.”

“At least three witnesses reported that the man got out of the Porsche and told his children (apparently 2 young children) ‘Run with me,’ she said. “Then they took off running down 16th Street towards Courthouse.”

The tipster shared photos of the crash, including the navigation screen, which had Le Diplomate restaurant in D.C., Quincy Park in Arlington, and a home in Vienna, Virginia listed as recent destinations.

“The car was badly damaged with almost every window shattered and the stop sign stuck to the undercarriage — so hopefully the kids were not injured. The little girl sounded absolutely terrified, though.,” the tipster added. “It took the police and fire dept. quite a while to arrive due to all the other emergencies.”

Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage largely confirmed the sequence of events.

At approximately 10:07 p.m. on July 29, police were dispatched to the 1500 block of N. Bryan Street for the report of a single vehicle crash with unknown conditions The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the vehicle struck a stop sign and utility pole at 16th Street N. and N. Bryan Street before exiting the vehicle with the two juvenile occupants and running from the scene prior to police arrival.

Savage said the crash is being investigated as a hit and run but declined to name a suspect as no one has been charged yet.

“The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been sought at this time” said Savage.

The Arlington location of Sweet Science Coffee in Lyon Village rang in the New Year with a new name, SIMONA Café, and more food and drink options.

Despite the new offerings, “the coffee program is still a really good program,” says owner Jad Bouchebel, who remains a partner in the business. Sweet Science continues to operate under the original brand in D.C.’s NoMA neighborhood.

The acclaimed Sweet Science Coffee opened the outpost at 2507 N. Franklin Road, near Courthouse, about two years ago, advertising some “all-day” offerings to differentiate the Arlington offshoot.

But Bouchebel says it took until last spring, with help from his associate Roberto “Tito” Peña, to get more lunch items on the menu and to put to use its ABC license for beer and wine. Last fall, the duo decided to rebrand, redecorate the coffee shop’s spartan interior and expand the menu and hours.

“We wanted to make it more of an all-day concept. That’s the reason we changed the name —  to separate from the D.C. location,” said Bouchebel, an Alexandria resident who named the cafe after his daughter. “We don’t want to confuse people. We offer totally different offerings.”

Bouchebel, still a partner at Sweet Science as well as Clarendon nightlife spot Wilson Hardware, says the cafe never really closed, but SIMONA Café had a soft opening in late December and its grand opening on Friday, Jan. 20.

Now, Peña says, the café’s interior gives people “a cool place to hang out in the afternoon,” and enjoy lunch and dinner options, charcuterie and cheese boards, beer, wine and weekend mimosas.

Like the coffee menu, Peña says the wine list is one that “people can delve into without much knowledge.”

The food menu, meanwhile, keeps the kitchen staff at SIMONA busy.

“We bake our own bread for our breakfast sandwiches,” Bouchebel said. “Everything we do in house: from salsa, to toppings, to bread and to our pastries — we bake them every morning here.”

Peña says the coffee comes from Rare Bird Coffee Roasters in Falls Church, and his baristas aim “to provide really nice coffee that’s approachable.”

“We can get nerdy if people want, but the goal is to meet customers where they’re coming in,” he said.

For Peña and Bouchebel, the expanded hours and menu pay homage to the coffee shop’s history. The space used to be home to Java Shack, a community hub at one point owned by Commonwealth Joe, which closed the location in 2019.

“We still get a lot of clients who’d been coming for 20 years,” Bouchebel said. “Java Shack was a staple — a neighborhood cafe — so instead of just offering half-day hours, we kept it going whole-day for people looking for [that experience].”

Peña says he remembers going to Java Shack in the ’90s as a high school student.

“It was my first favorite coffee shop,” he said. “It’s kind of cool: the original owner, Dale, is now a regular for us. I talk to him every week… We have some regulars who’ve been coming for 20 years.”

If you like the arts, 5Ks or family- and earth-friendly events, Arlington is the place to be this weekend.

Three separate events in the county will make it bit harder to get around by car.

The Arlington Festival of the Arts will take pace on Saturday and Sunday (April 23-24), shutting down several roads in the Clarendon area. The outdoor event offers art for display and sale over several blocks, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The Arlington County Police Department announced the following road closures for the event.

The following roads will be closed from approximately 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 23 through 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 24:

• N. Highland Street will be closed from Wilson Boulevard to 13th Street N. Local traffic will be allowed to access the public parking garage to 3033 Wilson Blvd.
• N. Hartford Street will be closed from N. Highland Street to 13th Street N. Local traffic will be able to access the parking garage for 1210 N. Highland Street.
• The alleyway between N. Herndon Street and N. Hartford Street will be closed at N. Hartford Street

Meanwhile, starting at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, the Bunny Hop 5k Race will close streets in the Ashton Heights and Lyon Park neighborhoods. The race kicks off at 8 a.m. and involves the following road closures, according to ACPD.

The following roadways will be closed in order to accommodate the event:

From approximately 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

• N. Irving Street, between 7th Street N. and 5th Street N.

From approximately 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

• N. Irving Street, between 2nd Road N. and 5th Street N.
• N. Pershing Drive, between N. Piedmont Street and N. Edgewood Street
• N. Fillmore Street, between 3rd Street N. and Pershing Drive
• N. Garfield Street, between Pershing Drive and 3rd Street N.
• 4th Street N., between N. Fillmore Street and N. Garfield Street
• 2nd Road N., between N. Irving Street and the Columbia Gardens Cemetery

A portion of the course winds through the Columbia Gardens Cemetery.  The Cemetery will be closed to vehicular traffic and have a delayed opening at 10:00 a.m.

Finally, on Sunday, the 2022 Earth Day Every Day Festival will be held off Langston Blvd in front of the Lee Heights Shops. The event will include various family activities, live music, sidewalk sales, food and drink specials, and its own art market.

“Let’s come together as a community to celebrate the beauty and promise of our local environment and the planet,” says the website for the Earth Day event. “Every year, communities worldwide uplift Earth Day to mark the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. It reminds us all to do what we can, in ways small and significant, restore, conserve and protect our environment.”

From ACPD:

The 2022 Earth Day Every Day Festival will take place on Sunday, April 24, 2022 and will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The following roadways will be closed from approximately 8:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. in order to accommodate the festival:

• Cherry Hill Road, between N. Woodstock Street and N. Woodrow Street
• Northbound N. Woodrow Street, between 20th Road N. and Cherry Hill Road will be restricted to local traffic only

Additional Information

Community members should expect to see an increased police presence in the area around these events, and motorists are urged to follow law enforcement direction, be mindful of closures, and remain alert for increased pedestrian traffic. Additional closures not mentioned above may be implemented at police discretion in the interest of public safety.

Residents of the affected neighborhood areas will be escorted through the road closures to minimize the impacts on the community, only when safe to do so. Motorists should be on the lookout for temporary “No parking” signs, as street parking in the area around these events will be limited. Illegally parked vehicles may be ticketed or towed. If your vehicle is towed from a public street, call the Emergency Communications Center at 703-558-2222.

A day after a carjacking was reported in the Buckingham neighborhood near Ballston, another was reported this morning in the Lyon Village area, north of Clarendon.

This time two — rather than three — suspects took a man’s car along Langston Blvd after he checked to see if the suspects, who were in an idling vehicle nearby, needed assistance. The carjacking happened around 5 a.m., around the same time of day as Wednesday’s carjacking.

From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

CARJACKING, 2022-04080027, 2600 block of Langston Boulevard. At approximately 5:15 a.m. on April 8, police were dispatched to the report of a grand larceny auto just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 5:00 a.m., the victim was inside his parked vehicle when he observed the suspect vehicle idling in the area. The victim exited his vehicle to see if the driver needed assistance, when the two unknown male suspects exited their vehicle, grabbed the victim and demanded money. The victim refused, during which the suspects rummaged through his pockets, stealing his keys. Suspect One returned to the suspect vehicle, while Suspect Two entered into the victim’s vehicle and both drove away from the area. No injuries were reported.

This is the third reported carjacking in Arlington so far this year. Eight carjackings were reported in 2021, after 16 the year before.

Map via Google Maps

The two nightlife venues replacing Whitlow’s on Wilson are gearing up to open over the next few months.

Taking over the long-time local watering hole, which closed in June after more than 25 years in Clarendon, are B Live and Coco B’s.

The two concepts, both to be located at at 2854 Wilson Blvd, are the latest ventures from Michael Bramson, who’s behind The Lot beer garden and the Clarendon Pop-Up Bar.

“We are thrilled to open B Live early spring, and Coco B’s late summer,” Bramson tells ARLnow. “We do not have anticipated opening dates yet, but construction and design are well underway for both concepts.”

Additional details will come soon, he said.

Building permits indicate B Live will occupy the first floor and possibly the basement of the space and Coco B’s will be the name of the old rooftop tiki bar at Whitlow’s. (The name Coco B’s could be a nod to the tiki bar theme, or to the noted local TikTok personality whose spats with two Arlington bars attracted considerable attention last summer.)

Bramson’s updates come after last Tuesday’s County Board approval of use permits for live entertainment and dancing at the two spots, as well as for a 48-seat outdoor café at B Live. The approvals came despite opposition from some neighbors over noise concerns.

The County Board approved the following operating hours: 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight on Sundays, which a county report says are similar to those of neighboring bars.

The Lyon Village Civic Association proposed earlier cut-off times of 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, the report said.

Board members instead approved a recommendation from county staff to review these permits this November and evaluate how successful the bars are at mitigating sounds.

Bramson says the spots will have sound panels and dampening curtains and speakers will be strategically placed to lessen noise levels.

“We are a neighborhood spot and want the community to be comfortable whether they are within the spaces or living nearby,” he said. “We hope our proactive response and action have served to allay any residential apprehension and show that we are taking their concerns very seriously.”

Noise from Whitlow’s was a source of consternation for neighbors that resulted in operating hours being curtailed from 2 a.m. to midnight, plus a requirement to install sound dampening panels and curtains, county planner Cedric Southerland told the County Board last Tuesday.

“That came after years and years trying to work with them to remedy their sound impacts on the neighborhood,” Southerland said. “Additionally, that issue is what preceded the formation of the Clarendon Live Entertainment Group (CLEG), along with other bars and restaurants coming online at that time.”

Established in 2002, the CLEG brings together county staff, restaurant owners and neighbors to address concerns and coordinate code enforcement. Southerland says recently, the CLEG has been meeting fewer times per year, which he takes to be a sign that the group is addressing the concerns that led to its creation two decades ago.

But not all neighbors say mechanisms like the CLEG actually help residents enjoy their homes. Julissa Marenco told the County Board on Tuesday that staff are not sufficiently enforcing noise violations and these organizations do not actually go to bat for neighbors.

“We are all in support of music, we are all in support of living in an urban dwelling, we understand the considerations that come with living in these neighborhoods,” she said. “But it’s now at a point on Wilson Blvd, in Clarendon, that it’s having a tremendous impact on individuals.”

Two eastbound lanes of Langston Blvd (Route 29) are blocked as a result of an extended, emergency water main repair in the Lyon Village area.

The work has been taking place just east of the intersection with N. Kirkwood Road/Spout Run Parkway since at least 8:30 p.m. last night. Inbound traffic on Langston Blvd experienced minor delays as a result of the lane closures during this morning’s rush hour.

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services said around 200 water customers are affected by the break in the 6-inch water main. Crews are now hoping to wrap up repairs by 3 p.m. today.

“Pipe and vault required extensive reconstruction at break point,” DES said in a tweet this morning.

Emergency Water Main Repairs: Crew working on 6-inch main at 3000 Langston Blvd. Some 200 customers could be affected. Estimated time for completion: 3/14/2022 9:00 PM. Traffic diverted around work site. Questions: 703-228-6555. https://t.co/i3mMGFOQ1z pic.twitter.com/6IGlVWIiIZ

— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) March 15, 2022

Update: Estimated time for completed repairs now 3pm at the latest. Pipe and vault required extensive reconstruction at break point. Two lanes on Langston Boulevard closed. #VaTraffic

— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) March 15, 2022

A Lyon Village homeowner’s attempt to deter dogs from peeing on his prized bushes has prompted a major controversy on the local Nextdoor social network.

A post about the plastic “spikes” placed between the bushes and the sidewalk prompted outrage, hundreds of comments and even — reportedly — calls to police, despite the fact that it turned out to be a commonly-used product.

Eric Wang says he first became aware of the Nextdoor post when he noticed an ARLnow photographer taking photos of the blunt, somewhat bendy spikes, “as well as a number of people passing by and checking out the mats through the day.”

“I figured something was up, so I looked on Nextdoor and it was at the top of my feed,” he said in an interview over email. “I had stopped using Nextdoor for several months because of toxic content like this.”

The initial post alleged that the spikes — actually a product sometimes called a “scat mat” that’s advertised as an “gentle [way] to scare or irritate animals without harming them” — were “sharp” and could “do some damage to [dog] paws.”

Quickly, dozens of people piled on in condemning the homeowner, who Wang later identified as himself.

Among the comments that followed: “What a nut,” “what a sicko,” “clearly DGAF about anyone besides himself,” “just horrible,” “pure evil,” “pretty sick behavior,” “sociopathic behavior,” “what an ass.”

Wang’s modern home near the intersection of Key Boulevard and N. Adams Street, in the affluent neighborhood north of Clarendon and Courthouse, is distinctive. It has also caught the attention of local residents due to the prickly-worded signs Wang previously posted about dogs peeing on his bushes.

“Dear dog owners: your dog’s piss is killing these shrubs!” said the sign, a photo of which was posted in the Nextdoor thread. “Each of these shrubs costs $300. If you’ve been allowing your dog to piss on these shrubs, please kindly remit compensation for the damage you have caused.”

“After my first set of signs was not well-received, I relented and created a second set of signs (which nobody on Nextdoor bothered to post, which shows an intent to shade the facts here),” Wang told us, recounting how he finally decided to buy the mats.

“The second set of signs was meant to be humorous, and included a graphic of a smiling urinating dog with a red circle and slash through it and the words, ‘Please, no pissing on the shrubs.’ Neither set of signs was particularly effective, and they also weren’t very weatherproof,” Wang wrote. “So I went online and did some research and purchased the scat mats based on the product reviews I read — many of which were posted by pet owners.”

On Nextdoor, numerous people — who post using their verified full name and neighborhood — fretted that children, seniors and those with disabilities could fall and injure themselves on the spikes. They called for the mats to be reported to the authorities, for Wang to be sued, and for other forms of retribution.

• “I called ACPD”
• “Needs to be reported and the owners put on notice”
• “The Animal Welfare League needs to pay this homeowner a visit”
• “[An animal control officer] said he’ll check it out and make contact with the homeowner to inform them that there are concerns within the community.”
• “If somebody sent pictures to this guy’s insurance company that might have faster results”
• “I reported it to Arlington County. If more people do so, we would have a better chance if them doing something about it!”
• “Has ‘sue me’ written all over it. Hope it happens!”
• “We could all pee in bottles for a week and pour the contents on their bushes”

At least two people posted that they called police and were told nothing could be done. An Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman said she could find no record of calls regarding the spikes.

“The reaction is completely unhinged,” said Wang, an Ivy League-educated lawyer. (The person who started the thread is also an attorney, according to his LinkedIn profile.)

“The over-the-top… online pile-on represents the modern-day dangers of the Internet mobocracy,” continued Wang. “The knee-jerk reactions show a complete intolerance for facts and hatred for rational thinking. While this is a relatively minor example compared with phenomena like January 6, COVID denial, and anti-vaxxers, it is part of the same social pathology.”

Shortly after Wang started posting comments defending himself — “I’m sorry, but my property is not a public bathroom for the neighborhood dogs,” he said in one — many were removed and Wang was suspended from Nextdoor for not being “respectful to your neighbors,” according to screenshots reviewed by ARLnow.

Other comments that defended him were also removed, though accusations that those residents were somehow in cahoots with Wang, or were Wang using a false identity, remained. (Wang denied that he knows one particularly vehement defender, who posted dozens of comments before disappearing.)

The number of comments on the post were about 300 earlier today, down from 350 yesterday.

The criticism of Wang extended to commentary about his custom-built home.

“That house is an eyesore,” wrote one person.

“House as ugly as sin,” wrote another

“That house is heinous… our eyes are offended,” said a third.

Read More

(Updated at 9:30 p.m.) The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado caused the widespread damage seen in several North Arlington neighborhoods today.

The tornado struck around 9 p.m. Thursday night, touching down near the intersection of Lee Highway and N. Glebe Road. It was rated as an EF1 — the second-lowest on the Enhanced Fujita scale — and cut a 125 yard-wide path of damage as it made its way east through several neighborhoods, before moving into D.C. Maximum winds were estimated at 90 mph.

The twister’s 4.4 mile path ended on the National Mall, between the Washington Monument and the White House. A second tornado, rated EF0, struck near H Street NE in the District, according to forecasters.

In Arlington last night, the tornado uprooted trees, tore siding and shingles off houses, and turned trampolines and branches into projectiles.

Residents tell ARLnow they had just seconds from when their phones started blaring the Tornado Warning, shortly before 9 p.m., and when the rotating storm struck and caused havoc.

Much of the reported damage happened along the well-defined, roughly west-to-east line from the City of Falls Church and through Tara-Leeway Heights, Waverly Hills, Cherrydale and Lyon Village, before crossing the Potomac into D.C. along the National Mall.

Waverly Hills and Cherrydale suffered the worst of the storm’s fury, starting around Woodstock Park and moving along an easterly route just south of Lee Highway. The extent of the damage was evident this morning after the sun came up and chainsaws started buzzing over a large stretch of the neighborhoods.

At Woodstock Park this morning, children were playing despite the tree carnage that littered the park with fallen trees, branches and leaves. Jill Rabach was out surveying the damage to her house, just south of the park. An oak tree was leaning on her home’s roof and her next door neighbor’s fence was crushed by multiple falling trees.

“We heard the Tornado Warning and went to the basement,” Rabach recounted. “About 15 minutes later when all the noise died down we came upstairs and saw a little bit of damage not much. Power was out. By morning it was clear there was much more damage. All the houses on the street lost significant trees.”

“We’ve lived here for 15 years and there haven’t been many storms that blow that hard, that fast,” she added.

The damage continued along 20th Road N., east of the park, with tree crews hard at work clearing branches. Turning right onto N. Utah Street, the road was still blocked by a large fallen tree at 19th Road N.

Heading back up the street, more signs of a violent storm: Multiple downed trees damaged roofs, broke windows and crushed fences; siding from an unknown house lay next to a sidewalk; trash cans were lifted up and blown into neighboring yards. And stuck in a tree near the road was an unusual sight — a large trampoline.

A family in the area said their storm door swung upon so violently it became lodged into and damaged a railing.

“We got the Tornado Warning and within 30 seconds, our front door burst open. And the whole house shook and rattled,” said René Madigan. “Like it all had to have all happened at once. It pulled down all of our power lines… the house next door, it blew their door wide open, too. They have a lot more damage to their home than we have. We were blessed.”

Madigan recounted the sound of the storm as it struck the normally quiet residential neighborhood.

“I heard a horrible sound. Like it was a really horrible sound. And then the whole house just was doing this,” she said, shaking her arms. “And it just happened so fast.”

“Tornado! Get in!” Madigan recalled shouting as the family took cover.

“I heard it and I was in the basement,” Madigan’s husband said of the noise. “First I thought like a big china cabinet fell down. It sounded like… a really loud explosion.”

One street over, and also to the east, residents were out cleaning up. One house had a blue tarp on the roof, but a neighbor said nothing fell on it — shingles were ripped off at the height of the storm.

Over on N. Stafford Street, Jeff Jackson was picking up tree branches across the street from St. Agnes Catholic School in Cherrydale. The Arlington native now lives in Portland, Oregon, but is home taking care of his mother. He was at a friend’s house nearby as the storm approached.

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A man was stabbed early Saturday morning in the Lyon Village neighborhood near Clarendon.

Police were called to the 3100 block of Key Blvd, a quiet residential area about 3-4 blocks from the Clarendon nightlife spots along Wilson Blvd, around 1:30 a.m.

“Upon arrival, officers located the male victim suffering from stab wounds and immediately rendered first aid until the arrival of medics,” an Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman said. “He was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.”

A neighborhood witness tells ARLnow the group had recently left a local bar.

“There were two men and two women involved at the intersection of Key and Hartford,” the witness said. “One woman was screaming hysterically that her boyfriend was dying and the police arrested one of the guys.”

Police say the stabbing started as a dispute between two men who knew each other.

“The investigation determined that the victim and known suspect became involved in a verbal dispute which escalated into a physical altercation, during which the suspect allegedly produced a knife and stabbed the victim,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “The suspect remained on scene and was taken into custody without incident by responding officers.”

A 25-year-old Herndon resident, Michael Hill, was arrested and held without bond, Savage said. He has been charged with Aggravated Malicious Wounding and Drunk in Public.

File photo