Five people were arrested after an armed robbery outside the Harris Teeter store in Pentagon City.
The robbery happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday, in a parking lot near the grocery store. Five people, including at least one who was armed with a handgun, assaulted and stole cash from victims with whom they had arranged a sale of sneakers, according to police.
A man armed with a pair of knives threatened officers outside Arlington police headquarters Wednesday evening, police said.
The incident happened just before 5 p.m., outside the entrance to the police department on 14th Street N. in Courthouse.
Update on 8/26/21 — The man has been found, police say.
Earlier: An elderly Arlington man is missing and Virginia State Police have issued a statewide alert to try to find him.
Delayed Reopening for N. Glebe Road — From VDOT: “Update: Due to last week’s inclement weather, the new reopening date for Glebe Road is Monday, Aug. 30 at 5 a.m.” [Twitter]
Arlington Paralympian Competing in Tokyo — “Sydney Barta of Arlington is competing in four track and field events this week and next at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Barta, a 17-year-old student at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., will be competing in the 100-meter, 200-meter, discus throw, and shot put throw.” [Patch]
A driver in a car that was reported stolen tried to flee a traffic stop, and promptly crashed near Ballston, blocking a busy road.
The incident happened around 10 a.m. at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and N. Carlin Springs Road.
APS Getting EV Buses — “Arlington Public Schools (APS), working collaboratively with the County’s Department of Environmental Services (DES), will receive a $795,000 grant from the state, to be spent on three fully electric buses (EV buses) that will replace three with diesel engines. The EV vehicles, each with a capacity of some 65 passengers, will be equitably assigned to routes throughout Arlington. Currently there are no EV buses in the APS fleet of 200. The vehicles slated for replacement each travel some 8,000 miles a year.” [Arlington County, Gov. Ralph Northam]
No PARK(ing) Day This Year — “PARK(ing) Day is an annual international event where the public collaborates to temporarily transform drab parking spaces into small parks… Due to continuing COVID-19 issues, Arlington County will not participate in 2021 PARK(ing) Day. We hope to welcome participants back in 2022.” [Arlington County, Twitter]
(Updated 11:40 a.m.) Last October, 46-year-old D.C. resident Darryl Becton died in his cell at the Arlington County Detention Facility in Courthouse.
The county is still looking into the circumstances around his death, but the Arlington County Police Department tells ARLnow the investigation could soon be concluded.
Some Automatic Ped Signals Ending — “The County will be rolling back automatic pedestrian phase activations at several signalized intersections across Arlington. This measure was enacted in 2020 in response to low traffic volumes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to minimize the need to press push buttons to trigger the pedestrian phase at a signal. This initiative was accompanied by ‘Do Not Push’ signage posted at various intersections.” [Arlington County, Twitter]
Mostly Back to Usual for School Buses — “APS will operate with normal bus capacity and follow normal procedures. Properly fitted masks are required for everyone on school buses and inside schools. There will be no temperature checks or verification of health screening completion upon arrival at the bus or school. Families will continue to receive the daily Qualtrics Symptom Screener as a reminder to complete health screening with their children prior to arrival at the bus, and to check temperatures daily. Please keep students home if they are sick.” [Arlington Public Schools]
(Updated at 6:15 p.m.) Police and firefighters are on scene of an overturned vehicle in Pentagon City, near the Costco and the Amazon HQ2 construction site.
The crash happened around 3:45 p.m. at the intersection of 15th Street S. and S. Elm Street. Photos from the scene show only a single vehicle: a black SUV resting on its side, with its windshield smashed. Bystanders could be seen standing around it, before police arrived.
Arlington’s Biggest House Numbers? — “In the early days of the pandemic, I went on a quixotic quest to walk every one of the 1,114 blocks in my Arlington, Virginia, ZIP code, cataloging the styles of the address numbers on every house along the way… I have kept an eye on the house numbers in Arlington ever since, and imagine my joy this spring when suddenly, on a street I biked down every week, a new set of enormous house numbers appeared.” [Slate, Twitter]
Stepped Up DUI Patrols Begin Today — “This Labor Day, the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is participating in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over impaired driving awareness campaign, which runs from August 18th through September 6th, 2021. This campaign aims to drastically reduce drunk driving on our nation’s roadways through a two-pronged approach of education and enforcement.” [ACPD]
Airbags were stolen from a number of vehicles in several Arlington neighborhoods overnight Friday.
The thefts were reported in the Buckingham, Bluemont and Westover neighborhoods. In all, seven vehicles were “forcibly entered into and had their air bags stolen,” according to the Arlington County Police Department.
Opening Date Set for Aquatics Center — The new Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center will open on Monday, Aug. 23, the Arlington Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced yesterday. [Twitter]
Local Org Resettling Afghan Refugees — “Besides Lutheran Social Services, the [Arlington-based] Ethiopian Community Development Council, the International Rescue Committee, and Catholic Charities do a lot of work to resettle Afghan [Special Immigrant Visa] holders in this area. Christy McCaw of African Community Center DC Metro, the ECDC’s resettlement branch, says her organization needs leads on apartments that will rent to newcomers without proof of income.” [Washingtonian]
