(Updated at 8:40 p.m.) Gunston Middle School was locked down this afternoon due to a threat.

Arlington County police said the discovery of a “written threat” prompted the lockdown and investigation. The exact nature of the threat was not given.

The school at 2700 S. Lang Street had a “controlled dismissal,” assisted by police, according to ACPD.

The department issued the following press release about the incident Friday evening.

The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a written threat at Gunston Middle School, located at 2700 S. Lang Street.

At approximately 1:07 p.m. on March 10, police were dispatched to the report of a threat after school administration located a message written inside a restroom stall referencing gun violence. Prior to police arrival, the school was placed on lockdown. The investigation did not reveal an active threat to the safety of students or staff. Police assisted with a controlled dismissal of students and the lockdown was lifted. No injuries were reported during the incident.

This remains an active investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Tip Line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected] Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

POLICE ACTIVITY: ACPD is investigating a written threat located at Gunston Middle School. No injuries have been reported. Police remain on scene investigating. https://t.co/6q15T6Fdjm

— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) March 10, 2023

UPDATE: Police are assisting with a controlled dismissal of Gunston Middle School. Parents should refer to @APSVirginia email for additional information regarding dismissal.

— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) March 10, 2023

(Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 3/2/23) The man who tried to force his way into a locked-down middle school last June won’t be charged — but this clemency comes with conditions.

Alexander Sentayhu, who was charged with property destruction after he unsuccessfully tried to breach Thomas Jefferson Middle School, was given a deferred disposition rather than a sentence. That means he has a series of conditions to meet in order to have the charge dismissed.

Believing there was an active school shooter inside, he called 911 and indicated he was armed and trying to get inside to pick up his relatives, Arlington County Police Department said at the time. Sentayhu kicked the glass door, breaking it, and tried unsuccessfully to open it. He left before police arrived.

The building had been secured and locked to the outside due to a robbery at a 7-Eleven store nearby, but anxieties about school violence were heightened around this time following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Sentayhu turned himself in, was charged with Destruction of Property and released on bond while the General District Court reviewed his case. He was 25 at the time of his arrest.

The outcome of Sentayhu’s case is known as a “deferred disposition,” and it is an authority is granted to the court in Virginia code, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti.

“He was required to fulfill conditions such as restitution and treatment, designed to ensure accountability and rehabilitation,” Dehghani-Tafti tells ARLnow.

The court reviewed his progress toward meeting these conditions during his appearance on Feb. 16 of this year.

“He successfully met those conditions and the resolution was supported by the parties involved,” she said.

Dehghani-Tafti did not elaborate as to what those conditions were.

Like probation, deferred dispositions usually come with conditions, according to an explainer by the Virginia State Crime Commission.

“In general, deferred disposition permits a court to withhold imposition of a sentence and place conditions on the defendant that, when met, allow for the charges to be dismissed,” it says. “Upon the satisfactory completion of all conditions, and if no other criminal offenses are committed during the period of deferment, the original charge may be dismissed.”

Sentayhu was previously in the news in early 2020, after he incurred steep medical costs while suffering a significant heart issue, and later after speaking at a White House press conference with Vice President Kamala Harris about the issue of medical debt.

Last week someone using an email account under Sentayhu’s name emailed ARLnow demanding that we “DELTE OR PERMANENT DELETE this FALSELY reported article ASASP,” in apparent reference to the report about his arrest. The email included a court record showing that the charge against him had been dropped.

They did not respond to emailed questions asking for his side of the story.

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) Washington-Liberty High School was on lockdown this morning after the school received a call stating that a shooter was inside the building.

ARLnow received more than a dozen tips, some from parents of students, about the incident at 1301 N. Stafford Street. School staff say students have been moved to a safe location; ARLnow hears that several dozen students sheltered in place inside the school.

“We received an anonymous call this morning during arrivals claiming that there was a shooter in the building,” W-L Principal Tony Hall said in a message to staff and families. “While there is no evidence of an immediate threat, we immediately locked the building down and notified the Arlington County Police Department.”

“All students are in a secure location,” Hall added. “Students arriving have been temporarily moved to a safe location offsite while the ACPD conduct their investigation.”

SWAT teams searched the building while other officers directed traffic, including numerous school buses left without a place to go.

“Just prior to 8 a.m., police received the report of a possible active shooter at Washington and Liberty High School,” said police department Ashley Savage. “Arlington Public Schools placed the school on lockdown. Responding officers have not located evidence of a shooting nor any victims. Police are conducting a search of the building.”

Just before 10 a.m., Arlington County police said the “all clear” has been given and that there is “no apparent ongoing threat.”

Roads around the school were closed and sidewalks were full of students after the lockdown. Police asked groups of students milling about near the school to disperse. Students exiting the school were reunited with their parents.

Many students were evacuated to the Buck site across N. Quincy Street from the school and then to a nearby park. A student described confusion among students during the evacuation, though in a video shared with ARLnow students appeared to remain calm.

“There was just one teacher and one substitute handling a crowd of ~1,000 students as we marched to the park,” said Aaron, a W-L student. “After that, students began to disperse, walking/running to the subway, the library, the baseball field, etc. Some students began crying, others were scared, some were glad they could skip school.”

Around 10:15 a.m., Arlington Public Schools announced that school at W-L has been cancelled today:

Police are still investigating the anonymous report of a shooter inside the school this morning. There has been no evidence of an immediate threat. As a safety precaution, W-L is cancelling school for today, October 6. Walkers have been dismissed. Students who drove their cars cannot access their vehicles until the investigation is complete. Bus riders are being picked up and taken home now. Anyone who is a car rider or who needs to be picked up will be taken to Dorothy Hamm Middle School where parents can pick them up beginning at 10:30 a.m. W-L students at the Career Center will be dropped off at their bus stops. An update will be shared with the community when the investigation is complete, and we will provide the status for tomorrow.

Asked about a possible link between the “shooter” phone call and a subsequent shooting at a high school in Arlington, Texas, which injured at least four people, Savage said there’s no evidence of a connection thus far.

“The preliminary investigation has not revealed a link to any other cases, however, this remains an open and active investigation,” Savage told ARLnow.

In a letter to students and parents Wednesday afternoon, Hall said the school will “open on time and resume our normal schedule tomorrow, Oct. 7.”

“There will be additional police presence at school tomorrow,” the principal added.

Three men are in custody after an armed robbery, assault and handgun brandishing on the Custis Trail, according to Arlington County Police.

A jogger was robbed by the men around 12:30 p.m. on the trail near the Glebe Road bridge over I-66, according to ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The victim struggled and was struck in the head — possibly with a pistol.

The men took a GPS watch and sunglasses and fled down the trail, Sternbeck said. A short time later, another trail user told police that one of the men pointed a silver handgun in his direction when he passed by.

Police notified Arlington Public Schools of the robbery and three nearby schools — Washington-Lee High School, Arlington Traditional School and Glebe Elementary — were placed in a secured state. Based on that initial notification from ACPD, an email alert sent to parents erroneously reported a shooting.

This afternoon, the Arlington County Police notified us of a robbery of a jogger that occurred on a nearby bike path. The report we received said that the incident also involved a shooting. As a precaution, we have secured the school building and all students are being kept inside.

Three men were apprehended outside the Ballston Metro station around 1:30 p.m., Sternbeck said. A handgun was recovered. The men are now being questioned by police.

“It was great police work… getting these individuals off the street,” Sternbeck said.

The robbery victim is currently being evaluated for injuries at Virginia Hospital Center.