A driver made a daring and successful — though some might say ill-advised — escape from armed carjackers early this morning.
The incident happened just before 2 a.m. on the 3400 block of Potomac Avenue, in the Crystal City area near Potomac Yard.
“The victim was inside his parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle pulled behind him and approximately three male suspects exited, brandished firearms and demanded the keys to the victim’s vehicle,” Arlington County police said in today’s daily crime report.
“The victim drove away and the suspects reentered their vehicle and briefly followed,” the crime report continues. “The victim was then able to return to the scene and speak to police. No injuries were reported.”
The suspect vehicle, described as a silver SUV, drove off and police were unable to locate it, despite searching the area.
“The investigation is ongoing,” ACPD said.
This is at least the third carjacking attempt in the Crystal City area over the past week, after groups of suspects carjacked BMWs this past weekend and earlier this week.
Update at 3:40 p.m. — Lanes have reopened after the tanker was brought upright and towed away, according to VDOT.
Update at 3 p.m. — The southbound lanes of the highway are expected to remain closed until around 4 p.m., according to VDOT.
Update Fairlington/Shirlington: 395SB still closed at Shirlington Circle. Est reopening: 4PM. Towing making great progress (as always!). Pls avoid area. https://t.co/6JNnKyZI3upic.twitter.com/7InbxIBci5
Earlier: Three people are being hospitalized and southbound I-395 is blocked after a truck crash.
A propane tanker and another vehicle crashed near Shirlington Circle around 1:15 p.m., leading the tanker to overturn prompting a large emergency and hazmat response. Firefighters are on scene, hosing down the truck to try to prevent a fire.
According to initial reports, three people are being transported to the hospital after the crash and crews are working to vent at least some of the pressure from the damaged tanker to reduce the risk an explosion.
The highway “will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time,” according to the Arlington County Fire Department. Southbound traffic is currently being re-routed into Shirlington.
Update: 3 patients have been transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. HAZMAT crews working with law enforcement and the tow company to upright the truck. All units are remaining on scene.
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) July 26, 2023
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A cutout of Margot Robbie as Barbie in Alamo Drafthouse (courtesy of Megan Hia)
A cutout of Margot Robbie as Barbie in Alamo Drafthouse (courtesy of Megan Hia)
Alamo Drafthouse Crystal City (courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse Crystal City)
The Alamo Drafthouse in Crystal City will partner with Omnium Circus to bring alive the musical, “The Greatest Showman.”
Looking to enjoy “Barbie” while reliving those childhood slumber parties with your best friends? Alamo Drafthouse has you covered.
This Friday and Saturday, movie-goers can get dressed up in their pajamas and bring their pillows to the Crystal City location of the theater for late-night screenings of the blockbuster film. There will be Barbie-themed concessions, merchandise and photo ops.
“With this ‘Barbie’ movie, because we’re trying to appeal to girls and women of all ages, we really want to bring back that kind of fun and nostalgia that we have from when we were kids, having sleepovers with our best friends,” said Megan Hia, the marketing and events manager for the D.C.-area locations of Alamo Drafthouse.
Hia says the “Barbie” slumber parties will be “rowdy showings,” with relaxed talking rules that allow for guests to express their feelings about the film and chat with friends. As a bonus, there should be air conditioning.
Barbie-themed booze will also be flowing. Alamo will have a kölsch called “The Babe” on tap from local brewpub Nighthawk Brewery as well as two specialty drinks: “Dream Summer ’80” and the “Dream Summer ’59.”
For Alamo Drafthouse, the event is one way Alamo is keeping the excitement for “Barbie” alive. The film had a massive $162 million opening weekend at the box office — making it the most successful first weekend of any film this year.
Hia says attendance rates for this movie in Arlington and D.C. are already on-par with well-attended movies pre-pandemic. She observed many moviegoers come in pink outfits and pose for photos outside the theaters.
“There’s so much excitement around it and you can really, really see that,” Hia said. “To have people come in costume and dress up — and dress up in pink for the ‘Barbie’ movie — that’s all about building that experience and celebrating the movies that are coming, and that’s really what the Alamo is all about.”
Tickets for the slumber party screening of “Barbie” at the Crystal City location, at 1660 Crystal Drive, are available on the theater’s website. There are still several tickets available for Friday night at $21 and a few for Saturday at $14.
Westmont Apartments (photo courtesy of Matt Hagan)
The long-awaited Westmont Apartments on Columbia Pike is now open and ready for move-ins, with a pair of restaurants setting up on the ground floor.
Developer Republic Properties Corporation announced last week that the 258,000-square-foot mixed-use building at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. Glebe Road had opened its doors. The project was first approved about four years ago.
The new construction sits on the former site of the Westmont Shopping Center, which was demolished in late 2021. Apartments are “now available for lease with immediate move-ins available,” reads the press release, with monthly rental rates starting at $2,345.
Westmont is also set to have six ground-floor retail tenants in addition to 250 apartments, a spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow. That includes a now-national burger franchise returning to where it started.
ARLnow reported back in March that Five Guys Burgers & Fries was set to return to near the site of its original location. Five Guys opened its first very small location at the Westmont Shopping Center in 1986. Close to four decades later, there are more than 1,700 restaurants doing close to three billion in sales across the world.
The new Five Guys on Columbia Pike will take up about 2,400 square feet and will be located near the Glebe Road intersection. An opening date for the burger spot has not been finalized yet, per a Republic Properties spokesperson.
While the spokesperson declined to provide any other information about the other five tenants, a recent leasing brochure obtained by ARLnow provides clues to at least two other businesses moving in.
An Allcare urgent care clinic appears to be coming to the S. Glebe Road side of the development. This would be the fourth Allcare clinic in Arlington, with the latest opening in Rosslyn earlier this year.
And two doors down from Five Guys on the Columbia Pike, it appears that a Jersey Mike’s Subs will be opening in a small 1,141-square-foot space. This would be the sub shop’s first location in Arlington.
There remains a 2,164 square foot space, 1,756 square foot space, and a much larger 10,630 square foot space, per the leasing brochure.
A smaller-format grocery store was initially supposed to fill one of those spaces, but it’s currently unclear where that stands.
