bomb threat

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Bomb Threat on DCA Flight — There were some tense moments at Reagan National Airport yesterday after a flight from Dayton, Ohio was sequestered and searched for explosives. Nothing was found, however. An individual who made a bomb threat at the Dayton airport ticket counter was taken into custody, the FBI said. [Bloomberg]

New Principals Named — Arlington Public Schools have named two new principals. Kenwyn Schaffner has been named the principal of Jamestown Elementary School and Bridget Loft has been named the principal of Swanson Middle School. “Ms. Loft was greeted by cheers and a standing ovation when she was introduced to the Swanson staff after the announcement of appointment,” an insider tells us. [Arlington Public Schools]

Rousselot Endorses Areizaga-Soto — Former Arlington County Democratic Committee Chair Peter Rousselot has endorsed Jaime Areizaga-Soto in his primary battle against Arlington County Board member Barbara Favola for state Senate. [JaimeForSenate.com]

ART Drivers File Human Rights Complaint — Striking Arlington Transit bus drivers have filed a complaint with the Arlington Human Rights Commission, claiming “ongoing sexual harassment from county contractor Forsythe Transportation.” [Washington Examiner]

Jogging With Grassley — Part-time Arlington resident Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) recently went jogging through his neighborhood with 15 young constituents who were in town for the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. [ECT.coop]

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

Bomb Threat at Wakefield High School

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:55 p.m.) The all-clear has been given after a bomb threat at Wakefield High School.

The school was evacuated after the threat was called in to 911 at 10:45 a.m., from a pay phone within the school, according to police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. The school One class was in the midst of Advanced Placement testing at the time.

Police dogs from five different law enforcement agencies — including Arlington, Pentagon, Fort Myer, Virginia State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service — conducted a sweep of the building. Students and teachers gathered at the school’s football field after the evacuation and are now heading back to class.

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Police Investigate Bomb Threat at WJLA Building

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) Police investigated a bomb threat at the WJLA (ABC 7) building (1100 Wilson Blvd) in Rosslyn this afternoon.

Initial reports suggest the threat was non-specific. Pedestrian traffic was still allowed in and out of the building as normal as police and building employees searched in and around the building. A police dog could be seen sniffing around news vans at the station’s parking lot.

Police are in the process of clearing the scene. No threats were found, according to Arlington police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Gears Up for Pothole Repairs — Arlington County and VDOT are preparing for a big spring pothole push. Crews have been out 5-6 days per week filling potholes, but as things warm up they may be able to start making more permanent repairs. You can report a pothole over the phone at 703-228-6570. [Sun Gazette]

Man Who Threatened Metro Sentenced — The Arlington View man accused of threatening to blow up Metro trains and Georgetown sidewalks has been sentenced. Awais Younis, 25, pleaded guilty in federal court to sending threatening communications. Younis, who said he never actually intended to carry out the threats, was sentenced to time served, a two-year supervised release, anger management courses and mental health counseling. [WTOP]

Rosslyn Blasting Starting Soon — The Rosslyn Metro entrance project has hit bedrock and will soon start blasting. The blasting will take place nightly between 1:00 and 5:00 a.m. for several months. Arlington County says the contractor is taking steps to minimize noise and vibration from the blasting. [TBD]

Crystal City Office Building to Be Renovated — An old 1960s-era office building at 1411 Jefferson Davis Highway will be renovated into “prime Class A office space” after BRAC forces its current tenant, the National Guard, to move out at the end of the year. [Washington Business Journal]

Englin Will Seek Re-Election — Del. David Englin, whose district includes part of South Arlington, says will not be seeking higher office this year. Instead, Englin announced yesterday that he will be running for re-election.

Flickr pool photo by Rukasu1

Sidewalks Shut Down in Ballston Due to Bomb Threat

By ARLnow.com

Update at 2:30 p.m. — The ‘all clear’ has been given. Streets and sidewalks are being reopened.

Police have shut down sidewalks in the area of Wilson Boulevard and North Quincy Street in Ballston due to a bomb threat at Everest College (801 N Quincy St).

The building has been evacuated and will be searched by police.

North Quincy Street has been closed between Wilson Boulevard and 9th Street. Traffic on Wilson Boulevard is unaffected.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County No Longer Offering iParks — The company that makes the iPark electronic parking pass has stopped manufacturing the device due to financial problems. That has prompted Arlington County to stop selling iParks, pending the company’s effort to stay in business. More from TBD.

O’Leary, Morroy Announce Reelection Bid — Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary and Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy, both Democrats, announced their bids for reelection at last night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. See the video from Blue Virginia.

Arlington Man Indicted for Bomb Threats — The 25-year-old Arlington View resident who, according to the FBI, threatened to bomb Georgetown streets and Metro trains on Facebook has been indicted by a federal grand jury. More from WTOP.

Learn More About Redistricting in Virginia — The League of Women Voters of Arlington will be holding a public forum tonight on the upcoming redistricting process in Virginia. The forum will take place from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association building, located at 4301 Wilson Boulevard in Ballston. Free parking is available in the building after 5:30.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Petition Workers Indicted for Voter Fraud — Two individuals who worked on the unsuccessful effort to change Arlington’s form of government have been indicted for election fraud. William Cockerham and Cheryl Simmons are expected to have their trial dates set this morning. Earlier this year we exposed Simmons as a paroled felon, ineligible to collect the 2,214  petition signatures she claimed to have collected. More from the Washington Post.

ART Bus Lives Up to Its Name — Arlington’s transit agency has deemed its “Art on the ART Bus” experiment a success. The program placed artwork on an ART bus in connection with a new exhibit at the Arlington Arts Center. The arty bus launched on Dec. 11 and will continue rotating throughout the ART system for the next couple of months. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.

Court Appearance for Facebook Bomb Threats Suspect — The Arlington man who threatened via Facebook to place bombs in Georgetown and on Metro trains has been denied bail. Awais Younis, who lives in the Arlington View neighborhood, appeared in U.S. District Court yesterday. A judge ordered the 25-year-old held without bond, saying his arrest provides additional incentive for Younis to carry out his threats. More from WTOP.

Flickr pool photo by Plaszloc

Is This the House of a Terrorist?

By ARLnow.com

This is the house on 11th Street South in the Arlington View neighborhood where alleged “wannabe jihadist” Awais Younis lived with family members.

Younis, also known as Sundullah Ghizai and Mohhanme Khan, was arrested by the FBI last week and charged with threatening — via Facebook — to set off pipe bombs in Georgetown and on Metro trains.

Younis, graduated from Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School in 2004. A high school classmate and neighbor said the Afghanistan native was “real quiet.”

“He stayed to himself, kind of like an outsider,” LaRondre Gaskins told WUSA 9. “No friends but certain things that happened he was real weird about, like when 9-11 happened… he clapped about it in class.”

A family member, meanwhile, called the charges “bullsh-t.”

Younis, who is in his mid-20s, will undergo a court-ordered mental health evaluation. A court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 21.

All was quiet at Younis’ house this morning. There was little activity on the street, save an elderly woman taking items out of her SUV.

On the porch in front of the red brick home, Encyclopedia Britannicas were stacked haphazardly in a potato chip box. Down the side of the house, an Afghan rug was folded next to a Dell computer box, apparently waiting to be taken away as trash.

Arlington Man Accused of Making Metro Bomb Threats

By ARLnow.com

The FBI’s terrorism task force has arrested a 25-year-old Arlington man on suspicion of making bomb threats via Facebook.

Awais Younis was taken into custody on Dec. 7. In court documents, he’s accused of threatening to use pipe bombs to blow up a busy section of Georgetown. He’s also accused of threatening to place bombs on Metro trains.

More from TBD, Fox 5 and the Washington Post.

Pentagon City Metro Station Closes Due to Bomb Threat

By ARLnow.com

A phoned-in bomb threat and a suspicious package shut down the busy Pentagon City Metro station for more than two hours Saturday evening. It happened during a period of heavy ridership, as tourists were returning to their hotels from the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The Yellow and the Blue lines were effectively split in two during the incident, which began at 5:32 p.m. Shuttle buses were brought in to take passengers from between the Crystal City, Pentagon City and Pentagon stations during the closure. The Pentagon City station reopened at 7:40 p.m., after police swept the station and the package was deemed not harmful, Metro said.