guns

Afternoon Notes: County To Spend Millions on Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Arlington to Spend $90 Million To Improve Crystal City — Arlington County will spend about $90 million improving roads and parks in Crystal City in the wake of the 13,000 jobs set to leave the area by September 2011 as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plan. A long-range economic development plan for Crystal City is expected to be approved this summer. More from the Washington Examiner.

Man With Gun Tried to Visit Fictitious Admiral At Pentagon — From WTOP we learn that on April 9, a month after the  shooting outside the Pentagon Metro station, a man approached a screening area at the Pentagon and told security he was visiting an admiral — an admiral whose name was made up. Pentagon police later searched the man’s car and found a loaded 9-millimeter pistol. More from WTOP.

Real Estate Prices Rise in Arlington — The sales price of real estate in Arlington rose three percent in April compared to a year prior, according to Arlington Real Estate News. Foreclosures rose region-wide in April, but fell 4.6 percent in Arlington, according to data from RealtyTrac.

Media, Gun Rights Advocates Converge on Gravelly Point

By ARLnow.com

Around noon today at Gravelly Point, there they were, together at last: about 65 flag-waving, sign-holding and gun-toting Second Amendment advocates, swarmed by a slightly larger crowd of photo-snapping and microphone-wielding members of the media.

Off to the side, under the shade of some tall trees, about two dozen police officers looked on. Further in the distance, CNN’s John King chatted up a young man wearing nylon cargo pants, a florescent vest and a large rifle.

Nearly all the rally participants had rifles or handguns, and a solid minority had both.

From the bed of a pickup truck, in the middle of the park’s large grass field, people started giving speeches.

“I want to thank the media for coming out, as much as I dislike the media,” said Tom Fernandez, co-founder of a group called Alarm & Muster.

Two counter-protesters held handmade signs criticizing the timing of the rally — on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Fernandez thanked them for exercising their First Amendment rights.

Further into the program, another speaker compared the government’s bailout of banks to the hijacking of United Flight 93.

“Does our government not act like suicidal hijackers?” he asked, later shouting the newly-minted term “commie-kazies” as a commercial jetliner roared overhead (it was, at best, a poorly thought-out venue for speeches).

As the speeches continued, reporters conducted one-on-one interviews. Pointed questions were asked.

“What constitutional rights do you think are being violated?”

“What do you think about President Obama?”

“What kind of gun is that?”

Amid the media circus, joggers and bicyclists continued on with their daily routines, some shooting quizzical looks at the gathered crowd.

“I think it’s another Tea Party,” one bicyclist said to another.

Lot of photos, after the jump.

(more…)

Falls Church PD Investigating Suspicious Death

By ARLnow.com

Falls Church police are investigating a “suspicious death” in the back parking lot of a shopping center.

A Latino man was found with an apparent gunshot wound to the head around 11:15 last night, after police received several calls from people who heard gunfire. The body was discovered in the parking lot of the shopping plaza between East Fairfax Street and Hillwood Avenue. A gun was found near the body, police said.

Arlington Fire Department personnel assisted at the crime scene.

Shots Fired, Then a Mother’s Grief

By ARLnow.com

Update on 3/25/10 — Police say they’re investigating the possibility that the suspect killed a woman in Fairfax County prior to committing suicide.

Update at 9:00 p.m. — This article is presented as first published. Police now say the man shot himself as soon as officers arrived on the scene.

“He just told me my baby is dead!” the mother wailed out, as neighbors watched from across the parking lot. A detective just broke the news that her son had been shot and was lying dead on a sidewalk. Another detective allowed a family member he was questioning go console her.

Neighbors in the garden apartment community, located off of South Quincy Street near Columbia Pike, mostly stood quietly and observed. Some talked in groups. Others were crying.

A rare incident had occurred less than an hour before this moment. Shots had rang out in Arlington. At this point we don’t know who fired the shots (or shot); that will come later in a police statement or press conference.

What we do know is that police received a call for a man with a gun around 4:00 this afternoon, near South Quincy and 12th Street South. A radio transmission said he might have been threatening to kill someone. Minutes later: “Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!” Seconds later, the word that the suspect had been shot in the head and was dead.

The scene was secure, an officer said.

Crime Report: Stabbing and Armed Robbery

By ARLnow.com

A man was stabbed and a gas station was held up over the weekend in Arlington, according to this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report. An arrest was made in the stabbing, but the armed robbery suspect is still at large.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING-ARREST 03/06/10, 4300 block of N. Henderson Road. On March 6 at 2 am, one man stabbed another man on the arm inside their apartment. Police apprehended the suspect. Roderico Sanchez-Mendez, 22, of Arlington, was charged with Malicious Wounding. He was held without bond.

ROBBERY 03/07/10, 5600 block of Lee Highway. On March 7 at 11 pm, an unknown man entered a gas station displaying a handgun. He demanded money and received it before fleeing the store. The suspect was an African American male in his mid-20’s, 5’8″ to 5″10″ and 190 lbs. He was wearing all black clothing and was unshaven.

Also included in this week’s report is the series of indecent exposure incidents on the W&OD trail that we’ve been reporting.

The rest of the report, after the jump.

(more…)