Pentagon Metro

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Snowy branches

Metro Closing Several Pentagon Escalators — Metro will begin its third major escalator replacement at the Pentagon station on February 4. Three of the six “southside escalators” at the station entrance will be shut down for replacement with new, more reliable units. Customers will still be able to use the three other escalators on the north side. [WMATA]

Proposal to Extend Voting Hours Fails — The proposal by state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) to extend voting times in Virginia has failed in committee. The measure would have pushed poll closing time from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. [Sun Gazette]

Claremont Elementary School Earns Health Award — The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) and Sodexo presented Claremont Elementary School with the Healthy Schools Award for being one of five schools having the most participants in the MCM-organized Healthy Kids Fun Run in October. The Claremont P.E. department received $1,000 and each student received a healthy snack pack from Sodexo. [Arlington Public Schools]

Emergency Winter Shelter Open — Because of the extreme cold, the county’s Emergency Winter Shelter, which is usually only open at night, will be open all day today. If you see someone in Arlington needing shelter from the cold, call 703-228-7395.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Woman Falls into Hatch at Pentagon Station — Last week a 52-year-old woman fell through a hatch near an escalator at the Pentagon Metro station, injuring her knee and face. Two Metro workers have been fired for their role in leaving the hatch wide open. [WTOP]

GOP Praying for Candidates — The Arlington County Republican Committee is literally praying for candidates to challenge Democrats in the fall. So far, they only have one for more than a dozen local races. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Wins Walkability Award — Arlington has received a “Gold-level designation for walkability” from the national Walk Friendly Communities program. “We welcome this recognition of Arlington’s efforts to create streets and paths that are safe, pleasant and interesting places to walk,” County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said in a statement. [Arlington County]

Medical Office Opens Near Crystal City — Commonwealth Medical Center, a new primary care provider, celebrates its grand opening today at 3535 S. Ball Street, between Crystal City and Potomac Yard.

Flickr pool photo by Karon

ART Bus Schedule Changes

By ARLnow.com

Some changes are coming to the ART 41 and 87 bus routes.

Starting on Monday, April 4, the ART 41 will start running on a new weekday schedule. Buses will now run every 15 minutes during the morning and evening rush hours. Additionally, bus service will start earlier in the morning and end later at night.

Also on Monday, three new rush hour bus trips will be added to the ART 87 route. Three additional buses will leave the Pentagon Metro at 4:35, 5:15 and 5:55 p.m. Those buses will make all the normal outbound stops.

See the new schedule (in PDF format) for: ART 41 and ART 87.

Smoke Reported at Pentagon Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Arlington firefighters are responding to the Pentagon Metro station for smoke in the station.

Initial reports from the scene suggest that leaves and debris on the track caught on fire, causing light smoke to fill the station.

Metro employees extinguished the fire using a powdered fire retardant. Arlington firefighters are now investigating.

Trains are still traveling to and from the station.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Pentagon Reviewing Change to Security Checkpoints Near Metro Station — At the behest of local transportation officials, Pentagon brass will be reviewing proposed changes to the security checkpoints near the Pentagon Metro Station. The changes, which follow the March shooting that left two security guards wounded and the suspect dead, would move the checkpoints closer to the station. Local officials worry the move could create long security lines that would disrupt the flow of commuters in and out of the station.

Arlington Spy Suspects Transferred to New York — Say goodbye to the (accused) Russian spies who loved Arlington. A judge has ordered that Michael Zottoli, Patricia Mills and Mikhail Semenko be transferred to New York. Attorneys for the three tried to keep them in Virginia, but a federal court judge ordered the transfer yesterday. There’s word that the ten accused spies may be swapped with Russia for an imprisoned nuclear scientist convicted of spying for the United States.

Arlington Artist’s Creation Appears on Popular Blog — On Tuesday, the popular blog Boing Boing highlighted a “giant bike-friendly junk-cyborg” created by Arlington artist Luke Idziak. The pedal-powered kinetic sculpture, called Wheeled Victory, or The Cyborg of Interstellar Justice, was created in 2008 and funded by the Arlington Cultural Affairs Office.

Flickr pool photo by philliefan99.

Pentagon Police Officers Speak Out

By ARLnow.com

The two Pentagon police officers who were shot during Thursday night’s shooting outside the Pentagon Metro spoke out about their experience on several news programs Monday morning

“We were there to do our jobs and that’s what we did,” one of the officers said on the CBS Early Show.

John Patrick Bedell, the alleged shooter, was a brainy and troubled man whose once-promising future was destroyed by deep-seated paranoia and rage, according to the Washington Post.

Also revealed by the article — which features the first interview with a Bedell family member — is the fact that Bedell made a purchase from a Silver Spring gun store shortly before the shooting.

Bedell’s family is planning a private funeral service in California.

Pentagon Gunman Left Rants About 9/11 Conspiracy

By ARLnow.com

Suspected Pentagon Metro gunman John Patrick Bedell, 36, left a trail of 9/11 conspiracy theory and marijuana-legalization ramblings on the internet, according to Gawker.

After parking his car in a nearby garage, Bedell, wearing a business suit, carried two semiautomatic handguns and a large quantity of ammunition with him as he approached a Pentagon entrance outside the Metro station, according to police.

Two Pentagon police officers, both highly-trained former service members, were slightly wounded when Bedell opened fire. The officers, along with a third officer, returned fire, striking and ultimately killing Bedell, according to the Washington Post.

UPDATE – Pentagon Metro Closed, Suspect Dead

By ARLnow.com

The Pentagon Metro will be closed Friday morning as the FBI investigates Thursday night’s shooting. It’s not known when the station will reopen.

Meanwhile, CBS News is reporting that the suspect in the shooting has died. The suspect was shot in the head by police after he shot two officers, various news outlets have reported.

NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski said on NBC4 tonight that police are questioning a possible accomplice in the shooting. Miklaszewski said the second individual may have been carrying ammunition. So far, those details have not been confirmed. Investigators now say an individual seen talking to the suspect on surveillance footage is not connected to the shooting.

BREAKING NEWS – More Details Revealed About Shooting

By ARLnow.com

The press conference outside the Pentagon Metro station has revealed new details about tonight’s shooting. Pentagon police chief Richard Keevill said that a lone shooter approached officers manning a checkpoint near an entrance to the station, calmly drew a hand gun, and opened fire.

He “did not say a word,” Keevill said.

Police officers returned fire. Two were hit and suffered wounds that are not thought to be life-threatening.

Witnesses who talked to ARLnow.com said they heard at least a half dozen shots and then saw people ducking and running from the scene.

Minutes after the shooting Pentagon police officers, with guns drawn, frantically moved to cordon off entrances to the Pentagon reservation.

In a chaotic scene, officers ordered pedestrians and vehicles heading towards the Pentagon reservation to turn around while buses, cars and Pentagon employees streamed out onto Army Navy Drive. Meanwhile, Arlington police officers converged on the Pentagon en masse to assist Pentagon police.

The Washington Post and NBC4 have more on the shooting.

BREAKING NEWS – DoD Statement on Shooting

By ARLnow.com

The Pentagon is currently holding a press briefing on tonight’s shooting. Here’s a statement issued by the DoD:

“A shooting incident has occurred at the Pentagon Metro Entrance this evening at approximately 6:40 p.m. EST. Two Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) officers were injured when an unknown suspect fired at them. The suspect was injured in return fire from the PFPA officers. Injuries to the two PFPA officers do not appear to be life threatening. A suspect is in custody and his condition is unknown [update: ‘very critical’]. All three injured have been taken to a local hospital. All Pentagon entrances were secured for a brief time but have since been reopened with the exception of the Pentagon Metro entrance. The incident is under investigation. More details will be released when available.”

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