school lockdown

JUST IN: Gunston Middle School locked down due to threat

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Gunston Middle School was placed in lockdown this afternoon due to a threat found in the school.

Initial reports suggest that a threat of violence at a specific time was found in a bathroom. Police responded to the scene and the school’s classrooms were locked down.

“Do not come to the school,” Arlington Public Schools initially said on social media.

No actual incidents of violence have been reported.

As of 2:45 p.m. the lockdown had been lifted in favor of a “secure the school” status and students were being escorted to buses as part of a controlled dismissal.

This is the latest in a series of threats against Arlington middle schools.

In March, Gunston was put in lockdown after “a message written inside a restroom stall referencing gun violence” was discovered. Last week another threat found in a Gunston girls’ bathroom prompted a police investigation. Swanson was locked down yesterday due to a phoned-in bomb threat.

In May, a Kenmore student was charged after an implied shooting threat was posted on social media.

Separately today, Wakefield High School families were informed of an alleged shooting threat. Principal Peter Balas sent the following message to families.

Dear Wakefield Families and Staff,

Late yesterday, Wakefield Administration was informed of a threat of violence overheard by several students. The specific threat reported involved “shooting up the class.”

The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) and the APS Safety, Security and Emergency Management office were made aware of the threat, and they investigated the situation. Any students who have knowledge of this are asked to contact the school administration.

The preliminary investigation has not revealed an ongoing threat to the safety of the school community. Students are reminded that making threats, regardless of credibility, is unacceptable and in violation of the Student Code of Conduct and will result in disciplinary action by the school as well as a referral to law enforcement.

We appreciate the students who brought this to our attention and ask all members of our community to report any threats they may see or hear, whether they believe they are credible or not.

We always take threats of violence of any kind very seriously. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority and I want to thank the Wakefield community for your support and responsiveness, and if you hear or see something that concerns you, please let me or a member of our staff know immediately.

Arlington Public Schools has partnered with the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia’s Youth Violence Project to provide free threat assessment training for students and parents. This training program is designed for all students ages 12 and up and parents of all students in Arlington Public Schools. Additional information is available on the APS website.

James Jarvis and Jo DeVoe contributed to this report

UPDATED: Police and fire department respond to bomb threat at middle school

By ARLnow.com
Swanson Middle School (photo via APS)

(Updated at 1 p.m.) Someone phoned in a bomb threat at Swanson Middle School this morning.

The caller claimed that bombs were planted in the middle school, in the Westover area. The school was quickly placed in lockdown, an Arlington Public Schools spokesman confirmed to ARLnow.

Police and fire department personnel — including bomb-sniffing dogs — were dispatched to the school around 9:50 a.m.

The following was sent to Swanson families just before 10:30 a.m.

Swanson Middle School remains in lockdown* due to a bomb threat made over the phone. The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) and Arlington County Fire Department are on the scene to determine the credibility of the threat. All students and staff are safe at this time. The safety and security of students and staff is our top priority.

At this time, we ask that parents stay where they are and remain available to receive updates and instructions as needed. Please do not come to the school. Additional details will be communicated as soon as they are known.

As of 11:15 a.m. Arlington County police said no explosives were found during a search of the school. Students were dismissed from school shortly thereafter.

“ACPD and ACFD have given the school an ‘all clear’ following a search of the school property,” families were told in an email. “The investigation into the circumstances of the telephone threat is ongoing.”

“Because of the threat, students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m.,” the message continued. “The safety and security of your child is our top priority.”

Gunston Middle School locked down due to “written threat”

By ARLnow.com
Gunston Middle School (file photo)

(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).

Court opts for restitution over sentence for man who tried to break into middle school

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

(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: W-L Evacuated, School Cancelled Over Shooter Claim

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

(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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Wilson Blvd has been renamed Marine Corps Marathon Drive in honor of the marathon on Oct. 25, 2015

Sandra Bullock Remembers W-L Cheerleader Days — Oscar-winning actress and Arlington native Sandra Bullock says her Washington-Lee High School cheerleading uniform still fits like a glove. “That might come in handy some sexy night. I don’t know who I’m saving it for,” she told Glamour magazine. [Daily Mail]

ICE Detainer for Sexual Assault Suspect — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Melvin Bonilla, the suspect in a string of sexual assaults in Arlington. Bonilla was arrested by Arlington County Police yesterday morning. [Fox 5]

Opposition to Homeless Shelter Winds Down — With Arlington’s new Homeless Services Center now open across from police headquarters in Courthouse, nearby residents are apparently starting to acquiesce to their new neighbor. Reports “Our Man in Arlington” columnist Charlie Clark: “Many neighbors in condos alongside the Courthouse building at 2020 N. 14th St. have rethought their opposition.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Lockdown Drills for Pre-K Students — An Arlington Pre-K teacher reflects on having her students participate in lockdown drills, which would be used in the event of an active shooting situation. The drills are now routine in Arlington elementary schools, the teacher says. [Washington Post]

Library Launches Sci-Fi Book Club — Arlington Public Library has launched “Strange Lands,” a science fiction book club that will meet monthly at Java Shack in Courthouse, starting Oct. 21. [Arlington Public Library]

VOICE Launches Voter Outreach Effort — The pro-affordable housing group Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, or VOICE, is launching a voter outreach effort this fall. VOICE plans to concentrate turnout efforts on two low-turnout precincts: Arlington Mill and Glebe. [InsideNova]

Three Arrested After Armed Robbery on Custis Trail

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police carThree 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.

Falls Church School Locked Down After Man With Gun Spotted

By ARLnow.com

Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Falls Church was locked down around 9:30 this morning after a jogger told police she saw a man with an assault weapon in the area.

The man was wearing camouflage, a utility belt and a helmet, the woman said.  Falls Church police officers searched the school and the neighborhood but did not find anyone matching the description. The scene has since been cleared, according to city spokesperson Hyun June.

About 124 summer school students, teachers and staff, along with a daycare program, were inside the school at the time.

Update at 12:15 p.m. — Police believe the man, who still hasn’t been located, was carrying an airsoft gun or a paintball gun. He’s described as a white male in his twenties.