By Denise Dunbar
Update: The City of Alexandria announced at 1:45 p.m. today that the Alexandria Police Department had peacefully resolved the barricade situation in the 1000 block of Woods Place as the suspect “surrendered without incident,” according to a city news release.
A single suspect was believed to have fired shots in a road rage incident on Tuesday, then fired on Alexandria police officers after barricading himself in a home on Woods Place, near Alexandria City High School, according to a series of news releases from the City of Alexandria.
The first city news release at 1:34 p.m. on Tuesday warned of heavy police presence in the area around N. Quaker Lane and Woods Avenue. A subsequent release four hours later warned of shots fired and asked all residents to “shelter in place.”
A resident who lives nearby told the Alexandria Times that a number of shots were clearly audible and that the situation was terrifying. They also reported hearing a helicopter circling the area.
The incident started as a call for service to the APD for shots fired during a road rage incident, according to a city release. APD confirmed the road rage incident and located the suspect at his home in the 1000 block of Woods Place.
Officers attempted to apprehend the suspect at around noon on Tuesday, but the suspect refused to surrender, barricaded himself inside the home and fired several rounds at police officers during the stand-off, according to a city release.
No city police officers have fired their weapons at the suspect in response, according to the release, which earned praise from Alexandria Chief of Police Don Hayes.
“Alexandria Police Department will make every effort to end this peacefully,” Hayes said. “I am proud of all the officers involved including the support officers from Fairfax County and the patience all the officers involved have exhibited.”
While both the road rage incident and standoff with police have occurred near Alexandria City High School, the school is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday and students remain unaffected by this incident, according to a city release.
As of 6:26 a.m. today, the city reported the barricade incident was an ongoing situation.
Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to reach out to APD’s non-emergency line at 703-746-4444.
-ddunbar@alextimes.com
