Residents of a Herndon townhouse neighborhood have been cleared to return home after police determined that chemicals found in one unit during a search were safe.
According to the Herndon Police Department, its officers and detectives went to the 200 block of Herndon Station Square around 11:30 a.m. today (Friday) to arrest 44-year-old Steven Timothy Kyle, who is facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania.
HPD officers executed a search warrant on behalf of the Central Bucks Regional Police Department, which has charged Kyle with criminal mischief, stalking and three counts of harassment.
Though Kyle was taken into custody “without incident,” detectives found “chemical substances and other evidence that raised alarm,” the HPD said in a 2:15 p.m. tweet.
The Fairfax County Police Department’s bomb squad, ATF agents and a hazmat team with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were called to assist.
About 20 homes in the area were evacuated, and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail was closed between Grace and Center streets “out of an abundance of caution,” HPD Capt. Steve Pihonak said in a media briefing shortly after 5 p.m.
Grace Street was also closed between Haley Place and Park Avenue, as was Fortnightly Blvd at Grace and Herndon Square.
Herndon police said they were unable to provide details of the case that’s underway in Pennsylvania, and the Central Bucks police weren’t available to comment.
With police anticipating an investigation that could take 10 hours or longer, the Fairfax County Department of Emergency Management and Security (DEMS) set up a shelter for evacuated residents at the Sully Community Center (13800 Wall Road), the HPD said at 7:44 p.m.
However, the HPD announced less than an hour later that investigators found that none of the chemicals in Kyle’s home were illegal to possess or posed any immediate danger. Police also found firearms in the house.
“It was definitely suspicious in nature to how he had these [containers of chemicals] in the home,” Pihonak said in an 8:37 p.m. update. “Our investigation, as it goes on further, will try to determine exactly what those were, but again, they pose no threat to the community. We’re confident in that.”
Thanking community members for their patience and the FCPD, ATF, DEMS and county fire department for their assistance, Pihonak noted that detectives will remain at the scene throughout the night, collecting evidence related to the case against Kyle in Pennsylvania.
The HPD is still working with a hazmat team to determine the purpose of the chemicals, but for now, the only charges filed have been in connection to the Central Bucks case.
After his arrest, Kyle was taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where he remains in custody, Pihonak said.
