Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Armed, masked carjacking suspects arrested after Richmond Highway chase

Published April 17, 2023 at 2:30PM | Updated April 17, 2023 at 3:50PM

Fairfax County police car lights flashing (file photo)

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) Two people suspected of carjacking in Maryland were arrested by Fairfax County and Maryland police yesterday (Sunday) after a pursuit that started on Richmond Highway (Route 1) and later crossed state lines.

Police are still on the lookout for two suspects, including one person who may have been wearing a Spider-Man mask or costume, the Fairfax County Police Department said today (Monday).

News

Clifton’s Hemlock Park gets national recognition as home of oldest trees in Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 17, 2023 at 11:45AM

An approximately 20-acre portion of Hemlock Overlook Regional Park is being inducted into the national Old Growth Forest Network (photo by José Fernández for NOVA Parks)

About 20 acres of eastern hemlock trees rooted to the Bull Run River banks in Clifton will be formally recognized tomorrow (Tuesday) as likely the oldest trees in Fairfax County.

Believed to be at least 250 years old, the trees in Hemlock Overlook Regional Park are the first stand in the county and only the second in Northern Virginia to join the Old Growth Forest Network, a national nonprofit that aims to identify and protect the oldest known forests in every county in the U.S.

News

Local Navy reserve officer sentenced to prison for gun silencers bought after U.S. Capitol breach

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 17, 2023 at 11:00AM

U.S. Capitol surveillance videos captured a man identified by the FBI as Falls Church resident Hatchet Speed entering the building on Jan. 6, 2021 (via U.S. Attorney's Office)

A local Navy reserve officer has been sentenced to prison for having unregistered gun silencers that he bought after participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.

Hatchet Speed, a 41-year-old Falls Church resident who once worked for a defense contractor in Vienna, was handed a three-year prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Thursday (April 13).

News

Woman found dead, apparently shot outside Inova Mount Vernon Hospital

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 17, 2023 at 10:15AM

Surveillance footage shows two men who police say dropped off Brenda Ochoa Guerrero in the Inova Mount Vernon Hospital parking lot (via FCPD)

Fairfax County police are looking for two men who may have been involved in the death of a woman found with a gunshot wound in the Inova Mount Vernon Hospital parking lot last week.

A community member reported at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday (April 13) that they saw an unconscious woman in a vehicle parked at the hospital (8033 Holland Road), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release on Saturday (April 15).

News

Traffic Alert: Georgetown Pike closed after crash takes down wires

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 17, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated April 17, 2023 at 5:47PM

Georgetown Pike has been closed due to downed wires after a vehicle crash (via Dominion Energy)

Updated at 5:50 p.m. — Georgetown Pike has now reopened, Fairfax County police say.

Earlier: Georgetown Pike has been closed in both directions near Old Dominion Drive in Great Falls in the wake of a vehicle crash.

News

JUST IN: James Madison HS teacher arrested for allegedly having sexual relationship with student

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 14, 2023 at 2:15PM

James Madison High School flags (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A Reston woman who teaches at James Madison High School was arrested yesterday (Thursday) for reportedly having a sexual relationship with a student.

The student “disclosed an inappropriate sexual relationship” to school administrators, who notified law enforcement on Wednesday (April 12), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release today (Friday).

Around Town

During Ramadan, Shotted Coffee in Tysons becomes a nightly hotspot for the local Muslim community

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 14, 2023 at 11:00AM

The coffee shop Shotted has become a popular spot during Ramadan due to its late hours (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Shotted may be the only coffee shop in Fairfax County with a midnight rush.

Where most coffeehouses see business peak in the morning or late afternoon as patrons drop in before and after work, the Tysons Corner Center kiosk comes to life at night — particularly during Ramadan, which began this year on March 22 and will end with the holiday Eid al-Fitr on Thursday (April 20).

News

UPDATED: Major fire breaks out in Annandale residential neighborhood

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 13, 2023 at 3:30PM

Fairfax County firefighters extinguish a brush fire in the 6900 block of Alpine Drive (via FCFRD/Twitter)

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Fairfax County firefighters have descended on a forested residential neighborhood in Annandale in an effort to extinguish a two-alarm brush fire.

About a dozen units were dispatched to the 6900 block of Alpine Drive at 2:47 p.m. for a house fire, according to scanner traffic on OpenMHz.

Around Town

Taste of upcoming Capital One Center eateries planned at spring ‘Perchfest’

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 13, 2023 at 2:15PM

Visitors hang out by the Perch Putt food trucks at Capital One Center (courtesy Capital One Center)

The new Sisters Thai in Tysons remains a work in progress, but community members will get a taste of what’s to come next month at Perchfest.

Set for May 19-21, the spring edition of Capital One Center’s biannual festival at The Perch (1803 Capital One Drive) will feature food tents for three of the development’s upcoming restaurants, along with live music, lawn games and other activities offered in the past.

Around Town

Lidl will offer sneak peek of Chantilly grocery store before grand opening next month

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 13, 2023 at 11:45AM | Updated April 15, 2023 at 1:03AM

Lidl will open its new store in Chantilly on May 3 (courtesy Lidl)

Lidl is almost ready to introduce itself to the Chantilly community.

The German grocer announced today (Thursday) that its store at the Chantilly Crossing shopping center (14445 Chantilly Crossing Lane) will officially open to customers on Wednesday, May 3.