Oh, Arlington

I'm at a loss of words on how silly this photo makes Clarendon look. Fireworks Pizza uploaded this photo yesterday to their Facebook page, which shows four ACPD officers on segways talking to the driver of a Trolley Pub foot powered bar. This is the first time I've seen Arlington police on segways surprisingly. All we need is someone in the background in a popped collar eating cupcakes and doing Crossfit to complete every Arlington stereotype!

Drama outside Lyon Hall

Photo via Dave Krasinski

Wednesday night was full of rain and action outside of Lyon Hall, as police and fire department vehicles shut down the corner of Highland Street and Washington Blvd. I don't have details on what happened, but someone saw a man carried away on a stretcher from the 7-11 across the street.

Thanks to @amandajewett, @liamkraz and @ReidJoshua for the live updates!

Bomb Scare at Ballston Mall

On Sunday night parts of Clarendon's neighbor Ballston was shutdown or closed early due to what is rumored to be a bomb scare on the corner of Wilson Blvd and Randolph Drive.

Some of the nearby restaurants like Noodles & Company closed early and cleared out patrons from their spaces in reaction to the police and fire department activity.

Hoping everything turns out peacefully, but the activity did add some excitement to a humid Sunday evening.

Update: At around 9:30pm Sunday night Brian reported that police declared the area clear. Thanks for the update! Check out his Twitter feed for the minute by minute updates of the event.

Transformer Explosion at Ballston Hilton

On Decemeber 22 there was a sizable explosion in Ballston near the Hilton hotel. Police had Stuart and Stafford streets closed when I drove past around 5pm.

It turns out the electrical transformer, a large green box that steps down high voltage current before it goes into a building, faulted and exploded. Not sure if there where any injuries, but a witness did say they saw rescue workers with stretchers present.

Here is a picture of the new transformer being installed after the damaged one was removed.

Falls Church Standoff Update

The recent local drama of a man shooting his ex-girlfriend in Falls Church did not end peacefully today:

John T. Valentini, 44, who police believe shot his ex-girlfriend on Tuesday night in his Pimmit Hills neighborhood in the Falls Church area, died at 4:12 a.m. today at Inova Fairfax Hospital, police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said.

The man died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after more than a day of police standoff in the residential neighborhood.

Thanks to DCFemella for the heads up!

Robbery at Apple Store in Clarendon

Neighborhood residents were alerted to a local crime by the sound of a circling police helicopter. Local news stations are reporting that at 10:30am this morning the Apple Store on 2800 Clarendon Blvd shopping center was robbed at gunpoint and a female was shot.

The female victim survived and was taken to a local hospital. No other injuries were reported. AppleInsider press release here for more info.

The shopping center is crowded with heavy Arlington County police and news crew presence currently.

This is a strange and out of place occurrence in such a generally safe and quiet area. Add to the strangeness that the robbery occurred in broad daylight, on a holiday, and the shooter was also described as wearing a fake beard???