Attempted abduction, bias crime, ped accident in Annandale/Mason area

Mason Crest Elementary School sent an email warning the community about an attempted abduction of a student on Nov. 20. The student, who had just left the school, reported that a man in a gray car approached on Crest Drive, Annandale, and asked the student to get into the car.

The student came back to school and immediately notified staff, who contacted police and the school security officer.

Police and Fairfax County Public Schools security personnel will patrol the area next week. “We will continue to stress to our students the importance of staying with a buddy or a group when walking to and from school or bus stops,” the notice to parents states. “Students are encouraged to notify a known adult if they encounter a situation that makes them feel uncomfortable or afraid.”

The email urges parents to create a safe environment in the community by “teaching your children about safety, by being alert to strangers in your neighborhood, and by reporting suspicious behavior to the police.”

In another incident, the Fairfax County Police Department is requesting the public’s help identifying a man who was struck by a vehicle and seriously injured on the evening of Nov. 19 on Route 50 near the Graham Road intersection in Falls Church. He was admitted to the trauma unit at Inova Fairfax Hospital, and detectives have been unable to identify the man or locate any family members.

The driver remained at the scene, FCPD reports, and detectives have determined that neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the accident.

An investigation determined the victim may have exited a bus and was attempting to cross Route 50 when he was struck. Detectives believe he frequently rides the bus along the Route 50 corridor between the Eden Center and Graham Park Plaza. Within the past month, he was seen in the Eden Center area, in the company of a woman who was helping him find a job.

Victim’s tattoos [FCPD]

The victim is between 5 feet 5 inches tall and 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 150 to 170 pounds, could be 30 to 45 years old, has short black hair, brown eyes, and numerous tattoos. The tattoos seem to indicate he has family members with the names Thien, Lam, Tai, Quy, and Sary. He may possibly go by the name Truc.
If anyone recognizes the tattoos pictured here or believes they may know the identity of this man, they are asked to call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.

Update: Police reported Dec. 2 that the victim died late at night on Dec. 1 from injuries sustained in the crash. He has been identified as Thien Quang Cao, 52, of Silver Spring, Md., and had been staying in the Graham Park Plaza area at the time of the accident. No charges have been placed against the driver.

A bias crime occurred at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center Nov. 19, the FCPD reports. According to the Police Blotter, a man approached the mosque, at 3159 Row St., Seven Corners, at about 3 a.m., threw fireworks into the parking lot, and damaged the fence on the property. Three members of the mosque challenged the man and after a brief altercation, the suspect walked away from the property.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect and the members of the mosque are known to one another and there does not appear to be any public threat.

Update, Nov. 23: Chester Gore, 27, of no fixed address, was
charged with damaging property, “using a hoax explosive,” and “entering the
property of another for purpose of causing damage based on religious conviction,”
FCPD reported Nov. 23. Damage to a fence gate was estimated at $200. He is
being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.

In other crime news, a pedestrian was robbed in the 7800 block of Heritage Drive, Annandale, at about 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 19. The victim was walking in the Ravensworth-Bristow neighborhood when the suspect approached, took property, and fled. The victim incurred non-life-threatening injuries. Police caught the suspect, and charges are pending.

The police also reports a robbery at a gas station convenience store at 6601 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, at about 6:08 p.m. on Nov. 19. [Google Maps, however, doesn’t identify a gas station at that location, so maybe the address is wrong?] The suspect displayed a handgun, demanded money, and fled. He was described as black, in his 20s, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, and approximately 170 pounds.