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.
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| 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.
The mosque attack is just wrong and upsetting. This is not how we should be responding.
That's because this place has turned into one big dumpy cesspool. When government doesn't address the problem of immigration, the problem becomes worse. The middle east population needs to take some ownership and put their radicals in their place. Its unfortunate that the good are suffering because of a minority that has lost their minds.
Disgraceful. This is not the country I grew up in, this may as well be WW2 Germany because that is where we are heading. When heads are in the sand the monsters take over.
The US is a nation of immigrants, built by immigrants. So, unless you descended from Native Americans, whose land was stolen and culture decimated by white European immigrants, you got here via immigration.
People have been killing each other in the name of one God or another since the beginning of time. All Muslims are not responsible for the barbaric acts of a few any more than Christians or Jews are.
The real monsters are the demagogues who have nothing to offer but fear and hate.
Listen fool I am a descendant of immigration. However my grandmother was turned back 2xs from Ellis Island until she was able to produce a clean bill of health. Today one just walks in, no proper screening, too many holes in our system to keep the crap out. You need to become informed before you make such a foolish statement.
It is you is who is uninformed. And that you post anonymously suggests you are a coward. Easy to spew vitriol when there's no accountability.
I'm sorry but being anonymous online is an important safety measure! I'm not putting my life or my family's at risk because you may be a nut and come looking for me. Grow up!
There is no such thing as a native american. This was not the or land. They came here and settled just like us.
People forget that the American Indians also stole land from each other and killed each other. American Indians did not just live in peace on the land prior to foreigners coming in.