Barricade situation disrupts neighborhood around Falls Church High School
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| The house appears to be extensively damaged. |
Several streets were blocked off near Falls Church High School May 14 while police negotiated with a man holed up inside a house at 3246 Kenney Drive.
Students reported hearing what sounded like three bombs going off in the area. In an email to parents, Falls Church Principal Michael Yohe wrote, “Dismissal will proceed at its regular time today but the police presence on Kenney Drive may force some buses to be rerouted and students who walk in that direction may not be able to gain access to the neighborhood.”
The incident started just before 10 a.m. when deputies from the Fairfax County Sheriffs Office arrived at the house to serve an eviction, said PFC Bud Walker, spokesperson for the Fairfax County Police Department.
“While there, the deputies saw or heard something suspicious that caused them to request assistance from the Police Department,” Walker said. “Once police officers arrived, we secured the area around the house and began negotiating with the subject inside. This evening, the subject apparently set fire to something inside the residence and police responded by deploying tear gas, whereupon the man surrendered.” No one was hurt during the incident, he said.
A 44-year-old adult male was taken into custody under a mental detention order at about 9:20 p.m. Charges are pending while further investigations are conducted. The Fairfax County Fire Department contained the fire and assisted the police department throughout the incident.
According to Walker, no one else was in the house during the standoff. He does not know why the suspect was being evicted or whether he had been arrested before.
None of the neighbors spotted near the house Thursday morning said they knew the man who lived there. One neighbor said he lived alone, while someone else thought he had a couple of roommates.
The police are not identifying the suspect. According to an internet search, David Ashley, 44, owner of D.A. Ashley Construction Inc., is listed as a resident of 3246 Kenney Drive.
11 responses to “Barricade situation disrupts neighborhood around Falls Church High School”
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Another classy resident living in our area. We just keep getting the best of the crap!
you dont know the reasoning or TRUTH, don't judge.
Oh please! This dude could have killed a fire fighter or a neighbor, even you.
I am glad the police hauled him away. They should send him to Afghanistan where he can blow up all the buildings he wants……we really don't need him in our community.
he lived there a very long time probably half his life. neighbors in this neighborhood are mostly all new. smh. he lived in the garage. his power has been out for at least a year. check the grass out? what he did was wrong but pray for him.
So sad this individual could not have received help before it came to this. If power had been out for at least a yr., do we as a community not have any way this could have been avoided? Living in his garage? Could someone not have sought help for him? So, so sad…a lesson in this, I hope.
This is definitely sad! When a member of the community is evicted and the ENTIRE Fairfax County Police Department are involved in evicting him PHYSICALLY…Not only did they use the Bomb Squad, SWAT, Mobile Command Unit, 2 Robots, and at least 20 motorcycle cops – they also had the Gas Co. shutting off the neighborhoods gas supply. This is tragic when the mentally ill are treated as criminals. The FCPD should be ashamed of the resources (& time) spent on this. The damage to the house in beyond belief and in my opinion unnecessary..
So what should the police/sheriff done???? ignore a court order??? let him blow up the whole area, or burn down a block of houses?
The police did not have a choice when it got to the point it had gotten to. They used all the resources they had to keep everyone safe in what was obviously a scary, desperate situation. I actually commend Fairfax for using all of the resources they had. This situation could have ended up much worse. This could have easily ended up as a suicide by cop. The fact that the Fairfax PD avoided that is commendable. This individual had lived there for at least 17 years. When something goes this wrong after such a long period of time, there is obviously a story behind it that isn't cut and dry. It is sad that there was no help sought out for him. My guess is the people who knew what was going on, did not know how to get him the help he may have benefited from. If there was no previous mental health treatment history, those that did know him would not have necessarily thought of looking for help in that way or they may not have known how to get that help for him. Do you know how to access this help? He didn't go to jail after he was taken into custody, he went to a psych ward. Don't pass judgment without knowing the whole story.
I feel very sorry about this man. Who knows what he is going through. I hope he was not harmed. I would have prefer that he got medical helped instead of using these type of force. I also wondered how would the owner of this house felt if he had been killed? Just because he did not pay the rent? This all about money, nothing else. Now his house is destroyed. It is very sad, the hole situation was scary, I was praying for my neighbors, especially the elder ones. I do not think this force was necessary, but unfortunately, this is the only thing our authority can do 🙁 what were the evidence they had to get to this point? Just because he refuse to leave?
He was the owner of the house and yes it was all over not paying mortgage on the property and it had been bank repossessed since Aug 2013….VERY sad
there's nothing more refreshing than commentary.
heh.