Culmore shooting was drug-related

The recent shooting of a man in Culmore last week was most likely drug-related, said Mason Police District commander Capt. Patrick Brusch at a community engagement meeting earlier this week.

The victim was shot twice in the upper body and was hospitalized. Two suspects armed with handguns fled on foot. The victims and suspects were seen fighting before the shooting. It was an isolated incident and doesn’t pose a threat to the community, Brusch said.

The Mason police station logged over 500 narcotic arrests this year, the most in Fairfax County, Brusch said. The vast majority were in the Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads.

The station has a dedicated opioid unit to address the rising incidents of fentanyl abuse in the community.

The other recent shooting in Mason District – involving a 12-year-old boy in Lincolnia – was most likely gang-related, Brusch said. The boy survived, and the two shooters remain outstanding. He hopes to announce an arrest by the end of the year.

Related story: 12-year-old shot in Lincolnia

Brusch believes the recent ATM robberies are the work of a highly efficient crew from Maryland. They’ve committed both armed robberies and smash-and-grab robberies.

During the most recent incident, the crew forced the clerk at the 7-Eleven at 4818 Beauregard St. in Lincolnia to open up the ATM. They fled with the cash.

Just minutes before that robbery, they tried, unsuccessfully, to break into an ATM at a TD Bank at 6566 Little River Turnpike in Lincolnia.

The robbers are highly skilled, most likely armed, and use multiple lookouts, Brusch said. They pick locations near I-95 for an easy getaway. “They know exactly what they’re doing.”

According to a news report by NBC4, the thieves used a “jaws of life” power tool to pry open the ATMs. That’s the tool used by firefighters to free people from crashed cars.

Normally, there’s a decrease in crime this time of year, Brusch said. During the holiday season, the police station will activate a patrol unit focusing on DWI enforcement. Officers at the Mason station made over 200 DWI arrests this year, the most in the county. Traffic citations in Mason are up 25 percent over last year, he added.

Related story: ATM broken into at a 7-Eleven in Lincolnia

The Mason station has one of the few FCPD officers certified in detecting the signs of narcotics intoxication during a DWI arrest.

The community needn’t be alarmed about an increase in carjacking, Brusch said. The two recent incidents in Mason District were not actually carjacking and do not indicate a trend. One of the incidents involved a dispute between two individuals; the other was a case of insurance fraud.

Brusch introduced the station’s new crime prevention officer, MPO Stacy Sassano. She succeeds Evan Dicker, who was promoted to sergeant and was transferred to the Franconia station.

Sassano has 20 years of experience with the Fairfax County Police Department, including more than a decade at the Mason station and extensive work as a school resource officer.

She invites residents to a Neighborhood Watch training session at the police station on Nov. 15, 6:30-7:30 p.m.