Police find three homeless adults deceased in Annandale
Three apparently homeless people died on the streets in Annandale on July 29, the Fairfax County Police Department confirms.
Officers responded to a report of two people unresponsive outside the Goodwill store at 7031 Columbia Pike at 6:45 a.m. They discovered an adult male and an adult female deceased.
“There doesn’t appear to be foul play,” an FCPD spokesperson said. They were found on a sleeping pad, which indicates they were homeless.
An hour later, at 7:48 a.m., police responded to a suspicious death behind the 7-Eleven at 4209 Annandale Road. The victim, an adult male, also appeared to be homeless, as he had no fixed address.
Police won’t know the cause of death until the medical examiner conducts autopsies on the victims, the spokesperson said.
However, the circumstances of the three deaths indicate they were drug-related, although the police won’t confirm that until they receive the toxicology report.
Related story: Homeless people are camping out in central Annandale park
I drove by that 7-Eleven and wondered why they had so many cop cars. This happened at the one on Annandale Rd but the picture on the article shows the 7-Eleven on Hummer rd.
Good catch. Correct photo swapped in.
No, it’s actually at the right address as they stated
🙁
Plenty of drug activity at the Hummer 7-11 as well.
Do they know who ?
Also would like updated reporting when the deceased are identified. Some of the unhoused in the area are familiar to many of us who offer them conversation and food….
Very sad. Probably all got bad drug doses. Our new President just sign an E.O. to forcibly place these people in Fairfax County into a controlled environment where this would not happen and they could kvercome their addiction.
Bill, I thought the same thing as I read this article. That’s a live saving EO.
yeah, if you disregard civil liberties and the constitution, sure it is.
Force them in Fairfax as in Prison ? How about more shelters and real help. We act like they want to be homeless.
Thank you Ben for your thoughtful and intelligent comment.
Bill, is there a”good” dose of a bad drug? I feel for these poor, ruined people, but you can’t force them to want to get better. You can’t use the Way-Back machine to reverse whatever put them on this path years ago. I don’t know the answer to fix this problem. I don’t know who does.
Or perhaps someone gave them poisoned food. Don’t just to conclusions. And no, forcing people into institutions that aren’t prepared and certainly don’t have the funding to care for them, is not “life saving”.
It isn’t always life saving but sometimes it is, and often is better than the alternative (more of the same).
Public intoxication, loitering, and other typically associated crimes are threats to public safety and everyone’s well being – so no, it’s not necessarily unconstitutional to institutionalize chronic offenders under certain criteria.
In fact going to inpatient rehab under the threat of other consequences saved my life. I was never homeless but it was a serious wake-up call and the intervention I needed when I wasn’t in my right mind. People in the throes of addiction are not thinking straight and no one is ever really “ready” to detox, especially when life and friends and everything in your orbit revolves around finding the next fix. This is when government intervention is needed – and often happens. But addiction centers/detox centers are often full. The EO as I understand it would direct badly needed funding to this worsening problem.
As if Trump is going to make money available for treatment services and proper housing when he could give our tax dollars away to his cronies. This will just be another way to round up powerless people and put them into a camp.
As I read this article and the EI, I worried that the “help” is a trick to round up illegal as well as legal immigrants. I don’t trust anything potus says about helping
“These people”? Who are these people Bill, that you want forcibly thrown into detention camps and deprived rights to be SAVED from addiction. Immigrants? Mentally ill? Veterans?
Is that what you tell yourself to go to sleep at night, they are being saved?
You need need some serious self reflection if you believe that.
Being homeless is not a crime. You’re making a lot of assumptions with little information. So go have a seat Bill.
So sad. Drugs are the devils work. Too many lost 2 addiction💔..May God be with there families/friends @ this time,as they deal wit the devastation loss of a loved 1.😢
All the sympathetic folks in this area who feel bad and give money to these panhandlers are enabling them the system has failed and you contribute. You think you help but you make it worse.
The truth hurts……
Don’t care… I have my own problems to worry about. We’re all struggling these days so no use crying over addicts..
Rob, you’re much closer to being homeless than you are to being a billionaire. They were someone’s mom, daughter, brother, uncle, sister or friend. They were human beings, and to quote Antoine De Saint Exupery “when a man dies, an unknown world passes away.” The lack of compassion here is troubling.
Gwen, that is a beautiful sentiment and I concur. Thank you for sharing that quote.
Where did all these trollish meanies come from? Lord have mercy!
Mason District is a mess since Penny Gross retired. Was not good before she retired. Homeless everywhere, shoplifting everywhere, high speed reckless driving everywhere, Fairfax County PD never seen. Thank you, Supervisor Jiminez!!!
What utter human filth in the comments. Republicans are monsters that live among us. Imagine being stupid enough to think the only reason people die is drugs.
Claire, how do you deduce “republicans” somewhere in this comment section said “the only reason people die is drugs?”
You have a wild imagination, and i sincerely hope you get the help you need.
Also, I’m a Republican who thinks the people referenced in this article probably overdosed. I’d be willing to bet a lot of evil, capitalist money on it.
THE TAXICOLOGY REPORT WILL TELL US THE CAUSE OF THE DEATHS. OTHERWISE, COULD BE A MASS ASESINATION.
Or a mass capitalization!
It’s been beastly hot and humid. Highs were in the 90’s that day and there had been heat advisories for days leading up to July 29th. The deaths could possibly be heat related. Let’s not jump to conclusions until the autopsies are complete. They were someone’s sons and daughter.
Heat can certainly be a contributing factor to death when you have abused alcohol hard drugs for a long period of time. It doesn’t make the death(s) any less tragic. The reality is that most homeless have substance abuse issues.
The National Coalition for the Homeless has found that 55% of homeless people are alcohol dependent, and 25% reported being dependent on other harmful substances.
And those are the percentages that admitted to it. I imagine the actual number is much higher.
Drinking alcohol in 100 degree weather can be fatal.
If you support trump and his evil policies, then you are selfish and foolish! Stop blaming Biden and Obama! Find a Wizard and get a heart! May the deceased rest in peace 🙏🏾
I wonder if one of the deceased is the guy with the wrapped arm that’s panhandled that corner for decades now. That has a condo a block up. But could be anyone since Annandale now has a ton of panhandlers.
It is most likely a fentanyl overdose but I don’t think we will see an updated story since the police usually don’t follow up on letting us know the outcome of stories like these.
In the intetests of promoting intelligent commentary, here is the link to the Executive Order:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/ending-crime-and-disorder-on-americas-streets/
Reading the source document should answer some of the concerns that were expressed, as there is a detailed listing that specifically identifies how government agencies should evaluate how to re-direct existing funding to support civil commitments (not prison). People with mental illness and addictions need help and they do not get it now. I fail to understand why a step in the right direction is criticized.
The distinction between a civil commitment and a prison is pretty inconsequential, to what I imagine is the real issue. That being the legality and judiciousness of depriving someone of their rights in the absence of them having been convicted, or even accused of, committing a crime that warrants incarceration.
I’m personally not convinced either way. But I would ask you, who gets to decide what kind of circumstances, absent illegal behavior (for which the appropriate remedy is prosecution), warrants involuntary commitment?
Because in the case of the government taking over responsibly for people’s medical care and medical insurance when Obamacare was being debated; the idea of the government making decisions about what medicines and procedures will and won’t be covered, almost half of America started shouting about Death Panels, and how these decisions would have been arbitrary and tyrannical.
So how is this matter different? The only differences I can see are the class of the people it will likely adversely affect, the class of the people it will benefit, and the party that is pushing it.
Funny how things change so fast. Big unaccountable government is tyranny when the government tries to make everyone’s lives better, but when it’s actions benefit (actually or even just in perception) a select few, all of the sudden the shrillest voices want sober and reasoned debate.
As a person who watched helplessly as my younger brother suffered from severe mental illness so bad he was unable to help himself; but yet told by local government and medical officials he did not meet the criteria for involuntary commitment, only to be overwhelmed with grief and guilt when he took his own life by jumping off a bridge, I find Joe’s statement that the distinction between a civil commitment and a prison is “pretty inconsequential” is an incredibly out-of-touch ignorant statement that seemingly could only come from someone who has not experienced the impact of severe mental illness or substance use disorders.
Oftentimes, the family and friends of people living on the street want very much to take care of them and to get them off the street, but the laws do not allow them to do so because the laws, the government, doesn’t allow them to involuntary commit them so they can get the help they need.
From what I have seen and experienced, many more people have suffered and died from not getting the care they need because others who care about them are not allowed to intervene; then have suffered because they were involuntarily committed when they should not have.
They may have succumbed to the heat, even healthy people can die from heat and dehydration.
As usual more is then done. With all the bright people making comments about this problem Does anyone have a better solution then actively helping people who cannot help themself. Where is the Love the compassion the empathy the hope for people who fall pre to alcohol and drugs. The interesting thing about this kind of problem is that no got into it on purpose. They didn’t grow up thinking they wanted to be an alcoholic drug dependent homeless. As long as we remain a “ME” First society our social structure that could be healthy will fail. Somehow we need to become a “WE” Society. But then what do I know I’m only 94 years old.
Our new neighbors from third world countries don’t care much to assimilate. That would be one difference from when you were younger, sir. It’s difficult to be a “WE” society when people are unwilling or incapable of having respect for others I.e. following my wife in stores, beating my son who has learning disabilities.
Have there been any updated information?
The names of the deceased?
Their cause of death?
Any updates on when the toxicology reports will be released?
Also would like to know updated information.