Police seek shooting suspects

Fairfax County police are investigating recent shooting incidents in Annandale and Lake Barcroft.

Police are interviewing residents of Beverly Manor Drive in Annandale to locate the suspect in a drive-by shooting on the night of June 4, Capt. Shawn Adcock, commander of the Mason District Police Station, said at a June 7 meeting of the Community Advisory Committee.

A 15-year-old girl was shot in the lower torso while sitting on a curb on the 7300 block of Beverly Manor Drive with a group of other teens. She was discharged from the hospital the next day.

A passenger in a light-colored sedan shot a gun in the direction of a house where a party was going on. Police do not believe the shooting was a random act.

Police have increased patrols in Lake Barcroft following two reports of gunfire, said Crime Prevention Officer Evan Dicker.

Residents reported hearing shots on the night of June 2 in the area around Waterway Drive and Cavalier Corridor. The next day, a landscaping contractor found spent 9mm shells there. A similar drive-by incident was reported in Lake Barcroft on May 10.

In the early hours of June 3, police investigating a single-car crash in Annandale found shells inside the vehicle that might be related to the Lake Barcroft incidents. After the car hit a telephone pole, the occupants fled. The driver was not the owner of the car.

Adcock urges anyone who thinks they heard gunshots to call the police immediately, 703-691-2131, or 911.

Following the recent series of mass shootings – at a school in Uvalde, Texas, and other locations across the country – Adcock said the Fairfax County Police Department has gotten lots of questions about how they would handle an active shooter situation.

Adcock said FCPD officers are trained to take action immediately in response to a threat. The first officer on the scene is instructed to immediately go inside the building and head toward the gunshots.

Police recruits have a whole week of active shooter training, including a real-world scenario in a large vacant office building with people playing the role of hostages and bystanders. Officers have additional training every three years in collaboration with the fire department.

“When the rubber hits the road, we hope the training will help them make the right decision,” Adcock said.