Fitness App Leads To Arrest For Cyclist Attack In Ashburn

ASHBURN, VA—A fitness tracking app helped the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office identify the suspect that seriously injured a cyclist in Ashburn on April 22.

Detectives found the suspect used STRAVA, a running and cycling tracking app, as he traveled in the area of the assault. Through the investigation and interviews with independent witnesses, Edward A. Shortnacy, 48, of Vienna, was identified as the suspect and charged with malicious wounding.

Shortnacy turned himself in Thursday and was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

The 63-year-old victim from McLean had been riding on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail near Ashburn Village Boulevard and attempted to pass two other cyclists by going in the center lane. The sheriff's office said one cyclist headed in the opposite direction reached out his arm and whacked the victim's helmet, causing him to crash.

The cyclist was knocked out after the assault, NBC Washington reported. He was taken to the Lansdowne Campus of Inova Loudoun Hospital and later to Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was later released. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

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