Alexandria Police Department Addresses 'Shots Fired' Calls

The Alexandria Police Department released an announcement Wednesday detailing how residents can find out about crime in their neighborhoods, in response to inquiries about the number of “shots fired” calls it receives.

Although the City outlines (in its announcement below) ways residents can keep informed about crime, it does not operate in the same fashion as surrounding jurisdictions that post daily and weekly crime reports online. The reports (which are more detailed than what appears on Raidsonline.com, a service utilized by Alexandria), help give a running picture of crime in the communities. See examples of surrounding jurisdictions’ crime reports here:

• Arlington County Police
• Fairfax County Police
• City of Falls Church
• Town of Vienna

The following is the Alexandria Police Department announcement in its entirety:

“Recently, the Alexandria Police Department has received inquiries about the amount of “shots fired” calls that have been reported to the public. The most recent one occurred yesterday in the area of Wythe Street and N. Fayette Street. No one was injured and the police department is currently investigating this incident along with other similar reports.

These calls are a priority for the Police Department. We are actively investigating these incidents and making progress in identifying the individuals or groups responsible. Several arrests have been made. Additionally, several steps are being taken to keep the public informed about these incidents.

The Police Department is committed to public safety and informing the community of any crimes or incidents that may pose a risk to the public. We have been notifying the public of robberies, along with other incidents related to public safety such as reported “shots fired” incidents.

There have been multiple incidents of “shots fired” calls for service in the area between Braddock Road Metro, Cameron Street and Washington Street. Detectives continue to investigate the individuals identified as involved, and have also seized firearms and collected a number of pieces of physical evidence.

In response to these incidents, the Patrol Operations Bureau, Community Support Section, Criminal Investigations Division, Crime Analysis Unit, and the Public Information Office (PIO) have dedicated resources to address the issue. Increased uniformed presence and extra staffing have been deployed to the area of concern. Detectives are investigating each case thoroughly while the PIO is keeping residents well-informed of incidents and police presence through social media. To that end, we are advising the community to follow the APD on social media:

• Twitter: Follow us @AlexandriaVAPD
• Facebook: Like us at www.facebook.com/AlexandriaVAPD

Residents are also urged to sign up to receive Alexandria Police Department new releases and notifications through the City’s email notification system, eNews at www.alexandriava.gov/eNews.This free service allows you to receive information on topics of your choosing, including vital emergency alerts. The messages can be sent as email messages, text messages, or voice messages.

Residents can keep themselves informed about the crime in their neighborhoods through: www.raidsonline.com. You can find a detailed description of Raidsonline.com on the Alexandria Police Department’s website at http://www.alexandriava.gov/police/info/default.aspx?id=17030. This website allows residents to search by incident type, date, and other analytics.

We continue to ask residents to report any criminal or suspicious activity in their community to the City’s non-emergency number at 703.746.4444.”