Gang Activity Incites New Fairfax County Effort

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- The rise of gang activity in the area drove county officials to plan solutions at a Wednesday meeting in Annandale, Va.

Earlier in March, police discovered two bodies at Holmes Run Park in Lincolnia. Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. said the incident was likely gang activity.

Police told the county Board of Supervisors March 21 that assaults and other violent crimes were rising in every police district, as well as gang recruitment in Fairfax County Public Schools. The Washington Post reported that Fairfax County teenagers took part in some of the recent gang-related crimes in the area.

The county response stems from resurging activity of the Central American gang MS-13. Media reports linked the gang to number of cases in Northern Virginia, including the discovery of a Maryland girl's body in Springfield during February. Police have not yet confirmed the Holmes Run Park case has ties to MS-13, Patch reported earlier this month.

At the Wednesday meeting, Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Penny Gross said county police will soon patrol longer in the park, WTOP reported. She plans to hold another meeting in about a month to discuss keeping criminals out of the park with the Fairfax County Park Authority.

Jay Lanham, director of the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force, said at the his group is implementing an enforcement plan soon. One of the first goals will be making gangs feel more unwelcome. “They shouldn’t be comfortable out here hanging around in your neighborhoods, doing what they want to do on a regular basis," he said.

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