Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Doug Ollivant won the Republican nomination for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, positioning him to challenge first-term Democrat Eugene Vindman in a seat that has tightened over the past two election cycles and could flip in November.According to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections, Ollivant received 56.58% of the vote (13,337 votes). Philip A. Harding finished second with 30.67% (7,229 votes), and Rick S. Smithers received 12.75% (3,005 votes).
“Thank you,” Ollivant said in a statement Tuesday night. “We have been at this for over a year and the support we have gotten from every part of the community has been incredible. I got into this race because I looked around at my neighbors — veterans, small business owners, families working hard and still falling behind — and it was clear Virginia isn’t working for a lot of them. Washington has spent a decade making promises it can’t keep and sending the bill home. That ends when we send someone who has actually managed hard problems under pressure.”
More than 200 community members, including School Board members, City Council, division and city leaders, current and former students and staff, and partners, gathered Tuesday for the official ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the new Jennie Dean Elementary School in Manassas.
The roughly $56 million facility at 9601 Prince William Street, designed for about 900 students in prekindergarten through fourth grade, will welcome its first classes Aug. 12 after years of planning and construction that stayed on time and on budget.
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On August 2 at 10:36 p.m., officers responded to a residence in the 15500 block of Lebourget Court in Woodbridge to investigate a shooting. An 18-year-old woman and a juvenile family member were involved in a verbal altercation that escalated. The accused retrieved a firearm from inside the home, confronted the woman, and fired one round that grazed her upper body. He left before officers arrived. A police K-9 searched the area but did not locate him. The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Detention orders were obtained. On August 4, the 13-year-old male juvenile of Woodbridge was arrested. He is charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting in an occupied dwelling, and juvenile possession of a firearm. Due to his age, his identity is not being publicly released. Court date is pending.
On August 3 at 2:08 p.m., officers responded to the Shell service station at 4110 Dale Boulevard in Woodbridge for a brandishing report. An unknown woman entered the business, concealed several items, and walked to a vehicle occupied by a man later identified as the accused. An employee followed her and was retrieving the items when the man brandished a firearm toward the employee. The employee returned inside and called police as the vehicle left. Officers identified the suspect and obtained warrants. On August 4, officers stopped the vehicle near Prince William Parkway and Minnieville Road and detained the man without incident. Ammunition and evidence of narcotics were found inside the vehicle. Justin Denzel Gore, 31, of Fairfax, was arrested and charged with one count of brandishing a firearm, two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, two counts of driving on a revoked license, and one count of possession of a Schedule I/II narcotic. He is being held without bond. Court date is pending.
“Prince William County Public Schools students earned impressive honors at the 2026 Virginia Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference, with several advancing to the national competition in San Antonio,” PWCS reported. Top state finishes included first places for Drake Ludin of Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School in Hospitality and Event Management and Ameera Noor of Gainesville Middle School in Parliamentary Procedures, along with multiple second- through sixth-place awards across middle and high schools in events ranging from data analysis and marketing to entrepreneurship and public speaking.
At the national level, Eliza Ijaz of Freedom High School secured second place in Entrepreneurship—the first such finish for her school—while Autumn Cordell of Gainesville Middle School also took second place nationwide in Career Exploration, highlighting the strength of PWCS Career and Technical Education programs in preparing students for future business and leadership opportunities.
Fredericksburg’s College Heights neighborhood came together Tuesday evening for National Night Out 2026, drawing 62 residents to the playground and sidewalk at Christ Lutheran Church on Augustine Avenue.
The Town of Occoquan has shared news of the recent deaths of three residents in its monthly newsletter, the Town of Occoquan reported. Melissa Hollis was found deceased in her home on June 28, John Grace was killed in a pedestrian-vehicle crash outside of town on July 10, and Bobbie Frank passed away at Westminster on July 26.
Bobbie Frank was a longtime Occoquan resident who previously served on the town council, directed the town’s Craft Show, and was a board member and supporter of the Occoquan Historical Society. Details on services were not immediately available; Frank is expected to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in a private ceremony, with a celebration of life planned later.
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According to a Prince William County press release, the county partnered with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles on July 31 to kick off Traffic Awareness Month with a dramatic 54-foot ladder display at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas.
The ladder, part of the DMV’s award-winning “Speed Has an Impact” campaign, illustrates that the force of a 40 mph crash equals falling 54 feet while a 10 mph impact matches a three-foot drop; it was on view through Aug. 2 during the county fair at 10624 Dumfries Road.