News

When officers arrived at The Palace Bar and Grill in Marumsco Plaza at 2:15 a.m., they found a female bystander and three security guards suffering after they had been struck or grazed by gunfire.

The security guards are aged 26, 33, and 45, and the woman is 28-years-old, police said. Gunfire injured all of them following an argument between the shooter and someone else inside the restaurant. The shooter went to his car parked outside, grabbed a gun, walked back, and started shooting, police said.


News

[Updated 2:15 p.m.] Police identified a Manassas Park High School student as the culprit after school administrators closed school buildings today after learning about a “potential threat” against students.

Police identified the suspect as a juvenile in a post on the department Facebook page. Authorities did not list any charges for the juvenile.


News

[Updated 12:30 p.m.] A seventh-grade teacher who taught in Stafford County faces charges after authorities said he inappropriately touched a child.

Stafford County sheriff’s deputies arrested the suspect at his home in Spotsylvania County on Tuesday, December 7, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Sarah Maroney.


Neighborhood Notes

Baseball team announces new front office staff: The FredNats have hired Adam Flock as their new Community Relations Manager as a part of the creative services team and Brian Lehman as their new Ticket Sales Account Executive on their sales team. Long-time franchise employee Rich Crosslin has been promoted to Box Office Manager for the organization. [Fredericksburg Nationals]

Dumfries area toy collection: We Back Blue, Virginia State Police, and the Virginia Department of Transportation will collect toys for children in need Saturday, December 11, from noon to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Target store near Dumfries. Collections will go to Toys for Tots, and some toys will also be donated to the Town of Dumfries Police Department for “Christmas in Dumfries.” [We Back Blue]


Neighborhood Notes

Time for water art: The Prince William County Service Authority is seeking talented young artists to enter the 2022 Water Art Invitational. Winning students and their art teachers will receive cash prizes, while the winning artwork will be displayed in Service Authority facilities and featured in next year’s Water Art Invitational wall calendar. [Prince William Service Authority]

HOT lanes give back: Transurban, operators and developers of the I-495, 95 and 395 Express Lanes, donated to Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) and the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial today, following a “Drive to Donate” event on November 17. [Transurban]


Breaking News

Police found no guns and filed no charges after law enforcement swarmed Stafford High School today.

Investigators went to school after hearing two unfounded reports of guns inside the school. Deputies were tipped off to the first threat at 11 a.m. and went to the school to question a student involved in a fight last week.


Business

ALDI will open a new grocery store in Haymarket.

Company officials will gather at 7:50 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, December 9, to cut a ribbon and open the new store to the public. Located at 6701 Lea Berry Way, just off Route 55, the store will open in the former site of a Food Lion grocery store.


News

Yes, Virginia, Dumfries will hold a Christmas Parade this year.

The event will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 11. A departure from the past, the parade will flow in reverse, beginning at Triangle Shopping Center (home of Rosie’s Gaming Emporium), marching about a mile up Main Street to Town Hall, at 17739 Main Street.


The drive-by shooting victim drove himself to a nearby hospital after being shot at 2:07 a.m. Saturday, December 4, police said. He was sitting in his parked SUV when struck by gunfire and suffered injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.

The victim did not cooperate with the police and investigate the incident, officers report.


Neighborhood Notes

Battlefield threat: Manassas National Battlefield Park’s superintendent has issued two letters opposing a plan to allow data centers on 2,133 acres of land adjacent to the park, calling it “the single greatest threat to Manassas National Battlefield Park in nearly three decades.” [Prince William Times]

Teacher pay raises: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to propose a 10% teacher raise and record funding for pre-K-12 public education in his budget proposal for next year, according to a Monday announcement. [The Center Square]


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