STAFFORD, Va. – For the second time in less than a week, Stafford County students experienced a school lockdown.
Stafford High School went into lockdown twice this morning, beginning at approximately 9 a.m., due to a malfunctioning alarm. Deputies and school staff confirmed there was no active threat. The lockdowns were lifted, and regular activity resumed. Parents arriving at the school were directed to nearby Chichester Park.
DUMFRIES, Va. – Police are investigating after a man was shot during an exchange of gunfire in Dumfries on Monday evening.
Prince William County police said officers were called at 5:33 p.m. to the area of Old Triangle Road and Kearsage Drive, where they found an adult male with a gunshot wound. His injuries are considered non-life-threatening.
STAFFORD, Va. – Mountain View High School and Margaret Brent Elementary were placed on lockdown Friday morning after an alarm was triggered, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say there’s a large police presence in the area out of an abundance of caution, but at this time, there’s no direct threat to either school. Parents who feel the need to respond are asked to go to Margaret Brent Elementary.
MANASSAS, Va. – Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle‑Sears is headed to the Prince William County School Board meeting tonight, following a now-infamous appearance in Arlington that triggered a national firestorm and sparked bipartisan backlash.
Sears will appear alongside her lieutenant governor running mate, John Reid, national Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich, and the group’s Prince William County chapter chair. The group plans a press conference and rally at 6:15 p.m. outside the Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center at Independent Hill, before the School Board meeting.
MANASSAS, Va. — The court fight over the Prince William Digital Gateway reached a turning point Wednesday as Judge Kimberly Irving declined to stay her ruling that voided rezonings for the massive data center corridor.
Irving struck down the rezonings on August 7, finding that the county’s public notices ahead of December 2023 hearings did not comply with state and local law. County lawyers and developers had urged her to put the decision on hold while they appealed, warning that the ruling could stall plans for 37 data centers on 2,100 acres along Pageland Lane.
MANASSAS, Va. – A hearing meant to decide the future of the Prince William Education Association, the largest local teachers union in Virignia, will go forward this Saturday. It will be held virtually after George Mason University declined to host the event.
Suspended PWEA president Maggie Hansford said earlier this week that members had been left in the dark. She told Potomac Local News that members only received a single email from a state-appointed trustee saying the hearing would run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at GMU’s Manassas campus. Members were also told they must choose either to attend in person or online, but not both.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Prince William County Public Schools’ brand-new bus tracking app still isn’t working—and now it looks like it may stay down for a few days.
The folks at PWCS just shared with Potomac Local News that the EZ A2B app is still offline and won’t be up in time for this afternoon’s school bus routes. The vendor says it may take “multiple days” to restore service.
GAINESVILLE, Va. – Patrick Harders just clinched the Republican nomination to run for Gainesville District Supervisor this November, winning today’s firehouse primary with more than twice the votes of his opponent, Brian Landrum.
The Prince William County Republican Committee announced Harders’ win this evening, saying he earned 1,838 votes to Landrum’s 840. The seat opened unexpectedly following the death of Supervisor Bob Weir last month.
QUANTICO, Va. – The folks at the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office just told Potomac Local News they’re investigating a serious crash that’s shut down all northbound lanes of I-95 near mile marker 148, right by Marine Corps Base Quantico.
Even though the crash happened in Prince William County, Stafford deputies are handling the scene. VDOT says traffic is backed up for about 3 miles, with vehicles being detoured off the interstate at Exit 148.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Prince William William County Public Schools joins other public school divisions in Northern Virginia, and is rejecting the U.S. Department of Education’s directive to reverse policies that allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender identity.
On Friday, August 15, 2025, Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) formally rejected the federal agency’s proposed Voluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA), calling it legally flawed and out of step with binding case law in Virginia.
