SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Fairfax County police officers who were trying to serve a warrant Wednesday night in Springfield ran into a bizarre situation and ended up investigating a double shooting.
Police say officers were in the area of Tralee Woods Court, just west of Interstate-95, after 10 p.m. to serve a warrant for Rashad James on a firearms charge.
They were expecting SWAT team to arrive as backup, anticipating James might be armed, says a Fairfax County spokesman.
While keeping an eye on the house, police say officers intending to serve the warrant heard a gunshot from inside the house, and saw three people leave and get in a car.
While trying to stop that car, another motorist crashed into the officers’ police cruiser. The driver of that vehicle was taken into custody.
Meanwhile, officers arriving on the scene managed to stop the car and found both the driver and passenger suffering from gunshot wounds.
They were taken to a hospital and are expected to recover.
Rashad James was never located, Fairfax County police say.
The investigation led to a lockdown of the surrounding neighborhood.
“What we were hearing from the police was ‘stay inside,'” says Darlene Mihaloew, who is in charge of the local neighborhood watch. “There were police cars, ambulances, fire trucks and a helicopter …
We’re a little stressed about this today.”
James is wanted on a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm for allegedly shooting a gun into the air recently.
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report.
