Suspect charged, hostage safe after Herndon barricade situation

A hostage and barricade situation in Herndon, Virginia, was resolved peacefully Wednesday morning after about 12 hours, the Herndon police said.

The police on Wednesday afternoon said Paul Graves, 66, of Herndon, has been charged with three felonies: abduction, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and shooting in an occupied building. He’s being held without bond.

The police said they got a call at about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday from someone inside a home in the 700 block of Hemlock Court claiming that someone else there had fired a gun.



“The incident quickly escalated into a hostage and barricade situation,” Herndon police spokesperson Lisa Herndon said.

The hostage was able to escape shortly before midnight, the police said; Graves surrendered peacefully at about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. He had minor injuries that the police said weren’t related to the incident.

Herndon Parkway had been closed during the standoff; it was reopened at around 9:20 a.m.

Ciara Wells

Ciara Wells is the Evening Digital Editor at WTOP. She is a graduate of American University where she studied journalism and Spanish. Before joining WTOP, she was the opinion team editor at a student publication and a content specialist at an HBCU in Detroit.

Rick Massimo

Rick Massimo came to WTOP, and to Washington, in 2013 after having lived in Providence, R.I., since he was a child. He's the author of "A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set" and "I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival."

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