After a 36-hour standoff, U.S. Route 1 in Fairfax County, Virginia, reopened Thursday morning, and an armed woman is in custody.
The road first closed on Tuesday afternoon after a woman led police on a short pursuit before stopping her black Jeep Cherokee on a service road beside Richmond Highway. As she began barricading herself in her car, Fairfax County police officials blocked traffic on Richmond Highway between Lockheed Boulevard and Boswell Avenue in the Hybla Valley area.
Police said the woman was “safely taken into custody” shortly after midnight Thursday. U.S. Route 1 reopened after 2:30 a.m.
UPDATE: The woman was safely taken into custody. Richmond Highway will be opened soon. Thank you for your patience.
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) March 30, 2023
The unnamed woman feared going to jail on the charges she faces for abducting her 25-year-old girlfriend, sources told WTOP.
Laurel Police reported her girlfriend missing on Friday, March 24, and then notified the public she was located in Fairfax County unharmed on Tuesday. That’s when Fairfax County police said they found the missing woman, and she told them the name of the woman who had abducted her, and that she was driving a black Jeep Cherokee and was suicidal.
Unsure if she is a danger to herself or the community, police said they blocked off the road to protect the public’s safety.
Crisis negotiators played recorded messages from loved ones to the woman in the SUV, saying “they loved her no matter what” and to please cooperate with officers. It’s unclear at this time what else she had in the vehicle, and whether she had food and water.
#BreakingNews in #Fairfax Virginia: Police standoff in #Alexandria has several blocks of Richmond Highway shut down approaching Arlington Drive, driver refused to exit vehicle after a brief pursuit, SWAT units staging, avoid area #vatraffic #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/gcPpUOc7cN
— ʙʀᴀᴅ ꜰʀᴇɪᴛᴀꜱ (@Chopper4Brad) March 28, 2023
Below is a map of where the incident took place.
