Crime & Safety
Panic At Pentagon City Mall Over Shooting Scare: Police
What turned out to be a smash-and-grab robbery, police said, caused chaos amid fears of gunfire as shoppers hid in back rooms at the mall.
ARLINGTON, VA — A shooting scare Sunday at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City turned out to be a smash-and-grab robbery, according to police and witness accounts on social media.
Authorities responded to the area for a report of shots fired, Arlington County police said in a social media post around 3:45 p.m., adding there were no known injuries.
What was initially believed to be a shooting was actually three male teens dressed in black entering a business, breaking a glass display case with hammers and deploying a fire extinguisher before fleeing, according to police.
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The incident caused a panic, with multiple stores bringing customers to back rooms as a safety precaution, several people at the mall posted on social media.
“I was at the Pentagon City Mall today,” Lucia González wrote on X. “Two men in front of us dropped their backpack, pulled out mallets, and started smashing store windows. The noise made everyone panic, thinking it was gunshots. Thank God it was just a terrifying moment and the police arrived within minutes.”
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Anyone with information is asked to call police at 703-228-4180 or email acpdtipline@arlingtonva.us.
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