Police Presence in Greenbriar Rattles Residents

When several police vehicles, motorcycle officers and fire and emergency vehicles filled the Greenbriar neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, the first move by many locals was to social media to get a grasp of what was happening.

Around 4 p.m., Fairfax County police began to surround a silver motorhome parked in one of the neighborhood's cul-de-sac after a 911 call suggested a man was inside with a gun case.

Ultimately, police made contact with the man inside and determined he posed no threat to the community, but for about an hour many residents had little to no information about what was going on.

A woman who works in an office building near Greenbriar first tipped Patch off to the situation, calling for more information about the scene.

Others nearby started posting to Patch's Facebook pages in Chantilly, Fairfax City and Centreville, calling the situation "unsettling."

Erica Bennet first mused, "My guess would be investigation into the case of the person they found dead there on Sunday."

Melissa George said, "S.W.A.T. team in our neighborhood (Greenbriar). Any news as to what is happening? This is unsettling."

Note: Though they may have looked like SWAT, Fairfax County Police say the officers were regular patrol officers.

Jon Fleming said, "I saw a lot of cops! Wondering what was up."

Kate S. Campbell reported, "A neighbor saw many armed policemen surrounding a house and shouting at someone to come out. Near the entrance at Middle Ridge."

Mary Bolton Owens said, "Apparently there was a suspected armed man held up in a motor home/van."

In this day and age of smartphones and real-time news websites, news sure seems to travel fast - and, especially when the news has to do with a potential gun scare, anxiety can definitely run high, particularly in the wake of mass shootings in an  Aurora, Colo. movie theater and at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

Dare we forget, news of Osama bin Laden's death was broken by a innocent village man on Twitter.

Does rapidly traveling information like this help in situations like this? Or do you think, in some circumstances, it only serves to confuse the situation? Tell us in the comments below.