by Maria Glod, Washington Post
An off-duty Fairfax County police officer was shot in the arm early yesterday when a man tried to rob him as he was getting money from an automated teller machine at an Alexandria bank, authorities said.
The officer, identified by authorities only as a 24-year-old patrol officer, was treated at Inova Fairfax Hospital and released hours later.
Alexandria police Lt. John Crawford said investigators had some “extremely strong leads.” He would not say whether any suspects were in custody.
The officer and another off-duty Fairfax police officer, a 22-year-old woman, were headed home from a Fraternal Order of Police function in the District, where officers from across the country are gathered for National Police Week.
The officers stopped at an outdoor ATM at the First Union Bank branch near Mount Vernon Avenue and West Glebe Road about 2:30 a.m., according to Alexandria police spokeswoman Amy Bertsch. Neither officer was armed or wearing a uniform.
Bertsch said the male officer went to the ATM, and a man with a gun came up and demanded money. The officer resisted, Bertsch said, and the two men began to fight, falling to the ground.
Police said the female officer, who had been waiting in the car, tried to help her colleague, but they would not say how.
During the struggle, Bertsch said, the man’s gun fired, and the male officer was shot in the right arm.
Bertsch said it was unclear whether the suspect intentionally fired his gun or it fired accidentally during the struggle.
Police said the assailant fled after the shot was fired and was last seen driving north on Mount Vernon Avenue in a gray minivan. Authorities believe that there may have been other people in the van. Police are also investigating whether a small, red car spotted at the scene might have been played a role in the crime.
The incident marked the second time that National Police Week participants were targeted by criminals. On Monday, a man was arrested near the Huntington Metro station when he tried to grab a purse from the teenage daughter of an Illinois State Police officer, Fairfax County police said.
The Illinois officer and a security guard held the man until police arrived. The father and daughter were in the Washington area for the National Law Enforcement Memorial Candlelight Vigil.