Crime and Courts

7 teens charged in violent crime spree including gun store burglary

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Seven teenagers are in custody in Fairfax County, Virginia, suspected in a crime spree that included a gun store burglary.

About 2:30 a.m. Sept. 18, a stolen Kia was used to smash into Dominion Defense in Lorton, police said. Teenagers ran into the store and stole 14 guns.

“That was a brazen crime committed – tragically, sadly – by teenagers,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.

The crime spree began before that burglary with the armed robbery of a teenager at Springfield mall.

The violence escalated after the gun store burglary with the shooting of a 19-year-old man in Lorton, police said. Gunfire hit two homes in Springfield.

On Sept. 20, a teen was abducted at gunpoint in Reston, police said. A video was made of him being assaulted with firearms.

The next day, bullets struck another home, and an AR-style weapon stolen from the gun store was used in a robbery in Hybla Valley, police said.

Special agent Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said gun store break-ins involving teenagers is a troubling trend.

“We certainly have a trend of juveniles specifically breaking into these firearms licensees, and it’s not only happening here,” he said. “It’s happening across the country.”

Charges against the teenagers – the youngest of whom is just 13 – include auto theft, abduction, mob assault, firearms offenses and burglary.

Police said they recovered eight of the 14 guns and continue to track down the rest.

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