Residents in Arlington’s Green Valley neighborhood are on edge again after two people were shot in less than 24 hours over the weekend.
A man was shot before 3 a.m. Saturday after being confronted by five people. Then about 10 p.m. the same day, a juvenile was shot during a confrontation with two people.
Both victims are expected to survive.
Police do not know if the shootings are connected.
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“Officers have been working around the clock to identify the individuals involved in this,” said Ashley Savage of Arlington County police.
The neighborhood has been the scene of repeated gunfire in recent years. In October 2022, a man walking down the road firing a gun was shot and wounded by responding officers. Last December, there were two shootings, including one in the middle of the afternoon when children were playing soccer nearby.
The Green Valley Civic Association’s members have been meeting with police and other agencies pushing county leaders to do more to monitor the area and make arrests for illegal activity around the John Robinson Jr. Town Square.
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“From the daytime into the nighttime there are so many illegal activities that happen from public drinking to smoking marijuana in public, gambling, loitering, selling drugs,” said one resident, who asked to remain anonymous.
Savage said officers are responding to concerns, but enforcement can sometimes mean education instead of an arrest.
“We do want to be able to have those conversations with people, identify behaviors that are unacceptable and that are criminal in nature, as well as conduct enforcement where appropriate,” she said.
The police department is preparing to deploy more advanced license plate readers in certain areas and said improved video technology is another helpful tool.
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