A horrific crime in Northern Virginia may be connected to other recent violence against animals.
Police have arrested a Loudoun County man for allegedly approaching another man who was walking his dog and, in an unprovoked attack, stabbing the dog multiple times. Just a few days later, there are claims that the same suspect may have harmed other animals in the area.
Lucy was rescued late in life, and at 12 years old was spending her golden years with a man in Falls Church.
On Sunday night, Lucy’s owner was walking her near the intersection of West Broad Street and South Maple Avenue when Falls Church Police say a stranger came up to them and stabbed Lucy repeatedly.
Lucy had to be euthanized because of her injuries.
On Monday, police arrested a suspect: 25-year-old Reyan Ibrihim of Broadlands.
When word got out about the suspect, eyebrows were raised several miles away at Wheatland Farm, an equestrian center serving children with special needs and disabilities.
Owner Muriel Forrest says they believe the suspect was on their property on Friday, and approached their horses.
"He was very agitated and seemed to be concerned about one of the horses being, what he said was, possessed," Forrest said.
The next day, Forrest said, they saw him again, but he had covered his face.
"Ski mask, glasses over the ski mask, dark pants, and he had some type of either machete or some long baton or something, hanging by his side. So immediately, we realized this was a problem," Forrest said.
They believe it was the same man because Forrest's husband got video of the man's car leaving the farm -- the same car he'd left in the day before.
The video shows a white sedan driving down the road. When the Forrests watched the video back, they realized the man had covered both license plates.
Later, the Forrests discovered a few of their ducks were missing, and a rooster had a neck injury.
Ibrihim has not been charged in relation to the animals at the farm, but while News4 was at Wheaton Farm on Tuesday, Loudoun County Humane Law Enforcement was there too.
"Clearly, whoever had done this had intention of harming animals, and we were then worried, harming people," Forrest said. "It was very frightening. And when I heard about what happened to the family in Falls Church, just -- my heart sank."
Ibrahim has a violent history. During his alleged attack on the dog, he was out on bond, awaiting his next hearing in Loudoun County on three property destruction charges.
In one of those charges, Ibrahim is accused of destroying a drive-through menu at a McDonald's in Ashburn.
Now, police are investigating whether he is the reason a dog is dead, and a farm is wondering if he's also connected to trouble on their property.
News4 reached out to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office multiple times to ask if they’re investigating a possible connection. So far, we have not heard back.
