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| Helmand |
When they arrived at the home, at 6614 Columbia Pike, they were barred from entering by a male occupant.
“In an abundance of caution, a section of Columbia Pike was blocked to traffic in both directions near Sleepy Hollow Road,” the notice states. “Residents in the vicinity were contacted and asked to shelter-in-place.”
The man, identified as Omed Helmand, 32, was the woman’s ex-boyfriend. He was allegedly agitated and making threatening statements. The couple eventually came outside and both were taken into custody at around 11 p.m. and were taken to the hospital to be checked for injuries.
Police subsequently secured a felony warrant for Helmand for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was later charged with malicious wounding, strangulation, and abduction. He remains in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
The FCPD’s Mobile Crisis Unit and negotiation team were used in the incidence. Neighbors reported seeing dozens of police cars and a helicopter. One resident, who heard the police asking Helmend to come out with his hands up, says the house is a rental unit and had been occupied by Spanish and Arabic-speaking people.
Another neighbor saw two police cruisers blocking access to westbound Columbia Pike at Sleepy Hollow Road with flares in the road in the late afternoon. There were many emergency vehicles on both sides of Columbia Pike. The service road from Sleepy Hollow to Oak Hill was shut down, and later moved back to Sleepy Hollow Manor.
At about 5:45 p.m., the resident saw a helicopter circling overhead lower than usual. By about 11 p.m., eastbound Columbia Pike was open, but the westbound lanes were still closed. The resident was guys in minimal tactical gear on the westbound side standing out in the open and talking, so the incident appeared to be over.