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Here's What Shut Down a Major Road in Virginia for Over 30 Hours

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  March 30, 2023 2:25 PM

In Virginia, a woman created a standoff with police that lasted over 30 hours and shut down a major road in the northern part of the state. Police were called with a distraught woman reportedly armed with a handgun barricaded herself in a car at a Quality Inn Motel on Route 1 (Richmond Highway) in Hybla Valley, outside of Alexandria, Virginia. It ended peacefully last night, but not after this showdown lasted almost two days. The woman, whose name has not been revealed, was reportedly tied to two disappearances in the DMV area; both victims were female. One woman who was missing since March 24 was recently found and has ties to the female now in custody, according to her family. 

Before her arrest, police did feed the female suspect, and she was also posting on social media. For hours, negotiators tried to resolve the situation without bloodshed, a successful goal (via NBC Washington):

The woman was taken into police custody and left the scene in an ambulance. The woman's name was not immediately released.

The uncle of the woman barricaded in the vehicle confirmed that she was posting to social media from inside the SUV, and family members sent her audio messages encouraging her to get out of the vehicle. 

Police confirmed the standoff was related to the missing person case involving 25-year-old Lauren Kingsbury from Laurel, Maryland. Kingsbury had not been seen since March 24 before she was found safe earlier Tuesday in Fairfax County — not long before the standoff began. 

[…] 

Authorities said the incident began when they were asked by another law enforcement agency to perform a welfare check in the area at about 11 a.m. Tuesday. They said they were checking for a missing person in potential danger. 

Outside a Quality Inn Motel, they encountered a distraught woman. 

“When we responded there, there was a woman who said she had been abducted, and the suspect vehicle had just fled. So we began searching the area, and that’s when one of our officers found the vehicle, and it led to a pursuit and ended here,” Lt. James Curry said. “She did display a firearm to the officers during that first traffic stop, and that’s led to the response that you see here.” 

Fairfax County Police had a lengthy Twitter thread offering updates on the situation, though some noted the level of ridiculousness this situation was generating after the crisis passed the 24-hour mark. Regardless, the highway is now open, and we’ll know more about this circus later today.