To the Editor:
Early this month, Leon Williams was fatally wounded on Belle Pre Way, in the middle of a new mixed-use development steps from Braddock Metro station. This follows the July murder of Shakkan Elliot-Tibbs just a block away. Both killings remain unsolved.
In the latest murder, the Alexandria Police Department has released almost no details. The murder was covered by local television stations, which located and interviewed a man who stated his vehicle was struck by a stray bullet as he drove on N. Henry Street during the slaying. The damaged vehicle was shown on camera. This information has yet to be confirmed or denied by APD. If corroborated, however, this would be powerful evidence contradicting department statements to concerned citizens that all area murders involve perpetrators and victims known to each other, and that innocent bystanders have nothing to fear.
Also not disclosed is that in the same time period an Alexandria School Board member leaving a meeting at 11 p.m. at ACPS headquarters in the Braddock Place complex was mugged inside the Metro station, sustaining injuries. No word about this from the city, WMATA, or the local press.
ACPS and city officials crowed about obtaining Braddock Place space at bargain basement rates. But rates were low due to the persistence of crime around the station. The associated lack of amenities is a factor that has driven away tenants like PBS and prospective occupants alike over the years. Retail at Braddock Place, too, has failed to flourish three decades after the station first opened in 1984.
During SUP processes, the West Old Town Citizens Association has been chided by developers and their attorneys for concerns expressed regarding safety. Yet the Alexandria Gazette’s Oct. 15 story noted “City Manager Mark Jinks said that several residents told him that buildings in the area have insufficient security, asking that cameras or additional lighting be installed.” Indeed, before the Bastille restaurant relocated to the Asher, its owners stated at a Braddock Implementation Advisory Group meeting that security issues were a major concern that emerged from a customer survey about the move.
Years of experience have taught WOTCA to pay attention, not only to issues of height, density, and architecture but also security factors, including elimination of blind spots and obstructive plantings and the installation of good lighting and security cameras. WOTCA has a consistent public record, over many years, of advocacy for residential police and community police officers in the face of budget pressures. With two unsolved homicides, a serious mugging, and on Oct. 18 the report of a commercial robbery on Pendleton Street, it is imperative that the issue of crime be addressed by the city’s leadership. If not, we can expect more violence in our community.
The West Old Town Citizens Association Executive Board
Leslie Zupan, Heidi Ford, Keil Gentry, and Donna Reuss