MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 17, 2002
Arrest Made in ATM Shooting;
Injured Off-Duty Officer Released from Hospital
Alexandria police have charged a suspect for the shooting and robbery of an off-duty officer at an ATM about 2:30 a.m. DeCarlos Antonio Cunningham, a 25-year-old man of no fixed address, was arrested at Prince George’s Hospital after he sought medical attention for injuries he sustained during the incident.
Detectives have determined that the victim, a 27-year-old male (note: corrected age) and Fairfax County police officer who was off-duty, was at the First Union ATM at Mount Vernon and West Glebe avenues when the suspect approached him. The suspect, armed with a gun, demanded money and the victim resisted. They began to struggle and the suspect shot the victim in the arm.
Another off-duty Fairfax officer, a 22-year-old female, who was waiting in the car observed the attack and intervened, stabbing the suspect in the back with a knife. The suspect then fled in a minivan. The victim was treated at Fairfax Hospital for a gunshot wound to the arm and then released about 8 a.m. yesterday morning. The other officer was not injured. The officers were not carrying their firearms and were not in uniform.
Cunningham was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital to the custody of Prince George’s County authorities. He is being held without bond on a fugitive warrant and will face a Robbery charge in Alexandria. Detectives believe other suspects may have been involved in this incident and the investigation is continuing.
Says Chief Charles E. Samarra, “Both officers should be commended for their quick actions during a very dangerous situation. Their training and instincts not only prevented further injury to the officer but detectives were able to quickly find the suspect because of the injuries he received required him to seek immediate medical treatment.”
This is the second robbery of an off-duty police officer or his family during National Police Week.
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