The Charlottesville Police Department was called around 8:15 a.m. Thursday to a report of domestic violence and shots fired at 112 Lankford Ave. When police arrived they determined that a subject, Alexander Leon Rodgers, age 29, had barricaded himself inside 114 Lankford Ave. and was in possession of a weapon.
About 50 law enforcement officers from the Charlottesville Police Department, Albemarle County Police Department and the Virginia State Police responded to the scene. Numerous nearby residents were evacuated from their homes or told to shelter in place while law enforcement secured the scene. Law enforcement determined there were no other individuals in the home.
The City’s Crisis Negotiation Team established contact with Mr. Rodgers initially via voice communication over his mobile phone. Mr. Rodgers attempted to persuade police he was actually at another location other than the Lankford Avenue home of his longtime girlfriend. Law enforcement triangulated the subject’s general location using his mobile phone’s signal.
The Crisis Negotiation Team continued to negotiate with Mr. Rodgers via text messaging after he stopped responding to voice calls.
Around 12:30 p.m. the Charlottesville Police Department’s SWAT team deployed a flash-bang device through a window of the residence. Mr. Rodgers called police immediately thereafter to surrender. Following the instructions of the SWAT team he was voluntarily taken into custody shortly afterwards. There were no injuries to the subject or others at the scene.
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Chris Graham
