McLean VA: Man with AK-47 in car en route to CIA arrested at Dolley Madison Preschool, police say

CNN
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A man with an AK-47 in his vehicle who said he was heading for the CIA has been charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property, Virginia police said.

Florida resident Eric Sandow, 32, was arrested at Dolley Madison Preschool in McLean on Tuesday after police said he entered the school grounds around 11 a.m. The kindergarten is less than 2.5 km from the CIA headquarters.

“He requested access to building facilities to use the restroom, which was denied by school staff,” Dolley Madison Preschool said in a statement Wednesday. “At no time was he able to physically enter the school building.”

Fairfax County Police were later called to the scene. “While speaking with him, he stated that he had weapons inside his car located on school property,” the police department said in a statement Wednesday.

“Officers searched the car and found two weapons, an AK-47 and a pistol, along with magazines and ammunition.”

Sandow was arraigned Wednesday morning in Fairfax County General District Court, a court official said.

He was being held without bail on Wednesday, police said. It was not immediately clear if Sandow had legal representation.

“It does not appear that he acted in conjunction with anyone else,” Fairfax County police said. “Bandow made no threat and the weapons never left the vehicle.”

Sandow does not appear to have a long criminal history, according to public records. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery in 2014 and did not declare a political party with his voter registration.

Law enforcement greeted the alert person who summoned them to daycare on Tuesday.

“We are grateful to the member of the community who did the right thing and called us,” police said. “We would like to remind our community to report suspicious activity because you never know what you can prevent by making this call.”