A 32-year-old man from Florida was arrested in McLean, Virginia for felony possession of a firearm on school property. Eric Sandow of Gainesville, Florida first requested staff members of Dolly Madison Preschool to let him use their building’s bathroom.
After he was denied entrance, Sandow made his intentions of approaching C.I.A. headquarters known to a man working inside the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, the building where the preschool rents out the first floor for classes. This man called Fairfax County police after the interaction.
Sandow made his way to the nearby C.I.A. headquarters where he allegedly stated to federal officers guarding the gate, “I’m here and I have a gun.”
He was denied entrance and officers notified Fairfax County police immediately. When the 32-year-old made statements during his arrest about weapons being in his car, which was parked on school property, officers found an AK-47, a pistol, magazines, and ammunition.
According to police, Sandow showed “paranoid behavior, irrational verbal behavior, and incoherent statements” during his arrest. He has yet to enter a plea and has requested a public attorney but hasn’t been assigned one yet.
The suspect claimed to have worked for the CIA, but research showed there was no indication of any association between the two parties. There are limited findings in regard to Sandow’s presence on social media and his voter registration showed that he didn’t declare a political party.
A bail hearing was scheduled yesterday but there’s been no information on whether he was granted bail and for how much it was worth.
Law enforcement and school staff members are proud and grateful for the swift action of not only the police, but the community member who notified police when they saw Sandow’s odd behavior.
“We’re grateful to the community member who did the right thing and called us,” police said. “We’d like to remind our community to report suspicious activity as you never know what you may prevent by making that call.”
