ATV and dirt bike riders hold up traffic through DC and northern Virginia

WASHINGTON - D.C. police say they have made three arrests and recovered multiple illegal vehicles after dozens of riders rode through the D.C. area Sunday on ATVs and dirt bikes.

The riders held up traffic at the Southwest Waterfront Sunday night as neighbors say the bikers popped wheelies onto a shared walkway on Maine Avenue, SW.

The commotion went down just before 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to residents. They say they are concerned something bad could have happened as the dirt bike and ATV riders rode around the District.

Video captured from Chinatown shows the riders rolling through city streets to the waterfront where likely the same group was seen weaving in and out of lanes and swerving up onto a portion of the sidewalk, including the shared walkway.

Dozens of bikers were seen doing tricks and revving their engines coming dangerously close to pedestrians. These kinds of vehicles are illegal in D.C. and surrounding areas.

A large group of riders were also seen traveling through Rosslyn, swarming a gas station and robbing the store. Arlington County police say it happened at around 7 p.m. while some of the riders were filling up with gasoline. Officials say they were stealing food and candy from the store while also kicking and shattering a glass door.

"Unfortunately this large crowd came upon a gas station, they started to taking concealed merchandise," said Arlington County Police spokesperson Ashley Savage. "When the employee attempted to confront them, they did push that employee. He did lock the store in an attempt to stop and prevent additional theft."

A resident says he wishes there was a legal outlet for dirt bike and ATV riders to show off their skills.

"It's clearly pretty dangerous and the bike thing in D.C. has kind of gotten out of control," says the resident. "It's just something that could be a good thing, but it's also a very dangerous thing right now. So I don't want anybody to get hurt out here."

There were no reports of injuries or arrests in Arlington County. Officials say they are working to identify those who were riding the dirt bikes and ATVs.