3 suspects wanted after smash-and-grab robbery at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City causes chaos

ARLINGTON, Va. - Arlington Police swarmed Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Sunday afternoon after receiving reports about a possible shooting. Following an investigation, police determined that no shots were fired and that it was a robbery that caused the commotion. 

Officers were called to the 1100 block of S. Fern Street around 3:30 p.m. for a preliminary report of shots heard in the area. No injuries were reported and police remained on scene to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

"The store was pretty busy, so I was like watching the front, and then next thing you know, I heard the noise," mall employee Janese Johnson said. "It was loud but I didn’t react. I didn’t think anything of it and then I heard it again, and I saw people running through the mall hallways, and then I got on the mic to my manager, and was like, I think something’s going on."

Police later determined that there were no shots fired. Investigators say three suspects went into a store at the mall armed with hammers, smashed a glass case and then set off a fire extinguisher as they fled the scene. 

FOX 5 obtained images showing two small hammers lying on the ground inside the mall and other pictures showing evidence of the discharged fire extinguisher outside the store.

"We all kind of ran to the dressing rooms, and then they brought us to the back room of the store and someone said there were three guys and there was a sledgehammer involved and he was spraying people with fire extinguishers," shopper Ainsley Grinley said.

Grinley sheltered in place inside a store for just under an hour. The mall itself remained open until 6 p.m., but we know some individual stores chose to close.

The robbery suspects are described as three Black males in their teens wearing all black clothing. 

Police say the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call ACPD's Tip Line at 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us.