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Police investigating paintball assaults
Arlington police are investigating an incident where four people were shot with paintballs.
ARLINGTON, Va. - An Arlington couple says they were randomly hit 30 times with paintballs while walking home from Whole Foods, and police say this wasn't the only incident.
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Authorities say several people were injured after two drive-by paintball shootings in Virginia. The incidents happened on March 18 in Arlington.
The first incident involved Pat and Lana Beard who were walking home on South Eads Street near 15th Street on Friday night around 7:30 p.m. when they were hit.
The couple says they ducked behind a parked van and when they thought they were safe, more paintballs hit them while they were trying to hide.
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"I just think it’s ridiculous that people think it’s funny to terrorize and torment other people," says Lana.
Pat and Lana shared photos of their injuries, saying they were hit in the face, ears, chest and knees and are still dealing with bruising and swelling.
"They were definitely aiming for us. They were, it’s my opinion, they were taking pleasure in hurting us and it was horrible," says Pat.
A second incident hurt two others who were struck by paintball fire in the same area just over an hour later around 9:10 p.m. One of the victims was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening conditions.
The suspect vehicle is described as a silver, older model four-door sedan. There are no suspect descriptions at this time. However, the victims say it looked like three young teenagers.
"We’re very anxious about being out and about now and they took something away from us. They took away the whole reason that we moved here and we’re going to get it back, they’re not going to win, but it sucks," Pat says.
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The investigation is ongoing. The reason for the paintball shootings remains unclear, however, there is talk that this was part of a social media TikTok trend. Police have not gotten back to FOX 5 for comment on this theory.