Every winter, utility scams spike as scammers claiming to be from the utility company say you haven’t been paying your bill and they threaten to cut off service if you don’t make an immediate payment.

With another round of winter weather moving across southwest, western, Shenandoah Valley and northern Virginia this evening (Jan. 18, 2024) and continuing through mid-day Friday (Jan. 19, 2024), the Virginia State Police is once again reminding Virginians to plan ahead and avoid having to travel during inclement conditions.

Officials from Prince William County Fire Marshal's Office are on the scene investigating the cause of an apartment building fire in Occoquan that was reported shortly after midnight today, Jan. 17. The Building Official determined the six-unit building was unsafe to occupy. The Red Cross is helping eight people find housing.

Prince William County Fire and Rescue units were dispatched this morning, Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 6:19 a.m. to a restaurant fire at the Chick-fil-A, located in the 9900 block of Sowder Village Square, Manassas, off Rt. 28 near Manassas Airport, for a report of the building on fire, according to Matt Smolsky, Assistant Fire Chief-Fire Marshal.

Witnesses or victims of human trafficking are encouraged to text 847411 on their phone and then type “VSP” followed by the tip. Anonymous web tips can also be submitted through the tip411 web portal featured on the Virginia State Police website at https://www.tip411.com/tips/vastatepolice/new

On January 14, 2024, at 4:19 p.m., Manassas City Police responded to the Brentwood neighborhood area for a report of a shooting.

The preliminary investigation has revealed the two deceased were located by family members who had received concerning texts indicating the two were having an argument. A three-year-old girl was inside the residence at the time and was unharmed. The child was released to the custody of family members.

As of yesterday, Saturday,January 13, 2024, at 11 a.m., the Boil Water Alert in the northeastern part of Stafford County was lifted, after test results from samples taken after water service was restored on January 10, 2024, conclusively showed that the water system has no evidence of contamination.