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Special Needs

Police & Fire
Toddler Who Died In Fall From Alexandria High-Rise ID'd By Aunt Toddler Who Died In Fall From Alexandria High-Rise ID'd By Aunt
Toddler Who Died In Fall From Alexandria High-Rise ID'd By Aunt Support was surging for the family of a 3-year-old boy who fell to his death from an Alexandria high-rise in June 2023. The tot was identified by his aunt, Melissa Velasquez, as Dylan Velasquez, on a GoFundMe campaign launched for his parents.  Police said only that the boy fell from a building at the Arrive Apartments on Yoakum Parkway on Wednesday, June 28, just before 2 p.m. Dylan Velasquez.GoFundMe photo Melanie Velasquez Melissa says on the campaign that her nephew fell from a window. "This loss became a traumatic tragedy for my family who never thought this could be a story for …

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
Instructional Assistant At Virginia ES Caught Assaulting Special Needs Student, Police Say Instructional Assistant At Virginia ES Caught Assaulting Special Needs Student, Police Say
Instructional Assistant At Virginia ES Caught Assaulting Special Needs Student, Police Say An instructional assistant at Glen Forest Elementary School in Fairfax County is facing charges after being caught allegedly assaulting a student with special needs last month. The Fairfax County Police Department announced that Meredith Capets, 36, of Alexandria, was served a warrant for simple assault and turned herself in on Tuesday, Jan. 3 to face the charge. Investigators say that on Thursday, Dec. 8, an employee at the elementary school in Falls Church spotted Capets assaulting a student with disabilities, which was then immediately reported to school administrators. Following a near…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Special Needs Student Assaulted By Reston School Employee: Police Special Needs Student Assaulted By Reston School Employee: Police
Special Needs Student Assaulted By Reston School Employee: Police A staff member at Dogwood Elementary School in Reston was recently charged for assaulting a special needs student, police said. Two teachers witnessed Mark MacDicken, who has been an employee of the school for almost 10 years, assaulting the student on Sept. 16, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.  There was no further information given about the incident. On Sept. 20, law enforcement arrested MacDicken and he was released from police custody on his signature, authorities said. Police are asking anyone with more information to call them at 703-246-7800.

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by AJ Goldbloom
Obituaries
VA Boy Is 2nd 6-Year-Old Boy With Autism To Drown On East Coast In 24 Hour Span VA Boy Is 2nd 6-Year-Old Boy With Autism To Drown On East Coast In 24 Hour Span
VA Boy Is 2nd 6-Year-Old Boy With Autism To Drown On East Coast In 24 Hour Span Two 6-year-old boys with autism — one from Virginia the other from New York — drowned near their homes over 600 miles away from each other just days apart. Landon “Waldy” Raber, who is non-verbal and has Down syndrome, was found dead in a pond around 5:30 a.m. Monday, July 11 after he wandered away from his home in Buckingham County Sunday evening, authorities said. Onnex Thompson-Hall, a 6-year-old boy with autism, was also found dead in a pond the day before not too far from his home in upstate New York. He was reported missing from the Washington County Fairgrounds at around 10:40 a.m.…

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by AJ Goldbloom
Schools
VA Toddler Was Abused And Bus Driver, Attendant Let It Happen: Police VA Toddler Was Abused And Bus Driver, Attendant Let It Happen: Police
VA Toddler Was Abused And Bus Driver, Attendant Let It Happen: Police A northern Virginia bus driver and her attendant failed to protect a 3-year-old special needs student who was severely injured on their school bus, authorities announced. Rqia Tabite, 36, and Teresa Wessells, 70, both of Falls Church, face an abuse and child neglect charge stemming from an incident earlier this year, Vienna police said.  Officers were called to a bus stop on March 18 after a Fairfax County Public Schools bus driver had gotten into an argument with a parent after their child was injured on the bus ride home from school, Vienna police said.  It's unclear how the ch…

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by Josh Lanier