Eight schools secured as police search for killer

Woodbridge Senior High School administrators kept students inside today as police searched Lake Ridge for a killer.

A school division spokeswoman told Potomac Local News that eight Prince William County Public schools in the Lake Ridge area were placed into a secure-the-building status today for more than an hour due to police activity.

During a secure-the-building status, students who may have been outside during recess or P.E. are brought inside the building. Exterior doors remain locked as usual, but entry in and out of the building is limited.

“This is a different status than a lockdown status. None of our schools were in a lockdown status,” said spokeswoman Megan Silas. “[Prince William County Public Schools] has a great relationship with Prince William County PD, who kept us informed.”

The school division notified parents via email and text messages after they limited entry to the school buildings’ doors.

Police are searching for 37-year-old Karen Nicole Pollard, a homeless woman, who is wanted in connection to the shooting death of Patrica Belgin, 51, also homeless, on December 28, 2023.

Police said Pollard shot and killed Belgin after an argument over fentanyl pills, in the 1200 block of Easy Street, just off Route 1 in Woodbridge.

Pollard remains on the loose.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s deputies briefly closed a portion of Interstate 95 near Garrisonville Road in neighboring Stafford County for a chase that started at a Walmart on Warrenton Road (Route 17) in south Stafford.

The theft occurred about 12:30 p.m., and detectives followed the suspect’s car to I-95 north. Additional deputies were called in, and police were able to stop the suspects after a brief chase.

Several people have been arrested, said Stafford Sheriff’s Major Shawn Kimmitz.  We’ll post more about this one when we have it.