Update, 3 p.m.: Anita Crossfield, who owns Anita’s Cafe and Dessert Bar in downtown Fredericksburg, said an FBI agent came by her establishment Friday afternoon displaying a photo of Safar and asking employees if they’d seen him.
Crossfield, who noted she wasn’t present at the time of the agent’s visit, said he showed his FBI badge to two of her employees.
“He said, ‘Have you seen this person?’ That was it,” Crossfield related, adding that Anita’s has an “open-door policy” and she didn’t know whether law enforcement already has or is in the process of canvassing other downtown businesses.
Crossfield, who is also a member of Fredericksburg’s Economic Development Authority, said she plans to review camera footage from her business to “keep an eye on it.”
“He’s pretty dangerous, and he’s on the loose right in our little town,” she said.
Original story: Around 5:30 a.m. Friday, Fredericksburg City Public Schools families and staff received text messages and notifications on the ParentSquare app informing them that schools would be closed for “safety and security reasons.”
Those reasons became clearer four hours later, when schools and the Fredericksburg Police Department released the identity of a missing Fairfax County juvenile.
According to that message, Fasihullah Safar, 16, was seen trespassing at James Monroe High School on Wednesday and fled when approached by a school resource officer. A subsequent search “had negative results.”
“We believe there are potential safety and security concerns with this individual’s mental state,” the release reads.
The police department cited Virginia Code 16.1-301 in releasing the identity of a juvenile. That law governs confidentiality of youths’ records, prohibiting their disclosure for purposes “other than evaluating threats to students and school personnel.”
Fasihullah is wanted for trespassing on school property, and police are asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact them at (540) 373-3122 or leave an anonymous tip by texting “FPDtip” to 847-411.
In a message to families, Spotsylvania County Public Schools stated that the division had contacted the county’s sheriff’s office and “have been informed that this issue does not affect Spotsylvania County Public Schools.”
(This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.)
