A 15-year-old Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School student has been charged in connection with the May 16 bomb threats called into the Bethesda school that led to a lockdown and a massive police response, according to authorities.

Montgomery County police said in a news release Monday the teen used social media to allegedly solicit the help of a 12-year-old Pennsylvania boy to call in the bomb threat to B-CC High and other county schools. The pair also are responsible for the May 17 bomb threat calls made to Bethesda Elementary School and Walt Whitman High School, according to the release.

The B-CC teen, who was not named, was charged with multiple counts including threats of mass violence, making a false statement, extortion, and other felony charges related to the event, police said.

Police spokesperson Shiera Goff told MoCo360 Monday the teen was not physically arrested but was released to his parents after he was charged. She did not say when the teen was charged.

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) said Monday in a statement that police had notified the district about the teen’s arrest.

“Making bomb threats is not only illegal but also profoundly harmful,” the statement said. “Such actions cause unnecessary anxiety and fear among students, staff and the broader community. They also significantly disrupt the daily operations of our schools, undermining the safe and supportive learning environment that we are committed to maintaining.”

At an August school board meeting, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor announced a renewed emphasis on safety. As part of that emphasis, Marcus Jones, the district’s chief of security and compliance, plans to investigate the county police response to bomb threats. According to school board documents, 21 bomb threats were reported during the 2023-2024 school year.   

Jones said he learned in his previous role as county police chief that many of the threats came from outside Montgomery County, and some even came from out of the state or country.  

Jones said he was working to revise response protocols regarding such threats so schools don’t respond with a “knee jerk reaction” and was looking at information to make the best decision to minimize disruption.

The B-CC High threat 

The May 16 incident began when the B-CC High School cluster’s Community Engagement Officer, the county police officer assigned to patrol the cluster, responded at about 11:23 a.m. to the phoned-in threat at the high school, Goff said in May.

According to police radio transmissions from that day, the school administration had received a threat that a suspect was in the building with an AR-15 rifle and pipe bombs. The school was placed on lockdown.

In Monday’s statement, police said the 15-year-old allegedly had been communicating with the 12-year-old during the lockdown and provided him with information, updates and instructions as he called in the threats. According to police, the caller demanded a specific amount of money to be paid to prevent the bombs from detonating.

Police responded to the threat at the high school with the deployment of SWAT, K-9 units and other law enforcement and security measures. As the school was placed in lockdown, many students were eating lunch, some off of school grounds, while others were inside taking exams.

As police searched the school, students who had left for lunch were not allowed in the building and dozens stood on sidewalks and the school’s driveway entrance on East-West Highway.

Then-freshman Telman Dashdorj told MoCo360 he had heard from students sheltering inside that armed police officers had “barged” into classrooms to search.

Some parents also stood across from the school waiting for more information along with students and news media.

Among the parents outside the school was FOX 5 reporter Bob Barnard, whose son, 18-year-old Jimmy, attended B-CC. The veteran reporter had been assigned to cover the threat at the school, according to the TV station located in downtown Bethesda.

“I’ve covered this kind of stuff so you know, it doesn’t usually get to me, but yeah you know, you’ve got your son trapped inside a real situation. It’s a little different, but I’m also trying to do my job and stay calm and provide as much accurate information as we can,” Barnard told the station as part of his report.

Barnard spoke to his son by phone, who said he was in the gymnasium taking an Advanced Placement Spanish exam when “a bunch of people ran in and teachers told us to stop taking the test and sit along the wall.”

Melissa Mello, whose daughter was a B-CC junior at the time, told MoCo360 that her daughter had texted her that she was safe in a room with other students and three security guards during the lockdown. Mello, a Chevy Chase resident, lives nearby and came over to the school after hearing sirens from emergency responders. “It’s terrifying,” she said.

Around 1:20 p.m., after K-9 officers searched and cleared the school, students outside of the school were allowed back in. School officials later announced that students would be dismissed at the normal time and parents could come to pick up their children.

According to police Monday, the 12-year-old boy was initially identified as the caller through a joint investigation by the police department’s Behavioral Assessment and Administrative Unit and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. Maryland state law prohibits charges from being filed against the boy, according to police.

“The actions of both individuals caused disruption to the school day, forcing a lockdown, and taking an emotional toll on the students, staff, and the community,” police said in Monday’s release.

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Editor’s note: This article, published at 5:34 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2024, was updated at 4:33 p.m. on Aug. 21, 2024, to add comments from Police Chief Marc Yamada.

Montgomery County police are investigating multiple “bias-related vandalism” incidents at a Jewish synagogue and a coffee shop in Bethesda as well as several county public schools over the past nine days.

On Tuesday, for the second time in less than two weeks, Congregation Beth El at 8215 Old Georgetown Road was vandalized, according to police. According to a Tuesday letter written by Beth El leaders, the synagogue’s new “Let Them Go Now” sign–referring to a campaign advocating for the return of hostages taken by Hamas in Israel during an Oct. 7 attack–and the concrete stairs leading from Old Georgetown Road to the front door were “tagged with anti-Israel graffiti.”

The graffiti found Tuesday consists of red spray-painted phrases including “Jews against Israel” on the steps outside of the synagogue and “No Genocide” on the new sign, according to photos obtained by MoCo360.

“The language was less graphic, but no less insulting than the vandalism last week,” the synagogue’s leaders said in the letter.

Last week, the synagogue’s former sign was vandalized with “graphic antisemitic, anti-Israel” graffiti, according to an Aug. 13 letter to the congregation. That sign was replaced with the “Let Them Go Now” sign, which was vandalized Tuesday.

“Hate language is designed to intimidate, belittle, and silence us. Despite tensions in the Middle East continuing to escalate, now, more than ever, we as a community need to stand together,” the Aug. 13 letter said.

The most recent graffiti was discovered Tuesday morning and congregation leaders reported it to county police as well as several regional Jewish organizations, Tuesday’s letter stated. In addition, congregation leaders said they planned to provide law enforcement with access to their security footage.

According to county police, the vandalism reported at Beth El is one out of eight incidents in the past nine days in which schools, businesses and places of worship have been targeted with bias-related graffiti. Police are investigating the incidents as bias-related vandalism and malicious destruction of property.

The incidents have occurred as tensions continue nationwide over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

In a statement Wednesday, Police Chief Marc Yamada said the department is asking the public to come forward with information about the vandalism.

“The recent acts of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel vandalism at our schools and places of worship are unacceptable and the Montgomery County Police department is taking every investigative step possible to close these cases by arrest,” Yamada said in the statement. 

“These incidents are not only crimes; they are hateful actions that seek to divide our community and instill fear in our residents,” he continued. “Let me be clear; every person, faith, culture and religion has the right to feel safe and respected in Montgomery County. These acts of bias and hate will not be tolerated.”

The first county incident occurred Aug. 11 when graffiti that read “Israel rapes men, women and children” and other phrases were found spray-painted on the sign and surrounding sidewalks of Bethesda Elementary School at 7600 Arlington Road, the site of a Sunday farmers market.

Two days later, “biased-related graffiti” was found at a Starbucks at 7700 Norfolk Ave in downtown Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle, according to police. Then on Aug. 13 the graffiti was found at Congregation Beth El.

The second act of vandalism at Beth El also comes just one day after graffiti labeled as antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ was found at four more county public schools: Fallsmead Elementary School in Rockville, Strathmore Elementary School in Silver Spring, Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville and Winston Churchill High School in Potomac.

At Strathmore Elementary, graffiti of a swastika and the word “Hitler” were written on the exterior of the building. The phrase, “Israel bomb schools,” was spray-painted on a wall at Fallsmead Elementary, according to two photos of the graffiti provided to MoCo360.

The graffiti at the schools was discovered Monday morning, which was the first day of pre-service training for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teachers before classes start Aug. 26.

In a Monday evening post on X, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor called for the community to “stand together against hate.”

“Very sad that many of our teachers returned to vandalized schools today with abhorrent messages,” Taylor said.

Guila Franklin Siegel, chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said in a Monday statement the graffiti is harmful to the “entire shared community.” 

“The horrific terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th and the ensuing war in Gaza have brought tremendous pain and suffering to Israeli, Jewish, Palestinian, and other Arab families in our area,” Siegel said. “But litigating the war on school walls will do nothing to achieve peace in the affected region and only further inflames tensions and divisiveness here at home.” 

In a statement Tuesday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington said it was “troubled” by the acts of vandalism and encouraged community members to report incidents or concerns to local police and the federation’s security division, JShield.

“Ahead of the new school year, we must send a clear message that there is zero tolerance for hate at our schools,” the statement said.

In addition, local elected officials voiced their concern with the recent spate of vandalism on social media Monday. County Council President Andrew Friedson thanked Taylor for a “strong response” to the vandalism.

Councilmember Kate Stewart said “antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ hatred must be called out” in the county and called for the community to unite to ensure a safe start to the school year, which begins Monday.

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Kensington’s BabyCat Brewery will be opening a new location in downtown Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle neighborhood in early 2025, according to co-founder Terry Redmond.

The brewery plans to expand to a second space, called BabyCat Brewery & Kitchen, with a 4,400-square-foot taproom and brewhouse in the ground-floor retail space within the Gallery Bethesda II apartment building at 4850 Rugby Ave.

BabyCat Brewery signed a lease for the space about a month ago, Redmond told MoCo360 Friday. The Montgomery Newsletter first reported the signed lease.

“We’re super excited about it. We really like our concept, and it seems to resonate really well in the community of Kensington. We’re hoping to do the same thing in Bethesda,” Redmond said, referring to the brewery’s focus on creating a gathering space for the communities it serves.

BabyCat Brewery first opened at 10241 Kensington Parkway in November 2022. The brewery’s name is based on co-founder Sam Musomelli’s cat Alice, a.k.a., “Baby Cat,” a small cat “who never really grew,” Musomelli told MoCo360 in 2022. The feline’s face is the brewery’s logo and can be seen on murals around the Kensington location. BabyCat Brewery is run by co-founders Musomelli and Redmond, as well as business manager Kerry Pratt and head brewer Philip Zanello.

At the Bethesda location, customers can expect to enjoy the same craft beers served in Kensington, such as Catnip Bender, Black Cat and On the Prowl, plus some custom brews representing the Bethesda community, according to Redmond. He said the custom brews haven’t been developed but will likely “bubble up” organically as the brewery nears its opening.

In addition, the Bethesda location will have a full kitchen—eliminating the need for the food trucks that are a mainstay at the Kensington brewery, according to Redmond. However, the Bethesda location will continue the Kensington site’s tradition of allowing patrons to bring their own food to the brewery.

The new space includes a large tap room that will offer a variety of seating, a 29-seat bar, a brew house and dog-friendly plaza seating, according to Redmond.

Another feature of the brewery will be three garage doors that can be opened to create a breezy atmosphere, he said. The garage doors are a special feature of the brewery’s Kensington location, formerly an auto shop for about 50 years.

Redmond anticipates the customer base in Bethesda to be different than in Kensington, with more singles and fewer families with kids. At the BabyCat in Kensington, as many as 60 kids often can be found enjoying the space with their families on Saturdays, he said.

“It’s kind of a quieter area of Bethesda, in that [northern] Woodmont Triangle area and there’s not a lot of energy or a lot of activity or a lot of community there. There’s no kind of meeting place for all the folks living in those apartments and we look at that as an opportunity to bring our concept,” Redmond said of the neighborhood that’s home to a mix of local and chain restaurants, housing, bars, shops and businesses.

BabyCat is focused on creating a community-building space rather than being a brewery focused mostly on sampling craft beers or taking a “deep dive” on the brew house concept, Redmond said.

“We’re more, like, how can we bring the residents of this area together?” he said.

The idea to open the Bethesda space stemmed from conversations with Bethesda-based Donohoe Cos., the owner of the Rugby Avenue building that had been looking for a tenant to fill the vacant ground-floor retail space, Redmond said.

In months before the anticipated opening, BabyCat is working on permit applications to submit to the county and also waiting for Donohoe to complete construction of the primary structure of the brewery, such as installing flooring and heating and air conditioning, Redmond said.

Once it opens, BabyCat Brewery & Kitchen expects to initially host a series of soft openings and to invite local apartment building residents and food industry workers in the area to try its brews, according to Redmond.

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Raku, a sushi bar and Asian fusion restaurant on Bethesda Row, reopened Aug. 13 with an updated dining room after closing in early March for renovations, according to co-owner Marcel The.

For months, the windows of the restaurant at 7240 Woodmont Ave. had been covered and signs were plastered to the front windows that said “Reopening this summer” as the work took place.

“With all the renovations done and everything, we’re just happy that we’re reopened,” The (pronounced “Tay”) told Moco360 on Thursday.

The said the goal of the renovations was to update the “outdated” décor and space to create a more comfortable dining experience for customers. The upgrades include new dining room decorations, lighting and furniture and more comfortable seating, he said.

Another new addition is a takeout/delivery window where customers and food delivery workers can pick up orders. The said he hopes the window will make the food pickup process easier for customers.

In addition to the dining room, the kitchen was upgraded with new equipment, as well as the sushi bar and drinking bar, The said.

Raku opened on Woodmont Avenue in 1997. In 2019, The told MoCo360 that one of the biggest complaints the restaurant received from customers was about table spacing and said he planned to reduce the number of seats in a future renovation.

As part of the renovations, the dining room now seats about 85 seats, compared to the 95 seats before the changes, according to The.

While the majority of the renovations are completed, The said he is waiting to finish one final project that will replace the restaurant’s exterior windows with those that can slide open.

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Silver and Sons BBQ-–a local food truck serving barbecue inspired by Jewish and Mediterranean cuisine-–will open its first brick-and-mortar storefront in Bethesda’s Westbard Square in late fall, according to owner Jarrad Silver.

The 800-square-foot storefront, which will be designed for takeout, will be on the ground level of the Westbard Square shopping center, below the Giant supermarket.

That area of the shopping center also will be the future home to a Tatte Bakery & Café, Starbucks and Piccoli Piatti Pizzeria, according to the Westbard Square website. Currently, the shopping center is undergoing redevelopment with the first phase complete and the second phase poised to be finished in 2026.

Silver told MoCo360 Monday that he plans for the eatery to have an outdoor dining patio and seating inside will be limited to a handful of stools at a countertop. He envisions the Westbard storefront to be a “neighborhood regular” spot where patrons can grab a quick bite to eat or a take-out meal for the family.

The shop also will offer a menu with items slightly different than what the business’s two food trucks sell–with weekly sandwich specials and a rotational menu based on what local ingredients are in season.

“I didn’t want to focus on indoor dining as a main driving revenue source because I’d rather focus on, you know, the food and the feel and the atmosphere and making sure that people get a great experience with us in a short period of time,” said Silver, who is aiming for an opening in late October to early November.

Silver, 36, a Bethesda native and Kensington resident, first started selling barbecue from his home after the pandemic in 2021 and after decades of working in the food industry. The business quickly gained traction and in March 2022, Silver debuted a food truck in the parking lot of Captain’s Market, a seafood market and eatery on MacArthur Boulevard in Cabin John.

More than two years later, Silver and Sons BBQ now operates two food trucks that sell barbecue and brunch options at local breweries, wineries and farmers markets–such as the Bethesda Central Farmers Market at 7600 Arlington Ave., plus at pools and other events in the area.

In July, Silver and Sons BBQ moved into a 6,300-square-foot commissary space in Rockville, which is where most of the eatery’s food production for items including challah rolls, sauces and spice mixes takes place. The space also helps support the business’s catering service.

During the holidays, Silver and Sons BBQ creates a dinner menu for celebrations including Hanukkah, Christmas, Easter, Passover and Rosh Hashanah. Silver said he is looking forward to being able to use the Bethesda storefront as another location for people to pick up catering orders.

Silver, the father of two young sons, said he is also excited to be setting up a shop about 3 miles away from the home where he grew up and to be near Walt Whitman High School, which he attended.

“I’ve always joked about doing something there, and that shopping center has been poised for redevelopment probably since I was born,” Silver said, referring to the Westbard Square shopping center.

Being in Bethesda also means Silver can stay involved with the surrounding community and continue getting help from his parents who still live in Silver’s childhood home.

“They’re going to be right down the street,” Silver said. “My dad is pretty involved in our project. My mom also does stuff with the website, answering emails and schedules. My dad is going to be keeping an eye on construction and making sure that we’re staying on track because that’s what he did for his career. It’s really fun to kind of bring all these pieces together.”

For now, Silver said he is finalizing building permits and hopes to begin construction on the Bethesda shop in the next couple of weeks.

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Montgomery County police detectives are investigating a July 30 armed robbery of a gas station near Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda.

On Wednesday, detectives released surveillance video of the incident and are asking the public for help in identifying the suspect, according to a police press release.

Officers responded around 11:30 p.m. July 30 to the Shell gas station at 10211 Westlake Drive for the report of an armed robbery, police said.

According to an investigation, a suspect initially entered the gas station’s convenience store to use the restroom. When the suspect came out of the bathroom, he approached the employee working behind the cashier counter and displayed a knife. He then took “merchandise” from behind the counter, put it inside a backpack and left the scene, the release stated.

In the 55-second video released Wednesday, the suspect is wearing a backward black baseball cap, sunglasses with yellow polarized lenses, a black T-shirt, black pants and a black/camouflage backpack.

The video shows the suspect walking into the store and then later standing behind the counter. He then stands in front of the display of tobacco products and puts multiple packs of cigarettes into the backpack.

Police ask anyone with information about the suspect to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County website or to call 1-866-411-8477. Tips can be anonymous and if they lead to an arrest, may be eligible for a reward of $250 to $10,000.

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Charmaine Coleman says she was drawn to Tuesday’s National Night Out at downtown Silver Spring’s Veterans Plaza to get a sense of community from others who came to the annual event sponsored by local law enforcement.

Despite growing concerns about safety in downtown Silver Spring expressed recently by other community members, the 23-year Silver Spring resident said she feels safe in the area and appreciates the number of security present.

“You get to know the people in the community and the people in the area so that you will feel safer because you get to know the people around you,” Coleman told MoCo360.

Held in numerous locations around Montgomery County and the nation, National Night Out is an event in which community members of all ages, county officials and local law enforcement come together for an evening of fun activities such as mini golf, push-up and pull-up contests and to listen to live music. The event is promoted as a way for residents to connect with their local police officers and discuss safety and enforcement work in their community, according to authorities.

At Silver Spring’s event, community members checked out a Montgomery County police department’s emergency services vehicle, participated in push-up and pull-up contests, danced with the mascot for the Nando’s restaurant and McGruff the Crime Dog.

Those attending also learned about the Silver Spring Safety Alliance program run by the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce and the police department.

Chamber President and CEO Stephanie Helsing told MoCo360 that the alliance was created after the chamber heard from community members concerned about crime in downtown Silver Spring.

“What [the alliance] does is it allows people to see that the business community understands their concerns and that we are trying to be an active part of the solution,” Helsing said. The alliance provides businesses with window signs stating they are part of the program and listing a phone number for customers to call if they see an incident or emergency.

Eventually, Helsing said the program will provide a wraparound communication tool that will allow the chamber, businesses and county police to share information about crime and safety in the downtown area.

County Councilmember Kate Stewart, who also attended the event, said that when it came to the perception of rising crime in the downtown area, the most important part is how people feel.

“Our job is to make sure that people feel safe coming to downtown Silver Spring, coming to eat, going to the stores, going to movies,” she said, noting that crime statistics have shown a decline in recent months in the area.

Stewart also noted the council has implemented measures to address crime and community concerns in the downtown area such as the police department’s Drone as a First Responder program, increasing the number of officers in the central business district and having more cameras surveilling the area.

She also pointed out the impact of a bill she introduced in February that restricts late-night business hours for hookah lounges and tobacco and vape shops, requiring them to close at 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.

“I’ve heard from our police officers that that’s having an impact and helping them be able to shift resources that they have,” Stewart said. “We’ve done a lot here in downtown Silver Spring and having people come out and really enjoy being out is important.”

At a National Night Out event in downtown Bethesda, officers from the police department’s 2^nd District set up a tent dedicated to the Drone as a First Responder program that will be coming to the Bethesda area within the next month or so. Police officials at the event said they are still looking for a high-rise building in the downtown area to use as a launch location for the drone.

Diana Bertocchi, who lives in the Randolph Hills neighborhood in North Bethesda, listened as an officer discussed how and when the drone would be deployed and asked questions about privacy.

Bertocchi told MoCo360 that the drone program was a “touchy subject” because of concerns about surveillance and privacy. Still, she understood the program’s goal of helping police respond to 911 calls more effectively and liked the idea of “trying something new,” she said.

Bertocchi also noted that she was interested in the cost of the drone program.

“I know there’s going to always be the initial costs and it will get cheaper as it goes on,” she said. “But that is the concern is too: Are our tax-paying dollars being used wisely?”

During the event, 2nd District Commander Amy Daum walked along Norfolk Avenue and talked with community members as well.

She told MoCo360 that despite recent reports of increased shoplifting in downtown Bethesda, crime in other categories has gone down, including property and violent crimes.

“Even despite some sensational incidents that have caught attention through the media and have certainly exploded on social media, in downtown Bethesda crime is down,” she said. “It remains an extraordinarily safe place to come out, enjoy our restaurants, enjoy the nightlight, community events.”

Daum also said the National Night Out event is a way for community members to see that law enforcement is an active part of the community and to ensure that community members are involved with local police. “That is part of why this town thrives,” she said.

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Montgomery County police are investigating a fight in downtown Bethesda early Sunday morning that left one person with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said Monday.

According to a preliminary police investigation, officers responded at approximately 2:54 a.m. to the 4900 block of Cordell Avenue for the report of an assault, police said. The area is home to restaurants and bars.

Police said three victims were evaluated by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews at the scene and one victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident was first reported by DMV News Live on X, which posted that more than 30 people were involved in a “large fight” that occurred on Cordell Avenue.

Police are actively investigating the incident and no suspects are in custody, police said.

According to police transmissions, a person called 911 to report that a group of people were fighting and said that some of the people may have guns.

Radio transmissions described the scene as chaotic with scuffles breaking out and reports of at least one person with a gun. One officer who responded to the incident said over radio transmissions that he was alone at the scene and requested backup.

“We’re going to need several more cars,” he said.

The officer later said that he had not heard any gunshots or seen anyone with a gun, but that there were at least two people with guns in the area, according to radio transmissions.

Video posted by DMV News Live of the fight showed a crowd standing on the sidewalk with some pushing each other and others walking away. Another video showed people punching and kicking someone on the ground in the street. People yelling and honking cars can be heard in the video.

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In December, videos of suspects in puffer jackets and face masks gripping heaps of clothing allegedly stolen from the Nike store in downtown Bethesda spread across social media and caught the attention of local news.

About two months later another alleged aftermath of a theft at the Nike store was captured on camera and posted to Reddit with the caption: “Nike Store got robbed (AGAIN). This is absolutely crazy y’all, they’re about to close at this point.”

The brazen thefts allegedly from the Bethesda Row store in the shopping district owned by North Bethesda’s Federal Realty are two of dozens of shoplifting incidents in the downtown area that have occurred over roughly the past seven months, according to police. The incidents have sparked a community conversation about increasing security and the viability of business in the downtown Bethesda area.

All told, shoplifters reportedly have hit local businesses 67 times from January to July, according to data from Montgomery County police. That figure is nearly double the number of incidents—34– reported during the same time frame in 2023.

Shoplifting incidents were reported to police six times in each January and February, according to the data. In March, 11 incidents were reported, followed by 17 in April and 15 in May. In June, there were nine incidents and three reported last month as of July 19.

In recent years, retail theft has increased throughout the region, according to authorities. Locally, Giant Food has implemented additional security protocols to address what a company official described as “unprecedented” theft in its stores. On June 25, a clerk at a Giant Food store on Arlington Road in downtown Bethesda was punched in the face when a robbery suspect allegedly tried unsuccessfully to return stolen goods for cash, according to police.

In July, a CVS store in downtown Silver Spring also implemented protocols to deter theft and locked up merchandise including refrigerated drinks, according to WTOP. Some shoppers told the news outlet the measure was an inconvenience but they believed the company was doing what it needed to do to stay in business.

Though the number of shoplifting incidents has jumped dramatically this year in downtown Bethesda, Montgomery County police Commander Amy Daum, in charge of the department’s 2nd District covering Bethesda, said in an email to MoCo360 that “larceny shoplifting” is the only type of theft that has been increasing in the community.

Of the 67 reported thefts, Daum said the Nike store, at 7117 Arlington Road, and downtown Bethesda’s three CVS stores have reported the most incidents this year. Police did not share details on the number of theft incidents reported at each store.

Of the more than 30 retailers in Bethesda Row, Nike and Lululemon, at 4838 Bethesda Ave., have each reported three thefts involving three or more suspects, according to Daum.

Five additional thefts involving three or more suspects were also reported at CVS stores and three other stores in the downtown area, Daum said. Police did not clarify which of the three CVS stores in downtown Bethesda reported the thefts.

In a statement, Federal Realty said the company continues to “partner with the Montgomery County Police Department, our private security company and the neighborhood retailers to maintain the shopping and dining experience our customers have enjoyed for decades.”

As summer winds down and back-to-school shopping is expected to begin in downtown Bethesda, the area remains a safe place for people to visit, shop and eat with their families and children, Daum told MoCo360 in an interview.

She noted that incidents involving police in downtown Bethesda usually range from shoplifting and disorderly conduct to the occasional inebriated person on a weekend night.

“We are extremely fortunate that it is a very, very safe area,” Daum said, noting that in the entire Second District–-which covers all of Bethesda and Chevy Chase, Cabin John and North Bethesda-–theft of all types has decreased by nearly 21% in the last year.

Allie Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce, said it is important for those who shop, dine or recreate in downtown Bethesda to not buy into the “sensationalism” of crime that happens on social media.

“A lot of things get blown out of proportion and sensationalized and that’s just not fair,” he said. “… Yes, we have incidences that occur, they are everywhere, but we’re working with community partners to educate our retailers and our establishments” about retail theft and resources available to them.

Increased police presence

Though Daum would not share details of her “deployment strategies” for officers in her district, some people say they have noticed an increased police presence in the downtown shopping area.

Dino Pampillonia, owner of Pampillonia Jewelers on Bethesda Lane, said he was pleased to see an increase in police presence along Bethesda Row in recent months. Pampillonia declined to discuss a break-in that had been reported at his store in May but said he believes the area is safe.

“We’ve seen more police here over the last couple of months than we have before,” he said. “There’s a good police presence … they do come in and talk to us. It feels good having them here.”

Longtime Bethesda resident Howard Schoenholtz told MoCo360 he noticed three marked police cars in the area and officers stopping in stores and talking to employees during a recent trip to Bethesda Row.

Curious about what was going on, Schoenholtz said he asked an employee at the Warby Parker store, at 4821 Bethesda Ave., who told him that more uniformed police officers had been stationed in the area and stopping by stores due to an increase in what Schoenholtz called “grab-and-go robberies.”

“It’s a little unsettling that you’ve got to have uniformed and armed police officers walking up and down the street to make it a less inviting place for bad guys to do their crime of opportunity. But you know, you do what you have to do,” he said.

“Businesses are [trying to] at least break even and hopefully make a buck,” Schoenholtz added. “And when you have people who walk out with hundreds or thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise, stealing it, then it hurts the bottom line, and it plays a big role in businesses deciding whether or not they’re going to stay open in Montgomery County.”

Daum noted that private companies have hired off-duty police officers to patrol around their businesses, which could be a reason why people say they have noticed an increased police presence on Bethesda Row.

Humberto Alarcon, a security guard hired by Federal Realty who has patrolled Bethesda Row since May, told MoCo360 the number of thefts has “died down” in recent months, but he said Nike, Lululemon and Anthropologie, at 4801 Bethesda Ave., were the “top three” stores that he has seen impacted by theft.

Nike, Lululemon and Anthropologie did not respond to MoCo360’s requests for comment about whether they are experiencing retail theft at their stores.

As Alarcon recently sat on a bench outside of the Lululemon on Bethesda Avenue, he said he was assigned to patrol near the activewear store because it had been hit by shoplifters.

“It could be a random time in the morning, afternoon, night, just throughout the day when they’re open. Groups of young teenagers-–they’re in groups and it’s kind of obvious, you can tell what they’re about to do,” Alarcon said. “They just walk in [wearing] backpacks, hoodies, sweatpants with this kind of weather. And they just go in and grab stuff.

“They try to be slick about it and go into the fitting rooms and put it under their clothes and walk out of the store with everything on,” he said. “Sometimes they just put in a friend’s backpack or into bags, whatever they have.”

Police drones take flight in Bethesda

Williams said the chamber had heard from downtown Bethesda businesses about issues with retail theft “from time to time” and worked “aggressively” with County Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) to get funding for expansion of the county police department’s Drone as a First Responder program into Bethesda.

Later this August, the police department will expand the drone program to the downtown area. Under the program, which now operates in Silver Spring and Wheaton, police deploy drones in response to 911 calls or reports of a crime to assess the situation and share information with officers.

Daum said she thinks Bethesda’s new drone program will be effective and “extraordinarily valuable” in helping keep track of crime suspects and improving police response times in downtown Bethesda.

“Frankly, it’s kind of hard to get around [Bethesda],” she said. “Sometimes our response times are a little bit slower than I want them to be, just basically on the level of pedestrian, vehicular traffic that we encounter when we’re trying to get anywhere.”

Williams also sees the drone program as a welcome addition to the downtown Bethesda area.

“We’re extremely excited that the drones will be placed in Bethesda to help, not to just deter but to get that thing flying when a call comes in for a retail theft,” he said. “That drone will be there … perhaps before an officer can get there and start to follow and trail the people responsible for those retail thefts.”

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Sisters Sandwiches & Such, a Montgomery County-based sandwich shop, is planning to open a location in downtown Bethesda by the end of October, according to the owners.

Ajith Wellage told MoCo360 that he and co-owners Ravi Abeynayake and Ron Vogel are partnering to bring Sisters Sandwiches to Bethesda. They are waiting on the architectural drawings for the shop, which will include outdoor seating, to submit permits to the county so construction can begin.

The new eatery will be at 4520 East West Highway in the former location of Perfect Pita, across the street from Round House Theatre and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. It will be the sandwich shop’s third location.

The first Sisters Sandwiches & Such was opened by sisters Kim Carlson and Tammy Prestipino in 2010 in Olney. That shop is at 16834 Georgia Ave. in the historic Higgins Tavern, which was a “trading post and watering hole built in the early 1820s on the old Georgetown-to-Brookville Road,” The Washington Post reported in 2015.

The current owners—Wellage, Abeynayake and Vogel—took over the business in 2019 and opened a second location in Germantown in September 2022, Wellage said. The Germantown location is in an office building at 20201 Century Blvd. Vogel was one of the original co-owners of Booeymonger–a popular delicatessen that had locations in Georgetown, Bethesda and Ballston and currently has a shop in Friendship Heights.

Vogel said the Bethesda location will offer the same menu as the other locations.

Sisters Sandwiches & Such serves classic sandwiches such as tuna salad, turkey, and Caprese, but offers other combinations such as The Smasher–a roasted turkey sandwich with bacon, provolone and BBQ chips–and Trish and Dish’s Roaster Veggie sandwich with roasted zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and red onions.

The menu also offers breakfast items such as bagels with lox and cream cheese, egg-and-cheese sandwiches and buttermilk pancakes. Soups, including a vegan option, are prepared in-house and the menu includes seven salads.

Upon taking ownership of Sisters Sandwiches & Such, Wellage said he and his co-owners decided to expand the business to include catering services.

“In Bethesda, we expect much more catering than we have in Olney and in Germantown because there are a lot of offices in Bethesda,” he said.

The post Sisters Sandwiches & Such to open new shop in Bethesda this fall appeared first on MoCo360.