A man wanted for multiple robberies in New York evaded state and local law enforcement near Harrisonburg on Sunday, prompting emergency alerts to be sent to local residents. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
The Rockingham-Harrisonburg Emergency Communications Center issued messages to more than 32,000 local residents on Sunday around 7 p.m. They advised people to be on the lookout for a white or Middle Eastern man, five-foot-eleven, with an athletic build and wearing a black hoodie. The message said he may be armed and should not be approached.
Robin Lawson, the public relations director for the Virginia State Police, told WMRA in an email that the Rockbridge County Sheriff's Department called in the state police on Sunday afternoon for assistance in pursuing Omar Hassan, a man suspected in multiple robberies in the state of New York. The Harrisonburg Police Department and Rockingham County Sheriff's Office also assisted in the pursuit.
Lawson wrote that law enforcement disabled Hassan's vehicle on Interstate 81 near mile marker 249, and he fled the scene. As of Monday afternoon, Hassan still had not been apprehended.
One of the emergency alerts said he was last seen near the 3100 block of Layman Trestle Road in Rockingham County, which is just under a mile from the interstate as the crow flies.
Michael Parks, Harrisonburg's director of communications, told WMRA via email that state police asked the Emergency Communications Center to send the alert to subscribers in a five-mile radius from the area of interest. He said that is a significantly larger radius than they normally use.
State police told us the case is still under investigation. Hassan has no known ties to the area, but local residents are advised to remain aware of their surroundings.
