Police: Man Robbed of Phone, Bible at Gunpoint by Men in Ski Masks

A man walking alone Sunday night in the Dominion Hills-Boulevard Manor area was robbed at gunpoint of his cell phone and Bible, according to the Arlington County Police Department.

It's the third robbery in the same two-block stretch of Wilson Boulevard reported in the last week.

At about 11:20 p.m. Sunday, a man walking along the sidewalk in the 6000 block of North Wilson Boulevard was approached by two unknown men wearing ski masks.

They each pulled a gun on the man, got his cell phone and Bible and then ran into a nearby wooded area, according to police.

Investigators used dogs and helicopters to search for the attackers but came up short. The choppers were deployed by Fairfax County and the U.S. Park Police. Helicopters were requested because guns were involved in the crime, Arlington police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told Patch.

The victim was not injured, Sternbeck said.

On Thursday, a man walking to a friend's apartment along the same portion of Wilson Boulevard was robbed of his iPhone 5 at knifepoint shortly before 1 a.m.

Earlier last week, a woman was robbed of her backpack at about 4 a.m. after being struck in the back of the head in that same general area.

"In each of the cases, there was a different weapon used — if a weapon was used at all. There's a different suspect description in each case, so on the surface, it appears that these are unrelated," Sternbeck told Patch.

"But it's also a good time to remind people that if they're walking alone at night or early morning, to be aware of their surroundings."