Conrad Lee Birney was a 40-year-old detective with the Alexandria Police Department when he was shot and killed while responding to a bank alarm on December 27, 1972. Birney had served 17 years with the department and was working in plain clothes at the Seminary Shopping Plaza when three men attempted to flee the bank and a violent confrontation left him dead. He left behind a wife and three children.

Investigators identified three suspects from Washington, D.C. The men—Mack Holland, 23, Ralph Walker, 24, and Percy Floyd—were later indicted for Birney’s murder on May 22, 1973. All three were convicted of first-degree murder and federal bank robbery; Holland received a life sentence, Floyd was sentenced to 50 years, and Walker received 40 years.

If anyone remembers the Seminary Shopping Plaza scene that day or has information about Detective Birney’s life and service, please share what you know.