Top Stories in April: Serial Groper, Police-Involved Shooting, a Brush Fire and Cherry Blossoms

A few stories caught the attention of Kingstowne Patch readers this month. Here are the top 10 stories on the site from April.

Once you're done reviewing the list, let us know if you're surprised by this month's top stories. Which story had you talking to neighbors or co-workers at the water cooler the next day?

10. Elevation Burger Coming to Hilltop Village Center

Elevation Burger — a restaurant chain established in 2002 — will open at the soon-to-be Hilltop Village Center with Wegmans in Kingstowne next year, said franchise owner Neeraj Vohra in an email to Patch. The restaurant, which specializes in "an elevated product that is fresh and flavorful because it is made of the highest quality ingredients," will open in spring 2014 according to the website.

Elevation Burger currently has restaurants located in Falls Church, Arlington, Tysons Corner and other neighborhoods in the Northern Virginia area.

9. Top 20: Walgreens, 7-Eleven Not Welcome, Babysitter Indicted, Affordable Housing, DNA in Crimes and a Long, Happy Marriage

Patch has 31 community sites in Virginia and D.C. Here are some of the top stories from around the region over the past week.

Affordable housing continues to be a major topic of discussion in Alexandria. The Virginia Department of Transportation sold Hunting Point, two eight-story apartment buildings, to a realty firm. Alexandria's City Council had asked that any purchaser not turn the buildings into luxury apartments that could displace its current tenants who require more affordable housing. That message was passed on to the new buyers, according to VDOT, but was not a condition of the sale.

8. NCAA March Madness 2013: Final Four Schedule, Odds, Predictions, Where to Watch

After many surprises in the 2013 NCAA March Madness, the NCAA Final Four finally came around and Patch provided a few suggestions on where to watch the big games:

The March Madness 2013 Final Four television schedule begins Saturday with a television schedule that includes Louisville v. Wichita State followed by Michigan v. Syracuse.

7. Weekly Top Stories: Body Found in Burke, Lyrid Meteor Shower, Restaurant Inspections

Body Found in Burke Lake Park

The body of an adult male was found Sunday night in Burke Lake Park located at 7315 Ox Road, in an apparent suicide.

According to Officer Eddy Azcarate with the Fairfax County Police Department's Public Information Office, police responded to a call at 9:14 p.m. on Sunday after a park employee discovered the body. The employee was doing an after-hours check around the park and found a running vehicle in the parking lot where the body was found.

6. Police Release Preliminary Investigation Information on Shooting in Kingstowne

According to a recent FCPD news release, the preliminary investigation shows that the 37-year-old suspect shot by police Tuesday afternoon on Thurlton Drive displayed an object that appeared to be a weapon when police officers arrived on scene.

Police were responding to a report of someone possibly displaying suicidal tendencies in the 6600 block of Thurlton Drive. One of the officers on the scene at the time of the incident performed CPR until fire and rescue arrived and transported the suspect to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. No officers were injured during the shooting.

5. Firefighters Rush to Contain Brush Fire Near Schools in Rose Hill Area

About 45 firefighters were on the scene Monday afternoon of a brush fire near Mark Twain Middle School and Clermont Elementary School in the Rose Hill area of Fairfax County.

Firefighters from both Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria were on the scene.

The fire was creeping toward a residential area but Captain Kendall Thompson with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department tells Patch they have contained the fire.

4. Police Release Video of Potential Serial Groper Suspect

Video of a man who may be the person some people call the Fairfax County serial groper has been released by Fairfax County police.

The video is from a surveillance video taken around 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon at the HomeGoods store in the Kingstowne Towne Center, where a possible 24th attack in the series of assaults was reported to police.

Fairfax County police are asking for the public's help in identifying the person in the video. Anyone with information should call 703-691-2131 or contact CrimeSolvers 866-411-TIPS.

3. Lyrid Meteor Shower 2013 Peak: Where and When to Watch

The Lyrid meteor shower is ready to make its 2013 debut in the skies above Kingstowne, and of all the year’s many shows in the heavens, this is one to catch.

The skies have been largely empty of visible meteor showers since the Quadrantids of early January, but the shooting stars of the Lyrids have been a reliable spectacle for, oh, 2,600 years or so.

2. Police Officers Responding to Possible Suicide Threat Shoot Man in Kingstowne

Fairfax County Police officers responding to a call Tuesday afternoon shot a man in Kingstowne after an altercation.

A 911 call came in at about 4 p.m. Tuesday about a possible suicide threat, according to Officer Don Gotthardt, public information officer for Fairfax County Police, who was on the scene Tuesday night at the 6600 block of Thurlton Drive in Kingstowne.

Thurlton Drive is located just off Lake Village Drive in Kingstowne.

Police said Tuesday night they were unsure how many shots were fired or if the man had a weapon. No weapons were retrieved from the scene, police said.

1. 2013 Cherry Blossom Peak Weather: Spring Temperatures, Sun to Welcome Blossoms

The cherry blossom trees around the DC Tidal Basin will most likely peak this weekend or early next week — and the weather will cooperate with spring-like temperatures and sunshine.

The National Park Service says the peak bloom will be April 3 - 6 (Wednesday through Saturday), but the Capital Weather Gang predicts a peak April 6 - 10 (Saturday through Wednesday).