Driver Dead, 2 Police Officers Wounded By Gunshots In Fairfax County

FAIRFAX, VA — A 36-year-old man who shot two Fairfax County Police officers on Wednesday afternoon died from injuries he suffered during the incident, authorities said at a news conference. The three officers involved and shooter have not been identified by police.

Earlier in the afternoon, an officer who was assigned to the Fair Oaks District Station on traffic enforcement duty in the Greenbriar area saw a car traveling at a high rate of speed pass by.

The officer initiated a traffic stop in the 4000 block of Meridian Lane and the driver of the other vehicle began to pull over.

“He pulls over very abruptly and slams on his brakes,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said, during the news conference. “The officer obviously noticed that the driver slammed on his brakes abruptly, but nonetheless, he gets out and is conducting what amounts to a normal traffic stop for a traffic violation, speeding.”

The lone person in the vehicle immediately acted hostile, argumentative and behaved in a manner inconsistent with what officers encounter during a typical traffic stop, according to Davis.

The driver refused to identify himself or produce any identification. However, he told the officer that he was armed, Davis said. As the officer heard this, other officers began to arrive on the scene.

“Our initial police officer tells the driver, our gunman, to stop reaching for his firearm,” Davis said. “His firearm is in a holster attached to a gun belt that our bad guy is wearing over his clothing.”

One of the other officers to arrive was a 19-year-veteran on the force, who told the driver to stop reaching for his gun, and tried to prevent the driver from grabbing his gun.

“The driver of the car, our gunman, takes his gun out of the holster and leans back in his driver's seat and immediately opens fire on two uniformed Fairfax County Police officers who are standing at the driver's side door of the car,” Davis said.

The driver was killed by a third officer, who fired his gun as the suspect was shooting the other two officers, according to police.

The two officers were hit in the elbows, suffering non-life threatening injuries. They were taken to Fair Oaks Hospital for treatment.

The third officer who shot and killed the driver was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the incident, according to Davis.

"Our Major Crimes Bureau will work hand in glove with the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office," Davis said of the investigation into the shootings. "Our internal affairs will conduct a concurrent administrative review to ensure that our actions complied with our policy and our general orders, but we'll all work in tandem with each other."

Davis said he reviewed all the relevant body-cam video. The county has a policy to release body-cam video from all police-involved shootings within 30 days.

FCPD closed Majestic Lane between Route 50 and Meadow Hill Lane to allow them to process the crime scene. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route.

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