Fairfax County Police Identify Man Shot By Officer In Lorton

LORTON, VA — The Fairfax County Police Department on Thursday identified the man who a police officer shot on Tuesday after he opened the side door to his minivan parked on a street in Lorton.

Michael Vaughn, 34, was shot by a police officer before 9 a.m. Tuesday while holding a carbine-style rifle in his minivan parked on Fitt Court in Lorton, according to police. Vaughan disregarded orders from police officers to put down the gun, police said.

One officer fired his gun, striking Vaughn twice in the upper body. Vaughn was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were later determined not to be life-threatening, police said. One of the police officers also was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Vaughan has been charged with failure to appear and a probation violation. He will be taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center when he is released from the hospital, police said Thursday.

The warrants stem from previous charges of possession of a firearm while in possession of certain substances and selling a drug that occurred in March 2021, according to police. When Vaughn violated his probation, a warrant was issued on Sept. 2, 2021, police said. A second warrant was issued on Sept. 22, 2021, when Vaughn failed to appear in court on the original charges.

On Tuesday, a police officer arrived in the 8300 block of Fitt Court at 8:12 a.m. and found a red 2008 Kia Sedona with tinted windows and curtains inside, separating the driver and passenger compartments. The officer attempted to look inside the van, but the view was obstructed. The officer then began knocking on the windows but did not receive any indication someone was inside, police said.

A second officer arrived as back up, and they determined the North Carolina license plate on the van was reported stolen out of South Carolina. Due to the stolen license plate, officers requested a tow truck for the van.

As officers began inventorying the van for it to be towed, they found a Virginia license plate in the rear cargo area. The Virginia license plate matched the VIN of the van. Officers then contacted the owner of the van to determine who may have been driving it.

As officers spoke to the owner of the van by phone, a tow truck driver arrived and opened the driver’s door. An officer pushed a button inside the van, which opened both rear sliding doors. As the doors opened, one of the officers saw Vaughn holding a carbine-style rifle and "emerging from the rear driver-side door," police said.

An officer and the tow truck driver took cover in front of the tow truck. One of the officers then shot Vaughan twice in the upper body.

The Office of the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney is reviewing the incident and will determine if additional charges will be placed, police said.

The officer who shot Vaughn is a two-year veteran assigned to the Franconia Police District Station. Under department policy, the officer has been placed on a restricted duty pending the outcome of an administrative investigation by the department's Internal Affairs Bureau, police said.

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