Family Demands Answers After McLean Man Shot By GW Parkway

MCLEAN, VA—A man shot by U.S. Park Police during a Nov. 17 pursuit has been identified as Bijan C. Ghaisar, 25, of McLean. He died of his injuries Monday, Nov. 27, his family said in a statement.

Few details are known about the incident other than two U.S. Park Police officers shot at the driver. U.S. Park Police say officers were pursuing a driver involved in a crash near Slaters Lane and the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the City of Alexandria around 7:30 p.m. Police say the driver left the scene of the accident, leading to a pursuit ending at Fort Hunt Road and Alexandria Avenue in Fairfax County.

Officials have not said why the shots were fired.

Ghaisar suffered three shots to the head and suffered severe brain damage, his family said in a statement to The Washington Post. His family says he was not armed and is still waiting for an explanation as to why the officers shot him.

“The reason for the murder of our son has yet to be determined though no reasoning could possibly justify the actions of the one or more Park Police officers involved in this unthinkable act," the family's statement reads.

According to his family, Ghaisar was a "first-generation, American-born citizen of Iranian heritage." He graduated from Langley High School in 2010 and received a bachelor's in accounting from Virginia Commonwealth University. He was working at the family's accounting firm, James Caesar Ghaisar CPA, in McLean.

“Bijan was an upstanding citizen in his community,” his family said in the statement. “He was loved by all — a kind and gentle soul.”

The investigation has been turned over to the FBI, which said in a statement it "will ensure that the investigation is conducted in a fair, thorough and impartial manner."

Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler said two of his officers on scene did not fire their weapons but have potential video. "Our agency has turned over our evidence in this case, in-car videos, to the federal authorities conducting the investigation into the [U.S. Park Police]," Roessler said in a statement.

Image courtesy Ghaisar family