Women With Knife Fatally Shot By Fairfax Officer In Reston

RESTON, VA — A Fairfax County Police officer fatally shot a woman with a knife who had attacked and began stabbing him at an apartment building in Reston on Monday morning, according to the police department.

"The woman who stabbed our police officer has been pronounced dead at a local hospital," FCPD Chief Kevin Davis said, during a news conference Monday afternoon at the scene of the incident. "This woman is a mental health consumer. We know that. We've interacted with her on a number of occasions this year. In fact, we interacted with her yesterday when she was yelling at a man who was walking his dog."

On Monday morning, Prince William County Police Department received a report from the victim's mental health provider asking for a welfare check on the 33-year-old woman, according to Davis.

FCPD officers from the Reston District Station responded around 10 a.m. to an apartment building in the 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive.

The woman opened her door and the officer identified himself. Davis, who viewed the body camera footage of the incident, said the woman then slammed the door in the officer's face.

"He kept knocking on her door in an effort to get her help," Davis said. "She eventually, after a couple minutes, opened the door, was obviously armed with a knife, and began attacking our police officer and slashing our police officer's face."

The officer stepped backward several feet, Davis said, but as the woman continued toward the officer, he shouted numerous times for her to back up.

"She kept coming and coming and coming, and he discharged his firearm," Davis said. "She collapsed and was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Our police officer is being treated at a local hospital right now for the slashing knife wounds to his face. We know that this woman has family and friends, and the loss of life is something that we all regret."

No information was available about the victim's identity aside from her age and the fact that she was receiving mental health services in Prince William County.

Even though FCPD's policy is to release body cam video to the public within 30 days, Davis said he would be releasing footage of the fatal shooting within a few days.

"I know how much scrutiny an officer involved shooting has, and in fact, we haven't had an officer involved shooting in Fairfax County in one year and eight months, so it's been a while," he said. "But when it does happen and a life is lost, we take it seriously."

The officer was placed on administrative leave, according to Davis. FCPD detectives will work with the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office to investigate the events leading up to fatal shooting.

During the news conference, Davis mentioned the county's Co-Responder Program, in which a Crisis Intervention Team trained officer and a Crisis Intervention Specialist responds to a public safety call involving someone experiencing a mental health crisis.

"Our officers receive the world class training that's available to our profession when it comes to dealing with people who are in a state of crisis," he said. "We train that way. We value life above all else, but we also value the lives of our police officers. When our police officer is attacked by a woman with a knife, he has to protect himself and the community from that type of unprovoked violent attack."