The Fairfax County, Virginia, police on Friday released the name of the man shot and killed by officers in the parking lot of the Springfield Town Center on Thursday.
Christian Parker, 37, of Reston, was shot and killed at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in his car, the police said.
They said a relative of Parker’s told them on Sunday that Parker stole a gun in his home, pointed it at a relative and then fired it inside the home.
No one was hurt, but the police got arrest warrants for Parker on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, larceny of a firearm, brandishing a firearm and discharging a firearm within a home, and began looking for him.
On Thursday, the police said, they learned Parker was in the area of the Springfield Town Center, found him in the parking lot and boxed him in with their cars.
The police said Parker went into his car and reached across the passenger seat to get a gun. The police said they told him multiple times to drop it, and that he didn’t. Two officers shot him, and he died at a hospital nearby.
The police said the officers were an eight-year veteran of the Franconia Police District Station and a two-year veteran of the Mount Vernon Police District Station. Their names will be released within 10 days, “unless there is a credible threat to the safety of those involved or if additional time is required to thoroughly complete the risk assessment process,” the police said.
The officers’ body camera footage will be released within 30 days, provided it “no longer jeopardizes the integrity of the investigation,” the police said.
