A Reston, Virginia, woman was fatally shot by an officer after Fairfax County police said she slashed him in the face with a knife.
It happened Monday morning, when police were asked to check on a woman at her apartment in the 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, according to Fairfax County police.
The woman’s health care provider reached out to Prince William County police requesting officers check on her, according to Davis. That department reached out to Fairfax County police who went to check on her welfare.
When police first knocked on the door of the 33-year-old woman’s third floor apartment at around 10 a.m., Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said she quickly answered the door.
“He identified himself as a police officer immediately, and she slammed the door in his face,” Davis said. “He kept knocking on her door in an effort to get her help.”
She returned to the door a few minutes later with a knife.
“She started slashing our police officer, and that’s where he sustained the knife wounds to his face,” Davis said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
After being cut, the officer stepped away from the woman and told her to “back up” at least eight times, Davis said after watching body camera footage from the incident.
“She’s 6 foot 5 (inches), 330 pounds,” Davis said. “She was coming after him with a knife after she had already cut him at least once.”
The officer fired his gun multiple times and shot the woman. She was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries where she later died. Police have not publicly named her.
The police officer who was hurt was hospitalized for treatment of the wounds from the knife. His injuries are not life-threatening.
A knife was recovered at the scene of the shooting, police said.
The officer who shot the woman will be investigated. Davis said it’s the first shooting involving a Fairfax County police officer in more than a year and a half.
“We know that this woman has family and friends, and the loss of life is something that we all regret,” Davis said. “Our police officer acted valiantly. He certainly exhibited some grace under pressure.”
Fairfax County police releases body camera footage from shootings involving officers within 30 days, but Davis said he plans to release footage from Monday’s incident “much quicker than that.”
David said the officer who responded to the welfare check had received crisis intervention training, which is aimed at preparing officers for helping those experiencing a mental health crisis.
“He’s one of our police officers that’s trained to deal with folks who are in this state of mind,” Davis said. “But here’s the bottom line, we don’t have an answer for someone who attacks a police officer by cutting him in the face with a knife. So this officer protected himself, arguably, he protected other residents as well.”
It happened in the same block as a fatal shooting at a Golds Gym last month. There’s no evidence to suggest the shootings are related.
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli reported from the scene. This is a developing story. Stick with WTOP for the latest.
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