Police shoot and injure person armed with knife in Fairfax Wawa

A person was critically injured after a City of Fairfax police officer shot them during an encounter at a Wawa early Saturday, according to police.

Officers responded around 12:07 a.m. to the Wawa at 9700 Fairfax Blvd. for a report of a person armed with a knife, City of Fairfax police said.

When officers arrived, they found the person armed with a knife just inside the front door of the business, police said. Officers ordered the person to drop the knife, but police said the person did not comply and left the business with the knife in hand.

During the encounter, police said, an officer fired a department-issued gun and struck the person.

Officers provided medical aid at the scene until emergency medical personnel arrived, police said. The person was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

No officers or bystanders were injured, police said.

The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave, which police said is in accordance with department policy.

The Northern Virginia Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the shooting, police said.

The person’s identity will be released later.

WTOP has reached out to Wawa for comment.

 

 

 

 

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Matt Small

Matt joined WTOP News at the start of 2020, after contributing to Washington’s top news outlet as an Associated Press journalist for nearly 18 years.

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