WASHINGTON — Police identified a man who took his own life Wednesday as the attacker in a rest stop stabbing that took place just two hours earlier in Manassas, Virginia.
A 60-year-old custodian from Woodbridge who worked at the rest stop off of Interstate 66 was stabbed multiple times before his attacker fled at around 6 a.m., Virginia State police said.
“We believe it was a targeted attack,” said Corrine Geller, a spokeswoman with Virginia State Police.
As police gathered details in Prince William County, a call came in to state police after 8 a.m. about an incident in Warren County’s Bentonville community. When police arrived, they found Khalif Privott, 21, of Manassas. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they believe he took his own life.
Police examined Privott’s car, which was found abandoned near the scene in Warren County, and discovered evidence that led special investigators to name him as the rest stop attacker.
“Because it is an ongoing investigation, we are really not in a position to get into the motive of this situation,” Geller said.
The rest stop custodian, whose name has not been released, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The stabbing led to the closure of the rest stop on the west bound side during the morning rush Wednesday.
