WASHINGTON — What started as a road rage incident in Virginia turned into a terrifying crime involving armed suspects forcing their way into a home and attacking people who were inside, Prince William County police said.
The violent home invasion happened Friday night after a 19-year-old man drove along Springwoods Drive in Woodbridge.
As the teen was driving, police say he got involved in some type of altercation with three people who were in a car. The suspects started taunting the man and tailgating him.
“What transpired there is still a little unclear, but he was being followed after that incident,” said Sgt. Jonathan Perok.
They continued following the man until he reached his house on the 11700 block of Gascony Place.
But the incident was far from over.
The three suspects then left their vehicle, followed the man up to his house, forced their way in and started beating members of the man’s family.
“Once inside, the suspects assaulted two occupants of the home, a 43-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman,” police said in a statement.
One of the suspects, a woman, was armed with a handgun while the other two suspects, both men, were armed with a knife and a baseball bat.
“The female victim was initially armed with the bat for self-defense when it was taken by one of the suspects and used on the male victim,” said police.
The 43-year-old man told NBC Washington that he was stabbed multiple times and had to be taken to a hospital.
“They pushed me on the couch and started hitting me,” said the man, who added that the female suspect told him “I’m going to kill you” when she took out her gun.
He is expected to recover from his injuries.
The suspects were able to escape and have not yet been arrested. Police say they were last seen driving a black Honda Civic with a yellow stripe on the side.
“Unfortunately, in this area, road rage does happen quite often, but this is pretty rare,” Perok said.
Perok warned drivers to call 911 or a non-emergency number to report what is happening if they are ever being followed by someone.
“Do not drive to your residence,” said Perok. “Drive to a police station or a well-lit area like a gas station or shopping center. Try to get to a public area as quickly as you can.”
Below is a map of the general area where police say the incident happened.
