A Fairfax County police officer shot and killed a woman inside an apartment building in Reston on Monday after the woman slashed him in the face with a knife, authorities say.
Officers responded to the woman’s home in the 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive to conduct a welfare check because of concerns over her mental health, Chief of Police Kevin Davis said. A longtime officer with crisis-intervention training tried to speak with her and get her help, but she attacked him and refused to comply with officers, he said.
The woman’s name was not immediately released. She was 33 and police had several prior interactions with her related to mental health concerns, Davis said.
The officer who was slashed in the face was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Officers responded to the woman’s third-floor apartment after her mental health provider contacted Prince William County police and said she needed to be checked on, Davis said.
Officers knocked on her door, she opened it and then she slammed the door on them. They kept knocking and she opened the door again several minutes later. That’s when she began attacking the officer and slashing him in the face, Davis said.
The injured officer was able to reposition himself. He repeatedly warned the woman to step back.
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“Back up! Back up! Please back up!” Davis said he warned her at least eight times.
She “kept coming and coming and coming,” and the officer opened fire.
The woman was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“The loss of life is something we all regret,” Davis said.
A man who said he lives in the complex said he saw the officer being taken out of the building.
“He just looked very shook. Frightened. Hopefully he’s OK,” he said.
The shooting scene is near Dulles Access Road and Reston Parkway. Chopper4 footage shows a heavy police presence in the area.
The police chief stressed that the veteran officer had been trained on how to defuse crises.
“We don’t have an answer for someone who attacks a police officer by cutting him in the face with a knife. This officer protected himself. Arguably, he protected other residents as well,” Davis said.
Police recovered the knife they say the woman used. A photo shows a kitchen knife with a pink handle.
The investigation is ongoing. The officer who opened fire is on routine administrative leave.
The whole interaction was captured on body camera video that police will release, Davis said.
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Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
