Fairfax, Virginia Police Station Shooting (UPDATED)
There has been a “shooter situation” in a Fairfax, Virginia police station that has wounded several people. Details are sketchy.
Several people, including police officers, were wounded in a shooting Monday at a police station in Fairfax County, Virginia, according to a police spokeswoman. Several people were airlifted to the hospital after the shooting at Sully District Station, in the western part of the county, Fairfax police spokeswoman Mary Ann Jennings said. The U.S. Park Police said one of its helicopters was involved in a search after the incident.
WaPo:
Shots were fired outside a Fairfax County police station Monday and an unknown number of people were shot, police said. Fairfax County police spokeswoman Keela Lowry said, “We had an active shooter situation outside” the Sully police station on Stonecroft Blvd. just north of Centreville. “People have been shot. We don’t know who or how many.” A short time later, police spokeswoman Shelly Broderick said, “Numerous people have been shot. It’s a very fluid situation. We’re there now.”
Update: There was a press conference scheduled for 5:30 Eastern but it has not yet happened. The suspect is an 18-year-old named Michael Kennedy. The Fox 5 News (WTTO) anchors in DC are speculating that it is likely the same Michael Kennedy who was involved in a Montgomery County, Maryland carjacking on April 18.
At about 6:45 p.m. April 18, a 33-year-old man was driving his Toyota 4-Runner out of a business parking lot in the 9900 block of Blackwell Road in Rockville when he stopped to allow 18-year-old Michael William Kennedy to pass in front of his car. Kennedy, of Centerville, Va., approached the victim’s driver’s side window and claimed to have a gun, police said. He told the victim to get out of the vehicle and allowed him to remove his personal property before Kennedy drove away. No gun was ever displayed and there were no injuries, police reported.
The teenager turned himself in at a Fairfax County police station less than four hours later, police said. After Fairfax police confirmed the incident with Montgomery County robbery detectives, Kennedy was taken into custody and held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center as a fugitive from justice, police reported. He was returned to Montgomery County on Friday, where he was charged with armed carjacking, carjacking and theft over $500.
He was released the next day on $30,000 bond.
It certainly appears that they’re the same person. Why someone charged with such a crime would be out on bail is unclear.
Update: The press conference apparently took place as scheduled but, oddly, was not televised. It lasted only 45 seconds.
Two officers have been shot along with a second suspect, not Kennedy. The police are not commenting on the condition of any of those shot. Kennedy is still at large.
Update: WaPo reports that a detective has died from wounds suffered in the attack and that the assailant is also dead.
One Fairfax County police detective was killed and at least two other officers were shot at the Sully District police station in Chantilly after a gunman stormed the building from some nearby woods, police sources said. A civilian police dispatcher also was wounded.
The gunman was killed in the shootout with police, the sources said. Although in early reports police said two gunmen were involved in the shooting, shortly after 6 p.m. officials said they had not been able to confirm that a second person was involved.
[…]
According to sources close to the investigation the dead suspect is an 18-year-old man from Chantilly who has been previously arrested on carjacking charges in Montgomery County.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly identified the slain officer as Detective Vicky Armel.
Update (5/9): WaPo reports, “It was the first fatal shooting of a Fairfax officer in the line of duty in the department’s history.” That’s simply incredible. Fairfax County (where, by the way, I now live) has been around since 1741 and is gigantic in terms of geographic size and recently topped the one million mark in population.
WaPo now reports that one of the shot FPD detectives has died.