Teen suspect wields knife moments before Fairfax County, Virginia, Police officer was stabbed. The suspect was arrested. The officer is recovering.Screen Shot from Fairfax County PF Video
A Fairfax County, Virginia, Police officer was stabbed by a 16-year-old male Monday afternoon and is now recovering from the attack.
Police Chief Kevin Davis says the outcome from the attack could have been very different. “It was only in a matter of a couple inches or so and we could have been having a much different on-scene press conference last night,” Davis said during a press conference Tuesday.
Around 2:40 p.m. on Monday, the officer was attacked after the teenager called police, falsely claiming he had killed two people, Chief Davis said. Two officers responded to the call in two patrol vehicles.
Body camera footage from both officers shows the teenager running toward a patrol car which had the engine running and the front door unlocked. When an officer began to confront the teenager, the boy sprinted toward the officer with a knife in-hand, the video shows. The teen was wearing a white hoodie and a mask.
The officer — a six-year veteran of the force — was stabbed in the left side of his torso and taken to a local hospital, WTOP reports. The department said the officer — who is not being identified — has been released from the hospital. During a press conference Tuesday, police said the officer was cut in the ribs just above his body armor.
The video appears to show that the teenager was thrown to the ground by the officer he appeared to attack. The other responding officer took the suspect into custody. The chief said the suspect went to the ground “on his own.”
The wounded officer was unaware that he had been stabbed until the suspect was in custody.
The teen accused of stabbing the officer is being held on a charge of malicious wounding.
