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A man using a meat cleaver to kill his wife and daughter and wound his son-in-law in an apartment in Fairfax County, Virginia, was stopped when police shot and killed him, authorities say. A 1-year-old baby in the home was not physically harmed.
Fairfax County’s police chief described a “bloodbath” and “unimaginable scene” in the family’s home early Monday in the Margate Manor apartments in the 3900 block of Persimmon Circle in Mantua, north of Little River Turnpike.
The attacker was a man in his 50s who used a weapon with a blade about 10 inches long, police said. He killed his wife and his daughter, who was in her 30s, Chief of Police Kevin Davis said at a news conference. The attacker’s son-in-law, who also is in his 30s, is hospitalized in “grave, grave condition,” Davis said.
“I can’t imagine what would compel any human being to butcher his family like he did today,” Davis said.
The son-in-law was outside clearing snow off his car when he heard a disturbance in the family’s home, Davis said. He went inside and found his wife suffering from stab wounds and his father-in-law attacking his mother-in-law. Then his father-in-law turned the knife on him. Someone inside the home and a neighbor called 911.
“Only thing heard was screaming and crying,” someone can be heard saying on a dispatch call.
“To describe this scene as bloody would be an understatement,” Davis said.
Officers arrived and found the attacker still stabbing his son-in-law.
“Our officer gave repeated commands – one after another after another – to this perpetrator, the father-in-law, to drop the knife, drop the knife. Not only does he not drop the knife, but he proceeds to stab the son-in-law,” Davis said.
The officer opened fire, killing the man. The three victims were rushed to a hospital, where the attacker’s wife and daughter died.
Davis said he saw bodycam video of officers’ response and that the officer who opened fire “did exactly what he was supposed to do.”
Fairfax County police shot and killed a man who was using a cleaver to “butcher” his family, killing his wife and daughter and wounding his son-in-law, police said. The attacker’s 1-year-old grandchild was not wounded. News4’s Jessica Albert reports.
The 1-year-old baby of the couple in their 30s was not wounded. The baby is in the care of child protective services as the county connects with any relatives who can care for the child.
“Thankfully, the baby is unharmed,” Davis said.
A neighbor called what he saw traumatizing.
“Since I was able to stare across this road, I did see like a police like rocking or consoling a baby,” he said.
The man who survived the attack had surgery Monday morning and remained in critical condition, police said in an update Monday afternoon.
Police had no previous calls to the home, including for domestic violence, Davis said. He warned that domestic violence can begin at a low level and escalate.
The names of the attacker and victims were not immediately released.
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