A family’s worst nightmare came true when a man in Virginia used a meat cleaver to kill his wife and daughter and wound his son-in-law before he was eventually stopped when police officers fatally shot him.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis confirmed the “unimaginable scene,” which he described as a “bloodbath,” at the family’s home in the Margate Manor apartments on Monday, February 23.
Police said that the attacker was a man in his 50s, though his name has not been publicly revealed. Davis said during a news conference that the attacker used a meat cleaver that had a 10 inch blade to kill his wife and his daughter, who was in her 30s.
Davis added that the attacker’s son-in-law, who is also in his 30s, was hospitalized and was in “grave, grave condition” following the attack.
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The officer explained that the son-in-law was outside clearing snow off his car when he heard the attack taking place inside of the family’s home. He then went inside to check on the situation and found his father-in-law was attacking his mother-in-law. His wife had already been attacked and was suffering from stab wounds.
After the son-in-law walked in on the scene, his father-in-law began to attack him with the knife.
A neighbor overheard the incident and called 911, telling the dispatcher that the “only thing heard was screaming and crying.”
Officers then arrived at the home and found the attacker, who was still stabbing his son-in-law.
“To describe this scene as bloody would be an understatement,” Davis said.
Davis explained that a responding officer “gave repeated commands — one after another after another — to this perpetrator, the father-in-law, to drop the knife, drop the knife.” He continued, “Not only does he not drop the knife, but he proceeds to stab the son-in-law.”
After the father-in-law failed to stop the attack, the officer opened fire and fatally shot him.
The three victims were rushed to a hospital, though the wife and daughter eventually died from their injuries. Meanwhile, the son-in-law underwent surgery on the morning of February 23 and has remained in critical condition.
Davis went on to share that he saw bodycam video of officers’ response and insisted that he “did exactly what he was supposed to do” by shooting the attacker.
“I can’t imagine what would compel any human being to butcher his family like he did today,” Davis said of the incident.
The couple’s 1-year-old baby was home at the time of the attack, though the child wasn’t wounded. “Thankfully, the baby is unharmed,” Davis said.
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The baby has since been placed in the care of child protective services while the county looks for relatives to take care of them.
Police also added that there were no previous calls to the home, including any reports of domestic violence. Davis then said that domestic violence can begin at a low level before it escalates to a much deadlier level.
Following the attack, one neighbor said that the incident was traumatizing. “Since I was able to stare across this road, I did see, like, a police, like, rocking or consoling a baby,” he said of the aftermath of the attack, per NBC New York.
