Fairfax County’s police union says it has raised more than $100,000 for the families of two slain officers, just part of what officials call overwhelming support from agencies, businesses and others following the deadly police station shooting.
“I can’t even think of a word to describe it. It’s unbelievable,” Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer said of local support following the unprecedented violence of May 8. “It has truly been incredible.”
Escaped mental patient Michael Kennedy,18, stormed the parking lot of the Sully District station with multiple rifles and handguns that afternoon.
Master Police Officer Michael Garbarino, 53, the first to be shot, was able to radio a warning from his cruiser. He succumbed to his injuries days afterward.
Detective Vicky Armel, 40, who saw Kennedy enter the parking lot and shoot into Garbarino’s car, engaged the assailant and died in the ensuing firefight. Kennedy was shot and killed by police at the scene.
The incident marked the first two officer slayings in the department’s history and shook to its core a county where homicide is relatively rare and large-scale violence even rarer.
The police department released further details this week, explaining how two officers — Mark Dale and Jeff Andrea — were able to maneuver through nearby woods to take down Kennedy.
Marshall Thielen, president of the county’s police union, described Garbarino as “a true family man with deep religious convictions,” and Armel as a “dedicated warrior, mother and wife.”
The two have been selected posthumously for the gold medal for valor, along with another officer involved in the firefight.
In the aftermath of the shooting came not only enormous memorials for both officers, but also a groundswell of compassion for the department and families.
Armel is survived by a husband — also a detective — and two young children. Garbarino is survived by his wife and two children.
The community support has come in many forms, including trust funds that were set up for the families of both officers.
Thielen, who coordinates the fundraising, wrote by e-mail that Koons Automotive Group provided the largest single contribution.
“There were also countless government agencies, defense contractors and others who took up cash donations and deposited them directly into the officers’trust funds,” he wrote.
