A gunfight at a Fairfax police station Monday killed one police officer, wounded two other officers and left the gunman dead.
According to Gerald Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors, the officer who died in the attack was female.
Fairfax County police Officer Rich Henry said the gunman opened fire at about 3:30 p.m. in a back parking lot of the Sully District station in Chantilly. It was not clear whether he had an accomplice. Police blocked roads throughout the area, and nearby buildings, including a high school, were locked down.
“It’s a horrific scene,” Henry said.
Police confirmed that the gunman had died in the attack and that two officers were rushed to a local hospital.
It is the first time a Fairfax police officer was fatally shot in the line of duty, officials said.
Broadcast reports quoted witnesses as saying that a man dressed in camouflage emerged from the tree line near the station and opened fire.
Fairfax police said the two officers were “seriously wounded.” Police were also searching a residential neighborhood in Centreville. Broadcast reports said police had tracked a Ford pickup truck that had been seen fleeing the shooting to the Centreville neighborhood.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
