D.C. police officer stabbed, fatally shoots suspect

A D.C. police officer fatally shot a man who stabbed him Friday morning as he was responding to a report of a domestic assault, Metropolitan Police Department officials said.

The incident unfolded around 7 a.m. at a home in the 3500 block of 17th Street Northeast.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the officer was responding to a domestic-violence report of a man attacking his grandfather.

“As he exited his car and approached the front of the house, the suspect had come up from behind him and attacked him with a knife,” she said.

Based on the initial investigation, it appears the officer fired only one round “in defense of his life during the knife attack,” Chief Lanier said.

The officer was stabbed in the head and neck and suffered multiple injuries to his hands, according to the police chief. He is expected to be released from the hospital today after receiving multiple stitches and staples.

“He’s not comfortable, but he’s OK,” the chief said. “They were in close-quarter combat at the time the officer fired.”

She said it appears as though the officer tried to take the knife away from the suspect, based on his injuries, before firing the fatal shot.

Chief Lanier said one member of the household had to be taken to the hospital as a result of the initial attack in the home. The deceased suspect, who has not been publicly identified, is in his mid-20s to early 30s, she said.

“He stabbed the officer at least twice before the officer turned and confronted the suspect,” Chief Lanier said, describing the attack.

She described the officer, who also has not been named, as a 10-year veteran assigned to the Fifth District. His wife is also on the city’s police force, she said.

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