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HERNDON, Va. (AP) — A police officer fatally shot a Virginia man who shot two people and kept a hostage barricaded inside a house even after he set it on fire Monday afternoon, officials said.
Two men called 911 about 2:40 p.m. Monday and said they had been shot at a home in Herndon and were driving themselves to a hospital, Fairfax County police Chief Col. Edwin C. Roessler Jr. said.
Officers arriving at the townhouse in suburban Washington heard gunshots inside and saw smoke coming from its third floor, the chief said at a news conference.
Roessler said a man saying he was being held hostage called 911 to report that he couldn't breathe, but firefighters weren't able to enter the house because someone kept shooting a gun inside.
Police negotiators were talking to the suspect by phone, but the chief said he refused to cooperate with them.
The suspect opened the front door and was holding what appeared to be a knife, Roessler said. That's when an officer shot the man, who died at a hospital.
Firefighters put out the blaze and the hostage was treated on the scene for smoke inhalation. Roessler said no officers were hurt.
The two men shot at the beginning of the incident were being treated at a hospital for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, police said.
Roessler said that details and the sequence of events were still being investigated.
Police did not release information about the relationship of the people involved or the race of the suspect and the officer who shot him.
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