A Georgia man who fatally stabbed a Pentagon police officer Tuesday additionally shot himself with the officer’s gun, the FBI mentioned, as investigators labored to find out what prompted the brazen daytime assault.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation mentioned the suspect used a knife to stab the officer within the head and neck “with out provocation” at a transit station close to the Pentagon on Tuesday morning, severely wounding him. The 2 then struggled earlier than the person received maintain of the officer’s service weapon, taking pictures himself with it, the bureau mentioned.
Different officers opened fireplace on the suspect, recognized as Austin W. Lanz, 27 years previous, of Acworth, Ga., who was declared useless on the scene.
Investigators had been poring over the net accounts and background of Mr. Lanz, who tried to affix the Marine Corps almost a decade in the past. Earlier this yr he had been charged with attacking two sheriff’s deputies with out warning within the consumption space of a Cobb County, Ga., jail the place he was being held on housebreaking and trespassing prices, court docket paperwork present.
The Pentagon described the slain officer, George Gonzalez, as a New York native and navy veteran who had defended the constructing for 3 years. Earlier than becoming a member of the Pentagon Drive Safety Company, Officer Gonzalez served within the Military in Iraq, and with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Transportation Safety Administration.