KATHMANDU, Feb 24: A Nepali man accused of fatally stabbing members of his own family in Fairfax County, Virginia, was shot dead by police responding to the incident on Monday.
According to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis, officers arrived at an apartment in the 3900 block of Persimmon Drive near Mantua at around 5 AM, where the suspect was allegedly attacking family members with a knife. When the suspect refused repeated commands to drop the weapon, an officer opened fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene despite officers administering CPR.
Man kills wife, daughter
Nepali-language news portal Khasokhas.com identified the suspect as Chhatra Bahadur Thapa. The victims were reported to be his 51-year-old wife Binda Thapa, his 31-year-old daughter Mamata Thapa, and his 35-year-old son-in-law Santosh Kumar Thapa. The wife and daughter were declared dead at a hospital, while the son-in-law was critically injured during the attack and later died.
Police said the suspect used a curved knife resembling a 10-inch meat cleaver. Chief Davis said officers encountered the suspect actively stabbing his son-in-law when they arrived. “Our officer discharged his weapon while a life was in the process of being taken,” Davis said at a press conference.
A one-year-old child present inside the apartment was unharmed and has been placed under the care of child protective services. Authorities said there were no prior records of domestic violence or police calls to the residence, though the incident remains under investigation.
Police body-camera footage reviewed by the command staff indicates that the officer followed protocol in using force to prevent further loss of life, Davis said.
