A Fairfax County police detective was killed and two officers werewounded yesterday afternoon after a gunman opened fire with high-powered weapons in the parking lot of a police station during a shiftchange, law enforcement officials said.
The gunman, who was awaiting trial on carjacking charges inMontgomery County, was killed during the ensuing shootout withpolice, the officials said.
Police and county officials identified the slain officer asDetective Vicky O. Armel, 40, a nine-year veteran who was assigned tothe Sully District station in Chantilly in western Fairfax where theshooting occurred. Her husband is also a Fairfax detective. Thecouple has two elementary school-aged children, neighbors said.
It was the first fatal shooting of a Fairfax officer in the lineof duty in the department's history.
One of the wounded officers was in critical condition last night,police said. The other was being treated for minor injuries and willbe fine, said Mary Ann Jennings, a police spokeswoman. A civiliansuffered a minor laceration during the gunfight.
Scores of police officers and relatives of the slain and injuredwent to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where Armel and the criticallywounded officer were taken.
'My 1,320 officers, civilian officers and volunteers aregrieving,' a shaken Police Chief David M. Rohrer said. 'We aresupporting the family of the officer who is severely injured and thefamily of the officer who was killed in the line of duty.'
Sources said the gunman was 18-year-old Michael W. Kennedy ofCentreville, who was arrested April 18 by Fairfax police serving awarrant for Montgomery. He had been released from the Montgomery jailabout two weeks ago after posting a $33,000 bond, court records show.
Police Capt. Amy Lubas said the three officers were in the parkinglot of the station when the shooting occurred about 3:30 p.m. Atleast one of the wounded officers returned fire, she said. Rohrersaid he did not know whether the gunman was killed by police or tookhis own life.
Jennings said the incident began when a man with several weaponsapproached a stranger in a pickup in a nearby subdivision. Thestranger managed to flee with his keys. The man then hijacked a vanat gunpoint. That driver also escaped uninjured. The man drove thevan to the Sully station parking lot, got out and apparently crouchedbetween two vehicles. He had one rifle, two handguns and noidentification.
'All information points to the act of a lone, troubled individual -- not a conspiracy, not an act of terrorism,' said Gerald E.Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.'It would appear that the gunman specifically targeted the police.'
The shooting shut down the busy area near Route 28 in Fairfax'shigh-tech corridor. Businesses and schools were shuttered for hoursas police tried to verify that Kennedy had acted alone. Helicoptershovered overhead, schools were locked down and traffic came to ahalt.
'This is crazy,' said Laurie O'Bryan, who lives near the station.'It's just insane. Nothing like this has ever happened in Fairfax.You'd think this is a safe neighborhood because it's so close to thepolice station.'
Donald Lawson, a network engineer at a Chantilly business, wasdriving past the Sully station on his way home from work about 3:40p.m. when he heard gunshots and something hit his front passengerdoor, he said. His engine shut off. As he tried to restart it, heheard another round of shots, and his passenger side window was hit.
'I hid behind my car. . . . Cops were flying around everywhere,'he said. 'I kind of felt safe behind my truck.' After a few minutes,an officer came over to him, helped him into a police car and drovehim to a corner. He was treated for a cut on his face and called hiswife. 'The Fairfax County police were very professional; they werevery calm,' he said. Police kept his sport-utility vehicle, a FordExplorer, for tests.
Armel's neighbors in Rappahannock County, Va., described her asfun and bubbly and devoted to her family and church.
Tammy Kerr, who lives across the street, said she often baby-sitsArmel's children. 'Vicky would call us and say, 'I'm on a stakeout.Can you come watch the kids?' ' Kerr said. 'Vicky wasn't afraid ofanything.'
Kerr said Armel and her husband -- when they were explainingtheir jobs to the kids -- would say, 'We're going to get the badguys.'
She described Armel as an all-around mom: 'I really admired her.She was a woman who worked hard and loved her kids. I adored her. Iwould have given her mother-of-the-year awards every day.'
Armel often would celebrate with 'French Fridays' -- taking herchildren to McDonald's and treating them to french fries. NeighborStephanie Loos said Armel painted murals in each of her children'srooms -- a safari theme for her son and mermaids for her daughter.
Kerr said Armel's husband also is involved with the children.'He'll be able to step up to the plate, if anyone can,' she said.
The Rev. Mark DeCourcey, associate pastor at Mountain ViewCommunity Church in Culpeper, Va., said Armel was 'a tirelesslaborer' at the church, where she was in a pastoral care group. Hesaid she did a great deal of the thankless behind-the-scenes andadministrative work in the church, which meets at Culpeper CountyHigh School.
The pastoral care group performed Bible study and outreach, whichmeant relationship building and inviting people to attend services.
Kennedy, the shooter, was charged with carjacking April 18 inRockville. Montgomery police said a 33-year-old Germantown man wasdriving out of a parking lot in the 9900 block of Blackwell Road whenhe stopped his vehicle to let Kennedy walk in front. Kennedyapproached the car on the driver's side and, implying he had a gun,told the man to get out.
The victim was allowed to get his belongings from his Toyota4Runner before Kennedy sped away, police said. About 10:30 thatnight, Fairfax police called their counterparts in Montgomery to tellthem that Kennedy had gone to a police station in Fairfax to turnhimself in. It was unclear whether that was the Sully Districtstation.
Kennedy was taken into custody in Fairfax and later transported toMontgomery, where he was charged with carjacking, armed carjackingand theft of more than $500. He was released April 22 after postingthe bond.
His neighbors in Centreville said Kennedy always wore black,military-style clothes and army boots, even in the summer. They saidhe never explained why.
'It's not really a big surprise,' said Katie Palmer, who graduatedlast year from Westfield High School with Kennedy. 'He brought aknife to school once.' Other neighbors said Kennedy was intopaintball.
Palmer and others described Kennedy as standoffish, 'in his ownworld.'
She said that he was 'really, really smart' and that he would helpher with math, science and biology homework. Classmates said hedidn't appear to have many friends.
Palmer said Kennedy often was hassled by security at the schoolbecause of the way he dressed.
Neighbor Sergio Gutierrez, 17, said that Kennedy often was seenwalking around in a heavy army coat and that 'he didn't say nothingto nobody.'
They didn't know what Kennedy had done in the year sincegraduation. Holly Messinger, assistant principal at Westfield High,confirmed that Kennedy had graduated from the school but declined tocomment about him as a student.
Two law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymitybecause the investigation is ongoing, said detectives learned thatKennedy had warned friends that he might attack the police but thatnone of them had alerted authorities. Details of the threat were notknown.
When the $7.5 million Sully District police station opened threeyears ago, it was Fairfax's first new station in 27 years.
The offices of Michael R. Frey, the supervisor who represents theSully District, are also in the 32,300-square-foot station, which hascommunity meeting space. Frey has said Fairfax's Area Agency on Agingoccupies space in the building for computer classes and seniorfitness and nutrition programs. The county recreation department alsouses the building.
The Sully magisterial district includes Centreville, Clifton,Chantilly and Oakton, all suburban enclaves not known for violentcrime.
Yesterday morning, long before the shooting, about 100 people,including many police officers, attended a memorial service at policeheadquarters for Fairfax officers killed in traffic accidents. Someof them were from Sully.
Staff writers Karin Brulliard, Michael Alison Chandler, TimothyDwyer, Maria Glod, Ernesto Londono, Alec MacGillis, Candace Rondeaux,Ian Shapira, Theresa Vargas and Martin Weil and staff researcherBobbye Pratt contributed to this report.
