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Syndicate
Fallen officer identified in Fairfax shooting
Nicole McMullin
May 08, 2006
LAST UPDATED May 8, 9:53 p.m.
CHANTILLY - A Fairfax County police detetective was shot and killed outside a police station yesterday by a gunman who was then shot dead.
A second officer was seriously wounded in the exchange and was in surgery last night at Inova Fairfax Hospital. A third received minor injuries, authorities said.
Detective Vicky Armel, who investigated burglaries, was identified as the dead officer.
The assailant began shooting about 3:30 p.m. in a parking lot behind the Sully District police station on Stonecroft Boulevard, near Chantilly.
“Police officers returned fire and killed him,” said Fairfax police spokesman Bud Walker.
Police said they did not immediately know a motive for the shootings.
Reports of a second gunman prompted authorities to lock down all of the county’s police stations and nearby Westfield High School. About 250 students were kept under guard before being released by early evening.
Police said reports of the second assailant proved to be false. “There is no second suspect,” Walker said about 8 p.m.
Area resident Kevin Washburn, 47, arrived home near the scene about 4 p.m. “I got out of my car and I heard ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.’”
Washburn said he initially thought a bank was being robbed, or people were firing at a shooting range. “Then I heard, ‘pop, pop, pop again.’”
Seconds later, he said, “I heard sirens, tons and tons of sirens.”
Washburn, who works in television management, said he went toward the police station and saw an officer being loaded onto a helicopter.
Police said Armel was the first county officer killed in the line of duty, other than in traffic accidents.
Afternoon commuters were detoured around the area as police investigated the crime.
Police helicopters flew about circled above the scene and armed officers were out in force near the station last night.
Armel lived in Culpeper County, where she was a member of Mountain View Community Church.
Mark DeCourcey, the church’s associate pastor, said Armel was an active member who was part of a home Bible study group and created decorations.
“She served in several places, and I wouldn’t even be able to give you an exhaustive list,” said DeCourcey. DeCourcey said Armel was married with two young children and lived in the Jeffersonton area.
The Washington Post identified the shooter as an 18-year-old Chantilly man.
Fairfax police, citing family privacy, did not immediately identify Armel or confirm that an officer had been killed. Armel’s identify was released by Fairfax County Board of Supervisors supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly and confirmed by pastor DeCourcey.
Armel and the seriously injured officer were taken to Inova, where armed officers guarded the entrances.
Earlier yesterday, the Fairfax Police Department honored three previokusly previously fallen officers in a memorial service.
Rob Humphreys of the Culpeper Star-Exponent contributed to this report.
Rex Springston, A.J. Hostetler and Kiran Krishnamurthy are staff writers for The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Comments from friends and family continue for Capt. Letendre
Nicole McMullin
May 08, 2006
Following up on the news of Capt. Brian Letendre’s death on Friday, Lillian Kafka spoke with Bill Bann, a friend of the Letendre family, for Saturday’s edition.
Comments from Mr. Letendre’s friends and friends of the family continued through the weekend and today we are waiting to learn about the final arrangements.
Join others who knew Letendre and his family and share your thoughts and best wishes. Some of your comments will be published in an upcoming edition on the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger.
Woodbridge Marine killed in Iraq
Nicole McMullin
May 05, 2006
BY LILLIAN KAFKA
A local Marine was killed on May 3 in Iraq while conducting combat operations in the Al Anbar province, according to a press release from the Department of Defense.
Capt. Brian S. Letendre, 27, of Woodbridge, was “a very patriotic young man who believed in what his country is doing,” said his father, Milton Letendre of Woodbridge.
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