Police shooting stops stabbings in Aspen Hill; four people hospitalized
Four people were injured -- three of them hospitalized -- in Aspen Hill on Saturday morning, after a man stabbed multiple victims before being shot by police.
Around 10:30 a.m., Montgomery County police officers were called to two different stabbings: two women in the 4100 block of Colie Drive, and another involving a woman who was stabbed at a thrift store near Veirs Mill Road.
When police arrived, people with stab wounds were found at multiple locations in the area of Colie Drive and Havard Street, according to the Montgomery County Fire Department.
The area of the street taped off by police during their investigation included some homes. One of those homes had what appeared to be a yard sale setup outside, with a pop-up tent, collapsible tables and assorted clothes and other items laid out in a display.
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Police were told that the two women stabbed on Colie Drive were at that yard sale when they were stabbed.
Witnesses in the area of the stabbings told officers that they saw the man heading into a nearby wooded area, according to Darren Francke, assistant chief of the management services bureau for Montgomery County Police.
When officers tried to surround the woods, the man came out of the trees and "confronted a police cruiser," Francke said. The officer in the cruiser said he was with the man, and another officer arrived.
Seeing that the man was armed with "a 12-inch butcher knife," that second officer tried to give commands to the man, which is when the shooting took place, Francke said.
Police did not say whether the man tried to attack either of the officers before the second officer shot him. No officers were injured, but they were "shaken up," Francke said.
That second officer fired multiple rounds, shooting the man, according to Francke. The shooting took place in the 4300 block of Havard Street, police said.
Officers performed first aid on the man after the shooting, but the man died at the scene.
Police have not shared any identifying information about the man. A 12-inch-butcher knife was found at the scene and has been collected as evidence.
The four people taken to the hospital -- three women and one man, who was found by officers on Colie Drive when they responded to the call -- were all stabbing victims, Francke said.
Two women were stabbed in the neck. One was not even taken to the hospital, with only "superficial" wounds. One woman had life-threatening injuries, but doctors believe everyone will survive, Francke said.
Right now, police believe the stabbings were "an unprovoked attack," Francke said, with no initial information to indicate that the man knew the victims.
Montgomery County Police will investigate all of the stabbings. The police shooting investigation will be handled by the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General's office, as required by Maryland law.
The medical examiner will perform a toxicology report on the man who died to determine whether he was under the influence when the stabbings took place, but the results of the autopsy and any follow-up fall under the Maryland AG's investigation.
Body camera footage will be released within about 14 days.
Source: NBC4 Washington
