Kathmandu, February 24
A Nepali man accused of killing members of his own family in Fairfax County, Virginia, has died after being shot by police.
The incident occurred on Monday inside an apartment near Mantua, where the man allegedly attacked three family members with a sharp-edged weapon. Officers from the Fairfax County Police Department shot and killed the suspect at the scene.
Nepali-language news portal Khasokhas.com identified the suspect as Chhatra Bahadur Thapa. The victims have been reported as his 51-year-old wife, Binda Thapa and 31-year-old daughter, Mamata Thapa. His 35-year-old son-in-law, Santosh Kumar Thapa, was also critically injured in the attack.
According to police, the approximately 50-year-old man assaulted his wife and daughter with a curved, machete-like weapon around 5 am at his apartment in the 3900 block of Persimmon Drive. Both women later died in a hospital.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said that when officers arrived, the suspect was actively attacking his son-in-law. After repeatedly refusing orders to drop the weapon, an officer opened fire.
“Our officer discharged his weapon as the son-in-law’s life was slipping away,” Davis said at a press conference on Monday. Police immediately administered CPR to the suspect, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A one-year-old child was inside the apartment during the incident but was unharmed, Davis said.
According to police, the son-in-law had been clearing snow from his car when he heard commotion inside the apartment. He called 911 and rushed back inside, where he witnessed what authorities described as an unimaginable scene — his father-in-law brutally attacking family members.
He reportedly saw his father-in-law striking his mother-in-law with a curved, 10-inch meat-cleaver-style weapon before turning the weapon on him. Another individual in a nearby building also called 911 after hearing what appeared to be a domestic dispute.
The child has been placed in the custody of child protective services. Police said there had been no prior record of domestic violence or previous calls to the residence, though the matter remains under investigation.
“We still do not know what turmoil or conflict may have been unfolding in their lives, but I cannot imagine what would drive someone to kill their own family in this manner,” Chief Davis said.
Davis added that body-worn camera footage reviewed by the department’s executive command team shows the officer followed protocol and used force to prevent further loss of life.
